My Favorite Kind Of Picture.......

.....is when they don't know that you're taking their picture.

Lauren was being a little too quiet...as that is not always a good thing. So I went to go check on her. And here she sat, looking out the window.

I quietly grabbed my camera, (as I always have it handy on my bookshelf.) And I just started shooting. At first she didn't notice me, and these are the shots I got.

It was really sweet to see her being still...being peaceful...being beautiful. It reminded me that I need to be still sometimes. 

My days seem to literally fly by.....but I know that God wants my heart focused on Him.....He wants me to be still and know Him, to grow in my faith and knowledge of Him.

All the other aspects of my life will be in their right place only when my heart is right with God.

My 2yr. old lovie reminded me of this....and now I try to take that time and be still, to breath, making it a priority to meet with God by reading His Word every day and through spending time in prayer. 

My lovies are always teaching me something. Usually they help me to see where I can be more patient, more loving and more self sacrificing. It's not ever easy to see our sin....but I know that through this journey God is helping me to peel the sinful layers from me and changing me....little by little. 


I am saved by His amazing grace....nothing can I do apart from Him. Praise God!

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!"  

Our budding Artist......

This little guy cracks me up.

He's all about the crayons lately.

It started off with the typical curiosity..."I wonder what a crayon tastes like." All of my lovies have at one point nibbled on the crayola goodness.  After I would get the wax stuck out of their tiny molars they would go back for more.....it's a total kid thing obviously.

Anywho...Luke has started a bit early....as he has no molars yet. But he still manages to gnaw on his favorite colors with his sharp incisors. 

Today however, Noah had the idea to make my baby look like a big boy. "Hey Mom...look

at Luke sitting at the table....get your camera!" 

As you can see by the look on his face, he was quite thrilled with his big brother for introducing him to "art."

And let me just say that once again this little man thinks that he is cool stuff. 

 

It was super cute to watch him....but of course I was thinking in the back of my mind...hey wait a minute, this is my baby.

Oh, and this is "the snoot"....it's famous around these parts. He is always flashing that face. I was going to do a whole blog post just about "the snoot"....I still might. 

Crayon eating, kids coloring, and snoot making......all in the day of the life of this mama. 

And I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

Noah's "Man Jewelery".......

 I guess I should never be surprised by my Noah. He has so many sides to himself.....so many ways he chooses to express himself.

He's beautiful and creative and as he is growing older I am appreciating his need for artistic outlets in different ways every day.

Some days he draws, on other days he is taking photos, or perhaps he has us all sit an listen to a song that he has written and plays on his guitar.

He'll go through a period where he will write short stories with his own illustrations. And there are days when he makes up a movie and wants us all to watch him perform.

On this particular day, Noah wanted to make jewelery....."man jewelery" he called it...which made me smile.

And he did it. Grabbed my beading bag, picked out his colors. His eyes lit up when I showed him the arrow head that I have had for quite some time. He thought it was perfect.

With some minimal help from me, he was extremely pleased with the finished piece. He went to the mirror to take a look....I am smiling just thinking about his face.

I so enjoy spending time with my Noah. I am thankful for his life and that I am a prominent part of it. After all, we get to hang out all day every day together.

I love watching him mature....growing into a young man. I know, I know he's only seven. But there are some days he seems older than his years. 

He is my sweet boy laying on the floor making sound effects as he is playing with his star wars guys....and the next minute he is reading to his brothers and sister or leading prayer during our family devotions.

I could go on. I am not implying in anyway that he is flawless, in fact his argumentative nature gets him heaps of trouble on most days....but God is doing a mighty work in his heart and it is a blessing to watch this process.

On the verge of "Toddlerhood"......

Luke is approaching the 10 month mark....which in this household means the beginning of Toddlerhood....sniff....already? 

Believe me you, I am all about stealing as many snuggles as this mama can get...because once this little guy lets go, he will be "gone"...on the go....ready to move. 

And I will be frantically chasing him all day helping him to dodge major injury. He's been pushing his "wheels" around quite steadily the past couple of days. Let me tell you, this little guy thinks he is cool stuff. 

Is it selfish of me if I'm not ready to let him "go" just yet?  Regardless....Luke is my baby...and he always will be....even while I am trying to catch my breath chasing him as he runs circles around his mama.

I have a little Nester.....

