Picnic fun....

Connor had his preschool class picnic last Thursday, and we weren't sure if it would even happen when we got up that morning. The skies were dark, and it was drizzling a little bit here. But within an hour, it was blue skies (and high humidity....but oh well). So we went to the picnic, being held at Adams Township Park. I've never been to the park before, but it was nice. In the photo at the top left, he's playing with his friend, Kallista. She and Connor were good buddies this year, particularly because they both liked to hug. :) He also was friends with another little girl, named Carly. She's in the picture at the top right. She liked to hug, too. Kallista once told me that she liked Connor best of all the boys because he liked to hug her back. Awwwww. I guess this means he's popular with the ladies already! :O He also got along really well with a little boy named Logan, who he is playing ball with in the picture above.

Anyway, it was a nice ending to the year. Connor is looking forward to going back next year.

New career?

Well, as you all know, we've been going through quite a few changes here in our house. My husband has been without work since November, and I lost what was my most lucrative freelancing job at the end of January. So we've not been doing very well at all.

The other day, I was reading a story about professions which are in demand and expected to grow over the next 10 years, and veterinary technicians were among them. A lightbulb went off in my head. Hmmmm......I like animals. In fact, sometimes I like them a lot more than most people. But that's a topic for another blog. And I know I'm good with them. My experience with Zorro is a testament to that. I have that cat now so comfortable with me that he comes to greet me when I'm outside and lets me pet him without first bribing him with food. Considering he was a wild nutjob when we first started helping him last summer, I'd say that's great progress.

So I started calling around to some vet schools here in the area. I was even thinking of asking my local vet if I could come down and shadow one of his technicians for a few hours to see if it's truly something I could do.

My husband and most of my friends have been very supportive. Some of my family members have not, though, as they feel I should not be thinking about working or going to school with a special needs child to care for. So now I don't know what to do. I guess that's a decision to place in God's hands.

Dirt boys.....

So my two favorite boys were playing in the dirt yesterday. Actually, they were working in the dirt. Our yard is so messed up from all the rain we've gotten that it's washed away a lot of the topsoil. So Connor decided to help daddy put some new dirt on the places where it needed it. It was cute watching them both hauling dirt in their wheelbarrows. Connor actually did a very good job with it. Now if I can just get him to help me rake leaves this fall, we'll have it made!

Remembering those who have served......

Happy Memorial Day!

If you love your freedom, and appreciate everything that this country has to offer you, then find yourself a veteran, shake his or her hand, and say THANK YOU!

Faith Like Potatoes.....

So we just finished watching the movie Faith Like Potatoes. Good stuff. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's based on the novel of the same name, which is the true-life story of Angus Buchan, a Zambian farmer who leaves his farm in the midst of political unrest and racially charged land reclaims and travels south with his family to start a better life in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. He's a pretty angry man at the start of the movie, but is transformed by his faith. I won't give too much away in case you haven't seen it and would like to see it.

I just hope that if you want to see it, you have an easier time finding it than we did. I asked for it at Giant Eagle Video, and the worker there assured me I must have made some kind of mistake, because there was no such movie. I assured her there was, she assured me I was mistaken and that was the end of it. I finally found it in a video store near my parents' house. If you want to own instead of renting it, it is available at the Christian book store.

Power of prayer....

My mother-in-law sent me this today, and I thought it was worth sharing:

God's twenty six guards

Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, 'I'll pray for them later'? Or has anyone ever called you and said, 'I need you to pray for me, I have this need?' Read the following story that was sent to me and May it change the way that you may think about prayer And also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this....

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan. 'While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, Every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and Required camping overnight at the halfway point.. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, Purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, One of whom had been seriously injured.. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time Talked to him about the Lord. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and Arrived home without incident.... Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried Money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you in to the jungle, Knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.

But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.'

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story: 'On the night of your incident in Africa, It was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong; I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?'
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with whom they were, He was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26. This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in behalf of those who love Him. If you ever feel such prodding to pray, go along with it,
You don't know what it can mean to that person. Nothing is ever hurt by prayer. I encourage you to forward this to as many people as you know. If we all take it to heart, we can turn this world toward God once again. As the above true story clearly illustrates, 'With God all things are possible'. More importantly, how God hears and Answers the prayers of the faithful.After you read this, please pass it on and Give God thanks for the beautiful gift of your faith, for the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles He works in your own daily life... And then pass it on. Who says God does not move on the earth today? I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today.. To guide you and protect you as you go along your way His love is always with you, His promises are true, And when we give Him all our cares then God will see us through.
So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best, remember, keep on praying, and God will do the rest.

He finally gets it!

Potty training Connor has been a process, to say the least. We started when he was nearly 3, and it took him a long time to even find a potty he liked, let alone wanted to try to use. We finally settled on an insert for our big potty, complete with pee guard. We've been doing this for months now, and I started much like anyone else starts when potty training their child: I put him on every so often and hoped he peed. Once he seemed to get the hang of that, I bravely put him in real underwear. He had a few accidents on the first day, but then that was it. Now, I'm not saying he hasn't ever had an accident since, because he has. But they've been few and far between and have mostly happened overnight.

Although he was using the potty, I didn't consider him potty trained. The only one who was really trained was me. Granted, he'd used the potty. But he never told me when he actually had to go. Until he got to that point, I told myself he wasn't really adept at using the potty. Well, I am happy to announce that day has come. Over the last week, he has started telling me he has to go. He finally understands that feeling means he has to pee or poop and he responds accordingly. I am so proud of him! Way to go Connor! Double thumbs up, buddy!

