Posted in blessings and questions

Hip hip hooray! The snow arrived today!

We live in an area where the average snowfall is about 1-3 inches maybe 2-3 times a year. So on the occassion that we actually get a good snowfall my kids (and I) get excited!

Finally enough snow to build a snowman and go sledding or have snowball fights. Normally there's just enough snow to make the grass look pretty but try building a snowman and he's just plain dirty and ever so small.

When my husband called to tell me we where expected to get 6-12 inches I immediately started planning. Let's see, do we have enough milk, bread, water, snacks, batteries, etc..So it was a trip to the stores where I knew the aisles would be crowded and they were! Everyone getting ready to batton down the hatches!

When we left for the stores it hadn't started snowing, by the time we finished shopping and were headed home the flakes were as big as quarters! My son, ever the cautious one reminded me to drive slowly. Ah if he only knew me back when...

One of the wonderful things about the snow is that it has opened up the doors for even more conversations with my children, not just about the science of it but about how we are made white as snow by Christ. How we need to always be prepared for the return of our Saviour, not try to run out the door in a hurry like we did today to prepare for the storm.

It causes me to reflect on my walk. When my husband called, announcing the soon coming arrival of snow, I wanted to be prepared. It reminds me of the 10 foolish and wise virgins. Am I prepared like the wise virgins?

Well, must go for now...

Posted in blessings and questions

I was in the dentist office the other day and heard two boys asking their mom question after question. After what seemed to be the hundredth one their mom became quite frustrated and told them to be quiet and stop asking so many questions.  If I was the average mom I might have smiled knowingly and offered my "I know how you feel" statement. In fact their are days when my daughter can ask more questions than any ten kids I know!

However, I'm not the average mom and thanks to my son I appreciate and cherish every question that comes my way.

Every person has a challenge in this world and for my son it's autism. He's eight years old and although he has "high functioning" autism he's only started asking questions in the past two months.

The first time he asked "what's this" I literally cried. My son was actually able to find a way to ask me a question about something he was curious about.  For him that was not an easy task. He can read at a sixth grade level yet for all the words that he takes into his mind, he can't seem to get them out in a structured manner without a struggle. 

Each time he initiates communication it's with great thought and I wonder how long it has taken him to find the way to tell me what he is thinking. Sometimes he gets frustrated because the words will come out all mixed up and we have to re-arrange them and ask questions in order to understand what he is trying to tell us.

It's as though he's an engineer of a train. He must pick up several trucks, but those trucks must be picked up in the right order so that they can be delivered in the right sequence. The problem is the troublesome trucks are all over the place and he has to search for and find each one, then hook them all together in the correct order. Not an easy task.

That is why I am so thankful that I can homeschool my son. Being able to hear my son ask questions has been such a blessing and I cherish each one he brings forth. Because with each question he poses to me he is not just letting me into his world, he is also trying to figure out this crazy world we live in. And who better to teach him the true things of this life than me and his family.

So if by some chance I actually get slammed with a hundred questions; I'm going to smile and say "keep those questions coming".