november already??

wow! my intentions of being a more dedicated blogger are not going so well. actually, the intentions are going great; it's the follow-through i'm struggling with! it has been a busy, routine-interrupted, struggle-to-find-contentment-amidst-the-madness kind of fall. i have been desperate for sleep, peace, heaven really. my migraines have increased with stress and i've been more readily aware of my need for Jesus as i long to relax and have my anxieties calmed.



 

brayden's test results from early september finally came back! we sort of knew what to expect and sort of didn't!! in the immediate weeks that followed his testing, i'd gone to the library and checked out a stack of books on auditory processing disorder, autism, asperger's, asperger's undetected, "curing" autism, etc... i could see brayden all over some of the pages but then for the next 50 pages, the content didn't seem to relate at all. he'd do something at home to "wow" me and i'd think, "okay, i'm overreacting." in the meantime, we went back to the neurologist for a follow-up and saw a seizure specialist. i'd read that febrile seizures are 30% more likely in children with autism than not. well, HELLO!! he's had 7! i honestly was not too impressed with the seizure doc. chris didn't share my opinion, but i felt like he treated b's case very casually. idk...

 

we met with the team of specialists at the school last wed, oct. 31st to discuss his testing results and any plan of action. turns out, he scored low to below average in several areas. i wasn't ready to hear that. he did score borderline for asperger's, which means traits could manifest as he gets older, thus tipping the scale, or not. they said his case seemed "complex" in the broad sense bc there was so much going on with him, but right now what is definitive, what can be pinpointed are the deficits in speech and language. 1) there are some articulation issues that need correction; 2) he tends to his language to gather information and share that info with others, as opposed to conversational speech and social engagement; 3) he demonstrates very rigid thinking and low receptive language skills (ability to understand and correctly interpret what is being said). this is where i absolutely hit my head against the wall!! sometimes he understands and others i'm not so sure. the tantrums are louder and he is becoming more defiant and idk if that is because he doesn't understand me or he's just stuck in wanting things a certain way (rigid thinking!) it can make me crazy!! BUT---praise JESUS that somehow his grace is sufficient. i have struggled deeply with anger and in some ways, have been shocked at how awful i can be when i feel so pressed. truly being a mom is the hardest task! the plan is for bray to begin speech and language therapy 2x/wk, beginning this Mon. the goal right now is to have him ready for Kindergarten!! i could not be more thankful that we have had all of these services for FREE through the school system and am grateful that we are in a GREAT school disctrict!! that is such a gift!!

miss n is everywhere and into EVERYthing...she's had back to back ear infections, which is so fun for all parties involved. but she is such a delight...she is quite the terror to her brother though! she knows just how to push his buttons and instigates a full-on fight. i used to step in, but now sometimes i just let them handle it. she's a fighter!! a cute fighter :) she can talk like crazy! says: i don't know, uh-oh, mama, dada, oh wow!, welcome, bye-bye, ball, bayen (brayden), and a couple of other things i can't think of right now. we've said this for awhile, but i'm going to have my hands FULL with her. i have a feeling she'll be like her mama--her mouth will get her in trouble.

thanks for reading...i'd love to know you've "been here" so leave a comment and i'll write you back!

 

"but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. against such there is no law." gal.5:22-23

 

 





round 2, check!

normally i like to write when i feel chipper, have plenty of energy, can think straight, make decent word choice, etc... tonight i possess none of those. my throat is suddenly scratchy beyond belief, my ears are beginning to hurt as i struggle to swallow, my head hurts from the emotion and concentration of the day, and i'm just tired in general. good combo, huh? i also didn't want this to be my 1st post back since i obviously took a little hiatus from the blogging world since may, but forget that, here it is!

