Back to the beginning

Well where should I begin? I went to Nebraska in October to help my sister pack her house for a move to North Dakota. While I was there, I went to get my hair cut with my favorite hair stylist. I was telling her about my sewing obsession and desire to sell my work and she mentioned that she had a baby boutique business that she was no longer interested in running. She still had all kinds of supplies and products left and was interested in selling them. We scheduled a time to get together and go through everything. She named a price and I said yes. I came out as the proud new owner of Big Fat Baby. I've had so much fun setting the business up. I've done two craft shows so far and have more in the works. I bit off more than I can chew with designing a website so it's still a work in progress. I have so many ideas and plans and dreams. And it's great that Jody is so supportive with everything. Not every husband could handle the house looking like a fabric store exploded in it all the time.

Resolutions

As the new year begins, I've made a few goals for myself:
1. Have family scripture study and family prayer every night.
2. Journal at least once a week.

I'm all about keeping it simple. I don't want to get myself too overwhelmed.

Projects

I go through these cycles: sewing, scrapbooking, cooking, cleaning. I get stuck on one thing and go crazy with it. Lately I've been obsessed with sewing. It started when I saw a link on a friend's fb page for a tutorial on flower hair bows. Then my mom came down on vacation and we made not one, but two trips to the fabric store. That started me working on minky blankets and more hair bows. Then I caught a sale on flannel fabric at Hancock Fabrics which led to rag quilts. A fellow sewing friend and I like to compare projects. She got me started on personalized onesies and burp clothes. I now have fabric stacked all over our tiny living room and a sewing machine that takes cut half of our tiny table. I was thinking about selling on ebay or etsy, but now my friend and I are thinking about doing a craft show together. Here are some of my latest projects:

The decision

Jody and I talked about it today and I think for now we are going to homeschool Paxton. I just feel like it would be throwing him to the wolves to put him in a situation where he doesn't have the skills to cope. We're going to try to be more involved in our local homeschool group and get Paxton involved in some other activities. I feel good about this decision and think it will be in his best interest for now.

Paxtons Appt #2

We met with a team of 5 specialists. They did more testing and more questioning. Afterward we all met together and went over the results. They aren't sure what is going on with Paxton. They said he really is too young for an aspergers diagnosis. And it's difficult to tell whether his behaviors are because of his severe sensory issues, coping skills or something more. They said they will reevaulate him in a year and see how things have progressed. In the meantime they suggested behavior therapy and they gave me the number for an Autism Resource center where I can find out about activities in my area to work on social skills.

Now I'm torn about whether or not I should send him to school. I know at school he will have a good schedule and get the socialization he needs. He could also get his speech and behavior therapy and probably OT there. His case worker said I may be able to get him in for half days. But I don't think he will ride the bus so I'm looking at 2 hours of driving everyday to take him to and from school. And I worry about his being teased and made fun of. I've been really excited about getting things ready to homeschool him because he's so eager to learn. And then I wonder if I send him to school, should I go ahead and send Olivia too. But between school and gymnastics, I feel like I will never see her.

I'm just so overwhelmed right now. The homeschool intent letter has to be turned in by the 15th and school starts Thursday so I feel like I'm under the gun on making a decisiion. And of course Jody says whatever I think it best.

HOT!

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.