Yep!  Another year has flown by and we will eventually look back on it via pictures, dvd, movies, scrapbooks and other memorabelia!  We will ten years from now laugh at our glasses, hairstyles and clothing.  I know I do that.  Ugh!  I really looked like that?  Why didn't you say something??? (I can be pretty hard on myself!)

We got a lot accomplished this past year. Just recently, Seth graduated from his schooling.  You can read about it in the 2 most recent blogs.  He will continue to learn, I am sure, but the local public school has reached their quota at age 21.  Seth is real good with numbers, doing what he is asked to do to help and seeing what is wrong or missing.  For instance.  Many a time, on the way to the bank or post office, he has corrected the date on my check, or noticed that I was sending a letter to MO instead of NY.  He amazes me with his uncanny ability to be focused and zeroed in.  I wish I had some of that natural ability!  My mind is off in too many directions all at once!

Seth has finished several great 1000 piece puzzles this year and has more to go! This past week he played a lap harp for special music in church and was quite thrilled with the amens and pats on the back. He really responds well, as the rest of us, to accolades! My goal for him this next year is to get a mountain dulcimer and see if he can learn to play it and to get more math skills in him so he can perhaps be useful that way.

Mark has been building some very nice homes in the area along with his buddy, Jeff.  They work so well together.  It has been very fulfilling to him.  Mark also gives wonderful sermons locally and sometimes abroad as he is asked.  It is a great pleasure to him to be able to study and preach in a very powerful way the Love of Christ and his Matchless Character.  That is his main theme.  It is interspersed with real life stories based on things we have learned while raising Seth.  He is a super dad and a wonderfully perfect husband! Sounds fairytaleish, doesn't it?  Well, I have to say that yes, he gets better as the years roll on.  We will be attatched in marriage for nearly 28 years!  We have grown a lot over time and have experienced a lot.  Life is rich with meaning!

I, (Nancy, of course,) have been having a great time quilting for wonderful, God given  customers. I truly am very blessed with the clients I have! I really thrive on their happiness when they recieve their quilts back! It is also fun to help win ribbons for them as they enter quilts.  For those that are unclear, people make quilttops and then send them to me to do the design quilting on top.  I also put the batting in the middle.  You can go to www.quiltingbydesign.com to see some of the work I have done.

I have also written a book called The Puzzle Boy.  It is about raising our autistic, seizure prone boy. I have this blog and I will also have at the beginning of the year a website www.thepuzzleboy.com  There you will be able to purchase and download the book.  I have been dragging my feet in getting it out, but it is geared to go.

My past oil painting teacher has gotten me back into oilpainting.  I am truly enjoying it as I find time to hold a brush again!  Also on the agenda is to learn the Hammered Dulcimer!

Together, our highlight of the year was preparing for and heading out to Arizona for a major backpack trip to Havasu Falls.  It was fantastic! Seth did way beyond good!  He did great!  He never complained and was able to carry that backpack for over 8 hours on the trip down and 7 hours on the way back out!  Our muscles ached in our legs from the going down.  After 3 days of exploring the canyon, we were in good working shape to come out.  You can read all about it in the May-June blogs.  You need to go to the archives and scroll to those months.  It was a very exciting trip and we are planning to go to Yosemite next fall for another great trip!  Our eventual goal is to make it to Switzerland and Austria!  That has been my lifelong dream!

Other pleasant trips we have been on has mostly been to go and visit our daughter, her husband and our grandbaby a couple states away!  We spent about a week there recently during Thanksgiving.  We had a ball with Hannah!  She began walking about that time, but could also crawl like the dickens!  She loved playing in a big box more than anything!  We had fun chasing her around by crawling also! Sarah and Mike are great parents and she is blessed to be in their home!  We saw the chickens, cattle and Golden Retrievers. Seth enjoyed that also. He also enjoyed watching baby Hannah have fun!

We pray that you will get to know The Saviour during this Christmas season.  He is a joy to know and will fill you with Peace as He is the Prince of Peace!

Until next time, peruse other stories on this blog, start your own blog and have a wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year!

Love,

Mark, Nancy, Seth

Pomp and Circumstances played on the currents of the air as Seth, decked out in a black gown, cap and a gold and black tassel walked up the hallway and into the room filled with friends and family who came to acknowledge his accomplishments. On his face he wore a huge "Seth grin."  The kind that most of us contain out of embarrasment, he modeled as a sign of his inner joy.  I believe there is more going on in his mind than he lets out even though he may not know how to express it.

