Archive for June 2019
To all the Superhero Dads — Thank You
Adam, remember when Noah was born, and I gave you a gift. It was a “new daddy kit” and it had a parenting book – a humorous one of course. And I honestly can’t even remember what else I threw in there. Just goes to show you we really didn’t need or use any of the so called necessary tools. I honestly feel there is nothing that can prepare you for what being a parent really entails. Because even what you’re told to prepare for, chances are that won’t be…
Read MoreThe Calm to our Crazy
Autism has taken our family on quite the adventure the last six years and right in the beginning of it, I gave birth to our second son. But through it all, you have been the calm to our crazy. It quickly became apparent the you are Jayden’s person, what a huge job that really is. It is never-ending and always demanding. The connection you have with Jayden is so hard to describe it is like you two have a magnetic force drawing you to each other whenever you are in…
Read MoreMore than the Man of My Dreams
Every year on Father’s Day I am so thankful to my father and how wonderful he has been my whole life and how lucky I am. After I started having kids of my own I now find myself thankful for my Dad for being such a great Father and Grandfather but also I find myself so thankful for my husband and the Dad he has become. I have always been complimented on how great Lee is as a husband. Other men tell him to stop doing things because he is…
Read MoreThe Way You Make You Me Feel
I remember the day so clearly, we sat outside at that little Italian restaurant as it was the start of our little dudes 2nd birthday weekend. We had just left his 2 year check up and were being sent for further evaluations. You told me not to worry, that we can get through anything and that we would tackle this head on together. I just remember being so scared. The day of diagnosis was hard. They told us it was Autism and we had no clue where to start. I…
Read MoreTo My Husband this Father’s Day
You are my rock. You are the reason I’m able to manage all we have endured together. You’ve never left my side no matter what the experience. We are one month shy of our 5-year wedding anniversary, yet we’ve been through so much in just our first few years of marriage. A conversion of faith that would eventually guide us in the midst of chaos. Hardship from having three kids in the NICU. Countless surgeries, procedures, and doctor appointments for our three little ones. Diagnoses like autism, sensory processing disorder,…
Read MoreTo the Parents who are Nothing Special
To the delightfully ordinary parents. I see you. To the parents who are nothing special. The ones who are just your typical moms and dads. Not superheroes. Not saints. I see you. To the parents who don’t know why they were chosen to have babies with special needs. The ones who agonize over the whys more times than they can count. I see you. To the ones who don’t understand why people say God gives special kids to special people. Because while you know your kid is amazing…sometimes you feel…
Read MoreThanking the Special Fathers
I know the diagnosis was a lot for you to handle at first. I remember you not showing any emotion. I kept wondering how you felt? Did it bother you? Do you accept it? I know at first it made you really sad. Every father’s dream is to have a son. You wanted him to take your passion in football as well. The interest in sports. Helping him at his T-Ball games. Talk about girls. The list goes on. I know that hurt a lot. I know this has been…
Read MoreAm I the Big Brother Mama?
I asked you to watch your brother for a second while I made lunches. Which you gladly agreed too. The first thing you ask for when you come downstairs in the morning or in from outside is your baby brother. I heard you talking to him, like you always do. So sweet. You were telling him all about BeyBlades. And how cool there are. You were hugging him on the couch. Holding him so he wouldn’t fall. Every few seconds you would squish the whoopie cushion. Harbor would laugh hysterically.…
Read MoreNonverbal High Schooler Makes History By Giving Speech with Assistive Technology
Before I had a son with nonverbal autism, I naively thought ‘everyone talks.’ I grew up in a world where I didn’t know anyone who was nonverbal. Or honestly, that it was even possible. I remember the first time a therapist said, ‘you need to consider a world where your son doesn’t speak.’ That sentence. It shattered me. As a mom, to an absolutely beautiful 3 year old, how could it not? Flash forward to today. I’ve learned that communication is so much more than spoken words. It can be…
Read MoreTo the Autism Dads
There are so many types of wonderful dads to honor on Father’s Day. There are the dads who coach all the sports teams and take the kids to college football games. There are the dads who do science experiments with their kids, take them camping and on long nature hikes to explore wildlife. There are the energetic, playful dads who run around the yard playing hide and seek and flag football. There are also the dads who do all the chores around the house from laundry to cooking. And then…
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