So A LOT has changed in the past 7 days. First lets start with the good news. We have been on the Gluten free/ Casein Free diet for almost a week and I am amazed at the progress we are seeing with Jacob. Today I experienced him SITTING DOWN for 10 min...all by himself and listened to story time. that has never happened before! He is starting to have more eye contact and his speech is getting better. I wanted to stop this diet but the rewards are far to great to stop now. Sure, its a lot of work, but its definitely worth it. I cant wait for everyone to see the new Jacob once he really starts to get better. Yesterday morning before he went to school he was very lethargic and calm. I thought he was probably sick because, well, if hes calm...something is wrong. So I took him anyways and I stayed in the front waiting room. 5 min later they brought him back and said that he was just standing there and didn't want to do much. So we went out to breakfast because he didn't eat breakfast. Of course, he had gluten in his pancakes and almost immediately after he finished eating...he went WILD. It was like he was possessed. It was pretty scary but I found out that's from the gluten. So back on the diet we went and I wont ever go back off. We figured out he was just calm because he was CALM for once! So today, they were all so happy to see how good he was. Even the OT told me that he focused in every activity they did and he was such a good boy.

Another thing is we changed the schedule around. The sensory stuff is good...and we still do it, but we now have a picture schedule like he has at school. He is attached to this thing when he is home and we cant do anything that's not on the schedule. Kids with Autism really have to have a schedule and one that they can see...and its eliminated ALL of the frustration he had at home about what we were doing next...where we are going...and so forth. Here is a picture of the schedule. Don't mind the dirt prints on it...you can tell it gets used a lot ha ha.

OK now a little note on Tyler. Since he was 15 months old we have been trying to figure out what is "wrong" with him. All of the genetic testing we got done all came back fine...and no doc can really figure it out. One day I was going to pick up Jake from therapy and I looked at Tyler in the mirror. And all of a sudden I just got this horrible feeling. And I kept getting thoughts back to when we were going through the genetic testing. So I thought...this has to be a sign that I need to get him into the doc. So I called the doc who isn't his real doctor but she is the one who saw the genetic stuff in him in the first place. And we got in the next day. When we got there, I had told her about everything we have seen with him and she told me that she thinks he also has Autism. So we are going next month to see if he does or not. We put him in the same school/therapy thing that Jacob goes to. We have to pay out of pocket for it, but its worth it. It gets him to interact with other kids and they help with potty training and they will see if they think he has autism or not. Today was his first day and so far he did pretty good. We were pretty surprised and happy that he did so well. Here are a few funny pictures of my boys being goofy like always.

I had a little meeting with some of Jakes therapists. And we decided that it would be the best to try him on a little sensory "diet" We are just going to try it out for a few weeks and see what happends. For those of you who are not familiar with what sensory issues are...here is a little bit about it. This is taken from a website I go to quite a bit. http://www.kid-power.org/sid.html

Sensory Integration Dysfunction is the inability of the brain to correctly process information brought in by the senses. Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID/DSI) or sensory processing deficits can come in many different forms. No two children will be affected in the same ways. SID/DSI was first noticed in children with autism or who had autistic traits but is also seen in children with other disabilities such as cerebral palsy or ADD/ADHD

Here are also a few "signs" that told us that Jacob had this and it was something to look into.

-- Loves to spin, swing and jump--this will seem to calm them down after several minutes

-- Oversensitivity to sounds--will frequently cover ears. Or undersensivity.

-- May have an exceptionally high pain tolerance

-- Unusually high or low activity level

-- Resists new situations

-- Problems with muscle tone, coordination, motor planning

-- Can be very impulsive or distractible.

-- Persistently walks on toes to avoid sensory input from the bottom of the feet.

