I ordered a few books about Autism from Amazon this week and realized that what I don't know about this disorder could fill both books complete with foot-notes.
What I do know about our little guy is:
*Never dress our unpotty trained 2 year old in a two piece outfit or you will find him naked and must then go search for the puddle.
*He has a very different idea of what makes a toy fun than Mattel does.
*Big parties are not his idea of a good time.
*His anger is frustration.
*He needs and wants our kisses and love even when his body says, "NO!"
*I need patience and patience and patience and a sense of humor and a good night sleep.
One of the books is "1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders." I'm thinking it's going to tell me to hold on for the ride!
Grace and I have spent most days this week at Children's Hospital training to do her dialysis. There are lots of machines and tubes and sterile stuff and a few times I could hear the old neurons in my brain groaning as they tried to remember everything being explained. Mid-week they discovered a problem as they tried to hook Grace up and actually run a cycle through. After many x-rays and doctor discussions they have determined that her catheter has gotten displaced and is up against her abdominal wall, not allowing it to work at all. No one knows for sure how this happened, but those close to her have favored the "back flip off the diving board" as the culprit. Apparently most people with a kidney function of 12% are usually not inclined to such antics. The decision was made that Grace would go back into surgery on Monday to try and turn the catheter around. She took the news hard. She knows God has a plan for her but wishes it didn't involve another set of scars on her body.
On the home front, our two year old is settling in and has begun to reward us all with huge hugs and smiles all day long. It's difficult to feel gloomy about anything when he wraps himself around you and giggles in your ear!
The signs are all pointing to the fact that summer is coming to an end but I'm having a hard time believing it. The weather's been a lot cooler but it must be a mistake. There's so much more to do. Stinks.
Tomorrow Grace and I head to Children's Hospital in D.C. to start training for dialysis. We train all week and start the real thing on Friday. How hard can it be? We plan on acting really smart so we can finish early each day. My husband will be handling the home front while we're gone and apparently is a little apprehensive about it. Read his amusing thoughts on that here.
Our new little guy is doing better each day and I thought at one point this afternoon, "This isn't so bad." That's huge. Our pastor's wife prayed over him today and I'm anticipating Great Things!
Life as we knew it is gone. Having little ones here and especially one with such needs has required adjustments and some sacrifice on all our parts. Before we say "yes" to taking any new kids we have a family meeting and ask each person in the family to pray about it and decided if it's something they feel our family is called to do. The ministry really and truly belongs to all of us. Yesterday the brothers met the challenge head on.
Steven was getting off work at 7:30 and with the rest of the family in New England it was left to me to come pick him up with the little guys in the car. We waited for a half hour and he still wasn't close to getting off. A half hour is way way too long for these guys in their car seats and I had to go in and tell Steven I was going home and would get back to him somehow. He called home at 9:00 and waited patiently while I found a sitter and drove back out to get him. He said, "It's fine mom, really."
David came home from work at midnight and discovered the little guy crying in bed and banging his head on the crib. He took him downstairs, barricaded the steps and slept with him all night so I could get my sleep.
I'm sure both boys will do something annoying today but I'll probably let it slide. Thanks brothers!!
My husband, four of our daughters and one granddaughter left yesterday to visit relatives in New England. James always has a wonderful time with his cousin Tony and Auntie Weez and he's been looking forward to this trip all summer. They are sailing on Tony's sailboat and eating Auntie Weez's specialties. I never had macaroni and cheese with tomatoes until she made them for us years ago.
I decided to stay home with the two new kids to help the little guy settle into a routine here. He doesn't do well at all with changes. That's an understatement. He does HORRIBLE with changes and a trip like that would be way too much on him. I've found I have to transition from one activity to another very slowly to help him stay relaxed. He signed "please" this morning for another cookie instead of slamming his head on the floor. Progress!! Today has actually been not a terrible day and his head banging/frustration occurred much less. His sister has been delightful company as only a five year old little girl can be. She loves castles and princesses, snuggling in bed reading stories and painting toenails. Here I go falling in love again!
Stephen has been working at Kentucky Fried Chicken for about a year and a half now and gets quite a few hours. He's worked the line, drive through, registers and clean up and his uniform is permanently chicken stinkin. Awhile back he opened a bank account and deposits most of his money with the exception of the purchase of a few video games or gallon gulps of soda. (Both are disgusting but he's 17) He's accumulated a nice size pile of money. A few days ago we all went to the opening of a GameStop in our town - not my idea- and Steven wanted to get three games and two controllers (to replace the ones that Troy had destroyed while he lived here. Troy believed that if you didn't win you should throw the controller to the floor. At least it made him feel better about losing.) Steven hadn't brought his debt card and James said he would lend him the money till we got home. Nobody likes to write checks and pay bills but this was Steven's first ever. After a short "how to" lesson, he presented us with his perfectly written check and a huge, very proud of his self grin. Just wait, real life will wipe that smile off your face!
With all the craziness around here, it's not a good time for anyone to get a lot of attention but Ashley managed to stretch her birthday celebration out for a few days. It was hard to ignore her as she randomly squeezed (too tightly and wouldn't let go till you shook her off) people all last week and said, "I'm going to be 15!!!!" The sisters and families came out for a celebration a few days before her birthday, there were around 20 teens here for a pool part
y and she scored a trip to the local Cone Zone on her "real" day. Ashley, you are worth celebrating!! We 
love you.
