God's Grace in Autism

Not long ago, I was asked a simple, yet difficult question. "Where is God in autism?" The person who asked was a reader of my blog and just didn't seem to understand how a loving God would allow autism to happen. They spoke of the burden autism places on a family. It saddened me to read their email. I wanted to answer them here as well as personally.

As most who read my blog already know, we believe that our son is autistic for a purpose. No, we don't feel that God "made" our son autistic. We believe that God "allowed" him to be autistic for a purpose. You see, the Lord is powerful enough that if it were His will, he could cure our son at any time. Nothing is greater than the power of our Lord! If our son is autistic, then we believe that the Lord will use our son's autism as a testimony of His grace and power. Today, I saw a glimpse of that grace.

Our son is now using a regular bed instead of his baby crib. Sometimes in the mornings, he will come into my room and wake me up. He is a very early riser! Today was one of those mornings. I was awaken by my little guy climbing up on the bed. He held onto my hands and we played a little tugging game that he enjoys. When we were done, he leaned against me and said "I love you". That may not seem like much, but our son is considered non-verbal. He mimics sounds and occasionally words that he hears. It is a rare moment when he actually says something with full intent and meaning. The one exception being his sippy cup. For our son to say "I love you" is a huge step forward. Realistically, it may be months or longer before he is able to say it again. His saying it this morning was a strong testimony of God's work in our son. The Lord is working through him to help free his speech! Later in the morning, he brought me his cup and the canister of cocoa mix. It was his way of asking for some cocoa. I made the cocoa for him and as he took the cup, he gave me a big smile and said "thank you" before running off to the other room. This was a first! Not only had he told me that he loved me, but he said thank you when I gave him his cocoa. Again, a glimpse of God's grace.

The Lord may not have cured our son overnight, but He is working through our son. Each new milestone is a blessing and a gift from the Lord. It is a moment of renewed hope for our son. There is no doubt in our minds that one day our son will be able to stand and share his testimony of what all he is able to do. Not what he is able to do in spite of autism, but what he is able to do because of the Lord's blessing him to overcome the obstacles of autism.

Christmas Simplicity

Years ago, I wrote a blog "Having a Green Christmas". I read through it again and the blog is just as relevent today as it was when I wrote it back in 2008.

Christmas simplicity is taking back control over the holiday celebrations and putting priorities where they should be. The holiday is a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Where does that fit in with the holiday craziness that ensues each year? It doesn't. If you take a good honest look at the holiday craziness in your family's celebrations, you may just discover that the further you move away from keeping Christ as the central focus of the holiday, the crazier your life becomes.

In our home, we keep it as simple as possible. We have a small (no larger than 3' tall) tree to place on a desk for decoration. There is also a Nativity creche displayed in the home. Decorations are handmade by the family.

For gifts we limit them to 1-2 per person. Most are handmade gifts, which we prefer. We want to raise our chlidren to appreciate the work and talents of others more than a brand name & price tag. Occassionally, a gift may be purchased but only if it is something we are unable to make ourselves.

T keep Christ central in the celebrations, we have devotional Bible activities for the children. I found online a printable Jesse Tree activity for kids. You can find it at http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2009/11/advent-and-jesse-tree.html#. The free printable has a link, but the blog post shows how this mom made it.

Home Canned Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving a week early in our home. Joe had the weekend at home, so we took the opportunty to celebrate together. As I was preparing the meal, I did something different this year that turned our really well.

I bought twice as much turkey as we needed and roasted both. One was served for the meal, the other was deboned and packed into canning jars with a bit of water & broth. I filled the canner with the jars of meat and processed them.

When I made the whole cranberry sauce from fresh cranbarries, I used 2 bags of cranberries instead of the typical 1 bag. I was able to fill 2 pints and 6 half pint jars. I processed the half pints and 1 pint jar for later and served the 2nd pint jar with the meal.

Sweet potatoes from the produce department were already diced and canned in pint size jars. I drained the liquid from a few jars and seasoned them as I mashed them for making sweet potato casserole.

I baked a whole pumpkin. It was then sliced into wedges that I peeled and diced to be placed into pint jars. I filled the jars with water and processed them also. I now have a supply of pumpkin to use for pies or breads this winter. I will be adding another whole pumpkin's worth of canned pumpkin as soon as I get that one baked as well.

I am now thinking that in the future, I will be home canning much of the holiday meal's foods ahead of time. Having the canned sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and cranberry sauce made preparation of the holiday meal so much faster and easier.

Joe is loving it. I made up a box of Thanksgiving foods in jars for him to cook on the truck. When he cooks the turkey, he will likely be adding a scoop of dried seasoned bread stuffing mix to the pan to make his turkey & dressing. Add the canned gravy and his meal is all set!

With the actual holiday still a few days away, I hope this may inspire others to give it a go.

Blessings,
Paula

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

Continued Blessings

Well, blessings are abounding. In recent weeks, Micah began feeding himself snack crackers. I keep a little 3-sectioned dish of various snacks available where he can reach it. His favorites being: cheese fish shaped crackers, fruit snacks, popcorn, and dry cereal. Micah likes to walk around while he eats. It is a task to get him to eat sitting down. This week, I started putting him
into a booster seat at the table during meals. We are making him finger foods for most meals and set them in a divided plate in front of him. He looked pitiful, whining and fussing because we wouldn’t feed him. After a few minutes of our ignoring his attempts to get us to do it for him, Micah started feeding himself lunch. The first day it was something simple, a grilled cheese sandwich. Now, he will feed himself anything that does not require a fork or spoon.