Now a lot of this stuff is similar to autism and ADHD. I found out that sometimes kids have sensory disorders and they get misdiagnosed as ADHD. So we are hoping that is Jacobs case. So in this diet you are supposed to do some sensory activity every half hour all day. So I figured I had to redo our schedule so that we could fit it in. Now they are going to work with him at therapy and thats where he is at the majority of the day. So when he is home, all we are goign to do is sensory activities. Here is our schedule

5:20am-8am

Wake up

Rub feet, hands, and back to wake up

Listen to calming CD in car when taking daddy to work

play on sit-n-spin

play with playdoh

eat crunchy breakfast with fruit

brush teeth with vibrating toothbrush

let him pick out what to wear for the day

8:30-3 Therapy

3-6pm

Playground for 30 min

Push Tyler in stroller for 30 min

mini tramp. excersizes

massage feet

wheelbarrow walk

oral work

6-8 pm

Help with cooking dinner

help set table

crunch/chewy food to snack on

family time-coloring or playdoh

Warm bath with bubbles and aroma therapy

massage for bedtime

Ok, so this is a lot I will post again tomorrow or in the near future why we have to do the things we are doing. A lot of this just looks like playing and having fun. But its basically therapy for him and I can not believe how much it helps. We started it tonight after he got home from respite and we did everything right on this schedule and he was out by 7. This NEVER happends. He had his bath and I was rubbing his back and he fell asleep while I was massaging him. I really hope this is going to be a start of something great!! Everyone pray for us and pray that this works for him. I have been so overwhelmed at all this info and what to do but I really feel like im doing something good for him.

A few people had asked me to update them on how Jacobs school has been going so here is an update. It has been going GREAT!!! We have been so happy and so pleased at how things are. He is not being aggressive at all and has calmed down a whole lot being there. We also figured that Jacob has a sensory disorder and that may be why he is so hyper instead of him having ADHD so we are trying to work with our OT and get him into some sensory stuff and hopefully that will help. Jacob loves his new school and loves the kids that are there in with him. When he is being hyper they will do a brushing technique on him or put deep pressure on him and it usually calms him down. So ive started doing that at home too and it works wonders!! Another thing im going to start doing is the gluten free/casen free diet. I saw Jenny M. talking about it on all the shows she did and I really think I could try it. I mean the least it could do it not work...so starting on Monday we are going to start to take a little out of our diet at a time. I have pretty much a list of all the foods we can and cant eat so hopefully it should be pretty easy. We are still going to cut out all the artifitial coloring and sugars out of his diet because that does help his hyperness. So really, everything is going great and we couldnt ask for better. I am so glad we made the disison to take Jacob out of Kindergarden and put him in this hab class.

Speaking of which, here are the ladies that are THE BEST!!!! I am making a new schedule for Jacob with pictures of everything he has to do so I got pictures of his hab ladies....here are the 4 gals that make his schooling a whole lot easier.

Ok, so a few people posted this on their blogs so I thought I would too!!

1. Where would you say your testimony is the strongest? I have a few. First of all is Tithing! Sometimes it sucks having to pay 10% of our paycheck every pay period but I can not express all of the blessings we have gotten from paying our tithing. Next would be prayer! I know that if I ever need anything I can pray. And last would be the relief society. The fellowship and love that our ward RS has is just great!!

2. What do you struggle with the most (church related)? hmm probably reading and understanding the scriptures. I love to read them but sometimes what I read just goes right through me...haha

3. Do you have your food storage? Yeah I am starting it. I try to buy a few cans a month of food.

4. Do you have a favorite scripture? ok so I had to get my scriptures out for this one. I heard it in RS a few months ago and for some reason I just have not been able to forget it.

Alma 26:22

Yea, he that repenteth and rexerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing--unto suck it is given to knwo the mysteries of god; Yea, unto such it shall be given unto such to bring thosands of souls to repentance, even as sands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our bretheren to repentance.

5. What is your favorite Church hymn? I am a child of God, plain and simple

6. Do you have Any Sunday Traditions? Just relaxing and spending time with the family.

7. Do you have a Patriarchal Blessing? Not yet but that reminds me, I have to get it done. We have our recomends for it but havent called about it yet. Tom and I are both getting ours together.

