Dreams do come true

For years I told Jody I wouldn’t marry him because he wasn’t LDS. For years I hoped and prayed that one day he would be baptized. He agreed to go to church with me and we finally got married. He has gone to church with me for the last 11 years. Yesterday my dream came true. Jody got baptized!

Patrick Shirley served a mission in our area and always regretted not getting Jody baptized. He talked with Jody about taking the plunge. We set the date for July 26th and said we would proceed unless Jody said otherwise. I tried not to get my hopes up before hand because Jody kept saying he might back out. Little did I know…

It was a small low-key baptism. The only people present were Patrick, 2 missionaries to serve as witnesses, me and the kids, and Sendai and two of her kids. It was surreal when Jody walked out in a white jumper. As I watched him walk down into the water, I had to hold back tears.

The gift he has given our family is invaluable. I didn’t think it was possible, but my love for him has grown yet again. I can’t wait for the day when our family will go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity.

Learning the ropes

“During this ride, I wondered how other mothers with autistic kids dealt with it. Were they also lost in knowing how to get help? I couldn’t believe the red tape and the maze with no directions. What if I hadn’t started searching for help? What if no one ever told me there was help?”
-Jenny McCarthy, Louder Than Words

My biggest obstacle with getting Paxton help has been finding assistance. Everything I have learned about the system, I have learned on my own. You don’t get a pamphlet that says “hey your kid has a disability, here’s what to do next“. In fact, when I first mentioned my concerns about Paxton’s extreme sensitivities at his well child check-up, his normally thorough pediatrician blew me off. It was when I mentioned it to his early-childhood speech therapy caseworker, that someone finally shared the same concerns as I. She gave me the name of a pediatric OT who set Paxton up for testing which got the ball rolling for therapy. From there I had to ask questions about getting a diagnosis and an IEP for school. We’ve been waiting almost a year to get Paxton into a developmental center for an official diagnosis. A YEAR! That’s a year of unanswered questions and a year of time that could have been spent helping him. They say as many as 1 in 115 kids have autism. Why aren’t there more resources available to diagnosis and treat them? How many kids miss out on a critical time for therapy and services because their caregivers don’t know where to turn? Having a child with a disability has been an eye-opening process. There needs to be a better system in place to help these children get the help they so desperately need.

Not again

There was another lizard and washing machine incident. This one was much smellier and much worse. It is an experience I do not wish to remember. I no longer look at little lizards running briskly by with fondness. I now want to run screaming in the opposite direction.