So we got in from Texas last night after a fabulous week at the Halo Clinic.

Noah worked diligently and happily…he was all grins all the time.

My Mom and I gained some valuable insight into some of the difficulties that we have been having with getting Noah to spell.  Erika was able to troubleshoot and gave us some new strategies to use during Noah’s lessons.  I tried some of them this afternoon with Noah and I can already tell a difference.  I’ve got a lot of hope that we’ll be able to move him on to the next level.

Besides our sessions at Halo, we did a lot of sightseeing.  The weather was incredible…sunny and crisp with highs in the 60s and low 70s.  The wildflowers were in full bloom and I couldn’t believe how green everything was.

Here’s some pictures from our trip…

Noah at the front door of Halo…

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center…hiking one of the trails with my Mom…

Love those Texas Bluebonnets…

Natural Bridge Caverns…

The “Natural Bridge” that sits over the Cavern entrance…

Noah in a field of Bluebonnets (boy, did I need my Neti Pot later)…

I took these pictures in a neighborhood park that was about a mile from our hotel…

So that’s it for our week.  It was a huge blessing…thank you for praying for us.

When I get a chance, I’ll write about our unforgettable flight on Sunday and how I learned that airline barf bags are not nearly large enough.

And about some other random things as well.

Ya’ll have a blessed evening…

…and other miscellaneous updates…

So Noah’s teacher talked a hair stylist friend of hers to come in to the school this week to attempt to cut some of her students’ hair.

Since Noah and I have a long history of nightmare hair cutting sessions and their disastrous results, I couldn’t get my child signed up fast enough.

The temporary beauty parlor was set up in Noah’s classroom on Wednesday.

Noah’s teacher and staff reported that he sat there like a perfect little gentleman…like nothing at all unusual was happening.  No struggling…no crying…no fussing.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

anywho…

Here’s his new ‘do…which he is quite proud of, by the way…

I have officially retired from my hair cutting career.  Thank God.

In other news and miscellany…

Our house went back on the market Wednesday morning.  We had a showing last night, and another request for a showing came in this morning.  I’m hoping that it’s a good sign that we’re getting such a quick response to our listing.

I volunteered at Noah’s school yesterday.  This was an unusual assignment…I was a proctor for a class of fourth graders who were taking the FCAT.  It was a hoot to watch the kids take the test.  I sat in the back corner of the room, where I could scan everyone constantly, but do so without distracting the little busy bees while they worked.  It was fun to watch the different test-taking styles.  There were the studious little girls who answered each question with intensity…the confident math-wizard boys who believed that they were in a race against the clock to finish…and my favorite…the Christmas Tree King…who I watched randomly bubble his answers in over a period of about 5 minutes.  (so. not. kidding.)  For the first time in a long time I missed being in the classroom.  It’s fun to see a group of students at work.

How much does this season of “24″ rot?

I have an appointment on Monday to check out a private autism school.  I have no idea what to expect, but I’m going with an open mind…hoping to get a sense of direction for Noah for next year.  I’ll keep you posted…

Well…I’m out.

I hope that you all have a great weekend…

So I’m absolutely loving this freakishly cold weather.

Anybody else?

It’s just so crispy and fun.

anywho…

Noah is back in school.  He was quite happy to return on Monday, and his teacher reported that he did not miss a beat and went right back to work and is doing well.

Isaac and I have been staying fairly close to home, which has been rather nice and cozy.  He got some Looney Tunes DVDs for Christmas…his first introduction to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Marvin the Martian and his Illudium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator.  (In fact, Isaac has renamed the Space Shuttle the “Space Modulator”.  oh. my.)   I have been laughing myself stupid watching all the episodes with him and I’m loving watching him crack up at it all.  That’s some funny stuff.

After taking about five years off, I have started making bread again.  I used to make it all the time in my bread maker…mixing different recipes from scratch.  When Noah went gluten free/casein free, I let it go and mothballed my bread machine.   A few weeks ago, after eating some super yummy bread that my brother in law Hank made, I decided that it was time to pull the bread machine out of hiding and get back into it.  My first attempt to replicate Hank’s recipe was an epic fail…resulting in what was essentially a giant crouton.  I pitched the brick and tried again.  Next attempt…ahhhh.  It’s a wheat loaf with sunflower and flax seeds and oatmeal…yummmmmmmy.  Doug is all happy about it too.  After I practice a while on “regular” bread, I plan to attempt to make some bread that Noah can eat.  That should be fun.

We’re getting ready to stick our house back on the market.  More on that later.

Well…that’s all I’ve got for today.

Ya’ll stay warm and cozy…

I have yet to talk to anyone who is mournful about the passing of 2009.

Was that a crazy year, or what?

For our family, it was a year of transition…and a year of incredible blessing.

