New Title

Alright, so it didn't take me a week to come up with the new title picture.

The new title of my blog is going to be "He Maketh No Mistakes" (For those of you who get this by email - you need to come to the site to see the new picture. dillonsmommy.blogspot.com)

Why the Platypus you may ask? Well, I was trying to think of something in creation that is commonly thought of as a "mistake". If you know anything about the platypus scientists say it is a weird creature that is designed very oldly.
This is taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus : The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record.
The bizarre appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed mammal baffled naturalists when it was first discovered, with some considering it an elaborate fraud. It is one of the few venomous mammals; the male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot which delivers a poison capable of causing severe pain to humans.

So I thought of it. God didn't make a mistake when He created the platypus and neither did He make a mistake when He created Dillon. It was not a mistake that Dillon was born to Josiah and I, it was not a mistake that he has brain damge, it was not a mistake that he has so many long term effects from the birth injury. And it isn't a mistake that God is giving us another little boy so soon. Maybe God is going to use JayDonn to help Dillon heal, maybe He is just going to use JayDonn to help heal my heart. I don't know - I just know that HE MAKETH NO MISTAKES!

This and that

I haven't been posting much because we are in the middle of moving. We are moving about 40 minutes from here so we will be half way from church to Josiah's job. We signed the papers on Friday and will be moving this coming Saturday. My dad and Grandfather painted friday and saturday and mom and dad k and hannah and dan helped us clean the new place. I will put pictures up once we are moved in.

Also on friday night - I accidently pulled Dillon's G-tube out. It clearly hurt him but he only seemed to be in pain for a few seconds. There were a couple drops of blood but Daddy and Grandpa S put it back in for him. Then I took him downstairs and had him laying on me - I felt so bad! Then, even though all day he hadn't moved at all - he picked his head up and scooted up so his head rested on mine. I think he was telling me "I'm okay Momma, don't feel bad!" How sweet it was!

In Church Sunday night Daddy was holding him and he held his own head up for several minutes. And yesterday and today he has been doing just wonderful with moving his whole body more and holding his head up. He even kept it up for the therapist this morning from the position of laying flat on his tummy. This is the hardest position since it has the most gravity to fight - Praise the Lord - he really is making progress with his head! Keep praying!! ( I am starting to call him Mr. Wiggles since he has been moving so much it is almost hard to hold him!)

Our new neighbors are Muslim and they have a 3 year old daughter who is very similar to Dillon. Seizures, poor muscle tone, has a G-tube (she can swallow now though), has a Trac (sp? the thing in the neck to help you breath...only at night does she need it now though), just started to walk at 3 yrs old, never cries, has some vision problems, didn't suck for a long time, didn't hold her head for a long time, needs suctioned, gets all the therapies, etc. I didn't get to meet the girl yet, just the mom and the 5 year old girl. Please pray though - Josiah has had a burden to tell the Muslim people about God but neither of us felt God leading us to go to a mission field - at least not right now. Isn't it neat though that we are following God's leading and He has this all planned out already! So please pray we will be able to talk with these people as we already seem to have a lot in common with them. Another interesting things is the mom (Diva is her name) talked about God - not Allah. I am not sure why.... The neighbors on the other side are very nice people. Josiah talked with him for 2 hours last night. I am excited to see what God has in store for us in Pottstown.

I was very disappointed that no one gave me any suggestions for a new blog title. :-( So - I think I decided on one. You'll have to wait till I can get it changed though to know what it is. And since we are moving that may be a week or so. :-)

Poems

I was given these two poems: they are very good. Hope they move you as they did me.

