The Gang

The Gang
October 2008 Sweet Potatoe Harvest

About Me

I am a busy mommy of 6, seeking to be a loving, godly helpmeet to my husband and a biblical discipler to my children. God has blessed us with a child with Autism. May the lessons that the Lord is teaching me and our family be a blessing to you and yours!

My Favorite Books

  • Bible
  • Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl
  • Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman
  • Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
  • Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
  • Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
  • Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
  • The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thomas did GREAT this morning at the dentist! He only got one filling but they did the most difficult one today and he did really well. Next time they will try to do two since they are baby teeth and the decay isn't as extensive. God gave me wisdom as to what to say to keep him calm and our Dentist did a wonderful job!

Samuel's check up was much better than I expected too! He does NOT have any cavities. YEAH!

I was SHOCKED as to how bad the roads were still. I'm thankful that we made it to town and back safely! Hopefully with the temperatures rising and the sun out the roads will be cleared up for Phil to get home this weekend!

Philip just walked by the table and went to the back door to put his boots on. I asked him "Why are you putting on your boots?" He said with a big dimpled grin and his head held high, "Because I want to be a man!"
Yes, you guessed it, I actually slept very well last night. Praise the Lord!!

Today Thomas has a dentist appointment to get some of his 6 teeth that need fillings done. I'm hoping that one of these 6 is not beyond repair. It looks pretty bad to me. He had to have 3 teeth pulled in October because they were too damaged to repair. Pray for him today if you read this email that he will handle the procedure and recovery very well. For a child with Autism who has sensory issues and a limited understanding of why someone would make his mouth hurt, getting teeth filled and pulled is even more traumatic, than for a "normal" child.

Phil drove by 7 more houses yesterday and has decided he wants to see the inside of 4 of them. We have driven by over 40 houses in the last 4 months and been inside I think close to 15. Our house hunt has been much more difficult than we thought it would. We need space since we have 6 kids. Plus, when you factor into that the need for a school room and therapy room, and yard space for the dogs AND all that in the right price range, it makes for a difficult house hunting process.

We combed over our budget and picked a payment we were comfortable with then called our Mortgage bank and asked them what our mortgage including taxes & insurance could be for the price we have in the budget. By doing this we know what we can really afford. Pray with us as we search for the right home for our family. We really miss being together and are looking forward to living under the same roof full time again!

This morning I had the kids read Matt 6:25-34 for their morning quiet time before school. We've been encouraging the kids to pray with us about the house that God wants us to have. Matt. 6:25 says "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food and he body more than clothing?" We pray that our kids will see that God's perfect will is more important that the "perfect food, clothing.... or house!"

I pray that you will have a wonderful day living in the Grace & Strength of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Did I get your attention with that title?

For those of you who haven't heard I fell down the stairs Sunday night Jan 20th. Thankfully Phil was still home to care for me. We thought that I had cracked my tail bone again. The pain was much worse than when I broke my tail bone carrying Philip down the steps 4 years ago. Because of how bad the pain was we were quite sure it was broke but wanted to know how bad so I went in for x-rays on Monday. We found out Tuesday morning that there was not a break so they assumed that I have a deep bone bruise on my tail bone and have possibly sprained my lower hip/pelvic area because of all the pain I was in.

Phil stayed home most of the week and worked from here since I could barely walk. I spent most of my time on my side on the couch.

Finally by Sunday I was able to walk better and stand for longer periods of time. I was still not able to sit at all but had healed to the point that Phil was going to head back down to Cleveland on Monday.

Monday night I decided to try to sleep in my bed for the first time since falling. That was a BIG mistake. I was in horrible pain all night even after taking pain medicine, switching positions, using pillows, etc. So last night I was back on the couch again. I was a lot more comfortable but still had a hard time sleeping.

I can sit a bit better today but still have to be very careful of how I sit and for how long.

For those of you who may be wondering if Nathan is potty trained yet....... NO. He is making great progress but I would not call him fully trained yet. He is having a hard time keeping himself pointed in the right direction which leads to washing the bathroom rugs and floor often! :-) He is telling me when he has to go potty now and makes a mad dash for the bathroom. But we have not had one day yet with 100% success. I'm sure my being laid up for a week didn't help any.

Today we are staying warm inside while the temperatures here are a "real feel" of over 40 below 0F. Many of the schools and colleges in Wisconsin and all the schools in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are closed today because of the dangerous wind chill.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
It has been a frustrating week. Nathan even with prompting every 20 min or so for FOUR days is still not taking an initiative to go potty on his own. He is going potty on the toilet when I encourage him to go, but if I miss having him try every 20-30 min he is fine with going potty in his pants then running to tell me that he has to go potty.

I've never had this much trouble with any of my kids! He has all the readiness signs and can go potty on his own and doesn't want to have a diaper on. BUT he still doesn't seem to be sensing when he has to go potty before he goes in his pants.

So I get to look forward to several more days of setting my timer and getting trying to help this boy understand that he is supposed to pee in the toilet ALL the time!

Ugh!! You'd think that since he is my 6th this would be a piece of cake! BUT this has been more trying that training my autistic son. Hopefully next week I'll have a success post to write!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Wow! I cannot believe that it has been over a month since I have blogged.

We had a lovely Christmas. Phil's Mom & Dad were able to be with us for a few days before Christmas. They left the Sat before to get back to all the Canadian Family. We love having them visit. They are such a blessing to us and our kids! It is wonderful having such godly Grandparents for our kids to be impacted by!

Phil was able to be home for almost 2 weeks over the Christmas and New Years holidays. His office was shut down for a week so he got permission from his company to work from home. It was such a blessing to have him here and be a complete family for those weeks! His time off ended with a trip to Kentucky for work and an evening at a Milwaukee Bucks game with Sam, Caleb, and their Boy Scout pack.

Now we are back into the school routine, Phil being gone, and life as normal as it can be. Nathan is potty training, I'm hoping by the end of the week he will have it down pat. I'm dedicating the next 4 days to training Nathan. He has all the potty readiness signs. So we are sitting him on the potty every 15 minutes and giving him 3-5 M & M's each time and LOTS of juice & milk! :-) He seems to be enjoying it and we are seeing lots of success, much more so than we've had the last 2 weeks of him deciding to not wear diapers and NOT go potty on the toilet until AFTER he had gone in his underwear.


I'll leave you with a Philip funny: This past weekend Phil was taking Philip to his friend Carters Birthday party. They had to drive by our Credit Union to get there. As they were passing the CU Philip said, "Daddy, we are driving by the sucker house!" I told the ladies at the CU what Philip said and they enjoyed laughing at his statement too!

Hope you are having a GREAT start to 2008!