today went really well!! sweet bray is a little charmer with his winning smile and "please" and "thank-you's." he had never had his hearing screened, so they did that first and passed with flying colors; no problems hearing! darn! i was actually secretly hoping that maybe of his speech issues were connected to hearing. oh well. he then worked with a physical therapist and had a great time with her. what 3 year old boy doesn't like to move, jump, and throw balls! he scored above average to average in pt. then the ot came in and she worked with him primarily with his fine motor skills. he seemed to do well in some areas and not so well in others, but no big deal, just gave us a few tips to help him sharpen those skills at home. he liked her too bc he likes to draw and do things with his hands. then came speech...and this was the moment we were waiting for. it is (to me) the irony of ironies bc while bray is beginning to read, can spell from memory a list of sight words, including his own name, mom, dad, and neely, he struggles to process what someone else is saying. this is textbook hyperlexia (IF in fact he has that!) bc of the obsession with letters and abnormal ability to read at an early age, BUT the inability to understand the spoken word. while he scored average or above average on both pt and ot, his scores in speech were a mixed review (high in one category and low in another). he is highly verbal, has a huge vocabulary, and likes to show off all that he knows, but is clearly struggling with the auditory processing component... meaning, he is in his own world of information and has a hard time answering direct questions, following instructions and transferring information to a different context. when the speech path asked him out of 3 pictures shown, which boy was dry, he said "a towel." and when she asked him to point to the animals that matched, he was more interested in labeling the animals, saying what letter it started with, and counting them. it was hard to sit and hear him do good work, but just not answer the question!! for now, he's def been rec for speech therapy, but they would like to have a better overall picture of what's going on bc of the gap between the 2 speech scores. again we were told that he probably has a very high IQ, so that is next on the docket. we will return on monday for round 3 to complete an IQ test, a sensory profile, and an asperger's questionnaire.

i felt like today's exam was as thorough as an initial exam/screening could be and i am just grateful that the county offers these services for FREE and am hopeful that with the right tools, we will see some marked improvement!! but i also left feeling sad, a little discouraged, and confused. it's so strange to me that a child could be so bright, could be reading of all things, and yet there seems to be a block when i am speaking to him. at the same time though, i am so glad they saw today exactly what we see at home bc it can be maddening on a daily basis. there are moments when i honestly feel like i am beating my head against a wall. i want to scream, "LISTEN!!", but i can tell that somehow he's just not getting it. he gets a thought in his head and cannot process that he may have to "wait a minute" or "go downstairs" or whatever the case may be, and often throws a fit if your plan doesn't align with his. now i know some of that is toddler, but there is something different about it...you can see in his face that it's not translating. i'm honestly shocked that we got him potty trained. that is clearly the Lord...o thank you sweet Jesus for that gift!!!

as for school, i can see how this type of behavior or interaction would be a disruption and be upsetting for a teacher in a classroom environment; however, the solution was not to hold him back in the 2's again. he's beyond that! in the meantime, i am trusting that he's where he is supposed to be and will have a good experience. i need to make a follow-up appt with the neuro since he's now had 7, oh yes, 7 febrile seizures!!! they say there's no permanent or long-term damage to the brain, but we saw a marked regression in bray after his last seizure in june. won't it be nice when we go HOME?

round 1

well, leave it to me to enroll my child in an over-achieving pre-school! i woke up this morning with a nervous stomach and was anxious about how this morning's evaluation would go, but really, i knew brayden would waltz right in, give a big smile and win the room with his sweet demeanor. AND HE DID! before i get into the evalutation i want to share this: ironically, in the past 1-2 weeks he has not been singing or reciting the abc's quite as frequently as before. rather, he's been SPELLING words out of the clear blue (mom, dad, neely, brayden, stop, cat, hat, etc...), rearranging letters to make words (sight words mostly), and sounding words out when reading...yes! reading! he is totally beginning to read! and each time we read to him, he stops us mid-sentence and says "what's that say? what's that say?" very into words... i'm beginning to think he has a photographic memory because he has practically memorized 3 books, 2 of which are dr. seuss, and is now into puzzles...interlocking kind. he has a few that are 12-24 pieces and has aced those, so i bought him a 48 piece wooden interlocking (jigsaw) puzzle at target the other day with no guide. he's already aced it, no problem and looks at me like "now what?" his speech has improved in that he is saying things he hasn't said before, such as "good idea, mom" when I suggested popcorn as a snack the other day, but is still communicating mostly in 3-4 word phrases, not quite full sentences.

