Joni and Friends Retreat

I am so blessed! My family and I were able to attend Joni and Friends (JAF) retreat last week in Michigan. It is a retreat for families with special needs. My friend, Mary has been wanting us to go for so long and we finally felt that were able to go. I am so glad we went!
I wasn't sure what to expect at all. Mary had given me an idea, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it.
When we got to camp, (at the beautiful Marantha Bible Camp) we were greeted by a group of people who just gave us hugs and welcomed us to retreat. Then we walked into the main lodge where we were welcomed by two lines of people who clapped and "whooped" as we walked through. I was overwhelmed. I consider myself a people person, but there were so many people there who just wanted to love on us. I got pretty emotional.
We then met our STM (short term missionary) who is there to be a helper for Drew throughout the week. Joey was great. He was laid back and fit right in with our family. Joey ate with us at every meal and if the boys got squirmy, Joey would take them to the playground and let Eric and I finish our meal. How cool is that!?
After all the people, I was ready to find our room and just relax. When we found out that we had a two bedroom/two bath apartment, I was thrilled. I am not sure how we ended up with such a great place! On our table in the apartment, was a bag with gifts for all of us. How they knew what we all liked was just a God thing. Jarod was exited that he got his room for the week!
In the evening, we enjoyed seeing all the other families gather for worship and fun. I was overwhelmed knowing that Andrew could just be himself there. He could stand on the pew, sway back and forth, giggle and worship in his way. And, no one stared. I didn't feel pressured to have to make him sit. It was OKAY! This was the way church should be.
After worship was an icecream social. The boys were so excited to see a miniature golf course on the property. They had a ball.
The next three mronings were filled with worship, teaching and small group time for the parents. The woman in my group were perfectly placed for the week. We all have children on the autism spectrum. We laughed, cried, shared and prayed together. What a blessing they are! We are now facebook friends and can continue to encourage each other.
During the parents tme, the kids went to their own "class time". It was more like a cool VBS program. Joey went with Andrew and Jarod was with other kids his age.
In the afternoon, we had family time. Andrew went ot the pool everyday! It was heated and most times, he had it to himself! It was a little chilly most of the week. Jarod tried rock climbing, the zip line and swimming. Those were his favorite things!
Tuesday evening we had a western night. JAF brought in farm animals for the families to pet and just have fun with. Then we had a square dance! The boys weren't too into it, but that was OKAY! Andrew was impressed with the fiddle player, however!
Wednesday night the parents had a date night! We had a wonderful dinner of prime rib! The kids went to a carnval while we dined and walked along the beach.
THursday night was talent night. There were so many people that participated. Kids and adults with down syndrome, CP, autism and non-disabilities all had great gifts to share. Jarod even shared some magic tricks. We were very proud of our usually very anxious and shy 9 year old!
Eric summed up the trip well by saying, "We can go to Pokagon or camp ground and do the same kind of things, but we won't get our needs met as parents and as a family." I think we might want to go again next year!
Here are some pics:

The kindness of strangers

This morning Drew and i went to Glenbrook Mall to get some scrapbooking paper. We went to the "paper" store and looked around. Drew was jumping around and not interested in staying with me at all. So, we went the bathroom and then went to his favorite elevator -the glass elevator where he can see out. We then walked to the carousel. The lady that runs it during the day is so good with kids. She let me on with Drew without having to pay and spoke to Drew with such kindness. He loves riding the carousel and talking about all the colors he sees.
After the ride, we rode back up the favorite elevator and went back to the paper store. The associate that helped me was so kind in talking with Drew and helping to keep an eye on him while I looked for paper. She had no problem with him yelling in the store and singing at the top of his lungs.
I'm so thankful for these two women who made a mom (who gets weary many days), have a delightful morning with my son!

