Yesterday was a rough day for me. Which as a special needs parent, that isn't too uncommon. But I went to bed with a million different emotions running through my head. All I could do was pray and beg God to grant me enough peace to help me sleep. So many questions ran through my head. After waking up this morning and spending time reading God's Word and praying, I felt compelled to send a little note to all my friends who are in the same boat as I. You may not be going through a rough time with your child right now, but I'd venture to guess you have not too long ago and you will not too far from now. So if and when you do, I hope you read this and it brings you comfort.
1. You're a great mom. You're probably questioning that right now. But don't. God couldn't have picked a better person to raise that baby of yours.
2. Your frustrations are normal. I know it's hard to not be emotional. Our rational brains know that the way our child is acting out is not on purpose but, our irrational side can't help but be frustrated by it. You've been patient for so long and all of the sudden, it's compiled to the point it's oozing out. You're not a bad person for your feelings.
3. You deserve a break. You deserve to let someone else deal with your sweet baby while you do simply nothing or something. Whatever it is, you deserve it. You put up with meltdowns, gross bodily fluids, heavy lifting, emotional worries, and sometimes physical abuse from your sweet baby. You. Deserve. A. Break.
4.Your needs are important, too. You deserve a warm meal, a hot shower, clean clothes, a hair cut, even a manicure and pedicure. Don't forget to take care of you. As busy moms, we need to take good care of ourselves. Feed ourselves healthy meals and exercise so that we can be healthy and strong enough to take care of our special babies.
5. Your Special Baby appreciates everything you do. They may not act like it or be able to express that but they do. You can see it in their eyes. Sometimes we forget to look for it. Sometimes we are so focused on the rough patch that we're going through that we don't notice it, but it is there. You know this because when they are hurting, they want you. When they are sad, they want you. The fact that they trust you with those emotions tell us that they appreciate us.
6. I'm praying for you. No one knows the struggles of moms like you, as well as other moms with special babies. When you feel all alone in the world you dwell in daily, know that I'm praying for you. I'm praying that God shows you His love and brings something or someone into your day that will help you through it. Don't forget how much He loves you. Don't forget that He knows more than anyone the struggles of a parent.
Hugs to all you Rock Star Mamas!
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
God's Gracie
Well, hello! Fancy meeting you here! It's been quite a while since I've updated the ol' blog. I'm not really sure why I am even now but I guess just feel compelled to share what is on my heart.
As I write this, I am sitting in a waiting room while Gracie is having a psychological evaluation done. Matt & I are trying to do what we can to get to the bottom of Gracie's disabilities. We're seeking to have them better defined so that we know exactly how to help her. This is probably something that we should have done long ago but it's pretty costly.
However, in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter why she is the way she is. I read a passage in the Bible at church 2 Sundays in a row and both times I felt The Lord nudging at my heart about it. The passage is found in John 9:1-3.
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
There have been many, many times in this journey with Gracie that I have thought I need an answer to why she struggles so. I've also found myself telling Matt that if I had it to do all over again I'd do things differently with her from birth. (Natural birth, vaccinations, breast feed, etc) He gets so mad at me. He always tells me not to think like that because that's putting the blame or even power on me. As I was reading this passage in church, those conversations replayed in my head. I finally understood what he was trying to tell me.
No one did anything wrong to make Gracie the way she is. She is who she is so that God can receive the glory for all that she accomplishes in life. If you continue reading through John 9 you'll see that Jesus healed this man of his blindness. He went around spreading this news to many people. Even better, the man wasn't just healed of his blindness, he trusted in The Lord as his Savior.
I don't know if Gracie will ever develop enough to live a life independent of Matt and I. I pray for that every day. But if she does not, I will not count that as a loss. Because every day spent with her is a reminder that God will be made manifest! Every little goal she accomplishes is a win for God. Every new word she says-win! Every task she learns-win! (FYI, she figured out how to snap her pants this week!) The story isn't over for this little girl.
When I was pregnant with each of my kids, I had a verse in mind for them that kind of goes a long with their name. I never knew how relative those verses would become to their lives. Gracie's is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.
The last part is the best because when we're weak, we have to rely on someone else's strength. Who better to rely on than God?! So stay tuned. God is using Gracie to show is His power!
PS. I also think He uses Gracie to teach me patience but that's a whole other blog post! :)
As I write this, I am sitting in a waiting room while Gracie is having a psychological evaluation done. Matt & I are trying to do what we can to get to the bottom of Gracie's disabilities. We're seeking to have them better defined so that we know exactly how to help her. This is probably something that we should have done long ago but it's pretty costly.
However, in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter why she is the way she is. I read a passage in the Bible at church 2 Sundays in a row and both times I felt The Lord nudging at my heart about it. The passage is found in John 9:1-3.
