Family support. Traveling. And love.

Lets face it, nobody thinks they are going to have a child in their family diagnosed with autism. Conner is one out of nine grandchildren and luckily he is the only one who has been diagnosed with Autism. Not saying autism is all bad- in our families case it has brought us all closer. As I've previously mentioned we are a military family and we just so happen to live 500 miles away. There is literally a whole state between us!! Now the distance doesn't matter because my parents are the first to jump at any opportunity to help. Which I give the biggest thanks to them. Thank goodness for technology because even with the distance I am able to call home when Conner learns a new word and even better we FaceTime to show his progress.

Now visiting our families isn't the easiest thing. We have 500 miles which is about an 8 hour drive which could be less or more when traveling with two children especially when one of them has autism ADHD and a whole rack of behavioral issues. My SUV is normally filled with DVD players, blocks, puzzles, a tablet, books and maybe some crayons Now Conner looses attention fairly quickly and it happens a lot where ill be driving and all the sudden ill look over and there's Conner, unbuckled leaning over the center console just saying hi- it's pretty scary but even more annoying that I have to pull over numerous times on our trip to buckle him back up. Now my child is very tall- so he sits in a booster with a back- but he's too big to fit in a 5 point booster so were left with the car seat belt. We actually had to purchase angel wings to get him to not unbuckle but my child still slips out the bottom. Point of my story- if he wants out- he will find a way.

Now we try to visit every few months but I'm so blessed that I have the most amazing parents that visit me every other month. It's much easier for them two to hop in a car then my two kids, a rack of toys, every DVD we own- and oh yeah me the driver ha!

Now back to family. Family means the world to me so I just wanted to send some thanks. My parents are the greatest support. Whether its financial or emotional they are my first call for anything. I want to thank them because they have been through this journey since day one and I do not know where I would be without them! To my sister and brother, thank you for not treating Conner like he is any different then your over nieces and nephews- I love that you still pick on him and hold him to the same standards even though is he has autism. Thank you to their spouses and all of my beautiful nieces and nephews!! Thanks to my father in law and my husbands grandma for always lending a helping hand. Without all of you- this journey wouldn't as easy because your support means the world.

Now for the relationship roller coaster that I have with my husband- that's a whole new blog. Until later my friends!