A Special Gift

Grace has had special needs since birth. We first noticed that she was different at one day old. She didn't really like being held much and to my heartbreak she simply refused to nurse. At age 6 months all she could tolerate was a homemade goat milk formula which she would barely gag down, we think because of the texture.. She was underweight, sickly and frequently unhappy. Noises, smells and unpredictable movements while being carried or while in a car would send her into hysterics. As she grew she would push us away and didn't really like being held. As a toddler attending busy events would cause her to scream all night long because of the overstimulation of the day. She would bang her head on her crib and rock back and forth for hours, not wanting to be comforted.  She would roll around screaming on the floor, biting and kicking in what we now know as a melt down. Our family was somewhat in a crisis because no one understood what we were going through at home. During that time we were told numerous times that she just lacked discipline.. and that we were focusing on her and the problems too much. We cried out to the Lord who simply lead us and impressed upon us that she was different and that spanking for the behavior was not what she needed. I finally taped one episode for my mother who, after watching the clip finally 'got it'. It was a very lonely time for us. While in Belize Grace would still have major meltdowns but as her communication improved so did her behavior. That has made a great difference in our family and for her. She now can tell us what is wrong.. which allows us to comfort her or fix a situation.. or just help her work through things. We don't know what her actual diagnosis would be if we were to take her to a doctor, nor do we feel we need one. Because of her behaviors, melt downs, sensory issues, natural musical talent, ability to reason, memorize and recall we have been told it could be Asperger's which is on the high functioning spectrum of Autism. But God made her special and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter 'what' it is.She is made in God's image and we are so blessed to be her family.. She has strengthened our family and caused us to grow and love in ways we could never dream of.

Recently we were linked up with a local ministry called Project Logan which makes special weighted blankets for children with sensory disorders and children with autism. After contacting Project Logan we took Gracie to the quilt store where she got to pick out 2 yards of her favorite fabric. 2 weeks later our new friend had created Grace's special blanket which was constructed to fit her just right, taking into consideration her weight and height. Plastic washable beads are sewn into channels across the blanket, in her case distributing 4 lbs evenly throughout the blanket. The seamstress we met was so kind and even had returned to the quilt shop to purchase additional fabric to make Gracie 2 matching pillowcases!  Grace has had the blanket for a week now and has really been enjoying curling up with it during quiet time, at night, in the car and especially when she gets stressed. She is now actually sleeping through the night without waking with night terrors.. This is an answer to prayer. We are grateful to the Lord for our new friends at Project Logan who gave our little girl such a special gift. We will never forget their kindness toward her.

 

We praise the Lord for the manifold kindness He has shown to our family. We praise Him for His infinite wisdom and mercy and goodness and faithfulness toward us. We give thanks to the Lord for He is so very good. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~