Friday, October 9, 2009

A Final Post

Wow, what a year it has been since I last posted here. Tripp is doing amazingly well. We tried some new things this past year. We've done hippo therapy, and are continuing to keep Tripp in a therapeutic riding program. We also added a new supplement that has really made a difference. It's call MaxGXL and it increases his body's production of glutathione - a very important antioxidant. Those things along with lots of prayers, some amazing teachers and therapists, and Tripp's own efforts have given us a year of rejoicing.

Tripp is in his second year in the Head Start Inclusion class at Rock Prairie. It really is amazing how much he has grown and developed since this time last year. His ability to communicate verbally has sky rocketed. He is able to sit through circle time. His academics continue to amaze all of us. He's playing with peers - and his siblings! It's really just mind boggling what a difference a year makes.

Is he still quirky? Absolutely. He still stims, and has poor eye contact, and spends a great deal of his time in his own world. Autism/Aspergers doesn't go away. Instead, we learn to work with what we have and make the best of it. Tripp is indeed doing that.

So, the title says this is the final post - I want to explain why. When I started this blog it was to give myself an outlet for all the "stuff" I was going through associated with Tripp and our journey with him. Well, the journey hasn't gone away, but I realize now more than ever that it doesn't need a special outlet. Earlier this week our oldest daughter, Paris, was also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I started this blog so that autism wouldn't take over my life and every post I wrote about my family. Well, turns out that autism/aspergers is a big part of my life and my family. It doesn't need it's own separate outlet. It is, and always wil be, part of who our family is. Now please don't get me wrong - I still refuse to let it define us. God defines us. This world and the struggles it contains can not do anything to separate us from the love of God.

So, if you'd like to keep up with Tripp and the rest of the Fosters, from now on you need to go to my "regular" blog - www.sarahstation.blogspot.com

I'll leave this blog open for a while. Long enough to figure out how to save all my posts or print them out or something. I know I'll need them all when I write that book people keep telling me I'm going to write. :-) Thank you to everyone who has loved us and prayed for us along this journey. Please continue to do so and check in on us anytime over at Sarah Station. And whatever you do - never stop dancin' with those you love, even if the dance is unfamiliar.