Friday, November 21, 2008

Meet Bella! November 17, 2008


Introducing Bella, the newest addition to the Gale family! We picked her up from the Upland Animal Shelter. I have been reading how dogs can be helpful with kids struggling on the autism spectrum and so far this has proved to be true. We met a few dogs in the process.  I wanted a small breed unlike our last dog Henry - a 100+ lb. Golden Retriever - and most of the small dogs were absolutely intimidated by our large, rambunctious family. But, Bella was not. And, Bella is big enough not to get trampled underfoot by my clumsy kids.
Now, many of you are probably asking, why would we add another member to our already struggling family? Yes, it is true, we are struggling. But, we are not crazy. My hope is that Bella will help the kids to be more kind to each other. And she is so loving! She will jump up on the couch and curl up in your lap or give you a big dog kiss. Her unconditional love and affection seeking seems to be just the thing our family needs. Ethan and Aeron are learning how to be "soft." I especially like it because Bella doesn't talk back or throw tantrums. She is very intelligent, too. She is part Jack Russell Terrier.

Peanut Butter Boy, August 29, 2008



Here is one of my favorite pictures of Aeron.  Ethan, Aeron's 3 year old big brother, LOVES peanut butter. He eats a half sandwich of plain old peanut butter and just bread multiple times a day. Or, if he is feeling particularly independent, he will get the jar and a spoon and help himself! On this particular day, he helped himself and left the jar open on the kitchen floor for Aeron to find. Aeron found it and dove in with both hands. At first, I was SO frustrated and upset because of the huge mess I now had the privilege of cleaning up. And, most days like every other mom, I follow around after my 3 year old whirling dervish trying to minimize the amount of damage. Well, after seeing the mess, that little voice in my head said to stop a moment and look at the situation from a different point of view.  I followed that prompting, changed my attitude, and took a picture of my littlest one literally covered from head to toe in peanut butter. It is now one of my favorite pictures. Thanks Skippy!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Out of the darkness


I'm online!
Well, I've officially started a blog.  I've been a bit resistant because my time is so limited on the computer.  With 5 kids, and a husband who loves computers, it's hard to find the time. But, here we go.
My goal for starting this blog is completely personal and selfish.  It is to chronical my journey - my life long battle against depression, one step at a time.  It's been bad lately.  My depression is inherited.  I got it from the maternal side of my family.  It began when I turned 18 and I have dealt with it ever since.  I have 5 kids one girl who is 12 and 4 boys ranging in age from 10, 7, 3, and 1.  Ethan, kidlet #4 has been diagnosed with PDD earlier this year.  The acronym stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder.  PDD is an acronym describing the fact that a child doesn't have the classical symptoms of autism but falls on the spectrum.  He is more Aspberger like, which means he has more mild symptoms of autism.  I have watched my home evolve during the past year from a chaotic, cluttered home into a veritable inferno of discontent and unhappiness.  I also forgot to mention, that many of my children have ADHD.  Thus, we are a distracted lot and this is a lot to deal with.

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