:lol:Oh Karyn. Thank you so much for your post. I thought about quoting the certain things that you said that struck me, but it's the whole thing really. hehehe I can SO relate to your kids. Actually, my son sounds exactly like yours except he doesn't talk. He does do echolalia though. Just now, there was something on the tv that started him jumping and crying and when I went over to him to calm him down, he just looked at me with a totally distressed and freaked out face and said, "Nova Science Now." hehehe My Youtube account's favorites are all PBS logos, the beginning credits for Nova, the ending credits for various shows. hehehe I don't know WHO puts that stuff up on youtube, but I'm so grateful to them for doing it. I often wonder if it is and Autistic person doing it, or someone who has Autistic kids. hehehe I knew what you meant right away when you said your son colors his nose green. That's just too cute! hehehe and the "I will have Belle as my wife!" put me in stitches. hehehe Ay, these kids are so great! So hard, but so great at the same time. hehehe My daughter too is a really good big sister. Even though she has her own issues that she is dealing with, she is still so loving and protective of her brother. She always wants people to meet him and she's really really good and patient with little kids especially if they have a disability. She's awesome too. I wonder too how much quicker school would go with her if I had a dx too! hehehe Let me know how it works for ya. :) :grouphug: God bless you and your precious family. Jen

Oh I love that too! I almost put the ocean down in my post, but I don't get to go every time I want to so I picked something at home that i do. I LOVE falling asleep listening to a gentle rain. :)

Aww, that's so great! God bless his heart! :grouphug:

Awww that is soo sweet.:grouphug: My son is just so cute that we're always all over him. He's so accustomed to us calling him to give him a hug that whenever we call him over to us he gives us a hug. hehe He's just soo sweet.. my daughter too. Such pure and sweet people. There's no schemeing or manipulation just what you see is what you get. I like that. My kids have taught me so much too. They too have taught me how to love and how to be patient and also how to stand up for them when we are out in public and some person oversteps the line and I have to tell them so. My son squawks all the time and flaps his arms so we get a lot of looks when we are out shopping somewhere, but I have learned to use it as an opportunity to spread awareness and to hopefully educate people. I usually get a good response from people too which is nice. :)

That's awesome. Wow! You have a lot of kids. That in itself is a struggle, let alone with ASD and LD kids. God bless you. Thank you so much for sharing.:)

Why do you think it should be a separate thread?? :confused: Didn't the OP say she had questions about baptism? I was just trying to (hopefully) answer her question. She might not read a separate thread.

Do you eat a lot of fish too? Man, that would be funny if you did. I agree with you about the hair. That feels really nice. Massages are great too, but you really need another person to do that. Self massage means something else I think. ;)

LOL I wonder if my hubby is trying to get the same response out of me?:confused: He should know me by now that my response to agitation isn't to clean house. hehe The car maybe, I like working on cars, but housework is always such a chore to me. I hate it! YUCK!

:lol:man, that just struck me so funny! hehehe I do that too, but I don't bother to hide it. hehehe Wouldn't work anyway, they follow me everywehre I go. I can't remember the last time that I took a shower without somebody just waltzing into the bathroom the ask me a question. Never any privacy! hehe

Baptism according to the Scriptures is simply "a pledge of a good conscience towards God". It is a public profession of the internal conversion. Jesus Christ died in order to reconcile man with God, since man is born into "original sin" and God cannot look upon sin. Jesus who knew no sin, took our sin upon Himself and gave us His righteousness. It is a gift that is offered to all, but it must be received by the believer. When a person asks Jesus Christ to be their Savior and Lord they are accepting that gift. The Bible calls that being "born again". You were born once into sin and you are born again into Christ's righteousness. It is at this point that baptism would come in. Jesus commanded believers to be baptized, but it would be AFTER a personal acceptance of Christ as their savior. Nowhere in the Bible is there an example of an infant baptism or a command to do so. The only closest thing is Hannah who did an infant dedication in which she offered Samuel to God to be raised by the priests. Baptism again, is a pledge of a good conscience toward God, a baby isn't capable of that kind of a pledge. Hope this helps you. :)

My church has a course called "Everyday Evangelism" but I have never taken it to be honest. I don't know if it is similar to the method of Way of the Master or not, but I think it's good for people to have some sort of foundational understanding of basic doctrine and to be equipped with practical tools to share their faith. I could see how a class like that would be beneficial, especially for the more introverted person who wants to share their faith but may struggle with how to go about it.

Oh!!! Can you PLEASE come sooth yourself at my house?? Pretty Please with a feather duster on top?? ;) :D

LOL I've been to Walmart late at night maybe once or twice, but it was mostly because of an emergency type purchase. My hubby doesn't like me to go out by myself and especially so at night so I guess that influences when and how I shop more than store hours. But if more stores down here were open that late, I'd sure be tempted. :D

:grouphug: :grouphug::grouphug: I can't even imagine that pain. I'm so sorry for you. I hope and pray that your boy will come back home to you.

