A Dog's Purpose

For the purposes of this post (and giveaway) I was asked to share what dogs mean to me. Well, as a cat person I don't a lot of personal history with dogs to share. However, as a special needs mom, I have been looking into options for the future and one of them that has perked my interest is Autism therapy dogs.

According to Project Chance: "Autism assistance dogs are unique to the world of dogs helping people. Unlike the guide dog who helps with physical tasks, the autism assistance dog is there more for emotional support. By simply being there, a solid, sound and reassuring companion can help ease sensory overload, which is a common challenge for those with autism. People with autism are often unable to filter out sensory input – these folks hear, feel and smell everything – all at once – and are usually unable to ignore or redirect those stimuli. With a dog by one’s side, an autism assistance dog can help by giving them a focal point, or a way to ground their random, unceasing environmental experiences."

Other Autism therapy dog resources include (but are not limited to):

United States Dog Registry

Autism Service Dogs Association

Autism Assistance Dogs - Paws 4 Ability

I am not a dog lover, but I am a movie lover. And to my surprise I actually was really moved by the trailer for A Dog's Purpose. Almost made me cry! Based on the beloved bestselling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, A DOG’S PURPOSE, is a sweet and lovable family film that shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love.  Told from the perspective of “everybody’s best friend” the film highlights the importance of familial bonds, and the unconditional love we have for our best friends.  The movie stars Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, K.J. Apa, and John Ortiz.

Doesn't it look great?? Well, I'm going to be giving away a $25 Fandango card to one lucky winner! So, please comment on this post sharing your dog story and I'll draw a winner on Jan27th - which is when the movie is released!

A Glimpse of 2016

I haven't been blogging much lately. We have been keeping busy and since I'm on Facebook and Instagram often I just haven't felt like I had that much to say here on the blog. But I figured it was about time for a little update. 

In truth I struggle every year when it comes to Christmas cards/letters. My mom was pretty good about sending family update letters every Christmas when I was a kid. Everyone likes getting those, right? A little blurb catching you up on whats going on with far away family, etc. Its sweet, right?

Well, for us, not much changes from year to year. And that itself is hard to say sometimes. Progress with Joe and Christine is painfully slow. Joe often exhibits behaviors that make us concerned about the future. Both J&C are getting bigger, and we worry about the difficulty of caring for them long-term as they grow up. Sometimes we go about life as usual and don't think about how different our life is from the rest of the world. And other times the thought of it is crippling. 

My big struggle is how transparent to be in our Christmas letter/card. I don't want to be one of those people that holds everything in and puts on a front instead of allowing myself to be vulnerable with my friends and family. But is our Christmas card really the right venue for sharing my deepest pain as a special needs mom? Not the ideal place to spill all.

So, my Christmas cards are on the cheery and surface-y side. Everything in them is true, I just leave out the hard stuff. But, I do allow myself to open up to my close friends and family about our life and the challenges that come with it. 

If you are interested in a more in-depth conversation about whats going on with us just give me a call and we can get coffee or something and I'd be happy to share more in person. But as for now, expect my Christmas cards to stay light and fluffy. As Christmas cards should be. 

Mark 10:14-15

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Its been a great year!

 I often feel like we have more than our fair share of challenges. And maybe its true. But we all have our challenges. I try not to let people say that mine are bigger than theirs, because we each have our own mountains to climb. What is the use in comparing?

This past year had its fill of challenges. Lots of medical paperwork. Countless phone calls with insurance, doctor's offices, therapists and medicaid personnel. Tantrums and tumbles. Dirty diapers and tear streaked cheeks.

Awhile back I read an article online that really captured how amazed I often am with Nate. Dear Sibling to a Child With Special Needs could have been written about Nate himself. In a way it is.

 Throughout the early part of the year Nate was getting frustrated to the point of tears almost daily. The tantrums from his brother and seeing me frequently frazzled really got to him. Can't blame him for being shaken up sometimes.

We had a lot of talks about finding the good in each day. Not letting a bad situation or frustrating circumstance get us down. We had this conversation a LOT. Frankly, I think I was talking to myself as much as I was talking to him.

