The Lord's Prayer

Mark taught Charlie how to say the Lord's Prayer. We have been trying for awhile to get him to say it on camera and we finally succeeded.  Excuse the finger in the nose :)

Photos

Photos from the last few weeks.....

Ruby's huge smiles

Charlie playing "match game". Instead of playing memory with the cards like the game intends, he likes to line them up and make a road to drive his cars on. He is such a boy.

Charlie loves to play "nap". Here he got all the stuffed animals out and put them all to sleep.

Tabby was exhausted one night and she couldn't make it until bedtime; we turned around and she and dozed off on the couch.

Playing nap again

Tabby all bundled up. It is hard for me to believe that she was five months old yesterday! 

 

Mark made the Thanksgiving turkey again this year; this makes three years in a row. It was delicious! I think he has a permanent job.

My parents with their newest grand babies....Tabatha and my nephew, Cole.

Ruby, all ready for school.

A Morning Person

Tabatha must be a morning person. Whenever she wakes up she is happy. I could learn from her :) 

Here is a video of her talking and smiling in her crib a few mornings ago....

A Momma's Heart

A few weeks ago I was feeling down about Ruby.  I am not exactly sure why, but I know that grief of having a severely special needs child can come out of the blue and hit at unexpected times.  One afternoon I felt incredibly sad and happy all at the same time...

Charlie has a lot of energy and it is especially hard to keep him occupied in the winter when we can't play outside.  On this particular Saturday, I was thinking how great it would be if Ruby could run around in the basement with him. They could be buddies and entertain each other; they would have so much fun together.  I am not sure why I let my mind think these things; there is no good in dreaming of what cannot be.  Anyways, later in the day, Ruby was laying in her "box" batting at some toys, when Charlie brought his toy fishing pole to her. He first tried to give it to her so she could fish with him. When she didn't react at all, he then tried to put it in her hands. When that didn't work either, he just laid the fishing pole on her and I thought he would just give up trying to play with her. By this time, Mark and I both have tears in our eyes and we are feeling bummed that our 3 year old daughter can't grab a toy from her brother. What happened next though, unexpectedly warmed our hearts. Next, we watched Charlie set the fishing pole aside, get a blanket and lay in Ruby's box next to her;  Ruby gave him big smiles for this. Instead of fishing, Charlie decided it would be better to play "nap" with Ruby.  Ruby's inability to go fishing with him didn't seem to phase him at all and that blessed my heart.  

I know as he grows, Charlie will have questions about Ruby's special needs. I am sure he will be frustrated by the attention we have to give her and maybe annoyed at our situation from time to time. But for now, I will cherish that fact that he loves Ruby just the way she is. I think Ruby and others with special needs will always have a special place in his heart.

Thankful

We had a powerful worship service at church this morning. What a blessing to gather with other believers and thank God for all He has done for us. I feel so content and blessed. I am very thankful for my wonderful kids, my amazing husband and supportive family and friends. God has brought us down an unexpected path; it has been difficult at times, but trials have allowed me to look at life differently. There is joy in small things. God is good and faithful and He always gives us just what we need.

I am blessed to have you all in my life! Thanks for your constant support and encouragement. Hope you all have a blessed day with your families. Happy Thanksgiving!

Smiles

My smiley little girl....

Our Story

On Sunday our church showed this video of Mark and I telling our story of the journey God has brought us on these last 3 years.  We are humbled to share what God has taught us and pray He will use this for His glory.

**I had to remove the video link for now. Hopefully I will be able to put it somewhere else on my blog.