At times, the “transition” part of our lives was a bit stressful for me.  After being so “settled” as a wife of a Pastor who was also employed as a full-time Disney musician, I had to learn to live with a bit more uncertainty after that full-time job ended and Doug went to part-time employment.  Like just about everyone else in America, we had to figure out how to make do with a whole lot less income…about half of what we made before.  But let me tell you…I’m thankful beyond words that we had income at all.  Every time I dropped our mortgage payment in the mailbox this year, I uttered a prayer of thanks.  Our needs were more than met, and we were still able to do some fun things and provide for Noah’s needs as well.  And ya know the craziest part of all of this?  As I look at our bank account and financial records from last year…when Doug was a full-time employee and had a full benefits package…we had LESS money in our savings account than we do now.  So not only have we had every need met and all that…we’ve got more money saved.  I have NO idea how that happened, but it did and I just have to say here that God is GOOD.  And faithful.

When Doug’s job at Disney ended in September 2008, my first concern was for Noah.  How would we even begin to fund his biomedical therapies and DAN doctor visits with the accompanying assortment of supplements and medications?  When we worked our budget based on our “new” income, we quickly realized that we would need to cut way back on all of that.  After about six months of experimenting, we’ve settled into a “bare bones” supplement list.  We’ve replaced prescription medication with Young Living essential oils…with great results.  (The cost isn’t that much less per month as far as oils vs. prescription copays, but we don’t have to worry about the side effects of the medication and we aren’t dependent on a doctor to write prescriptions or monitor Noah’s bloodwork…which leads to less expense overall.  Woo-hoo for that.)  Noah is doing well…his OCD is under control and his gut is healthier than ever.  So as far as Noah’s biomedical protocol goes, God has more than taken care of all of that.

And then there was Soma.

Our lives were radically altered in July when my Mom and I took Noah to spend a week at the Halo clinic.  While we were there, we were handed the keys to help Noah communicate by learning to spell out words.  We’ve still got a long way to go as far as getting Noah to spell for us, but something about that week has unlocked our precious boy and he has made incredible gains since that time.  He’s calmer in social situations and is much more engaged and connected with others.  He is attempting to talk more and has more spontaneous words.  I think that it’s because he knows that we know that he knows.  Ya know?  It’s been amazing to watch.

So I’ve got a ton of hope and excitement going into this new year.

Our church is growing…we’re getting ready to expand our children’s ministry and prepare for a possible third service on Sundays.  Can’t wait to see what this year brings for Calvary Chapel of the Lakes.

I’m looking forward to taking Noah back to the Halo Clinic in March.  And to going back in April for a week of intense training for myself.

I’m hopeful that we will finally get this stinkin’ house sold and get moved up to the Mount Dora area.

And I’m hopeful that God is going to make a way for me to get my uterus yanked out so that I can be done with all of that. I’m just sayin’.

It’s exciting stuff.

Well, I’m off to do some shopping.

I hope that your new year is full of peace and hope and joy.

So I’ve got a five year old who is off the chain excited about Christmas this year.  We’ve been counting the days until the tree goes up for over two months now.

Yesterday, after asking me for the 85th time since breakfast…”Mom…when are we going to put the tree up?”, I decided that it is time.  I mean, why not?  Isaac will be thrilled and we’ll have a little longer to enjoy it.

So we’ll be decking the halls around here today.

In other random, “catch up” news…

We’re still thrilled beyond measure over Noah’s time with Soma last weekend.  I’m a bit overwhelmed over it all…it’s hard to explain.  I’m excited…thankful…hopeful…and scared to death that I won’t be able to learn to “do” Soma-RPM well enough to get Noah where I know he is able to go.  In the middle of all of the excitement, Noah has had another behavioral regression thanks to PANDAS.  (In a nutshell, exposure to strep that triggers OCD and wiggy-woo behaviors in some children.)  I’m treating with Zithromax and Oil of Oregano.  Hopefully he’ll come out of it quickly.  We’ve got work to do and we’ve got no time for all of that nonsense.

On Monday, Lori, Kris and I loaded up the kids and hauled them over to Titusville to watch the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis.  Loved it.  I’ve got a few pictures and a little video posted here.

The listing on our house expired at midnight Sunday.  The sign is down and we’re off of the MLS.  We have no idea what’s next…we’re just waiting and praying for direction.  In the meantime, our phone is ringing and our mailbox is clogged with letters from all of the realtors in town that are quite certain that they are “the one” that will sell our house.  We’ve not had nearly the amount of calls that I feared we would…only about 5 per day…but they are a bit annoying.  The pick up lines are amusing though.  One even told me to “check out” his blog.  Really?  The same guy was entirely too groovy…everything was all “sweet” and “cool”.  As if using teenage hip talk will entice me to sign on the dotted line of his realtor agreement.  Just. icky.

Well, Isaac is all over me and is ready to go pull our Christmas tree out of its’ storage bag.  I’d better get to it.

Ya’ll have a great day…