Welcome to The Clark Clan Chronicles

Update on our Family:
I have never thought about blogging until recently, because I need a way to release my thoughts. I am so blessed to be married to a Godly man who wants to please the Lord and his family. Nick is an excellent father and husband. We were married 4 1/2 years ago. The first year we were married we discovered we were pregnant with our first child. Bryce Jamison Clark was born April 1st 2006. He was such a blessing and answer to our prayers. Our second child was born 14 months and 7 days later. Brayden Jarrell-Michael Clark arrived on June 8th 2007. Thirteen months and 20 days later Brenna Jenee' Clark joined our family. Our precious baby girl and last child was born July 28th 2008. Nick says we are done. I am in agreement, so we will make it permanent soon. I am a stay at home mom and Nick works Mon. - Fri. as a receiver for a warehouse in Elkhart, IN. It is a job and with the economy the way that it is we are grateful for the job.

Bryce:
Bryce our oldest who is 2 3/4 year old, was diagnosed with Autism on Feb. 13th 2009. We were not surprised, yet we are still learning to deal with the "blow" of the diagnoses. Most parents pray for their child to be healthy and happy to grow as a "normal" child. So to be told that your child is not "normal" is quite a shock to your system. As I learn more about this diagnoses I will share with you. Obviously we have to remember that Bryce is just the way he is supposed to be. God created him just the way he is. We are grateful for him. I have found myself in tears over his diagnoses. We asked God for Bryce, He was our only child that we prayed and asked God for. The other two were added, yet a surprising, blessing. We prayed for all of them after we knew we were pregnant, however we were not trying to get pregnant with Brayden and Brenna when we did. We wanted more space between our children. Isn't God good? He always know what is best. Bryce was the only one we tried for. I remember telling God that I would take whatever He thought we needed. I was thinking like sex wise, boy or girl. The Lord reminded me recently of the promise I made Him that if He would give us a child I would be happy no matter what He gave us. Every time I get overwhelmed by the label that is now on my sweet Bryce, I remember that I promised God I would do my best to be a Godly example to my child. I do not want this label of Autism to define Bryce. He is such a loving little boy full of life and very busy. He and his brother are always getting into trouble. They are kind of like raising twins. What the one doesn't think of the other will. Bryce does not talk, he does what they call hand flapping, his senses are different than yours and mine, he has a terrible time being told "no" like any two year old, but along with that comes terrible temper tantrums. When he gets frustrated, he hits or kicks, which is hard to deal with sometimes. He is very strong, so he can pick things up and throw them. He has broken many things in our home. We live with my in-laws currently. They are very patient loving people. As I talk with my in-laws about Bryce's diagnoses, I realized my mother-in-law was crying. She suspected Autism around the same time as I did, however I was in denial longer than she was. Her first grandchild has something many people don't understand. 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with Autism, yet we still don't know where it comes from and why some kids get it and some don't. I will get into where I think Bryce's came from another time. On to the other kids.

Brayden:
Our "little tank" as Nick calls him. He loves to jabber quite a bit. He is 20 months old and like I said before he is busy along with his brother Bryce. Brayden can say quite a few words now. He says "bye", "please", (but it sounds more like psssss) " He just learned "tankoo" today or we would say thank you, and some other words. He is a funny little guy, keeps all of us laughing. He thinks he is big stuff. Carries on conversation, we just wish we knew what he was saying and thinking in that little brain of his. I will share more about Brayden next time I blog.

Brenna:
Our precious baby girl. What a joy she is. Brenna is 6 months old and only cries when she needs something. Other than that she is a very happy baby. She is sitting up now. She has some issues with eating. She has a high palate so she doesn't take a bottle well. We have her in a program called First Steps, (so is Bryce) it is a early intervention program to help with development. They come to the house and give therapy to develop her mouth muscles to have closure on the bottle nipple. She only wanted to nurse, but we are working on weaning her to a bottle now. She is also taking cereal and baby food only veggies. She is not big on the fruit yet.

Closing:
So that is the start of our family blog. I hope you enjoy reading it and feel free to comment or ask questions. I will blog more about Bryce and Autism next time. Have a great day everyone!