8. Do you believe in angels? YES I do!!

9. Do you like the ward you're in? Yep I love it. I have my parents AND my brother and sister in law in it so its great!!

10. What callings have you had? Visiting Teaching Supervisor and Primary teacher to the sunbeams which im now...but havent started it yet.

11. What calling do you want? I would like to be back in RS. im sad im going to have to leave.

12. What calling do you hold now? Sunbeams teacher

13. Who out of your friends do you get spiritually lifted from? I would have to say my husband Tom. He has come such a long way and he always knows what to say spiritually to me when I need it.

14. Personally what do you need to work on with the church? Service, definintly.

15. Were you married/sealed in a temple...Tom and I were married Dec 8th 2001 in our church building and then April 2006 we were sealed in the temple with our kids =) it was the BEST experience ever. To have your husband and boys being with you at the alter was such a great feeling You could definintly feel the spirit in the room. To see my son that has severe ADHD sit there still for the entire time was just amazing by itself! There was not an empty seat in the room, everyone came to support us and we love each and every person for being there.

16. Do you have a favorite temple? I have not been inside any other temple but the Mesa one, but I do love the SLC temple it is so beautiful.

Ok, now I challenge everyone to do this on their blogs! Even if you are not of our faith, change it to where you can fill it out.

I first wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister Shelly!!! I wish we could be there to help you celebrate...hope you have a fun weekend and your kids are good for you today, haha.

I love ebay! I have found so many cool things on that website. I love bidding on things and getting good deals. I recently found this GREAT store someone has. Its a lady who has a child with Autism and she sells a lot of different autism things. Here are a few of my favs..

First is...This is one of the best things we have. Its a chewy tube. Ours is red and it is a lifesaver! Jacob loves to chew. He chews on everything he can. He started chewing on his fingers and toes and then they would get infected so we got him one of these. And now when he wants to chew, he goes for this.

This next toy we have a few of. Its called a fidget toy. Since Jacob also has ADHD he fidgets A LOT. Some of the time, he just needs something to play with to keep his hands busy. Expecially when we are at the grocery store or something. He is constantly touching things because his hands need to be touching things. So this comes in handy so he doesnt have to touch everything. And this also lights up, so it works as a sensory object as well, which Jacob loves.

Now this, is something I dont have, but I want really bad so I may be ordering one soon. Its a weighted neck pad that looks like a dog. Some kids with autsim/ADHD need to have pressure as part of sensory. When Jacob is really hyper we have to take him and start rubbing his arms and legs and it usually calms him down. So what this does is you put it on their necks and it puts pressure on them and will work the same way. Plus you can heat it up and so its a nice calming feel.

Now this is something else I dont have but I want. Its something you put on your window and it basically says that if there was an emergency there is a child with autism in the car and he may not respond to verbal comand. I think everyone that has a child with autism needs this. If something were to happen and we were in a car accident or something, there is no way Jacob could talk to someone and tell them what happend or if he was hurt or whatever. Im sure if something happend Jake would probably be freaking out.Well thats it for now. If you have a child with autism and you want to buy some of this stuff or if you just want to look at all she has, here is the link Autism Superstore

I guess I have been slacking on my posting on here. So here is all what have been happening in the Priestley household.