It is fun to watch the progression that Micah is taking in his development. I am prepared for the
typical “two steps forward, one step back” routine that can often accompany such progression. Many kids will progress really well and then suddenly it is as though they lose ground briefly. Thankfully, any ground lost is regained quickly.

As he learns to communicate more and begin the steps towards independence, we are seeing a calming in Micah. He doesn’t become as frustrated as he used to. This is such a blessing to see. When the frustration is present, it is hard for Micah to calm himself enough to express his needs. With the newly found ability to feed himself a snack or his meal, he is gaining self-confidence. He is gaining a level of control in his world. With this, he is stimming less frequently. Overall, each new accomplishment is bringing with it a calming in Micah.

The Lord is doing so much with Micah. He is opening the locks in Micah that prevent him from being able to develop as a typical child would. Micah is starting to communicate more each day. Whether a gesture, sign language, or speech, he is communicating daily with us. I know that it is the Lord blessing Micah’s efforts. Each new day brings with it a witness to the Lord’s grace and blessing through Micah. I thank the Lord for this awareness that we are being given of Him.

Homemade Christmas with Simplicity

In our family, Christmas is a time when we focus on others more than
self. We never ask what the children want for Christmas, but what they
would like to make for someone else. This, to us, is critical in
teaching them to put others before themselves. Too often, children get
a massive case of the "I wants" or the "What did you get me" attitude.
In our focus upon the birth of Christ, we teach them that Christ gave
His all to others without expecting anything in return. In our walk
with the Lord, if we have His Spirit residing within us, shouldn't we
also want to bless others' lives and do for them with the same selfless
attitude?

We strive to give handmade gifts and to decorate with handmade
decorations. Often, the gifts are simple in nature, but ones that are
appreciated. One year, I made fleece slippers for Joe and the kids.
They loved them. Yes, there are some gifts that are purchased, but most
are homemade. We are trying to teach the children, through our example,
to give of themselves and their talents to others.

There are many gifts that can be made easily. Some are much faster than
others to make. It is not difficult to find instructions on nearly any
gift you may want to make. Books at the library as well as searching
online can yield a wide range of options for both gifts and decorations.

One of the first decisions to make is that of the tree. Large or small,
fake or real, indoors or outdoors, the tree is one of the focus points
in your holiday decor. We have a large desk that I am going to place a
small, potted tree on this year. We can then plant the tree later. It
will make a nice tradition with the kids to plant our holiday tree each
year. With it being a small tree, the amount of decoration needed is
minimal. One of the simple decorations that I have the supplies for is
a garland.

Raffia garland: I saw this idea on Shepherd Hill's website a couple of
years ago. You start with a length of string to serve as the base of
the garland. Onto the string, you tie on lengths of raffia until the
string is no longer showing. You can either tie the raffia in knots or
fold a length in half, wrapping it around the string and thread the ends
of the raffia through the loop of it's fold to tie the raffia onto the
string.

Using cookie cutters as a pattern, you can make felt ornaments. Trace
around a Christmas themed cookie cutter onto 2 layers of felt. Cut out
the shape. Using a blanket stitch, sew the 2 layers together. Glue
sequins, buttons, or other odds and ends to decorate. You may also
decorate them with dimensional fabric paint to give them a frosting look.

Applesauce-Cinnamon ornaments are easy to make. They are a great way to
give fragrance to the room also. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough
into shapes. Using a straw, make a hole to thread a ribbon through.
Bake the dough until hardened and let cool. Decorate with dimensional
paints and when dry, tie on ribbon for hanger.

Looking at websites such as the Pack-o-Fun or Family Fun magazine
websites, you can find many easy ornaments for kids to make.

A really nice way to display extra ornaments is to decorate a pine
wreath. You can even get clever and make them into a theme such as a
cookie cutter and decorated "cookies" for a kitchen wreath, for example.

In making gifts, I try to make ones that are things the person really
can get use from. My mother-in-law likes to wear a specific type of
apron, so that may be a good gift option for her. Being that Joe is out
on the truck a lot, he would better enjoy something he can use there.
One year, I made him a simple 2-layered fleece blanket for his bunk in
the truck sleeper. He still uses it. The kids also receive handmade
gifts.

One lesson that we are working on teaching the kids is to make their
gifts for others. Abbie has a potholder loom kit and has made
potholders on it. She was so excited to give her very first one that
she made to our pastor's wife, Miss Juli. Now, she is wanting to make
more to give others. Miss Juli was awesome when she got the potholder.
She made such a fuss over Abbie making it that Abbie's fired up to make
other gifts. Micah will be making his gifts also this year. I have a
couple of ideas in mind, but have to work out the details first since he
has a few sensory issues where textures are concerned. I am planning to
incorporate their holiday crafting into the homeschooling. Just put
into a shoebox the materials needed for that craft and have it ready to
use.

Through the next couple of months, I will be posting links to holiday
crafts that we will be making. I will post these links at least once a
week. Hopefully, these will also inspire you and your family.

Praising the Lord in Challenging Times

It has been a difficult time recently. It would seem that our lifestyle
has ruffled a few feathers. In my human-ness, my first reaction was one
of shock and disbelief that we would be singled out and attacked. We
have broken no law and rest easy in that knowledge. The fact is
however, that someone disagreed with our lifestyle and reported us to
child protection services. As I mentioned, there are no laws broken and
the complaints were more on our simple lifestyle & the fact that our son
is built like his Dad's side of the family, who are thin. The children
are happy and healthy. We are going to be fine through this challenge.
Joe and I talked often about this, including late into the night his
first night back home. We have chosen to praise the Lord for this
challenge! Sound strange? Think about it. How often in times of
struggle and challenge did the Apostle Paul praise the Lord for those
challenges?