Mr. Wells, his teacher of the past 5 years was all decked out in a suit and tie and his lovely wife was by his side.  He gave a beautiful graduation speech that was well worth coming to hear.  It was based on true success.  It was not a speech that you would be allowed to speak in a public school setting.  It was much too personal and from the heart.  The connotations allowed for success to be granted based on your God-given abilities and your purpose in life.  Everyone in the room was visibly touched by the words he spoke. Mr. Wells, as the rest of us learned so much from Seth.  He was a faithful teacher who strove to give all he had.  We are thankful for his years of dedication and hate to see it end. But, alas, he is committed to coming even after school hours as to not let Seth down. That is honorary!

Next, Mr. Todd gave his 5 year account of teaching physical education to Seth. He commented on Seth's willingness to learn.  He spoke of how well Seth was able to do on a one and one basis.  Todd was also very faithful to serve Seth.  We are thankful as we noticed a large difference in his abilities due to physical and mental joining together.'

Miss Stella was another prize of a teacher.  She brought a variety of things to the table.  Her sweet temperment drew out many benefits to Seth over the past 3 years. She told about how much she enjoyed working with Seth and his eagerness to learn.  We know that it was not always perfect in keeping him on task.  One sentence would lead his mind to many other thoughts he just had to express! Then there was the forever more seizures that he would have to delay his learning.  Some days he would just be in such a fog. 

We want to thank Miss Stell, Mr. Todd and Mr. Wells over and over again for sticking with it!

After their speech, I, remarkably was able to speak about my gratitude toward each one without crying and being all emotional as I thought I would be.  As I looked out over our beloved friends and the 8 black and gold balloons representing school colors,and the twinkling Christmas lights, I was so touched by each one present. I suddenly realized that everyone in the room was pulled together by some tradgedy in life that changed us into who we are.  It is amazing how God does that. 

Mark preached a sermon at church.  He talked about how we can't understand all that God does as being acts of mercy toward us.  But, He shows us His incredible and unfading love all around us every single day, to prove that yes, indeed He is there! I saw it in this very room!

Seth gave each teacher a gift and they gave him one also.  A Noah's Ark puzzle, a wiffle ball and bat and a John Deere pillow case!  Refreshments were enjoyed as Mark set up a screen and projector.  Then we watched a slide show put together by Patty R.  She did a fabulous job.  The production showed the life of The Puzzle Boy from the time he was reaching his arm out of the womb, to the present. We wished him a Happy Birthday with a healthy carrot/pineapple cake and a 2 and a 1 candle on the cake!

Next he opened up each gift the others brought.  More puzzles, a clock, a t-shirt from the Virgin Islands, and cards and cash.  He was a pleased Puzzle Boy! "Wow!"  That is what he keeps saying.  More cards are pouring in from all over the country.  "Wow!"  He is still working on writing each one back, but he is taking a break by putting together a Turkey Puzzle given to him by his sister!

That night, as Seth's head hit his pillow, fireworks went off in his brain as he had a grandmal seizure!  He has had several since.  That is the pay off for excitement.  Sorry to say. He just grins through it the next day, as he stands in a daze.  When asked how he is doing, it is always "Very Good!"

Until Next Time, put together a puzzle, get your Christmas letter written, and sent out via e-mail or snail mail and bake some cookies, Christmas is a coming!

Nancy Lynne!

December 11, 2007

First thing in the morning I hear this croaky voice wafting on the airstreams of my home and entering into my ears as I lay tucked under my warm downy blanket and quilt.

"I'm an adult now!" "Finally!" Seth rasps, barely awake.  "Happy Birthday, Seth!" Mark and I sang as we broke the silence once again.

Actually, The Puzzle Boy slept in pretty good.  The dim lights of the morning sky were peering in our windows.  I have yet to put up any shades or curtains or blinds in our country home.  I am sure some people think that strange, but, really, there is no one here to look in our windows!  We live on a dead end dirt road.  We can tell if someone stops their car as they try and peer in the windows to see what is going on, and that just plain does not happen!  We are Blessed! Anyways, this is not about window treatments, it is about morning, I think!

