Nicholas smiles

We finally got it on camera. Nicholas gave us his sweet smile. Isn't he adorable?!?!?

45 lessons to live by......

A friend posted this on her facebook page. Very, very neat and oh so true.


Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

I'm a mother therefore I have the right to cry.

I am a mother therefore I stand firm on having the right to cry whenever I want to. Whether they are sad tears or happy tears, I will cry and it is ok. Motherhood and crying go hand in hand. I never used to cry. Never! Now as a mom I cry all the time. It was rather annoying at first but now I just roll with it. THAT'S how I roll (isn't that the new slang kids use???)

I remember when this over usage of tears began. November 19th, 1998. Stephen David Richardson was born. My first born son. My baby. I did not cry when he was born but boy did I cry during labor! Ouch! I did not even cry when they put him in my arms. No tears. I was happy and overjoyed but no crying. I made Stephen stay all the time. He couldn't leave. What would I do if he left and Little SD poo-pooed or started crying. Well Stephen did leave me at one point to go home. I prayed SO hard that my baby would not cry or stinky his diaper. Didn't work. He started crying. So I tentatively made my way over to his hospital bassinet and picked him up. I took him back to my bed and tried to soothe him. He looked into my eyes and stopped crying. That was it. That was THE moment. My tears started flowing. I was a mom!! This was my baby!! Today 3 more children later and I am still crying.

So this morning was one of those crying moments. I had just read Amber's update on sweet JuJu (http://littlepapiandpunkin.blogspot.com/) Julia is receiving therapy for cancer and has just started losing her hair. Please read and pray for this sweet family. As I read Amber's words, I couldn't help but cry. Cry tears for Amber and Julia.

That's when the phone rings. It is the surgical center calling for Megan and Brandon. On Friday the 22nd they will BOTH be getting their tonsils out. This sweet elderly woman on the phone needs to gather weight info, allergies, etc. Please be here at 6:00 in the morning. Megan will go first at 7:30 and Brandon will go at 8:30. They will be on IV's but we won't do that until they are under so they won't be scared. This is where I lost it. The tears start flowing.

Side note.....the Surgical Center just called to tell us the price after insurance for anesthesia and for the use of the center- times 2! Ouch...tears are flowing.....

Scared. I don't want them to be scared. I don't want them to hurt. They are my babies. I will cry Friday. I will be brave for them but as soon as they head back without me, the tears will flow. I will cry for them when they are 40 years old and get hurt. I am their mother. I want to protect them as much as I humanly can.

But as with everyday when we let our children go and grow just a little bit more to experience life, I will lay them in the arms of our Lord. He will protect them. He will love them. He will cherish them. They are His. He will hold every tear I cry for my children in His hands and He will understand. As a mom, I will cry when my son slides into home. Go Stephen! I will cry when Megan brings home that 100 on her spelling test. I will cry when Brandon "graduates" from preschool. I will cry when Nicholas looks at me and with all of his strength tries to talk. I will cry that sweet JuJu has to lose her hair along with dealing with this ugly cancer. And I will cry tears of joy the day I meet my Lord and Savior. Tears of joy that He gave His life for me so that all of my sins would be forgiven and we would all have eternal life. What an awesome God!

These shoes were made for walking....well, standing for now.

A few months ago Nicholas got splints and tennis shoes. Very Cute!! We were so excited! Anything that aids in his progression is exciting. We weren't sure if he would like them because they force his foot to stay at an angle and he can't move them. He does not like to be restrained. They provide him with ankle support for possible standing in the future.

He did very well though so we moved on to the next step. The Prone Stander!!! (I feel like there should be a drum roll here.) The rule was if he does well with the splints we could move on to the prone stand. So I google this contraption to see what it looks like. Ok, not too bad. I bet Nicholas will like this. It will add a new position for him other than sitting and laying down.

So our dear Travis arrives to lend us the stander. Below are pictures. Scary isn't it? You're probably thinking "who in the world invented that and why would you put your sweet baby boy in that thing?" I thought the same thing. It was all exciting when I googled it but once that thing showed up and we had to put Nicholas in....that was a whole different story. So this things lays down to strap the kids in because you can't strap them in while they are standing up. They would fall over and out. Nicholas HATES to be on his back. Strike number one! Then, this things reminds me of the times he got his x-rays done. They laid him down and pull his arms over his head, strap his arm down, strap his legs down and roll him all over the place. Very traumatizing for mom and child!! Strike number two!