At first I didn't really notice that these talks were starting to make a difference. But after awhile Nate started saying "its been a great day". Sometimes it was in response to something good that had happened (going to a playdate or out to lunch) but other times, it was just because he knew that even though we sometimes have to deal with hard things, we are still blessed. Even Nate's friends and their parents have taken notice of his new "outlook on life".

I have told him how remarkable that it is for him to have purposefully changed the way he thought about life, his life. There are plenty of adults who have not been able to grasp this concept of recognizing the good in our life even while going through hard times. This wonderful outlook that he has taken on gives me hope for the man he is on his way to becoming. 

Carly's Voice - Autism Awareness

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I just watched this video with Nate a couple of weekends ago. I explained that a girl who is nonverbal and not unlike Joe and Christine helped make this video to show what its like to be inside her mind/body. It shows how sights and sounds are amplified. Nate asked if that was how Joe and Christine see and hear things. I said probably and asked him what he thought of it. He said it was a little scary. It breaks my heart when I think about Joe and Christine being so frustrated and misunderstood all the time. But after learning more about Carly Fleischmann's story it also gives me hope and a little better understanding of what my own children might be dealing with on a daily basis.

 )

In honor of Autism Awareness Month I want to encourage you to help raise awareness and acceptance of autism and other developmental disorders. Currently, 1 in 68 children is diagnosed with Autism. Frankly, I had hardly heard of it before we began our personal journey into the special needs world. Now I hear the word everywhere.

I know it may not always easy to understand people with disabilities, but we can treat them with compassion and caring instead of pushing them away. If there is someone that you know who has autism or has a child with a disability, try reaching out to them. Remind them that they are not alone.

DIY Big Kid Onesie

One of the challenges we've faced with Joe is keeping him from getting into his diaper (and creating chaos with his feces) when he is dirty - especially at nap-time before we get him up.  We have tried a series of things before finding one that seems to be successful.  Here is the progression of our 


Attempt one: sheet corner fasteners

We used two different kinds of sheet corner fasteners to clip his shirt to stay tucked in.  It worked briefly but was too stretchy and frankly didn't hold strong enough.  Eventually Joe would fiddle with it long enough that it would either come unfastened or he would get around it and still make a mess with his poop.

Attempt two:  cloth diaper snaps

Next I attempted to create a crotch strap of sorts using cloth diaper snaps.  The trouble I had was finding a material that was strong enough to do the job but thin enough for the snaps to fit on.  And I wasn't get the hang of the snap thing anyway.  I kept getting them on there kind of wonky and they didn't have a real good hold if they weren't on just right.

Attempt three: onesie conversion

Inspired by this "onesie extender tutorial" post titled "Seriously, Keep that Diaper On", I cut the crotch strap off of some onesies and sewed them onto a few under shirts.  This has been our best solution yet.  They are wider than previous attempts and its easier for me because the snaps are already in place and I don't have to fiddle with a clamp trying to attach the snaps to the fabric myself. 
Joe seems to tolerate it very well.  The only thing we've come up against is that he will sometimes hop out of his pants during nap-time and then have access to the diaper via the side.  So we currently will snap the "onesie" over the top of his pants which keep the pants in place and his hands out of trouble.

So far this is working for us.  I would love to hear of ideas other special needs families have used.  Any suggestions?  ;-)

Random thoughts from a special needs mom...

Every quarter or so I get progress reports from Joe and Christine's teachers.  I know its just part of the process but sometimes I want to just put them in the ever growing folder of papers that I don't want to look at.  They are graded on a scale of 1-4...  we get a lot of 2's (minimal progress) , intermingled with a couple of 3's (progressing).  Frankly, I don't think their goals have even changed all that much since they started First Steps.  Oh sure, we reword them from time to time but when it comes down to it they are the same goals.  Independence being a big grander goal that may just be out of reach.

After Christine I switched Christine to four days at developmental prek (she is in a morning half/day class) instead of two.  I had been resistant partly because it makes it difficult for Nate and I to get out and do things both independently and with our homeschool group when we have to be back to get Christine off the bus.  But I think it will be beneficial for her to get challenged at school the extra days and it will be good for Nate and I to have more one-on-one time together.

