Birthday Bayblade Blast

(i am almost certain this picture was taken by wade.....)

Jaxon has never had a birthday party. . . I know. It is kind of sad. But we have never had a birthday party for him because he has A) Never had enough friends and B) has never really cared.

But this year, he cared. As a matter of fact, all he ever talked about was HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH FRIENDS!!!

{crickets}

That was an inside joke.. Jaxon says "crickets" all the time if there is a lapse in talking.

Anyway, he picked a BAD time to care, since we just moved in and he still has no friends.


Peter insisted on being in charge of the festivities, which I was completely happy to bag. I have a few other things going on, so, it was fine...

He had a very distinct vision of cupcakes that he would make.. It would be like an Ocean.. with a shark.. eating a smaller fish....





I said, I think you could roll the dough into a circle and cut out a mouth... kinda like Pac Man.... I think you can see who has the REAL creative vision in the family.




I think you can see how he liked it.


My sweet boy had all the patience in the world while he did homework, ate dinner and waited and waited to open those presents!!!

My neighbor came by a few days ago to introduce herself, and I in return said, WILL YOU PLEASE COME BE OUR BIRTHDAY PARTY? She brought her kids (3) and gift and an extension cord so we could try to put some dents in our wall by playing with a PINATA.. Another Jaxon "must-have" item.

Believe me, that was the most exciting Pinata I have ever seen!! I was sweating BULLETS!

But in the end, he had an amazing time, and an amazing birthday...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAXON! WE HOPE 8 IS GREAT!

Another year, another love

Oh. Man. My little blog life has completely gotten away from me! I have blog posts lined up from here to Timbuktu and I don't have the time to post them all. We just got back from a vacay (is there such a thing as vacationing with a 1 1/2 year old? No.) and it was the first one we have had in a LONG time. It was nice, but not very relaxing. (ahem. Kaylie.)

But, before I move on any further, I need to post the latest Jaxon news. There is a new love in his life. MOVE OVER MICHELLE. There is a new girl in town, and it looks like she has the corner on your man.

Before we left for our trip, Jaxon came home with his backpack stuffed with papers. Those papers included a few that were carefully stapled together and gently stuffed in his backpack (others are stuffed not so nicely). At first, I thought his teacher had put some special art work in there, but then I got a closer look. The art work, was more like . . . LOVE work.

Not sure who wrote whom first, but I will tell you right now Rian. Jaxon is an ARTIST. NOT a writer. Sorry. This first pic would be Jaxon's rendition of the lovely couple. Apparently, Rian wears some pretty fine head decor. But each is a lovely shade of blue.

And this right here would be Rian's rendition. Her rendition is a little more realistic. Jaxon, completely blonde in all ways with blue (okay, he has green but who is paying attention) eyes, and Rian, in her natural color with fabulous pig tails. Love. It.

But this is where it gets REALLY good. Rian actually has the wherewithal to profess her affections.

Jaxon my friend. Hold on to this one. Girls who like the "funny boy" are rare in numbers.

Ps- I would like to give a special "thanks" to Rian's mom for not calling the teacher and expressing her concern over Jaxon's affections toward Rian. And kudos to both Rian and her family for loving Jaxon for who he is. :)

BLOG WORLD: I NEED TO KNOW

Hey Blog World:

I have had something on my mind for a long time.

Can you help me?

You can leave your comments,

or just take my POLL


---------------------------------------------------------->

Do you care about the chemicals that you clean your house with?

Do you think it matters/makes a difference?

Do you think the way you eat or take care of your body helps control disease and other things we can't control?

I care. I have a son with Autism, and I think this stuff makes a difference.

I have been working on it for some time. I was just wondering if you think about it too.

If so, what are YOU doing to make your house a better/safer/more healthy place?


Thanks.

Burning Questions- Day 3

Anyone having fun yet? I know the people who have entered my giveaway for the Trifle Bowl are! I will be choosing a winner on THURSDAY! So, just a few more days left to enter!

I have had a few more "burning questions" trickle in, and one had to do with my post from the other day about Jaxon, my child with Autism. This one came from my friend Jessica. (I have a LOT of Jessica's in my life) She reads my blog regularly, but only comments on Facebook. She more had an inquiry about WHAT to teach your children if they are in a situation where they have to interact with someone who is different.