As some of you know, we have been having major problems with Jacob and his school/teachers/being in school all together. We get many notes and phone calls about his behavior and how aggressive he is to other kids. I had been thinking about taking him out of Kindergarten for a while but I really couldn't find a place to put him instead of being in school. Then I was introduced to this thing called structured hab at his therapy place. What they do, is they teach kids with autism (or any other special needs) how to act in a classroom setting. They have the room set up like a class and they work on special goals that the kids need to work on when they are in school. So hopefully a year of this and by next year he will be ready to go back to kindergarten. We were going to hold him back anyways because hes very young. His bday was 3 days before the cut off to go to school so that's another reason it was a very easy decision. His last day was on Friday and I didn't find out until Friday morning that we were able to get in on Monday. So it was very sudden and exciting. So I got a phone call from his teacher asking if we could come in for a meeting on Tuesday with the school psych and him. They wanted to talk about "options" for Jacob. So I had the opportunity to tell him that they didn't need to worry about that, I would be taking him out and that it was his last day. His teacher seemed pretty upset that I was taking him out...but I bet he was probably happy he didn't have to deal with Jacob anymore. Its sad and I wished that all the special ed teachers had more training in special ed...not just being thrown in the class. He doesn't understand Autism and that's why it was so hard for him to have a good relationship with Jacob. And I think that a lot of the aggression on Jacobs part was because he was frustrated. He needed more help than what his teacher/aids could give him, so this therapy is just what he needs. Here are a few pictures from the past week! So I just realized all the pictures I have taken are all of tyler...haha I need to take some of Jacob.

This is when we went to Neilsons with Shelly and my mom.

Tom and I were going to go out with some friends last weekend. We were going to get all dressed up and go to a steakhouse. Well our babysitter fell through last min so I decided to stay home and Tom didn't want to cancel on our friends so he took tyler. They both got all dressed up and Tyler was his date for the night. They had a great time and Tyler was passed out even before they left the restaurant.

My sister Shelly, and her baby Avery, decided to come visit for a few days. Jacob just loves his little cousin Avery! He loves to play with her and make her laugh. Here are some pictures of them together.

Then on Labor Day, we had a little bbq. So we took that time to have cake and ice cream for Jacobs bday that was on the 28th. I didnt get any good cake pictures of him on his actual bday so here is one from that day.

Ok so this entery might be a little long, as I have a lot to talk about. First of all I want to talk about Jacobs bday! We had such a fun day. We didnt really do much because really, he doesnt care so why do a lot of stuff. We went to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch. Tom was able to get a few hours off of work to come and my mom was also there. We did our presents and ate and let him and Tyler play. While we were there, there was a ton of target employees. And they were all playing games. A lot of them just gave Jacob their tickets and tokens. So we ended up with 460 tickets! Jacob was sooo excited to be able to get a big toy. Although, most of it was candy that he got. Then we went home and went to make a cake. I let Jacob help me with that because he loves to help cook. The cake didnt turn out at all!! Thats why I never bother to make birthday cake...just buy it. But it was still fun trying to make it, and we did eat the mess afterwards haha. He got lots of fun presents and was so excited to get them all. Here are a few pictures of the fun. My batteries died at PPP so I didnt get very many pictures. Dont mind my messy house in the back...haha. It was his bday I tried to spend as much time with him as I could and kind of neglected my house.

He is enjoying the cake batter


Tyler had to get in on the fun

Stiring it like a big guy




Tyler and daddy playing basketball





Jake kept playing this dancing game...he loved it
Ok, so then yesterday I went and took Jake into the doc to get his allergies tested. His psych said that sometimes kids with Autism/ADHD have allergies and thats what makes their behaviors bad. So I made an appt to get them tested to see if he was allergic to anything. Plus he is always having runny noses and sneezing so I figured he was allergic to something. They do the test and come back 20 min later and the nurse said...wow this is a good one. I looked and he was allergic to EVERYTHING they tested him for! It was only respitory allergies and not food ones. So he is allergic to...feathers, mold, trees, plants, weeds, grass, dust, cat hair, dog hair, and some others I cant remember. So now I have to give him this med that I squirt under his tounge. But the doc said I have to give it to him every other day for 2-3 years and hopefully they should be gone by then.

Happy Birthday Jacob!!! I cant believe my sweet Jacob is 5 yrs old already!! Here are a few pictures of the past 5 years

So I got a new calling at church. I was called to teach the little sunbeams (the 4 yr olds) in primary! I am actually kinda excited. Next Sunday should be interesting being in there with them but I cant wait! Tyler will be in there in 2 years and now I get to be in singing time with Jacob and keep an eye on him.

