I will start the blog with our 2008 letter to catch people up on what has been happening with us 15 months.
2008-A Year of Growth
In April we began to set things up with Early Childhood Intervention. They work with kids under 3 who have Autism, ADD, ADHD, etc. Before the therapy even began Alexander began to make strides in progress and each week the case workers were amazed to see how much progress he was making. We realized at that point that we were watching a miracle happen in our son. He soon became all the therapists' favorite, and God's favor was upon him in everything. April 26th was our 5th anniversary. Melissa's family watched Alexander overnight so Melissa and Steve could go to the Hill Country in Texas and go hiking. 2008 was a hard year for us, as it was for many. It was a year that challenged us, and it caused us to grow and rely on the Lord in ways we had never experienced before. We have seen His grace and His mercy at work in our lives, and have experienced His joy, comfort, love, peace, faithfulness, and patience.
January was a relatively quiet month. We were trying to recover from the holidays and getting ready for a big family vacation in February. Also about this time we decided to start trying for another baby. In the beginning of February, we went to Disney World with Melissa's family. The first two days were fun, but then Steve got food poisoning and spent the next 36 hours in the hotel room. He recovered quickly and was able to join us again. The night before we were to fly out, Alexander was sick to his stomach also. God's grace covered us as we made the trip home with a sick little boy. The week after returning he started having horrible tantrums that would last for hours. People kept telling us that it was just part of the terrible two's, but we knew in our hearts something was not right. He was also doing strange things and he quit talking. He was having stomach and digestive issues as well. In the middle of February, after a Wednesday night service, the Pastor Rick and his wife Mercedes had us stay so they could speak with us. It was about Alex. They believed he was autistic. We both denied it at first, but over the next few days we started to see what others had been seeing for a few months. We later came to find he also has a sensory disorder (he's sensitive to light, sounds, and touch.)
In March, after doing some research and finding out that treating Autism can be very expensive, we did the only thing we could afford to do. Alexander went on a very strict diet, and after four days, he was a perfect angel. The tantrums disappeared and he seemed to "wake up". When Melissa started adding food back into his diet, she quickly found wheat and dairy to be the offenders. Once on the gluten free, casein free diet Alexander started coming alive again and was showing signs of improvement. During this time Melissa's dad whom she hadn't seen in seven years came down to visit for a few days. Alexander had his first motorcycle ride. We're not sure that he liked it since he headed straight for the house when he got off, but he talked about it for a long time afterward.
January was a relatively quiet month. We were trying to recover from the holidays and getting ready for a big family vacation in February. Also about this time we decided to start trying for another baby. In the beginning of February, we went to Disney World with Melissa's family. The first two days were fun, but then Steve got food poisoning and spent the next 36 hours in the hotel room. He recovered quickly and was able to join us again. The night before we were to fly out, Alexander was sick to his stomach also. God's grace covered us as we made the trip home with a sick little boy. The week after returning he started having horrible tantrums that would last for hours. People kept telling us that it was just part of the terrible two's, but we knew in our hearts something was not right. He was also doing strange things and he quit talking. He was having stomach and digestive issues as well. In the middle of February, after a Wednesday night service, the Pastor Rick and his wife Mercedes had us stay so they could speak with us. It was about Alex. They believed he was autistic. We both denied it at first, but over the next few days we started to see what others had been seeing for a few months. We later came to find he also has a sensory disorder (he's sensitive to light, sounds, and touch.)
In March, after doing some research and finding out that treating Autism can be very expensive, we did the only thing we could afford to do. Alexander went on a very strict diet, and after four days, he was a perfect angel. The tantrums disappeared and he seemed to "wake up". When Melissa started adding food back into his diet, she quickly found wheat and dairy to be the offenders. Once on the gluten free, casein free diet Alexander started coming alive again and was showing signs of improvement. During this time Melissa's dad whom she hadn't seen in seven years came down to visit for a few days. Alexander had his first motorcycle ride. We're not sure that he liked it since he headed straight for the house when he got off, but he talked about it for a long time afterward.
May was relatively quiet. The therapist were coming out about once a week to work with Alexander. In June and July he took a couple of tumbling classes and an art class. He excelled in the tumbling class and really liked it.
