Before I Was a Mom

Thank you Gail, for sending this to me!

Awesome Mom 

 

Before I was a Mom, 
I never tripped over toys 
or forgot words to a lullaby. 
I didn't worry whether or not 
my plants were poisonous. 
I never thought about immunizations.



Before I was a Mom, 
I had never been puked on. 
Pooped on. 
Chewed on. 
Peed on. 
I had complete control of my mind 
and my thoughts. 
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held down a screaming child 
so doctors could do tests. 
Or give shots. 
I never looked into teary eyes and cried. 
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. 
I never sat up late hours at night 
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held a sleeping baby just because 
I didn't want to put her down. 
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces 
when I couldn't stop the hurt. 
I never knew that something so small 
could affect my life so much. 
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, 
I didn't know the feeling of 
having my heart outside my body.. 
I didn't know how special it could feel 
to feed a hungry baby.. 
I didn't know that bond 
between a mother and her child. 
I didn't know that something so small 
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, 
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night 
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. 
I had never known the warmth, 
the joy, 
the love, 
the heartache, 
the wonderment 
or the satisfaction of being a Mom. 
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, 
before I was a Mom ...

May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life.

Brad & I participated in a craft show in Franklin, TN this past weekend. It's a historical area and there were over 100,000 people in attendance. We did really well selling pens, cutting boards and crochet hooks but the second best part was people watching ~ I didn't get bored at all! The best part was the lady in the booth next to us. She was in the information center booth and her office building was right behind us and in exchange for us watching her booth while she stepped away, she let us use her restroom instead of the dreaded port-a-potty. If we do this show again next year, we'll definately request the same booth. It was sunny and in the high 80's but thankfully there was a breeze both days.

Beyond The Limits

This was a great morning! Beyond the Limits had a walk for autism and we had 13 people show up for Team Dylan (I made buttons like the image above). I didn't think to take a camera but thanks to Brad, Steve, Erin & Eggroll, Carrie, Dennis, Dena, Mallory, Kendall, Marissa, Larissa, Jessica and Joan for registering under Team Dylan. We appreciate all the support!

Easter fun

We had a great weekend. Thanks to Erin, we got tickets to The Grand Ole Opry (as secret shoppers) and saw a great show on Saturday. Then Erin and Steve had us and Carrie's family over for Easter Dinner on Sunday. It was delicious and we all had a great time eating and playing Corn Hole. Steve and Erin have really made their house and yard look great and their little Eggroll (puppy) was so sweet to Dylan that Carrie actually got to finish a family dinner without him getting upset. The only thing that would have made it better is if Mike would have been there.

Storms

We just had severe thunder storms & tornado warning sirens and this is how Dylan chose to deal with it. Isn't he precious! For all of you with young kids, this is what you do when they grow up, relive your maternal yearnings through grandkids if your lucky enough to have them close by. Storms have passed and we're alright.

Dylan's Last Day at Work

This is one of Dylan's favorite things to do. His grandpa put a swing up in the doorway so he can swing while he watches TV (there's one in the back room and one up front so he switches to view whichever one is in site). That's a little bag of cereal in front of him.



This is one of his play areas. All my customers love him so they don't mind that there are dried beans all over the floor. I'm really going to miss having him around all day. Even though he doesn't talk we still communicate and I pretend he agrees with me :-)

Changes....

This is Dylan, running my store (at least he thinks he's the one who runs it).

Well, our lives have certainly gotten more interesting lately. Carrie, Dennis, Dylan and Dharma (the cat) moved in last weekend. Dylan is now seeing a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor and between the visits, supplements, and the time Carrie has to take off work, they just can't afford to live on their own anymore. They're trying to sell their house but haven't even owned it for 2 years so they'll be lucky to get what they owe out of it. Dylan will start a Developmental Preschool next week and will go 3 hours a day so Carrie will have to be available to take him and they will come to the house two afternoons a week so Friday is her last day of work. That gives me three days left with Dylan at the store with me. He's been my constant companion for 3 years so this will definately be a change, but a good one for Dylan and Carrie. Combining our two households hasn't been easy and we're still sorting things out but we'll get there.