a little background

hi, my name is mandy and I have two amazing little boys. My oldest son, Ty, has been diagnosed with autism (which is what you will read most about in this blog); I also have Tripp, who is an amazing little brother to Ty (who you will also hear alot about). I was encouraged to start this blog to document our journey through life and life with autism... my world has been rocked in last few years and i have responded in good ways and bad ... but Jesus has gotten me through all of it...





i hope i can be an encouragement to you, and for the friends and family that will read this - maybe this will keep you posted indepth on what Ty is learning! :) and the adventures of Tripp too





thank you for reading, and if you have any questions, comments or smart remarks; feel free to post them.



Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Grace

So I really don't even know where to start with this post... So much has happened and I've wanted to write but just never really found the time... So I will do my best to make it all fit without being to terribly long ;)

My amazing church family...
Have I told you that we have the most amazing church family?! Well we do! If there was ever a picture of God's grace, goodness, generosity, love, compassion, mercy, and faithfulness I would say it could be wrapped up in a photo of our church family.
Every year on super bowl Sunday our church does a fundraiser for a cause (youth&children ministry, outreach stuff, etc) and we call it Souper Sunday (bc everyone brings soups). Well this year our preacher called and asked if we would let them do super Sunday for Ty. All I could do was cry and then try not to cry and I did my best to answer but I honestly did not know what to say? Sam handled the phone call better than I did and his answer is exactly what I was feeling but couldn't express. He said "I wish I could say no"... It's not that we don't want people to support our little guy, (and I'm really struggling to find words to express what I mean here, so bare with me) I guess it's just hard to receive a gift given so freely, I felt like we didnt deserve it...

Leading up to that Sunday is all a blur to me... So many people wanted tshirts and everyone had them on Sunday morning for church. I was excited and nervous all at the same time, I can be an emotional roller coaster on any given day but especially on that day. I walked into choir practice that morning to a sea of blue shirts. I did my best to not break down into tears right there ... I know they are just tshirts but it showed me so much more. It showed me the love and support that we have always had around us, I could literally feel the love in the room without a word being spoken. The children's story that morning was about Fanny Crosby, she was blind, but didn't let that stop her. She lead a full life and wrote lots of famous hymns, played the piano, guitar and other instriments and even lobbied to congress for better schooling for the blind and most of all she had a strong faith in God. Bro Joel emphasized the verse on Ty's shirts "... but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him ~ john 9:3" and that's when I realized that there are so many others out there that God has allowed a challenge or should I say an advantage to be different.  To be able to focus on this world not just in sight but in blindness, not in the spoken word but in body language, to be able to yell if you want to and that be ok bc that's how you express yourself. I've read alot of articles and blogs and so many of them say that parents of children with any disability will go through a "mourning process" and I just don't think that's right. God has given me my little boy and if the world thinks I should mourn over that then they are wrong. He might not be able to speak and tell me exactly whats going on and yes there are days that I yearn for that. But why would I mourn the life that he has been given? Why would I doubt the love and compassion that he will be able to feel and share in a way that I can't. Yes there are lots of days that I wish Ty could talk and do all the things that his little brother can do but that doesn't mean that we have lost anything. We have gained an amazing child that is teaching us how to love and see through the eyes of Jesus.

I prayed many days and nights when I was pregnant with Ty for a healthy baby. I prayed for every organ to function properly and for him to be given a desire and passion for Jesus like no one else... and the more I watch Ty grow, the more I see God answering those prayers. Because Ty will love unconditionally and probably won't hold any grudges, he recovers from a fit and jumps right back up in your lap without any pouting... after his screams are done - he is fine and he is extremely happy ... theres no looking back and reflecting on "remember when..." Do we have our challenging days YES... but who doesn't?

So once the service was over, we all gathered in the fellowship hall for a meal that could feed an army! It was amazing and Ty sat in his high chair and ate like a big boy (which he doesn't always do... there have been a few wednesday night suppers at church that I have been covered in whatever we were attempting to feed him) but not souper sunday - I guess he knew that day was all about him?! After everyone ate Bro Joel presented us with a love offereing from our church that blew us away! I cried, Sam about fell out of his chair (literally) and Ty clapped. Once everyone stopped clapping, Ty started clapping and cheering again and again and everyone fell in with him! Sometimes I think he knows alot more than we give him credit for! We are extremely blessed and honored to be a part of such an amazing church! The love, compassion and grace that flows from this group of people is mind blowing! I don't think they will ever know how truly greatful we are to be able to worship and serve with them on a regular basis! God is good, all the time! I feel like these words cannot even begin to show you how amazing and great our God is and how faithful and true He has been to us! Thank you for reading and thank you for loving us and our boys!

here is a pic of part of our extraordinary church family!