Two more days ...

The flu and colds have hit our family pretty hard over the last week.

I am way behind on posting pictures and getting my thoughts down. Catch up time this week!

Christmas programs tomorrow and then the mayhem begins! There's nothing better than the holidays!

Blessings to all ...

Life ...

Can through you some really dingers. I think this time of year is getting the best of me. So much to do and so little time to do it in.

Today I told myself that I will do what I can to the best of my ability, and God will take care of the rest.

It's been a hard week, but I am looking so forward to spending the day with Nick preparing for "Santa's arrival" AKA the only day my husband will shop all year long!

Christmas Coffee

Last night I had the privelage of attending an event at church called Christmas Coffee. I took with me 7 of my great friends/family. The message was particularly inspiring for me. She spoke about barreness. It was related to the story of Elizabeth in the Bible. In the end, Elizabeth was blessed with a son, John the Baptist.

For many reasons the story evoked a lot of emotion for me. As so many of you know, pregnancy was not God's plan for me. For so many years (and probably up until last night) I questioned why. I babysat most of my young life, even in to my college years. Once Christina was born, I was in Heaven. She was such an angel to me. Nick and I were blessed to be her godparents. As I watched her grow up I so envisioned being a mom. More and more children entered the family and still we couldn't conceive.

Last night I learned he had a bigger plan for me. My children - whom we are so lucky to have - were brought to us by God. He had a reason for why our lives (including the boys) worked out the way they did.

After last night's message, my barrenness is no longer relevant in my life. It was filled by greater gifts ... Will and Reagan.

To those of you that are reading this and came with me, thank you! I hope you will come again next year.

Celebrating with Cousins!

We spent one Saturday celebrating Will's 8th birthday with his cousins. We had great food, more cupcakes, awesome Ironman presents ... and lot of good laughs!

Will got his 2nd grade Bible

Grandma MacCudden and Will

Grandma and Grandpa Dobson with Will

His proud parents!

Shower #2

Mom and I with Kari Jo.

Soon to be big sister ... Isabel!

The bedding for the nursery. My mother in law, myself and mom got it for them.

The scrapbook my aunt made for her.

Thanksgiving Turkey

Check out our turkeys!

Will and Reagan breaking the wishbone. Will wished to go to Disney World.

Our little Pilgrim. They made the little dress up at school for their Thankgiving feast!

Please pray for us tonight!

Yesterday we got wonderful news that Will was eligible for In Home Therapy through the autism waiver program. That information is then forwarded to the State of WI where it goesfor approval. Today we found out that it was denied due to the assessment measure our psychologist chose to use. Without going in to much detail, Will turns at 8 on Friday, and that is the deadline. This afternoon our dr. provided an addendum ... and now we wait. Might hear Friday, might hear next week, and if it is denied, all the time, money and effort we put in is lost.

I am absolutely full of grief, sadness and my heart is very heavy tonight. I know God has a plan, but I thought this was it. I thought that was why I took off work, met with therapists, had at home visits and our dr. worked quickly and diligently over the last 3 weeks.

I am literally sick with worry that I have let Will down and should have been more on top of this a year ago ...

Please pray that God gives me strength no matter what the outcome and the power that HE knows what is best for Will and our family.

I will keep you all posted ...

Birthdays ...

I am on my second batch of 24 cupcakes for my boy! 8 years old on Friday. I can hardly believe it!

I think we will celebrate like 5 times when all is said and done. What a lucky devil to be so loved by so many people!

Baby Dobson Shower

The mom and dad to be!

The stroller that they registered for.

Bathtime fun!

Oh look at the very adorable "neutral" items!

Last night we celebrated the upcoming arrival of my neice or nephew. It is such an exciting time ... awaiting the bundle of joy to come. Many of their friends and family attended. Next weekend Kari Jo's mom and Isabel will be hosting another shower for them. The nursery seems ready to go ...

2011 is going to be a great year for our family.

Please keep them in your prayers for a safe final trimester coming up and a healthy arrival.

Insomina at its best

Not sure if things are weighing on my mind or if its Nick's coughing, but I can't fall back to sleep. My mother in law tells me if things are on your mind, it is a message from God. So maybe all this work with the autism waiver is really what he has planned for us. Maybe he is laying the burden on me because he knows I will follow through - even if it means giving up sleep.