Travis and Frank (Nicholas' PT) look at me expectantly. Lay him down, Lisa. The mom in me says "Heck No!" It is just like sending him off to Gateway School. No way do I want to do it but I have to realize this will benefit Nicholas. I promised Nicholas I would do everything I could to give him the best life possible. So I lay him down in it. They strap him up. Then they slowly raise it up to a standing position. Below is the look on his face.

Not cool, mom!!! In the picture below, Frank is grabbing his hand to calm him down. Yeah, right!! This is a good thing Nicholas. Is he convinced yet? I am in the back ground wringing my hands together itching to grab him out of that thing. After a few minutes we get him out. He just gets too agitated. I am a little let down. I do want him to like this.

Instructions: keep practicing with him to see if we can get him to like this. Twice a day for 30 minutes each.

Below is Nicholas today. He LOVES his prone stand. He gets so excited. He starts his little cooing sounds and just acts like he is "all that." Very exciting!

By the way, below would be Rochelle's arm. Rochelle is Nicholas' CNA who we all love and adore. We'll have to formally introduce her later-for now you just get the arm :)

New and excting things to come! Praise God!!

Happy Nurses Week

Happy Nurses Week to our wonderful nurses! We love all so much and can never thank you enough for all of the love and support you have given us. You have helped us through our darkest times, you have laughed with us, cried with us , but most importantly you have loved not only Nicholas but all of us. Thank you for what you do every day for the little ones and their families. Thank you for saving lives!!

We love you- The Richardson's.

Miracles

Below is a video of Nicholas trying to talk to us. The quality is bad and so is the lighting but the subject is a true miracle!! As most of you know, Nicholas was very close to not being here today. He was then not supposed to be able to breath on his own, talk, cry, anything such as that. Nicholas has surpassed anything we ever even hoped for him. He is alive and that was enough. The Lord blessed us, and continues to do so, with that plus so much more.

Every time we tried to catch Nicholas "talking" he would stop. Below is a small example of what he is doing. He does it towards the end of the video. I pray you see the Lord's miracle in our son as we do! He, according to Neurology and his CAT scan, is not capable of such things.

Busch Gardens

This picture says it all....
Megan: The Cost of an Untidy Chamber
Stephen: For Want of a Quiet Tongue. That would be root beer!!!! Don't punish the woman who does your laundry, buys you toys, cleans your room, etc.

Stephen's idea of a ride (front row, second seat)

My idea of a ride. I want to stay really close to the ground!

Nicholas loved the bumpy sidewalk. He would cry when we stopped Going into the Dark Kastle ride. It was a bit scary too!!

Before Raging Rapids..... After Raging Rapids...

My four boys......... Nicholas was talking to daddy.

We had a great time at Busch Gardens. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support.

Much Love-The Richardson Six.

Nicholas James Richardson, DS, CHD, CAVC, TOF, CP, CVI

WOW! Sounds impressive doesn’t it?

Our society is enamored with labels. We love to label. The world of academia has taught us the more alphabets behind a name, the smarter the person and the more respect they should garner.

Well, the letters behind Nicholas’ name aren’t degrees of higher education. No, the letters behind Nicholas’ name are mans way of labeling him; of defining who he is and putting him in his proper box.

Nicholas James Richardson, Down Syndrome, Congenital Heart Defects, Complete Atrio -Ventricular Canal Defect, Tetrology of Fallot, Cerebral Palsy, Cortical Visual Impairment. Now we can properly categorize my son; he’s a severely disabled child with multiple birth defects. Now society can be happy. Nicholas fits neatly into his proper box where labels define him.

Not so fast! Lisa and I don’t subscribe to that secular non-sense. I hate labels and I despise the term “birth defect.” You see, I don’t believe there is such a thing as birth defects. God created Nicholas (and all of us) in His image – in His likeness. The bible says in Jeremiah 1:5 that "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” James 1:17, which is Nicholas’ life verse, says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

The fact remains that Nicholas does have numerous “medical conditions.” But Nicholas does not have “birth defects” as society would have us believe. When God created Nicholas, when He formed him in the womb, He did not make a mistake, there were no screw-ups. God created Nicholas just the way He wanted him. In fact, in God’s eyes, Nicholas is perfect. Only in man’s eyes do we see the imperfections.

And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matt. 3:17.

Nicholas James Richardson, COG, PSOM.

Nicholas James Richardson, Child of God, Precious Son of Mine…yeah, now that’s more like it.

SPR