Well, it's October...guess I better get going if I intend to reach my 2012 blogging goal!!

Per the last update I posted moments ago...THANK YOU LORD...MY POST WASN'T LOST AFTER ALL!!!

Hello to anyone who might read my blog -

I read a blog post this morning LLH DESIGNS about perfectionism vs. excellence.  My perfectionist tendencies, I think, are what keep me from posting!  I feel an overwhelming desire to post here about our family in the chronological order of the events that have occurred in the past months. 

Today I have decided to just post.  I will back fill later with everything else that has happened since February.  Maybe!

I want to chronicle this day by posting a video I found earlier in the week of Eli when he was 3 years old.  He has made such huge gains over the last 6 years, but because God's timeline of development for Eli is expanded, we often lose sight of his progress.

Additionally, I want to note what a great time we had with the Skahan family last Sunday afternoon and evening.  Lesley and Matt have three boys.  Jake, Gage and Mason.  Mason turned 3 this summer.  Mason has PTHS, like Eli!  We were connected with the Skahan family through the genetics clinic at CMH. 

We first met with them over the summer and it was a wonderful connection.  Lesley and I have so many things in common and we keep finding more...we even both have collections of snowmen!  It was so funny when we made this discovery...we just laughed and finished one another sentences about why we collect them.  "They represent winter, not just Christmas.  You can keep them out longer!"

They traveled to Baldwin for our annual Maple Leaf Festival.  We walked the cobblestone streets of Baldwin, gazing upon all the goodies.  Of course we had to stop for Caramel Apples which were a big hit!  Eli truly enjoyed the company of Jake and Gage and they were having fun making him laugh with a game of 'Tag, you're it!" Mason has made great progress since our last visit; he was a joy to be around. We decided to go out for dinner at El Mezcal in Ottawa (on their way toward home). It was great food with great friends, sharing our knowledge of this path of Pitt Hopkins Syndrome as well as laughter and encouragement. 

Yesterday I wrote the following to Lesley:

I adore my sweet Eli and if I could spare him all pain of this world, I would.  If I could keep him sheltered from unkind words and awkward stares, I would and to a certain degree, I do.  But the truth is, God sent him exactly how he is with a very specific purpose.  God’s plan for Eli is for Eli…not me.  The Lord has and will work through Eli to touch the lives of people in a way that no one else could do.  This little boy has rocked my world.  A paradigm shift has taken place and in order for me to be who God wants me to be, I must embrace this life I am living with great joy and thankfulness.  I have good days and some bad days, but when it comes down to it, I know I am blessed beyond my own knowledge and awareness of blessings.  I am honored to have been chosen for this work and humbled at the same time. 

In the words of my favorite radio evangelist, Adrian Rogers:

"We have the right to choose. We do not have the right to not choose. We do not have the right to choose the consequences for the choices we make."

I posted the above quote to Facebook a few weeks ago...it seems fitting in the political climate of 2012. 

I also posted this next quote from the book Theirs is The Kingdome by Robert D. Lupton as it really spoke to me.

"The fundamental building blocks of the kingdom are relationships. Not programs, systems or productivity, but inconvenient, time-consuming, intrusive relationships. The kingdom is built on personal involvement that disrupts schedules and drains energy. When I enter into redemptive relationships with others, I lose much of my capacity to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money or materials. In short, relationships sabotage my efficiency. A part of me dies. Is this perhaps what our Lord meant when He said we must lay down or lives for each other?"

LOVE THAT!!!  Relationships are messy and the really good ones take LOTS of time to develop and grow. They are worth every moment!  This quote is additional reinforcement that in order to have the abundant life God promises, we must live life as He directs.

May you go through this day acknowledging your blessings!!

A few pictures from 2012:

A virtual 5K completed in honor of Mallory Werner!

On the beach in Naples, FL for spring break! 

B-E-A-Utiful!

Hunter, Eli and Blake...and to think Blake is even taller now than he was for this picture in June!!

The Baldwin Lion's Club gave Eli a new bike!

Cooper (cause he's a mini) joined our family in May.

George, the gorgeous, joined our family in late July.

Eli and Mason at the Maple Leaf Festival!

This is a video of Eli riding his bike...before he got the new bike...he is a real pro now...I will try to find a more recent video for my next message!