An Unlikely Place

I'm not sure why, but I've been thinking about this moment a lot lately.

When Caleb was just over a year old we were grocery shopping one day. I know he was a little over a year because he was able to sit up independently, but only for very short periods of time, and certainly not in a moving shopping cart. So I had him in our handy-dandy "Buggy Bag" - a shopping cart cover that has about an inch of padding throughout and came with a pillow (truly a life-saver for us). We always received comments on it, because to the untrained eye Caleb always looked like he was just resting.

As I got to the juice/egg isle, a man wearing a tattered, paint-splattered T-shirt and an old, worn baseball cap made a comment about how great the cover was. He had two children with him, around 2 and 4 years old, and said his wife was at home with their newborn, and gosh that would be a great little contraption for them to get. That point in the conversation was when I would usually just agree and be on my way. But this particular time a little birdie told me to share a little more about why this contraption had been so great for us. So I explained that Caleb had muscular dystrophy, so it had really helped us out a lot in our day-to-day lives.

With this comment I half expected the man to run away, but instead he asked me more about Caleb's condition, what was going on with his muscles, etc. I probably didn't have all the right answers since this was before we actually got a diagnosis - Jeff and I had decided early on that the term "Muscular Dystrophy" was something the general public was familiar enough with that they would be able to at least wrap their brains around the fact that his condition was not something he would simply "outgrow".

After chatting for a few minutes, this man asked me if I believed in prayer. I responded, "Yes, I truly believe that all the prayers and positive energy have helped get him as far as he's come." He then told me he was a pastor at such-and-such church, and would I mind if he said a prayer for Caleb? "Of course not," was my response, expecting him to go home and include Caleb in his prayers. But to my surprise, he laid his hands on Caleb's head in the middle of the juice isle.

The words that came from this man's lips sounded as if he had known our family for years. He asked God to give my little boy strength, not only in his muscles, but to have the strength and wisdom to find his path and purpose in life. He talked about how he sensed great things from this little boy, and a deep ability to touch people's hearts. He said all the things a mother unsure of her son's future needed to hear within a few short minutes.

As I stood there with tears streaming down my face, surrounded by juice, eggs and yogurt, with a man in tattered clothing, and two young kids squawking in the background, I have never felt closer to God. It was such a beautiful moment in such an unlikely place... a moment that I will cherish for a lifetime.

A Fun Day in La Jolla

This morning Jeff, Caleb and I decided to go for a hike/walk at the Torrey Pines State Park in La Jolla. It was so beautiful to walk amongst pine trees, cacti, and have a gorgeous view of the ocean. After we were done, we decided to walk around downtown La Jolla. We found these amazing cow sculptures all over downtown, so we went on a "cow hunt."

Caleb and Daddy with one of the cows.

This one was titled "Emoo" :)

This was another one of our favorites. When we took Caleb off of the "tiger cow", he said very proudly, "I was a cowboy!"

Caleb also had tons of fun with this water fountain.

Caleb kept saying, "Mommy, you want to touch the ball? It's soooo wet!"

Wild Animal Park and Zoo trips

Every year for the holidays Jeff's parents generously give us a membership to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, and boy do we use it! Spring is our favorite time to go, since it's not too hot and the animals tend to be more active (not necessarily what you may be thinking). Here are some pictures from a few of our trips. Enjoy!

In a Nutshell

Caleb's annual IEP (Individualized Education Plan) is tomorrow, which got me thinking about the past year. You see, I was asked to list all his major illnesses over the last year. Here it goes... Caleb had 5 colds, 3 of which needed antibiotics to kick, 2 of which turned into pneumonia, 1 of which needed a trip to the ER, as well as another recent ER visit for possible concussion. Throw in a death in the family and a major car accident for me and it was one DOOZY of a year!

BUT...

There were many wonderful things that happened this year, too. Caleb's Crew was bigger and better than ever, raising a whopping $17,000 for the MDA and continuing to raise awareness about UCMD. Caleb continues to amaze us all with his zest for life and his ability to defy the odds. He has met new milestones, some big, others huge. He has been involved in a wonderful program at his school, surrounded by so much love and support that continues to spread to basically every person that comes into contact with him. Every day he continues to remind us how lucky we are to be his parents and to remember to appreciate even the simplest of moments. He is such a beautiful soul that the good times completely outweigh the tough times.

My Mother's Day

I know it's been a while since my last post. There really aren't any excuses - we haven't been extra busy...no computer issues or anything. I guess it's just as the school year winds down and our special ed team has been inundated with assessments I simply haven't given myself the time to blog. I suppose I've found the following: OVERWORKED = WOEFULLY UNINSPIRED.

In any case, I wanted to write about the wonderful Mother's Day I had last week - it was by far the best one, yet! The evening before Jeff came home with flowers and took care of dinner and dishes. Sunday morning started by Jeff and Caleb letting me sleep in (I'm always grateful for that opportunity). They came into my room around 8:00 with coffee in hand, and Caleb gleefully announcing, "Surprise, Mommy! Happy Mother's Day!" We then went downstairs, where I found this card, and Jeff made us a wonderful breakfast.

Most of the morning and afternoon were fairly uneventful - just spending time together, even a little yard work (I couldn't just sit around and do ABSOLUTELY nothing). Late afternoon we went over to Ryan and Cassie's house where we celebrated with more family. Then Jeff, Caleb and I went to the beach to watch the sunset. As we watched the sun setting over the ocean, we ate chocolate covered strawberries. This moment was definitely the highlight for me. I think it was for Caleb, too, since he devoured 2 large strawberries and he still talks about going to the beach to eat, "Strawberries with CHOCOLATE!"

It was so nice to have a day to get a little pampered and to just be reminded of the pure joy it is to be Caleb's mom. Hope you all had a wonderful day as well.