Sunday

This past Sunday at church was the first time I did not have to take Wade out of the Sacrament meeting once! If any of you follow Wade and his Autism, you will know that for almost 3 years, Sacrament meetings at church have been a nightmare for Wade. It is also very difficult for Delaney as well, but they both have totally different issues. Delaney is just the typical, loud, stubborn 18 month old who doesn't want to sit still or be quiet, its typical. Wade is another story. He does not deal well with being in the chapel when there is so many people. Now for the last year, we have worked with doctors and Wades Intervention Specialist Amy with different ideas that we could do to try and help Wade cope with Sacrament so its not so hard on him or us. Wade has come a very long way from where he was a year ago, some people now would never guess there was anything wrong with our 3 year old if they didnt know and just met him, (which honestly bugs me sometimes, because first they don't live in our shoes and are with him all day long and two they have NO IDEA how much WORK we have put into this last year with him to get him where he is today, it has not been easy for us or the therapist, it has taken constant daily WORK which can be exhausting for me but is oh so worth it) Well all of the ideas that we have tried so far have failed, the therapists have worked with us to try pictures to try and prepare him for sacrament, certain snacks, books,  taking him to the church on another night to practice sitting in the chapel, we have tried taking him out into a room and sitting in our lap, than a chair, etc...well NOTHING worked. The doctors have said that Wade has Sensory Integration Disorder (which is common in autism) and that this can be contributing to how he acts in sacrament. It is hard for me to explain, let me start by pasting the definition:

Definition

Sensory integration disorder or dysfunction (SID) is a neurological disorder that results from the brain's inability to integrate certain information received from the body's five basic sensory systems. These sensory systems are responsible for detecting sights, sounds, smell, tastes, temperatures, pain, and the position and movements of the body. The brain then forms a combined picture of this information in order for the body to make sense of its surroundings and react to them appropriately. The ongoing relationship between behavior and brain functioning is called sensory integration (SI), a theory that was first pioneered by A. Jean Ayres, Ph.D., OTR in the 1960s.

Description

Sensory experiences include touch, movement, body awareness, sight, sound, smell, taste, and the pull of gravity. Distinguishing between these is the process of sensory integration (SI). While the process of SI occurs automatically and without effort for most, for some the process is inefficient. Extensive effort and attention are required in these individuals for SI to occur, without a guarantee of it being accomplished. When this happens, goals are not easily completed, resulting in sensory integration disorder (SID).

The normal process of SI begins before birth and continues throughout life, with the majority of SI development occurring before the early teenage years. The ability for SI to become more refined and effective coincides with the aging process as it determines how well motor and speech skills, and emotional stability develop. The beginnings of the SI theory by Ayres instigated ongoing research that looks at the crucial foundation it provides for complex learning and behavior throughout life.

We have had NUMEROUS tests and evaluations lately with transitioning Wade from the County's help me grow program into a developmental preschool, they have done about 5 different tests and evals, and it was brought up numerous times of his sensory issues with his body. Its like Wade isn't aware of his own body in his environment and when he is put into a setting (like sacrament) he doesn't know how to cope or react to whats going on around him and control his body. Wade every minute of the day seeks out deep pressure and impacts on his body, he constantly is jumping (and I mean HARD jumping) off of ANYTHING (it doesnt matter how high it is), and he likes the feeling/impact  of hitting the floor hard. He has huge sensory issues especially in his legs. So we all decided at church the last two weeks, we would see how Wade would do if I held him tight on my lap and applied deep/tight pressure and constant moving on his legs and back to see how that helps. Well last week, I only had to take him out once, and yesterday I didn't have to take him out at all!! Doing that nonstop (and he is abnormally strong for his age) felt like a total workout for my arms by the end of sacrament, but I was so impressed it seemed to REALLY help. Now I hope this just wasn't a coincidence and that it will help from here on out, but this could be a step, way to go Wade!!

NEW YEARS GOALS

For our family home evening, Natilie did our lesson on ways that we can be more Christlike to others, I had the treat so I made fruit smoothies and the activity was sitting down as a family and writing out our family goals along with some personal goals, so here they are:
ANDERSON FAMILY GOALS: (each of the older people in the house helped think of the family goals)
1) Remember to do our family scripture study on the weekends (we have a really good routine of doing this every morning Mon-Fri. but tend to slack on the weekend.
2) Do more family hikes (this is something we have done religiously with Daniel and Natilie and when Justin was a baby, but since we have had Wade and Delaney we have slacked, but is something our family really enjoys doing together.
3) Going to the temple every other month (or at least once every 3 months) even if we don't have babysitters, just taking the whole family down.
4) Say one nice/sincere comment a day to each other in our family
5) For Josh and I to go on more dates (instead of once a year :)

PERSONAL GOALS:
JOSH: finish reading the old testament, lose 10 pounds, run a full marathon
NATILIE: To be able to do a pull-up, memorize all of the articles of faith
DANIEL: get Eagle Scout, Duty to God, to do 20 pull-ups, beat mom at arm wrestling
JENNIFER: be better at reading the Sunday School lesson every week, lose 20 more pounds, start back up training in Thai Kickboxing and do a Sparring match/competition, run a full marathon
JUSTIN: to say a prayer on his own, exercise more
WADE: get potty trained, be able to repeat a few words
DELANEY: get potty trained, off of the binky

CHRISTMAS 2011 PART 2

 Before Christmas dinner (wade was sleeping)

 If you notice, almost every picture taken of Delaney she has some kind of food on her face because all she does is eat! She now weighs a Little more than Wade (but wade did lose weight with being so sick recently and Delaney gained)

 Everyone went picture happy, we were having fun taking pictures with the new camera

 Justin and daniel got mohawk hats for Christmas, Justin loved his, arent they fun

 We can never get a picture of Wade looking at the camera, he tries to avoid it at all costs, but thought the side profile was cute and he is smiling!