Speaking of Jacob...we have been having the worst time at school. He has been hitting, and not paying attention, and just not being a very good kid =( I now have to sign a conduct chart and the teacher will put a red dot for having a bad day and a green dot for a good day. I am trying to not dwell on it, but its hard not to. I know when he is a good boy we have to do something extra good so that he knows that he was a good boy and that he understands that you always need to be good. He doesnt understand that hes being bad when he hits...and his teacher just needs to realize that.

Oh, and his bday is tomorrow! I cant believe im going to have a 5 yr old!!! I feel so old! We were going to do a big ol thing at peter piper pizza but we were all sick this past week and I didnt get anything ready...and he really doesnt care as long as he has presents and cake. So we will just have something with our little family here tomorrow and he will be just as happy.

Hope everyone is having a good monday!

Jacob has been going to LIFE which is the therapy place he gets his ABA and therapys at. The past 3 weeks he has been getting evaluated with Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy. The PT just called me that has been working with Jacob to tell me that he was not going to be having PT today because she has to type up the report and submit it to our Support Coordinator (SC) and then our SC has to see if we have enough hours and space for this therapy (which we do). So I asked her if that means Jacob was qualified for PT. She told me that she was pretty sure he was but she had to tally up the points and then she will know for sure. But she basically told me that he did. So its kinda sad but happy at the same time. I was sad because I didnt think that he was bad enough to need therapy but happy because he will finally get some muscle in his body! Just looking at him, you can see that he has no muscle tone at all. One of his MANY diagnoses include a diagnosis called Hypotonia which is low muscle tone. So wish us luck for Occupational Therapy which is next to find out if he has qualified or not for it. I really hope he does because that is the big one that I really want. I am kinda iffy about him qualifying for it because the school already did their own evaluation and he did not qualify for it. But they didnt go over sensory issues that he definintly has. I will find out about that one on Wednesday because that is our OT day.

I met a new couple in our ward who has a child with Autism. He is 3, I think is what they said. I am so excited to be able to get to know them and to share all the info that we both know. They have had the diagnosis a year more than we have so im sure she can help me so much!

Oh what a fun weekend we had!!! Ok, so that was said really sarcastically, since you cant tell. It all started Thursday night when I started feeling SO SICK! I had my first bladder infection. Well lucky for me, I was going to the doc for something else the next day. So when I got there I told him I had a bladder infection, I thought, so come to find out I did. I got meds, and all is good...so I thought. I thought that taking meds the first day should take away the pain...HAHA I was so wrong! Friday night I was in so much pain! I couldn't stand it. And fun for me, my husband was gone on scout camp so I was alone with my kids. I did, go to my parents house to stay the night, even though they were gone. My kids entertain themselves so well there so I got to lay on the couch and try to feel better. Well it never happened and I didn't get any sleep because I was in so much pain. So Saturday morning comes and I start to feel a little better. I take my meds and for some reason it made things 20 times worse!! So I was back on the couch trying to feel better. I finally felt better later in the afternoon. I was excited because I had a fun girls night out with my friend Sharon. And I didn't really want to miss that because I really needed to get out. So the night comes and Sharon and I do our fun stuff. I didn't get home till 1am and then I was up at 5am with the kids. So im sitting at church and all of a sudden this pain comes back!! AHHH when will it end??? This sucks for my first bladder infection...I guess I should of gotten it checked out a month ago when it started...haha. I'm just thankful to Uristat...that's my best friend these past few days!! Not sure how bad the pain would be without it!!

Its amazing how much more time I have to do stuff for me, when Jacob is at school. Tyler is such a good kid, he just plays all by himself and never makes a sound. I just can hear the toys banging together in the playroom.

