The Princess and the Pope

And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
~Matthew 19:26

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

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!


Friday, August 19, 2011

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.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

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.




Thursday, August 4, 2011

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!

Friday, July 29, 2011

A long way

You've come a long way, Pope... A long, long way...













Thursday, July 28, 2011

Park!

Pope's adoption was really expensive. Add to that his medical bills and some unexpected bills accrued by the Princess this summer, and, well, we haven't had the extra money to do much of anything. There have been no extra funds to go to the zoo or the amusement park. We don't eat out or go to the movies. One place we do enjoy, because it's FREE, is our local park! Yesterday evening Pope even gave the tire swing a try... He LOVED it!

There is a suspended tire in the "little kids" section of the playground (meant for kids under 6 years old) it's not a swing, but good for climbing and exploring... Pope enjoyed that too!

The next 2 photos are kind of fun... The first was taken in the big tire back in the fall of 2006, after the Princess turned 2 years old.

And here's the same tire, with the Pope, age 3. Funny, isn't it?!