While the Cat Is Away...

What do we do while the big brothers are away at school?  Why, we play of course!

We pretend I can stand up.

We give each other big smiles.

We work on sitting up.

We have lots and lots of tummy time.

Mommy takes tons of pictures.

Mommy tells me she's blessed to have such special time with me each morning.

Wesley's Announcement

 

Wesley is pleased to announce that, according to random.org, the winner of the book Just the Way I Am:  God's Good Design in Disability is Becky!  He hopes that the Lord uses this book to bless your family just as it has ours.

Becky, please email me your info so I can send it to you.

Book Giveaway!

About a year after Wesley was born, Mike brought home a newly printed and beautiful gift for our family.  The words on the front cover drew me in, and I didn't set the book down until my teary eyes had read every single heart-gripping and soul-lifting word.  As I closed the book, I thanked God for Krista Horning and for the work that He has done in her heart that she could write a book so filled with the truth that has brought her comfort and hope throughout her life.

I have read her book Just the Way I Am:  God's Good Design in Disability countless times since then, and each time I am reminded of God's promises that He loves Wesley, has sovereignly ordained all of his days, has a perfect plan for his life, and has given His own Son to save Wesley that one day Wesley might enjoy him forever in heaven.

I love this book so very much that I would love to share a copy of this book with one of my readers.  To participate in this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me why you would like a copy.  (Everyone is welcome to participate - not just those with close ties to disability.)  I will select a winner on Tuesday.

Here is an endorsement for the book from John Piper, Krista Horning's pastor:

For the people in this book, the sovereignty and goodness of God have become a sanctuary for the soul in a life they did not expect to live. When they affirm the goodness and wisdom of God in creating them for short-term disability and eternal super-ability, they do not do so without tears. There is no glib trifling with pain. They are learning the paradox of ‘sorrowful yet always rejoicing.’ They are learning how to be brought low and how to abound.

They believe that in this fallen age, God’s loved ones groan along with the whole creation, waiting for the fullness of adoption, the redemption of their bodies. They find more hope in God’s unsearchable wisdom and power and purpose than in the vagaries of natural processes or the assaults of Satan. They believe that God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for their complete renewal – spiritually and physically. This healing is as sure as Jesus is precious – infinitely precious. It is only a matter of time, a vapor’s breath, and they will be whole. Because of the grace of God, these lives and this book exist for the glory of God.

And for those of you who don't win, I highly recommend purchasing a copy of this wonderful book.  You won't be disappointed!

The Big Day

It is official.  Wesley is a big boy now.  On Monday, fighting back tears, I helped Wesley step onto his bus for the first time and buckled him up.  Those tears that were so close to the surface were impossible to fight back when Wesley looked deep into my eyes, realized that I was leaving him, and started crying out in distress.  I kissed him, told him that I loved him, and then turned away from him with tears running down my cheeks as I stepped back off of the bus.  The kind bus driver reassured me that the first day is always the hardest, and that she was sure Wesley would do just fine.  Then she pulled away.

Fifteen minutes later, Wesley's teacher called me to say that he stopped crying after the bus drove away and was happy when he arrived at school.  After his teacher helped him walk off the bus, he wore his backpack and walked all the way to his class on his own.  When he arrived, after taking off his jacket and putting his snack away, he sat down at the table to build with legos and do a puzzle all by himself.


According to his teacher, Wesley really enjoyed circle time and especially loved the music.

He enjoyed following along using the class schedule.

When they broke out into work sessions, Wesley's teacher informed me that he surprised her with how much he really does know.  Wesley matched pictures of animals in a field of six, matched paper colored apples in a field of six, and understood and followed instructions when she asked him to hand her pictures of animals in a field of three.  Way to go Wesley!!!

When I stepped onto the bus after school to get Wesley, I was greeted with a big smile.  He happily stepped off of the bus with me and came inside.  No sooner had we walked in the front door than he started pulling on his sweatshirt, looked me in the eye, and said "off"!  Oh what a proud mama I was.  I took that sweatshirt off just as fast as I could while praising my boy for telling me what he wanted!  He then sat in my lap, hugging me and sucking his thumb for about five minutes before jumping up and running off to play.

All in all, Wesley's teacher says that he is adjusting spectacularly well to school, and that he loves being there. She continues to be surprised at how much he knows and understands. And best of all, he now looks forward to seeing the bus pull up each morning in anticipation of another fun day at school.

I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed my dear Wesley with such a wonderful experience at school!  I couldn't have asked for more.

Matching Memories

When Zach was born, a dear friend gave me the cutest little outfit for him.  Little did I know at the time that I would have the opportunity to dress two more little boys in green and blue snowflakes.  Oh how I love all three of my little marshmallow snowmen.

Liam - 4 months

Wesley - 5 months

Zach - 3 months

Three Years

Dear Wesley,

Today is a special day...your third birthday.  Today we celebrate you and the gift that you are to us.  Your Daddy and I are so proud of you, and now that you are all tucked into bed, we sit here looking at pictures of you and talking about all of those little things that make you the you we love so much.