Jacob's bday is coming up in a few weeks YAY!! He is going to be 5! I cant believe im going to have a 5 yr old. I can remember being pregnant with him...and all the crap I went through with his delivery...haha. He hasnt had a birthday party yet. Partly because he really didnt know what a birthday was. But this year he is so into birthdays and loves them. So we want to give him a really good bday party this year!! We will probably do it at Peter Piper Pizza because thats his favorite place to be! We are going to have it on Sept. 1st probably at the PPP on Baseline and Elsworth. I know there are quite a few people with kids (boys or girls...it doesnt matter) who read my blog so I want to extend the invite out to everyone!! Just email me (jakentysmom@cox.net) and let me know if you want to come. Even if I have not seen you in a LONG time, I would love to have a lot of kids there for Jacob!!

So Jakes first few days of school went pretty good I guess. The teacher called me Friday after school just to tell me how must time Jacob takes up of his...haha oops. But then again, we tried telling him that he is like that but no one would listen to us. So they are getting an aid for Jacob so that he doesnt have to take the teachers time away. Then we decided just to keep him half day. I will take him out before or after lunch every day. All this week ill pick him up at 11:30 just because he has therapy at 12:30 in Queen Creek and it takes a while to get there. Oh, speaking of therapy...we went to this evaluation thing Friday night. Its for the habilitator that is going to be working with Jacob. We had to do a series of tests to see what kind of goals we will have for him. A lot of things he could do, but only with verbal ques or she had to do it forst and then he followed after her. They video tapped it and then said that I would get a call back soon after they watched the video and got the goals from that. I hope they call soon because I really want to get him into this therapy! A girl in our ward is going to be doing it so I am excited about the chance im going to get to get to know her better! She was placed in my life for a reason..Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he put us in this ward....and everything we have experienced has been great!!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!!

So the bus FINALLY came for Jacob yesterday! YAY! I guess when the bus dropped him off thursday afternoon, the bus driver said that he was just put on her bus. She didnt have him on her list or anything. So she said that she would just come take him to school and take him home every day. So yesterday morning she came and got him! I was so happy and excited, and so was he! He loves riding the bus so it was fun for him.


Thursday night, I was in my room, watching tv. I didnt even think that it was past the boys bedtime. So I went out in the front room because it was really quiet, to find this! I had to wake them up to put the jammies on and put them back in their bed, but this picture was too funny not to take.

Also, yesterday was haircut day! Tyler got a haircut FINALLY! We went to a place called Lolilocks or something like that and that place is awesome!! It is totally kid frendly and the lady who cut tylers hair was really good with him and cut his hair fast so that he wouldnt cry too much. Of course, he cried almost the whole time but I didnt care because thats what this place is used to since its all for kids. Here are some pictures of his cute new hair!

So, yesterday was the first day of school for us..YAY Jacob was gonna be gone all day and I couldnt wait!! Like any other parent, I took some pictures of him before his bus came. Since hes "special needs" he gets to ride the short bus...hehe. And it comes to our house and picks him up...which I love.

So here he is about to go wait for his bus

Tyler had to get in on the picture action too

Here is Jacob waiting for the bus to come get him

Here he is...10 min later...STILL waiting for the bus to come get him

So yeah, the bus NEVER came and got him yesterday! I was furious! I have had issue after issue with this school...and this was not making it any better. I had Tom call the school because I was so upset and the school psych called and really didnt make me feel any better. He just said tomorrow will be a better day...lets just see how it goes tomorrow. Well fine...im sure it would be a better day. So today...I treat it as his first day again. The bus is gonna come get him...hes staying all day at school and its going to be a great day!! So here are the pictures from this morning

Ok here is Jake and Tyler again

Here is Jacob waiting for his bus...

and once again...STILL WAITING!!!!

Can you believe they forgot to pick him up...AGAIN?!?!?!?!?! I took him to school this time and I went in there and told them that the bus problems are not being taken care of obviously, and I want him switched out of this school. I dont care if I have to put him in the autism room...or in normal K with an aid...he will NOT go to this school!!! So the school psych said that he would talk to the principal and call me back! So I already called our home school and im going to talk to the principal there as soon as she calls me back to see what we can do for Jake in this other school where we had NO problems last year!!

