December in Review

We have had such a crazy month full of festivities that I haven't even had time or energy to sit down and blog. This year has been a interesting year for our family with the arrival of our beautful son Luke in January and the his 2 1/2 month hospital stay this summer. With that all behind us, Maddie started school in Aug and her teacher wanted to do some more testing to see if they could narrow down a diagnosis for us. So after she was placed in a new pre-school the first week of December she went through some initial psychological and IQ testing where they determined that she is probably Autistic and has Sensory Processing Disorder. We then made some appointments with the U of U in Jan 2009 to narrow down that diagnosis and try to pinpoint what is going on so we can get her the help she needs. Brant and I feel like this year is one we are ready to bury and walk away from with our battle scars and lessons learned, but to never be revisited. Needless to say, I haven't really been in the Christmas Spirit until about Friday. The kids and I ventured to Salt Lake to finish some shopping, before the weather turned bad, and as we were driving home the weather did get really bad and I got nervous about driving in a blizzard with my little angels in the car. Well, we made it home in one piece and after Luke went down for his nap I decided to wrap the gifts I just bought. Maddie loves to help and we had so much fun putting Christmas bows in her hair. I was SOOO grateful for the that little moment that I could spend with her laughing and giggling, not worred about her future. She brings so much joy and love to our lives and in that small moment I was reminded that Christmas is wonderful because Heavenly Father sent his son, allowed him to be born into this world, so that when we are in the midst of chrisis and sorrow, we would know the true meaning of peace, happiness, love, and joy, the true meaning of Christmas.