To be honest, I have really been struggling with our diagnosis of "autosomal recessive disorder". When I saw the genetic neurologist at Riley regarding both Joe and Christine he said that because we have two children with similar developmental difficulties its most likely caused by ARD.  Isaac and I must be carriers of a genetic abnormality that would only be problematic when paired with another person who carries that same abnormality.  That makes our chances of having a child with special needs 1 in 4.  One in four chance.  And we already have two out of three.  Its overwhelming to think about those odds. 

A friend of mine who also has a son with special needs commented that if we lived with a handicapped child 100 years ago it would have been totally different.  We wouldn't have near as much of the pressure to "fix" them.  It would have been accepted that they were going to be different and that would be that.  They didn't have doctors and therapists in all different specialties to be pushed onto you.  Sometimes it feels like everyone I meet has this book or therapy suggestion or that doctor to refer... not to mention the internet.  Its information overload sometimes.  I'm not saying it would have been better... just different. 

I don't ever want to give the impression that my children are not blessings because they are.  But my plate is full. The thought of having another child special needs or not is enough to make me tear up.  How could I even have enough energy to nurse and care for another baby?  I feel like I can barely keep going as it is.  I often have to remind myself that God is carrying us, helping us and teaching us through this experience. 

I recently told a friend about a blog post I read from a dad of a special needs son. He talks about how he dreams about when he will someday see his non-verbal, wheelchair-bound son in heaven... walking, running, talking.  Its a beautiful picture painted by this dad that I have often dreamed myself of my own special needs children.  It brings me to tears just sharing about it.

And it makes me wonder something.  I have all these questions I want to ask God.  Why us?  Why my children?  What really caused them to have developmental delays?  Was there a magic cure that we just never found/tried?  Did I learn whatever it is You were trying to teach me?  The list goes on and on.  But what I wonder is if all those questions will matter when we get to heaven.  Will we get time to sit down with God and have those questions answered?  Or will we be so perfectly happy to be with Him that none of that will matter at all anymore? 

Michael J. Fox is back!

Always Looking Up - The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist book by Michael J. Fox - There are many words to describe Michael J. Fox: Actor. Husband. Father. Activist. But readers of Always Looking Up will soon add another to the list: Optimist. Michael writes about the hard-won perspective that helped him see challenges as opportunities. Instead of building walls around himself, he developed a personal policy of engagement and discovery: an emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual outlook that has served him throughout his struggle with Parkinson's disease. Michael's exit from a very demanding, very public arena offered him the time-and the inspiration-to open up new doors leading to unexpected places. One door even led him to the center of his own family, the greatest destination of all.
The last ten years, which is really the stuff of this book, began with such a loss: my retirement from Spin City. I found myself struggling with a strange new dynamic: the shifting of public and private personas. I had been Mike the actor, then Mike the actor with PD. Now was I just Mike with PD Parkinson's had consumed my career and, in a sense, had become my career. But where did all of this leave Me? I had to build a new life when I was already pretty happy with the old one..
Always Looking Up is a memoir of this last decade, told through the critical themes of Michael's life: work, politics, faith, and family. The book is a journey of self-discovery and reinvention, and a testament to the consolations that protect him from the ravages of Parkinson's.
With the humor and wit that captivated fans of his first book, Lucky Man, Michael describes how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.

Being part of a family that deals with disability every day I am eager to see how it is portrayed in Michael's new tv show.  I hope that they rise to the occasion and show the realness that we all long for in tv.  Not the "reality tv" real... but the genuine, heart of the matter real that is so rare in the media.  I want to see their struggles and their triumphs.  I hope we get to see his faults and his ability to rise above those faults to be a good husband and father.  

NBC's The Michael J Fox Show




A couple of other shows I am looking forward to seeing resume this fall are:

Parenthood - My hubs and I watch this show together and frankly...  I want to be a Braverman!  ;-)  But really, it is an awesome show that is full of relate-able characters and relevant storylines.  We appreciate the delicate way they have sensitively touched on serious issues like Max's Asbergers, infertility/adoption Kristina's cancer, and PTSD in military personel.  Eager to see whats in store for the Braverman clan this year!