Well, Jessica. FABULOUS inquiry. To be honest, I am not going to pretend that I am the be all/end all on the subject, but I know what I try to teach my own kids. Believe me, it is sometimes even hard for Abby to be nice to Jaxon.. So, I feel like I totally understand both sides of the situation for the most part.

I think the main thing is: be a good example, and answer children's questions honestly, but kindly. Let's say we are in the situation and Jaxon is at the park and he decides to get aggressive with your kid. OBVIOUSLY that is NOT OKAY! And I am NOT asking for a FREE PASS, because Jaxon still needs to learn that it is NOT OKAY to be that way with other kids.

First, hear me out, and try to understand the situation from Jaxon's perspective. Jaxon may have gotten aggressive because he is being, chased, taunted, excluded, or feels trapped. Once he got trapped in a slide and instead of saying, "Hey! Let me out!" He just started to attack kids until he got out. Other people were upset and rightfully so, I made Jaxon apologize, of course, but then explained that he was trapped in the slide and wanted to get out. Instead of going straight to using words, he gets aggressive, pushing and shoving in attempts to GET OUT.

You can tell your child, it was NOT OKAY for Jaxon to push, or hurt you. But, Jaxon doesn't always know that he is supposed to use his words to get help. Or, Jaxon doesn't always know what the right choice is. Or, Jaxon sometimes doesn't know how to control his body when he gets mad.

I hope that those kinds of explanations don't EXCUSE the behavior, but rather, EXPLAIN the situation and then the child is more apt to dealing with the situation the next time they might be there with Jaxon. They may even defend him, or say, 'HEY! LET HIM OUT!' Or offer whatever kind of help he might need.

He is QUIRKY, there is no doubt. Sometimes he even acts like a cartoon character, which makes kids laugh, or try to get him to do it again. Sometimes he can just get too wound up. Maybe an explanation to your child would be. EVERYONE is different. Jaxon is different too! He likes to express himself in different ways, and it may not always be LIKE YOU.

I think in general, this is a healthy way to describe someone else. They are different, and they are not LIKE YOU. This doesn't make them, BAD, or NOT FUN, or NOT YOUR FRIEND, it means they aren't YOU. But, we can still be nice to everyone and treat them nicely, even if they don't act like you, or, don't do the same things that you do. If they don't make the right choices it is because they are LEARNING, and maybe haven't learned it as well as YOU. This would be a good opportunity to focus on YOUR child's strengths and abilities and foster the ability to be of help to kids who don't do it as well as them! Say, "Hey! Next time, why don't you tell Jaxon that he needs to be nice to his friends! And ask him if he wants to play a different game that might make him more happy! He wants to have fun, but maybe next time you can show him that being nice is MORE fun." Communication is key.

That seemed like a long drawn out post, and may be over-simplified, but I hope it helps. The best thing to do as a parent might be to think, "How would I want MY child with special needs to be treated?" You might not have a child with special needs, but I am SURE you could understand how devastating it would be if you did, and how you would try every day to help that child out.

From One Mother to Another

I am guessing it is mostly women that read my blog. Prove me wrong.

So, I just wanted to take a minute to talk about m'boy Jaxon. (On the left)

Most of you know, he is Autistic.

Unlike other Autistic children he LOVES being around people.

LOVES.

The problem is, he doesn't always know how to act or what to say. Or, worse, he might say, or do something inappropriate.

If so, I am sorry.

VERY sorry.

I wish I could change it.

Believe me.

I wish I could.

Please accept my apology if he does something not appropriate.

But, will you do one other thing for me?

Talk to your child.

Talk to your child about children who are different.

He didn't choose to be different.

Tell your child that even though he is "different" you should still try to be nice.

Tell your child that even though you might think he is "weird" there are people in his world who love him. Dearly.

Tell your child that if they don't want to play with him, that is ok. But, try not to be mean to him.

Because, he still has feelings.

And he still wants to have friends.

Tell your child, especially your older children, to never hurt anyone physically.

Just because they might be bugging you.

Chances are, they are younger than you think they are and they don't quite understand what they should be doing.

Because his mom can't stand guard his whole life.


Sometimes, he is going to be on his own.

And I worry about him.

So, please tell teach your children about TOLERANCE.

For me.

Thanks.

Happy Birthday Bub

My little Bub... He turned 6 today.

Sometimes it seems like it all went by so fast,

And sometimes it feels like it has been FOREVER!

Jaxon comes with his own set of challenges.

But we wouldn't have it any other way.

The other day, I knelt beside him for his night time prayer and he asked Heavenly Father to help him.

