So, today is Halloween and the boys are excited!  We are not really big on Halloween but we do allow the boys to wear a costume, decorate a pumpkin, and go to our church’s Halloween alternative carnival.  It is put on by the AWANA program and is called AWANA-ween.  They will have all kinds of food, games, candy, jumping castles, and more.  It’s a blast so instead of trick or treating…..we head there!

A month or so ago, I began asking the boy’s about a costume.  Usually I just pick what they are going to be but this year I asked.  They have been a teddy bear, monkey, Oregon State Beaver mascot, Oregon State football player, (I guess you know where my honey went to school now), a doctor, and the Cat in the Hat in the past.  They didn’t have much of an opinion at first so I began looking on various sites…..not really finding anything.  Finally, I went to the web page for the Disney Store and let Cannon look at the options.  Immediately, he said “Mike Wasowski mom……I want to be Mike.”  This is a character from Monsters Inc.  A friend had given him a toy figure of this character a while back and he just loves it.  I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea of him being a monster but for the first time, I could tell he REALLY wanted this.  And that is major progress in our world!  SO, if it was Mike Wasowski he wanted……it was Mike Wasowski he was going to get.  Hearing this, Townsend decided that he wanted to be Mike’s sidekick and best buddy in the movie…..James P. Sullivan or “Sully.”  So, for Halloween this year…..I will have 2 little monsters in tow. Have a look at these amazing pics take by our new friend and photographer Karina of Beagley Photography!

Do they look happy or what?!  I am so in love with these little faces!

We also decorated our pumpkins……

Last night, at our regular AWANA meeting……the boy’s teachers’ both shared this little comparison with them.  They each did a demo with an actual pumpkin which really helped it to sink in for all the kiddos.  I think this is so awesome and couldn’t wait to share with our blog family……..

“Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin.  God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.  He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff….including the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed, etc…  Then, he carves you a new smiling face and puts HIS light inside you to shine for all the world to see.  Welcome to the pumpkin patch!  God waits for you!”

And with that……we are out!  Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

I have been such a naughty blogger! Really not even worthy of the title! I’m so sorry about that! Our life has been so unbelievably crazy since my last post. At this point, that I can hardly recall all that has gone on. But here are the highlights…….Cannon and I finally finished his Kindergarten year. We went to the circus! The boys and I ran in a race to support a friend with breast cancer. (Our picture was even in the paper.) We went on a 2 week fabulous vacation back East complete with lots of wonderful family, the best friends, incredible fun, delicious seafood, and gorgeous beaches. Cannon surfed the Atlantic with the pros of Surfers Healing. Mark and I renewed our vows on our 10th wedding anniversary. Townsend began his second year of Preschool.

Cannon and I began his 1st grade school year.

We ran the Beads of Courage 5K and Cannon served as the Honorary Race Director. Townsend began playing soccer and Mark is serving as the coach.

I prepared and delivered a couple of workshops on Autism at our State AWANA Convention. Oh and we got Townsend’s test results back (more on that in a sec). So, now do you understand my absence??!! 🙂 Forgive me!

I will be updating y’all on most of these adventures separately soon! No really! But here is a quick update on one of the more important issues surrounding our family. Townsend’s health…..

A few weeks ago, we met with Townsend’s neurologist for the final results of his 4 days in the hospital for Video EEG Monitoring. There is good news and not as good news. A specific area of his brain….the Parietal Lobe…. (which interestingly enough is also the same area of issue as on all of Cannon’s past EEG’s) is showing consistent and frequent abnormal electrical activity mostly during sleep. (But Cannon’s abnormality is believed to be because of his Autism. He has never had seizures. Only Townsend has.) With careful and exhaustive review of all of that data, he does NOT believe the current episodes are causing him harm. However, it puts him at a very decent risk of developing Epilepsy in the future. He even ventured a guess as to which type of epilepsy he thinks it could become. He called this type Rolandic Epilepsy. He told us what he hears from most parents of kiddos with this type. That they will enter their parents bedrooms at night while in the midst of one. Trying to talk but one side of their face just won’t work. Possibly looking “stroke-like.” And they may also be posturing their bodies in strange ways. He said the episode should end in a matter of minutes and they will be fine afterwards.  IF THIS IS WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING……we will be grateful as it could be worse.  He could have Grand Mal Seizures!  But it’s all speculation at this point.  Nothing could change, this could happen, it COULD end up being worse.  Only God knows!

Some good news is that his MRI is normal.  So, the episodes are not being caused by something bigger and scary. The really good news is that because the doc feels his current episodes are benign (not harming him)….he does not need medication at this time. Which is totally amazing because seizure meds have all kinds of side effects and long term repercussions. Townsend is FOUR! We want to avoid this as long as we possibly can! Again, there is a very good chance that that could happen in the future. So, long story short….we wait, we watch, we take notes, we pray, trust God, and we’ll see what happens.

I am often asked how we do what we do. How we deal with all the bad news we have gotten over the last few years. The hospitalizations, hours upon hours of therapy, driving all over the place to take them to this doctor or that surgeon. The heartache, the meltdowns, the tears. Watching our kids in pain. Not knowing what the future looks like. And on and on and on. The answer I have to this question is simple. BY GOD’S GRACE! Because without it, I would be nothing. I would be able to handle nothing. I would have no hope. I also offer this beautiful song as another reason. Watch and see why. Grab some tissues first! Love y’all! More soon! No really! I mean it this time! 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9RZ4V34WhY&feature=youtu.be