After The Storm

after the storm .. our front yard

Had a wild snow storm roll through yesterday .. in the midst the kids decided to blaze a sledding trail in the front yard.  Today was picture perfect .. with a cherry on top :) 

Waiting to ring in the new year tomorrow night at home.  It's cold .. and the best place is inside by the stove.  Christmas has come and gone .. and it's almost time to put the decorations away for another year.  Today was spent getting up early to make homemade cinnamon rolls to enjoy with friends, sledding, taking care of car maintenance, and fixing a nice pot roast dinner for my family.   Nothing profound .. simple everyday life .. ebb and flow stuff.  Still resting up from last summer's garden and enjoying the produce put away for winter.  My life speaks volumes of 'homebody' .. and that suits me just fine. 

I hope to get back to blogging more regularly once the new year rolls around.  Been hit or miss of late with Christmas and company.  Enjoy New Year's Eve .. be safe.

sledding .. oh what fun

Hugs,

Christmas Week

... finds the Mac home making preparation for the coming celebration of the remembrance of Christ's birth.  Often times this gets lost in the secular world .. but as Christians .. it is foremost in our home.  I've done some baking, more decorating, and cleaning.  We will have a houseful this weekend.  Our oldest daughter and her family will be staying overnight on Christmas Eve.  Christmas day will find 12 people at our dinner table including family and friends. 

Today the weather was in the low 40F's .. clear skies .. this tempted me to do a load of laundry to hang outside ... just because :)  too bad it all got washed yesterday .. it may be quite a long time before another spring day happens this winter.

Nathan is home from school this week.  He continues to amaze me with the progress he's making.  currently he is working on bathing skills AND learning how to cope when other people laugh out loud (LOL).  This has been a tight rope walk until now.  I can honestly say that life is more typical in our home with his new self control capabilities .. can I get a big AMEN!?

Cookies have been baked.  Most of the grocery and gift shopping is done.  Mr. Mac has been the gift wrapper extraordinaire again.  It's nice to have someone help with the extra work Christmas brings. 

Chocolate Brownie Drop Cookies

Have a blessed day.

Pleased As Punch

Finding what motivates Nathan seems to be the key to his success that he's currently experiencing.  Now that sounds like it (the motivation) would work for anybody .. and why didn't I think of it in the first place? .. humm .. not quite so easy to unlock a child that displays autistic traits .. easier said than done.  But, this is just the ticket .. along with a fantastic therapist that has brainy ideas and challenges me to think outside the box.  His latest adventure .. taking a bath and having Nathan doing most of the work .. (soon to be all of the process).  Just how are we motivating him?  Well .. little pennies to be earned for staying focused.  Pennies have helped him transition from eating in his room to now regularly enjoying meals at the dining room table with the whole family.   They have also been used to have him go shopping and staying by my side .. even when walking down the toy isle or frozen food section (favorite places he used to get side tracked and take off to visit ALONE).  Last night we started on the bathing skills.  A simple back brush with a puffy scrubber end .. seems so simple why didn't I think of it first ... was his to begin using; a better choice than a washcloth with his delayed small motor skills.  You can see from the after picture how proud he is .. even combing his own hair.  Little steps .. to big success.  Next stop ... transitioning to using a shower.  I have no fear of Nathan lagging behind any longer.  Praising God always!

More Than Able

Nathan Springing To Life

This past week found Mr. Mac and myself attending a meeting at Nathan's school with his teacher.  At times I have no idea what he's capable of doing .. because when he gets home from school, it's time for him to unwind .. have some quiet time .. dance .. watch a movie.  He rarely gives me more than a nod when I ask how his day at school went.  OK is his word of choice.  OK can mean he had a good day or a bad day.  OK and NO are sometimes interchangeable with Nathan.  Short answers do not always answer questions.  At one point during the meeting we stepped into the classroom where Nathan was studying.  There he sat with a few other children at a computer desk ... wearing a headset ... and surfing the web.  Now, I had no idea he could 'surf the web' .. but there he sat .. surfing the web.  He is mainstreamed in P.E. and is excelling ... and now sits in a circle for reading .. taking turns .. practicing moving his finger under the line of words the other children are reading.  Last month we ate out at a restaurant that had white butcher paper on the table as a covering .. crayons were provided for amusement .. so I started writing out simple words ... family names .. and Nathan was reading them.  I am witnessing a miracle in my child's progress.  He is developing good coping skills and losing some of the 'fright/flight' antics that once dominated his behavior.  Being in crowds is less frightening .. he's growing up ALL AT ONCE right before my eyes ... Praise The Lord!

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Mrs. Mac