Once Upon A Time - This is our girls night show.  My girlfriend and my sister usually watch this together, though there has been talk of my brother joining us too since he caught up on the first two seasons over the summer.  Its fun to see fairy tales come to life in a little more of a grown up way.  And seeing all the intricate connections between fairy tale characters is typical of the writers who created Lost.  Excited to see what new characters we get to meet this season!



What shows are you looking forward to this fall season?

Special-Needs-Child-proofing

Its safe to say we've been through our fair share (maybe more) of cabinet locks, door locks. fridge and stove locks,and other misc child proofing products.  Sadly most have been only temporary solutions.  Most of them say they are made for use with children ages 6mos-24mos, etc.  Joe has gotten stronger and his reach is ever growing and it has become a safety issue, especially in the kitchen.  After much frustration, a couple of close calls with the stove and several broken dishes we decide to put in a faux half-wall/bookcase with a gate to keep Joe and Christine out of the kitchen.

 

It seemed like a simple idea in the beginning but in order to make it sturdy enough to be safe it
became a bigger project than we anticipated.  We bought three black bookshelves on Craigslist for $40.

Nate and I painted the back of the bookcase with chalkboard paint.

Isaac bolted them together, reinforced the bases, bolted the whole thing to the concrete slab underneath our carpet, and added the modified baby gate.

So far so good... its kind of a pain in the butt to make sure its always closed but its less of a pain in the butt than worrying about Joe opening the oven or pull a pot of water on his head while I'm cooking dinner.  I'm so proud of my hubby and thankful for his hard work making this project happen!

DIY Thickener

Christine is on thickened liquids because she has a weak airway and micro-aspirates when she has regular fluids.  The prescription thickener (we were using Simply Thick) was running us $86 every month.  We were starting to feel the strain so Isaac researched DIY alternatives.  He found this video on YouTube.



We've been using this method for the past couple of months and it has saved us a couple hundred dollars already.  I don't have a magic bullet or whatever blender that they use in the video so I use a Mason jar and attach my blender blade to it.  That amount of thickener lasts us a couple of days. 

We have been very happy with the results.  As far as we can tell there is hardly any difference between the Simply Thick and the thickener that we make on our own now.  They both have been equally effective for us.  Hopefully this will help other families who are using thickeners. 

Do you have any DIY tricks or tips to pass my way?  ;-)

Proscrastination...

I have had the same half dozen things at the top of my To Do List for weeks... maybe more like months. 

I guess I should explain a little bit.  When my husband worked for his parents' business he had a little more freedom and he was able to take care of most of the insurance and medical paperwork and phone calls, etc.  Well, since he has been at his current job for the past year he does not have the same flexibility he had before.  So, those responsibilities have fallen to me. I'll admit something to you all.  I have not risen to the occasion...  I have cowered.

As some of you may know dealing with Medicaid and Insurance and the medical community is not always sunshine and roses.  Often there is a lot of jumping through hoops and filing lots of paperwork and making lots of tedious phone calls to people who claim to know what they're talking about and are supposed to be there to help you but seem to be as tired and frustrated and ignorant as I do.  Some days I have felt crippled by the anxiety about the impending phone calls and necessary hoops I will inevitably be jumping through.  Taking care of this paperwork and faxing it to this person, who will send it to so-and-so who will be calling me back with questions... its mentally and emotionally exhausting just thinking about it.

So I kept put things off.  Among other things, several phone calls needed to be made to get Christine scheduled for outpatient therapy since she aged out of First Steps and cannot continue to get therapy through them.  But I've been frustrated and disappointed and disrespected so many times that I just did not want to deal with it.  I didn't want another person to treat me like I'm stupid, or tell me that this service or that service is not covered.  I just feel like those phone calls suck the life out of me.  It puts me in a bad place emotionally.  Frankly, it often puts me in pit of depression that it takes days (or weeks) to work my way out of.

At some point I finally accepted that I could not put these off any longer.  But I knew I needed a plan to take care of the phone calls without them getting the best of me.  So I came up with a few things to help me do my best.

