Through Darkness find Light

Twenty-six years ago, as a seven year old girl a miracle happened in my life. I was sad, my older brother was missing and I was afraid.

On September 22, 1989 my brother Josh Dennis went with my dad and his friends on a Scout Camp. He was only 10 years old, but he was 10 feet tall with hope and excitement. That night the group camped in Tooele, Utah near the abandoned Hidden Treasure Mine. They will all excited to explore it. After entering the mine the men and boys realized how truly dark it was. A group decided to leave the mine and my dad was among them. He told Josh to follow, but Josh begged to stay with the other group. My dad agreed. Joshua ran ahead to catch up with the group. The more he ran the farther away they got. Suddenly their lights disappeared.  Josh did not have a flashlight and was alone in the dark.

We didn't find out until the next day that he was missing. I was scared and didn't know what to do. I had to stay with friends that night while my mom went up to the mine to be with my dad. The next day we were taken to my grandparents house to stay. Each day that went by I was becoming more upset and worried. My grandma tried to keep us three kids busy and kept the TV off so we didn't hear the news reports. My grandma always would remind me later how I wouldn't let myself smile and have fun until Josh was back.

I remember one day, September 27th, that we thought it was a great idea to make Josh cards to give him when he was found. I was smiling. I was excited to give them to him. Sitting at my grandma's counter we were coloring and the doorbell rang. When it wasn't answered immediately they started knocking. My grandma answered the door and I couldn't understand what words were spoken, but within seconds there were screams of joy.

Joshua was found and he was alive. I started crying and I was so excited that we could give him our cards that we made.

This experience could have destroyed a family. We could have asked, "why us?" and left the church. But we know that we are here for a reason. We are here to endure and we can make it through anything, if we turn to the Lord and Choose The Right. I love how at last night's women's conference Linda Reeves 2nd Counselor in the R.S. said "We will be exceedingly blessed if we have faith and patience."

I feel that through this experience that my family went through I always remembered the blessings we received. My personal testimony grew and continues to grow when I remember that we are important to Him. After 5 days, and nights in a mine Joshua survived. He was there with my brother, He protected Josh and He was with our family.

When Josh was on his mission Sister Virginia U. Jensen spoke about my brother's experience in Conference. It was wonderful to be there with my fiancé Ryan. Sister Jensen spoke of the song Lead, Kindly, Light. (To read her full talk go HERE.)

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom; …

The night is dark, and I am far from home; …

Keep thou my feet; …

one step enough for me.

We will feel darkness at different times in our lives. When Josh was found the searchers put a hard hat on his head, they had a flashlight and they warmed him up. We too can feel protection from our Heavenly Father, we will see his light and feel warmth from His love.

Family Heirlooms

This Bride is the 11th family member to wear this wedding dress. To read the story click HERE.

When I read this article, I felt a twinge of  jealousy. How I wish I would have had a beautiful gown passed down to me. It is beautiful and sweet. I love how it is modern to her style and she wears it well. I love that the world is embracing family history so much right now.

Endure

So many of us find things attractive and appealing. I do as much as anyone else. Some with the friends they choose, others with selfishness and some with sin. I have been trying hard to improve my life and be more Christ-like. I have been really focused on my family and trying to ignore the temptations outside of my home.

Scripture reading every morning before my kids wake has become a daily ritual and I've been focused on positive uplifting reads and activities. I read a few articles in this months Ensign and really loved the article The Harmless Little Fern.

I feel like it can relate to everyone in their own way and we need to look in our own lives to see what things seem like beauty, but really can cause harm.  I'm trying every day to be a better person. I've realized that I am not going to always go out with friends, or have the nicest clothes or other things, but I can be happy because I make myself happy. I am happy in my life and with my family. I am so thankful for my blessings and even my trials.

To read the article click HERE.

Cameron- Sensory Processing Disorder- 1

I've been thinking a lot lately about my son Cameron. He just started 1st grade and it's been a little difficult for him being gone all day. He loves school, has a lot of friends, listens to his teacher, but he says that he misses us. Cameron has some delays and he gets some help at school in speech, reading and if needed- behavior. 