He said, "Please help my brain, that it will work right and do what I want it to do."

I put my arms around him after he finished and said, "Jax, it WILL. You just have to listen. Heavenly Father will TELL you what to do and if you do it, you will be happy."

Sometimes having a child with special needs is a priceless experience.

And sometimes it is down right difficult.

But, I wouldn't change it for the world. I mean, just look at him. . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BOY JAXON!!

To see Jax open his favorite Birthday present today, view the video below. To see "Optimus Prime" in action, check back tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP41HZ9eytA

Struggling

Peter works late 2 nights a week. But I have prided myself on getting all the homework and reading done on my own. Hey, I think I am doing pretty well for having an infant on hand! I recently got Jaxon a "Hooked on Phonics" work book and CD. (On Major Clearance at CashBaq!) Anyway, he had been doing so well and was totally picking up on reading! I tried to read with him last year and it was dismal. He could barely remember ANY sounds and always got them wrong.

It had been a few days since we had last practised. A lesson usually takes about 20 minutes. The in-laws came into town on Friday, so, Thursday night was pretty much the last time we had sat down to work on it.

It went horribly. He was getting "p" "d" and "b" all mixed up and a few times just completely guessed at words without even trying to sound them out. I was devastated, and became quickly frustrated at his lack of concentration. It was almost unbearable to get through a page. I made him stop several times to focus just on letters and sounds and when he would start again, he would be fine. However, a few minutes later it would all be jumbled up in his head again.

It was painstaking, but we finished the page. I put my arm across his chest and laid him down on the bed (we were sitting on the edge of the bed in the room with the only cd player in the house--darn ipods). With frustrated anxiety in my voice I sighed and said, "Jaxon! What happened!!??? You were doing so well a few days ago! You knew all of these words!"

And then something I didn't anticipate happened. His eyes welled up with tears. We were both lying down, gazing straight into each others eyes and there was such a clarity in those big green eyes. He started to cry. Not in a sad way, but in a truly frustrated way and said, "I can't help it mom. My brain doesn't always know what to tell my mouth. And sometimes I look at a word and I just don't say the right one!" Tears started to flow from both of our eyes and I took a few minutes and told him it would be ok. I told him I KNEW he could do it, because he did it just last week! I told him we would practise (earlier than right before bed) every night, so that he can learn to read. He seemed, for once, relieved that I was going to help him and that he was going to make it. So many times I think that he doesn't really worry about his life. That he doesn't think about the future, but after last night, it was clear to me that he DOES care and in the worst way possible he wants to be "normal".

It is heartbreaking to watch your child, who has his obvious impairments struggle with the reality that he is different and suddenly realize that his differences are causing his struggle. He wants to badly to have friends, be liked and do well in school. I realized last night that I have a huge responsibility to do every thing in my power to give him those opportunities. And I will. Day by day, minute by minute. . reading one word at a time. We will do it, and he will win. I just know it.

Proudest Mothering Moment

Has it really been Monday since my last post? Geesh. I guess something had to give. Suddenly life seems so busy, but really, I am just trying to work out and it is chewing up all of my blogging time!



I mentioned that Jaxon has really been hilarious lately, but more importantly, he has been so much better with RECALL. Some children with Autism don't have the ability to tell you WHAT they did. As a matter of fact, they struggle with most W questions, like, Where, When, Why and What.




We have been astonished that Jaxon has been able to relate what he has been doing at school and at church lately. Usually when you ask him what he learned at church (Church being his least favorite place) he mutters something about Jesus and Joseph Smith and that usually sums it up. . . which wouldn't be so bad, but he says the same thing every week just to get us off his back.





This last Sunday he told us all about how eating good food will make your body healthy! It was amazing! Maybe it was just because his teacher gave him grapes. . . yeah, that was probably it.





It is now flowing over into school this week where he told me all about a game they played with trying to guess what was in eggs (I am assuming plastic eggs). He told me that his friends kept guessing the same thing as him, and it was, in his words, "Totally BUGGING ME OUT!" I have no idea where THAT phrase came from, but, work with it Jaxon, work with it.





Normally when you ask him what he did at school he says, work and play games. . . another standard "get off my back" response. However, yesterday was a different story. We sat down to dinner and asked the kids how their day was. Jaxon was excited about his favorite "burgers" that I had made for dinner. Apparently the word "burger" triggered a memory from school that day and Jaxon IMMEDIATELY piped up and said, "My teacher gave me a treat!!! She gave me a treat because I promised NEVER to pick my nose and eat my boogers EVER AGAIN! Isn't that great???? She gave me candy and I won't eat my boogers!"





