Merry Christmas 2008

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the last Christmas card mailing. 2008 has been full of fun, excitement, challenges and blessings. I thought that instead of writing the traditional paragraph style Christmas letter, I would share with you how God has worked in our lives to turn each challenge into a blessing.

Challenge: balancing life with a one year old, a very special 11 year old, and a 12 year old

Blessing: becoming a family of 5. Zachary finally realized that Ava is here to stay and that she is not an “it” but a “she.” He now says “get her” instead of “get it” when he wants her out of his room. Ava adores Jacob more than I could have ever imagined and I think Jacob feels the same. Jacob reminds me that he will be 30 when Ava graduates from high school. Definitely a blessing! He can be there when her first date picks her up!

Challenge: getting Zachary to sleep in his own bed all night without coming into our bed every night at 2:00am

Blessing: discovering that this was our challenge not Zachary’s. Victor and I had put off “making” him sleep in his own bed. I can’t tell you how many times we said, “this is the week that we are going to make it happen.” Truth is, it only took two nights and that was it. No crying, no protest at all! Now it is hard to wake him up in the mornings. So the blessing is seeing how much God has taught us through precious Zachary!

Challenge: adjusting to life with an infant in the house AGAIN

Blessing: being able to savor each moment while knowing what is to come over the next 12 years. We are such different parents to Ava than we were to the boys. Not better, just different. I have not been able to really describe it or explain why we are different. I can only say that we are calmer, more patient, and believe it or not flexible. Why we are different? My thought is that we have seen God’s miracle of life go from an infant to a middle school student. We don’t stress over the little things but take each in and realize that each moment of each day is a gift to be cherished. Yes, there are still moments of chaos but they are brief and quickly forgotten.

Challenge: knowing the fact that siblings of autistic children are more likely to be in the autistic spectrum than their peers who are in families with no children with autism

Blessing: BELIEVING not just saying or thinking, but truly believing and trusting that God created each of us for a unique purpose. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. PSALM 121:7-8. This verse is painted on the wall by Ava’s crib and is a reminder to me that whatever His plan is, it is good! Over the past year, we have watched Ava and celebrated each milestone including crawling, turning when you say her name, and each new word. She is quite the talker! She even says “hi” with the sweetest southern accent. And of course the boys have taught her to say football.

Updates on all of us – Victor is in his second year as Principal at Youree Drive MS, I have a new position as Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Services at LSUS, Jacob is in the 7th grade and still loves soccer, golf, hunting and art. Yes, hunting! He successfully completed his hunter safety course this fall. Zachary is in the 4th grade at a new elementary school and has the same special education teacher, and little Ava is 14 and ½ months old and changes every week. Big surprise – she has light hair and blues eyes. Victor’s parents are well and continue to enjoy retirement. My Dad continues to work and my Mom is having a hip replaced New Year’s Eve. She hosted her big Christmas open house with much pain and cannot put it off any longer. Please pray she recovers quickly so that she can get back to life. Especially meaningful to us is the care she provides all of her grandchildren when we are at work or in need of a helping hand. Victor’s parents will be helping out while she is recovering.

In closing, we are so blessed and thank God each day for the way He shows us how challenges are just blessings waiting to be discovered. We pray that during this Christmas season and New Year that you will discover an abundance of blessings! Love, Victor, Melissa, Jacob, Zachary & Ava Mainiero