Licensed to Drive!

William with both of the vehicles he owns.

 William got his drivers license!

One of the things I have learned over the years is that you just never know.  I was told Elizabeth would never talk or walk and she does both.  I was told that Zeke had a very high chance of being HIV positive and he is not.  I was told Carolyn would probably never learn to read and she can and loves to write short stories.  God is so good.  He writes and fills the pages of our days that become the story of our life.  I have learned to pray, work hard with the children and to advocate for them but a lot of the time to just sit back and enjoy watching the miracles unfold.  We have witnessed so many.

When William was very young he was diagnosed with autism.

He never talked till he was 6 years old and then it was still not fluid and easy to understand.  He spent 16 years in speech therapy.

Yes the two above pictures are of William.  I never could bring myself to cut my boys hair till they are at least three or four.

He had major sensory issues with food consistencies.  He ate only a few foods and would gag and get sick on everything else.  He spent years in feeding therapy.

He never liked to wear shoes but once he discovered that cowboy boots didn't squeeze his feet, that is all he wore year round for years. 

He had so many sensory issues with clothing textures, temperature and weather changes.  It took him weeks to get used to wearing a coat in the winter and weeks to get him to not wear one when warmer weather came around. 

He struggled with noise from birth... Noise we did not consider to be bothersome or loud, really bothered him.  He spent 14 years in Occupational therapy. 

All of these things effected how he functioned physically so much, he lagged behind in meeting many of his milestones and it effected his ability to participate in social activities.  He spent years in Physical therapy.

William with eggs from his chickens.

William raised chickens and pigeons for many years.  He sold the eggs, baby pigeons and silkie chickens and saved up money over the years for his VW bug he eventually bought.

My dad gave William this tractor for his nineth birthday.  The mower wore out so my dad removed it and gave William this tractor and a wagon for doing barn chores and just driving around on the farm.

Home schooling was challenging. He has worked so hard to learn.  He is a hands on learner and says he learns by making a picture of what he needs to remember in his mind so he can recall it.

When William was 11 years old he came to Tim and I late one evening and said he felt he needed to be baptized right then.  So Tim took William down to my dads hot tub in the middle of a snow fall and baptized him.  A special memory.

Look at that beaming smile!

All of this being said...I always wanted the best for William but watched how he struggled in life with learning and just functioning.  I held my breath and prayed he would some day be able to go to college, get a job or drive a car.  We loved him fiercely for who he was and is but any parent always wants all that can be had for their child.

At a car show with his bug.

William also loves to work and is the most loving and obedient child I have ever had the privileged of raising. 

William with his dog Will

He always has a wonderful eager attitude and happy upbeat demeanor.  He has a great work ethic and is brilliantly creative. 

I have 100's of these silly pictures I could show you.  He is always doing something silly and saying quick mom take a picture of me.

He often sees what others don't or a solution to a project I am working on that I would never have thought of myself.  Anything that is hands on, he is so good at.  Like taking things apart and putting them together.

His stop animation (Lego bro 4 studio) is just wonderful.  To sit and take hundreds of pictures, moving his subjects a fraction of movement at a time and making it tell a story or idea is amazing.  He is just gifted with this kind of thing.  He was recently tested by our local school system and the side of his IQ that excluded language and writing was extremely high.

William loves the Lord and is an amazing young man.  I am so grateful to God that he is my son, that God has had his hand on Williams life and helps him daily.  That William has worked so hard to get where he is by the grace of God and has come so far.

Congratulations William on getting your drivers license!  May God keep you and those around you safe all the days of your life, as you drive the roads that take you where you need to go and into your very bright future.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Love and blessings,

mom