Elevations

Image Via Pinterest. It's been repinned so many times, the original source is unknown to me. 

I know. I have posted this picture a million times before......and it's probably nothing like what my place will look like....... but I have a 40m frontage so I keep coming back to it..... as I never imagined I'd be able to build anything this wide. It's a start. 

Yes, I can think about elevations now..... now that I have moved on from the nightmare that is dealing with council codes. Looks like I will be going unconditional on Thursday..... which means the block will be officially mine.

Next task (oh, but it is soooo NOT a task!) is designing something beautiful to sit on the block. I am going to luxuriate in it!...the design process that is... not the mud, weeds and rats on the block.

You are not really reading me live this morning. I did this post last night while waiting for orchestra practice to start and scheduled it for this morning.  I drove back to the coast last night at midnight just so I could wake up and go for a run with my little boy. He ran with me yesterday and loved it! Although the trip back was rather slow as we had to investigate anything that remotely resembled a pippy!

.... and we had to take the customary beach 'parkour' action shots as well.

...flying...

.... and karate kicking!

Boys... I just love their energy!

Ok, so my pseudo holiday resumes today with a big sigh of 'due diligence' relief. Sort of. If you are waiting for an email from me, I will action a reply today, between swims, house scheming and pseudo relaxing. Doesn't life get in the way of the inbox?

So, what to do? It's a corner block... 40m x 20m. I get to do two elevations... they're gonna have to be pretty good! Any ideas? I will be building under the Character Code. 

Happy Tuesday! 

World Autism Awareness Day

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Today is World Autism Awareness Day

In April, a year ago, my then 3 year old was diagnosed with Autism. You can read our story HERE.

Just last week the CDC (Center of Disease Control) came out with some updated statistics:

1 in 88 children has autism.

1 in 54 are boys.

4 years ago, it was 1 in 110 children.

In 1985, 1 in 2000 children were diagnosed with Autism.

My jaw drops...my heart breaks...when I see these numbers.

The billion dollar question is 'What is the cause?'

All I know is that my husband and I were not going to sit on the side lines and watch this diagnosis take over our son's life. From Day 1, we decided to fight this thing, no matter what.

For us that included:

 Speech, Occupational & Behavior Therapies

 A Special Diet

 Countless Supplements, Dr. Visits and Treatments that Insurance Does not cover...

Our Mama and Papa Bear roles are in full force and we have seen tremendous results!

This is my absolute favorite Autism video. I tear up every time I watch it. Even though each child's Autism is different, the parents of these special kiddos go through a lot of similar headaches, heartbreaks and trials. There's this inner strength that keeps us all going.

It's time to stand united and fight for our young generation. Support Autism Charities. Fight the people that are adding chemicals to our food, medicine and environment. My son was a healthy baby when he was born...and something happened in the meantime. I will continue to fight for my son. And I will continue to advocate a clean lifestyle to help protect other kiddos that are vulnerable to be on the autism spectrum.

1 in 54 boys are diagnosed with Autism

But

You, my sweet boy, you are one in a million.

Show & Tell: Links You May Have Missed

On Wednesday of last week, we closed on our new house (yay!) and so we're in the thick of packing, arranging appointments with painters, locksmiths, etc., and expecting our crate from Istanbul to (hopefully) be delivered sometime this week (another yay!).  In lieu of my normal sharing of random thoughts or recent Bible studies, I thought I'd link up to all the Making Home posts that have been making their way around Pinterest.  (Here are my Pinterest boards, if you're interested.)

I hope you enjoy looking through these old links; I'm going to be enjoying literally "Making Home" for the first time in a while.  :)

• Sustaining Contentment-- Fighting for joy in hard/difficult/humdrum times
• Biblical Descriptions of Mothers-- I compiled significant/insightful descriptions of mothers found in the Bible
• Get Yourself Dressed!-- Growing more mature as a believer
• Being Sexy For Your Husband-- A 5-part series to encourage you in your marital intimacy
• "Me Time"?-- Examining selfishness, avoiding burnout, and considering Jesus' example
• Let The Words Tumble Out-- Sometimes you just have to start praying and the words will come.
• Seek Wise Counsel-- proactively pursue the advice of more experienced believers!
• Contentment vs. Discontentedness-- Psalm 16 & the opposite of Psalm 16 give a clarifying, convicting picture of what contentment looks like
• Feeding Your Baby the First Week-- My experiences with baby #5
• Make Your Own Baby Wipes-- an easy and economical option
• Tips for Dealing With Mastitis-- a somewhat common malady for breastfeeding moms
• Coaching Your Kids Through Doctor's Visits-- tips to help them cope well
• Is "Mommy Guilt" Normal?-- discerning God's conviction vs. unhelpful guilt
• How Expected Birth Control Use Affects Our Culture-- surprisingly, one of my most popular posts
• My Real-Life Proverbs 31 Friend-- this post about being "busy at home" was a recent one but has already been "pinned" for encouragement on Pinterest.  

Hope you find something encouraging or thought-provoking from this list of oldies.  :)  Have a great week, and I'll see ya when I see ya.