This morning your big brother Zach sat down with you to teach that you are three years old now.  It was so precious to watch you concentrate intensely as he showed you how to hold up three fingers and then try your very best to imitate him.  You loved putting three candles into your playdoh cake, counting them with me, and then clapping as we sang Happy Birthday to you.

Several hours later, you moved me to tears when, for the first time, you blew out the candles on your cupcakes.  Just this past Thursday you learned how to blow bubbles, but I knew that to blow out a candle, you would have to generalize this skill.  Two days was a very short amount of time in which to do this.

We lit the candles, sang Happy Birthday to you, and then encouraged you to blow them out. The cheering that erupted in the room when you blew out that first candle is a moment I will always treasure in my heart.  As one of my friends said, "to see him blow out his 'three' candle just gave me so much joy!  I feel like I witnessed something really cool!"  And she did.  We all witnessed something really cool.  You did it, and we are so very proud of you.

Then, while everyone else ate their cupcakes, you kept blowing on yours, despite the fact that the candle had been removed.  You had so much fun with it that your Daddy and I decided to light a candle in a cupcake again this evening.  After singing Happy Birthday to you again, we re-lit that candle for you to blow out so many times that we burned through the entire wick.  You were so cute as you became excited each time as if you had never blown out a candle before.  That candle was definitely the highlight of your special day.

Another very special part of your birthday was watching you with your presents.  Even this last Christmas you were very uninterested in presents or the toys in them.  But as we anticipated today, your Daddy and I came up with multiple toys that we thought you would like and enjoy playing with.  You didn't much care for opening your presents, but later when we got you up from your nap, we had all of your new toys set up in the living room.  You were thrilled. You ran straight in to them and started playing with them right away.  Just seeing how much you have grown in learning how to play with toys in an age appropriate manner and even choosing to do so of your own accord touched my heart.

I know that today is your day, but today has also been a very special day for me.  As I have watched you today and have seen how much you enjoyed your day, my heart has filled to overflowing with joy and thankfulness to God.  He is doing a wonderful work in you, my sweet boy.

I love you so very much, my precious son, and I thank God for every moment of the past three years.  You are a wonderful gift from God to our family.

Happy third birthday, Wesley!

Love,
Mama

T-11 and Counting

In eleven short days, the world as Wesley knows it will quickly and suddenly change.  He will no longer see the six wonderful ladies who have become a second family to us over the past three years as they have worked with him and showed us how to better help him.  Instead, a yellow school bus will pull up to our driveway, and Wesley will take a long ride to an unfamiliar place to begin a new and exciting season of his life.

Somehow, I think that Wesley can sense that change is in the air.  He seems less trusting of us and more resistant to anything new these past few weeks.  We visited his new classroom last week, and he did not like it one bit!  A new routine with new rules will take some adjusting for him.  I suspect that his first week will be dreadful as he learns to trust his new teachers and understand their expectations.

But after meeting his teacher and new speech therapist and observing how they teach his classroom, I think they will be a wonderful fit for him.  Once he has adjusted to his new life, I think he will love it, and he will thrive.

God has blessed us by placing us in a wonderful school district that is known for its excellent special education department.  Their reputation is glowing, and in interacting with them so far, we believe this to be true.  They have provided Wesley with a large amount of direct minutes working with speech, occupational and physical therapists each week along with placing him in a classroom that will easily facilitate his need for 1-on-1 instruction.  As well, God has worked in their hearts as they have bent over backwards to fit Wesley into the class that would best fit his needs even though when we first started discussions with them, there was no room for him in this particular class.

Time after time, over the past couple of weeks, we have prayed to God, asking for specific things to happen that we thought were impossible, and God has worked in the hearts of these ladies in the school district so that our prayers were answered.  At first they did not see a need for Wesley to have a sensory plan in place at school, but then the occupational therapist asked if she could come observe Wesley again in our home.  After leaving that day, her perspective completely changed and she became Wesley's biggest advocate.  A wonderful sensory plan has been put into place for him, which gives him the opportunity to succeed in mastering his goals for this year.

As well, throughout the goal writing process, the school district was open to our suggestions and happy to compromise as we discussed our goals for Wesley this year.  As we read over the goals that were agreed upon at his IEP, I can see how God had his hand on the goal-writing process.  God enabled these ladies to get a good picture of Wesley's strengths and weaknesses and to come up with some wonderful goals for him.  If he achieves all of these goals this year, we will be overjoyed.  While each goal individually is definitely attainable, just thinking about him meeting ALL of these goals along with other learning objectives in the next twelve months is an amazing thought.

Cookies made by a dear friend for Wesley's IEP

Because our IEP process was a long and drawn out five hours over two separate days, I had several opportunities to meet with Wesley's teacher and speech therapist to discuss having picture cards ready for him on his first day and to strategize on how best for me to program his communication device for him to communicate at school.  I have been thrilled with their willingness to meet with me multiple times, and even more, I have enjoyed interacting with them and seeing that they truly are looking forward to having my little guy in their class.

While I will miss his joyful self tremendously each morning, I am looking forward to seeing all that God has in store for Wesley as he has been given this wonderful opportunity to learn in a fabulous preschool setting.  As I let go and release him to attend school, I am entrusting him to his faithful heavenly Father, who loves him even more than I do, to watch over him and protect him each day.