I AM THE CHILD
~Author Unknown~
I am the child who cannot talk.You often pity me, I see it in your eyes.You wonder how much I am aware of -- I see that as well.I am aware of much, whether you are happy or sad or fearful,patient or impatient, full of love and desire,or if you are just doing your duty by me.I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater,for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do.You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times.I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated.I do not give you answers to your everyday questions,responses over my well-being, sharing my needs,or comments about the world about me.I do not give you rewards as defined by the world's standards -- great strides in development that you can credit yourself;I do not give you understanding as you know it.What I give you is so much more valuable -- I give you instead opportunities. Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine;the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities;the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible.I drive you further than you would ever go on your own, working harder,seeking answers to your many questions with no answers.I am the child who cannot talk.I am the child who cannot walk.The world seems to pass me by.You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair, to run and play like other children.There is much you take for granted.I want the toys on the shelf, I need to go to the bathroom, oh I've dropped my fork again.I am dependent on you in these ways.My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune,your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself.Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them.I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright,to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent. I give you awareness. I am the child who cannot walk.I am the child who is mentally impaired.I don't learn easily, if you judge me by the world's measuring stick,what I do know is infinite joy in simple things.I am not burdened as you are with the strife's and conflicts of a more complicated life.My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child,to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love.I give you the gift of simplicity.I am the child who is mentally impaired.I am the disabled child.I am your teacher. If you allow me,I will teach you what is really important in life.I will give you and teach you unconditional love.I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you.I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted.I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams.I teach you giving.Most of all I teach you hope and faith.I am the disabled child.
And just in case you don't know Welcome to Holland, this is that one:

Welcome to Holland

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley.

All rights reserved.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Same Lake Different Boat

I am going to have several posts called "same Lake Different Boat". Where did I get this title? It is the title of a book (Author: Stephanie O. Hubach) the principle of our Christian school gave to me to read several months back and I am just finding time to read it. So far it is very good and I want to share some of it with you. However - if you have someone with special needs in your family - or even if you just want to learn and understand more about disabilities I encourage you to get this book. (I am only on the 4th chapter and will let you know at the end my final say on how good it is. My first disclaimer is that she does not use KJV.)

First - The author points out that there are three views to disability. Which one do you have? Has that changed at all after knowing someone (actually being close to someone rather than just seeing people at a distance) with a disability? Now be honest with yourself! I defantly held the first view. I felt bad and sorry that it happened I felt as though they have "problems" I still am working at countering this view with the Biblical view.

• The Historical View: Disability is an Abnormal part of Life in a Normal Wworld. This is the view that something is "wrong" with the person or that they have a "problem". It is the view that in history, and even in our liberated world today, causes people with disabilities to be shunned and avoided and mourned over.
• The Post Modern View: Disability is a Normal part of life in a Normal world. This is the view held by those who are afraid of offending. They want to encourage "celebrating" disability. When I read this the first thoughts that came into my mind is that they are ignorant and that they are offensive. I have YET to have anyone come to me and say they are jealous that Dillon was born to me instead of them because they so desired a child with disabilities. No one ever goes out seeking a disability for themselves. It is ludicrous and absurd that anyone would want to celebrate disability.
• The Biblical View: Disability is a Normal part of life in an Abnormal world. Did you get that? Only the Biblical view sees our world as the "abnormal". Our world is stricken by the fall - there are consequences of the sin. Everyone suffers from physical and spiritual difficulties because of the fall. A person with a disability is just has the physical/mental consequences more evident in their life. They often have a much better spiritual understand because of this, though. They are not to be shunned but don't try to celebrate it either. When I read this I thought of celebrating cancer or soldiers dying in a war. Those are not to be celebrated - they are to be understood as normal life in our abnormal world.

These thoughts really hit home to me. Do I look at Dillon as though he should be shunned? Not really - but I think I honestly feel as though he WILL be in his life. Most people in our world don't have the Biblical view on this (especially not when most Christian don't - myself included). They don't see every individual as an expression of God's glory. I know I don't always look at a person and say "Wow, God created that person - how wonderful!"

The next thought that really hit me was about relentlessness. Now every family will experience this, but for the families of a disabled person it come so much more often. Simple every day tasks are so relentless that I won't even get into that right now since this post will be long enough but I think you can imagine. But what about our response to the relentlessness? She used Joseph's life as an example in this. There are three reactions possible:

• The Victim Mentality - the world owes me, I can't believe this is happening to me, etc. If Joseph would have had this he would have cursed God, gotten depressed, and died with a meaningless life.
• The "I will beat this" Attitude - This is where you view disability as cancer - something that can be beat. You believe you will overcome it not matter what it takes to do that. If Joseph would have had this he would have given in to temptation and then broke out of jail with the help of the baker and cup bearer gone and killed Pharaoh and then killed his brothers.
• Engage Reality with a God-Reliant Perspective - This sis where you accept whatever life gives you because you are God-focused not difficulty-focused. This is the only view that keeps God as the center of your life. The other two allow you to make your whole life about the problems. It is putting your circumstance on the throne in your heart instead of God. He allowed these things to happen, surely we can look to Him while going thru it all.