I confess that I thought about making this an Autism Moms Unite thread because that is what I am mostly dealing with at home and what I'm familiar with, but I realized as I was thinking it over that ALL of us "special" families are in the same boat. We are gawked at, misunderstood and misjudged. We have first hand experience with the grief that comes from a diagnosis, the protectiveness that comes from knowing our dear ones will struggle in life and the pain and frustrations of daily struggles as we try our best to care for these special kids. If you're like me you know the feeling of being lost and just hoping that what you are doing is right. Most people cannot even imagine the things that we deal with on a daily basis. It is a HARD calling!! We are well familiar with the difficulties of raising a child with special needs, but what about the blessings? We, more than most, need encouragement and that is why I wanted to start this thread. I thought if we could talk about the good things about having a special needs child, that it might be just the sort of inspiration and encouragement that someone (anyone of us on certain days) might need to hear. So what joys/blessings have you experienced BECAUSE your child has special needs? I have an 8 y.o. non-communicative son with severe Autism and an 11 y.o. daughter with Asperger's, OCD and ADHD. My daughter is so fixated on rules, that because of it, she never lies, never steals, never jaywalks because she knows that these things are wrong! hehe Chock one up for legalism! hehe Because her brother is so severely Autistic there is absolutely no sibling rivalry in my home. Daughter chatters away non-stop, son says nothing at all. :D She puts hats on him and dresses him up and he is just there at her mercy. But we found out because of her, that he actually likes to wear hats even if it is a ladies hat. hehe My son is sooo cute and because of his Autism, it keeps him "little" for such a long time. He's 8 years old and yet I can still hold him like a baby and cuddle him when he gets home from school. He likes the cuddles and will even seek me out for cuddles when he wants them. What typical 8 year old boy wants his mom to kiss him and hold him like that?? ;) :D As much as special needs kids can be a strain on the marriage and the entire family, it has forced my husband and I to learn to work together. I know I can't do it on my own, and he can't either so we have had to learn to work as a team out of necessity and that has made us a better couple and a stonger, closer family. My church sent our entire family to a Joni and Friends Retreat last year and they paid for the entire thing! 5 days with all 3 meals and 2 rooms for all 4 of us. They had boating activities, fishing, karate, arts, crafts, paintball, bounce houses, water slides and did I mention BABYSITTING!! I actually got to take a NAP!! Twice!! And it was all free! I would have never had a blessing like that if it weren't for my precious kids. I could go on and on about how much I love my kids and why I think they are so amazingly brave and strong and awesome in the face of adversity, but I want to hear about YOUR kids. What makes your special one so special??

During the week dinner/supper is our main meal and lunch is smaller,but on the weekends when my hubby is home it's usually the reverse. I usually prepare ahead by cooking alot on Thursday and Friday so I have things that I can just quickly reheat in a pinch. If we have say.. chicken, rice and beans and plantains for lunch, then most likely dinner will be just a sandwich and a salad or a bowl of soup. Something simple and light. :)

Playing guitar.

Awww. I used to record my kids all the time too when they were small. I would just turn a recorder on while they were playing and see what I would get. It is amazing when you hear it years later. It makes me cry too! :grouphug: They grow up so fast!!

That is pretty amazing. But do people really buy groceries at 2 and 3am?? I guess if I knew a store was open at that time and I was up I would. hehe

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

:eek: that is HORRIBLE!!! Shame on that woman!! When my my oldest was just born, it was back when the insurance only let you stay 24 hours in the hospital before they kicked your butt out. My daughter was less than 48 hours old and my in-laws all came over to see her SICK!! All of them. Fortunately my mom was there and told them to leave. She didn't care if they got mad at her because she didn't have to deal with them the way I did. Thanks for that one ma'. Fortunately the baby didn't get sick, but I was FURIOUS!!

This thread is so many pages and I haven't read them all so please forgive me if this has already been asked, but what I wanted to know is if you do get the swine flu and recover can you still catch it again or will you be immune to it?? If you are immune, will that still be the case if the virus should mutate and become more deadly?? Thanks for answering my questions. Again I apologize if it has been asked before. Stay well everyone. :)

It boggles the mind..... just... boggles the mind! :eek: :blink: :thumbdown:

Awwww!!! that is precious! Bless her heart! :)hehe

GRRR we don't have Krogers down here where I live. Just Publix and Winn Dixie and some latin markets. I have a Walmart by my house, but it's not a Super Walmart. They don't sell groceries. :( sniff