The Blessing

I have not blogged in a while. I am going to try this again. So much is happening my Sydney's life. God has blessed us tremendously and I am grateful. Friday we came face to face with another one of Sydney's obstacles - the dentist. We have yet to come away from that dreaded "torture chamber" with success. It is just too overwhelming. Jim and I have been praying about this visit for some time. We decided to try a new dentist and fill the hours following the dentist with fun.

When we arrived we sat down in the crowded waiting room. Kids were playing, laughing, and squealing over in the play area. I began filling out the book of paperwork one completes when changing doctors. Surprisingly Sydney asked if she could go play in the play area. A mom was gathering her children to take them to the back. When Sydney got to the play area there was one little boy left playing. He immediately tried to engage Sydney. She yelled back at me, "Mom, he just bumped me!" The women sitting next to me looked up as I rushed over to help Sydney through her social interaction.

"Andrew be careful", the lady said to her son, "remember girls do not always play the same way boys do." When I got back to my seat I assured the lady he did nothing wrong and we began talking about our children. A beautiful thing happened while we were talking. Sydney and Andrew began to play. Watching Sydney in that waiting room with that precious little boy was amazing. She was playing with a complete stranger and doing a fantastic job.

It choked me up. The lady next to me could not believe that Sydney had autism. You would have never guessed. She wrote Sydney's name down and said she would be praying that Sydney would get a friend. When her teenage son came into the waiting room finished with his dental work he said, "Okay mom, lets go." She replied, "We are going to stay a while. Andrew is being a blessing." And, he was a blessing.

Praying for Grandma

Sydney's grandma is battling and with God's help winning her fight against cancer. Cancer is such a big, overwhelming concept, but Sydney knows her grandma has been sick and going to the doctor a lot. She prays for her all the time. She even initiates it.

I got a picture of what Sydney thought was going on with her grandma this weekend. We were leaving right after school to travel three hours up the road to visit grandma. As we were leaving the school Mrs. Kristine asked Sydney where she was going.

"We are going to Ocala to see grandma. We are going to make her soup because she is sick. She ate catfish."

Sydney Claire Lanier, you "make me got the giggles."

Learning to Golf

Jim was practicing his chipping today. Sydney like most children wanted to be right in the center of what her daddy was doing. She ran in the house and got a toy putter she has had for years and never noticed. She tried to do exactly what daddy was doing. Jim stepped in and gave her a few pointers. Look at her absolute joy when the club makes contact with the ball. I love it!

Fear

We all have something we fear. Sometimes those fears can really get in the way. Sydney is terrified with an overwhelming fear of bugs. As spring approaches the bugs come out. We are again facing this terrible phobia that stops Sydney cold in her tracks and prevents her from enjoying the beautiful outdoors she loves so much. Keep this little bump in the road in your prayers and feel free to offer any advice. We have tried everything we know to do so suggestions are welcomed.

International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Today is the International Day of Prayer for Austism and Asperger Syndrome. Below you will find the prayer points for this day. Thank you for your support and concern for this very important issue in our lives.

PRAYER POINTS
*Pray for all people with autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
*Pray for greater awareness of the condition.
*Pray for better public services in health, education, specialist speech therapy and respite care.
*Pray for tolerance and understanding towards people with autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
*Pray for access to training and jobs for people with autism and Asperger's syndrome.
*Pray for the sick, the elderly the shut-in.
*Pray for parents and carers of children and adults with autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
*Pray for national governments that they will provide public services and listen to the voices of disability communities.
*Pray for teachers in mainstream schools and special schools that they will think of real educational strategies to help children with autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
*Pray that governments will build, staff and resource specialist autism school or autism units with sensory rooms to support children who need specialised, structured help.
*Pray for medical professionals as they reach out to all people with autism and Asperger's syndrome.
*Pray for the improvement of communication and social skills for children and adults with autism and Asperger's Syndrome.

Happy Birthday Mom

Sydney has been counting the days down to my birthday since Chrismtas. This morning around 7:00 a.m. she jumped into bed with me, wrapped her arms around me really tight, and yelled, "Happy Birthday!" She was just as excited about my birthday as her own. She has also planned the perfect birthday cake for the past month. Everyone that has daily contact with Sydney knows about this cake. It was to be a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, adorned with ICarly decorations and a few other slight ornamentations. It is the most beautiful cake I have ever seen. (If you look closely you will find Squirt peeking over her shoulder. Right where he should be.)

And the Award Goes To...

Sydney is doing so well in school. She has to work hard to climb over the obstacles that ASD hurls at her but she is doing it. Friday, she received two awards: Honor Roll and The Patriot Award. I am so very proud of her and thankful to God for each and every success in her life.

Whenever Sydney receives accolades from her class, they clap with their fingers instead of their hands. That is comforting to Sydney. However, when she received her first award Friday, they forgot and clapped with their hands. She immediately bursted into tears. It was all finger claps for the second award. What a great goup of kids! :-)

iSydney

Sydney is a human tape recorder. She always has been. When she was just a little girl of about three she recited the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney. Now, she is forever doing dialogue from iCarly and unfortunately, Spongebob Square Pants.

There is a Broadway song called, “Careful the Things You Say, Children Will Listen”. That is so very true for my little Memorex. Whatever goes into that precious little brain of hers comes out for everyone to hear. The video you are listening to is a dialogue from an iCarly web show. She has inserted her skunk Squirt in as a character instead of the characters in the real show. As a little side note, Sydney also does this with stories she reads. She loves to write her “own” stories from stories she has read inserting her own characters, usually animals and almost always a skunk. Did you know Midas was a skunk? I love my baby.

We Could Get This If You Want To

"You make me got the giggles" is one of my favorite sayings. Sydney says it all the time. She makes me laugh every day. I love how she experiences life. Last night we went to Walmart. Only Sydney could make me laugh in Walmart. We, of course, had to go through the toy department before we could leave. She picked up a bag of toy bullets and smiled her charming smile and said, “we could get this if you want to?” Sydney does not own any toy guns. In order for this toy to work, you need the Nerf dart shooter. Her daddy asked her if she wanted the shooter that goes with it. “No thank you” was her reply. Out of the entire Walmart toy department we left with a little bag of toy bullets. When we got home she could not wait to tear open the bag. She lined them all up on the counter, counted them, and then found them their own little Tupperware bed. I love my baby.