Half Marathon

So, it sounded like a good idea to help me lose weight - run a half marathon with Skills. Only instead of losing weight, the first couple months of training I put on 12 pounds. It made me so mad that I was exercising regularly and gained so much weight I quit training. I figured if I was going to get fat the couch was the perfect place, not the treadmill.

Anyway, with two months to go before the marathon, and a thyroid that had quit working I got lazy and ran about 5 times in those two months. I knew that I was going to be hurting today - I walked 12 miles in Paris last February and pretty much got to the point of being unable to walk.

Well, I guess considering my lack of training - the 9 miles I ran and the 4 I walked didn't seem like such a failure. By mile 10 I was fairly concerned I may not even be able to walk the remaining 3 miles, but I persevered and FINISHED. My time, almost embarassing was 3 Hours and 14 Minutes but whose counting. I can at least say that I have finished a half marathon, and I'm fairly certain that I won't be doing so EVER EVER EVER again. I guess going from a lifelong record of 3.5miles to being able to run 9 miles I should appreciate the challenge and relish in the accomplishment.

I'm just so glad its over !

Courtney's New Du

So Courtney's friend, Trinity, arrived from Kansas City yesterday with a short new haircut.....sure enough Courtney decided they needed to be twins and she needed her hair short as well. Seeing an opportunity I may not get again, I siezed the moment and headed to Great Clips. Nothing better than short hair cut for summer! Check out my model in training.

Good News

Well no one leaves me comments anymore.....but I shall continue to write none-the-less. I woke up apprehensive this morning because at 10:30 I had a meeting with Andrew's Autism Dr/Nutritionist. We had a large amount of $$ to use up from his state grant in March and so we ran an enormously expensive set of blood tests to get a comprehensive view of what his body is doing right now.

I showed up unsure of what the conversation would hold. Generally these tests are downers, but I was hopeful for some good news. The initial packets of stuff the receptionist gave me had 8 things listed that Andrew was going to need. Ouch, the list of supplements is growing and when we lose his grant God had better fix him cause we won't be able to afford to keep him healthy :)

Anyway, after we went over the vitamins/minerals/amino acids that he is lacking in - he said he wanted to bring a few things to my attention. First his oxidation level, which is usually quite high in ASD kids due to brain inflamation - Andrew's is totally normal. He said most kids he sees have elevated levels which means there is always more damage being done in the brain. Secondly, there is a list of like 6 Neuro-transmitters which he said in most ASD kids are very low. Andrew's were all in the normal range. He said the things we have been doing are working - because most kids he sees don't test normal. I almost started to cry.....good news.....good news.....two of the major tests relating to brain function showed his body working properly. The process for detoxing seems to be working better now as well. We still have work to do, and until God chooses to just fix him we will continue to fight and spend enormous amounts of money on pills :) but I am grateful the good news....for confirmation that we are on the right track and I am grateful for the guidance from Dr Mayfield.

We continue to pray for Andrew's healing, for his allergies to be gone, but in the meantime we will cherish the adversities and relish in the GOOD NEWS.

Are you flying....

One day I was delighted to see three new swallows sitting side by side on this branch. The parents made wide, sweeping, insect-gathering circuits over the water and then returned to the enormous cavities that those little birds became as they opened their beaks for a feeding.

This went on for a couple of hours until the parents decided they had had enough of it. One adult swallow got aongside the chicks and started shoving them out toward the end of the branch -- pushing, pushing, pushing. The end one fell off. Somewhere between the branch and the water four feet below, the wings started working, and the fledgling was off on his own. Then the second one. The third was not to be bullied. At the last possible moment his grip on the branch loosened just enough so that he swung downward, then tightened again, bulldog tenacious. The parent was without sentiment. He pecked at the desperately cliniging talons until it was more painful for the poor chick to hang on than risk the insecurities of flying. The grip was released and the inexperienced wings began pumping. The mature swallow knew what the chick did not --that it would fly -- that there was no danger in making it do what it was perfectly designed to do.

Birds have feet and can walk. Birds have talons and can grasp a branch securely. They can walk; they can cling. But flying is their characteristic action, and not until they fly are they living at their best, gracefully and beautifully.
An Excerpt from "Run with the Horses" by Eugene H. Peterson

Prayer

Well today we had Andrew's 3 Year Assessment review at his school. Academically he is only a year behind - which we knew already and was why he repeated Kindergarten. I am so proud of how well he is doing. It seems that he has continued to progress with this group of children and is even ahead in some areas.

However, our last meeting was with the Occupational Therapist. Her test results showed he has extremely poor muscle tone, probably has some issues with his inner ear which doesn't allow him to hear certain tones such as those on the lower end of the spectrum and may be a contributing factor to his high voice pitch and inability to even use a lower voice, among two other pages of not great news regarding his physical body. This also effects his ability to process other sounds and creates some of his issues with sensory overload.

He has some serious fears resulting from loud sounds and that is something we need to address with some therapy as well as finding some additional OT services outside of school to help him gain some muscle strength and motor skills.

I hate these meetings - after a period of time I forget some of the more serious things that are still not working properly in his body. We are of course so so so thankful for the cognitive skills and communcation that he has improved on and which makes it so much easier for us to forget the still difficult things he endures daily. Things we don't see, but that he struggles with. Since Hawaii I have been able easily let go of Andrew's disability, to trust in God, but it is days like this that truly test my resolve to trust in Him. The days where his every area are thoroughly examined and laid before us in paragraphs of comparisons. The disappointment seeps in and covers my heart, but I can let go of that. It is the sadness only a mother can experience of knowing there are physical things going on his little head and body that I cannot fix, that I don't have the faintest idea how to help him with, and they don't really have any good answers either that gets to me. Mommys fix boo-boos and I can't fix this one. So, I'm going to go spend some time in the Word, spend some time in prayer, pouring out my frustrations and fears, and know that if I truly let go He will take them. I know that my struggles can't fix him, and a struggling mommy makes a rough time for everyone. Please pray for Andrew, for his muscles, for his intestines (food sensitivities), for his inner ear issues, and for his short term memory. I can't fix him, but God can.

Mamaskills May Baskets

So - Courtney's teacher requested 6 May Baskets for May Day from each child in her classroom. I thought long and hard about what Court and I should do for these baskets.....paper plates, egg cartons, the list was endless. However, there was a little vision in the back of my mind that I just couldn't shake - so I grabbed some supplies - pulled out my Quikutz Silouette machine and off we went.

Courtney didn't actually help as much as I had anticipated, but in her defense, I went a little overboard myself. I won't be making these May Baskets again for a long time....it took almost 5 hours :)

Amnion Walk For Life

Ok - so I have no idea how many people actually read this blog.....Amanda, Conni, and Bryan I know you are my faithful followers....he...he.

But I wanted to post this in case there are those of you who read this that I don't email regualarly. My family does the Amnion Crisis Pregnancy Center's "Walk for Life" each summer to raise funds for their center. They have an amazing ministry by providing free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, pregnancy/abortion education and more to mothers/fathers/and extended family who are dealing with an unplanned/crisis pregnancy. But more than that, Amnion gives these families what they need most - the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are committed to sharing God's salvation and giving a Bible to everyone who enters their doors.

My hope is that each of you will consider a donation towards "The 4 Skills Walk" on May 16th. You can give simply and securely at this link http://www.firstgiving.com/amyskillestad.

Thank you for your consideration.....God Bless.