Great Jaxon. . . . that's great. I hope that bribery takes you a LONG way. Hey, at least he remembered!

at the end of my rope

* Image courtesy of flickr

See the pattern? Nesting happens about every other day. I knock myself out and then can't get up. . . it is the AGE I tell ya. I am extremely uncomfortable because, well, lets just say that this baby is practically between my knees.. mkay? Not so comfy, no.

HOWEVER, that is not the ONLY thing that has me in a tizzy today.. No, no it is not. I know that would be enough, but, it is not. I am having one other little problem that I just can't seem to get under control and that would be JAXON. (Your shocked I am sure)

The kid wakes up at the crack of DAWN (I really don't know what time he gets up, and I don't WANT to know) and is on the hunt for FOOD. I know this ISN'T the first time I have posted about this issue...

Yesterday, he consumed a baggie of Valentines Candy that Grandma had bought for the kids while she was here.. went to school, and threw it up. (gross, I know)

TODAY, he got our our hand juicer, cut an orange in half (with a very sharp knife) cut his finger, made a little bit of juice (he really can't apply enough pressure to juice the whole thing) cut open a bag of chips and got a band aid for his owie... He ALSO, re-arranged all the furniture in the basement. The kid needs to live on a farm, where people wake up at insane hours to do things like milk cows.. He would be soooooooooo happy. I see a strong future for him on a dairy farm.

My question to you. WHAT ON EARTH SHOULD I DO??? I am worried the kid is going to hurt himself attempting to FEED himself! Yet, I just DO NOT have the ability to pull myself out of bed at whoknowswhattime.... help.

Last night I told him he could have a banana in the morning and if he didn't do that he would be grounded. He did everything BUT that, so, today, he was grounded from TV for sneaking... and tonight, we made him a morning "snack" and left it on the counter. I guess we will soon find out how efficient his grounding was!

AUTISM UPDATE

Ok, I know most of you don't read my blog because I have a son with Autism. HOWEVER, sometimes I feel the need to share for people who might 'come across' my blog, or have a friend with a son recently diagnosed. For someone with a child who is recently diagnosed, Autism can be an extremely scary unknown world. If you know someone, maybe this will help you, understand them. All opinions are based on my personal experience and knowledge about MY SON. Autism is a WIDE spectrum of behaviors and symptoms. Very few are related to each other. There will never be a case where I say to another mother, THAT IS EXACTLY LIKE MY SON! It just won't happen. Technically speaking, my son has (currently) been diagnosed with PDD-NOS. It is considered on the "spectrum" and most of his issues are with developmental delays both educational and social.

Luckily, Jaxon has GREAT DESIRES to be social. He doesn't have classic "stimming" issues (hand flapping, high pitched noises) but can occasionally get too aggressive in playing. Not that he wants to be mean, just that he gets "overly excited" and can't control his desire to jump on someone (it is a sensory issue). He can talk, tell you what he wants, but many children with Autism have problems answering W questions concerning, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN. They just don't have the ability to handle it cognitively. He will answer the question, but usually not accurately, or he will say, "I don't know". Overall, he is a fun kid who keeps us laughing and we enjoy his personality... If you have read any of my Jaxonisms, you will know why.

Jaxon was diagnosed around the age of 3 when I tried to put him into pre-school and he couldn't handle the social aspects of it. He played too aggressively with some kids (usually other boys who wanted to play rough, but Jaxon didn't get boundaries), didn't want to transition to different activities (follow the crowd) and would "melt down" when he was asked to conform. Not to say he never had issues before then. He had a hard time sharing, would get too aggressive with other kids, and has absolutely NO fear of strangers as well as a very high pain threshold. But, we would chalk it up to being two. I mean, how can you tell the difference between 2 and Autism. It is tough when you have a mild child like Jaxon.

Of course, there is lots of controversy around Autism and how/if it is treatable. I think Jaxon has a very specific case. He had chronic ear infections from the time he was 5 months old to 2 years old when we finally decided to put tubes in his ears. He was on antibiotics pretty much that whole time all the while getting his immunizations along the way. I am sure any of you who have put your child on an antibiotic EVEN ONCE know what it does to their bowels system.. usually causing diarrhea. I am sure it isn't a stretch for anyone to realize that back to back antibiotics for 2 years would hurt anyones' digestion, not to mention a small child. In regards to the immunizations. I don't think it was those that CAUSED his Autism, but, the fact that he continued to receive them when he wasn't well didn't help. Your child should be well, and have not had any sicknesses for a week or so. That was never so in Jaxon's case.

