…Let me introduce you to the clan…
I briefly introduced you to the kids in the family on the Welcome to My Life page, but there is a bit more to share about each one of these individual joys….so here goes right down the list from oldest to youngest:

Tyler

First, I introduce you to my oldest child, very special in more than one way, Tyler.  Sixteen years ago, I became a young mom to my boy with special needs.  Tyler had quite a fight in life initially (still does in many ways), having battled seizures since the beginning, severe vision and hearing impairment, and more.   He never had one single diagnosis, rather his challenges seemed to make themselves known one by one, and at some point I accepted “multiple disabilities” as the best single diagnosis he was ever going to get.  At age 7, Tyler finally learned how to walk without the assistance of his walker and this was a huge accomplishment for him – one that he worked very hard to achieve.  Of course Tyler still needs full assistance, because of his vision impairment and inability to communicate well.  Tyler will always have severe challenges in this life, and I am here to help him find his way.  It can be challenging at times, for the family, because we do have to consider Tyler in any plans we make, and he can become uncomfortable in unfamiliar environments when he does not know what to anticipate next.  He is a child of routine.  He’s brought much love, and understanding to our lives, and taught us all more about acceptance and unconditional love.

Emma

My next blessing (and recently more challenging as she gets older) is Emma, my beautiful daughter, who will turn 13 next month.   Emma, growing up so fast, is a big help to me a lot of the time, being that she is sort of “the oldest” and the strongest.  Often the “mini me” or little mom in the family, Emma will look after her younger siblings which can sometimes be very helpful, and other times, be very frustrating.  She is in a hurry to grow up, as most tweens and teens are I guess, and as her parents, we are holding tightly to the reigns while trying to allow enough slack for her to grow, learn, and mature.  I know this is a struggle shared by moms of tweens and teens all over.  She often doesn’t realize how beautiful she is inside and out and we are doing our best to help her know.  Lately her favorite things to do are anything that includes her bff (or Justin Bieber….she even tried to tell her younger brother to grow his hair out so he can cut it like Justin Bieber’s).

Kayla

Then we have Miss Kayla…Another beauty and Girly Girl and age 10.  She is just now starting into the tweenish thoughts and behavior…just enough for me to recognize that it is coming (shouldn’t blindside me and wipe me out before I know what’s happening like the last time…).  Kayla has a big bright smile and eyes, and she seems to bring sunshine with her when she walks into a room.  For being only 10 years old, she has quite the social schedule with her many besties.  “Big sister, little sister”…she can fit in anywhere, but has a hard time fitting in both places at the same time.  At home, she is usually either in with her older sis or her younger bro, but rarely both at the same time.  In that respect, she sort of plays the role of  “middle child”.  She is almost always in with her younger sis, three-year-old Sadie.   Overall she has a contagious happiness, and is easy going.

Jakey

Next in the line up is our exuberant 7 year old Jakey.  Definition of exuberant: “joyously unrestrained”, and it fits perfectly.  His grandma described him perfectly when he was a tot, calling him Tigger (like from Winnie the Pooh).  He really does not have a mean bone in his body, and at the same time tends to “tell it how it is” which often catches people off guard.   I continue to be pleasantly surprised by how well he does academically because he just meets, then exceeds, standards left and right.  As a second grader, he was picked for a 2nd/3rd mix class which I didn’t even realize until the start of the school year.  I met with his teacher for a conference the other night, and was thrilled to hear that he scored closer to 4th grade numbers on one of his big academic measurement tests.  Jakey is a sweet kid, and an awesome big brother.  He just loves to play – including video games…he’s a video game xbox360 superstar!  He’s a true gamer…so the challenge here is to entice him off the video games and limit play time.  He’s already a border line video game junkie.

Sadie

Then we have Sweet Sadie, or “Boo” as the nick name seems to be stuck… This little princess gets all the smiles during any public outing with her big doughy brown eyes and huge smile.  She often likes to entertain by showing off her singing, and some of her favorite activities include dancing and running around the house with her siblings.  She if full of energy and loves attention.   Extremely smart and eager to learn (she can’t wait to be able to go to school like her older siblings), she also loves to do “homework” (which is really just her activity books of numbers, letters, colors, etc).  Recently, Sadie has discovered that she has her own opinion about everything!  If she wants more, and we tell her, “it’s all gone sweetie,” she will follow with, “No!  It’s not.” (when it really is.)   If she asks a question, and we respond with, “no” or “not right now”, she will follow with, “but please, just please, just please, just a little…”.  She does not seem to hear the word no when we say it, but she sure over-uses the word no herself…(like when we ask her to eat her dinner or go to bed).  Everyone loves Boo and Boo loves everyone.

Jackson

Last but not least in the line up is our newest addition to the family, Baby Jackson.  Jackson was born the summer of 2010 just a couple of weeks ahead of schedule (his natural birth has been shared, without graphic content).  We were surprised and scared right from the start, as Jackson was born with some serious health challenges.  Fluid had been backing up into his bladder, kidneys, and abdomen in utero and he needed immediate medical attention after he was born.  After two minor surgeries, 3 weeks in the neonatal intensive care, and many sleepless nights – all of our prayers were answered, and he came home and has been eating, growing, and thriving ever since.  He is still followed closely by kidney doctors as his kidneys endured such an assault while still developing.  He takes some supplementation while his body continues healing.  This little guy is so happy, and has so many smiles for everyone!  I did write all about this childbirth experience, and his difficult first few weeks here.  I also uploaded a youtube video which chronicled his amazing Miracle.

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