Poor Garrison and Naddie

Garrison has had a very rough couple of weeks. Last week, he was sick for 4 days straight (Saturday-Tuesday). He had a bad cold that had him coughing like crazy. He felt just awful. Then this week, he suffered all weekend with an ear infection. He missed school on Monday and then came home after about 30 minutes on Tuesday. His antibiotics have finally kicked in so he is doing much better. Here is hoping that nothing will happen this weekend.

Yesterday, Natalie broke one of snowglobes. I was so sad. It was a Kermit the Frog one that Rachel had given me for Christmas 2 years ago. I got it all cleaned up and put all of the broken glass into a box that is in our room. Well, I should have been smarter and taken that box out to the garage because somehow she thought it would be a good idea to stand on it and get to more of my snowglobes. So she cut a pretty good size chunk out of her big toe. I have never seen something bleed for so long. It wasn't the kind of cut that the doctor would be able to stitch so we opted not to take her in. Buddy super glued it shut (that is what he always does when he slices himself) and the bleeding finally stopped.

Other than that, life has been good. The days have been warmer and we have loved that. This has been the coldest winter in Texas for many, many, years. We even hit negative temperatures with the wind chill this year. Of course it is the year we move here! Better than what Omaha and Flagstaff have had to endure! We are gearing up for Garrison's birthday next week. Holy cow, he will be 11. Almost more than I can handle. I hate that my kids have to grow up. Just not fair!!

Our Story in a Nutshell...

Rachel's teacher has a friend who wrote a children's book. She is looking for a children's charity to donate the proceeds to. Heather (Rachel's teacher) called me and suggest I send her our family's story about Garrison. So I did. Here is what I wrote....


Hello Susan! My name is Heather Hopkins and Heather Rogers is my daughters teacher. Heather told me about your book and that you were looking for a charity to perhaps donate some of the proceeds to. She suggested I contact you and share our story.

We have a beautiful 10 year old son Garrison who is Autistic. Garrison was diagnosed with autism on December 2 of 2003. In 2003, there was not nearly as much known about Autism as there is now. It was not nearly as common. That day changed our lives forever. Not just the lives of my husband and I but also the rest of children as well. Garrison is not considered high functioning nor is he on the most severe end. He has made some great progress with a lot of hard work and great people who have blessed our lives. I personally think it would be a wonderful thing to find a cure for Autism however, my #1 concern is raising awareness.

I cannot tell you how many battles I have had to fight, how many judging looks and comments I have had to endure as people have observed my son. The staring is ridiculous. You would think that he had a third eye the way people stare at him as he jumps up and down and squeals repeatedly. The laughing sometimes is more than I can bare. I desperately want people to learn more about this disease that now affects 1 in 110 children. That is an astounding number.

Autism Speaks is probably the most well known and respected program out there. I would love for you to do your own personal research and see just how devastating the lack of knowledge can be to a family who lives with Autism.

I adore my son. I love him just the way he is. I often tell people that if God himself came down and offered to take the Autism away, I wouldn't let Him because there is nothing wrong with my son. Garrison is perfect just the way that he is. I am grateful for his 3 younger sisters, 2 of which are old enough to understand their brothers differences. They are incredibly protective of him and help him with everything from brushing his teeth, to making sure he makes it to his classroom at school, to calming him down in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

Susan, I am a very blessed mom to have been entrusted with such an angelic little boy. I want anyone and everyone to know how amazing these children are. I hope that Autism is something you will consider learning more about. Thanks for listening.

Heather Hopkins

Life

It would seem that I am a little too involved in Facebook to ever post on here but I promise to be better this year. I personally feel this is a great way to "journal" for my family. I really need to be better. As far as events in our lives, nothing too crazy. I am working very hard on my jewelry business. I LOVE selling this product..I just need to get some parties going. The owners of the company actually sent me an email and asked me if I would be willing to participate in our annual seminar in February! Wow!!! I am so excited to do that. Now I just need to ensure that I can earn enough money to go! So if ANYONE out there is willing to have a party or catalog party for me this month, I would GREATLY appreciate it. Plus..you earn DOUBLE the hostess benefits if you host a party in January! So it is a win/win for all involved.