The mission

The mission: swim suit shopping
Oh, how I loathe it! But, I must accept this mission if I am to soak in the sun and enjoy the pool (and hopefully some beach) this summer.
I don't care what size you are, finding the suit is a pain. You could be a size 2 and not find anything that is right for you.
Do I buy a one piece? A tankini? A swim dress?
Bikini is not even an option for me!
I have probably tried on at least 50 different suits in the last week or so. Different sizes, different tops with different bottoms. Different patterns, all trying to hide those wonderful imperfections that make trying on suits so difficult and depressing.
The older I get the more I want a suit that is modest. (not that I've ever had a suit that wasn't, but now I'm just more aware of it) However, I don't want to buy a suit my grandma would buy either. I'm still young, right?!
So, I think I found one the other night. I need to go back and try it on again just to make sure. I just hope it's still there! I really don't want to have to go through this again for a long while!

processing...

Pardon me as I process the happenings of today. Mainly, Mark Souder. I am frustrated, saddened, angry and many other emotions that are all mixed up.

I am saddened and angry by his admission of an affair. A Christian man who has been committed to "family values" thru his campaigns.
I am frustrated with people who are now bashing him even more because he has fallen.
I am angry at those who are happy he has stepped down.
I don't understand how some people can judge him by his actions and yet do not know him.
I am angry that this situations may make more people believe that Christians are hypocrites and give them more reasons why they dont want anything to do with the Christian faith.
We live in a fallen world and everyone is a sinner in need of God's grace and forgiveness. Mr. Souder will have concequences for his actions, but God's grace is sufficent and enough.

Tears

Today was a day of many tears.
There were tears of sadness and loss as I remembered my dear friend Rachel's homecoming. It's hard to believe it's been a year. I remember her death like it was just yesterday. I'm so thankful though that she is celebrating one year of Paradise!

There were tears today when my Drew ran up to Laura with a huge smile accross his face while saying her name. What a blessing that was to me and Laura. He doesn't do that with anybody except family. I am so thankful for Laura and her unconditional love for Drew.

There were tears today when Jarod decided he didn't want to participate in a friend's birthday party. They went to Lazer X and he was just extremely scared about playing the game. So, we talked and prayed and talked some more. No convincing from anyone would get him to play. I felt like I deal with "issues" with Drew all the time, I don't want to deal with "isssue" with my non special needs kid. However, I am so thankful for gracious hosts and friends of jarod's that kept encouraging him. What a wonderful example of love that they all showed Jarod today. It really made me step back and realize that Jarod does have some pretty intense fears like the dark and I just need to keep praying through it and with him to help him overcome his fears.

I am started a diet this week and there were tears tonight when I was hungry! But, I am thankful that I have food and that I am trying to make healthy choices and lose weight.

Tears can be so healing. I'm glad that I shed some today and that God keeps showing me His faithfulness and goodness.

I'm still here...

I have had several friends recently tell me that I need to blog some more. They miss reading about the Hansen's! Well, to those of you who read this...I am still here.
I'm finding it harder to write these days. Not that there isn't anything to write about; I just don't think about it. So, I am going to start to write at least once a week.

We all had a nice spring break. We went to Pokagon State Park for a few days with our friends, the Doron's. Andrew loves going there, mostly because he loves to swim in the pool! It is just relaxing for us! We came home on Wed. and then the boys and I left on Thurs. for Indy for a couple of days. Andrew has been talking about going to Gramma and Papa Pete's house for quite a while and Jarod also enjoys going. So, off we went. It was as relaxing as Pokagon. But we had a good time, none the less. We , of course, headed to the Children's Museum. They had the the big slide set up at the stairs with an Indiana Jones theme. Jarod loved it! I will try to post some pics later.

normalcy

I am so ready for normalcy! All the delays and cancellations have really done a number on my emotions and motivation. I know that I get so much more accomplished when I am on a schedule. I'm hoping to get some things done today and then take Andrew out to lunch. He gets "out of whack" too when his routine is different.

On another note... Yesterday, as I was waiting for the kids to be dismissed from school, a mom was talking to her son, or me. or to anyone who listening (I'm not sure which). She was commenting on how assinine it was that the first graders couldn't come out before the kindergarteners. And that if her child didn't pass the alpha test (gifted program), she was going to pull her child out of this ridiculous school. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders. Inside though I was ready to blow. I don't appreciate parents who berate our school. Haverhill is a good school. And what a poor example to set in front of your kid. Maybe it is just this one parent. She is an EGR in my life. (extra grace required).