When we accept the Lord into our lives and are baptized, we are in
essence allowing the Lord to come into our life completely. As we give
control of our life over to the Lord, we become more aware of the Lord's
influence in our life. He is a part of everything we say and do. If
you truly have given yourself to the Lord, there is no way to
compartmentalize your life into portions - this part is me, this part is
for the Lord. To do so is to serve 2 masters - the Lord and your own
human nature.

When Joe and I chose to be off-grid several years ago, we were following
the Lord's leading. We believe in not allowing ourselves to be put into
bondage voluntarily. I have discussed this before. In our belief, if
you are hooked up to a power company's service, you are in bondage to
that company if you want electricity. They own the pole, meter, and
lines. If you want their service, you must pay whatever amount they
require to get it. You cannot comparison shop for a better price. You
are bound to that company and are forced to step in line with their
demands. The same goes for all public utilities. Unless you have the
ability to choose from whom you will buy the service, you are in
bondage to the company that provides in your area. For this reason, we
gave up electricity. We realized just how dependent we had become on
them. For us, that dependence was not good. It was a form of bondage
and one that we had the ability to remove from our lives. The Lord
showed us that we could easily make the changes. He allowed events to
play out in our lives that made the change easier. He has blessed us in
that change as we followed the leading He gave us.

Through our blogs and Facebook, Joe and I are very open about our
lives. It has been a ministry of ours to help others to learn how to
live a more simple lifestyle. We never preach that our way is the only
way. Each person must pray and ask for the Lord's leading for their own
family, then follow where He wants them to be. Whether you live a
simple, Plain life as we are striving towards or not, our hope is that
we can provide information that will bless others. To censor ourselves
is to censor what the Lord is guiding us to do. When I write my blogs,
I do so only if prompted by the Lord and say only what the Spirit leads
me to say. I cannot censor the Lord or the Holy Spirit. To do so would
go against what the Lord has asked of me.

To be dealing our latest challenge, Joe and I are realizing that our
words and lives making an impact. Praise the Lord! We are touching
lives in His name and are helping to bring about changes that are
pleasing to the Lord. Our obedience in being willing to be open will
not make the evil one pleased. Surely, the evil one will want to find a
way to silence us. He will desire to make us doubt the Lord's being
Sovereign and in control. We cannot allow this. We will continue to be
bold in our praising of the Lord. If anything, this will strengthen us
to become even more bold! We are humbled and give praise to the Lord
for the impact He is making with others through the words He gives us to
write or say.

We are fully aware that our boldness, in spite of the evil one's
attempts to silence us, will ruffle even more feathers and make us a
target for his actions. There may be more attempts to silence us. We
know that the Lord is faithful and is in control. If we are challenged
due to our boldness, it is NOT because we are doing something wrong. It
is because we are doing what the Lord has asked of us. In our obedience
to the Lord - the evil one will never be happy. The focus for us
however is to keep our hearts open to the Lord's will and have the trust
in HIM to bless our family.

Going Vegetarian......Again

Well, here we go again. I had been eating meat and as always, my chronic pain issues have increased. Seems to go with the territory. Ever time I quit the vegetarian style of eating, I start having problems. So, I am getting serious with the vegetarian diet again.

This time around though, I am taking it a step further. I already know that Micah cannot have dairy without getting stomach and bowel problems. Too much meat does the same thing to him. I am gathering recipes for gluten-free foods for us. I am curious as to what that may do for us all. Gluten is a big problem with many autistic children. I am wondering how Micah would do if I gradually cut out the gluten.

Making the change all at once is difficult. I am finding that many gluten-free foods are very pricey. With that in mind, I am gathering recipes to try out that will allow me to make the foods from scratch. While the packaged foods are expensive, making them yourself doesn't have to be.

I was recently given the book "Gluten-free Cooking for Dummies" by a dear friend. In it, they have a recipe for a gluten-free flour mix to use in place of all-purpose flour. The various flours used in the mix may be harder to find, but I am sure that I will find them at an affordable price. I love to be challenged in my cooking. Learning to make everything gluten-free & dairy-free will be a great opportunity for me to stretch my abilities.

Micah has often turned away when we try to feed him meat. At times, he will even spit it out. It seems as though I am simply allowing him his own choice in this. At 3 yrs old, he rarely will eat meat without a fuss. I have mentioned to others often that if it were not for the yogurt, cheddar cheese, and eggs that he eats, Micah would be vegan.

I am looking forward to learning to convert family favorite recipes into a gluten-free, dairy-free alternative. From what I am seeing, it won't be a difficult transition. I will have to find a hand-cranked grinder to mill the grains into flour. This will be the most economical way to get the flours we need to make a good, nutrient loaded flour mix for making our breads and other foods.

Another option that I am adding is raw foods. There are many easy recipes to make that fall into this category. With the hot summer days ahead, I am also looking at the fact that I won't have to heat up the kitchen when making the meals. I already have known that the closer to raw a vegetable or fruit are, the higher thier nutrient levels and the more calories that are burned to digest the food. Overall, it is an excellent option for us.

I am so blessed that Joe supports his change. He enjoys trying the new recipes along with us. Being on the truck most of the time, he is able to get meat daily if he wants to while at a truck stop or through the home canned meals I send with him. When he is home though, he eats the vegetarian diet with us. I love that!