on to the evaluation: could not have gone better! honestly! we are just so, so grateful they were willing to squeeze us in!! we were present in the room the whole time. brayden did some activities and interacted with a speech pathologist while chris and i talked with the head of pre-school services for the county. while they are professionals, they are not doctors and there was not a school psychologist there, so no official diagnosis has been made, but they did give us their thoughts and initial impressions and make a referral for a full evaluation to be done in august. by their interaction with him they did not think we were dealing with autism or asperger's, although some of our verbalized concerns would signal red flags in that direction. they did mention hyperlexia, which some believe falls on the autism spectrum. Hyperlexia is basically "an above normal ability to read, coupled with a below normal ability to understand spoken language" (autism key.com). it is also associated with a fascination with either letters or numbers and learning to speak by either rote memorization or heavy repitition. both kristi and julie commented though, that they do think he's "truly brilliant," but that there is a speech barrier (typically with asperger's there is no communication barrier.) he either knows what he wants to say and can't get it out or doesn't have the words at all. personally, i think this is why he has resorted to singing to abc's, because it's comforting and yields praise and confidence. the communication block creates both social and emotional frustration. they want to run both an IQ and a verbal/spacial capacity test on him, thinking both are very high. they did recommend speech therapy, but in order to have the official order for speech therapy services, he needs to go through the full evaluation in august. speech therapy would be 2x a week at our local elementary school on the days he's not in pre-school. when asked about pre-school for next year, i wanted to make sure we were not going to be a part of any of their programs and she assured me definitely not, that he was too high-functioning. she did, however, let me know that the school where he's been attending has a reputation for setting standards that are above and beyond the normal range of development for pre-school children. awesome! leave it to me to set high goals for my children! so she gave us some names of pre-schools that incorporate more play-time into their schedules while providing a stimulating, challenging atmosphere. above all, he needs to be in a place where he can THRIVE and where he feels comfortable and can grow and be himself!! and where mama can feel confident about the care he's getting!!

thank you, thank you for your prayers!!!! we are already filling out paperwork for the august evaluation so we are not put on a waiting list. then i will be researching which pre-school to enroll him in..fun, fun! we will keep you posted, but for now, we will rest and enjoy today's goodness, knowing that he is created in the very image of God and he is our precious, wonderful son. we are blessed to be his parents!

peace

the past couple of days have been really rough. my emotions have been all over the place and after having a very insightful conversation with a dear friend, i have basically cried the past 2 days. translation=i'm exhausted. since having the conversation last week with brayden's teacher about his seeming delays or differences, i feel like i now see them EVERYWHERE!!! i also feel like i have become ultra protective and defensive of him, like "mama bear" is ready to roar at any moment if provoked to do so. for instance, we were at the checkout in target the other day and bray was being his sweet, friendly self. he walked right up to the cashier (after the cashier had clearly greeted me, mind you) and said "hi, hi mister. hi. hey man. hi. hi..." i let him continue the greeting thinking the cashier would eventually respond. nope. sweet bray must've said hi to the cashier 20 times and that dumb man was ignoring him. i finally stepped in and very annoyed said "my son is saying hello to you. do you think you could respond?" i was so hot!! he gave me some excuse about being deaf in one ear but i knew he was lying. that was the first moment of feeling like maybe i would have to step in and do things outside of my comfort zone to protect my precious child.

yesterday at his school we had Muffins with Mom to celebrate mother's day. i was so thrilled to see him smile and greet me with a hug and kiss. in the past when i've walked into his classroom, though excited, he typically bursts into tears and it's always bothered me on some level because i couldn't understand why this would be his response when he ought to be glad to see me. if in fact he has asperger's or highly functioning autism, as it seems many of his symptoms would indicate, this would explain the odd reaction. he is easily overwhelmed emotionally and is unable to control his emotions, which is why we see the outbursts of tears, hitting, throwing, etc... recently these outbursts have become greater both in frequency and intensity and it is so tiring. sometimes the smallest tasks are a struggle. for now, we just don't know exactly HOW to deal with him because we don't know exactly WHAT we're dealing with. the evaluation on the 21st could not come soon enough! according to my friend, even though it will be good to get an educational perspective from the County about where he is in his development, it is up the medical professionals to provide an actual diagnosis if one is to be made. i can't get a referral for a developmental pediatrician though (which i've heard are hard to get into!) until after his 3 year well-check (early june). one step at a time.

