8 months old

Happy 8 months my precious boy!

I can't believe you are already 8 months! It seems like yesterday you were hours old in my arms...now, you are full of sounds, laughs, screams, and such a "big boy." You have some really funny new faces you make "squishing" your nose up and I am afraid you are imitating my frown face, LOL! You study everything intently. Any new places you look around and across the room with great fascination. You like the vowel sound noises best (ohs, ahs, ees, uhs, mmms) and like to vary the pitch up and down as well as loud and soft. You are still working on crawling, reaching "up", and learning to grasp Cheerios from your tray (I still have to put them in your hand, but most of the time they make it to your mouth). I see the beginning of "raking" your hands when things are on your tray in front of you and you are a champion at grabbing everything (hair, necklaces, you name it) and it goes straight to your mouth..your brother and sisters are learning about "choking hazards" so when you do start to crawl we will be ready! All the tiny perla beads, pixos, and lego pieces are hard to keep up high, so we may have to rethink toys around here (Dad will be thrilled!). Your sisters and brother are so in love with you (as are your Dad and I) and we love to see them playing and having fun with you. More importantly you love them too, your face lights up when they come home from school or sneak up on you while you are playing. Peek a boo is a funny game to you and one of your favorite things is to blow raspberries at them.



What a difference 8 months makes. Not every day is easy, but the storm clouds are continuing to clear. God is good. Life is full, we feel blessed and can't wait to see what new things you accomplish each and every day. All my love my precious Parker!



Mom

The "R" Word

Last week I went to one of my favorite childrens clothing stores for some shopping. The district manager was there, store was crazy, so she was checking people out. We were chatting about things and as I went to sign the keypad for the credit card machine it got stuck. She kept resetting it, but no luck. Her comment.. "its OK, it is acting retarded...um, uh, funny,uh...so sorry.." She was completely flustered from that point on. I have to say the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I know she meant no harm, wasn't intentionally being hurtful, and the comment wasn't being directed at my son or any other developmentally delayed or impaired child.

What it did was make me evaluate my own actions and comments over the years. I don't use that word, never have, never will, but I am sure there are things I have said that have been completely insensitive to others. I think of my friends that have kids with unique gifts and I keep wondering if I said things unknowingly that were hurtful. For that I am truly sorry. While you know it never would have been my intent, I feel the need to apologize. I made assumptions about things without thinking. As I find myself learning more about inclusion I reflect on my past thoughts that special programs might be best, so the kids might not get "hurt" by mean other kids. This view is NOT one I take for Parker and I expect him to be a contributing member of society. Don't re-evaluate everything you've ever said to me or will say to me in the future. What I know is we all make mistakes, we all need grace and forgiveness. Just wanted to share that I need that grace and forgiveness as well!

But please, remove the "R" word from your vocabulary. I pray that my kids won't ever hear that comment especially as it relates to their brother, but I am prepared if it happens.

Rant over! :)

We had school off yesterday and the girls had fun feeding Parker. He wasn't sure what to expect, they were coming at him from both sides!

Blessings!

Celebrate the Shape God has Given Only You

Rick Warren's Daily Devotional for 1/14/2010

"But you, who do you think you, a human being, are, to answer back to God? Something that was made, can it say to its maker: why did you make me this shape? Romans 9:20 (NJB)

Since God knows what's best for us, we should gratefully accept the way he has fashioned us. The Bible says, "But who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, "Why did you make me like this?" (Romans 9:20 TEV)

Your shape was sovereignly determined by God for his purpose, so you shouldn't resent it or reject it. Instead of trying to reshape yourself to be like someone else, you should celebrate the shape God has given only to you. "Christ has given each of us special abilities whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts." (Ephesians 4:7 LB)

Part of accepting your shape is recognizing your limitations. Nobody is good at everything, and no one is called to be everything. We all have defined roles. Paul understood that his calling was not to accomplish everything or please everyone but to focus only on the particular ministry God had shaped him for (Galatians 2:7-8). He said, "Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God's plan for us." (2 Corinthians 10:13 NLT)

The word boundaries refers to the fact that God assigns each of us a field or sphere of service. Your shape determines your specialty. When we try to overextend our ministry reach beyond what God shaped us for, we experience stress. Just as each runner in a race is given a different lane to run in, we must individually "run with patience the particular race that God has set before us." (Hebrews 12:1 LB)

Don't be envious of the runner in the lane next to you; just focus on finishing your race. God wants you to enjoy using the shape he has given you. The Bible says, "Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else." (Galatians 6:4 NLT)

Satan will try to steal the joy of service from you in a couple of ways: by tempting you to compare your ministry with others, and by tempting you to conform your ministry to the expectations of others. Both are deadly traps that will distract you from serving in the ways God intended. Whenever you lose your joy in ministry, start by considering if either one of these temptations is the cause."

I'd say Parker has a shape to celebrate!!

Education?

This new year is off to a great start..we are back to the "routine" and I haven't had much time for blogging. Took some much needed rest from the virtual world and spent it being lazy with the kids over the holiday! I promise to be more dedicated to giving updates on Parker, but at this point I am HAPPY to report we have nothing new to report! He is doing terrific, growing and changing everyday. He is sitting! Yeah! Last night we had a zhu zhu pet party on the floor of the girls room. He laughed and laughed at those crazy pets running all over the floor! No pictures, but the memories are priceless!

This new year has me thinking about new things. In particular school. Wondering what might be available to Parker as he approaches K and if it is possible to find a Christian school that is inclusive. I need some help with research and ideas/opinions from you experts. Give me some places to start! and some insight, did you send you son/daughter to preschool early? did you chose a specialized school? What was/is the outcome of either choice? If so, when did you start and why? I find myself struggling with the possibility that Parker can't be in school with my "typical" kids. I know it is a long way off and not something we can understand until we see how all of this develops. Just starting to wonder..any thoughts? Don't hold back!!!

Blessings to all!

Lara

Pictures are priceless...especially when the new big sister is involved :) American Girl doll hat missing in action :)