Our philosophy with Jaxon has always been, "we will give it a try". I had a friend in Spokane who started her son on a Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet and was doing a Vitamin Regimen to help cure some of her sons symptoms. They were using a specialist in TX. It seemed too drastic for us.. No wheat, No dairy. If you know ANYTHING about me it is that I love to cook and bake. Changing our lifestyle this way seemed out of the question. Not to mention the fact I wasn't going to take Jaxon to TX to see a specialist. But, once we moved to Arizona, there were many specialists here and many people who had seen great results from this method. With it being so close, I had a hard time telling myself it wasn't worth it. These types of Dr. s are called DAN Dr.s which stands for Defeat Autism Now.

I went in blindly at first. Not really knowing the science behind it, but thinking, why not try it? I wondered why wheat would be such an issue, but then I started to learn more about Celiacs Disease. Celiacs is becoming more and more common and is wide problem among children with Autism. Actually, allergies IN GENERAL are very common among children with Autism.

What I found it that Celiacs is not just an allergy, but, a problem with the way that the bowels react to Wheat. The villi in the intestine cannot process the wheat, so they lay flat, prohibiting absorption of anything into your system. So, celiacs is a problem not because of an allergic reaction, but, people can actually die of malnutrition because their bodies are not absorbing critical nutrients. Now, back to Jaxon. Two years of antibiotics I think had caused his digestive system to shut down. Not only prohibiting essential nutrients for brain function, but at the same time we were injecting him with immunizations that his body could not process, causing a toxic environment. After hundreds of blood tests and lab work, that evidence came out and Jaxon was found to be lacking in several essential nutrients in his body that would allow his body to function properly not to mention the finding that he had very high levels of toxic materials in his body.

We have had him on the GF/CF diet for about 6 months now and have seen some great results. No, there is no magic bullet and I am not sure Autism can be "cured". Maybe in some very specific cases, but definitely not ALL. He responded almost instantaneously with taking Dairy out of his diet. He had increased eye contact and decreased melt-downs. He didn't even melt down very often, but, in situations where he would have normally melted down, he was having many more "typical" responses.

The best result we have seen from the is Jaxon's ability to work with those W questions. We went to the Temple a few weeks ago to see the lights. Jaxon asked about the pool of water outside and asked if that is where they do baptisms (that would be the first miracle.. how he would assume that is beyond me) I said, no, and told him that they do those INSIDE. The missionaries came to dinner a week later and asked if we had been to visit the lights. Jaxon told them, with perfect recall, that he had been to see the lights at the temples and thought the water was for baptisms, and that his mom told him they do the baptisms inside. It was astonishing, truly. Sometimes it is hard to tell if what you are doing is really helping, but, in this case, it most certainly is.

Our goal with the diet has always been to try it for 3 months. We have been on for 6, and have decided to take him off for the Holiday because it is just too hard to police with plates of cookies around. It will be an interesting test to see if there is any difference in his behavior, but one I am excited for! We will see how it goes, and may put him back on the GF/CF Diet after the Holidays. We are grateful for these kinds of "interventions" and we do others as well such as Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and ABA Therapy that help teach him more of the social aspects of being in society. Hopefully, with all of these things put together, Jaxon will be able to enjoy life like all of the rest of us. He will probably still have challenges throughout much of life, but we want to give him the best chance we can.

Easy Rider

I know that we have speculated as to Jaxon's future in the past. But after today, it is clear, he has a future modeling for Easy Rider. After repeated requests for us to "take pictures" of him while he was out riding his bike, Peter finally relented and got the camera. He walked over to the site of "the shoot" and started snapping.

Peter came back a few minutes later and said, "I promise, he came up with all of these poses on his own." I can attest to that because although they were around the corner, I didn't hear ANY instructions being given by Peter. Here is what I found on the camera.

Timid/Shy
Barrel of Laughs

Too Cool for School

Union!

Alternative Grunge

Parade Wave?

Very OCC (Orange County Choppers)


Catalog

Editorial

As proven by the lovely people on America's Next Top Model, I am CERTAIN you don't need an education to work as model. Maybe it will work out.

