Did You KNOW?

No, I am not writing about Chicken of the Sea.

You will only understand that joke if you are caught up on The Celebrity Apprentice.

But seriously, did you know:

• That the odds of being diagnosed with some form of autism are 1 in 150?
• That autism occurs in all racial and social groups, and that it affects 4 times as many boys as girls?
• That autism is the fastest growing developmental disability?
• That the causes of autism are not completely understood, nor is there a "cure"?
• That autism disorders range across a spectrum, from the highly functioning to the severely disabled?

Do you have any relationships with anyone who has autism? For us, prior to moving here, my only real "understanding" of autism, and I use that term really loosely, was from watching Rain Man in the '80s. And now that I just wrote that I wonder if Rain Man was autistic or had some other form of disability. I'm sure you'll let me know.

Since we've moved here, though, we've come to know and love our neighbors. Their friendship has become really special to our family over the past nearly two years. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, their oldest son is a fairly high-functioning autistic child. Josh and T are really great friends, and we've come to learn a lot about autism - and their struggles* - in the past 22 months.

*And by struggles, by no means do I just mean dealing with the "quirks" (for lack of a better term) of his disability. I mean the constant struggle in so many other areas of life that a mom of a special needs kid has to face. It's seriously a constant battle, if not in one area, then another, and then often back to the first area. I've come to admire so much the strength and perseverance T's mom has... it's amazing. God definitely knew that she would be a great mom for this child. But I digress.

Well our family has learned a lot about ASD, as I said, since getting to know T and his family, although admittedly there is much more that we don't know! One thing is certain: funding is needed for more research! On May 30th, the elder Wigglets and I are going to join T's family as we Walk for Autism. We would love love love your financial support as we try to raise funds for Autism Speaks!

Would you please consider sponsoring us? You can do so here; just click any of our names on the right to make your donation. Our personal goal for our family to raise is $200, and it would be fantastic to have all our funds in by Monday, May 11.

In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts / experiences, or if you have any questions, post a comment and I'll do my best to find out the answer(s).

Thanks for your help!

xoxo

Do We Have a Birthday Here?

We have begun the birthday season here.

It began, actually, a couple of weeks ago with Grandma's birthday on April 25th. She would have been 89 this year.

Then on the 27th, Mom had her big day.

My dad's was yesterday.

Coming up we still have Joshua's, Christianne's, and Grace's, plus Mother's Day and Father's Day, and a number of friends' birthdays.

And today...

Here's the birthday boy!

Happy birthday, Love. xoxoxox :::: smooch ::::

Some updates to the previous post: If you prayed for me, thank you! My unspecified business endeavor was awesome! Great sales, and best of all, I had a blast. I met some wonderful people and it is the best thing that has happened to my business in months. Ro, Grace, and I are all feeling better but aren't 100% yet, but thanks for your prayers on that. And unfortunately, I still haven't made it downstairs to my scrapbook lair, but despite all the items on today's to-do list, I'm still hopeful I can do that today.

Have a fabulous week!

Today is

NaTiOnAl ScRaPbOoK dAy!

I wish I could say that I just took a break from all the pages I've scrapbooked today to update this blog.

But I haven't scrapped a one.

I am very, very, very behind on my 2009 goal.

And the problem is, now I really want to scrap.

I want to scrapbook and watch the scrapbooking specials on TV (yeah, I know there aren't many) and go to my local scrapbook store to participate in drawings and cheap make-its and do a webphone scrapbooking session with my BFF 1500 miles away.

But I have to go to work.

Yep, I work. Remember - my unspecified business endeavor? I have a 3:00 engagement.

(Please pray it goes well ~ these are all new people to me and I really need a little boost right now!)

But the good thing about my job is that I should be back home within a few hours. Robert is on the worship team this weekend, so he'll be gone. Maybe I can scrap something tonight.

Maybe.

(Please pray for Robert, too. Grace had a cold last weekend - still does - and I caught it within a few days. Now Robert has it, too. And we all know men don't handle being sick very well. I mean, Robert is particularly not feeling well today. And no, it isn't the swine flu. I mean the H1N1 Virus.)

(And please pray for me, that my symptoms will stay mild enough to not effect my sales in my unspecified business endeavor. Or spread my cold to others. I feel bad about going sick, but I already canceled last time when I broke my back. Or hurt it. Or had sciatica. Or whatever.)

So however you are spending National Scrapbook Day today, I hope it's enjoyable.

And healthy.

xoxo

20 Years Ago...

... I met my beloved in a small independent drug store in Lancaster, California.