The Conversation that didn't happen.....

OWEN (preferably in August): Hey Mom?

ME: Yes?

OWEN: I'm thinking about being in and out of the hospital for the next couple of months.

ME: Oh. Okay? What's going to be wrong?

OWEN: The doctors aren't really going to know. Could be an allergy to the tube or an infection or bacteria or acid, etc. But no matter the cause, my g-tube is going to cause a LOT of problems.

ME: Okay. Well thanks for letting me know. I probably shouldn't try to go back to school right now.

OWEN:  Yeah, probably not. Good luck with that.

ME: Good luck to you too. Hope everything works out okay.

OWEN: Oh and Mom?

ME: S'up?

OWEN: I know I complicate things a lot of times, but damn I'm cute.

ME: True story, son. True story.

We're home.

Again.

With no promises of what's to come. 

For now, the tube stays.

That could change.

We have awesome friends.

We have awesome family.

And we have an awesome God who is going  to continue to give us strength, even when we get a little peeved at His plans. He's cool like that.

Occasionally I miss this.

Usually I'm too busy to notice, 

but occasionally an old picture will catch my eye.

Followed by a sigh.

And sometimes I miss those toddler days.

Not all the time.

But sometimes.

Awwwwwwwww.

Coming out of the Closet......

So I came out of the "autistic" closet on FB the other day.

Obviously I'm not super private since I blog about our family life and struggles, but I've always been hesitant to post about the joys and struggles of autism on facebook.

And I can't really say why, other than I feel like it's an invitation for the world to judge my family?

But I took the plunge and decided that raising money for a great cause was more important than my own facebook insecurities.

And wow. Just WOW.

We made a team for the Autism Society Race on October 12th.

And my kids think $1,000 is like the pinnacle. One thousand dollars can buy you anything you want according to them, including a trip to Hawaii. lol. And knowing we only had a month to meet that goal, we set our goal for $1000 and decided to go for it.

And I put it on FB and less than 24 hours later, we're over halfway there.

Just WOW!

God is good. He took my fears and insecurities and said, step off the ledge, trust me, and just watch what I can do through modern technology.

And He did.
And He's doing.

And we're so grateful.

And if you go to this page and look up the team, Owen's Pack, you can see our goals and successes. And if you want to join us in racing, donating, or praying, we are extremely grateful.

(I couldn't figure out how to link it but you should be able to copy and paste....)

http://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1052904&lis=0&kntae1052904=95938A8D3A214D4AADD248E769AFEF8F&supId=0&team=5685234&cj=Y

And our life with autism and other health needs keeps on keeping on.

Owen did better transitioning to school this week and even seems to have made a few friends.

He also learned the song Boom Chicka Boom. He's very proud.

As for our battle with Bacteria and the tube? Well.......? Let's just say the infection is in one corner of the boxing ring and we're in the other with our bottle of Cipro. And we're waiting to see who makes the next move. The site doesn't look terrible but it doesn't look great either. We have another follow-up with Infectious Disease this week and we're cautiously watching what happens when we go off the cipro on Monday.

In other news,

the bigs are rocking out their school year.

Isaac comes home each day with stories of football and friends. I think maybe he's learning something too but I can't be sure based on the fact that all he wants to talk these days is sports. And my boy was a serious help last weekend while we were getting our new church building ready to launch.

Emma Grace (here with Noah) is working hard figuring out third grade tests and more homework and how to improve the much needed skill of eye-rolling as she advances on towards the pre-teen years.

As for me?
Holy cow.
College is a little bit harder with three kids.

I mean, who'd a thunk it, right?

One semester at a time. Well, more like one hour at a time......

As for Todd?

You guys.
There is some serious stuff happening under this roof. Feelings are changing.....

And don't tell him I told you this, but the other night he said he thought Lucy was cute. (This is a big step up from threatening to rip her face off.....) So one year later, he's finally softening a very teeny-tiny little bit to our crazy furry family member! I think I'm going to go buy them BFF necklaces tomorrow.

Little Lamb.

Oh. And holy crap, this came for me in the mail the other day! And I won't say who sent it because then you'll all be begging her to buy you one too, but I will say that I was shocked. I've never owned a Coach anything before and let's just say I might be a little bit obsessed with it. It's so pretty. And I know we shouldn't be all about "stuff" and I'm usually not a girly-girl, but man, sometimes stuff, like a surprise Coach bag from my sister, just makes life a little more fun.

Did I mention that it was Coach?
Don't you just love it?

We went to dinner tonight with my brother-in-law's family and yes, they all hugged the coach bag upon parting. Because they're cool like that.

And that's about it for the haps around these parts.

How about you?

The Infection from Hell

Holy Crapballs!

You guys,

We are still, over one month later, fighting this dang infection!

We have been to various doctors more times than I care to count and now we're working with Infectious Disease Doctors and trying yet another new very strong antibiotic to see if we can kick this thing once and for all.

And I'm tired of this infection.

And I'm tired of all the drugs they've been pumping in my lil' boy's body.

And I'm tired of washing all these things because everything has to be given through the tube multiple times a day.

You know the tube, right?

 The g-tube that was supposed to make our lives easier?

Yup, that's the one. 

The same one that's seriously infected.

Ironic, huh?

So basically this post is just me venting.

Because I'm tired and I feel like complaining even though it doesn't help. 

I'm cool like that.

And sometimes a girl just needs a good ole' fashioned pity party.

And sometimes a girl needs her sister.....but she lives far away.

So you're stuck with the pity party.

You're welcome.