Kids are doing great! They love it here and I pretty much love anywhere that is not NM so we are all good. Buddy likes his job and we love our house. We are excited to paint!! We have never painted a house before because quite frankly we haven't lived anywhere long enough to do so! So we are excited to paint over these next few weeks. I promise that I will post pictures when I am done! I don't want everyone to see my house until it is where I want it to be!

So here is to 2010!! New possiblilities and great things coming I am sure!!!

Happy Birthday Kimbo!

(This is an apron that Kimbo made. It is made of felt and has a ziploc bag on front that is holding all of her supplies.)

Yesterday my sweet Kimbo turned 7!! I cannot believe it!!!!!!!! What a joy miss Kimbo is to our family. Her creativity never ceases to amaze me. This amazing little girl can create some of the most interesting things. Kimbo is a very sensitive little girl who is always putting the wants and needs of others before her own. When I look at Kimbo, I see myself at her age. Her sweet little freckles on her nose melt my heart daily. Kimbo is such a spititual little girl. She loves her Heavenly Father and her Saviour Jesus Christ. She loves to read the scriptures and says such beautiful prayers.

Kimbo, thanks for being such an amazing little girl and making me smile each and every day. I love you so very much!!

Happy Halloween!!

Here are our trick or treaters!! They had such good time..Garrison was Luigi, Kimbo was a vicious vampire, Rachel was a black cat, and Natalie was the Alabama mascot. I made home made chicken noodle soup and rolls for dinner, then as soon as our tummys were full, we were off. Naddie was the biggest hit..Her little "trick or treat" was just precious! I will say we got some interesting responses living here in Texas with our Alabama mascot in tow...All in good fun though! I put bows on her ears to make sure that people knew she was a girl. :)

Kimbo said trick or treat in her best vampire voice at every door, Garrison was jumping up and down at every door because he was so over stimulated, and rachel couldn't see out of her mask very well so her main focus was not falling..boy were we quite the sight.

No thanks needed

I got the best email ever today. Turns out, you can send other people emails from your Wii. Let's rewind a little bit...Instead of a birthday party, Rachel asked to go to the American Girl Doll store in Dallas. It was just her and I. We had lunch at their little cafe and bought some cute things for her doll. When we were there, I could not believe how many people were there with their daughters buying what I am sure amounted to be hundreds of dollars of dolls and clothes. One doll alone is about $114. As a mom, you want nothing more than to be able to do the same for your child. I was so worried that Rachel was looking around at these girls and thinking the same thoughts that I would have been at her age.. "I wish we could by all of those things." I honestly was feeling kind of bad looking at these moms and daughters with their shopping bags full with items. I tried to make it a fun day for her but some times you never feel you can do enough. Rachel never once said anything of the sort and in fact told me multiple times how much fun she was having and how glad she was that we did this. Then today I get this....

Dear mom thank you so so so much
for the Amaracin girl doll store! I
would say thank you a milan times if
I ccould but of cors it would bug you.
Love always Rachel!

My eyes immediatly filled with tears. I hope she knows that it was a day that I will never forget! It is a day with her that I will treasure forever. I guess the fact that we don't have hundreds of dollars to spend at these fancy stores doesn't matter to her. It was just being together that made our day special! As a mom, it is our job to be there for our daughters and to create these special memories with them. Money does not need to be a factor, just lots of smiles, giggles and of course, love!

Happy Birthday Rachel!!

Today is Rachel's 9th birthday! What a beautiful 9 year old she is..both inside and out! Our family is so blessed to have such a wonderful young lady in our home. Rachel is so caring and kind and is always willing to help out anyone who is in need. She is loved by all who meet her! Rachel we love you much and hope you have an amazing birthday today!!!