At the beginning of July, Melissa miscarried, not realizing she was pregnant. Also in July, we were blessed with the funds to take Alexander to a neurologist who specializes in children with sensory disorders and who are on the Autism spectrum. Dr. Ronald Morton ran some tests and we found out that Alexander had what they call supra-hearing, or the hearing of a dog. He had learned to block out loud sounds. He would respond when we would whisper to him, but he would not respond well when we called to him. The doctor put Alexander on two antivirals, one for DNA and one for RNA. These antivirals help clean out the nervous system. They told us the first 6 weeks would be hard. Alexander would regress. They were not kidding! We saw all his progress between March and July disappear! We wondered if this was really going to work. After 6 weeks we did see a little improvement. By week 9 we saw more improvement.
August came and Melissa and Alexander went to San Antonio for a week, while Steve was on a missions trip in Russia for ten days. Melissa teased Steve about visiting an orphanage and coming home with a baby girl. Obviously, it doesn't happen that quickly, and Melissa was not really open to the idea. She wanted her own kids first, then maybe they would consider adoption.
By the beginning of September Alexander was completely potty trained. In mid October Alexander came down with strep throat and that turned into scarlet fever. It was a couple of weeks before he was better. He had also regressed in his behavior, and it took him about three weeks to get back on track.
In November, Alexander turned 3 on the 18th and a week later he began hippotherapy, which is therapy done while riding a horse. He really likes his horse, Richie. He gets excited about riding him and about getting to go over the railroad crossing to get to the therapy center. During this month, Melissa had a heart change about adoption, and we began to talk about it some. We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Melissa's parents, and the Monday after we returned, Melissa found out she was expecting again. Two hours later she began having complications and was put on strict bed rest. Steve's parents came up to help with Alexander and to take him to his therapy. They also made meals and kept up the house. The last part of November and all of December was an emotional roller coaster. Melissa relied on the Lord as her Rock and her strength. He filled her with peace and spoke to her through His Word. Christmas day, when Melissa was 8 weeks along, she lost the baby. We did not know until the following Monday because God's grace, comfort and peace had covered her. Even in her anger and disappointment, Melissa found it in her heart (and she still doesn't know how) to continue to praise God for being her Rock and for His grace upon her.
That is our year in a nutshell. We look back on this year in amazement. We have witnessed God's hands performing a miracle in our son and in our lives as He worked on our hearts. There were times we wanted to pull our hair out, and many times we found ourselves on our knees. We have had moments of laughter and moments of heart wrenching pain, but the Lord was there through it all. He was and is our Rock.
As for 2009, we pray it is a year filled with hope, good news, and more miracles! If the Lord wills, we will hopefully be expecting again a little later this year. We are also moving forward with the plan to adopt from Russia, unless the Lord closes that door. We are learning from other peoples' experiences that it can be a hard, long road but it will be worth it once we have the child in our arms. I know if it is the Lord's will He will provide the finances to do it; He will lead us down a smooth straight path, covered in His grace; and He will lead us to the right child. We expect continued progress and growth in Alexander as he continues his diet and his therapies.
Lord, we pray for our dear friends and family, that You will bless them and keep them in 2009. We pray for a desire to be in each one of their hearts to seek Your face. We pray that in times, good or bad, that they will learn to rely on You and trust You completely in the work You are doing in each of their lives. We pray for Your peace, Your comfort and Your joy to be with them everyday. Thank You Lord for our loved ones. Please protect them, keep them safe and bless them. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Since this letter was written, we have continued on in the adoption process and are about to submit our application to the agency. Things could happen very quickly or it could take a year and a half. We are trying to remain open in gender and age as much as possible to allow the Lord's will to be done in our lives. We would like at least one girl and for the children to be under the age of 6. As of right now we are trying to adopt two children. It will be an adventure to say the least. We welcome and covet your prayers as we go on this journey.
Alex is doing great. He's much more active and his speech is coming along quickly! We praise the Lord for the changes we are seeing in him! We believe in a complete healing in his body.
I am pretty sure I will not post everyday (we aren't that exciting around here), but I will try to post often so keep checking back!
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