Look at that sweet face. This is one of Nate's favorite things to do....he likes to pile blankets up and burrow in them. Sometimes on the floor..sometimes on pieces of furniture. When he wants to do this he always asks if he can "play mess". After doing some reading on autism, I have learned that it is not uncommon for kids to want to have pressure applied to them for various reasons.....for Nate....this just makes him so happy. So if you would stop by my house it would not be uncommon to see every blanket in our house lying on our living room floor. It is actually super fun for all of the kids.....but especially for Nate. His little piles remind me of nests....that's why I call him my "little nester." These photos were taken at my Mom and Dad's on our last visit back to PA. I am thankful my Mom has embraced Nate's nests and enjoys watching him "play mess"......I love this kid!  I even caught my Dad laying in Nate's nest on the floor....it's a family thing {grin}

Not every morning begins peacefully like this one .....

....but oh how I wish they did!

Superheros need an education too......

Homeschooling Noah......

...never a dull moment

The other morning I walked past the homeschool room and to my surprise saw Spider Man sitting there doing his writing lesson.

My kids make me smile.

The Time Out Box.....

....just kidding

Cardboard box + 3 Cochran kids = hours of fun

YES.....My Plan Worked!!!!!

I knew I could get you to smile.

Hope your day is happy.

 

Nate...Looking Back and Moving Forward......

The purpose of my blog is to connect with others. I have never intended for my blog to revolve around Nate's autism and the daily struggles and triumphs that we face together as a family. 

Having said that...I do have a child with autism...a sweet beautiful child might I add...and perhaps there are friends or family who are wondering how Nate is doing. And maybe...just maybe there is a mom out there reading my blog who can relate.

I don't know what it is, but there is an instant connection I have to another mom who has a child with special needs and I don't mean just autism. We don't need each other to feel sorry for one another, that's not what I am talking about. I mean looking someone in the eye and just knowing that they get it.

Ok, I'm rambling..sorry, back to Nate. In this first picture, (isn't he a doll), he was 21/2 and basically non-verbal. He had a few words in his vocabulary, but not quite there on the whole communicating with words thing. In this picture he is using sign language....he is signing the word for water. Nate loves water and we stopped along a riverbank during a bike ride one afternoon. He was so excited and so happy to be there at that very moment. He loved throwing rocks in any body of water. Back then rocks and water were his thing...and we didn't quite know why.

 

Jared and I were so excited that he was signing....tears would come to my eyes when he would say something with his hands. He would get so frustrated and we related it to his lack of communication skills. He was seeing a speech and language pathologist at the time. It was a slow but rewarding process and Nate began to say words. Right now at age 5 he can talk in sentences and is on the verge of being able to carry on a short conversation.

Nate has always been very hard to describe. Jared and I would tell people that you just have to experience Nate...and you would never forget him.  We went through years of major behavior concerns...from screaming fits of rage, throwing things, spitting, hitting and biting.....over the most trivial things and we had no clue why. We just knew there was something going on with our son. 

I would cry.....all the time....I just didn't know how to help him. My heart was sick for my son...I physically ached when I watched his struggles. (To this day it is still one of the saddest things for me to experience Nate losing self control) I prayed fervently to God everyday....some days in desperation..."Lord please help us...please help my son."

God is so good....let me just say that again....God is so good. Not because we were able to get some answers to why Nate was going through what he was.....but realizing that through it all God was at work during every moment.  And let me just say that I not implying in any way that every moment was difficult and a struggle. We have a multitude of beautiful memories of these beginning years as well.

As Nate matured so did his communication skills, and we were always working on coping methods for his emotions and how to have self control....(we still are). But something amazing happened....it was like God flicked on a switch in me. I stopped focusing on Nate's struggles and really started to pay attention to what made Nate tick and really tried to get in tune with him. I focused on his strengths as a person and was blown away.

Just to name a few of Nate's strengths....he is very funny, a whiz at puzzles, is on the verge of reading independently, loves to draw, loves music and has amazing rhythm, is an architect when it comes to lincoln logs, computer savvy,  loves to exercise and is a great brother to Noah, Lauren and Luke, is very affectionate and loving....I could go on.

 This post was way longer than I ever intended....sorry.  And there is so much more to say...but I will end with this. I love my son more than words can describe. I will be his encourager, his prayer warrior, his tear wiper, his exercise partner.....I will never give up on him.

I love all 4 of my lovies deeply and feel abundantly blessed. I am forever grateful for my amazing husband...my best friend...the person God chose for me to travel along side on this journey of life. There will be many challenges on the road ahead I am sure.....and because of God and His amazing grace and love....I am up for the challenge.

Happy Birthday Lauren.....

 Two years ago on this very day God blessed our family with a very special little girl.  Lauren, you have brought our family more joy than words could express. I want to take this moment to share some things about you......things that make mama smile.....