A Discussion Between Men

Man A: Wow, look at all of those houses over there!

Man B: Uh huh...

Man A: (playing arm chair psyc) Would YOU like to build houses when YOU grow up?

Man B: Um... No... Well.. I don't want to do that.

Man A: Well, what DO you want want to do when you grow up?

Man B: Um, well, .... Mommy says she doesn't think I will grow up........

No confirmation yet as to who is Man A and who is Man B.

(oh, and for the record, I never would say such a thing! If I did, I wouldn't have posted it as a funny! :)

Jaxonisms

As of late, Jaxon has decided that he is fluent in Spanish and he knows all things about Mexico. (It is inconclusive whether he is acquiring this knowledge from Maya and Miguel[adored PBS after school series] or just by living in Arizona) Anywho.. he has instructed us SEVERAL times (too many to document) on the definition and usage of Spanish words and now he has taken to instructing his teacher as well...

As per her note home:

(They read the Three Little Pigs Story and Jaxon was being asked retention questions about the story)

Where did this story take place?

Jaxon: In Mexico..... WITH NO HOUSES!!!!

At the bottom of this paper he marked that he DID NOT like this story and when we asked him about it at dinner... he said...IT'S HORRIBLE!!! THEY KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSES AND EVERYTHING!!!

Go forth with Faith-[Inspirational Post]

You know, we have been tried as of late. It stinks, it is hard, it may only get harder. I don't like it. I don't enjoy it. But there are times... or moments... or even just flashes that someday, it will all be ok. I don't know when, how or what that someday will be .... but, it will be SOMEDAY. That was affirmed tonight when I had the opportunity to go to my mission reunion.

WAIT! Before you get any pre-conceived notions about how that was or offer up any jokes about how stupid they are... you need to know that it was none of those things. My Mission President was just called as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. So, it was a wonderful opportunity to get to hear about his call and family and the experience they have had since the mission.

For those of you who have not served a mission, you need to know that a Mission President has a VERY influential and powerful influence over you during the time that you serve as a missionary. He knows you... WELL. You meet with him on a regular basis.. have personal interviews..write weekly letters and not only that, he has a direct calling to provide you with direction and revelation while you are serving in that mission. There was more than one occasion where I would sit in front of my Mission President, and before I could say A WORD about my troubles/challenges/trials/successes he would recite them to me and even tell me how I was FEELING about them. It was powerful/scary/real and intense to have that kind of relationship. Needless to say, it's unlike any other time in your life.

It was a joy to see his family and how they have grown. He was MY AGE when he was called as a mission president (I am in my 30s) and had young children... 8, 6 , 4 , and two... His wife then had twins (surprise) while they were on their mission. When I was a missionary, I thought that was amazing. Now, as a mother of almost four... I think that must have been HORRIFYING! Regardless, he handled his tenure with grace, love and amazing ability and each of us KNEW there would be a time when this call would be issued to him. You could feel it in your bones when he would address us from the pulpit in a meeting. We just knew.

Things haven't changed much. He is humble, powerful, unassuming and wonderful to listen to. He even shared some challenges that he and his family had faced during that time, that were unbeknownst to us as missionaries. My burden was somewhat lifted... knowing that he too (in all his righteousness and near-perfection) had challenges at times in his life. It was wonderful to speak to him personally and share a little of my life with him right now. To talk to him about Jaxon, and the blessings and challenges that provides for our family. He was understanding, and affirmed that there was NO MISTAKE in having Jaxon a part of our family and that children with special needs are very carefully placed in their families for very particular reasons. That He knew, we could handle it. This I know, this I know.

I am grateful for small but powerful reminders that we are being watched over. No matter how extreme the challenge. I am grateful for the time I had to spend with President Hamula in such a personal way..tonight, but mostly in the mission field. He admitted that it was and probably always will be one of his most cherished experiences in his church committed life. Thank you for small blessings. Thank you for inspirations. Thank you for letting my life cross paths with such a profoundly beautiful spirit. Thank you, I am grateful. Enjoy General Conference . And if you would like to hear Jim Hamula speak, he will be speaking in the Priesthood Session on Saturday night. (You can read it later here)

Over Heard

Peter: [Issuing a spelling test to Abby]. Spell Sign

Abby: K.

Peter: Spell sigh

Abby: K

Peter: Honey, go to mw.com and see what "Sigh" with a "T" at the end means??

Lindsey: Sigh with "t"? At the end? It is sight.