 Mama and her teenage boy

 We were trying so hard to get a picture of Wade looking at the camera, so we had him jumping off of the window seat and then Josh throwing him up into the air to get him to laugh and look, I took a hundred shots but we did get one to turn out

 Delaney was mad and throwing a fit because she wanted her turn in leaping off of the window seat too like her brothers, her face in this picture just cracks me up, if you look close and on her shirt you can see her food remnants :)

 Our cute big boy Justin

BEFORE PICTURE: tired but smiley
 On the Eve of New Years Eve I had my 7th surgery (doesn't include births and medical procedures) I have been one of those lucky females to have "mother nature" come visit me when I was almost 10 years old and have had numerous problems ever since along with surgeries. I find that I could deal with those problems when I was younger much better than I can now that I am in my mid-30's,  its draining on my body. This surgery they were checking the "status" of things and ruling out things like cancer, tumors, and checking on the endometriosis. I was going into the surgery sick (because if you have seen our previous posts you saw that some kind of severe sickness plague our house and all 5 kids went on strong antibiotics) and of course I was the last to get it, but I still needed to go through with the surgery since our medical insurance was changing this year. This picture was early in the morning before we headed out. I wasn't allowed, makeup, contacts or hair pins, but I threw about 2 mins of curls into my hair so I didn't feel totally grungy.....

AFTER PICTURE: felt like death
I had to be at the surgery center at 8:30am and my surgery was scheduled for 10:30. I was sitting in a pre-op room FOREVER in a gown and an IV in, I was FREEZING....evidently everything was running an hour behind, I wasn't feeling good to begin with, freezing and irritated, I didn't mess with taking pics there. Finally went back, they did a Laprascopy and a Cystoscopy. I didn't get to talk to my doctor because he had to go to a funeral and I was his last surgery, he spoke with Josh, but Josh didn't remember a whole lot and never ask questions, so I will be finding out everything at my follow up appt. but he did say he doesn't see anything that looks like cancer, my endometriosis is better than it was in the past, my uterus has shifted out of place, he will talk about that when I go in (i am sure this is just from having 5 big babies) It was nice to rule out certain problems but they still don't know what is causing my severe problems that I am having. The surgery itself went without any complications, BUT this is the 2nd worst surgery that I have had a horrible time recovering, I have been HORRIBLY sick and in lots of pain!! I have been on the couch or in bed since Friday after I got home, today is the first day I had to be up and about (its Tues) but I still feel very very sick and weak, the lady from the surgery center said if I don't feel better soon I need to call the doctor, I may need to go on another antibiotic (which I was on the night before and an Iv antibiotic while I was there) the percocet helps incisions pain, but my whole abdomen killed, they pumped so much air into my cavity that it looked like I was 6 months pregnant no joke!, it hurt to breathe and move and I just feel so sick on top of it, I find it all odd, because I should be a pro at this surgery stuff and have never been down like this before. I hope in the next day or two to be back to normal, I am so thankful that this took place on Friday and that Josh was home and for all of his help with the kids through the weekend because I couldnt lift a finger, and for those who helped serve our family with meals, I normally feel so bad for others to take time to help me, but this weekend, it was SO very appreciated with how sick I ended up being, I am truly blessed!

CHRISTMAS 2011-Part 1

 Christmas morning before the kids tear everything open, we were so lucky this year with my bargain shopping that everything we got was black Friday deals (except for the kids little tykes kitchen, that was a craigslist deal for $10) and our shopping was done on black Friday which made it nice not to have to worry about rushing around at the last minute! I loved being able to go to church on Christmas morning to help us focus more on the birth of the Savior, it was a nice reminder of what the season is really about. Joy To The World, the Lord is Come!! I am so thankful for my family, a loving heavenly father, the plan of salvation and for our brother Jesus Christ, he lived and died for each and every one of us so that we may have the chance to live again!

 9 stockings to fill (yes our little dog included)

 testing out my new camera :)

 Natilie showing off her ipod touch that my exhusband got her (he usually gets just one big gift for daniel and natilie)

 Mommy daughter picture before church

 Justin as soon as we got home from church

 Delaney and Wade couldnt wait to open gifts they went hog wild on everyones just ripping paper

 Pa helping Wade open a gift

P

 Daniel with his goods on his bed as he couldnt wait to try out the new ps3 game he got

 Pa in his new sweatshirt

 Justin was in heaven with his new portable dvd player, doesnt he look like such a cute electronic geekk in this picture :)

 I was TOTALLY blind sided by my gifts this year, my hubby got me a new camera and the kitchenaid (the smaller size one) i guess he went out black friday shopping too for me, we normally cant really do gifts and if we do they are small scale, but I have been wanting a kitchenaide forever and he decided to save a little bit of money for awhile now so he could surprise me with this, and I was SO surprised, I almost cried :) my dad got me a sewing machine (another black friday deal)

Josh with his new gas weed eater, shoes and sportin his robe, he's an old man now ;)