- Prioritize - 
I sat down and figured out which items on my list were most important.  There were a couple that I was able to rule out as unnecessary or at least something that legitimately could be put off for a later date.  The ones that needed to be addressed right away I moved to the top of the list.

- Get Organized -
I created a list of the phone numbers that I would be needing to call so that I could tackle them all at once instead of having to scramble to find this number or that one in between each phone call.

- Write It Down -
One of the things that I was afraid of was not knowing what to say or forgetting something that I meant to ask, etc.  So I wrote down a series of questions that I needed answered.

- Get and Early Start -
There were many days when I would try to get up the nerve to tackle my call list all day and finally feel ready to do it late in the afternoon when it was really too late to accomplish the task since business hours often end between 4 and 5pm.  Then that would give me another reason to put it off.

- Occupy the Kids -

When you have kids its often difficult to carry on a serious conversation while they are tugging at your legs or trying to get you to do this or that for them.  So, be proactive and find something to entertain your children for awhile so that you can make your phone calls uninterrupted.  I found that the best way for me to accomplish this was to put Joe and Christine down for naps and let Nate have some tablet time.  Ah... silence.  ;-)

- Rely on God -
While we should always do our best at whatever we do, we should find a balance and also realize that He is taking care of every detail.  Whatever our prayer is God has an answer.  Sometimes it may be "no", but if that is the case then its because He has something else (usually better) in mind for us.  Take a deep breath and know that our lives are in the hands of the One True God.  It is so freeing when we rest in that knowledge.


Here are a few other helpful posts on this topic:

Real Simple  -  How to Stop Procrastinating

Life Organizers  -  7 Easy Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Get Motivated Stay Motivated  -  How to Overcome Procrastination

Prolific Living  -  18 Radical Ways to Stop Procrastination


I know there is no perfect formula and every situation is different.  But I hope that these suggestions will help you tackle whatever it is that you're putting off.  Because the fear of something is almost always worse than the thing itself.


Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.-  Proverbs 12:25

Going Gluten-Free

I have toyed with the idea of going gluten-free since the beginning of our special needs journey.  But for awhile it was easy to dismiss because we did not have a recommendation from any of our physicians or a diagnosis that went hand in hand with GF.  But last summer we had one doc suggest trying gluten-free (he actually referred me to this site).  I didn't want to dive head on into a diet change without my husband and I being on the same page about it.  It has taken him a little while to come around but the more he has read about it the more he has realized that we would be negligent if we didn't at least try it out for Joe and Christine's sake.  The surprising thing was that after doing his own research was that he has realized he will probably benefit from going gluten-free also (he suffers from a sleep disorder, acid reflux and OCD...).

So, over the past few weeks I have been gathering resources and talking to friends who are GF and trying to get a plan together for us to transition to gluten-free.  I have a Pinterest board devoted to gluten-free recipes and tips, I bought a Groupon for Emeals meal planning service (they now offer GF, Clean Eating and Paleo Menus - among others) and I have hit the library looking for GF recipe books.  We have come across a myriad of articles that both support and discourage the diet.  I found one interesting post about what the bible says about eating grains.  There are a lot of great resources out there, including apps to help you menu plan or dine out while sticking to your gluten-free diet.

To be honest, the week before we made the switch my husband and I both "binged" on a lot of our favorite gluten-y foods.  And we paid for it.  By the end of the weekend we were both feeling pretty crappy.  Which in a way reinforced our decision to make this change for our family.  

We have designated the summer (through Labor Day) as our trial period for us to determine if gluten-free is a change that is necessary and worthwhile for our family.  We took the time to write down a list of things for us to keep an eye on for each person in our household.  Things that we hope will be helped by going gluten-free.  To give you an idea of what we listed: Isaac: acid reflux, dry skin, OCD...  Wani: stress, digestion, fatigue, depression... Nate: attention, dry skin, focus... Joe: eye contact, balance, communication... Christine: digestion, coordination, communication...  just to name a few.  

