My All Star

As any one with a child on the spectrum knows, there are good days.  There are bad days.  There are bad days.  And then there are great days.  This baseball season has had a little bit of all of those days. 

This was David's second season playing baseball.   Last year was a very big learning year for him, but this year he really developed into a good player.  The season was rough, however.  

The year started with him playing second base.  One day he was complaining about his leg.  He thought maybe he hurt it on the trampoline.  Rest, ice, more rest, and the next day the pain is still there.  Several tests, several doctor's appointments, and a huge scare later we found out that yes, there is a tumor.  No, it is not cancer.  He also has Osgood Schlatter's Disease, which is the pain in his leg.  He had to miss several games and practices.  He was moved to the outfield while he was in physical therapy.

Just as we were getting things under control, we find out that David's seizures are not under control.  Medication needs adjusted, and that can be rough.  Most days are fine.  Until a seizure in the outfield. 

Good days.  Bad days.  Sometimes both.

Autism. Sensory issues.  Tumor. Osgood Schlatter's. Seizures. Medication Adjustment.  

Perseverance.  Determination. Passion. 

With incredible coaches, a team that works together, and team parents that cheer him on, David had an incredible season.  He was moved back to second base.  He had a catch that we will all remember for ever.  It was amazing.  Incredible.  A beautiful play in a close game.  That catch put the game into extra innings.  Base hits in every game.  Great plays in the infield and outfield.  He made friends.  He improved his game.  He developed character.  

Every day he overcomes.  The good days.  The bad days.  Every day my heart swells with pride.  So many challenges.  So much determination.  

The baseball season ended.  He was selected to play in the All Star game.  I cried.  He just nodded and asked when that would be.  

The last game in the playoffs was last night.  His team placed third.  The All Star game is next week.  This season will come to a close, like so many seasons in our lives.  It was made up of good days.  Bad days.  Great days.  Really bad days.  There were moments in those days that took my breath away.  Moments that filled my heart with pride. Moments that will last forever but are over too quickly.  I hold all of these moments in my heart.  The good and the bad.  

It's Been a While

For a very long time writing this blog was a life line for me.  Through homeschooling, small children, diagnoses, job changes, loss, and a growing family, this blog connected me to the outside world in a way that nothing else could.
Then, slowly, and a little bit at a time, those small children became big kids.  Then teens.  The amount of sharing I was doing seemed to possibly invade their privacy a little. Or, at times, a lot.
And then busyness of life changed.  New jobs.  New home.  New struggles.
It was hard to get back into blogging because I was not sure how much to share.  How to share. What to share.
And my journey took me far.  I no longer needed a blog to connect me to life outside of our family.  I now no longer needed a way to process and share the events of our days.
At one time I wrote from a place of desperation.  Of loneliness.  Of feeling lost.  It may not have seemed like it in my writing, but that was why I was writing.
Some many things have changed in so many ways.  And so many things that remained the same.
Now, I am realizing that as much as I needed to write before, that need is still there.  It just comes from a different source.
So, I will pick up writing.  My focus is still the journey of our family.  I never set out to write a homeschooling blog, but we home school.  I never set out to write a blog about autism, but we have two precious children on the spectrum.  I never set out to write about raising children because I have no answers there, but that is our life right now.  I never set out to write about marriage, but have been married for about half my life.  I never set out to write about specific struggles, but we face them daily.
I am setting out to share what life is like for us.  Our struggles.  Our triumphs.  Our tears.  Our joy.

My name is Jennifer.  I am Christian.  A wife.  A mother of five beautiful children on this earth and one in heaven.  We home school.  We cyber school.  We have children with special needs.  I live with anxiety and depression.  I work at a job I love.
We laugh.  We cry.  We love.  We live.
Welcome.