Oh, where was I...... Oh, yes, it is a very special birthday for a very special "adult."  You should hear how Seth says "adult"  It is kinda like this..."ah-dullt"  After we had breakfast out of the way Seth asked where the boxes were that came in the mail.  He would like to see what was in them now.  I know that he "knew" what was in one of them.  You see, back in August when we went to see his sister, we stopped in Bass Pro on the way home.  He saw a Turkey (the animal) puzzle that was much to his liking and has reminded his "sis" every chance he could that he wanted her to get that for him for his birthday. 

It is terrible to disappoint a puzzle boy!  You just don't do it.  They expect.  When it comes to puzzles, they have all these wonderful hopes and dreams.  You bet!  It is kind of like looking forward to going to your favorite restaraunt and getting your favorite food.  You expect it to be good!  I am happy to say that his one and only sister did not disappoint! The Turkey puzzle was rattling away in that shipping box and he knew it for all he was worth.  Oh, the grin on his face was worth all the long wait. "Finally!" was his sigh of relief.

Oh, you can bet that he is in his room at this very moment putting together the turkeys.  He is fast. I thought it was funny because the puzzle box indicated that there was 537 pieces inside.  He looked very inquisitively at that number for quite awhile and would not tell me what was on his mind.  I kept prodding.  Then it was my turn to be amazed.

"How come there is an odd number of pieces in this puzzle? There is supposed to be even numbers."  I was stumped.  Hmmmm. Was all I could say.  "Hmmmm. Great observation, Seth!  I guess you will have to count them to see if it is a typo."  I gave yet another challenge.

Next gift.  My dear friend and quilt customer, Sue, sent him a John Deere bank and a John Deere t-shirt.  He quickly recognized that for what it was and shouted "John Deere!" Then I looked around for where he was. (kidding!)  Autistic children love to recognize things.  If they don't, they looked puzzled at the gift while they take it in and assimilate things -so it seems.  Sometimes I will tell him ahead of time what he might get, or ask him what he might want.  This is very helpful in gift giving to autistic "ah-dullts!"Emphasis on the second syllable.  Seth really likes money and t-shirts.  He will wear it forever until it is too wore out to wear anymore.  He will point it out to everyone also.  Thanks, Sue!

I will have to tell you this, Sue knew how to pull governmental strings.  She set into motion a birthday card from the White House for Seth.  She did not know if it would happen or not, but in less than a week they came through!  Seth got an 8x10 of President Bush and a card signed by him and First Lady Laura!  We have it framed and on display now.

Third mail gift was from my dear friend of whom I have never met in person.  Beverley. We have talked on the phone for probably 10 years now!  She has an autistic son that has seizures just like Seth.  We have shared many times together of feelings and hopes and fears.  She also knew where to touch Seth.  She sent a beautiful leather wallet with 21 dollars inside.  "Wow!" voiced the Puzzle Boy with all he could muster.  He loves money, and he had never thought of a wallet.  I told him now that he was a man, he could put money in his wallet and put it in his pocket like his dad.  His face lit up with grand understanding over that one. He also recieved a beautifully framed picture of Bev and her family so he could know who I talk to.  That was very thoughtful! Thank You! 

I just love to see what may strike the senses and light up the brain of my Puzzle Boy!  I like to see what others come up with, also.  I live here, I am with him all the time and I do not get out much as I live far from any neat store.  I would not call Wal-Mart "neat"  Just necessary for small towns.  Anyways, enough of that.  My imagination of what he might like is limited.  All I can think of is puzzles.  Someone asks what he wants, "Puzzle" is all that comes out. It takes some real effort to think of something else.  So, I appreciate other minds so much! (Really!  I mean, you should see Seth's closet.  Puzzles fill it up!)

You may be wondering how the card marathon has gone?  Oh, Seth definitely is saying "Wow!" everyday!  He has gotten soooo many birthday cards like you would not believe.  They are coming from all over and from people I have not seen in decades!  Some send pics of themselves which is fantastic!  He has been writing everyone back also.  It has given him something more to do.  He has the cards stacked according to which day they came and tells each person on what day their cards came.

It has been wonderful!  The best 21st birthday ever!  So innocent, so happy for each little thing that comes his way!

In part II you will hear how my day went after the morning and how the graduation and main party went in the evening.  You won't be disappointed!  It was......

Until Next Time, count your many blessings, name them one by one, tell your Father in Heaven, thanks for what He's done!

Nancy Lynne!

