From The Bottom Of My Heart

Now that the holidays are upon us, we tend to get bombarded with stories of despair, need, hope, and faith and each story again gives us an awakening to the blessings that we have been given and a deeper appreciation for what's important in our lives.

This holiday season is the beginning of our new appreciation and meaning for our family. I'm not going to deny that we've been through a lot this year, but we've also come a long way together a life changing time in our lives that I will never forget.

We are so very grateful for the love, support, and guidance of all of our close family and friends as well as all of our teachers, therapists, doctors, and whoever else I am leaving out (not intentionally) who have come along for the ride as Christopher lead the way. For those of you who donated so graciously to our team, Christopher's Cause for the Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism walk, we are forever grateful for your participation and generosity in making it a memorable event for us. That was just one of the highlights of our year, my most memorable one was when my son called me "Mommy" for the first time. That gave me the hope and faith to believe that we were going to go far this year and we did, we really did.

Chris has made amazing progress in 2009. From being practically non-verbal, to now being able to notice and decipher emotion in others, not to mention being able to achieve the simple task of jumping, this child has never ceased to amaze me. He is determined just as much as I am, it is he who has to do all the work, and I get to relish in the pride of seeing him blossom into an amazing little boy. I don't know any other way to explain it other than he is and always will be my pride and joy.

If there is going to be anyone for me to single out and give a heartfelt shout out to here, that would have to be my two best friends and loves of my life, Christopher Sr. and Isabella Frances. We have so many wonderful memories and moments of when it was just the three of us against the world, hoping for a new addition to our family but never the thought of the possibility of life taking us down this road, but because of the love and support that we have, not only for Christopher, but for each other makes us one hell of a team to take on anything that life has to offer. Christopher has completed us and his successes will continue to fulfill and enrich our lives as it goes on and as long as I have you all by my side, I will always be in a good place.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our friends and family who have listened to our story this year. I promise I will have so much more good news to spread in 2010.

All my love,
Beth