Ok, I have a few welcomes to post. The first one is of my new nephew Finnegan James Malone. My brother Trent and his wife, Jackie, had a baby boy Aug 4th. And from what I heard it was the best labor and delivery ever!! Jackie, you are so lucky!! Here is a little scrapbook page they made for him.







And then welcome to two new bloggers. My husband made a blog!! I am so excited and everyone should read it. Its really funny and im sure he will make you laugh. Thats one reason I love the guy!! He is always ready to make people laugh. His link is http://tompriestley.blogspot.com/

And then, my brother Mike and his wife Debbie. They made a blog!! So welcome into the very adicting blogging world. If you guys know Mike, and want to read their blog and see whats going on in their lives their blog is http://michaelanddebbiemalone.blogspot.com/

I have been having a very hard time lately dealing with Jacob...and his autism and just knowing that its going to be here for a while. I was just looking through the internet kinda looking for answers....looking for something that would help me understand just what hes going through. I came to this guy's web page. His name is Jamie Manning and he has a son who has autism. He writes songs about autism and families dealing with autism in their family. I listened to this song and I just couldnt stop crying...I felt like this is what I needed to hear. Here are the lyrics to the song and here is the link to where you can hear a little bit of the song http://www.autismsongs.com/welcomehere.php

You are welcome here

Go ahead and take your time my boy, I can wait

There’s no need to run so fast, you’re not late

You walk on a different road, that’s alright

Do not fear the shadows, just keep looking for the light

And if that road should make you lonely

There’s no darkness you should fear

You will always find a light in my window at night

You are welcome here

You have such an open heart, free from all the stain

A smile that shines like sunlight through the thunder and the rain

The warmest hand, the truest eyes that I have ever known

And though you may walk slowly, you will never walk alone

And if you need some understanding

When the answers disappear

You will always have a place you can run to

You are welcome here
I can’t tell you that the world is kind

Nor can I tell you that it’s fair

But if you ever need a hand to hold

Mine will always be there

BREAK/SOLO

I can’t tell you that the world is kind

Nor can I tell you that it’s fair

But should you ever need a hand to hold

Mine will always be there
So when you walk down that long road

There’s no darkness you need to fear

You will always find a light in my window at night

You are welcome here

If that long road makes you lonely

And you need somebody near

You will always find me here where you left me

My child. You are welcome here

(Edit)

I cant beleive I forgot this in the post...One of the BEST things happend yesterday!! A lot of people take hugs from their kids for granted...NOT ME, only because Jacob does not give hugs. For some reason autistic kids do not like to be touched, im not sure the reason, but he doesnt give hugs and if you try he will cry. But yesterday ALL DAY he gave me about 10 hugs!! I was SO HAPPY!! I cried almost every time I got a hug from him. Then we went to my parents house and he gave my dad 2 big hugs which is VERY unusual. My dad was very happy as well and kept telling Jake how proud he was of him =) We are so happy for Jake and hope that it doesnt stop. I love getting hugs from my little guy.

Yesterday Jacob started his first day of therapy! He had ABA which is a behavior therapy type thing. He goes Monday-Wednesday and has ABA for an hour and a half a day, and then has music therapy, occupational therapy, or physical therapy for an hour after each ABA session. Then yesterday, we also got hab and respite approved. I have a lady coming over from where we are doing Hab today so that we can fill out forms for the girl to start. She is going to be working wtih Jake 3 hours a day on the off days of ABA so thursday and friday and maybe some saturdays. She is actually in my ward and loves Jake. She has been coming over on her own time just to kinda work with him and observe him. So we are excited to get her to start with us and to get paid!! The place where I have Jake for therapy is called L.I.F.E. Center. They are brand new...just opened up yesterday actually. They have the best equiptment around and I am so excited for us to be going there. Everything is going so smooth there is no doubt in my mind this is where we are supposed to be...and this is what we are supposed to be doing for Jacob.