My child has feelings, too

I hesitated to blog about this, but then the more I thought about it, the more upset I became and decided I was doing no one any favors by ignoring it.

Those of you who know me know my son has autism. Technically, it's PDD-NOS, which is considered very high-functioning. Most people would never guess he has the diagnosis, because he doesn't have the severe characteristics that children who are further down the spectrum exhibit. But we face challenges with him daily, and they often are compounded by the unfeeling behavior of other people.

Yesterday, we went to the park. It was a nice day and we were sick of the rain. Connor gets very excited when he sees other kids because he has no siblings. Sometimes when he gets excited, he overreacts and will laugh uncontrollably or get overly-touchy feely with kids. Some kids don't care, others get upset. There were plenty of kids there yesterday, but most of them wanted nothing to do with Connor. He was behaving pretty well, too, so I couldn't understand it. And at age 3, he doesn't understand it, either. All he knows is the other kids won't play with him, and it makes him sad. At one point he told me he was very lonely. I could have burst into tears. Instead, I encouraged him. It appeared that two other boys were playing with him. They were older, probably 6. When I started playing really close attention, I realized they were making fun of Connor. Connor didn't get it. He didn't understand that they were trying to be cruel. It ended with one of the kids pushing Connor down the small slide. His mother never said a word. She just sat there and watched her kid bully mine. I had had enough. So I told him (in my sternest voice) that he doesn't push other kids and that he was to stay away from my son.

Finally, a litle girl came to play with Connor, and he had a blast for the last 20 minutes we were there. But the little girl was a rarity. Most kids are not that nice.

I just don't know what to do. It pains me to see my son being made fun of by kids that age. We are not born knowing how to act that way, it is a learned process. And that makes me even sadder. What is it like for kids who have more severe disabilities? Do people think they don't have feelings? I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that my heart breaks for my son.

It's not funny anymore......

OK, it's really not funny anymore. Really.
Last night, I went out to feed Zorro, our outdoor kitty. You all remember him. He's the feral kitty we've been caring for since last July. You also may remember that he had a twin for awhile and I didn't know it. That kitty had to be euthanized, though, because he had issues.

I thought the switcheroo was over. I guess the joke's on me.

Last night, I went outside to feed Zorro. I was blown away when he started rubbing against my legs and acting all affectionate. Zorro spent the better part of 4 months running from me, and has only recently started letting me touch him. And that is only when he's eating. If I just walk up to him and try to initiate contact without the food, he wants no part of it. So I was a little confused. Then I got a good look at the cat and realized it wasn't Zorro. Zorro has really bright eyes....almost to the point of being creepy in the dark. This cat's eyes were more gray. It also was a little more plump. Here we go again....another black cat that seemingly has no home. On my porch. Wanting food. The only benefit is this one is friendlier. But this is getting ridiculous. All these black cats, and none seem to have a home. God has a funny sense of humor, that's all I can say about that. And I guess I'm going to have to start my own cat sanctuary.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all my mom friends had a very happy mother's day yesterday. It was a nice, relaxing day here.

We learned from past experience that eating out on Mother's Day isn't a great idea. It's very busy and loud and that's a bad combination for our son, who doesn't like a lot of confusion. So we skipped eating out and just went ice skating instead. Then we went for ice cream. It was nice.

I got cards from my husband, my son and even my cats. Yes, my cats. That was a first. :)

Best part of all was I got a full 8 hours of sleep last night! That's the first time in so long I can't even remember how long!

His inner Canadian is coming out.....

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Connor's Canadian half decided to come out today. His daddy has been dreaming about teaching him to skate and then play hockey since he was still in the womb. Connor has been talking about ice skating ever since he's seen some hockey games on TV recently. So we told him we'd take him. We did this afternoon. Our biggest fear was whether he'd actually wear hockey skates. Connor is funny about shoes. He has exactly two pairs he will wear. The rest, he wants nothing to do with at all. So it was surprising when he willingly wore skates. Getting the helmet on his head was another story. That took a lot more coaxing. But once he had it on and was out on the ice, he had a great time.....so great that he threw a fit when it was time to go home. But we promised him he could go again, so that seemed to help. While he was on the ice, it was mostly him falling down and Isaak holding him up. But it wasn't bad for a first time. I am so proud of him for even getting this far! Yay Connor!

Have you prayed today?

Today is National Day of Prayer, so get to praying, people!

I was reading a story that said of all the religious denominations, Jehovah's Witnesses pray the most. It also said that 15% of people who claim to be atheists also pray several times a day. Now that is fascinating. If they don't believe in God, exactly who is it they're praying to? The story doesn't elaborate. Do what you want with these little tidbits of information. I found them interesting.

Anyway, praying---especially out loud----is something I really need to work on, so I'm going to make more of an effort to do so.

Mom should be spelled B-U-S-Y

A friend sent me this earlier and I thought it was worth sharing.....



WHY I LOVE MOM

Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, 'I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed'.
She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches.Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning. She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer , ironed a shirt and secured a loose button. She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer.She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.
She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk, wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair
She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.
Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.
Dad called out, 'I thought you were going to bed.'
'I'm on my way,' she said. She put some water into the dog's dish then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.

She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV's , hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm ; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.
About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. 'I'm going to bed'
And he did. Without another thought.
Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer...?
Cause we are made for the long haul....(and we can't die sooner, we still have things to do!!!!)