i am EASILY overwhelmed by the newness of all of this, the tantrums, what feels/seems like the refusal to listen or obey commands (when really we don't know what's going on in that little brain!), the uncertainty of the future, the demand it may place on me/us, the desire for him to be.. not "normal" per se, because i want him to be all that God has created him to be, but i want him to be socially acceptable and to have friends and be able to carry a normal conversation, etc... i just find myself worrying A LOT! and that is why i am desperately in need of God's peace. and i find myself constantly asking "why does everything in life have to be hard?" but that is the wrong question. everything in THIS life IS hard because it's broken, but everything in the next life is PERFECT. i love reading Jesus Calling each morning. that and my coffee give me strength for the day. is that okay to say? it speaks directly to me every morning. this is today's message and i wanted to share it here:

"Do not resist or run from the difficulties in your life. These problems are not random mistakes; they are hand-tailored blessings desgined for your benefit and growth. Embrace all the circumstances that I allow in your life, trusting me to bring good out of them. View problems as opportunities to rely more fully on me. 

When you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to your need for me. Thus, your needs become doorways to deep dependence on me and increasing intimacy between us. Although self-sufficiency is acclaimed in the world, reliance on me produces abundant living in my kingdom. Thank me for the difficulties in your life since they provide protection from the idolatry of self-reliance."

LOVE this sweet boy!!

surrender

my big boy bray is almost 3...hard to believe!! we are so proud of the little boy he is and has become...kind, curious, compassionate, gentle, has a smile that lights up a room, and a real love and interest in the company of others. at the same time, he is a toddler and is ALL BOY and can certainly be belligerent, rough, lack patience, throw, hit, and send us over the edge with his tantrums when he doesn't get his way.

lately chris and i have been concerned with his ever-increasing obsession with the alphabet. he literally does abc's ALL DAY LONG...so much so that it seriously drives me crazy. it is not cute anymore. i hate to sound so crude, but he has known the alphabet since he was about 18 months and could recite the whole thing, as well as his shapes, colors, and numbers when he entered 2 yr old pre-school this year. there is something about the alphabet that he is attracted to...he sings it, he recites it, he lays the letters out IN A STRAIGHT LINE, he inquires as to the whereabouts of a letter if it's missing, he goes to bed with letters, you get the picture. to curb this "appetite" we have been trying to redirect and show him how letters go together to make words (he knows hundreds of words) and help him sound words out. he loves this and is making definite progress in this direction, (which is awesome for reading!) but still ABC's are ALL i hear!

well this week i had an end-of-the-year conference with his teacher that actually i declined because they're optional, but she stopped me in the carpool line to request it, stating she had "some concerns about his moving up to the 3's class next year." honestly i was dumbfounded. other than not being fully potty-trained, i could not think of why he would not move up. i was made aware earlier in the year that he was the youngest in his class and on occasion it showed. i had noticed the few times i'd been there for class functions that he seemed a little emotionally immature compared to the other, but..."every child develops differently and boys tend to lag behind," right??!! after being nervous all weekend about what concerns there might be, i met with his teacher on wednesday. i felt like a bombshell had been dropped on me. i'm so glad neely was there for me to look at because she kept me smiling while on the inside i was about to lose it. we'd gone from "no concerns, everything's great" in november to a list of about 10-12 concerns in may! academically, he's ahead, but in almost every other area he's apparently behind. speech--puts 4-5 words together for sentences; other kids talking in paragragh form, telling stories; dexterity--refuses to hold a pencil, throws it across the room; also refuses to hold scissors, so still cannot cut or manipulate this motion, when others have mastered the skill; social/play time--little to no interest in playing with others; plays mostly by himself while others have not only moved on from side-by-side play, but are playing WITH each other and doing things in groups; does not interact with others at lunchtime, eats his lunch while talks to himself or sings ABC's! PE--similar to social/play time, only while others are learning to play in two's or as a team (relay races), bray has been spinning in a circle or crawling across the bball court "like a snake." it was her lunchtime story that broke my heart and i began to cry...she said the other kids are busy talking to each other and he just sits there! that makes me so sad bc i know he loves other children and he's not shy, so i don't know why this is happening or what is going on. anyway, she suggested for us to have him evaluated and recommended that we hold him back and have him repeat the 2's next year. well, i am a definite advocate for early intervention, so if there is something going on with him developmentally, we certainly want to identify it and attact it EARLY, but i am not a fan of repeating the 2's. academically he would go nuts!! right now he could list 10 words that begin with each letter of the alphabet.

