MIA & Autism

Hello Lovely People!

I know I have been MIA! Life has certainly kept me busy these past few  - or lots of months! My last post was in August of 2012!

ok enough with the exclamation marks!!!! - sorry had a few more in me :) done. see.

So what I've been up to:

I do not recall if I ever posted about my son's diagnoses? anyhow around this time last year we were discovering that our youngest son is autistic ... along with some other diagnoses. Our school year has been filled with tons of therapy (1 session a day, monday - friday, ranging from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours), doctors, trial and error on routines that work for him, school with the big boys, co-op, and choir. (i totally resisted the exclamation, in case you were wondering) Going through all the emotions of this has been draining but I think our family is starting to find balance. and we all love each other of course.

I do not know how often I will actually post. I would like to start posting again, I find it fun. We will see as more balance comes.

For now April is Autism Awareness Month and I signed up for Autism Speaks Walk Now fundraiser. The money I raise goes to Autism Speaks, not our family. I simply ask that you check out my donation page and pray if this is something God puts on your heart to donate to. If donating is not for you and your family, please say a quick prayer that God's Will will be done for my son on Earth as it is in Heaven!

The picture below should take you to my donation page. My walk is April 13, 2013. Thank you so much to all you lovely people that read my blog .... whenever I actually post. :D

School Food Inspiration

These are real school lunches that I've made. I find them easy, quick, filling, & the boys love them all!! I use leftovers that aren't enough for everyone to have as another dinner for fillers in lunches. It's a great way to make the lunch full and use up leftovers that you would otherwise throw out. :) 

 Sauteed Peppers, Watermelon, Pulled Pork, Dried Cranberries

 Boiled Eggs, Bacon, Applesauce, Dried Cranberries

 Grilled Chicken, Brown Rice, Sauteed Peppers

 This is Pioneer Woman's Chili ~ insanely good ~ not School Food ~ I just wanted to post it :)

 Watermelon, Pasta & Cheese, Angry Bird Gummies

 Cracker & Cheese Sandwiches, Banana w/Peanut Butter, Applesauce 

Lentil Chili, Salad, Crackers, Blackberries 

Mountain Born

We finished this book up over the summer. It is about a boy that lives on a farm. He helps his Dad with the sheep and saves a little one. This book is a read aloud for Sonlight Intro. Into World History Part 1. 

We found this book very slow moving. Still good. Just slow. The writing is a different style. I'm not sure how to explain it but I did have to explain what things meant to Chris (7yo). 

Here's a paragraph for an example:

"The sun passed its zenith and the tiny leaves cast their shade at the base of the trees. The sun moved slowly on its course while the shadows of the leaves reached eastward down the slope. A lamb baaed; a sheep stirred. One by one they rose and shook themselves and moved across the pasture to the stream. Snuffing the water in their fussy way, they touched their noses to it. The cool, clear stream was its own assurance. The sheep drank fastidiously, and the lambs baaed curiously at other lambs whose faces look up at them from the water." 

As you can see, it's well written and slow moving. With every other paragraph like that, it really called Chris up in his comprehension. Needless to say - we took a few months on this one. So there were a few read alouds we didn't get to this past school year. That's ok. 

We both cried at the end. 

Do I recommend? Yes - to a mature 1rst grader, or 2nd grade +. The back of the book says ages 9 - 12. 

The book should be linked to amazon. 

Sunday Sermon

LOVE this song! One of my absolute favorites!!!

**Link Love**

Most Saturdays I devote a little free fun time for me on the internet. I try to catch up on checking in with long distance friends on facebook, pin my heart away on pinterest, poke around on blogs, youtube, and instagram. It's my chill computer time. : D I thought it would be fun to start linking up some of the stuff I find!

** My Pinterest Page 

** Dishwasher Detergent Recipe ~ I've tried their Laundry Detergent Recipe and it works great!!

** Momma's Playground movie tickets for a family movie night 

** Cards for Soldiers ~ I want to start doing this with the boys. I've been looking for a meaningful way to     give with the boys.

** Doodle Bugs ~ loving this teacher's blog!!

My Father's World ~ K ~ take 2!

My second son starts kindergarten this year! I can't believe how big he is! We are doing My Father's World!

• I've gone through this once with my oldest son, Chris. You can see those posts here. 

• I received and organized all his school work for the year. I'm pretty impressed with the changes they made. I linked up with A Mama's Story's MFW Blogroll. I plan on posting everything I do again with Zack this year.

• Mama Jenn has a great MFW Kindergarten resource page here. 

Summer 2012 Part 2 of 2

Lots of Bike Riding: Chris (not pictured) learned how to ride without training wheels! 

Fun Art Days: 

Mom won't let me watch TV days:

 Sick Days:

 Fun Pool Days:

We enjoyed our 2012 summer & welcome fall!