Interesting Summer

So here we are approaching Fall. I am sitting here reflecting on the summer that just passed. I spent most if it on my hindparts with a messed up ankle, but I was able to sit still and enjoy my kiddos. To watch them laugh and share their lives with me. It was hard to sit there for so long, but God knew, of course, exactly what he was doing. We have also moved into an apartment. Much less room, much less stuff, which is a blessing really. I am watching Benjamin do a Bible study on Noah right now! Precious! Much love to you all.

The Shawas

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Shawa Update

How are you guys? We are plugging along, but overall we are doing okay. Never a dull moment. I am currently laid up in the bed with a broken ankle. I was bringing Benjamin to VBS last week and caught the trolley with Emily to go back to the van. We arrived at our destination, I put her on my hip and hurried down the stairs. Problem...I did not have my foot planted when I stepped on the ground. I rolled it and broke the outside bone and tore ligaments. So, Wednesday I had surgery to put a plate and pins in and I am on the mend.

This picture to the right is from Self Creek Baptist Church VBS. We stayed with the Oswalts and helped out at their VBS. We had a lot of fun.

Jason is doing well. He is working at Chick-fil-A now and he likes it. He has started working the 5am to 2pm shift and he says it's not bad once he gets out of the bed and it's nice because when he gets home we still have some day left.

The kids are doing pretty well. They are not very excited about Mommy being down in the bed and not able to do anything for them. Emily is worse about it then Benjamin. She says, "No, I want you to do it!" Poor thing. She is such a little princess.

Our quest to fight to pull Benjamin through the autism window continues. We have him in Occupational and Speech therapy here in Georgia and also a program at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta. He is doing well. We are hoping to recieve a grant to bring him to a Defeat Autism Now (DAN) doctor soon. We are also starting the process for Benjamin to recieve an autism service dog. Check out the website, they are an amazing organization. It is http://www.4pawsforability.org/ , on the main page click "Make a Dream Come True". Benjamin is the first story. There is also a link to the website on the top left portion of our main blog page.

An autism service dog will help Benjamin stay calm when he tantrums by putting a paw or chin on Benjamin, can track Benjamin if he runs away from us, or can lie on Benjamin and put pressure on him to keep him calm, centered and focused. Those are just some of the things beside be a constant loving companion to Benjamin. We are really excited about this opportunity. We are just starting to fundraise. The fundraising requirement for a service dog is $13,000, we believe it is well worth it. We are just trusting if this is what God wants for our family He will provide the money.

Hope you are all well. Will try to do better keeping this updated. Especially since I really can't get up and do much. :)

Love,

The Shawas

Life In Georgia

So a lot has gone on since my last blog....are you suprised Holly? LOL. After a chain of events we have found ourself in Woodstock, GA. Jason stepped down from the church and came to a Christian program in Georgia for 4 months. The kids and I stayed with the Oswalts. I guess you can say they took us to raise! They were amazing. They transformed their exercise/computer room into a bedroom for Emily and I and Benjamin roomed with Spencer. It was a crazy few months, but wow, how God worked in my life. At the beginning of January the kids and I made the move to Georgia on hopes to restore our family. We are a part of a ministery called City of Refuge. First Baptist Woodstock and this ministry has provided a place for us to stay as we heal. I want to get some pictures on here and am hoping to soon. I only have Internet on my phone and the application to blog doesn't have the feature to add pictures yet. Will blog again soon.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Memories

Today our former neighbors, the Hibbards are on my mind. They have recently moved to Arkansas which means we don't even have our monthly visits anymore, but they are in the middle of God's Will which is the best place to be. I talked to Ann earlier and she said things are falling into place. I am watching Emily right here next to me dancing and Benjamin playing with his Planet Heroes. He fell in love with the Planet Heroes after he played with Spencer's Planet Heroes. And now Spencer loves Thomas the Train!!!!!

Ginger's Birthday

Our sweet friend Ginger, she has become a part of our family and she is precious. She loves Benjamin and Emily and they love her. For her birthday we cooked out and had cake and ice cream. Okay, the story about the cake, Sugaree's is where you can get the best cake, our walmart doesn't have a bakery and I am not sure how long their cakes sit in the freezer section. So....I head to the bakery that Monday and they are closed! Ugh!!!! So, I call them and they let me into get a cake, I love a small town!!! They can't decorate it so it's left up to.....the Shawas, the Oswalts and Bill! Lindy did the letters, Bill did the clouds, well they are supposed to be flowers, but he was a trooper and he did great!

Stone Mountain with the Fam

Still catching up!!!! We met our family in Columbus, Georgia where Jason and his family used to live when Dad was pastoring there. We had fun visiting with old friends and then headed to Stone Mountain, GA. It was breath taking! Benjamin got to ride a train and of course, that was all he wanted to do. Emily just soaked in everything. We also "Rode the Ducks". The kids were so very exhausted that night they went to bed on the pull out sofa bed, dirt and all. Then we all headed back here for a few days and just relaxed, well as much as you can relax with 5 kiddos in one house!!!! We had a wonderful time!

Fun with the Choates

Okay so this was actually a couple of weeks ago, but I'm trying to catch up!!!! We had a wonderful visit with the Choate family as they had been so precious to stop here and see us for a couple of days. We had lots of fun!!!! We miss you guys.