Collin's baptism

August 11, 2012: Today has finally come! I can't believe it. Nearly 5 years ago, we didn't even know if this was a day that would be in Collin's future. Funny how the future seems so uncertain sometimes. A couple months back, we met with the bishop who wanted to see our thoughts (no matter that I had put it on the stake calendar 6 months ago to make sure we would have the building to ourselves) about Collin's getting baptized. I guess there is a technicality that he doesn't have to get baptized because of his not being accountable due to his autism mentally puts him at less than or around a 6 year old at this point.

Last year, though, at a friend's baptism(which we didn't stay long at because it was me vs. the 4 kids on my own and it was not a good day for 2 of them), after his friend came out of the water, Collin said "My turn is next." He has been consistent about that for the baptisms he has since attended.

So, we've been focusing a lot the past couple months about 1)What are the promises I make at baptism (got the book at Deseret Book), 2) How does the Holy Ghost make me feel? (another book from Deseret book), 3) practicing going under the water at a pool(just trying to get logistics down for him, not being sacrilegious), and 4)went to a baptism a week before his so he could see, and once we were home then a verbal schedule/breakdown of what would happen. He LOVES his schedules.

One of my sisters, her husband, and their little girl came down from northern CA to see us. We got a little late start waiting for some family that lived closer than my sister. I wasn't sure what to really expect with Collin, so we kept it rather small and only had told a few people at church before. He did surprise me by doing pretty well. It only took 1 time to go under the water. I had feared that because of swimming lessons this summer, that he would treat the baptismal font as a swimming pool.  While he was getting changed and dried off, we had everyone write Collin a message or draw him a picture. I have those all saved, and will at some point be scanning them in and turning it into a book for him.

Collin picked the songs, Choose the Right as the first song, and I Am A Child of God for the closing. The closing made me start bawling when we got to the second verse about "and so my needs are great" and "help me to understand His words before it grows too late."

I have to say, even though it was started a little later than planned, we were done with the closing prayer about 30 minutes later. That was hands down the fastest baptism I have ever been to in my whole life. I had the second talk, on the Holy Ghost, and when I saw Collin get antsy, I just cut it short.

Delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders & jolts

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride. " --Gordon B. Hinkley

My sentiments exactly. I certainly hope I don't give off any pretenses about our family & lives with this blog. We are not perfect or pretend to be. Heck, we(meaning me) are far from being crafty/uber-organized. Those only come up once in a blue moon or as circumstances necessitate. You notice that I don't put up pictures showing how chaotic our typical days are? There's a reason for that. There are a lot of things in our day to day lives that are hard & a lot of it related to the challenges of Autism Awareness day being every day at our home, a lot from having 4 kids, some from personal issues or the impact of others' choices and how they effect us, all the while still trying to make spouse top-priority while juggling it all & having the house somewhat respectable looking with the multiple therapists and dinner made on time. Some days it takes all my energy just to survive and/or hold my tongue. In the meantime, I'm trying to "have joy in the journey"(Thomas S. Monson) and to "feel my feet"(learned about in Time Out For Women this May).

It is done!!!

So, I have made a pretty huge accomplishment that I am feeling pretty darn good about. The last of the baby weight from Brent is all off--I had about 10 extra lbs on my frame when I got pregnant with him coming up on 3 yrs ago. From the day before Brent was born 2 years ago up till today, I have lost a total of 47 lbs. The last 32 of that has come off since this February. I am now at my ideal weight, with my small bone frame, and have maintained within a couple lbs or so for about a month now.

By the way, this doesn't mean I'm giving up on exercise till my clothes are snug. It means I get to do more functional fitness and not have to worry so much about the calorie burn.

A couple days before Brent was born:

Today:

Side by sides:

And yes, that is a different pic I added for the second after shot. I wasn't too thrilled with the above pic making my hair look flat. ;)

Summer fun

One of Brent's very few birthday presents this year was a Lightning McQueen bubble maker. Whoever made it was a genius. There is no way you can go wrong when you combine 2 of boys' favorite things: bubbles and cars.

Some swim & some birthday pics

Wall art finished

I've just about finished up my little project. Decided after trying to cut out the silhouettes that the X-acto knife idea I found wasn't the smartest idea. Didn't give me crisp edges, so I resorted to tracing the images onto cardstock and cutting it with scissors. I still need to run out tomorrow and get some double-sided tape since one of the kids probably used it up. Nice.

I also need to decide if I want the silhouettes in individual frames like this, or put them in a 16"x 20" poster frame. Thoughts?

Swimming and other things

Two weeks ago, the kids started up swimming lessons. To be honest, I wasn't sure how Collin would do being in a non-"parent & me" session and handling the deep side of the pool. The first 20 minutes of class are in the shallow(3-4 ft.) and the second 20 minutes are in the deep side(6 ft). The first few days, Collin had a really hard time. The second and third day I spent all but the last 5 minutes of each 20 minutes getting Collin in the water & staying in the water. I made quick acquaintances with the pool managers. I am happy to say that I am the only parent allowed to be all the way up next to the edge of the pool when I need to assist Collin--keeping him on task & being an extra set of eyes to make sure he does not let go of the pool.

By the end of the first week(each class lasts 2 weeks), Collin had decided he liked staying in the water. Now I just have to deal with keeping Collin on task & having a bored 2 year old--Brent just turned 2 on Friday. Drew was in Collin's class. Drew's done well enough to move up to the next swim level. Collin, no surprise, is in the same class as last week. He can do most things but won't put his head or face in the water without help. Ivy's doing well, as expected. This week, she's in a new class and actually learning new things.

Brent had his 2nd birthday on Friday. Thursday night I took Brent to Target to pick out a couple toys. Between the toy stimulus overload and close to bedtime--I didn't want to take all 4 kids if I could help it--we had some pretty serious tantrums. We finally(after over an hour) came home with a Lighting McQueen toy car that sticks out its tongue, a 5 pack of Hot Wheels cars, and a book about trucks. Tom got whisked away to a Scout campout, so we only saw him for about 30 minutes between Friday morning and about 2 pm on Saturday. He got a Funfetti(?) cake with homemade buttercream frosting--I almost had a cow that the cheapest storebought frosting was like $2 for a tiny thing. I drew Elmo on it. Didn't turn out as nice as I wanted, but it was still recognizable and enjoyed by all. I did some fingerpainting with the food coloring since I forgot to set aside some frosting. Whoops. Lesson learned.

Today, keeping the kids as busy as I can. I'm making some cheap wall art today. Probably will be done in a day or two. The tutorial is here  (click for link) and here is a picture of me doing a layout with a poster size frame. Ivy's silhouette looks funny, since she had a low ponytail and I was being nit-picky about Collin's looked larger than her head size. So I cut off the ponytail and taped it on higher. Then I photocopied it 104% a couple times to get it the right size.

Here's the original picture I had for Ivy.

More pics and video of the swim class & birthday up in a couple days.