Gratefulness

Sometimes it can be hard to see the good things that surround us because we are focusing on the bad. Sometimes the good can even come to look like it is the bad.
I am on a list serve for my youngest daughter where someone was having a hard time getting what services they felt their child needed on the IEP. They made a comment something like:
Sometimes I think that it would be easier if my child had a disability the was more visible. Because you can't tell that *Bob* has issues just by looking at him I have to fight every step of the way.

Really? I'm sure they were having a bad day. My heart hurts for the moms who read this who have children whose disabilities are far too visible. Honestly, my heart hurts for me. Do you really want to trade places? Because I would give my left foot, leg and arm too in order to have Izy walk, talk and interact in such a way that her disability was invisible. I know we are always looking for better, but I learned an important lesson from this other hurting mom. Focus on the positives. Look for and enjoy what is right.

And so. . .
her gorgeous smile
her squeals of happiness
her ability to find small chocking hazards on my floor by rolling around
her speed at grabbing my plate and almost sending it to it's doom
Her E-I-E-I-O when she sees farm animals (and other random times)
Her patience
Her increasing head control
Her increasing ability to sit
Her enjoyment of jumping laying down
Her ability to bear weight and stand on her legs
Her ability to pull to tall kneeling
Her face plant crawling, pushing with her legs, but ignoring her arms
Her love of food and water
Her love of finger-painting
Her receptive language
The words she says
The joy she brings
Her Cuddles
Her Kisses
Her excitement when she realizes something new
Her interest in watching her siblings
Her loud laghter
Her tickle spots
Her determination
All things that I tend to over look in favor of focusing on the "problems" so that I can help to fix them. I think that it is important to do whatever we can to help her and then sit back and enjoy her in the meantime.

I am truly grateful to be her mom. It is a blessing.

The bird

This is a guest post made by the Lopez children.

Alayna- We were about to start school when we heard a bang on the window.
Evelyn- And we looked out the window and there was a bird there that had knocked into our window. It had blue eyelids that showed when it kept blinking it's eyes.
Noah- And we took a picture of the bird and we could have took a movie of the bird but we did not take a movie of the bird because it was on moms phone and it could have run out of power.
The bird was breathing heavily, but left about half an hour later.

Learning to share

I often tell my children that we are a family and so we have to share and take turns. If you fight over something then you don't get it anymore because people are more important then things. We work together, play together and try to do as much together as we can because, while I know that we will have them forever, never again will they be ours in this same way that they are now.

I have tried to be an example of service and sharing, but I catch myself sometimes acting in ways that I don't want my children to act. Sometimes, I will save back some of the dessert for me for later, or take the larger piece of a meal. I will not play a game with them that I have time to play, because I really don't feel like it. I keep parts of myself and my things back. In looking at this over the last few weeks I have discovered that more then having the talk with my children about being unselfish I need to talk to myself. My children often surprise me with what they are willing to give or to share. Little things like my five year old giving everyone a piece of his pie that he had been saving, and not small pieces either. I watch them serve each other and I hope that they will always carry some of that with them.

Two weeks ago the Lord called Joseph as Bishop of the Raytown ward and today he was sustained. I am learning to share. Of all the things that I have a hard time sharing, my time with him is the hardest. I tend to be very jealous of his time and energies, but I will learn. Like I told the children today after church, it is a wonderful blessing from Heavenly Father to have him as our husband and father and now the Lord is asking us to share him with the rest of the ward. So, slowly I am learning to share graciously.

St. Louis- therapies and daughters

Thanks to wonderful in-laws Isabelle, Alayna, and I were able to run to St. Louis at the last minute in May for a new type of therapy for Isabelle.  It's easier to do therapy when they come to my house and I don't have to pay anything.  Driving 3 and a half hours and staying away from the rest of my family, and paying a large chunk of money is much more difficult to get yourself worked up to.  It took me about a year of researching.  I ordered a DVD of  a workshop and tried my limited knowledge out on my daughter.  She went from complete noodle legs with no resistance to the standing pro you have seen in other posts.  So, I was convinced that it would be of benefit to her, but finding someone within a reasonable distance was more difficult.  At first I thought we would have to go to CA and pay a Huge chunk of money, but i think the Lord led me to this practitioner in St. Louis.

For those that are interested, the method is the Anat Baniel method and it is different from normal PT and OT in that instead of working on the muscles and trusting that the brain will catch on it works on the Central Nervous System and trusts that the muscles will catch on.  She uses very gentle repetitive but slightly varied movements to teach the brain how to move.  We have learned with Isabelle to celebrate every "inchstone"  We see a new one at about once a month, maybe if we are really lucky once per week.  In the 3 days that we were there we saw 3 "inchstones".  She started catching herself with her hands when falling from sitting, she started coming up into tall standing while holding on to his arm completely on her own, and she uses her arm to help sit herself up.  I have studied the method as much as I can without spending the major $ for training classes.  I have been working with her at home as well and she has started to push off of me with her legs and pull her other leg up to be by the first one in a crawling position.  I really want to take her back.  So I'm working on getting some grants.  (:  In the meantime I will continue to do what I can with her.

One of the best parts of the trip was that Alayna got to come with me.  We shopped, talked, laughed, read and listened.  She is really growing to be a wonderful young woman and I am so grateful to be her mother. 

A lost Noahism

I was clearing off my desktop and I came across this definition of Santa that I just had to share.

Noah-A man was walking along.  He wanted an octopus for his dinner, he got really fat and really old.  That's how we got Santa.

So the story is great, but what I want to know is Where is the Movie?!!

Our budding music star.  He is too cute to keep to ourselves.

Easter Firefighter 5th birthday party

This is the Easter Bunny's house that mom built.

This is the FIRE on the Easter Bunny's house that mom built.

These are the firemen putting out the Fire on the Easter bunny's house that mom built.

These are the candles looking even more firey, that the firemen are putting out, on the Easter Bunny's house that mom built. (OK, so I had some help)

And THIS is the Noah putting out the more firey fire, helping the firemen, on the Easter Bunny's house that mom built. (The decorations were made by Noah, Evelyn, and Alayna)

 The party was a lot of fun.  We had a "Search and Rescue" were we taped family faces to the eggs.  We practiced aiming our "fire-hoses" and squirted water into the other bucket.  Finally, we practiced escaping a house through an obstacle course.  Then after Cake and Ice cream, we went to the firestation and toured it.  We learned a lot and had a blast