Peter: Yeah, what does that mean? Is that even a word?

Lindsey: It means, See.. Look.. "I have SIGHT."

Peter: [Sheepishly] Oh, I haven't seen that word spelled forever! It is always spelled SITE! (Like website- or work site...he had been working in development for a while. Please forgive him)

JAXON'S PRAYER SERVICES.

Normal Night Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the food, bless that daddy won't be mad at me, and bless that he will read me the books I want, in Jesus Name, AMEN.

Last Nights Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the food, bless daddy. He gives the best Hugs EVER.

Tonight's Dinner Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank you for the food. (the food gets blessed a lot around here) Daddy Gives the Best Hugs, Abby is the best Sister, and uhhh... Mommy?.... Uh... she makes the best pizza ever! In Jesus Name AMEN!


***************************DISCLAIMER*******************

Now, Honey, before you go getting all mad about the SIGHT story, other women get to tell their funny stories! Like, Amy shared this story, and this one (and trust me, she has shared A LOT more), and Denae shared this Hilarious Story, and Stie, shared this story and SEEE??? You aren't the only husband that does silly things...

And I know you threatened to start your own website about the stupid things that I do, but let me beat you to the punch because I am SURE the first story you will share is about that time where I ran down the street screaming at the neighbors if they had seen Wade and I sent you to the back yard looking and I sprinted (which I never do) in bare feet for like 20 yards, and was totally freaked out because I couldn't find him... and that is when you told me, I had already put him in the car... THERE. WE ARE EVEN!

Things I love about Autism- The Short List

So far, there are two things on my list of things I LOVE about Autism.. this was the first. (Scroll to the bottom of the post)

And this happens to be the second.... Here are my kids leaving for school....

Wait! I hear something coming!!!

Could that be the school bus at my FRONT DOOR??? Say goodbye Wade!!!

Here is where Wade and I disagree. I am always smiling at this point because I don't have to deal with THIS in 100+ degree weather... Remember, I am pregnant. Have mercy. Wade however is happy to say goodbye and wave until the bus doors close and take his playmates away.

Then, he is not so happy.. But I am. FRONT DOOR BUS SERVICE IS THE BEST!

PS- We get to find out what we a HAVING tomorrow! I am pretty sure it is a baby, but if you want to vote before I find out, now is your chance!

I can see the light...BLESS THE STATE OF ARIZONA!

There are times that you do things for your children because you just have to. I am SURE you could make up your own list of things that you HAVE to do for your children... such things as wiping bums, doing laundry, fixing lunches the list goes on and on and is EXTENSIVE.

I have to add to that list... MEDICAL BILLS FOR JAXON. Some of you may think, WHAT HAPPENED TO JAXON? Well, nothing really... Jaxon happened. Discovering your child is Autistic is a long winding journey down a road that YOU DIDN'T choose. It just happens to you. From there, you go through a myriad of emotions, disillusionments, denials, heartbreaks, and frustrations.

I recently have come into contact with some women here in AZ who have Autistic Children. We have banded together to help each other with our GFCF diets for our children. I have started to think about Autism like lightening strikes. It never strikes the same WAY twice. But, we still have this amazing connection and understanding of one another. We were all struck by it... just not in the same way. Some cases were more severe than others... but it doesn't matter, we were struck and we have that in common. I love the way women get together to support each other. It makes me even more aware of the importance of the Relief Society in the church.

Anyway, back to the medical bills.. Lets see.. there are Vitamins, Specialists that DON'T accept your insurance, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Rehabilitation. In our current position (3 mortgages in Spokane and rent here in AZ) these things tend to stress me out a bit and even though we find it a financial difficultly to do these things, you just feel like you MUST. Because you would do anything to give your child a better life. RIGHT?

IN WALKS THE GREAT STATE OF ARIZONA AND THE DDD.

What is the DDD? It is the Department of Developmental Disabilities. They have one in Washington too.. I qualified and never did find out what they could do for me... But I have here in Arizona!!! They can take that Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation bill OFF MY PLATE. And, if I didn't think it would have hurt our status... I would have KISSED the man who came to evaluate Jaxon last week. You see, Jaxon is considered "high functioning" and thus is border-line when it comes to needing services. I mean, that is the thing.. He NEEDS them.. but does he NEED them as badly as someone else? Like I said, bless the man who did his eval. because he qualified him. They want to see Jaxon become a participating member of society AND SO DO I! (It just might take a little more work to accomplish that, but we all hope for it). This is a huge blessing for us, and I felt the weight lifted as he said those magic words.. "Well, I am going to qualify him" MARVELOUS. ANGELS SINGING GLORY BE!!!