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
There have been many, many times in this journey with Gracie that I have thought I need an answer to why she struggles so. I've also found myself telling Matt that if I had it to do all over again I'd do things differently with her from birth. (Natural birth, vaccinations, breast feed, etc) He gets so mad at me. He always tells me not to think like that because that's putting the blame or even power on me. As I was reading this passage in church, those conversations replayed in my head. I finally understood what he was trying to tell me.
No one did anything wrong to make Gracie the way she is. She is who she is so that God can receive the glory for all that she accomplishes in life. If you continue reading through John 9 you'll see that Jesus healed this man of his blindness. He went around spreading this news to many people. Even better, the man wasn't just healed of his blindness, he trusted in The Lord as his Savior.
I don't know if Gracie will ever develop enough to live a life independent of Matt and I. I pray for that every day. But if she does not, I will not count that as a loss. Because every day spent with her is a reminder that God will be made manifest! Every little goal she accomplishes is a win for God. Every new word she says-win! Every task she learns-win! (FYI, she figured out how to snap her pants this week!) The story isn't over for this little girl.
When I was pregnant with each of my kids, I had a verse in mind for them that kind of goes a long with their name. I never knew how relative those verses would become to their lives. Gracie's is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.
The last part is the best because when we're weak, we have to rely on someone else's strength. Who better to rely on than God?! So stay tuned. God is using Gracie to show is His power!
PS. I also think He uses Gracie to teach me patience but that's a whole other blog post! :)
Monday, July 16, 2012
The boy turned 5!
Well, my baby turned 5 yesterday! It is crazy how fast this kid has grown. I vaguely remember him being a baby. Since he was born (a month early) he's been growing and developing so fast that I feel like I hardly got a chance to hold him! He's such an independent little kid. He refuses to be a Mama's Boy despite my best efforts. That's why I call him my Sweet Baby Muffin! He hates that. He's all boy and a big Daddy's boy!
He had a good birthday! We spent it at church and VBS. We ate dinner at MExican Inn and had apple pie and ice cream afterwards. He got a motorcriss helmet, gloves, and jersey,BB gun, water gun, Longhorn PJs, clothes, and money! (spoiled!) He thinks he's hot stuff!
He had a good birthday! We spent it at church and VBS. We ate dinner at MExican Inn and had apple pie and ice cream afterwards. He got a motorcriss helmet, gloves, and jersey,BB gun, water gun, Longhorn PJs, clothes, and money! (spoiled!) He thinks he's hot stuff!
Friday, July 13, 2012
4th and Vacation!
We are on our way back from our awesome vacation! We left last Saturday morning at 5:30a and made it to Port Aransas in a mere 10 hours!!! Lol! We had a blowout in San Antonio and had to stop to get that all taken care of so it took us a little longer than anticipated.
But the kids did great on the trip down thanks to the handy DVD player!
Once we got to Port A, we had a ball! It was such a nice relaxing trip where we just took it easy and swam our hearts out! We had a little bit of rain while we were still sleeping and some cover our last few days. But we still got plenty of sun!
We even came home with a new family member. Matt caught a crab for the kids! We bought him a little cage and bottled up some sea water. We named him Captain Crabby! We'll see how long he lasts. :)
All in all it was a great vacation! It was nice chilling out with my sister, bro in law and niece and nephews. Zade' and Gracie had so much fun being with them all too! Every night all the kids put themselves to bed. Now that's some tired kids!
So here are some pictures of our trip and some from 4th of July at my folks!
But the kids did great on the trip down thanks to the handy DVD player!
Once we got to Port A, we had a ball! It was such a nice relaxing trip where we just took it easy and swam our hearts out! We had a little bit of rain while we were still sleeping and some cover our last few days. But we still got plenty of sun!
We even came home with a new family member. Matt caught a crab for the kids! We bought him a little cage and bottled up some sea water. We named him Captain Crabby! We'll see how long he lasts. :)
All in all it was a great vacation! It was nice chilling out with my sister, bro in law and niece and nephews. Zade' and Gracie had so much fun being with them all too! Every night all the kids put themselves to bed. Now that's some tired kids!
So here are some pictures of our trip and some from 4th of July at my folks!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Summer Fun
Well, summer has been off to a pretty good start. The kids went to church camp for a week while Matt had his 3rd and hopefully final knee surgery. His recovery is going great and we hope this one will stick!
God has been so good to us in helping us manage all of these medical bills with our limited funds. We're so blessed!
Since the kids have been home and Matt's on sick leave we've gotten to enjoy a lot of family time! Next we go on vacation to the beach! We can't wait!
Here's some pics of our fun times so far!
God has been so good to us in helping us manage all of these medical bills with our limited funds. We're so blessed!
Since the kids have been home and Matt's on sick leave we've gotten to enjoy a lot of family time! Next we go on vacation to the beach! We can't wait!
Here's some pics of our fun times so far!
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