I have a great friend at work. Her kids are in high school. Today she took my kids home with her so I could spend some time with Nick. I had met with the specialist for Will today and wanted to decompress some of the conversation. Well Nick got tied up with work and I kept calling to say we haven't left, we haven't sat down, we haven't eaten ... and she kept telling me not to worry. We walked in the door at like 11. Then I thank God for people like her in my life. Someone that understands my kids and just takes them on a whim. Not many people like that in the world. I sure hope she is blessed one day in heaven!

Tomorrow ... couple's shower for my brother and sister in law. Hope I don't fall asleep while making the food!

Also hope I could fall back asleep at some point!

Where to start

So I found out recently (yes like a week ago) that I can apply for an autism waiver to get in home therapy (pretty intensive) for Will. That's great news right? The bad news is that it has to be registered with the State of Wisconsin by his 8th birthday ... just 21 days away. Paperwork, homestudies, in-take appointments... and the list goes on and on.

I know it is what's best for Will ... so I will give it a go. It will be a changing day in our family should he qualify. It will be provided a minimum of 25 hours outside of the school day per week for a minimum of a year.

Please pray for me that I can accomplish the paperwork be weekend's end and that I find a good in home therapist before the paperwork is due.

Go Scott Go!

That's what our family is saying today!

Get out and vote for a much needed change in Wisconsin!

Cold here!

We just might blow away in this wind ... holy cow!

Will's new paranoia ... tornadoes.

I said, "Oh honey, no worries. We don't have enough warm weather. There aren't any tornadoes."

Will turns on the channel looking for the weather to the nice weatherman saying, "If you are in the Racine area, take shelter now. A funnel cloud has been spotted. A tornado warning is in effect until ..."

Great mom hey?

Trunk or Treat

Tonight I hosted the first ever Trunk or Treat event at school. It was such a great turnout. Over 300 kids were there and their families. That's over 50% of our population.

A great time was had by all!

Here's some of the great trunks we saw - along with families and friends!

Grandma MacCudden bought Reagan's Jack Sparrow costume at Disney World. Will of course was Mickey Mouse!

The Beyer family!

One of the awesome trunks that were decorated.

A dedicated dad that shaved his head just for this! SHREK!

Federal Test

Passed with 90%.

He is officially licensed with the state ... just some minor paperwork.

He is relieved and we are so proud of him.

State Test Check!

Today my hear husband passed his State Exam to continue being a mortgage broker.

On to the Federal test on Thursday ... and then some relief!

Reagan told him, "Daddy if you pass your test we will take you out for dinner and you can have a beer!"

Pumpkin Time

Although the weather seems to be more summer-like in Wisconsin then fall-like (we won't complain) we still made a trip to the Pumpkin Farm. The kids played in the inflatables, took a train ride, bought some Kettlecorn, bought some apples and found the perfect pumpkin (yet to be carved).

My New Hat and Gloves

Doesn't match the jacket, but he just HAD to have it!

Butterflies

Will is really into butterflies and their life cycle. He learned about last year from his first grade teacher and became obsessed with it.

This year my assistant at school had found some caterpillars and she told me what to do with them. She brought me one in a jar for Will and brought us milkweed every day. After about 3 weeks our caterpillar turned in to a butterfly.

We let it go (which devastated my boy!). Luckily the weather was so beautiful we hope she survived on her migration South!

Sleep

It amazes me what a hard time Will has with sleep. The doctor has tried giving us tips on sleep and every night is some type of argument. Research we have been reading on autism and sleep has said that autistic children have melatonin levels that are reversed of what they should be. I could definitely see that! We are contemplating trying crushed melatonin but have no idea if he will find it "hidden" as he has before.

I love sleep ... I actually think I crave it. Maybe that's why God blessed me with children over 1 year of age.

My heart breaks for him at night but I remind Nick that we have to be strong and walk away - as hard as that is sometimes. Each night he ends up on the mattress and sleeping bag at the foot of our bed, but I guess that is better than wandering the house at all hours!

Tonight I pray for sleep!

We got a facelift!

Thanks to Nikki at Blogs for a Cause ... we got a facelift so appropriate for our family!

