Recovering Noah

I haven't had much time to write these last few days. We're watching my adorable little niece for a week - and boy has it been one adventure after another. She's two. 'Nuff said. Anyway, I wanted to give you a link to a really neat post that I read on another blog this morning. It's all the things you can do with one store-bought pumpkin. Just one. Pretty cool. But then again, I'm boring. So, this might just only appeal to me. And I love pumpkins. In fact, I'm about to get the kids ready to make a trek to Walmart specifically to see if they carry the new Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses. Yum! Hey. I need something to help get me through a week of adventures with a 2 year-old, 3 year-old, 5 year-old, and 6 year-old. Here's the link: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/09/guest-post-all.html Leslie :-)

Sooooooooooo ...... what do ya think? Do you like it? If you're reading this from Google Reader or Noah's old blog then you're not able to see it. You'll have to go to our blog site at: www.recoveringnoah.blogspot.com . Anyway, I decided it was time for a change. I was looking at some autism blogs yesterday - and there are a lot of Recovering So-and-So blogs out there - and I realized that my blog is doing a serious injustice to someone who stumbles upon it looking for autism treatment and advice. Let's face it. It's been a long time since this blog was solely about autism. At the time I started this blog, it WAS all about Noah and autism, but about a year ago that all changed. It's going to sound really strange, but Nandini has been a catalyst for a lot of positive change in our lives. Adopting her sort of symbolized that life DOES go on. And by doing so, it created a new family for our lives - full of new dreams and new hopes. In a strange way, it allow...

A few months ago, you may noticed a picture of a beautiful woman with the words "I Pray" appear on my sidebar. I don't know Misty, but I followed her story and her battle with Stage IV brain cancer. Misty passed away last night. I encourage you to click on that photo and read the moving tribute that her husband wrote for her and how strong his faith remains in God - even though Misty wasn't healed on this earth. If you have a few moments, please remember her family, her husband, and her little girl, Olivia, in your prayers. And please pray for all those who prayed for a miracle and who are upset and don't understand why God didn't heal her. Please pray for those who will now question whether God exists, and please pray for those who will use this is a way to say that He does not. I don't understand it myself. But her family is uplifted and has peace in knowing that she is completely healed and with Jesus right now. And for that peace to happen - during t...

I saw my friend Amy today. She is not only a brilliant blog writer but an awesome photographer, as well. And her adoption of little Kaden will be final in a few weeks and then, fingers crossed, her blog will go public again so you can all enjoy it. It's a good one! Anyway, Amy took some wonderful pictures of the kids today. I am so proud of them. Here they are!

Here are a few pictures from the adoption finalization that I posted about a few days ago. Isn't Nandi cute?? And would you like to know why I'm wearing glasses? Remember, last month.. how I completely dedicated a week of my life to watching Michael Phelps win all his golds ? Well, during that time, in my sleep-deprived stupor, I gathered a load of dirty clothes off the bathroom counter and inadvertently scooped up my contact lens case with them. And since I'm a lazy cow and can't take the 2 seconds necessary to actually tighten the lid on the lens case each night, the lenses feel out in the wash. That's right. My lenses went through the wash - spin cycle and all. Probably the cleanest they've ever been. R.I.P. you beloved disposable contacts. I know I was only meant to wear you for two weeks, but you saw me through 2 1/2 fantastic months. It's okay. My eye doctor doesn't read this blog. Anyway, my prescription ran out and so I had to get my eyes chec...

Are you intrigued yet? That's what Noah wants for his birthday. I kid you not. He has this obsession with pillows. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration . I guess it depends on how you define obsession. Let's just say that he is in love with his pillows. They're kind of like his blankey . He wants to take at least one in the car with him all the time - and he goes around the house stealing all the pillows and then piles them on his bed and rolls around in them. Oh, to be a 6 year old autistic boy. So, anyway, we went to Austin last week for our mini-vacation - which may not seem like a vacation to most of you - considering that we go to Austin all the time, but we got to stay in a hotel with a free breakfast buffet, a swimming pool, and basic cable. The kids thought they were at Disneyland. Well, since we were in Austin, Noah did some of his RPM therapy at HALO and his therapist, Erika, did a session on his upcoming birthday. She asked him what he wants and he spelled ou...

I came across this funny website where you can put in a picture of yourself and it'll put you in a "yearbook" from 1950 all the way to the year 2000. Too cool. Here's how our family turned out. This is meant to be 1994. I'm not sure why.. because this is the spitting image of what I looked like in 1988 and '89. I was a bit stunned to realize that I look exactly like my mother. And even more stunned to realize that I look exactly like Granny Betty, too! Here's Noah. My goodness, isn't that boy handsome? I'm thinking I should let him grow a 'fro. Kinda suits him, don't you think? Now all he needs is one white glove. It's a bit scary to realize that I had some major crushes on guys who sported this hairdo. Here's Nandi: She looks like a cross between an early Janet Jackson and Tootie. Is that chia pet on her head? Do you think she uses Aqua Net or Rave? My absolute favorite. Girlfriend is going to get herself some horned rims! A...

Since I'm leaving for vacation in a few minutes, I thought I'd sit down and write something that I've wanted to get off my chest all day. Earlier, I spoke to a friend of mine who recently submitted paperwork to adopt a large AA sibling group through foster care. And she's getting flack from her church. A few months ago when Sim and I were looking into adopting an infant girl who was HIV+, I mentioned it to some ladies at our church and they were overwhelmingly supportive. In fact, when I got scared and said, "What am I going to do with an HIV+ child?", one of the ladies simple said, "Love her." Love her. Why can't all churches be like that? As Christians, God tells us - no, COMMANDS - us to look after widows and orphans. So why are some of us so quick to judge those who do? Who cares if my friend will have her hands full? Why aren't we being more supportive? Who are we to judge people who are heeding God's plan for their lives? With the ...

I'm trying to remember exactly why I didn't blog this week. At the time, things were so incredibly busy, but now I can't even recall half of what we did. Which is probably why I should blog more often, right? Plus, now I have to play catch up. So here is our week in review: Sunday - Don't remember Monday - My mom took the kids to the East Texas Gator Farm in Grand Saline . That place is awesome. It's still not entirely complete, but the kids were able to pet a baby alligator, bottle-feed baby pigs, hold a ferret, feed the ducks, watch the gators get fed, burn off energy in a bounce-house and then have a picnic of fried shrimp and sno-cones. Yum! Tuesday - Can't remember what we did. Although it probably involved breaking up lots of fights, replacing batteries in broken toys, and potty-training. Wednesday - Had to get up at the most insane hour (4:15) to be at Ft. Worth by 7:45 to FINALIZE Nandi's adoption. That's right. She's officially ours! Her nam...