April Fools and the Bunny

April Fools...

Noah doesn't really do April Fools so much... one year awhile back I made mini meatloafs with mashed potatoes on top died pink. They looked like cupcakes. Then made rice crispie treats out of cocoa pebbles so it really looked like meatloaf. I insisted they eat desert first... Noah layed under the table and cried cause of the cruelty of having to eat dessert for dinner... I thought it was hysterical.

This year Addie decided to have some fun.  Noah has an ipod that he uses to tune out the world when he needs to. And because he is a boy and a christian he only has boy christian music on it... makes perfect sense huh?  Addie snuck into his room, took his ipod and synced his ipod to her playlist... the result was hysterical... Noah thought it was pretty funny at first too, then he realized it wasn't going to get fixed till we got home... Addie cracked herself up the whole way to youth.... The look on his face was priceless.

God's Bunny:
Again this year the boys were stumped as to WHY a bunny brings eggs on Easter.  Why is that? Bunnies don't lay eggs... Noah did his best to try and explain this to the boys so that they might understand but also letting them know the true reason we celebrate Easter.
We got to church and someone asked Yordi if the Easter bunny had come...
Yordi says a bit puzzled... I don't think so... I think it was God's rabbit. He got all messed up and layed eggs so God sent him down here...

yeah... that sounds about right...

autism awareness month

The word autism strikes fear in the heart of many... I always thought it was a parents worst nightmare and I thanked God daily that he had only chosen me to work with autistic children and not walk that road as a parent...
until Noah was diagnosed as having autism. 

I am convinced that Noah was born autistic... and that he was born just the way that God intended.  He never liked to be held as a baby. He missed every developmental milestone... I was so thankful to have him that he could have had 2 heads and he would have been perfect in my eyes... but on that day he was diagnosed I was so scared and I grieved what Noah would never have... what he would miss out on... on what that meant for all of us... and then I got busy. I educated myself, I read everything, I prayed.

Noah amazes me. Autism didn't beat him. As a mom my heart still aches for him as he struggles with issues, when things are not as easy for him, but he has taught me so much.  And I thank God for that. Noah isn't private about his autism. He tells people. That is just how he is... there is nothing to hide or be ashamed of... he is how God made him... a special creation...

Noah sees things in black and white. No gray. Ever. Right or wrong... hard when there is so much gray...  He is so very literal... raining cats and dogs? not possible. Humor is hard for him.  He has a great sense of humor but sometimes struggles understanding jokes (although he loves to kid around).  He is sturctured and doesnt deviate from the plan...

I read somewhere that while the average persons brain is like a funnel...  we can take everything that is swirling around in the top of the funnel and pull out what the most important things out while still noticing the small stuff (lights, smells, noises) but not needing them to come down the funnel.  A person with autism has a brain like a collindar. Everything...every noise, light, sound, smell, touch invades their brain at the same time with the same intensity...  makes so much sense to me.  Pain is perceived differently... a hangnail can cause hours of anguish and true intense pain, yet Noah broke his arm and while complaining that it hurt finished out the school day. Cutting his hair and fingernails hurts.  Noises hurt.

I forget that I have to explain everything... in great detail. Whatever gets left out... gets left out.  I asked noah to turn on the water, shower and then turn it off.  And so he did. For quite awhile. And then he started not smelling so great.  I never happened to mention that soap and shampoo were involved. He was turning on the water, showering, and then turning off the water...

Noah is amazing. He loves, he trusts, he is good and polite and kind. He is smart and memorizes everything. I no longer grieve what Noah lost to autism. I thank God for what he has given us, blessed us with.  I wish we could all have a bit more of Noah in us... it would make for a better world.  I cant say that I wish autism on anyone on any family. I wish there was a cure. But it is no longer my worst nightmare. It is just a bend in our road. And i will continue to celebrate each and every milestone...

This year Noah played football for the very first time. We, all his friends their parents and our family, knew this was not going to go great. How could a kid who doesn't like to be touched play tackle football. Noah was determined.  He has all the plays memorized. He knows how to play in his mind.  The very first game Noah tackled a guy and didn't just make the tackle but cleaned this kids clock.  When I took my hands away from my face from cheering what I saw I will never forget. The game was still going on, the clock running, but the team had rushed the field, picked Noah up and were cheering him on like he had won the superbowl. I was immediately wrapped in the arms of his best friends mom who was sobbing... 'he did it"!  

"For you created my inmost being;


you knit me together in my mother's womb.


 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;


your works are wonderful,


I know that full well." Psalm 139 13-14

He did it...

