Happy Birthday William!

William and his companion dog, Dixie

William had a birthday recently!  He turned 21 years old!  I am so blessed to have this young man as my son.  He is always respectful and happy to help me.  He is my right hand man and such a hard worker around here.  I am so grateful that he is in my life. 

He really loves VW bugs and wanted a Volkswagen cake this year.  He has slowly been fixing up his car over the last few years, as he can afford it.  You can read about it here.  :)

My sister did an amazing job on his cake.  He was so happy with it.  Thank you Aunt "S" for always doing such an amazing job, making such wonderful cakes for the children.

William is grown up.  That is the reality of it all.  I can't believe it but the years of his youth have flown by and he is now an adult.

I remember back to his struggles as a baby/toddler,

his diagnosis of autism as a young child

and think about the things I was told by professionals he would and would not be able to do.  I am amazed by the grace of God and all He has helped William with and through, in his life.

His bug he bought with his own money as a little boy.

His bug in a local car show.

We are so blessed and I feel like I have seen a miracle in Williams life, his whole life.  God is so good. 

William is doing wonderful.  He has struggled for years with his health.  At around age 16 he started having health issues that were quite debilitating at times.  Lots of exhaustion, heart palpitations and pain, extreme muscle pain when exerted and issues with hypoglycemia.  We took him to many specialist trying to figure out what was causing him such issues.  He went to an endocrinologist, heart doctor, geneticist and his, general practitioner quite a bit.  They really could not find much, other than fatigued adrenals.   Which is a concern as his dad has Addisons disease.  It was also suggested that he might have a mitochondrial disorder.  One of the doctors said that what William is experiencing looked like it is an auto-immune issue.   So exactly a year ago, when he was particularly sick, I asked him if I could take over his diet, as I am very familiar with auto-immune issues and diet.  He agreed.  I prayed about it all and helped him create a simple anti-inflammatory diet.  It has been exactly a year since he started following this diet and praise God he has lost 70 pounds and is feeling so much better.  He has more energy, can think clearer and has fewer energy crashes.  All the glory to God!

William has finished his GED and is going to attend our local college.  He will be taking some remedial classes and then one class at a time till he gets the education he desires.  He will be attending, with concessions, under the Disability Act.  He loves doing stop animation but will be attending to receive an education in computers for now.  If you wish to see his animation, please visit his Youtube channel at Lego bro 4 studios.

William is such a precious gift to us from God.  We give God the glory, honor and praise for the man William has become and all things good in his life.  Thank you God for William!

We love you so much William.  You are a wonderful son, a great brother and a kind soul.  We appreciate all you do for us and your generous and helpful actions and ways.  May God have His mighty hand on your life always.  May He lead, guide you and may He bless you 100 fold for your obedience as a son.

Ephesians 6:1-3  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.  Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Love, Dad, mom, Stephen, Antonio, Carolyn, Zeke, Elizabeth, Billy, Timothy, Kinsley and Anna-Kate!