Going to New York

Greetings! It has been a busy few days at the homestead. I rented a tiller and my wonderful son-in-law tilled the garden - all 1680 square feet of it. Poor fella had some nasty blisters on both hands once finished. He says that he loved doing the physical work though. One thing is certain, he wants to buy a larger tiller before next spring to make the job go even easier. The early plantings are doing very well. The onion patch is flowing with onion sets with tall green leaves reaching towards the sun. Potatoes are growing and will soon need more soil covering them. I add soil for the first month or two and cover the potato plants as they sprout up. This forms a longer root which gives us more potatoes at the end of the season. Zucchini plants are looking very good. I am going to plant more zucchini seed directly into the ground. This will help me to have a longer harvest time. Over the next few days we will be getting the rest of the garden planted. We have weed barrier cloth in place already to prevent any weed growth. With a garden of this size, I find the cloth to be worth the cost. It prevents weed growth while also helping to hold the moisture in the ground. We have used it before with great results. In that year, I never had to weed the garden even once! I have plans to home can as much of the harvest as possible. My oldest daughter, her husband, and their son live on the homestead now. This garden is going to be feeding all of us this winter. I am working at building up my cannign jar supply. A dear friend recently found some at a yard sale for me. I put in an order for a few cases of jars at a local store. We will have them next week. It seems that the first task will be to reorganize the pantry to prepare for the canned up harvest. We were planning to start building our house this year but that has been delayed. We got word that my father-in-law is not doing well. He has had stage 4 cancer throughout his body for a year now. He decided at that time that he would not do radiation or chemo treatments. He had been through it a couple of years earlier and just didn't want to do it again. Today, my beloved talked to his Dad and found out he is not doing well. He has been put on oxygen due to having an attack of some kind. We aren't sure what, but think it was an asthma attack. Beloved is going to talk to his dispatcher and see if he can come home a few days early. If possible, he will be home in a week to empty out his truck. The kids and I will then follow him to the terminal in Dallas so he can drop off the truck. From there, we will drive to NY and see his Dad. The kids and I have never met his Dad, so Joe wants to be sure we have that chance. Once we are back from NY, beloved will likely be assigned a new truck.

Micah's New Buddy

Today, we got Micah a 6-week old puppy. We named him Baron. Baron is half lab and half blue heeler. This is such a testiment to Micah's progress.

Last summer, we began the process of looking for a companion dog for Micah. The first obstacle was Micah had a fear of animals. Didn't matter what kind. He feared them all. The one animal that we knew of that was able to get near Micah without causing a meltdown was a chicken hen we had last year. She would find her way in the house through a window or door and lay own next to Micah if he was withdrawn or upset. She calmed him. She died last fall when a coyote got her one night.

This afternoon, we saw a couple giving away puppies. I went up to look at them. Okay, I admit it - I have a weak spot for puppies and kittens. Joe knows it is a 50/50 shot that if I hold one, it will come home with me. Over the past few months though, I was never interested in bringing any of the puppies home. Today, I felt differently about it. Baron, whom they were calling Magoo, was the quietest and most laid back of the litter just seemed to touch my heart. I talked to the couple about Micah and was blessed. They have a relative with Asperger's and so understand just what type of dog personality Micah needs. Baron is seeming to be a good fit.

My oldest daughter, Christy, came over and ended up picking out a puppy also. She chose one of Baron's siblings, a male they have named Coda. Micah is accepting both pups very well. I am so glad that we got both of them. Joe has already decided that as soon as we are able to move into the new house, we will get Abbie her own puppy. The time until then will help Micah to be fully adjusted to having a dog.

A Step into the Future

My beloved and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary and today he got a special gift for me. I now have a netbook! We have been talking about getting one, but haven't been able to until now. We even managed to get one for him to take on the truck. So, I will now be able to blog and email a lot more often. Thank you beloved for the gift!

We are going through changes at home. As I have mentioned before, we need to rebuild our home. This is going to be a project in process for a time. We hope to have the home done enough to be able to move in by summer. It is a simple design based on the pole barn style. Nothing fancy, but it will be fully off-grid with solar electricity. Best part is that we will work on it as we have the finances to do so. No debt! When it is finished, there will be no bills or loans to pay off.

As we go through the process of building and finishing the home, I plan to post pictures and information. The idea is to build a home that will suit our needs for many years to come without causing a financial burden. It will hopefully help to inspire others into realising that if you think outside of the box, you can do this also.

Winter Ickys and other News

Greetings.


Sorry it has been so long since my regular postings. It is amazing how life can take over. First, was the holidays and then immediately after our family has been taking turns being sick. Both Abbie and Micah came down with the flu and I had pneumonia. We are much better now, though the effects of the pneumonia seem to want to linger. I feel better each day. praise be to the Lord!


In recent months, we have found that we are definately going to have to rebuild. Our old 1890 home is just getting worn out and the cost of remodeling, bringing it up to code, new foundation and roof all make the cost too high. So, this year we are beginning the process of building a pole barn style home in our back field.


There are many benefits to this. One is that we will be able to be further from the road. With Micah getting older and exploring more, this is a bonus. We designed a simple home that will be quicker to build, yet will serve our family very well for many years to come. The plans take in account that the kids will need more space as they grow.


The one aspect that we are looking forward to is that we will once again have electricity. No, we are not going nuts and getting back on with the public utilities. We are going to set up a simple and low-cost solar power system that will give us the small amount of electricity that we will need for a computer, radio, and a few electric lights. We plan to buy a good generator that will provide the electricity needed to do laundry or use power tools when needed.


Our refrigerator and stove will remain electric and our heating will be a combination of wood and propane. The wood is the primary, but the propane will be available for times when the temperature drops low such as during the night or when we are away from home for the day. Will be nice to not come home to a really cold house and have to wait for the wood stove to heat it up again. Our wood cookstove is going with us to the new home. Joe and I love that we can both heat and cook with it.


