Kennedy Krieger

Next week, Pope and I are traveling to Baltimore to the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins. We'll see a team of specialists so we can determine what, if anything, can help Pope with his development. He's made progress over the past 6 months, but not as much as we'd like to see. I am suspicious that Pope has Autism. I only hope and pray that it's Institutional Autism and, with time and therapy, he will recover.

We're also having Pope's hearing tested. We were not successful having a hearing test when he saw the ENT a couple of months ago, so we're hoping the audiologist will have better luck since KKI is an expect facility at handling kids like Pope with significant developmental delays. I don't think Pope has a hearing problem as he is starting to speak and now comes to us when we call his name with much more consistency than he did a few months ago.

Pope also starts preschool next week. Sadly, he'll miss a few days while we're at KKI. But he is going to the first day of school... a major milestone and certainly a photo op! The Princess also starts school next week... second grade; hard to believe and it makes me wonder where the time has gone! Be on the lookout for "first day" pictures next week!

Talks with God

God talks to me in a variety of ways. Our conversations are never, ever the literal kind like "Hello God, how have you been?" to which He answers, "Well hi there, Faye! I'm well and you? Of course, you don't really need to answer, I know how you are! Haha!"

Most of the time we talk through prayer. I pray and He listens. Sometimes I talk to Him out loud, sometimes I talk to His Son, sometimes to the saints. Somes I sit in quite meditation, but I know He is always listening. It gets the job done. Sometime I go to Eucharist adoration and spend some time in-person with Jesus. During those times, I don't have to say anything at all. I just feel the warmth of His love.

But I find it always especially exciting when He talks to me! Sometimes I catch him whisper something to me through a soft breeze in the trees. Sometimes He speaks to me in a dream. Sometimes He speaks to me, as well as many others, through our priest at Mass. Today, He chose music... today it was a song, that lead to a bible verse Matthew 16:26

It's added a lot of clarity to some very big things we've got going on right now in our family.

LBI

Pope's first trip to the beach! We went to LBI... Pope loves the water and was fascinated by the ocean. It was a wonderful day!

Rainy Day

It's the last day of our family "stay-cation". We had a nice time taking day trips. Pope went to his first-ever birthday at a farm for 3-year-0ld fraternal twins. We went to the beach and the park and the mall. It was good week. Tomorrow we all head back to the grind.

It's pouring rain today. It's okay because we really need the rain, but it's keeping us all inside for the day.

Little Ambassador!

Pope was selected to be a "Little Ambassador" for the Children's Eye Foundation. You can click on the link to see his very own page! We're so proud of you Pope!