Late Night with Victoria Jayne!

Tonight Victoria talked and talked while being in her bed … at bedtime … in the dark. I kept waiting on her to go to sleep and she just wouldn’t. So, I went in to check on her. I changed her diaper and thought maybe that would do the trick. She kept signing “eat” to me, so I figured I’d give her a little something to eat. “Maybe she just didn’t eat enough supper,” I thought. So, I gave her a little Gerber cereal bar and some milk. I brushed her teeth AGAIN and then she wanted to walk around the house. She was full of energy at 9:30pm, mind you! She was so cute. I took a short video of her and couldn’t help but want to share it with all of you! Hope you enjoy seeing her growth and progress! She is quite a character!

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Gene Stallings

What a wonderful honor it was to meet Gene Stallings tonight! Some of you may know him as a great past coach of the Alabama college football team. In my family … we are avid Alabama football fans, so we have known who Gene Stallings is for quite a while.

Coach Stallings came into town this weekend to speak at our church (First Baptist North Mobile) on Sunday morning for our “Every Sunday Is Game Day” kickoff. My husband, Mark, picked Coach Stallings up from the airport and as they drove he began to tell him about our little girl, Victoria. This, of course, was a very special conversation due to the fact that Coach Stallings had a son with Downs named Johnny.

Mark drove Coach Stallings to meet a small group of folks for dessert. I was among the few there and thoroughly enjoyed meeting Coach Stallings. He asked me right away how my little girl was doing. He shared many encouraging words with me that night concerning having a child with special needs. He hugged and kissed me on the cheek twice that night. He was such a sweet man. He wanted to make sure that I brought Victoria to meet him the next morning at church.

The next morning, Coach Stallings spoke at North Mobile and was swarmed by a slew of folks after the service was over. I managed to get to him and introduced him to Victoria. Without saying a word, he handed his Bible to Mark, immediately grabbed Victoria from my arms and kissed and hugged her. It was not only moving to me, but I believe it was for him, as well. You see, he lost his son Johnny several years ago and misses him so much.

I was very encouraged this weekend by a very special man. If you haven’t read Coach Stallings’ book, Another Season, I strongly encourage you to. It is an amazing account of his past football career intermingled with the struggles and joys of having a child with special needs in the family. You can find the book at www.amazon.com/Another-Season-Gene-Stallings/dp/0767902556.
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Terrible Two’s!

Victoria turned 2 in March and is still a really pleasant child. She is pretty determined at times, but she continues to remain a very sweet and innocent girl. Our challenge with her is the fact that she is so physically capable of doing anything now! She has been able to climb up on the tall bar chairs in our kitchen, as well as any other chairs/couches that are lower than those. One day I walked into my bathroom for about 3 minutes to finish fixing my hair and Elyssa came running to me yelling out my name. She said it was an emergency that I should come right away. I went quickly with her into the kitchen where I saw Victoria STANDING on top of our breakfast table. I totally freaked out! I couldn’t believe she was able to get up there. I immediately got her down and locked her in the bathroom with me until I was able to finish my hair. I have realized recently that I cannot take my eyes off of her for very long at all now.

I recently took my active little girl for her first haircut and here is a photo of her new “doo!” If you ask me, she is a doll!

Even though she keeps me on my toes, her “Terrible Two’s” are still a joy!
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Dancing Around!

Victoria is growing so fast! Although she turned 2 in March and still only wears 18-month clothing … she is doing some big girl things!

I recently put in a DVD that we purchased during our week of VBS at the church. I put it in for the girls to listen to and caught Victoria raising her arms up at the exact point in the song that the dancers in the video prompt you to do. I was amazed!
More and more I see that Victoria “gets it!” There have been moments that I wondered if she really understood things. As I see her grow I find myself constantly amazed at all she DOES know and understand.

She is picking up sign language that I teach her right and left. If I were more consistent in adding new signs more quickly, she would know much more than she does know! She is such a smart girl.

God has truly given us a gift! And, just as Victoria raises her arms in praise songs as she watches her VBS DVD … I find myself doing the same as I praise God for letting me see so many miracles in Victoria’s little life!

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