One part of the design that I am particularly excited about is an extra 12x12 room that we will be turning into a large pantry & storage room. What a blessing it will be to be able to lay in a good supply of home canned and store bought foods and other supplies. I look forward to building it up enough that I don't have to make the long trips to a larger store in the winter months.

In other family news, Micah is making a transition. He will be 3 yrs old in a couple of months and has been wanting to sleep on the floor instead of in his crib. So, when Joe gets home from the road in a couple of weeks he will be building Micah a platform bed. The design is very simple. It is a 2x4 frame with supports underneath. A sheet of plywood will form the top of the platform. Along the sides there will be boards that extend a couple of inches higher than the platform to help prevent the crib mattress from sliding off the bed, yet low enough that Micah won't bump them. I am going to buy some of the colorful form floor puzzle pieces to put together around the sides so that if Micah should fall off the bed, he will land on a cushioned surface.


Abbie is doing her Pre-K homeschooling this term. I recently found out that the Keepers of the Faith program has a fairly new option for little ones ages 4-6 called "Little Keepers of the Home" for the girls and "Little Contenders of the Faith" for the boys. This program is a Christian option to use instead of going through the scouting program. I am preparing to start Abbie in the program. If interested or curious about the Keepers program, go to their website and request a free catalog.

In homeschooling, we are beginning to use the workbox system to organize our school day. What a blessing! Being so young, Abbie only has 6 workboxes for now but I will gradually increase them until we have the 12 boxes that the program suggests. Abbie has enjoyed it when we are using these. She is able to start her day and works on the assignments or projects one at a time until all are finished. I found a nice blog that really explains and shows the system well.
I love it because I am able to prepare Abbie's assignments the night before and then she is learning to be accountable and responsible for her our schoolwork. The system is based on a book called, "Sue Patrick's Workbox System: A User's Guide". You can find the book at her website or on Amazon. Doing a search for workboxes will also bring up a large assortment of blogs and other sites with pictures and examples of how they use the system in their homeschools. The premise of the system was based on the way Autistic children are taught to work on assignments. They have bins or other containers that have 1 project/assignment per bin. The child works on that project until completed, then puts away the bin and retrieves the next one. It gives a child a visual reference to help them know when they are nearing the end of their assignments. For Autistic children, it is very calming to see a definite beginning and end to the assignments. With typical children, it simply instills an ability to take control of their day and learn self-discipline and accountability. The workbox system has really taken off in the homeschool community as families discover the simplicity and ease of it.

Many Thanks!

Thank you for all the ideas and comments from my last post. I am grateful to all of you.

One question that came up was why I would homeschool a little one Micah's age. Typically, with a special needs child you would enroll them into a headstart type of program once they reach age 3 and no longer a part of the early intervention program. With autism, I am quickly learning that the more helpo you give them at a very young age, the better they make progress. You don't want that gap between early intervention and school age to be left without some type of therapy or work.

We have chosen to begin working with Micah on the preschool-type activities, but incorporate the fine motor skills and such that he lacks. We are doing it in a relaxed setting, but it must be done daily to help him retain the information and skills learned. He quickly "forgets" new skills if not practiced daily.

Thank you again for the ideas. I am gleaning through them and working at coming up with more. We recently were notified that Micah is approved to receive SSI/disability funds and plan to use it exclusively towards his therapy & education. What a blessing it will be.

Prairie Boot-Camp

Well, it has begun. Grandma Boot Camp is in progress. My oldest daughter, her husband, and their son (who is the same age as Abigail) have been living with us for a couple of weeks now. I've been loving it. Abigail now has someone her age to play with and Micah is thriving in the changes.

Christy & JR (my daughter & son-in-law) are wonderful with Micah. He has accepted the changes very well and is bonding to them beautifully. JR is Micah's buddy and Micah seeks him out quite often. Christy is planning to do daycare in their home when they get their own place. She wants to specialize in tending special needs children - something that is much needed in our area.

After the novelty of having a new child to play with wore off for Abigail & David (my grandson), they began taking on each other's bad habits as well as developing an attitude of entitlement. Well, that doesn't fly in our home. Time for Prairie Boot Camp to commence!

The first lesson was the kids being told that they now will have daily chores. They were not too keen on this, but we are moving forward. The next topic was that the phrases "I want..." and "I don't want to..." are no longer in their vocabulary. Their new favorite phrases will be "What can I do to help?" and "What do you need done?"

We are not asking too much from the kids. Their chores are age appropriate and well within their ability. They are working along side of us. If they choose to not do their chores, then there are direct and immediate consequences. No excuses are permitted.

Gradually, they are learning that the amount of playtime that they have is increased if they work quickly. "Wool-gathering" instead of doing their chores results in less playtime. It has been great to see them realising that the work goes faster when they work together. They are also becoming more respectful in their attitudes.

Now, before I get the obnoxious comments about harming kids by having them actually do chores, let me state this. We are trying to get a small family farm going. These kids are being raised as farm kids. Learning from a young age that good work ethics is NOT harmful to a child. There are too many people already in our society who are lazy and think that they should be handed things the easy way. Howe often have you seen people do the bare minimum to earn their pay while others work hard to make sure things are done & done right? We have all complained at one time or another about it. By raising the kids to have a strong work ethic, they will become contributors and not slackers.

Are the kids thrilled at having to do chores? Not always. They are learning however, some very valuable lessons that will benefit them later on in life.

Family news

I wanted to post a quick note as it seems to be harder and harder to get around to updating the blog. I am working on saving up for a netbook to use at the library or wherever I can get the free Wi-Fi access. Until that time, I will not be updating the blog very often. I am estimating that it will take until early December for me to make that happen.

