Who are you?

Who are you?  Who am I?
I am a woman, a Mum, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a friend.  I am a Christian, a church leader, a teacher.
All of these things define me, but I am more than the sum of these labels and so are all of you.  

One of the things that defines me most is being a Mum of two.I have a son who is now 10, and a daughter who is 9 and has special needs. Specifically she has Dystonic hemipelgia (her right side is weak and her right arm and hand doesn't work at all), epilepsy, high functioning ASD and ADHD.  She finds life tough at times, but is an amazing inspiration too and so I find my mind is full with so much to think through.  

She is the reason for this blog.  Her name is Imogen Joy.  Imogen means 'to be thought of or dreamed of' and before I was pregnant with her (a whole other infertility story) a friend of mine had a dream with me feeding her.  When I had my first born, my son, my friend walked in to the room and said 'No! That's not the one!' and declared there would be another!  There was, just 14 months later!

She is complex and There are so many aspects to her needs, medical  - physio, OT, meds, botox, social interaction; schooling - teachers, TAs and how to relate to them as a parent, her interaction with her brother and her peers, academic progress, how to develop and learn to be independent, how do I know if I am giving my son enough attention as my daughter needs so much?, and oh so many more..... Then I have all the questions of how she fits in to church, and all the faith questions her needs raise in me, and in turn are beginning to rise in her, how do I protect her in an environment where people relate as if they are friends but may have only just met? - very difficult for an Autistic person to understand, how do develop a culture in our church that allows for ASD and ADHD? (which are on the rise and people with these conditions need to be welcome!  Jesus didn't say 'let the children come to me - except those who may not be able to sit still and be quiet!'  No, he was the most counter cultural, accepting of the vulnerable, teacher of the time, and that's what I want my church to be.)

But I want, no, need the opportunity to see past the questions, to see past the ongoing labels, appointments and diagnoses and to celebrate her, her joy, her vest for life.
So if you want to journey with me, to understand more the travails of a family with Special needs within, to encourage you in your own journey, or to celebrate and remember the reason we all have value, then join me!  It may not be pretty at times, in fact it may get downright messy, but come along for the ride!