His 2nd birthday party came and went. It was nothing like I’d imagined or secretly hoped for. There was no singing of “Happy Birthday”. Being surrounded and focused on by a group of people scares him and, to have them all start singing at him…there would only be tears. The candles scared him too, and… Continue reading Tradition Redefined
We’re back here again, living in a deep valley that no one around us seems to understand. Both my daughter and my son have been in meltdown mode day in and day out for weeks. Life did that thing again that sends them over the edge: it changed. My daughter lost her favorite therapist to another… Continue reading The Gift Of Acknowledgment
I got myself a gift this Mother’s Day: A Tattoo. If you’d asked me a few years ago if I’d ever get a tattoo, I’d tell you not in a million years. I just didn’t view myself as “the type”, whatever that means. Things changed. I changed. I’ve been deep in the trenches for as long… Continue reading Chosen By Grace
Just when I think I’m starting to get ahead of this feeling, it comes back again. I’m an angry mom. I don’t even always know why except that, if I’m being honest, I’ve let selfishness take over. There’s a screaming toddler at my feet, another in time-out, sticky floors and endless piles of laundry, a… Continue reading Sweet Sacrifice
These past few weeks have been life-altering. God reached down and shook the very core of me. Not one person was aware of it…but, for me, everything changed. During worship time at church one day, a child with Autism was singing. We all were, but she was singing… Belting. It. Out. She was all-in. Her words floated… Continue reading All-In: Purpose In The Journey
So, there’s this girl… My daughter holds her hand. The same daughter who keeps me at arms length because Autism makes snuggles just too hard. She gives her hugs. She seeks her out and, in her presence, is drenched in joy. There’s this girl who calls my daughter in the middle of a meltdown to… Continue reading So, There’s This Girl…
Much of life at this moment is hanging in the balance. The future has always been uncertain, but now the only thing I’m certain of is that I have no control and no idea what’s to come. God has called me out onto the waves…and a storm is approaching. During a recent meeting, as I discussed… Continue reading Sweetly Broken: The Cost Of Faith
There aren’t many parts of my life, emotionally speaking, that are comfortable. Parenting children with Autism has transformed my world into a place that somehow contains both all-encompassing, rigid schedules and constant, unpredictable flashes of chaos all at the same time. I recently scheduled a visit with my doctor, thinking there had to be something major physically wrong with… Continue reading Joyfully Uncomfortable: A Leap Of Faith
In my daughter’s eight years of life, she’s only ever said the words “I Love You” as a recited response. Having Autism makes it hard for her to connect with us emotionally in the ways we’re used to. She loves us in her own special way…a certain look in her eyes, the ways she’ll touch… Continue reading When “I Love You” Hurts
In our home, we’re in the middle of a very draining, painful season on the special needs parenting journey. This season, I’m told, will come to an end. When the end will come is unpredictable. What is predictable is that, though this difficult season will lead to a less difficult season, the cycle will only… Continue reading My Gifts: A Confession
