Toothless!!

Here is Ethan with his new smile!!

Clarity of Mind

So, for the last couple of weeks I've been in this very contemplative state of mind. I keep having these moments of clarity where I look back on my life and can see the Lord's hand in it. I guess that's what trials do for you. They give you clarity of mind. Trials remind you of how small and insignificant you are and how all powerful and all knowing God is. And even with all of God's greatness and all of your nothingness he loves you because he sees you as you can become and he loves you because you are his child. As I have been very thoughtful and nostalgic as of late, rather than my usual obsession with crossing things off of my to do list, I have noticed that in every good thing, in every happy moment, in every blessing, and in all joy in my life God is there and the gospel is the source of it. God and the gospel have always been in the background of my life. God does more than the big eternal things like creating a world for us, providing us with a Savior, giving us a plan to return to him, and giving us free agency. He really is concerned with the details. In the eternal grand scheme of things does it really matter how Ethan does in school? I don't know, maybe not. But Heavenly Father knows that it is extremely important to us. Does modern medicine help us get into heaven? No. Do we need comfort and beauty and safety to get to heaven? Not really. But God doesn't just want us to survive until we return to him, he wants us to live and be happy. God's number one goal is our happiness, just like ours is for our children. He doesn't have to give us so much but he does because he love us and wants us to be happy. Anyway, enough of my random ramblings. Now I really do have to get to all of the things on my to do list.

Help Zakh

I just wanted to let everyone know about a little boy with autism who didn't slip through the cracks, but was shoved through by the school district. Here is a link for the article. Basically the school refused to give Zakh anything he needed and instead continuously called the cops on him after his melt downs due to stress, sensory overload and everything else this poor boy was going through. Finally the teacher and principle filed charges! The boy is being charged with two felonies and could be sent to a juvenile detention facility! The school refused to give him his iep, wouldn't release records, wont give him an aid even though they are legally obligated to do all of those things. I feel the school failed the boy and are responsible for his actions. If they had fulfilled all they were required to do this would never have happened. I know this because my Ethan had very similar melt downs in school. The school bent over backwards to help him. If we lived in Arkansas it coulod very much be Ethan in that situation. It just makes me sick. http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m12d30-Autism-is-considered-a-felony-in-fifth-grade?cid=edition-rss-National

I am finally starting to feel like the fog is lifting. I think that for about the last 2 years I have spent the majority of my time just trying to survive all of the changes that have been thrown our way. I'm finally starting to feel like things are getting settled and life is starting to have some kind of rhythm to it. The other shoe hasn't dropped in quite a while. I think with the new year I'd had a chance to look back on the last 2 years and see how good God has been to us. Time and time and time again the right people have come into our path. Many times while in the midst of all the craziness it was hard for me to see, but lately I am just in amazement by all of compassion and love that has gone our way. I feel so grateful. While these last couple years have probably been the hardest in my life I wouldn't trade them for anything. There are many things I don't think I would have ever learned other wise. Would I relive it all? uh ...no. But it is precious to me and I am so grateful for it. With that being said now that things are going better i have so go to get it together. Survival mode is over, now it's time to start living my life again.

No I Have Not Fallen Off The Face Of The Earth!!!

I just spent the last 2 1/2 weeks in California with my family! Here is a run down.

70 - The average high every day we were there.

20 - The hours it took us to get there (We had to take a detour in Lubbock.)

35 - the average number of minutes we had to wait in line at Disneyland. It was packed but it was fantastic! We still got to ride all the rides we wanted to. Fastpass is the best idea ever!!

4 - the number of grandparents we got to see.

1 1/2 - the years Gary's parents will be on their missions. We will miss them but we are also so excited for them.

8 - The age Adam Weber turned recently. He got baptized while we were there and Lorin, Brynn and I went (Gary stayed home with Ethan, who was throwing up.) The Webers are dear friends of ours and the baptism was beautiful. I'm so glad we got to go!

4 - the number of times the kids got to ride on a carousel. Seaport Village, Balboa Park, Disneyland, The Living Desert.

2 - the number of times we ran into the Webers at Disneyland. We knew they were going that day but we weren't sure if we'd see them because it was sooo crowded. We saw them twice! Just added to an already fantastic day.

19 - Bradshaw family members who went caroling in San Diego.

3 - Movies attended. We all saw Princess and the Frog, so so. I saw the Blindside with my Mom and my sister Shelly, loved it. Gary saw Avatar with my brother-in-law Dennis, loved it as well.

1 ton- The amount of treats I devoured, also amount of presents we brought home, also the amount of fun we had on Christmas in SD!

1 - the number of laptops that suffered complete hardware failure on our trip (thank goodness Gary got that warranty!)

3 - the number of people in our family who threw up!

6 - the number of people in our family who got a nasty cold! (Sorry Mom )

10 - lbs gained after visiting Joe's Sushi.

2 1/2 - 4 - inches of snow we got in Abilene on Christmas while we weren't there.

1st - the day in January the Signs Clan gathered together and went to the park. I wore shorts and a t-shirt. How awesome is that. We played Corn Hole (bean bag toss) and beach volleyball and rode bikes and had a great time.

18 inches - the height of our snowman when we went to the mountains and found there was very little snow. We still had a blast with our teeny tiny snowman and our teeny tiny snow ball fight.

25000 - the amount of times we were asked "how much longer" on the way home. Poor kids. Poor parents!

35 - the number of times our young cat pooped in the hallway while we were gone!!!!!!! Needless to say cat is gone to. He gets food and water but he is forever banished out side. He is dead to me! I am so glad we made friends with a carpet cleaner.

5 - The number of stars I give to the meal that our friends The Comptons brought to us today because they knew we were just getting home and would have no food in the house and it was the sabbath so we wouldn't go to the store.

Pictures to follow shortly!