Something else MARVELOUS? Back to those ladies.. Well, they are EXTREMELY well informed (better than me) of the issues, qualifications and available resources. THAT is why I depend on them so fiercely and I hope to someday be that same pillar of strength for someone else. I hope to encourage someone and give them direction when they start the GFCF diet. I hope to tell them about the DDD (like these women did for me) and I hope to tell them about the ACT Today program. It is a program that offers grants to families in helping with the care of their autistic children. And UNLIKE our HEALTH CARE SYSTEM... they think things like Vitamin Therapies and GFCF diets help.. and they are willing to help you. I hope to let you know in a few weeks that we have qualified for help with his vitamin regimen and specialist bills. Even though we have just started these alternative treatments, our bills are already in the thousands... Is it worth it? I think so. Thanks be to WOMEN who work so hard to HELP EACH OTHER. Keep reaching out with what you know!

Special thanks to Shari, Abby and Lisa for helping me through all of the resources here in AZ!

PS- I hope this is more uplifting that LAST SUNDAY'S BLOG!

We interrupt this programming to.... CELEBRATE

Jaxon's BIRTHDAY!! Our Jaxon turned 5 yesterday and so, of course, I need to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and post some pix for our family.
He had an AMAZING day, and when we got up for CHURCH this morning, Jaxon thought he had it made. I asked him to get dressed and he said, "but, Birthday Boys don't have to go to church!" Too bad his birthday was YESTERDAY!!! (He almost had me) If you have yet to meet our Jaxon, or don't know much about him... you need to get to know him.
Click on the Jaxonism Label.. You WON'T be disappointed!

Jaxon has presented us with MANY challenges in life, but also some wonderful blessings. Recently we have decided to put him on a GFCF diet. Don't know what that is? Ugh... I will TELL you what it is.. He can't eat ANYTHING! GFCF is Gluten Free, Casein Free and it proves to be very helpful with Autistic Children. Just so you know, there is Gluten in almost EVERYTHING and for the first few weeks I was paralyzed.. I mean, I LOVE to cook and cooking has GLUTEN IN IT! Just kidding.. but just about everything he eats does. But, we are getting by, and I have clung tightly to a couple of hands and have proven my co-dependence to those who have been there and done that.. Thank you for your help! Ps- That birthday cake up above? I baked it, and it had no WHEAT FLOUR or BUTTER! Totally GFCF.. and everyone ate it. (It wasn't that bad)


Jaxon was a fun, but CRAZY baby... He cured us of having more babies for a while... That has seemed to rub off, but, our love for him has not.



We have high hopes for you Jaxon! I mean, even Michael Phelps was diagnosed with ADD... With your length, competitive spirit and brute determination, you never know, you could be a hero just like him.


I do remember that when you received a name and a blessing from you Dad, he blessed you that you would be an influence for good and that you would be known for that throughout the world.

All I know for sure is that HE has high hopes for you, and WE do too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Photo by Kathrine Wallin of Wallin Photography

Sure Signs Jaxon Lives in Arizona and is in Kindergarten . . .

Jaxon: Hey mom, this is the letter "T" it says, t-t-t-t(making the t sound repeatedly) T is for "Ladybug"!

Me: Jaxon, T is for T-ree, or T-omato, or T-omorrow...

Jaxon: Um, no mom, T is the sound of "Ladybug" IN SPANISH!


Jaxon actually recognized that people were speaking Spanish on the television the other day too... I guess he might become "fluent". PS- I know Jaxon doesn't know Spanish and that the word for Butterfly DOESN'T start with a "T". I just thought it was hilarious that he would pretend it would!

Jaxonisms

(Jaxon on his first day of Kindergarten)
Getting the kids to school is complete CHAOS. There are a million cars a million kids and a million parents all trying to get their kids to school. They are supposed to "line up" on this tiny number on the playground to get to the right class. It took me three days to find Jaxon's "number" so, today, we found the number and got in line. The line started moving and I thought... I will just walk along until he gets to his class and then, let him walk in.. I mean, I wouldn't want him to dart off and get lost or something!

About 1/2 way to his class Jaxon looked up at me and said, "Mom, can you PLEASE stop following me!"

Aww, I guess they all grow up.