SO....where do we go from here? thanks to another friend who unfortunately has experienced similar concerns, i sort of knew some of my options. after speaking with my pediatrician, we basically had 3 routes to take: go through our neurologist (because of Bray's history of seizures), contact an occupational therapist (private practice--$$), or go the county school board route. for now, we are going the public school route. they offer FREE developmental screenings for children ages 3-5 prior to Kindergarten in order to assess whether they qualify for services, identify which services, and then fully service these children to ready them for a general ed classroom when it's time for Kindergarten. (btw, sorry this post is sooo long!) chris and i both contacted the lady in charge of this program in hopes we could get bray screened on friday (yesterday) since it was the LAST screening of the year! she did call back (praise GOD!!) there were no time slots available, but she was so nice and compassionate and said even though it is a crazy time of year, she would make a special arrangement for us. you can be praying for us on monday, may 21st at 9am---he will be screened then with a speech-language pathologist, an occupational therapist, the head of the Special Education dept and this woman, Kristi Quinn, head of pre-school services. i am SOOO grateful!! please pray for this time and for the evaluation, that it would be an honest portrayal of what would typically be seen if Bray were in the classroom. pray also that we would get some answers and know where to go from here, how to best serve/love him and care for him as parents and educators. we surrender our fears and our child to Jesus, knowing bray is fearfully and wonderfully made and our wonderful Lord has an awesome plan for his precious little life! whew...

disappointment

dis·ap·point·ment (n)-feeling of being let down: a feeling of sadness or frustration because something was not as good, attractive, or satisfactory as expected, or because something hoped for did not happen.
lately i have been evaluating my life...several aspects, but primarily my friendships. since moving to atlanta almost 7 years ago {wow!} i have found myself continually disappointed in this arena. i would say my heart has gone from confusion to disappointment to anger to cynicism to indifference, back to openness. it has been softened enough to hope, only to be disappointed once again. i have found myself so let down with either the circumstances or with other people that not only have i wondered how/why is this my reality, but i've begun to think maybe i'm not that good of a friend. i used to be, or at least i thought i was, but maybe life has become so hectic that i'm not doing my part either. this has been such an ongoing theme in my life that over a year ago i called an 'old friend' to ask for her opinion and advice over a particular upset that had occurred in a given friendship, inviting truth to be spoken, even if it was hard for me to hear. i guess now, i'm in the 'whatever' stage. take it or leave it; what you see is what you get; easy come, easy go. i don't want my heart to be hard, but i just don't have the energy for such senseless games. i honestly had NO idea that forming true, genuine friendships as a married adult, as a believer much less, could be this complicated or involve so much drama. part of the problem is the time i served on staff with ccc. i was surrounded by such wonderful people...Godly men and women who desired to be authentic followers of Jesus Christ in every way. they surely weren't perfect; i surely am not perfect, but the desire to walk closely with the Lord is what kept the bond so close. sadly, my life relationally, has not looked remotely close to what it was since leaving staff. that was 8 years ago. i keep wanting to find a few close friends who i can depend on, lean on, trust, and share life with (kids, birthday parties, beach trips, etc...) but i cannot find them! and it makes me sad! i have tried to not want so much, but i don't know how to do that. i don't want to be ungrateful for the friendships i do have, but at the same time, my feelings get hurt when those i think i can count on let me down.
just the other night, we were invited to a going away party. it was for a husband and wife who were our first couple friends and the wife was my first 'real' friend here in atlanta, so it was important and extra meaningful for me/us to be there. initially we couldn't go because we were going to florida to see my family, but when the kids and i got sick, we had to cancel the trip. by friday, i'd been on a z-pac for 3 days and was fine to attend, so i changed our rsvp. but then i got an email and was asked (somewhat indirectly), not to attend due to germs and consideration for others attending who did not care to get sick!!!! SERIOUSLY??!! i obliged and they thanked me for being 'so understanding.' i can assure you i was not understanding. i was hurt. i still don't know who was right, but i do know that the request did not feel very loving...and i kept thinking "is this what a real friend does?" i felt cheated out of saying my good-byes so everyone else could feel "safe." and this is exactly the kind of thing i have sensed and that has disappointed me from my so-called friends here...not everyone, but most...that they're not willing to get into the mess with me and THAT's what i'm looking for. to me, that's a REAL friend. oh that i would be the kind of friend that i desire in others...that i would be willing to share the mess!!