Yesterday he came home from school wearing a necklace that had letters on it. It spelled MOM. It was so cute and I asked him what the other kids spelled on their necklaces. He told me they spelled their names, but he wanted Mom, because he missed me so much. It's made me look back at our journey to get him where he is now.

I remember after my oldest, Brooklynn, was about four, I thought I had parenting down. She was a really hard baby and toddler, but we had it down. When she turned five, my little boy Cameron was two and I had a brand new baby girl McKenna. I had three kids five and under and I had it under control. Life was perfect. Both Cameron and McKenna were really easy babies and toddlers. However, as Cameron got older he was becoming more and more difficult. Everyone brushed it off that he was just being “a boy”. Don’t worry it’s just his personality. He was hard, I was with him 24/7 and no one really understood.

 

Time went on and McKenna was the one who was the toddler and Cameron was four. When I asked the kids to clean up my toddler listened, but Cameron just made a bigger mess. He didn’t seem to get out of the “toddler” phase.  Still people continued to try to make me feel better, and reassure me that everything was fine.

When we would go to the store, Cameron would have to touch everything. He didn’t like certain smells and he would sometimes react in such a dramatic way. There were times that he screamed because the lights were too bright, or his clothes felt weird. When someone was too close to him he HATED it, but he always wanted big tight hugs. It was confusing and I mentally took notes of his quirks.

 

I remember one day he came to tell me he wanted to go outside. He said, “I’m going outside, mom, outside, I’m going outside.” I remember just staring at him. It seemed really odd. I realized that I had heard him repeat words and sentences before, but for some reason that time just stood out to me. I googled, “My son is repeating sentences.” As usual several sites popped up. One caught my eye. Sensory Processing Disorder.  I clicked on the link and knew immediately that is what my son had.

I had heard that before from an old neighbor. Her son had it and she told me about it years ago. I got on Facebook and messaged her. She gave me tips and advice and told me to talk to my pediatrician. I got on the phone and made an appointment.

In the doctor’s office I was ready with my list of things to talk about. I love our Pediatrician, because he will first listen. He has always said that mom’s know their kids best. Then he proceeds to tell you his opinion. I was ready to hear that I was just crazy. He said, so many parents, teachers and doctors are diagnosing kids with ADHD, giving them medication and moving on. Of course the medication is going to calm the kids, but it doesn’t mean that is the problem. People need to take a look at everything before medicating children. He said that he wasn’t sure what Cameron had, but he said more than likely some kind of learning delay or disability. So many kids show “Hyper” behavior because they don’t understand or they are delayed. Older kids act out, because they are too embarrassed to tell anyone they don’t understand. He said that he didn’t know a lot about Sensory Processing Disorder, but we were heading in the right direction. He referred me to an Occupational Therapist.

I felt really good about this. At my appointment she told me within minutes that although she can’t diagnose Sensory Processing Disorder, she would be the one that treats him and he qualifies. So basically she was saying, yes he has it. We started weekly therapy and Cameron also was qualified for the District Preschool to get extra help.

 

After more than six months, all my work had paid off and he was showing progress immediately. I was proud of Cameron, proud to be his mom and thankful that I listened to my gut instinct.

The occupational therapist worked with me and taught me things I could do at home to help Cameron. I read books and articles as well. I loved seeing my happy child again. He wasn’t so frustrated, mad, and hyper. He was happy. Cameron is now almost seven, he is in 1^st grade and has a lot of friends. He still struggles and gets overwhelmed, frustrated and mad, but he is doing better all the time. 

 

I will continue to write more about Cameron, Sensory Processing Disorder and his struggles and accomplishments.  I hope that Cameron will continue to succeed and always remember we do everything for him, even the hard stuff.

I love this quote and it should be Cameron's motto. Cameron has done so well over the last year, I sometimes forget to take a breath and find out what is wrong rather than just getting upset with him.

It's been quite the journey, with a lot of tears. Tears of sadness, anger and joy. It's been hard for us, but worth it. I love my little man so much!