I had one of those days today!

You wake up with the best of intentions but the day completely falls apart. It was one of those days where I literally had to drive off by myself and pray.

I prayed to the dear Lord for:
Patience to get through another day
Hope that things will get better
Peace about our lives
Humor to laugh when I feel like crying
Guidance when I feel like my life is falling apart
Will and wishing I knew what he was thinking sometimes
Reagan and all he endures just because he is the little brother
Nick who sees the world in a different way when I can't
My mom whom I called to just let loose and then apologized because I do that sometimes.

Autism is difficult. I don't write in my blog about it often. More often then not it is challenging. You love your children so much and you always want to do whatever you can to make their lives easier. There are days, hours, weeks, months, minutes that I wish I knew what Will wanted or how I could make his life easier. Autism is difficult but I thank God everyday that he entrusted Will to us. I pray that everyday we do the best job ever at raising him in a faith-filled home that is surrounded by love.

My family matters most. They are number one on my list and although the day didn't go at all as planned, that's okay. We were together and that was all that mattered!

It's Too Quiet

Nick and I have decided it is too quiet in our house without Bailey. I think we both miss her terribly. It broke my heart tonight - Reagan told me on the way home from my parent's house that he missed Bailey "a real lot". It makes him sad that she went to heaven. She definitely is missed by us!

Rest in Peace Bailey

Bailey born 2-14-1999

Doggy heaven 9-25-10

Our dearest Bailey entered Doggie Heaven on Saturday, September 25th.

We were very sad to see her go and are so thankful for the wonderful dog she was.

We hope Uncle Ron is taking Bailey-burgers for lots of walks in heaven.

Life

I think life is throwing us too many blows lately. Our family needs to catch a break soon. I guess we can just keep praying.

Camera happy lately!

Picking apples

Reaching high up in the trees

Reagan on the train

Will with the engine train

Nick's birthday dinner at the Harbor House

Busy, Busy as a bee!

We have been so busy lately and I have been so negligent on my blog. I thought I would update you on the latest and greatest in our family. I will then follow-up with pictures. Some of our news is good, but some not so good.

• Majesty Mortgage continues to prosper (Thanks be to God!). Although Nick is busy with work, we are grateful for the business and money it has brought in.
• We will be putting on a roof after only 16 years (12 years for us). We thought we wouldn't have to think about that for awhile, but again God works his magic and brings a refi boom to our house.
• Will began seeing a new therapist. Not a warm fuzzy kinda guy, but practical and to the point. I have learned more about autism and helping Will in the few sessions we have had, then in the past two years. Nick and I are "required" to read a book on play. Will's diagnosis has changed slightly to simply PDD-NOS. What does that mean? Really nothing that we already didn't know.
• Reagan had two moves of the worm from the green apple to the yellow apple in two days! School is going to be different for him than Will. We are working on good behavior.
• After many tests and trips to the vet, Bailey has been diagnosed with Cushing's Disease. She has a tumor somewhere on her pituitary gland. Where we aren't sure. There is probably more to the issues we are having than that. We can suffice it to say that we have some tough decisions to make in the next few weeks about her health and her quality of life.
• Nick celebrated his birth week. Yes, you heard me ... birth week! Some great gifts were had, a few dinners and lots of great memories.
• We saw Kevin MacCudden play a senior football game. They lost - and for him and the team it was very devastating. He is great player ... and I was completely moved to see 99% of his team on the 50 yard line following the game praying. Keep in mind ... this is a public school. What a great kid he has become.
• The boys - along with Grandma Dobson rode a small train.
• We picked apples.
• I resigned from my PBO position (like PTO) this week - a very difficult decision for me, but I know it is best for my family right now.

I am sure there is more to tell, but our family has been busy - and most of it family events! It has been a great few weeks.

Enjoy the pictures!

Coupons, coupons, coupons!

So I am crazy about a new website my mom got me started on. The Krazy Coupon Lady - she is unbelievable.

Today I went to Walgreen's. Can't say it is a place of choice but I got the following goods:

• Bayer 24 count aspirin
• 1 microwaveable Campbell's soup
• 2 - 3oz bags of oreos for the boys

With coupons from Walgreen's and mfg. total cost $1.66.