the little things

I could never have imagined my heart would be so full by just being a mommy! When I quit work I struggled to be home and found myself always on the go--running errands, spending $ I didn't have, busying myself with tasks that helped me feel "normal" or "useful" or "productive" or "acceptable" (to myself) as a human being. I was telling a friend the other day it took me a good several months of "detox" to unwind and let myself relax to understand it was ok if I didn't accomplish a whole lot in a day. For someone who is performance driven like me, checking those boxes is everything! But now, I can't imagine going back to work and am SO THANKFUL for the gift of staying home with my kids. And it's the littlest things that melt my heart and remind me of this...like today. We went to Publix after I picked B up from school and I decided since N is sitting up, crawling and pulling up to stand, there is no reason why she can't sit in the drive cart with Brayden. So there they sat, side-by-side, each one with their hands on the wheel and I was so proud of my two little sweet peas! Later in the day I asked BB if he needed to pee-pee on the potty (we are desperately trying to potty train!) and he looked at me and smiled and said "no thanks Mommy." I find myself delighting in his ever-advancing speech and vocabulary and at the same time wishing he were further along, yet sad with each new advancement because he leaves behind more of his "baby boy." For the longest time, he has said "ek" for the letter "x" and "double" instead of "double-you" for "w." Well, now he pronounces them both correctly. He's also into asking HOW? "But how?" he says, after nearly EVERTHING!!! And one day he said, "Sorry mom, but it's not my fault." I have NO IDEA where he got that!!" One thing really precious is he asks for a Bible story each night before bed and he has 3 Bibles--a kid's Bible, a VeggieTales Bible and a real Bible that belonged to Chris when he was probably 9 or 10. There is a picture on the front of that one of the little boy who brought Jesus his 2 loaves of bread and 5 fish. One night he saw that picture and asked about it and decided he wanted Chris to read that story, so he did. Now, he's been asking for a story out of the BIBLE each night, not the bible...he emphasizes BIBLE and says it loudly and that's how we know which one :). Thanks Lord for the little things.

the mega update...

Life is moving so fast! It honestly seems hard to catch our breath to pause, to reflect on all that's happening around us. Neely is now 9 months old and Brayden will be 3 in June! Neely amazes us more and more. You may remember Brayden was on the SLOW side of normal for all of his gross motor skills. Well, his sister is certainly determined to bypass him in all of her milestones. She sat right up at 6 mo, began crawling at 7, and stood up in her crib on her 9 month birthday. She is so fast in her walker, it's like watching bumper cars speed through a room. Also UNLIKE her brother, she does not have a large head :), but she does weigh 21.5 lbs and is 28" long. She LOVES baths, giggles at water poured over her head, and has pulled on her daddy's glasses so many times that they finally broke this week, necessitating new frames! She's actually sort of a terror...pulling on drapes, taking her diaper off, grabbing the spoon and dumping food on herself! I think Brayden was much neater than she is.