So please join with us in saying a prayer that God will make it clear to us if this is His plan for our family.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.-  1 Corinthians 10:31

 

photo source

More Tidbits About Special Needs Parenting

Life with special needs children can be a wonderful learning experience and also an incredibly challenging one.  I often need to reach out for words of encouragement to help me get through the day (or week, or month).  Here are a few quotes that I can relate to.

“Anyone can give up; it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” – Christopher Reeves

It is not uncommon for our mealtime to be meltdown time.  Isaac works odd hours and has a 45min drive home so I do dinner with the kids on my own most of the time.  It is a challenge to keep up with both Joe and Christine's not so patient appetites.  I've tried feeding them separately but it doesn't always help.  I think the evening is just the "witching hour" for my kids.  Sometimes all heck breaks loose and I want to run out the door screaming when daddy gets home from work.  But most of the time... I hold it together.  I try to make light of the situation with Nate, who gets so frustrated by the tears (justifiably so).  We will sometimes play music during dinner which sometimes helps calm Joe and Christine, sometimes its just a distraction for Nate and I.


"The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”  - Scott Hamilton

Some times I think I am the one with the disability in our house.  I have times when I am ungrateful, bitter, discouraged and spiteful.  I can't see all the good in my life because I'm so consumed and overwhelmed with the challenges that I feel forced to face on a daily basis.  Sometimes it is really hard to get out of that pit once I'm in it.  Prayer and support from those around me helps a lot.

“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” -Thomas Carlyle

So much is uncertain with Joe and Christine not having a definitive diagnosis.  I have very little to give me an idea of what their futures (and mine) will look like.  Its scary to think about the possibilities.  So out of necessity, a day at a time is all that we can do. 

"The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh our fears."
-Ellen Goodman

We have many fears about their future... but we do have hopes too.  But frankly its easy for me to lose sight of those hopes at times.  Over the past few years.  Our hopes have changed.  When Isaac prays with the kids at bedtime he goes around the room and prays for each one of us individually.  He used to pray for Joe to "catch up developmentally"... then he started praying that he'd "get stronger and more mobile", after awhile it changed to "he'll learn to crawl and talk", now he prays for Joe to learn to "walk and to communicate". We may not have the same hopes that we once did... but we do hope for their future and for ours.


Linking up at:

Our Family Creed

I have been inspired by different products and projects that feature "family creeds" and I decided to make our own unique family creed.  I think I am going to frame this... what do you think? 
 


OUR FAMILY CREED - We desire our home to be a place where our family, friends, and guests will find faith, hope, love, peace, joy, happiness and acceptance. We will seek to create a comfortable environment that is welcoming to guests of all ages and abilities. We will exercise wisdom in what we choose to eat, read, see, and do in our home. We want to teach others to love, learn, laugh, and to work to develop their unique talents. We will be thankful for what God has blessed us with and what we can share with those that we surround ourselves with.   
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

A Few Tidbits About Special Needs Parenting

I like to find quotes on topics that I write about and today I thought I would include several.  Not all of them were written with special needs parents in mind but I have found many of them to be inspiring and encouraging on my difficult days.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”- Albert Einstein

Frankly, there are times when I flip flop between those two extremes.  Some days I bask in the glow and excitement of the smallest milestone.  And other days I slip into despair over yet another messy meal or temper tantrum.  Obviously, everyone benefits when I see each and every moment as the miracle that it is.



“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” -Dalai Lama

There are times when strangers (or even friends) ask difficult questions or make careless comments.  Its not always easy to let those things roll off my back.  Sometimes I can let things go fairly easily, while other times someone's words stick with me for days or more just eating away at my joy.

“What lies behind us & what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don't always take the time to think about it, but I have grown a lot through the experiences that I hated the most while going through them.  I am a more confident person than I was before I became a parent.  I have had to defend my children and my choices on many occasions and in different circumstances.  And it comes down to God working in me that I am able to keep going and keep growing.

 "I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God." -Helen Keller

While I have not come to a place where I can be thankful for my children's handicaps I do believe that through them I have seen God's work.  He is evident in every step they take, every sign they make, every tiny bit of progress happens because of Him and I am thankful every day that He is watching over us.