Let Go and Let God

Sorry I have been so inconsistent in my blogging lately. We are getting very close to finishing all our unpacking and setting up our new home. It has taken a lot longer than I thought it would. I have been feeling a bit defeated about it all. I had hoped to start school today but I have not yet had time to do sufficient planning. I have the workboxes set out in the dining room and my homeschool closet is about half way organized so I guess I am making some progress. We are getting up early this week and at least starting to get back to a time schedule that is closer to when we do school. It went well today for Tyler. He got up, ate his breakfast, and did his chores like he will need to do during school. He is not good at structuring his own free time and when he is allowed too much time by himself he has difficulty interacting with others. He needs this week to be more structured and he needs to spend more time out of his room so he will be prepared for next week when we start back up with school. He loves structure which is why workboxes have been such a blessing for him but he resists change so even though he is happier when we have a highly structured day there will still be some backlash because I am pulling him back out of his world and I am changing his routine. He did play some board games with both his dad and I today and he went to Lowes with his dad and that all went well. I have been observing a lot of obsessive compulsive behaviors and some slight regression since we moved so I know he is telling me he really needs to get back to his routine. We will be starting the year reading Robin Hood. I think he will like this because it has a lot of action. He wants to do the new unit study Amanda Bennett has coming out about dogs so I want to do that with him in September. I anticipate a good year for him.

Christian still likes the new house. His sleep is all screwed up again so we have been up together until 3 or 4 in the morning every night. Needless to say I am tired. He has also been eating wood again lately. He has a long history of eating non-edible things. He will eat any paper he can get a hold of. When he is outside he will eat dirt. He has also been known to try and eat plastic. His big obsession for about the last six months or so has been eating wood. He has eaten wooden blocks and toys. He ate a whole corner off his toy box so we had to get rid of it. The worst though is when he chews on the windowsills and moldings in the house. In our old house he took a big chunk out of his windowsill that my husband had to fill in with wood putty. Already at this house he has chewed on his windowsill in his room and his doorframe. Not only does it look awful but it can’t be good for him. Big sigh!!!! We have our home set up for his safety. We have deadbolts on all the outside doors, the kitchen is gated off, all the interior doors stay locked except his bedroom and even that is gated off at night when he is in there. His room only has his bed, some shelves for his toys, his trampoline, exercise ball, rug, dizzy disc, and some stuffed animals. We do so much to keep him safe so it is hard when he does something that other than watching him continuously I have no way of preventing. I did do some research on the internet and found out that other kids actually do this too so that helped a little. At least I know it isn’t only us. There did seem to be some guesses as to why someone would crave wood. I read about a possible calcium deficiency which might make since in his case as he can’t eat dairy. I will have to bring this up to the doctor. However, it seemed nobody had any real answers to preventing it. That was incredibly discouraging. I am thinking of gating off the hallway during times when he can’t be accompanied to his room so I can keep an eye on him. I really hate to do that though because he needs to have some space and time by himself. Autism has brought our lives through so many twists and turns. Things usually seem so much worse when we are going through them though then when we are passed them so I will keep that hope in my heart. Other than that he is doing well though. He has been eating a little better the last couple of days. We just had to switch doctors and both of the boys can go in for checkups in September. I am hoping to have him tested for heavy metals. I have wanted to do this for awhile but was unable to talk our past doctor into it. I think he has some of the signs though of possibly having metal issues and I have heard so many positive things about chelating that I am hoping to at least explore our options. I am not looking for a miracle but just think it might be at least one issue that could be solved. We are used to baby steps with him so I will be fine if it isn’t something that will help but I am interested.

 On the lighter side of life, I started reading Your Own Jesus by Mark Hall of Casting Crowns today. I love the way Mark writes. He makes you feel like you are sitting next to him and he is just pouring out his personal experiences with God. I think I need this book right now as life seems to be engulfing me. I need to reach out and take hold of Jesus’ hand and let Him guide me through it all. It is so easy to focus on our lives and feel like Jesus is a million miles away. He is right here though wanting to show us where he wants to take us. I needed to be reminded of that today! I needed to remember that I don’t have to find a way to make it all work but that He will show me what needs to truly be done and how to make it all work out. That’s about all for tonight. Sorry it is kind of long. I needed to get it out and now a feel much better. Have a great night!