Went to Target and bought a 12 pack of Mountain Dew. $1.99 on special and Target.com had a $1.00 coupon. Where can you get a 12 pack for 99 cents these days!

Nick thinks I am nuts ... but I could make this a profession!

Becca

Happy Birthday to Grandma MacCudden

We celebrated at Ryan Braun's Waterfront Brewery. The whole family together - minus the kids + the new baby!

First Day of School!

The baby is all grown up and the older one has "moved up the ramp" to 2nd grade. It is unbelieveable as to how time flies! I remembered when I cried at Will going to 5K. He had the best experience and to this day loves his former teacher. Today he entered the "other end" of the building - I hardly get to take a peek at him now. His exlamation this morning was, "I am so excited for today!"

Then there's the baby. Didn't cry when I sent him on his way and I think everytime I saw him today I was reminding him of a school rule! God Bless his teacher. She might put Nick on speed dial. We are fortunate that we got the same teacher Will had ... little does she realize he is the complete opposite of Will. He hasn't stopped talking since he got home about what he did, who he saw, who was naughty (not him either on his version), what he ate and how he cried when someone wasn't nice.

I commend teachers and I don't just say that because I am one. It's probably hard having your colleagues kids. I am so lucky though that these people they have in their lives are loving, caring and kind women that love their jobs (probably not everyday but most of them) and you can tell by how your kids come home from school! They take the job not because of how much they make or the "bonuses" they get, but because teaching is truly their calling. It's funny how you can already tell its going to be a good year because of their smiling and happy faces!

So here's to our special 5K and 2nd grade teachers at Slinger Elementary School! The MacCudden boys are lucky to have you in their lives!

Proud of the Emmy's

If any of you have a chance, check out the video of the Emmy's and learn more about Temple Grandin.

Thanks to HBO for providing a voice for those of us that have children with autism. It is so nice to see such wonderful people win these awards.

http://awards.tv.yahoo.com/blog/50-who-is-temple-grandin?nc

Day out with Grandma and Grandpa

The boys latest outing with my parents consisted of a trip to Costco and Dick's Sporting Goods. You can see the many things they "tried out".

Reagan has been asking my dad about learning to golf and he really wants to go camping. We aren't the "camping parents", so a set up in the basement might just have to do.

Our Family Reunion ...

I don't see my mom's side of the family often, but we had our first get together for no reason other than being together.

We had a great time eating, talking and swimming. As you can see ... the kids only left the pool to eat!

These are the boys cousins.

The latest and greatest craze

Little brother had one ... so big brother had to have one too!

Summer Vacation coming to an end!

Tomorrow officially marks the first day of work for me for the new school year.

Ready to have the kids back on a schedule, not ready to figure out my schedule!

Moving on ...

I think our family is having a hard time moving on from Uncle Ron's death. There weren't many like him. As Will refers to him, "Our Santa" has gone to a better place but the thought of him not around daily is going to be tough. I believe that we will all grieve for awhile.

Here's to the Ackie Dooley this weekend ... Uncle Ron will be looking down with Irish Eyes smiling drinking his Southern Comfort!

Heaven's Gates Opened today ...

Today Nick's Uncle Ron entered the gates of heaven riding his Harley we are sure! Uncle Ron was a kind hearted and spirited man. Please pray for the MacCudden family as we mourn his death but celebrate the life and memories we shared with him.

Welcome to the world Erin MacCudden!

A treat from Uncle Dave! I wish they shared like this all the time!

Will falling in love with his new cousin!

My beautiful niece Erin born Monday, August 9th!

The boys are so in to babies ... despite our attempts at trying to not let them hold her, Will got his hands around her!

A MacCudden Party

Chillin out in the pool at the party!

My first attempt at a fruit bouquet.

We had a great time celebrating Thomas' 8th Grade Graduation Party at Ed and Vicki's house. We had beautiful weather and a quiet and calm afternoon.

Brewer Games

We have been lucky to see some good (and not so good) baseball over the last week.

The boys have enjoyed learning more about the game and getting to see Bernie!

Our "Ladies Trip"

There are about 20 of us in Lincolnshire Ilinois for a conference.

Tonight the hotel fire alarm went off ... and no it wasn't us!

Never a dull moment. I had to take a picture for the boys!