We are having such a hard time with his behaviors. I started writing down everything he does to Tyler or another child so that I can show the doc that he is really bad. Not very many people believe me on how aggressive he is because its mostly done at home. When we go out, he is very quiet and shy because he doesnt like meeting new people. But once he knows you are a good person, he will not be shy anymore, and show his real self...haha. Lately he has been obsessed with numbers. He is constantly asking me what time it is...or he will tell me what time it is. He knows almost every channel on the TV just if you tell him to turn it to a channel you dont even have to tell him what number it is, he already knows and will turn it there. Its not because we watch a lot of tv he will just flip through the channels for hours if I let him. Its a little anoying at times, but these are the things I just have to learn to deal with.

Well I better go get this house clean for the ladies who are coming over...I really dont want to get up and do that...haha. I just wish it would clean itself...that would be nice.

So I sit down at my computer, and im about to blog about the wonderful monsoon season we are having. I go to turn on the TV and it is on channel 3 and of course they are showing the memorial for the guys who died in the plane crash. For those who havent heard...that dont live in AZ, on Friday there was a car chase in down town Phx. Channel 3 and Channel 15 helicopters collided and killed everyone in the copters. It was a camera guy, and the guy flying in both helicopters. SO sad! I love watching channel 3 news so it was really shocking to me to see these guys die. So I turn on the TV to see this memorial and I am just bawling....its so sad to see everyone crying...even the tough police officers that are there...there is not a dry eye, its a very touching memorial and even though you really don't know these people in person, you got to know them through the TV and its almost like losing a friend.

So anyways...why I came on here to begin with...ha ha. I love the monsoon season!! We have been having some good storms. They said on the news last night that here in Gilbert we got an inch and a half and in Mesa they got an 1.75 inches! Its been a long time since we have had rain like that. I even took pictures because its just so cool to get some good rain!! We always love it here and its always welcome. As long as im not driving in it. I get bad anxiety if I have to drive in the rain! Here are the pictures I took yesterday from my front door!!

Thursday, July 19th, was my birthday! It was a lot of fun this year. I have to say, this is probably my fav bday so far since I was a kid. My sister Stacy was in town from Texas, so she got to celebrate with us too. On wednesday, I was at my moms house, and she told us to come over for dinner since stacy was making something yummy to eat. So we show up at 630. Tom is freaking out because he had to go to scouts in a half hour and didnt think we would have enough time to eat and for him to get to scouts on time. So we are sitting there and the door bell rings. Its a lady from our ward. I didnt really think much of it since my mom is on the compassionate service commitee but then she started talking about babysitting kids. I was like ok, stacy must be going somewhere. Then my mom goes...suprise! We are going out to dinner!! I was very shocked and happy because dinner sounded so good. We went to Olive Garden which made it even better. Oh, and Tom was on the suprise the whole time! He was just making it look like nothing was going on so I didnt lead on to the suprise. And then we came back home and had cake and Ice cream.

When I walked into my moms house on Wednesday, I saw this...

She had gotten me roses...25 since I was turning 25. I also got a frying pan and a new dish set...oh and the best of all...a new mini van!! Well, its new to us anyways. Its my sister Shelly's old van. They have outgrown it and had to move to a suburban so we took over the payments on it and we love it!! We had a little Plymouth neon for 5 years so its nice to have space. Expecially for my husband who is 6'5. And the kids love it...although, Jake is having a hard time with it being OUR car now. He still thinks is his cousins car. Then on thursday, my actual bday, we we to peter piper pizza and let the kids play and then I Had a drs appt for Jacob (which ill blog about later) and then we came home and my mom watched both boys and Tom and I went out to dinner. Here is a random pic of stacy's kids, my brother mikes daughter, and Jacob