Levi is 9 Years Old Today!

Playing outside a couple days ago.

 Today is Levi's birthday! We've been preparing him since yesterday that we we're going to have a birthday party for him and by the time we went to bed last night, every time we reminded him about it, he would get a cute little grin on his face. This year, he was more aware of his birthday than he usually is. And it was so sweet.

 I can remember every birthday Levi has had and they have all been very hard. I'm not sure that I can explain exactly why, but I'm going to try. I'm not going to use fancy medical terms, just reality with real feelings that any parent would understand. I hope that's OK. From his earliest birthdays, we have desperately hoped that "this" would be the birthday that Levi actually realized we were having a party for him. That he would see that we had presents for him. At least look at them. That it wouldn't scare him when we sang, "Happy Birthday" to him. I'm pretty sure that I have cried at every birthday party we've had for Levi. I cant help but grapple with the gulf between the way things should be and the way things are. And I've worried and wondered, "Can he be happy while not enjoying the things 'normal' children enjoy...like birthday presents?".

 Through the years, we've had to try and maintain a healthy balance between "letting go" emotionally, of our expectations of that "norm", but keeping a passion of hope for conquering the challenges that we are facing with Autism. So much of this, we have learned, has to do with our mind-set. This birthday was easier for me. And I didn't cry (until I wrote this post). This year has been a year of growth for us all. We have had an increasing ability to realize Levi's special gifts and strengths, and although he does deal with some serious challenges, he is over-all, a loving, happy little boy. We have had to realize that in a lot of instances we have a much harder time with these sort of things, than he does. He's just as happy as can be enjoying his birthday party "his way". He doesn't have to "perform" a certain way in order to be happy.

Levi and Mommy at his birthday party.

 So, Levi had a blast today doing the things he loves to do. He rode Baby and Hammer, two of our three horses. He has come to enjoy riding the horses, and expects it to be part of his weekly schedule. He played outside in the mud puddles and splashed water in the sun rays. We had one of his favorite meals...hot-dogs and baked beans. We sang "Happy Birthday" to him very quietly, so he didn't get overstimulated (he still did, a little bit). He had a hard time eating his birthday cake, because it was the climax of the evening, and it was too much of an event for him...too performance oriented. So, we had to just put it away for a while, and he was able to come back to it later when the excitement wore off and enjoy it. He was able to open all of his presents, though he did it very quickly and threw each item on the floor in a exaggerated, methodical manner. He had a funny attitude, like he was humoring us and it was really a bit of nonsense to open presents. We were able to enjoy the humor in it, and let him open presents the way he wanted to. He did seem to pick out a few presents to focus on and have some fun with. His favorite present was a Bible, with a very soft cover, and soft, thin pages. One of Levi's favorite stimming activities is flipping the pages of books. He likes our Bibles the most, much to the dismay of many family members, and we decided to get Levi his own Bible this year. It was a huge hit and I can't think of a better book that I'd like to be in his hands than a Bible. Oh! I forgot, I did cry at this part of the story, but this year, it was tears of joy! Levi grabbed up his new Bible and ran to the kitchen to "flip" it in a quiet place. In 9 years, we finally made a home run on a present. I'm so thankful that the Lord inspired us to buy him a nice quality one that he really would enjoy.

 We love him forever! His kisses are precious and his hugs make me feel complete as a mommy (like Gemmie's ;) I have got to be the most blessed mommy in the world.

 Levi, thank you for giving us a beautiful birthday with you this year.

Levi's birthday cake.

 As always, I want to thank all of you for climbing Levi's Mountain with us. We are getting closer and closer to our trip to the Autism Treatment Center of America in June. We still need to raise $1800 for the expenses of the trip. We appreciate all of the prayers, financial contributions and help with spreading the word about Levi's story that all of you have given, are giving and will give! If you would like to make a donation to Levi's Mountain, click here. Thank you!

Angela, Levi's Mommy