Joe is doing great with the trucking job. Tomorrow, he goes to a training class to become a trainer. He will then take newly hired drivers out with him to run as a team while he evaluates their abilities and helps to teach them how the paperless logs and such are worked.

The kids are doing well. Abigail is nearly a year ahead in math and is beginning to learn to read. She has been doing unit studies, the most recent being on the topioc of the "Little House in the Big Woods" book. She enjoyed it so much that I am going to look for thematic studies for the other Little House books.

Micah's therapy is beginning to have positive results. He is beginning to understand sign language. We are finding that there is a negative side to drawing him out of himself. The more he help him to not go inward, as autistic children like to do, the more he is aware fo the stimuli around him. This increase of awareness is causing him to have more meltdowns when in public or in the situations that trigger him to be over stimulated. He has also begun to wander off and I have to watch over him like a hawk. I am making little Jingle Bell bands to attach to his ankles. Basically sewing the bells onto small scrunchies. With his shoes on, these won't easily be removed. The sound of the bells doesn't bother him.

We are contacting dog trainers to find a companion dog for Micah. We feel strongly that if he has a trained dog with him, he will handle the stimuli better. It has been a proven method and autistic kids seem to have fewer meltdowns if they have their dog with them. The dog goes with them just as a service dog would do.

There is much more going on, but time is short this library trip. I am looking forward to not having timed sessions on the computer again.

May the Lord's blessings be with you.

Paula

Finding Our Way

Greetings!

It seems so long since the last posting. So many changes have been taking place. Nearly all are good, so we are feeling blessed. The biggest change was Joe's returning to over-the-road truck driving. It was a tough decision to make. It had been 2 1/2 yrs. since Joe was truck driving and we had become used to having him home. The choice had to be made though and the Lord showed us that it was the right decision at the right time.

Abigail and Micah have adjusted to the job change. At first it was odd to them to not have Daddy coming home each night. They have done very well though. Daily talks on the phone with Daddy helps a great deal. Joe also sends post cards in the mail.

Abigail has been homeschooling at the Pre-K level. She is learning to read and seems excited to do more each day. Currently we are doing 2 lapbooks. the first is a lapbook for the book, "Little House in the Big Woods" and the second is a lapbook on the theme "Autumn". We do a few activities each day for each lapbook. The "Little House" lapbook is a month long project that I found on the Lapbook Lessons website. They, along with Homeschool Share have many free lapbooking projects available. The Autumn lapbook is one that I have been designing that focuses on the season and the changes it brings.

Micah has been getting therapy at home. He had a set back when the therapy became too difficult and frustrating, but he is back to himself again. They are returning the focus to more of a Floor Time approach, which is what I had great results with when I did his therapy myself. He is making eye contact and interacting more often than previously. Last Monday, he even waved goodbye for the first time to someone as they left the house.

We were give 3 roosters recently to keep our hen company. My in-laws had a surplus of roosters, so it was a blessing for them to be rid of a few. Unfortunately, not that we have chickens again, the cougar is back. Last night it caught one of the roosters. What an awful noise they make when they are vocalizing! It had taken the rooster into woods near the house.

My life is beginning to calm down now that autumn is upon us. Joe and I talked about the garden and I decided that with 2 young children, one being special needs, I cannot manage a large family garden alone. Next spring I will be planting a much smaller garden with mainly the vegetables we eat fresh and an herb garden. We have access to very good Farmer's Markets where I can buy vegetables in bulk amounts to home can. We will utilize those more next year. I would love to have the large garden, but I have to be realistic about my time and ability to do so. The garden that I do plant next spring will have the weed barrier plastic to help cut down on the weeding. This will give me the ability to grow many things, but still limit the amount of work involved.

My laptop computer is in need of repair, so I am back to having only the library computer access on Wednesdays. I will try to post as often as I am able. We are looking into either repairing the laptop or buying a netbook or other low price laptop. Once we do, I will be able to post more.

Blessings,
Paula

Preparing for the Changes

I want to first thank everyone who has contacted me about staying in touch while Joe is out on the truck. What a blessing you all are! It is very sweet to see the support and outpouring of friendship that you are extending.

I am making a few minor changes to the way I will be doing the computer. Until now, Joe has brought the laptop to town with him several times a week to send/receive emails. Once he is truck driving, I will only be in town twice a week. On Sunday when we go to church and on Wednesday when I run errands while the children are at their Grandparents' home. I will have the ability to type up blogs and emails in between those times, but they will only be posted or emailed on those two days. I am able to check my email through the cell phone, but an very limited on replying. I have thought about resetting the comments to be posted without having to be moderated, but I cannot do that at this time. I have had very mean spirited things sent as a comment as well as blatant ads for businesses. Neither of which do I allow in the comments.

We are spending a lot of time together as a family. Mostly have been working to prepare the homestead for Joe's job change. He's wanting to make it as easy as possible for me to maintain while he's on the truck. We have been playing games and having fun together also.

We have a large grocery shopping trip planned the end of tihs week. I'll be canning more meals and such for Joe. In addition to his pint jars, I'll be canning up some quart jars for the kids & I to have on hand at home. Then, there is the packaging up servings of homemade muesli and making a gallon of granola for Joe to take along with him.

There is a surreal quality to the upcoming job change. I know it is going to happen, but it doesn't seem real yet. I am just taking each day as it comes and preparing as best as I can to make it easier on all of us.