Noah did it. He stayed all night. He didn't want to, but he did. He didnt even call home... until the next day to ask me to pick him up early... but he slept over!!!! Near catastrophe as his blankie suffered a near fatal rip, but it was repaired before bedtime last night... wonder how many more times I can repair those rotten little threads...

crossing our fingers

So Noah has been invited to apply to a Science camp this summer. It is the coolest thing. Mobil/EXXON is sponsoring this 2 week long camp at the OSU campus (the ONLY college Noah would ever think of attending... they are BLACK and ORANGE you know). It is a fully funded camp... 2 weeks, all meals, lodging, transportation, field trips... totally educational... Noah's idea of fun! They are only taking 52 kids from the entire state... It is intended to target kids from more rural areas who wouldn't normally have access to this sort of thing. He is SUPER excited... he has worked really hard to get his math and science grades up (even aced his math test today). He has filled out the application and gotten his teachers to write him letters of recommendations... So we will wait and see...

He is also going to his first "slumber party" this weekend. He has never stayed with anyone but Grammy and Aunt Lynde. He has tried, and tried and tried... and God love his best friend and his parents who continue to invite him and then meet me late at night, but even if he doesn't stay the night... HE WAS INVITED!!!! TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! He doesn't get many invitations... He was so happy today... "mom I had such a good day. It was a happy day". I want to track down this kid and give him huge hugs. People take this stuff for granted... Do you think they even know??????

we are back...

We are home. What a great week at fair. We got all 5 pigs - excuse me- 4 pigs, Buzz, and Fairy Princess (the duck) loaded and taken into fair. Thank you Kerri... Addie and I couldnt have done it without you. I drove with Buzz in my trailer and prayed the whole way that I would get him there safely. He is Addie's baby after all. We got to the scales and realized that Buzz had layed on the duck cage during the trip which had pinned the duck to the floor of the cage. Close call!! 2 pigs made weight- so both kids had a market hog to sell!!!

Tuesday 12:00, we are checked into fair and the work begins. By the end of the day Addie and her friend Jesse had washed 7 pigs and body shaved 5. Noah began Wednsday off by winning GRAND CHAMPION duck (there was only 1) and then taking Grand Champion overall waterfowl. Molly was pretty proud that her duck already had 3 large purple ribbons and 1 trophy!!! By the end of fair the duck had 3 trophies and 7 ribbons. There will be no living with him in the barn now! When it came time for Molly to show her duck on Saturday, the judge couldn't get anywhere near her. Everytime he leaned in to talk to Molly, Fairy Princess would hiss and try to attack the judge. As long as he kept his distance from Molly everything was fine. Noah won Grand Champion showman and was able to participate in the small animal round robin tournament.

The kids did good. We didn't place so high with pigs this year, but learned alot... this new judge likes something completely different than the last judge... and luckily next year we will have another new one... so who knows. The kids had so much fun hanging out with their friends. The pig kids did a great job working together.

Addie ended up fairly sick... By day 2 we realized that she wasn't just working too hard in the heat and she wasn't just overly stressed. I checked her temp and found that she was running a temp of 102.5. There was no getting her out of the barn, although we did make her come back to the trailer for a little bit and her wonderful friends snuck back to the barn and snuck her pigs out for a bath. Even one of the boys who is too young to have a pig came up to me to tell me to not wake Addie in the morning for early morning chores. He said he would muck out her pig pens for her. How sweet is that? She stayed sick all week, but didn't stop. We went to the dr the day after fair and she had lost 5 lbs and they were threatening to put her in the hospital on IV fluids... some nasty virus (we jokingly said we thought she had the swine flu- sick joke I know). She seems to be over the hump now.

County Fair 2009 is over and we have to consider it a sucess. We came home with 2 pigs fewer than we went with and the same number of children...

This kid can sing!!

Bad blogger!! I have decided good weather equals bad blogging. I will get caught up, I promise. But first- Noah had his caroler award night last night. He ended up being the MC of the whole show and had the opening solo. I videoed using my camera- so it is dark and blurry and the sound isn't great but MAN can this kid sing. Enjoy!!! Make sure you scroll down and pause the music before playing the video.

bunnies

Noah took these pictures of his rabbits and their new home at Grammy's farm. At the base of the white bird house is their new little home. The bunnies are so happy and Noah was so sad to see them in a cage every day, so now they get to be outside and exploring.

field trip

Every year our school holds a readathon. The kids have 1 month to read as many books or chapters as they can. Addie held the school record and this being Noah's last year of elementary school, was determined to beat it. He certainly did, and also took home his final trophy for being the top reader in the ENTIRE school. He did this all 5 years. He read over 1500 chapters! Molly was the top book reader in the whole school reading over 200. We were certainly proud of them. They are the only sibling group to win top chapters/books. The only other sibling set to do this was... Addie and Noah!!! They got cool trophys and plaques. Plus, the highlight, a trip to OMSI with the top reader in each class. I even got to go as a chaperone. It was a long day, but so much fun. We had 2 of Noah's friends in our little group to explore for the day.