For about the first five years of Mari's life she wasn't one to openly give a hug. It really wasn't her thing. We all know why. It was due to her autism. We all understood that. Then I became a customer of this wellness company and after a couple of years I started to give Mari an antioxidant that this company sells. Approximately within two weeks from the time she started to take this antioxidant Mari's started to change. She was able to concentrate for longer periods of time. She gave better … [Read more...]
F is for “Finding Nemo”
Oh, my, yes! Finding Nemo, one of Mari's very favorite movies. If we'd allow her to she'd watch it all day along with Cars, and Jonah: A Veggies Tales Movie. Her little arms would flap in excitement as she watched one of them play our before her. What I noticed about Mari is she never liked movies that had people in them, or if they did it was very small parts, like all the Disney Princess movies. She just had no interest whatsoever. However, is a movie or a TV program had animals, that was her … [Read more...]
E is for Energy
If we could have somehow found a way to bottle up Mari's energy I think it could have powered a small city. She never seemed to wear out. She rarely took a nap. Kids with autism, it's like their minds have a hard time shutting down. This is why you hear of so many who sleep two, three, maybe four hours every night. While the average person wouldn't be able to function on a regular basis this way, those with autism, their minds work differently than ours. It's like they can't ever let the minds … [Read more...]
D is for Determined
Mari was one of the most determined people I knew. While she may have had autism it didn't ever stop her when she wanted to do something. The only problem with that is her safety awareness, while she was 8 years old, was that of about a toddler. When she wanted to do something, it was amazing to see how she tried to accomplish it, of course, almost always after the fact is when I'd find out what her little determined mind decided she was going to do. One of the memories, that now brings a … [Read more...]
C is for Chewy Tube
You might be asking what a chewy tube is exactly. Well, it something my daughter needed. So many children with autism need to be orally stimulated by either sucking on things or chewing on them. If Mari didn't have one on, she'd put her shirt in her mouth and suck that. She did it to the point sometimes that she'd put holes in her shirts. So at all times she had one attached to either her shirt or her dress to take care of that need. We have one of Mari's chewy tubes attached to the pink hippo … [Read more...]
Been a little absent
I'm sure those of you who have been following me here have noticed I went silent over the month of December. Most might think it was because of the holidays and in particularly Christmas. The thing is, I was looking forward to Christmas; however, Mari's birthday was December 29 and she would have turned fourteen. Man, fourteen years have come and gone since I gave birth to my precious little girl. Fourteen years. I still remember how difficult my pregnancy had been. How giving birth to her had … [Read more...]
Billy Graham and My Life
I sat here tonight watching a Fox New Channel special called “My Hope America w/Billy Graham.” I sat here crying as I watched because it’s just so simple and so many miss it. That Jesus died, yes He died for every last human being on this planet from the past, present and future. He took all the sin of everyone and put it on Himself so that we may have everlasting life. Think about that. He died having never committed a sin taking on every last one of our sins so that we may live eternally in … [Read more...]
Day 141: Poetry for Your Table
Sometimes the words we speak or see can be that old saying, "Poetry to our ears." It's not so much the words that are spoken as much as the meaning behind them. I think that has become more evident for me now than any other time in my past. When I'd read a book, it was just that, a book. Don't get me wrong. If I read a book it's because I enjoyed it. However, now, those same words take on a different meaning for me. When put together just right, they can seem like they are poetry to our … [Read more...]
What if money were no object
That isn't a hard one. I know there are the typical answers like traveling the world, or buying your dream house or car (or both :) ). But that is more materialistic than what I'd want to do. First, I'd want to start the scholarship program in my daughter's memory. For those of you who don't know me very well, my daughter had severe classic autism. And finding good teachers who not only want to teach but want to teach child with autism and also have the patience to do it at the same time are … [Read more...]
Happiness and Finding It within Yourself
I can honestly say that life is good right now. I’ve got everything transferred from my paper planner to one on my computer for the upcoming school year. I’m getting read to start writing my book again. Athena is doing great both in school and personally. We’re happy. Alaska is a beautiful place to live. There are mountains surrounding you everything with the ocean in places they aren’t. It’s finally getting fully dark here by around 10pm at night compared the all day light basically of the … [Read more...]
