"Another year over and a new one just begun."

Goodbye 2011!  It had been a very good year for us.  We hope that this New Year will be as good if not better.                

Joseph and I thought about the highlight of the year for each of us.  

For his Daddy - He finally got his shed (outdoor kitchen) built.

For Austin - He is really looking more like his Daddy this year.

For me - I have read almost 36 books on my Kindle during the past year; I'm on the fifth book of the Song of Ice and Fire series.  I have also cooked the most this year than any other year of my married life.  Definitely an improvement.

For Joseph - He gained the freedom to play games not just on the computer but also on Playstation 3, thanks to the Versatility device.  He also gained friends when he started playing LBP2 online and in the process, got introduced to the dynamics of friendships, both the positive and the negative.

He has also become more into RPGs (role-playing games) such as Minecraft and Terraria.  The downside is that he is more exposed to bad language when he watches the youtube videos of these games :(   The upside of him watching these videos is that, for the first time, he found humor.  He laughs so hard when he's watching Minecraft videos of PaulSoaresJr or yogscast or Terraria videos of Batclone that he can't breathe.  When watching these videos, his heart rate would go up to 150's because he was laughing so hard.  It is priceless.  

This New Year's Eve, Joseph and I shed some tears.  I asked him if there was one thing he would like to do or place he would like to go to in 2012.  The next thing I knew, he was tearing up.  He said, "I could have more fun if I didn't have SMA."  I cried with him, especially after he said, "Sometimes, I imagine my life if I didn't have SMA."  Of course, we talked some more as we tried to put a positive spin to this darn SMA, and then cried some more about some other stuff, such as how he missed playing with some friends he met while playing LBP2.  *sigh*  

Anyway, we decided that for this New Year, Joseph's word would be FUN and mine would be ORDER.  We will do our best that Joseph will have more FUN things to do this year.  And I will do my best to put my routine and habits in order so that I will have more time and patience and calm with my boy.

Christmas 2011

But first, it was Christmas Eve...

...which was a bust, because Brady had to work 16 hours and did not get home until 12AM Christmas.

We had a pretty good Christmas day anyway.

For lunch, we hauled ourselves to Nana and Dedee's.

When we got home, Joseph started playing with the PS3 games he got for Christmas.  He is one happy dude.  Daddy and Mommy, however, are tired from all the running around, scheming for gifts, working 12 to 16-hour shifts.  Nah, I don't work that many hours a day.  Tomorrow, though, I will be the only one going to work while everybody else is off.




Pretty much how I feel right now.



We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

May the New Year bring us much joy, peace and love,

and a cure for SMA that will also benefit our kids.

As we look back on our blessings this Christmas,

we also keep in mind and in our hearts

the many people who do not have a lot,

of whatever it is they are wishing for.

And most especially, the SMA families who are observing their

First Christmas season without their beloved children.

We are praying for you that you may have peace and comfort

during this time.  You will always be in our thoughts.

8th Birthday Party and Birthday

Late Post.  Joseph had his 8th birthday party on December 10; a week earlier than his birthday because his Daddy had to work on his birthday.  He requested to have a Little Big Planet cake.  Fortunately, I found a blog that not only featured the picture of the cake, but also the step-by-step instructions. 

Just like for Joseph's birthday party last year, Brady made a seafood gumbo this year.





Of course, Joseph had to have a taste of it.





An air-swimmer shark crashed Joseph's party!

On his real birthday, Joseph had a visitor...

Mommy: Joseph, look who came to see you.
Joseph: (took a glance at the visitor and smirked) I know better.
Mommy: What do you mean?
Joseph: I know he's not Santa.  Santa Claus doesn't wear sunglasses.

Nana and I took Joseph to Church, just to light a candle and pray.  The Monsignor also blessed Joseph.

Pretty much during the day, Joseph stayed on the computer.

When his Daddy came from work, we opened a couple of presents for Joseph.


It was a quiet birthday.  We have so much to be thankful for.

December 17, 2011

Our baby boy...

...is now 8 years old!

Ugh

Last week, Joseph caught me off guard again with this, "When I don't have SMA anymore, some people will teach me how to walk."  I think that this came about a couple of days after his Daddy and I were having a conversation about a little boy from our area who had been in a hospital in Houston for more than a month with no clear diagnosis, but now recuperating and starting to get back to walking again.  **sigh** Would that SMA be as simple as appendicitis: cut out the appendix, and you'd be all better.  I would even settle for SMA to be manageable/controllable just like diabetes.  Hey, you guys in SMA research, wasn't there supposed to be a cure for SMA in FIVE years when Joseph was first diagnosed with SMA at 11 months...Joseph will be 8 years old next week.  Please hurry up.

Autumn Break

We went to San Antonio recently for a much needed vacation.  Joseph wanted to go to Sea World and we wanted to check out Morgan's Wonderland.




One tired boy after being on the van for 8+ hours.



11-18-11

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch




The zebras did not get a warm reception
from either Joseph or Nana.

 



Joseph preferred the toy animal
more than the actual animals in the safari.

 The Alamo

11-19-11

Morgan's Wonderland

This amusement park opened last year and since hearing about this place, we had been looking forward to taking Joseph here.  It is such a wonderful and welcoming place for a child in a wheelchair.  The rides and experience in the park are designed to be very accessible to children with special needs. 



Joseph rode the carousel with Daddy and Nana.



He rode an all-terrain jeep and got on the swing.




Getting on the train was easy.



 

                            




He went fishing, but did not catch any fish :(




Joseph went "grocery-shopping".   Daddy was the cashier. 

                              
 



Joseph designed his van.

 

Bass Pro Shop



We found Santa Claus!



11-20-11

Sea World 



Santa (Shamu) Claus





Watching the sea lions and elephant seal




Watching the dolphins



It was a great vacation.  Joseph was such a trooper during the whole trip.  Nobody got sick.  We did all we set out to do and headed back home a day early.  Joseph was ready to go home because he missed his computer time.  He is into Minecraft nowadays and, therefore, he is spending more time on the computer than on the Playstation.  It will be awhile again before we go on any extended vacation.  In the meantime, we are looking forward to the holidays.  Joseph's 8th birthday is also coming up in December.  We absolutely love this time of the year!

Halloween 2011

Somehow, parts of our parish decided to have trick-or-treating on the eve of Halloween.  What's up with that?  It's a good thing that Brady came home earlier than usual on a Sunday, although, Joseph's Nana was all set to drive us around to get some candies.





HERE'S JOSEPH THIS HALLOWEEN.

 

HE DECIDED TO BE A CAMOUFLAGED SACKBOT.



Joseph is pretty much the only one in our little town that plays Little Big Planet.  Nobody knew what his costume was supposed to be.  It took the big part of this afternoon to make the costume to look as much as possible like a sackbot.  For the head to be proportional to the body just like that of a sackboy/sackbot, it would have had to be about 6x bigger than this!  In the end, Joseph decided that he did not like the costume because the head was uncomfortable.

AHH...NOW HE FEELS BETTER. 

With all the effort I put into making that costume, along with the glue gun burn on my thumb, Joseph just had to wear the head every time we stopped to get candies.




DADDY ASSISTING JOSEPH WHILE TRICK-OR-TREATING
AT ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORS' HOUSE.





ALONG THE WAY WE MET THIS COWGIRL.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!