*Sniff, sniff, cough, cough, sneeze sneeze, blow yer nose!* Tons of tissue paper.  Loud breathing. Fever, Heart racing.

Hmmm. How do you take care of a sick Puzzle Boy?  Well, you let them keep doing their puzzles for one.  Keeps 'em quite.  He won't go to sleep in the day.  Oh, no!  Might miss out on something.  Every now and then he ventures away from his puzzle to show me his nose.

"Look, Mom!"  He says

"Oh, Seth, get a tissue!  We gotta blow your 'boogie nose!"  I direct once again for the millionth time.  He seems to love this kind of show and tell.  I have taught him to blow his own nose, but he seems to smear it all over his face and I have to clean him up anyways.

*sigh*  Fortunately he rarely gets sick with these things.  I think it happened once last year.  The other night he woke up with a fever.  I got him to sit up and give him a drink of water with Oil of Oregano, Colloidal Silver, and Noni Juice in it.  Quite a cocktail!  He slurped it down without making a single smirk.  That's something I like about Seth.  He does not complain.  Whatever I put in front of him, he takes.

"What's that for, mom?" He innocently asks afterwards.  So trusting, eh?  "Is it to help me get over my seizures?"  It is constantly before him that everything I do for him out of the ordinary  is to try and get rid of those crazy things.

"No, this time it is to help you get over this cold that you have."  "Seth, make sure you drink lots of water, ok?  It will help you a lot. I instructed.  "Ok, mom."  He then proceeded to make sure he got water.  Every now and then he would announce to me "Mom, I just did a very good thing." 

"What did you do, Seth?" I inquire.

"I just put a pint of water into my body." He matter of factly stated.

This goes on throughout the day as I praise him for his efforts and for being so obedient.  I am thankful for that. 

When It comes to eating, I try and give him lighter foods like  fruits, vegetables and some grains like millet and quinoa.  Fortunately once again, his is not a picky eater and will eat whatever I give to him. 

These colds and flus are better to be prevented. Seems that if you don't catch them right away, they just have to run their course.  You can make it easier on the system.  For instance, use lots and lots of Vicks vaporub!  Then they breathe easier at night and you don't have to stay away hearing heavy breathing!

This morning I put him in a warm tub with Epsom Salts.  It was funny. It had been awhile since he had a tub bath.  Been lots of showers, however.  He climbed in and could not figure out how to be in there.  I told him to lie on his back.  He went to his stomach with a strange look on his face.  I had to redirect and say, "Back, Seth, lie on your BACK." He rolled and turned this way and that before he figured it out.  "Now bend your knees so your back can get in the water"  I had to lift his knees up as he slid down. 

Soak, soak.  "Mom, how long do I have to be in here?"  "Just soak, Seth, its good for you."   "Mom, I would like to be done now."  "In a little bit, Seth.  Just wait."  (I am trying to write this blog as he was soaking.)  Thought it would be a good time to spend writing.  I thought he would just fall asleep for awhile.  Uh, Uh!  Nope. "Mom, my teacher will be here in an hour."  I am reminded.

Life goes on.  Days come and days go.  Sickness may come, you will get through it.  Find the humor.  Try and blog your way through it! Ha ha!

The day began bright and sunny, it is now gloomy and windy.  I read about the flooding in Washington and Oregon.  My heart goes out big time to those that are homeless so unexpectedly.  We never know when tradgedy or illness may occur. I find that the way I can be prepared is to have a connection with "The Man Upstairs!"  Anything that comes to us has already been pre-approved by Him.  He knows the way out, He knows how to see us through.  He's been there before! 

Last week we were priviledged to watch a movie called "The Nativity Story"  I was touched in a major way as to how the birth of our Savior was depicted.  Oh, my, He went through so much, Mary and Joseph went through so much.  Jesus came from a place where everyone adored and honored him and praised him all day long.  Then he lowered Himself to a stinky, dirty world where he was hated and ignored for what He stood for.  He was made fun of and was misunderstood and eventually whipped and hung for a crime he was not even guilty of.  He did this so that someday, those that followed Him would be able to live in a place called Heaven.  He would be able to create a New Earth where we will live forever with no sickness allowed! 

Be There!

Until Next Time,  drink your water and try that strong Oil of Oregano out!  You might get a real bang out of life!  Then contemplate the season at hand, Christmas! (With a Capital "C"!)

Nancy Lynne!