A brief introduction to myself & my family: I'm Meghan, and I'm 25 years old. I've been married to my best friend, PK (Patrick), for almost 5 years (we were married on 10-10-10). We've been immensely blessed with 3 of the cutest kids you'll ever meet (of course I'm not biased!)- Mason (May 1, 2010), Brooke (May 12, 2011), and Emmy Kate (January 10, 2014). Maybe this sounds strangely obsessed, but as a child I would spend hours imagining what my future family would look like. And now? To stare at these 4 beautiful people and realize that they're mine forever? Sometimes it's still surreal!
My people (they're pretty cute, huh?!)
To understand my family's journey, you'll need to know that my 2 oldest children, Mason & Brooke, have autism. Since most people don't really understand what that means: Autism is a disorder that affects brain development, including difficulties in social interaction, verbal & nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. If you see my kids, you probably won't have any idea they aren't "normal," but when you try to talk to them, you'll notice they probably won't talk back. Mason was completely nonverbal until he was 4. However, in the last 6 months, his vocabulary has exploded! Brooke has had a limited vocabulary from the time she turned 2, but can't sufficiently express her needs or have a conversation. My kids can struggle with eye-contact and may easily be overwhelmed when their sensitive sensory systems are overloaded. If I can stress one thing about autism: my kids aren't necessarily disabled, they're simply "differently-abled." Their precious brains work on a different operating system.
Mason, Brooke, Emmy
A significant amount of this blog will focus on our family's journey with autism. Being a special-needs mom is not a course I ever expected to be on, but it's where I'm at. I can either be angry/upset/disappointed that this is the path God placed me on, or I can appreciate that He specifically chose PK & me for this important job of helping our children grow & progress while overcoming the obstacles of autism. And that's exactly what I'm choosing to do! My life isn't picture-perfect; its messy, busy, crazy, hard & exhausting. BUT I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for the abundant blessings I receive on a daily basis as I navigate my own unique voyage through motherhood.
I've witnessed an incredible amount of encouragement & knowledge being shared through the blogging world, and I'm eager to become a part of that! I appreciate anyone who took the time to read this post, and I hope you'll continue to come back to learn more about my sweet family & our story!
Yay!! Love everything about this! Your family is so beautiful!
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