Autumn's 5th Birthday

I know, I am just a couple of weeks behind on posting about Autumn's birthday, life continues to keep me busy. We did not go all out this year for Autumn's birthday. It was so weird for me not to throw a party but Autumn would rather be home chilling then doing the typical birthday party stuff. The weekend before her birthday, my parents came down to visit & the weekend of her birthday, my in-laws came to visit. We just had a nice relaxing weekend & then on her birthday day, we had my brother & his family & my cousin Steph & Jordyn over to eat pizza & have cupcakes & ice cream. Autumn did a little bit better with opening presents this year, she at least touched the tissue paper to pull it a little from the gift bags. She did not like pulling the wrapping paper. She threw every outfit she received to the side & would study the DVD's she got.

I can not believe it's been 5 years since the days we spent in the hospital with her. There were so many unknowns about her & I feel there are still so many more. Life with SB is a day by day process. She's more behind than I expected she would be but I am still so proud of every thing she has had to overcome these past 5 years. As she gets older & bigger, we have a lot to think about for her future. I have been obsessing over trying to figure out how to make things easier for us, whether we need to move into a new house, remodel our existing house, what to do about a wheelchair accessible van, etc. It just gets so overwhelming thinking of all the costs for these items & you don't want to make the wrong choices on what to do because we really are not sure what she will or will not be able to do in her future. I've done lots of praying for God to help me not to worry & take it one day at a time. It's hard not to worry when your back is aching from transporting your 5 year old. She is literally like a sack of potatoes because she does not help one bit when you hold her! It's getting hard for both James & I & even our nurses. God finally just spoke to me to take one thing at a time & reminded me He always provides & He will get us through the next stage like He has done in the past. Our first focus is getting Autumn a medical bed that will go up & down & that has sides like a crib to keep her safe. The bed we want will not fit in her current room so we will be converting our dining room into a bedroom for Autumn. We are going to see about getting French doors installed so when we do sale our house, it will not hurt the resale & it will give Autumn some privacy & help with the noise coming from the nearby kitchen & living room. This will be a start. Next we will focus on a new van, then hopefully in a couple of years a new house with a completely modified bathroom for Autumn. In the meantime, James & I will have to continue lifting weights to stay strong for all the lifting we do. ;) She's a lot of work but more than worth it. Love that girl to pieces!