Two Matches

     Joshua loves it when he realizes he and someone else have the same thing in common.  This morning Keith pointed out to me his sore on his knee from football.  I went upstairs and got medicine and band aids to put on it.
That is when Josh realized he had an old, previously scabbed over sore on his knee too.  He decided that he needed a "magic" band aid on his knee also!  I bet you didn't know that "magic" band aids make the sore go away faster, Josh learned this from his 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Bonewitz.  After I put on his band aid he said, "Look Mom, two matches!"  He even started limping when he got up from his chair!

"I be Good Now Mom"

     The concept of time is very hard for any 10 year old, but it is especially hard if you are a 10 year old with DS.  Josh doesn't understand that he doesn't get to do something that he wants because he was naughty earlier.  He tries and tries to talk us into letting him do what he wants, his favorite saying right now is "I be good now Mom."  So now I have the task of trying to make him understand that it is good that he is being good now but he still doesn't get to do what he wants because of his actions from earlier.  I even drew a picture of his entire day and put things in it that he does through out the day to try to make him understand that concept of time, the fact that he has to try to be good all the time and yes there will be times when he does get in trouble and even times when he finds that he needs help to not get in trouble and both of those things are ok.  In the end I have decided this, I wish that the actual time could go as slow as it takes for Josh to grasp the concept of time because then I would have more time to enjoy my special boy!

Piano Lessons

     Josh found my old keyboard under the bed awhile back and decided that he would like to learn to play the piano, so I talked with Evelyn Wiebke, or more important to Josh, Gerik's grandma, and asked her to let us know if she ever had an opening.  She called before we left for Colorado and let us know we could start coming!!!  I asked her to please be honest with me and let me know if she thought this would not be a good venture on our part.  Josh had his first lesson on Tuesday and he loved it!  Although you couldn't tell because his voice was NEVER above a whisper while we were there and he never made ANY sounds come from her piano.  Every question that she asked he answered correctly, he just wouldn't play the piano for her!  He has been practicing for at least 20 minutes every day and loves it!  I hope the next time we go he will decide to play her piano too!

Ah Ha Moments

     Have you ever had one of those moments, an Ah Ha moment?  You know what I mean, when that little lightbulb comes on and everything is perfectly clear.  For me that moment happened Thursday.  For months now Josh has been telling us that he wants to ride a horse for his birthday.  We have been trying to understand where this idea came from with no luck at all.  We don't own a horse, real or stick.  There are no horses close enough to us to make him take notice.  No family friends even have horses, but still he keeps insisting he wants to ride a horse.  The other day we went into the Apothecary to pick up a prescription and Josh started a conversation with Beth the pharmacist.  He was talking to her about his upcoming birthday and she asked him what he wanted to do and without hesitation he told her, "Ride a horse."  She told him she thought it was an awesome idea and then asked him why.  Now you need to understand that when Josh talks with an adult he doesn't know well and they ask a question he always turns to his dad or myself and asks us the same question, so when he did just that I told him I didn't know, it was his idea, and then he said, "You know Mom ride a horse, just like a prince does, you know like in Shrek when he rode the horse and got Princess Fiona!"  The biggest lightbulb ever came on in my head, and a great big smile to match it!

The Best Day Yet

     You would have thought that the best day yet was back in March when Joshua looked at the school lunch menu for April and realized that they are having white cake on his birthday!!!  Then you would have thought that the best day yet was the other day when we went shopping for birthday supplies and Josh got to make out the list, it included everything from napkins, candles, treat bags, and even a peatta (Joshua's words)!  But then today when Josh got the mail from the mailbox and realized he had a Birthday card already it was just the GREATEST thing ever!  He read it over and over again and showed it to everyone who came in the house, even Colonel!  Who would have thought that a card from Kirby Kangaroo could make someone have the best day yet?!?!?!!  But for me life with Josh isn't measured in best days, but in best moments......today for instance I got to share an orange float with him, he even go two straws.  It was the best moment yet, looking into those beautiful hazel eyes and thanking God for this best moment yet was the best thing I could ask for!

And This is Where it All Began!

     It is hard to believe that in 50 days from now my baby will be ten years old.  The title for this blog comes from our second son Keith.  The day Josh was born I was walking the halls of the old maternity ward at St.Lukes waiting to see if they were going to send us back home or not, when all of a sudden I had a hugh contraction right in front of the waiting room and my water broke!  Of course they had carpet not tile!  Josh was in the NICU for 12 days after he was born and when ever anyone would come to visit Keith was more than happy to take them on the tour. He always started his tour at the waiting room door with his famous words, "And this is where it all began!"  What a journey it has been!  Occassionally a few people have asked the question, "Don't you ever wish Joshua was born normal?"  Define "normal".  Can anyone?  I have heard it said on more than one occassion that we are only perfect when we come out of the womb.  I believe this to be true.  But I also believe that Josh is closer to perfect than most of us because he doesn't judge others.  He doesn't look at others disabilities or weaknesses and make fun of them or even point them out.  To Josh we are all the same.  I wish I had the ability to see everyone like that too and not have to work at it.  Do I wish Josh were born normal?  Not in a million years!  Now don't get me wrong, there are days when I ask God, "Why me?  Are you sure I am cut out for this job?"  But I can honestly say that I have learned so much from this wonderful little guy that God gave to me to look after that I wouldn't change things at all.  It's very easy to get all caught up thinking about how different things might have been especially when the day was "paved with a few extra pot holes and some speed bumps too", but then he comes up to you out of the blue and gives you a big hug and kiss and says, "Thanks Mom, I'm glad  you my mom. I love you." And I end up saying an extra thanks to God!  Thanks for bring Josh into our lives! 

The Road Map Better Known as God's Plan

     God has a miraculous way of getting us ready for what he has planned for us.  If you would have told me 15 years ago I was going to be working in a school with a child with special needs I would have said "Yeah right, in your dreams!"  First off school wasn't my favorite thing as a child and secondly I knew nothing about handicapped kids, I went to school for business management, not education.  But God placed our family in a small town in Iowa instead of moving us to Texas and I went to register my 2 boys for school and asked if they had a PTA sign up sheet so I could volunteer at school and that is when the principal handed me an application.  Who could have known that working with that student and other kids along with the wonderful teaching staff for 5 years was God's way of preparing me for having my beautiful son Joshua who was born with Down Syndrome?  The only answer to that question is God himself.  The only title that truly fits this post is the one that is listed above because that is what life with Josh is really like.  A road map is not just one straight line that gets you from point A to point B.  There are twists and turns, detours, and even the occasional road block.  You can even get to the same place by taking a different route every time you travel to that destination.  That is exactly what life is like with Josh.  The road from point A to B is never straight or easy, and very seldom is it the same every day but, with this map you meet some wonderful people along the way who help shape this little man who I am very proud to call my son.  I hope you will follow us along on our journey, and watch what God has instore for Joshua and his family!