New Season of Change

Well, here we go again!  It would seem that we are going to be having another season of change.  Joe and I have talked over our family's financial situation and come to the realization that we need to make changes.  They won't be easy, but are necessary.  Joe has been working a job for 2 years now at very low pay so that he can be home with the family more.  Well, it isn't working out anymore.  Prices are going up and the income isn't keeping up with the increases in the costs.  We have looked at it from every possible angle to find a different answer that would keep Joe home but there is only one option.....Joe is going back to truck driving.   Joe has 6 years of experience as a truck driver and loves the work.  It is the only professional training that he has for employment.  Over the past two years, he has enjoyed being home, but also has felt like a fish out of water.  In rural areas, there are not very many options for making a good income.  You have to commute to where the jobs are.  A common problem is that the fuel costs for commuting can be high enough to become yet another financial burden to the family.  You are left having to make tough decisions to take care of family needs.   We have done the truck driving jobs before and so we know what to expect.  My father and most of my uncles were truck drivers, as was Joe's Dad.  Joe and I used to team drive for a trucking company years ago until I was nearly 6 months pregnant with Abigail.  Then Joe went out on a truck without me for another 2 years.  We are both used to Joe being home each night.  The kids certainly are used to Daddy being home.  Abigail was 2 years old when he left truck driving and Micah has never experienced Daddy being gone for a long period.  This will make it a tough adjustment for the kids especially.   This time around, Joe is planning to work as a solo driver.  He won't be training new drivers as he did before.  Finding a co-driver to team up with is also a challenge.  Team driving is similar to a marriage.  You have 2 people living for an extended period of time in very close quarters.  If there is a personality conflict or you have a co-driver who is lazy about his driving, it can be just a stressful as an unhappy marriage.  It is difficult to find a co-driver that shares your work ethics and also has a personality that matches well with your own.   It will be hard at first for me to get used to Joe being gone again.  Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to be canning up some meals for him to take along.  Then, once he is on the truck, I will continue to get meals stocked up in the pantry.  When I first did this a few years ago, we found that Joe's food bill for the month dropped to $150 per month with his taking home canned soups, stews, and other meals in the canning jars.  He would heat the food up in a small "lunchbox" cooker.  It is called a lunchbox cooker due to it looking exactly like a black lunch box with an electrical cord that plugs into the 12 volt (cigarette lighter) outlet in the truck.  Joe would buy small foil bread pans that fit inside the cooker to heat the food in.  The pans then became the dish he would eat out of.  Even with the cost of the foil pans, the overall cost was far less than Joe having to eat at the truck stops.  Not to mention the home canned was much healthier too!  On average, he took 48 pint jars of food with him each month.  He also had a gallon size plastic jar of homemade granola and plenty of dried fruit trail mixes.  For his first few days out, I always sent along some fresh baked cookies and some homemade flat bread.  He loved it!   It is going to be very different this time when Joe leaves out on a truck.  Not only will I have Abigail, but now there is Micah.  We have the blessing of having sold our sheep, so I won't have to worry about tending them & being attacked again like before.  The only animals that we currently have is our dog and a few chickens that were given to us to free range.  The chickens simply eat the bugs that they find while scratching the soil and roost in the trees near the house.  The only somewhat difficult part of Joe's being gone will be changing out the propane tanks & taking them to be filled.  One 26 gallon tank lasts about a month.  We are looking at the option of setting up 2 filled tanks with a regulator in between so that when one tank gets low, I can switch to the second tank without having to disconnect anything.  This should give me plenty of propane to last until Joe gets home again. We can't have home delivery as our tanks hold far less than what the 100 gallon delivery minimum.  This other method should work just fine.   The kids and I have been in a routine now that will continue to work well after Joe goes out on the truck.  I think the hardest part will be the loneliness that will be felt.  While I do know more people than I did when he drove before, it isn't the same as having him here.  One person referred to a trucker's wife as being a stay-at-home single parent that gets a paycheck twice a month.  I have to admit that in many ways it can feel like that.   One way that I helped to combat the loneliness was to have lots of pen pals.  Having those letters to read & to write to others were great.  When I felt lonely, I could go back and read them again.  Joe was always great about surprising me with postcards or other mail while he was gone.  Of course there is also his text messages & phone calls.  Another way that I found peace was to spend more time in the Bible and also listening to recorded sermons.  Whether the sermons came from the church we attended at that time or through another sermon tape ministry, they were a wonderful uplift to my heart.  One of my favorite resources for recorded sermons are the ones from Charity Ministries.  They are an Anabaptist (Mennonite) organization that provides the sermons for free.  You can either download an MP3 recording or you can order a free tape/CD to be mailed to you.   It will be interesting to see where the Lord leads us this time.  He never takes us to a place that is boring.  He does however always takes the road with us and never leaves us to flounder on our own.   May the Lord's blessings be with thee,   Paula

Changes & Goals

Our homestead is preparing to make a major change. You know the saying that there is a season for everything? For us, our season of having sheep is coming to an end. When we started out with them, it was for the purpose of raising them for their meat. With my being unable to eat any meat, the reason for having them is just not there. Joe asked me about it and we are in agreement that we only want to raise animals that we can make use of. So, what are we doing? A good friend and neighbor who sold us the older pair of sheep has offered to take the sheep to an auction and sell them for us. He sells his own sheep there and feels he can get us a good price for them.

We are going to take this year to fix the fencing on the back pasture and build any animal housing that we need. Currently, our back pasture that makes up over half our land is not being used. We are going to repair and add any fencing needed to make that pasture usable for grazing. We have several building projects to work on. We need a large coop for chickens and turkeys, a shelter for larger livestock, and possibly a sheltered area for storing hay and other livestock feed. We will spend this year making preparations for buying new animals over the following 2 years.

