Winter Solstice

Our school celebrated the Winter Solstice last Wednesday with a lantern walk, it was a beautiful and very cold night. The boys LOVED their lanterns, which we (actually I) made over the past few weeks of playgroup and at the end of the night each child received a gift - a Dahlia bulb to plant in the garden to wait for spring.

Mister "I have a flame!" manic grin

I can take it from here Dad !

(this is the only photo of Owen that wasnt blurry I think my old olympus is on its way out.

POP up outta the hole

I am SO out of the hole (re my last post)!!!

Thanks for the love and understanding of my friends.

Sometimes I think I live my life like its a sprint race, I think if I just stretch that little bit further, I will get to cross the finish line and THEN I can relax and rest. But I am coming to realise that life is more like a marathon and along that 42km run you have to pace yourself and you have to take some sustenance along the way or else you are really headed for trouble. My sustenance is provided by connecting with friends both those who KNOW DS and those who don't. This week has been connection week for me I've slowed down had lots of cups of tea, emails and love from friends, I feel good again, rested, calm and ready to continue.

And I thought I would add a video of Owen and I sharing a book, this is the one he learnt his colours from, words are few but through signing we have real communication.

The Hole

I have fallen in a hole or The Hole this weekend.


I suddenly lost faith.


The future was overwhelming.


I felt regret.


I thought of nothing but the struggles ahead.


I could see all the 'differences'......... and I hurt.

I have not had such a difficult time really since the early days. I thought I was past all these feelings and thoughts, so I was disappointed to fall so hard all over again.

The weather has been bleak these past 3 days and that feeling was certainly reflected within me.

Pick a Color

So we had a therapy visit yesterday its been 5 months since the last time we saw them.
Owen Finally stacked those (#*%$ blasted rings for the first time - with ease, like he had done it 100 times before. His hands are tiny and it has always been difficult for him to grasp those thick, slippery suckers, but yesterday he blitzed it.

They asked what had we been working on and I said with honesty - "nothing" then feeling embarrassed I added "ummm I have been showing him the signs for different colours ! (phew relief, yes I had been "working") But then the therapist said well we don't expect colour differentiation until much later, do you think he knows any of the colours? Well honestly I have never tested him all I have been doing is showing him him the signs of the colours when we look at books - green grass, red flower etc. So the therapist holds up two of those pesky stacking rings, a red and a green ring and sayes to Owen "red where is the red ring" and he reaches out and chooses the right colour ! (but I am thinking okay there is a 50/50 chance that he will get it right. She does this with different coloured rings 3 different times and he gets it right 3 times ! And the therapist sayes "he knows his colours" and I can tell she is a bit shocked.

But in the back of my mind I am thinking this could just be luck) so when she left, Owen was playing with some toy cars so I hold up two, a red and a blue and ask him where is the blue car and he looks at both carefully and I can see him thinking, and then he reaches out and grabs the blue car and now I know for sure. He does know his colours because I have seen it in his eyes, I have seen his understanding. And I feel humbled that I even doubted him.

Owen you are Rockin it baby.