Brayden is BUSY, BUSY--with letters and books usually. He is constantly sounding out letters, listing 5-10 words that begin with that letter, reading books (telling himself the story as he remembers it), and playing picture/word matching games. Just the other night with Chris, he sounded out the words "animals" and "vegetables" and almost got "construction" right. Can we say early reader?? I am so proud of him in this arena. He is a smart cookie!! He does love the outside though (as all little boys do!) and throwing the ball. His communication has dramatically increased, so it is really fun to converse with him. He has also become a little parrot...everything we say, he says. Sometimes this is really cute and others, not so cute! What is most precious is seeing his concern and love for Neely. He tells her she is cute, lists the members of the family and includes her, calls her his sissy, wants to see her when she's sleeping, and plays with her when he's not being selfish or jealous.

Here are the highlights from Oct-Dec:
Neely was baptized in October and wore her cousins' gown. She was BEAUTIFUL!! Sadly, once again, none of my family could attend, but it was a special time with Chris' parents, and especially significant given her history in utero. A sweet friend, Emmie, came for the baptism and brunch and that was extra meaningful for me since we'd not seen each other in so long! Thanks, Emmie!!

 The fire truck also came to Brayden's school, but on a day that he doesn't attend, so I took him up there as a special "field trip" thinking he would LOVE IT! He CRIED the whole time!! He wouldn't sit with his class and wanted me to HOLD HIM! I wanted someone to shoot me. A crying 2 yr old, a 4 month old, and crazy hormones = a stressed out mama! Maybe next year!

He did enjoy trick or treating though (YAY!). In fact, he was so comfortable, he wanted to go inside each person's house that opened the door. He didn't understand that you stand outside the door. Neely slept through the whole thing, so OF COURSE, I dressed them up again the next day for a photo opp.

 

  

In November, Neely and I flew to Pensacola to see my family and introduce her to my grandmothers. She was an absolute ANGEL on the flight, down and back! We enjoyed time with everyone and I know my grandmothers appreciated those moments holding another great grand-daughter.

Brayden also had a Thanksgiving Feast at school, where he was dressed as an indian and his shirt read "Chief Brayden." His class did a rain dance for the parents and sang their prayer before we sat down to eat. It was the first time I'd heard their prayer. Now we sing it at home.

For Thanksgiving, my sister and her family came up to Atlanta. WE HAD A BLAST!!! The kids played great together. We spent a day at the Aquarium, another day at Snow Mtn, and a day at home. I bought all the food (well, most) and Brian, my brother-in-law, cooked the whole Thanksgiving meal! That very well could have been the best part! Thanks BRIAN!!!

You know what's next...CHRISTMAS! Christmas was a little crazy this year with all the cousins and the whole family at my parents house in Florida, but overall, we did enjoy the Christmas season and especially enjoyed seeing my brother David, whom we hadn't seen in 2 years!! Chris and I took Bray and Neely to have their pic made with Santa (and I must say, it turned out exceptionally well). Neely got a pink pony (complements of her great grandma Anne) and lost of clothes, and Brayden got a four-wheeler from Santa, a Catepillar ride-on, an easel, and some Curious George and Veggie Tales movies.

  

December also brought us an unplanned new car purchase! Chris was in an accident on Dec. 9 that totaled his car. We found ourselves in a predicament because his car was 12 years old and mine is 10 years old, but has significantly fewer miles than his. We ended up with a Black 2008 Chevy Tahoe--fully loaded. Nicest car I've ever driven. Amazing. God is so good and gracious!!

Even though these pictures seem to highlight the fun times of 2011, it was, at points, a rough fall. Brayden had multiple seizures in August, two of which were within 24 hours, our upstairs air went out the same night he had the seizures, Neely was 7 1/2 wks old at the time and we had to put her in the dining room to sleep, the upstairs temp registered 92 degrees!! My parents were here visiting while all of this madness was going on. We finally had to pack up and go to Chris' parents house. It was a mess. Then Brayden had to go through additional testing because of the seizures. In 9 months, he had seized 6 times! So off we went to see a neurologist for a sleep deprived EEG and MRI.

Between all of that and praying for Neely's health and well-being, we were spent and ready to welcome 2012!! We remain ever grateful to our Lord Jesus, whose grace is sufficient, whose promises are true, and whose Word is faithful. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7