Okay that's enough for now - but there will be more coming so look for the posts titled "Same lake Different Boat" (By the way that means that people without disabilities are not in a different lake as though with it - nor are they in the same boat...they are in the same lake but a different boat. As a church we are even closer - we are the same body different parts....see the parallel?)

Ideas Needed

I need YOUR help! I want to change the title of my blog (not the URL - just the title) now that I am both Dillon and JayDonn's mommy it isn't fair to call my blog Dillon's Mommy. (Believe me - when I started it the day before we left the NICU I had NO idea I would have to change it so soon!) Anyways - I am looking for creative, special, wonderful, and/or funny title that includes the guys in my life. It can either be a title referring to just the kiddies (since that is who I write about) or the whole family. I am in desperate need of help because the best thing I can come up with so far is "My Three Stooges" :-) I am TOTALLY justified in that title though..... let me share with you why. Sunday morning in church Dillon talked during the whole message! He never talks anywhere near that much at home - but all during the preaching he was going to town. Plus, the same service JayDonn was kicking and wiggling so much that it was the first time Josiah even got to feel him. And as far as why Josiah can be classified as one of my stooges - well it wouldn't be nice for his wife to tell all of the crazy - and I do mean CRAZY - things he does so you'll just have to take my word for it. (I know - everyone who knows Josiah doesn't think that is possible - but it is!)

Okay - so please submit any and all ideas under Anonymous - that way if I pick one I won't feel bad for not picking someone else's. :-)

Must be a "Mommy Thing"!

For all you reading that aren't moms I am going to sound really crazy - for all you moms reading...I think you'll understand! Dillon has been constipated and had only had one small diaper in in about 36 hours and it was as hard as a rock. Then last night at 3am he had a diaper with a rock the size of a small marble and that was all he had had for the last 20 hours. So I decided to look in my homeopathic kit for constipation. LITERALLY five minutes after I gave it to him he went in his diaper and then he went again this morning without any more homeopathic medicine and it wasn't hard rock stuff it was a normal looking diaper! I was very excited last night when it worked - and so quickly at that! I think I am really sold on this homeopathic thing. I appreciate the lady in my church who has helped me in getting started with it all. She has told me the cheapest places to buy, given me some to help Dillon before my kit came, given me many different resources to use, given me personal examples and stories, put up with my countless questions - emails - and phone calls, you name it she has helped! Thank you very much!

I told you! Must be a "Mommy Thing"!

These are words generated by the internet that are used a lot in my blog. Thanks for the Word Cloud Abbi! To create your own (you can edit which words it selects go to http://www.snapshirts.com/ and click Custom. It is quick and easy to use.

Doctor Update

Dillon had another well check-up today. His head has grown 1/2 inch in the last month, and he is almost 2 inches taller. He only gained a few ounces - but at least he gained! This brings him up to the whopping 11 pound mark! I am going to try scheduling him with an asthma doctor since it runs in our family so strong - just to see what they say. This won't be for several months yet, though, as they are booked already. His throat looks good which I am glad about since Josiah and I have been fighting colds. I THINK he may be getting teeth on the bottom. I am not sure, but it would explain why he has been coughing so much more at night and why we have been suctioning so much out of him lately. The doctor said he was behind on getting his teeth, but both my sister and I got ours late. I didn't lose my first tooth until I was around 8. I picked his hearing aids up today - it has been about 3.5 weeks since he had them last. (Don't know if I told you - I washed them in the washing machine - oops!) Dillon's eyes were huge when we turned them on! It was like he was thinking "Wow! Where did THAT come from? I forgot about these!" :-)
In the meantime- I am still trying different homeopathic things to help with his tummy aches. I am seeing some progress, but not as much as I would like. It is a trial and error kind of thing since he can't explain his symptoms to me. Please pray for wisdom that we might be able to find one to help him feel better.