The Extraordinary Life

Coming to terms with Titus’ diagnosis      There are so many stages and feelings on coming to terms with Titus being on the spectrum. I have realized one of the reasons his diagnosis has become hard to swallow is that you kind of want your family to be this little perfect family. You want to do all the fun things. You want uncomplicated road trips and fun crazy outings. Nathan is very spontaneous and I am a huge extrovert and people person. Put those together and we love to go out and do fun things and be around people. You want life to be and feel normal or “ ordinary. ”  You want people to love ️you(yes, prideful!)and love your kids. However, God has changed my heart in realizing my sin in some of those thoughts. Surprise! I am prideful!       There have been multiple situations in the past year that has awakened realty for Nathan and me. At first the knowledge of his diagnosis didn’t change much for us. In most areas Titus can be pretty chill a...

  The Extraordinary Diagnosis      The first years of Titus’ life seemed so normal to Nathan and me. We had a sweet, quiet, and determined little boy. He got his teeth early, he started walking at 9 months old and was always running around with lots of energy. As he reached age two, we did notice was that he wasn’t talking yet. Our friends and doctor reassured us that it was common for first children have a speech delay until they were three and sometimes even later in some cases. At the time we weren’t worried and figured he was an early walker so he probably would be a late talker.      From age two until about four years old, we started hearing comments and questions from well meaning people. “Does he have autism?” “Did you know he doesn’t talk?” “He doesn’t seem to make much eye contact.” Even though they were valid questions, it hurt. I remember asking Nathan, “Do you think he has autism?” The doubts and worries started to settle in after the mont...

  “The Extraordinary Calling”      One weekend, back in November of 2019, we traveled down to my parents house. That Friday night, I laid down next to Titus in his bed. We sang songs about Jesus, prayed to Jesus, and even exchanged some butterfly kisses.(Those are my favorite!) After we had finished our songs and snuggled in close, I remember tears flooding my eyes. I quietly sobbed and prayed to God that he would help me emotionally through this time. It had been one month since we had found out about Titus’ autism spectrum diagnosis and even though the diagnosis didn’t change a single, beautiful thing about Titus, it was still hard thinking about our unknown future. I continued to pray that God would help me understand what this meant for our little family and for Titus. Will he love Jesus? Will he love to learn? Will he be bullied for being different? Will he have a best friend? Will he get married? Will he have his own children someday? All of the hopes and dream...

  "I Never Thought it Would Be Me"               As I lay in my bed on a winter night, I am pondering where I am right now in life. Have you ever looked at your family picture and felt unbelief that you are married with kids? Wasn’t I just just a girl dreaming of having a future spouse and kids some day? The reality flashed before my mind. As I look at our family picture, the reality of what God planned for Nate and me is beautiful, surprising, and extraordinary. But, I never thought it would be me.     During each of my pregnancies there have been points where you have little worries. Will my baby be healthy? Will it be normal? Gasp! Will I have a special needs baby? Doesn’t every mom have those thoughts and wonders? Yes? No? If not, it must just be me? It seemed almost like a selfish or hurtful thing to think about, but I truly never thought I could be capable of being an Extraordinary mom. I specifically remember a conversat...