Happy Birthday Aiden!

I can't believe Aiden is 6 today!

We had a blast at UW-Whitewater's Aquatic Center on Saturday.  Aiden had so much fun going down the waterslide!  It was so much fun to see him so happy!  The therapists and I spent the last month getting him excited for his birthday.  How many more days until your birthday Aiden? (We do a daily calender.)  When is your birthday?  How old are you going to be?  What do you want for your birthday?  He can answer all of those questions except what he wanted.  I get it.  All of the above are number based, and then we asked him an abstract question.  Kind of like, what did you do at school today?  He still doesn't answer that one.  I'm so proud of Aiden's progress.  He is a great kid, and I wouldn't change him for the world!

"Wreck It Ralph" Cake with "Fix it Felix"

Austin and Aiden are ready to swim!

Presents!

  

Baby#4

I really can't believe it, but we will be a family of 6 in August!

Shortly after baby Ashton turned 1, I made the decision that our family was complete.  My hands are truly full, we have a therapist in our home for 2-3 hours a day 6 out of 7 days a week, and I'm working more than I'm used to.  I gave away all our baby items--bassinet, 0-9 month clothes, bouncy seat, etc.  I was mentally ready to enjoy the heck out of my boys and enter a different season of life.  Even with all the baby items out of our home, the feeling of peace never came.  In fact, I knew in my heart that I had made the wrong decision.   I fought it for a long time--several months--cried, felt angry, frustrated--every emotion possible.  Not that I wouldn't love another child, I just want to be ENOUGH to the children I have.  Now that I'm finally getting enough sleep, Aiden is getting his therapy, and Austin is thriving in school, I was finally finding balance in life, and some reprieve from all the stress of living off a student income and fighting for Aiden's needs.  From a temporal perspective, having another child made no sense at all, but from an eternal perspective, it was absolutely what the Lord wanted for our family.  I knew it.  Abe knew it.  It was just a matter of taking the leap of faith.  Finally, I turned to God, fasted, and prayed.  Please Heavenly Father.  If this is what you want for our family, please help me change my heart so I can do your will.  Please.  This is going to be hard, and I'm going to need you more than ever.  Please help. 

A great thing about prayer--it works.  I may not always read my scriptures, but I pray every single day.  I know the power of prayer, and from that day on, my heart was indeed changed.  I found peace again.  Peace that I could do His will, and all would work out.  Peace that I had finally made the right decision, and I could move forward with faith.  And so I did.  I'm happy and excited to report we are 2 months pregnant with baby #4--our final little blessing.  Time passes so quickly, before we know it, we will welcome a new son or daughter into our lives with open arms feeling grateful and blessed for the gospel that continues to lead us in the right direction. 

Aiden-6

Austin-4

Ashton-20 months

AJ (Abraham Jr) or Addison (Addy)???

2014

Goodbye 2013!

The first half of 2013 was very rough, but things started looking up about half way through when Abe graduated and got a job, and Aiden FINALLY started therapy!  We even got our basement finished after 6 years as a started project!  Looking back, I'm grateful it was such a struggle for us.  I have more love and empathy for parents with children who have special needs, and I appreciate having food, clothing, and shelter so much more after living on so little for so long.  Seriously feeling very grateful at this point in my life, and that is a blessing, even though we are still working hard to get back on our financial feet.  This is going to be our families year!

I'm excited for 2014!  Therapy is going so well for Aiden, he makes progress nearly every single day.  I'm praying Abe gets a full time job next school year so I can spend more days at home.  I'm starting an online fitness and nutrition business that I'm super excited about, and I'm going to finally become a Certified Personal Trainer (a goal of mine for the past 2 years!)  I'm very grateful to be moving forward in the right direction!

I think I've accepted the fact that Aiden is affected by autism.  The older he gets, the more I wonder what his life will be like.  Will the "I'm here, but not quite here look" ever go away?  Aiden will be 6 this month--2 years away from baptism.  I wonder if he will be ready to make that decision when the time comes.  What about Cub Scouts?  Sleep overs?  Aiden still struggles with bathroom breaks at times.  If left to his own devices, Aiden will eat cereal, drink chocolate milk, and any other sugary food/beverage he could get his hands on.  As a Dietetic professional, I worry about the health implications of that.  But, all I can do with any of my children is set a good example, love them, and eventually let them make their own choices.  Yikes!  Good thing the teen years are far ahead of us yet! 

Cheers to another year of change for our family!!!