Some days are harder than others...

When you are a stay at home mom, some days are really stressful, and most days are reely awesome. When you have a differently abled child, some days are harder than others. During the fall and winter seasons, Garrett does not do well. The constantly changing weather makes him feel terrible...which makes him VERY FUSSY! Sometimes it is like water torture. Monthly hormeone changes doesn't really help my stress level, but I do have one constant calming love force...KENNEDY!
Kennedy is the best big sister to Garrett. She gets irritated sometimes, but she loves him so much. Garrett thinks she is the best thing since sliced bread. He loves it when she plays with him and loves on him. He will go to her and play with her when he will not do something for someone else. She is a great help.

Mike has been working so much lately...either with his charity or his job...that we very rarely get any time together. I know that all marriages have issues like that, but it is different when you have a special child. My doctor told me that 96% of marriages that have a special child end in divorce. Just having that statistic hanging over our head adds more stress. I am trying to get him to commit to a week of just our time, but he is really not wanting to do so because of $. We had to buy a new car...my fault for having to have it now...so the cruise that we planned in January got put on hold. If we stay here, I will clean and get stuff done that I can not do when I always have the kids and he will work with his charity and get his needed stuff done. A catch 22. Whatever.

Everyday I thank God for sending Garrett to me, but most days I wonder why he felt I could do a good job. I have never been a patient person, but I have found alot of patience from somewhere within my being. It is funny because I had so many plans of how our life would be when we had our children...now I have to dream different dreams. Priorities can change in an instant. Now, instead of my children having to be the best, smartest, cutest, blah, blah, blah. It is important that they be the best them they can be. When people in public say "how old is your son, and you are still carrying him? He is still in diapers? He still takes a bottle? (not anymore :>) He is babbling?" I just kindly ask them how many children do they have, and when they answer, I ask them if they are all healthy children. When they answer yes, I tell them to be thankful for them and show compassion for those that are not healthy. They usually turn their head and walk away. I am proud of my son. I am proud that at 4 1/2 years old that he can play pat-a-cake by himself and that he can now drink out of a sippy cup. I am proud to say that yes he does still wear diapers and that yes I do have to carry him...because it is better than not having him at all. So, THANK YOU GOD FOR CHOSING ME TO BE GARRETT'S MOM!

Changing the subject...

The 3 Day has come and gone. It was an experience that I will always take with me, but not something that I will do again until I have more time to train.

Now the subject of the blog is changing. Now the subject will be about a day in the life of having a disabled child. I also have a normally-abled child and a third child that I call Husband ;o).

Kennedy, is my 7 1/2 year old daughter that is home schooled. She, of course is brilliant, kind and a love bug. She is a great big sister to Garrett and is aware of his disabilities. She helps him and protects him. She is very matter-of-fact to other children that ask "What is wrong with your brother?"

Garrett is a 4 year old disabled child. He is a blessing in our lives and we are grateful that he is still with us. There have been enough close calls that my hair is going gray way too early! We do not know the cause of his disability; although, we are working towards that goal.

There are many joys and heartbreaks that go along with having a disabled child. The joys are bigger and more profound than with a normal child. When your disabled child finally accomplishes something you cry tears of joy and relief. The heartbreaks can be devastating if you let them, but my faith in God has kept me going through the heartbreaks.

So, this will be a log of my journey of motherhood for a normal child and a differently-abled child.
Please feel free to leave comments.

The 3 Day is almost here!

Wow! In just a few short days, I will be leaving for Dallas to begin my 60 mile journey! When I first began, it seemed so far away, now it is hard to believe it is only five days away. Thank you so much to all of you that have supported me on this journey. It means alot. The next post will be about the 3 day...hopefully with pictures!

Fundraising

Raising the required $2200 is so much more difficult than I thought is was going to be. Most of the people who said they were going to donate, did not. So, the amount that I "thought" I was going to have, ended up being about 10%. I have about six weeks to raise the rest of the money, or I will not be able to participate. IF YOU ARE READING THIS, please support me in this journey. 60 miles is along way to walk. It should be worth some support. Especially, when the stats are that 1 in 8 women will be affected by breast cancer in their lives. My original goal was to raise $5000, but, at this point, I will be elated with raising the required amount.
PLEASE HELP!

Training

Well, training is going slow. I took a little break because Garrett has been in and out of the hospital several times in the last month. Hopefully, we will not be back there EVER, so now I can resume my training .

It is overwhelming to me that 1 out of 8 women will be touched by breast cancer in their lifetime. 1 in 8!!!!!!!!! It is pandemic. That will leave too many motherless children...too many spouses without a wife...too many parents without a child...too many siblings without a sister....
It takes my breath away to think about children having to lose their mother.

I CHOOSE TO TAKE A STAND!
I choose to get out and exercise to lose weight and decrease my risk of all cancer.
I choose to walk 60 miles, so that the brains of the research community can have some money to stop women from loosing their boobs and more importantly, their lives.
I choose to let my daughter see that one person can make a difference.
I choose to fight for her breasts.
I choose to show all peaple watching us walk, that I care about their lives.
I choose to walk, and walk, and walk...

The ultimate assult to a women's vanity, is not to lose her hair, but to lose her breasts.
I would let someone shave my head if they would give enough money to support my walk. It is just hair...it will grow back. A breast will not.

If I have to walk alone, I will. I had visions of showing up in Dallas with an army of women with me walking the streets wearing all the same shirt. What a huge message this would be. Everyone could see that we women are serious about keeping our boobs!

If you cannot join the walk, then maybe you know someone that would be willing to take a stand with me. Please pass this along, and please click on the link below to visit my personal site on The 3 Day.org. When you visit the site, please leave something to show that you are done with breast cancer.

One of the mottos of the training shirts of The 3 Day is " I WALK FOR_____" and you fill in the blank. Well, I walk for ALL.

ROCK the WALK!

OOPS!

I guess I should have included the team website so you can join!
www.the3day.org/dallas07/lifesavers

Please Join Me!

At this point, I am the only member of The Lifesavers. Originally, I thought my two aunts were going to join me, but it turns out that they cannot. I would love for anyone to join my team, whether I know you or not. The more money we can raise, the better! It would be really cool to have the largest team at the Dallas/ Ft. Worth walk. So reach into your soul, converse with the universe and get out your walking shoes because We have 60 miles to walk!