Poultry is a definite choice for us. While I may not be able to eat the meat, we do use a lot of eggs. Joe and the kids can eat the meat. We are planning to buy a nice sized flock of chickens to give us enough eggs for our family and to sell. We would like to buy turkeys. The turkeys and any extra chickens will be sold in the autumn season. We are finding that there are people who are willing to either butcher the poultry themselves or take them to a butcher shop to be prepared.

Dairy livestock is the other choice we have made. It is still undecided if we are going to get dairy goats or a cow and bull. We are looking at all options. Either would work, though a cow might be easier to deal with in the long run. Only one milk cow would give us plenty of milk for our own use and a bit extra to share with others. If we get dairy goats, Joe will have more than one animal to milk by hand twice a day.

One area of focus this year is the garden. We want to get a workable system set up. Due to the problems of spring rains flooding the garden area, the garden must be planted in raised rows that run north/south. This will allow the excess water to be channeled downhill and out of the garden. Joe is wanting to finish putting some form of fencing or barrier around the garden's perimeter to prevent animals from enjoying the banquet.

Of course, we still have other goals to accomplish this summer. Some of our upcoming projects that we are planning are:

1. Remodel the bathroom before winter

2. Build a larger & better located outdoor privy

3. Fence in the side yard for the kids' play area

4. Set up and outdoor kitchen before summer's heat arrives

5. Lower the ceiling in the house from 9' to 8' to help with heating in winter

6. Set up a heat source in the back (unheated) portion of the house

It is uncertain how much of these things will get finished by winter, but we are hoping to accomplish as much as possible. Some will be easy and done in a day or two while others will take much longer. We will be doing the work ourselves and as we have the cash to buy materials. This takes longer, but it feels great to know that we did it without putting ourselves into the bondage of debt.

As I am able, I am wanting to sell fresh baked breads and cookies again. I was able to help us earn a little extra through my baking last summer. Though the money made is not large amounts, it is enough to help. It is surprising how many people want to buy the fresh baked goods. Even more surprising is that they are willing to pay a fair price for it.

With all the changes, this looks to be a very busy summer. Most of the work will need to be done before winter's cold weather arrives. We are realistic in that we know that some of the plans may have to be altered as the season progresses. That is fine. We will do what we are able and the Lord will provide a way for the essentials to be accomplished.

May the Lord's blessings be with you,
Paula

The Lighter Side of Autism

When people first learn that you have an autistic child, you hear a lot
of "I'm so sorry" and "the poor kid" among many other expressions of
concern and condolences. While we appreciate the thought behind the
expressions, I am finding that Micah's autism has a great blessing
attached to it. It has given us the message to "lighten up" in our lives.

Joe and I both laugh a lot and easily. It is something that we enjoy
about each other. Add to that 2 young children who are giggly and you
have a family that laughs daily. We can find the humor in most
situations. Abigail is such a "big little person" as Joe calls her. At
4 years of age, she can say things that take you by surprise. Such as
when she is telling you about her phone conversations on her play phone
with her imaginary friend "boo-boo head". She talks like she is a much
older person than her age and her facial expressions are very serious.
It is hard not to laugh as she goes on about the latest antics of
boo-boo head.

Micah has been a blessed surprise. I have seen autistic children who
show no facial expressions of any kind. Their faces are very blank in
that regard. Micah does not share that trait. One thing that the
doctor and others comment on the most is how happy and expressive he
is. Yes, he sometimes gets frustrated or angry, but most of the time he
is a very happy little boy. We work with him daily in helping him to
interact and develop social skills. The work has been paying off in a
very big way.

As I have mentioned before, when Micah was first diagnosed last
September, he was not maintaining eye contact or interacting with
others. It was as if he often had no idea there was anyone else in the
room with him. Then, I found the Christian-based organization
NATHHAN.org. They have been giving me advice and guidance as well as
the support to show me how to work with Micah and draw out his
personality. Micah is a very cheerful kid most of the time and is now
interacting with us. Today is a good example of his newly acquired
sense of silliness.

Throughout the day today, I have been the target of Micah's teasing.
One note to remember is that he never has teased anyone before. Things
have changed. Micah has learned how to tickle. He doesn't tickle with
his fingers as a person normally would, but it is more of a quick
rolling of his hands that still has the same results. Off and on during
the day, he has come up behind me and tickled me. Whether it is when I
was standing at the stove cooking, sitting at the desk, or doing some
other activity. If I was standing/sitting still long enough for him to
get to me, he was tickling me, giggling as he did so. What a change
from the way he was just a few months ago. It would seem that my little
one has an ornery side to him. LOL This evening, Joe got to see
Micah in action. As I sat here trying to answer emails, Micah kept
coming up and tickling my stomach or legs.

Now, as cute/funny as that is, here is where we really started laughing
- like many with autism, Micah has the obsessive/compulsive trait. This
means that once he finds something that he enjoys, he stays with it.
You can't easily distract him from the activity. So, the tickling went
on for a while. He would giggle and tickle me. I would say "You tickle
Momma, Momma tickle you" and tickle him back. He enjoyed the game and
you could really see the true joy he was getting from playing with
Momma. Now, I could start thinking about how this game could become a
problem if done at the wrong time (say during a church service) or for
too long. We will deal with that when it comes up. Today, we simply
enjoyed the game.

If this is a peek into the personality our little one will have, we are
truly blessed with a son who is as joyful and happy as his sister. The
doctor has pointed out twice now to me that she believes that Micah and
Abigail's happy natures come from Joe and I being quick to laugh and
have fun. I see it simply as a gift from our Lord. It is God's Spirit
working through us that brings out the joy. I feel blessed to have these
little ones who remind me daily of the joy the Lord brings to us.

May the Lord's blessings be with thee,
Paula