An Adventurous Spirit

By Sandy on September 17, 2012

What an amazing summer we had this year. It was packed full of activity and excitement. Through it all, Josiah was pretty incredible. I’m not sure how that happened. But, I’m very grateful that it did. I think our little guy is becoming quite the adventurer.

Here’s how I know. In July, Josiah watched his family and some friends speed around a track in go-carts. It was loud. It was dark. Josiah had never been in a go-cart before. Ever. We didn’t think he’d enjoy the experience so we took turns keeping an eye on him.

And then, Josiah surprised us all. He marched up to the entrance gate and waited for a turn. He just stood there. No one else was in line. Just Josiah. He ended up loving it. I think he rode 3 times.

Ribbon on a Stick

By Sandy on August 29, 2012

A new school year has begun. For Josiah, that means he is now officially a 5th grader. This will be his very last year in Elementary School. For the past few years, he’s had the same teacher, the same aides, the same classroom and even some of the same friends. Familiarity is a good thing.

If you know anything about Josiah, you know transitions are rather difficult for him. Change is not always welcome. Transitioning on and off the bus is no exception. Josiah has had issues with the school bus for a while now. It was such a challenge to get him on and off the bus last year, we simply gave up and resorted to driving him in our van.

Tent-ative Fun

By Sandy on August 15, 2012

I am so grateful we purchased a Ready, Set, Bloom tent for Josiah’s bed. It has made a big difference for him. It has made a huge difference for us. We are able to put Josiah to bed at night, zip him in and relax, knowing he is safe and secure. He calms down, most nights and settles in to sleep.

We were even able to take Josiah’s tent with us on our travels this summer. It went with us to Pennsylvania and Ohio and Florida. So, though Josiah’s routine was very different while on vacation, he still had his very familiar bed. The only difference being we couldn’t strap his tent down to anything. Turns out, that is a BIG difference.

Summer Travels

By Sandy on July 31, 2012

It is nearly midnight; 11:32 pm to be precise. We are on our way to the beautiful beaches of sunny Florida. Chandler has spent the majority of this trip sitting with Josiah, helping him, feeding him and letting him snuggle up next to her. She is so sweet with him.

I just took a break from driving and we all swapped seats. Rick took over at the wheel, I crawled in back to sit with Josiah for a bit. It’s only been 8 hours since we left home, but Josiah has done really great so far. He absolutely loves riding in the van. He proved it on our first road trip of the summer. Last month we drove from Texas to Pennsylvania, then to Ohio, then back to Texas.

Adoration

By Sandy on July 16, 2012

Josiah adores his grandma. You can tell the moment you see them together. It had been 3 years since Josiah last saw my mom, but you’d never know it. Recently, Josiah was able to spend a whole week loving on Grand Marlene, while we were in Pennsylvania to celebrate her 80th birthday.

That boy rarely ever left her side. When my mom went to the refrigerator to get something out, Josiah would follow her, plop down on the ground next to her and wait. When she walked to the stove, just a few feet away, Josiah would walk with her and sit down at her feet, content just to be in her presence. Josiah didn’t care where she was going or what she was doing. He just wanted to be with his grandma. He went where she went.