Gratitude for Our Blessings

Thank you all for the encouraging comments to my blog about vaccinations. Joe and I never make such a decision without really knowing what we are talking about. We never take our children's health lightly.

Over the past week, I haven't blogged as much. I went to the doctor & found I had an upper respiratory infection, sinus issues, and had coughed so much my throat was raw & swollen. The doctor made the comment that it was as though I had strained something, which caused the swelling on one side of the throat. After taking Z-pack antibiotics, I am much better.

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. The time is going by way to quickly. We have so much to be grateful for this year. Joe's job is going very well. He doesn't get home nearly as often as we would like but we are blessed that he has a job that supports us. I have often felt that Joe's minstry is on the road. Each new student that he trains is an opportunity to share his faith. He has never been shy about living his faith in front of others. From this, he often has people ask him about his beliefs. God gives him opportunities to share His love with others.

Last week, we had a scare that turned into a precious gift from the Lord. My eldest son, who is a trucker driver, drives a tanker hauling fuels or other liquids. He was hauling an explosive liquid and rolled the truck several times. We finally learned that he only had minor injuries from broken glass and a sore leg from where it got pinned. He was very blessed! Semi truck roll-overs are rarely that good of an outcome. It was a blessing from the Lord that he was able to basically walk away from that accident.

Homeschooling Abbie is a treasure in my days. The little moments when she "gets it" and becomes animated are moments that I hold dear. Recently, she realized that she was not only reading sight words but was able to sound new words out all on her own. The pure joy on her face and excitement was a precious gift. When she realised that she was able to sound out words on her own she said she was so happy that God is helping her learn to read. Wow! At 5 yrs of age she already is gaining the understanding that our talents and gifts come from the Father. Abbie is wanting to learn to sew. I am putting together a little sewing kit for her. Collecting buttons and fabric swatches for her to use is turning into a fun project for me. I bought her an embroidery hoop and floss. With the muslin that I already have and some iron on designs, she will be able to learn to do simple stitchwork. I am going to let her make some of these from muslin blocks. When she is done with each one, I will date and save them to make into a patchwork quilt wall hanging for her.

Micah has been gaining so much ground in his development. He is trying to talk so much more and we are beginning to get a good glimpse at the sheer size of his vocabulary. Little things will trigger him to talk. One being when you get him a sippy cup of water. He uses a cup that has the Cars character "Speed McQueen" on it. When he sees that cup he says, "ca cu" for car cup. We are noticing that he often will drop the last sound of a word. One word that he has no trouble at all saying is "cookie" which is what he calls anything from a cheese cracker to a vanilla wafer. By simply easing off and treating him like a typical child, he is gaining far more ground than when he was getting a lot of the therapies. I still work with him in a prechool-type manner and is supporting the language he is able to use. We acknowledge his speech by responding to it. If he asks for a cookie, he gets one. In doing that, we are reinforcing to him that his speech has meaning and purpose. Micah is gaining independence also. He is learning to color, paint, dress himself with limited assistance, feed himself, and interacting much more. God is blessing him daily in his growth.

There is much more to be grateful for this year. The above is just a drop in the bucket. I will write more later.

Blessings,
Paula