Finished Reading

This afternoon while waiting for school to let out, I finished reading "The Shack" by William P. Young. The best piece of fiction I've read in a long while.
Here's an excerpt from one of the last pages of the book: ..."This is not a revolution that will overthrow anything, or if it does, it will do so in ways we could never contrive in advance. Instead it will be the quiet daily powers of dying and serving and loving and laughing, of simple tenderness and unseen kindness, because if anything matters, then everything matters. And one day, when all is revealed, everyone of us will bow our knee and confess in the power of Sarayu (the name used in this book for the Holy Spirit) that Jesus is the Lord of all Creation, to the glory of Papa (the name used in this book for God)."

Pick a copy up and read it. I laughed, cried, and found myself realizing how little my faith really is.

Are You Dead Yet?

Diego has been quite concerned about death lately... not his, Joe's and mine. This morning Diego again asked me when I am going to die. As usual, I explained that no one knows when they will die, only God knows that.

Diego then said, "You can't die yet. I don't know how to cut my toenails."

Classic Diego. Classic FAS moment.

Bragging on My Boy

Diego has been doing very well in school this year (so far, so good!). His teacher told me he tested with the highest reading score in his classroom. He read 2 entire books (75 pages each) on Tuesday! He did AR (accelerated reader) tests on both and only missed 1 question on each test.

He's making wise choices and reaching goals, even unspoken goals.... like, he decided that it was better for him to eat in his classroom instead of in the gym because it's too noisy and confusing in the gym during lunch time and the other kids bother him. Diego decided to continue to take his sensory breaks the first thing every morning because it helps him focus.

This morning he actually got ready for school with only a couple of reminders (warnings, really). He told me, "Mom, I get to play the Wii today and have a movie night tonight and go see "Igor" tomorrow." See, he's been losing his privileges lately because of uncooperation at home with me in the mornings.

Sounds like he's made his plans for the weekend :)

9/9

Today is National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders day. At 9:09 (either a.m. or p.m.) people around the globe will stop for a moment of silence in recognition of the 1 in every 100 children born with Fetal Alcohol Disorders.
Diego has FASD, a prenatal brain injury caused by exposure to alcohol. Completely avoidable, the only form of mental retardation that is.

A few facts about FASD:
* Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading known cause of mental retardation in western civilization.
* Of all the substances of abuse, including heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus.
* Over 50% of women of childbearing age drink alcohol.
* About 20% of women who are known to be pregnant continue to drink during their pregnancy. The incidence of drinking during pregnancy has increased substantially in the past several years, possibly due to the misleading media message that a drink a day is healthy.
* Women at risk of drinking during pregnancy include women who smoke, who are single, who are in college or have a degree, and women in households with incomes over $50,000.
* At least 5000 infants are born each year in the US with full FAS (like Diego) or approximately every 750 live births.
* People with FASD have serious problems with attention deficits, impulse control, judgment and memory.
* Fewer than 10% of individuals with FASD are able to acheive success in living and working independently.
* Among children with FASD up to age 15, the social maturation process seems to be stunted at the level of a 6 year old child.

It's almost overwhelming to me as I type those facts to think every single one of them applies to Diego, I see it and live it with him every day. Would I want him to be normal? Absolutely. But God created Diego with a unique personality and gifts and talents within this thing called FASD. God took something horrible and made Diego wonderful!

Please never attribute the 'just another bad kid' attitude to a child who in the news for doing something horrific, they may be living with undiagnosed affects of prenatal exposure to alcohol.

If you know a woman who is pregnant and is drinking alcohol, please urge her to stop drinking... for the sake of her unborn child.

First Day of Third Grade

Diego started his Third Grade year on Tuesday. He was a bit nervous and apprehensive about Third Grade. I must admit I always was nervous the day before school started, in fact, I can remember not sleeping much the night before school started.
Last night after his second day of Third Grade, Diego told me he was used to school and Third Grade now. He even asked me if he could skip Third Grade and go into Fourth Grade. Hmmm... I told him he really needs to finish Third Grade as I am sure he will learn some new and exciting things there.

Labor Day, Zits, Baby

Joe and Diego went for a walk today, about a mile. Diego told me later when I asked him how his walk with Dad was that, "It was a long way and my zit hurts." WHAT?! Well, it appeared yesterday on his forehead, a big old zit, it looked sore too. We got him all fixed up with a bit of soap, some zit cream and a kiss. Hopefully the nasty zit won't show in his "First Day of Third Grade" photo tomorrow!

I received a call from Eric this morning, we haven't heard from him for a couple of months. We talked for a few minutes and he asked me what I thought about his son. WHAT?! Evidently Eric has a son; someone failed to tell me about it :-( so I was a bit shocked with the news.

Eric, Angie and baby arrived at my sister's house and spent the afternoon with us there. I'm not so sure I like the sound of the name "Grandma" but this little angel is adorable, sweet, precious and perfect. Tyler Joseph Emens was born August 23. He weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 21.25 inches long. I took a bunch of iPhone pics, here are a couple of them, one with proud 'Uncle' Diego.