God Speaking

As I drove Parker to therapy one of my favorite CD's was playing and one of my favorite songs I hadn't heard in awhile began to play. I love Madesa for a number of reasons, but this song really hit home when it came out a few years back. It was "God Speaking" This time it spoke to me in different ways. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZI2gOBvBHk

Here are some of the lyrics

"..Who knows how He’ll get a hold of us?

Get our attention to prove he is enough.

He’ll do and He’ll use whatever He wants to

To tell us, I love you.

His ways are higher

His ways are better

Though sometimes strange

What could be stranger than God in a manger?"

Another part of the song says "Do you know what it feels liketo be tangled up in fear?

What if He’s somehow involved? What if He’s speaking through it all?"

What I realized as I travel this journey with Parker is God IS speaking. Even when I don't hear Him, He is speaking. I don't think often enough I have listened. Nor have I stopped long enough to hear what he is saying.

Lord, you have my attention, you prove YOU are enough.
Help me to listen and hear you speaking through it all.

Blessings, Lara

PS. Parker DOES have other sweaters, just LOVE the blue on him and in TX we are having unusual cold!

Love Is..

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:3-8

Parker's First Valentine's Day..could he be more loved? We think not!

It's Great to be 8!

Mallory turned 8 on Sat, February 6th. What a day we had! A birthday party at the Young Chef's Academy with all her friends. Cooking pizza and decorating cupcakes. Mallory is a BIG Minnie fan, so of course we had a Minnie themed party even down to the outfit.

Hard to believe she is 8 years old already. Seems like yesterday when she was born...

Mallory, we are so proud of the precious young lady you have become. You love wholeheartedly all the time and are the most gracious, kind, caring child. God gave you a heart for kindness and you teach us so much about love. You love all things "girly" makeup, dress up (can't you tell from the outfit?), anything with "bling" and sparkle. You have a heart for prayer and are always quick to pray for those that are hurt or suffering. You are a wonderful big sister to Madeline and Parker. We love to see you and Madeline playing together for hours on end. We know that sisters are a special gift that God gives and we love to see you together (even when you two are cooking up something naughty!). We know God has great plans for you our precious girl, we can't wait to see how they unfold!

All of our love, Mom and Dad

The Love Challenge

The last few weeks we have been talking about "the Love Challenge" at church. We have been given a 10 week "challenge". We have been challenged to expand our understanding of love (see below). Seems to be a simple, common sense message, we are all taught to love at all times. We know we are to give unconditional love like Christ. Here is the thing though..as I've tried for the last few weeks to love at ALL times (when kids are picking on each other, when they are complaining, tired, I am tired, etc..) I find myself losing my temper over and over again. It is easy to love when the kids are perfect, when people are kind and willing to share, when people don't say hurtful things, when life "goes our way" and everything is perfect (or so we think). It is easy to love when you get the job you want, the raise you want, win the award you want...fill in the blank here...

One of the blessings Parker gives is constant love. I know they say children that have DS are "happy" kids (not sure this really is true of them all since they do all experience the range of full emotions), but what I know is that Parker's face lights up when you glance his way, when he hears his siblings voice, sees us when we've stepped away, when we make silly faces or play silly games with him. He loves to belly laugh when his brother gets close and tickles his tummy, when his sisters read to him at night he listens intently and smiles so wide. He laughs when we blow on his face or when his Daddy whistles on his face or in his ear. Even when he is fussy or tired, he can muster a smile through the tears. I find myself asking if I smile through the tears? Not very often I'm afraid.

As I continue to ask what is the purpose of this journey with Parker I wonder if it is to help us understand the true love of Christ and His love for all of us? "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Here is the 10 week challenge from our church, seems simple enough..are you up for the challenge? http://thelovechallenge.net/challenge/

you are challenged to expand your understanding of the meaning of love;
1 Corinthians 13
you are challenged to love God more fully: Deuteronomy 4:37
you are challenged to love one another on a higher level: John 15:12
you are challenged to express love sacrificially: Ephesians 5:2
you are challenged to ask God for ways to show love to those who need it
you are challenged to seek God for ways to show Christ’s love to the unlovely: Luke 6:32-35
you are challenged to find ways to express love toward those who are adversarial: Matthew 5:44
you are challenged to be a conduit of God’s unconditional love: 1 John 4:19
you are challenged to record the ways that God is leading you to express love toward Him and others

Blessings! Lara

PS Pictures of Parker with his new trick sitting and grabbing feet..think this used to be a ballet move? Ah, to be this flexible again....

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!!