....you wear a bow in your hair everyday, (we call it a hair pretty)

....you are a total Daddy's girl (and he rubs it in all of the time)

....you love for us to compliment you after you get dressed

....you love to dance and lately I have been hearing your sweet voice singing 

 ....you like to wear everyone else's shoes

 ....you love to be read to and love books in general

....you prefer milk as your drink of choice

....you say, "it's soooo good" while making the most adorable face

 ....you love to "do school" just like your big brothers

....you sleep in a toddler bed that is pushed up against your Daddy's side of the bed

....you are a combination of sweet and sassy

....you remind us to pray

 ....you like to talk on the phone

....you call your baby brother Luke "Wookie"

....you love to help mama clean (folding laundry and sweeping the kitchen)

....you love to wear necklaces

....you have a little pink silky bear that you call "Bo", and a fluffy brown dog that you call "Woof" and you never go to bed without either of them

....you still use a nucki and we are always losing them

....you love to play with your baby dolls

....you have recently started watching Care Bear movies and also Toy Story 3

 ....you love your big brothers and like to cuddle with them

....you love to draw (mostly different size circles)

....you call your Aunt Nikki "Picky Nicky" after your favorite book

....you have to have your "own" Bible during our family devotions

....you have the biggest blue eyes

....you have the cutest giggle and are very ticklish

....you make us laugh everyday

....you remind us of God's blessings every time we look at your sweet face

Luke is........

 .....happy most of the time

.....a bit curious about pretty much everything he sees

.....sometimes sensitive (especially when his mama leaves the room)

.....always interested in watching those around him

.....sometimes acts shy when you talk to him (which is super cute)

.....is a bit chubby and oh so squeezable

.....bringing joy to everyone he touches

.....melting every heart when he gives that smile (especially his mama's )

A New Day......

I said goodbye to year 32.....and hello to year 33 a couple of days ago

My day was warmly celebrated with my lovies and my sweet husband....

Jared and my lovies took me out to dinner....which meant no cooking...which meant no dishes.....which made this mama a happy mama.
 

Nate waited all day to bake me a cake....then finally he and I whipped up a yummy yellow cake with chocolate icing....my favorite....Nate loves to bake...or he just loves to lick the spoon....maybe a little bit of both. {grin}

 

Noah got $23 out of his transformer wallet and insisted that I take it...a gift for me on my birthday. He was so sweet, and kept saying that I better not put it back in his wallet. 

Lauren repeated throughout the afternoon, "Happy Day Mama" Enough to melt this mama's heart.

Luke enjoyed licking the chocolate icing off of my fork...then I enjoyed licking the chocolate icing off of his face. 

 

In our family it is tradition that we sing Happy Birthday to the person who's birthday it is (obviously), but then we relight the candles and do it again 5 more times....singing and all. Everyone likes to have a turn blowing out the candles. Jared and I smile at each other the whole time....our kids always crack us up.

 

Since we will be moving to a completely new part of the country this summer....Jared got me the perfect gift....a Tom Tom. No more road adventures for me....let me just say that I am not known for a keen sense of direction.

 

I am very thankful for this past year. A lot of uncertainty surrounded us at times....but God completely provided abundantly for our family. Despite the moments of doubt and worry,  God's grace flowed over us and helped us to trust in Him. 

Life right now is slow paced....just the way I like it...and I am enjoying every precious moment. Being with my beautiful lovies and my sweet husband is such a gift....but a gift even  better than my family is the amazing gift God has given me in His Son. 

 

 

"Flour" Power

 So I read about using flour to help kids practice writing their letters....a fun and easy activity that they would enjoy. This is true.  However.....I did not completely take into consideration the ramifications of the outcome with my children. 

Not known for their neatness what-so-ever....ok they're messy I admit it.... I didn't fully think this through before letting them just go to town with the whole flour thing. I had in my mind that this would be a quiet, neat, educational activity.

Let's just say that mama's clean up time was just a little lengthy 45 min. job. Not just the kitchen but also tiny white foot prints all through the hardwood in the house.  Ok....so not one of my most genius moments.

I will say though that the kids really did have a great time. Lots of laughter....which I am all about activities that my lovies have a good time together. 

Although my clean up time was way more than I would have liked it to have been....it was all in the name of fun....and what's wrong with a little bit of that! 

Oh and at least there was some letter writing going on......so I can count this as part of our homeschool......right? {grin}

Granola Boy......

Homemade granola fresh out of the oven.  My handsome assistant Noah helped me make it. He even gave some ideas about what we should add. I absolutely love the aroma that fills the house.

The granola doesn't last long around here. Jared and Noah devour it rather quickly. Eating it in a bowl of milk as cereal is their favorite way to enjoy it. I prefer it loose as a snack or I sprinkle it in my yogurt.....to each his own.

After a day or two, another batch needs to be made. Perhaps it may have something to do with the mini chocolate chips I add once it has cooled. Ah yes...we are chocolate lovers in this house....and proud of it. {grin}