Missing Pieces

Missing Pieces Mark Leland /Tim Calhoun Mallory Records/Nashville copyright 2005 http://www.myspace.com/markleland It was a mid December evening, in a room of heavy breathing, When I looked into my little baby's eyes, And like the ships that sail the ocean, he had captured my emotions, and wrapped them up just like a gift at Christmas time, I thanked the Lord above that he was mine, I prayed to God that everything was fine And after months we saw him changing, Nathaniel's speech was rearranging, So we took him back to see what they could find, And after ironing out the creases, They came up with missing pieces, And they told us that autism's on the rise, I looked into my little baby's eyes, I promised him to find the reasons why, Now I lay him down to sleep I pray the Lord my son could speak, And make him strong, where he is weak, This I ask of You.. And just like him, there's many more, That need our help to win this war, Cause who knows what might lay in store, To help them make it through. The doctor says, there's so much more to do, to put the pieces back together, but it's up to me and you So now we lay them down to sleep And pray the Lord they all could speak, Please make them strong, where they are weak, This we ask of You.. Cause now we know there's so many more, That need our help to win this war, And who knows what might lay in store, To help them make it through. Yes, who knows what might lay in store, The missing piece is me and you... I love you daddy (Nathaniel Powers/Calhoun talking)

Birthday #4!!

On Saturday we celebrated Gabriel's fourth birthday! Because he works so hard each day, we decided to honor his valiant efforts with a huge birthday blow-out!

What a great time! Gabe was overcome with joy and excitement when he saw the enormous Bob the Builder bounce house in our backyard! He ran through the house squealing with delight when he first saw Bob.


Our party theme was "Thomas," which is what Gabe is "in to" at the moment. Gabe loved his Thomas themed decorations and cake! He attempts to name many of the engines and refers to Thomas (his favorite) as "Ta-Ta."


I was a little nervous about how Gabe would handle having so many visitors in our home, but he seemed genuinely happy and content during his party. We had a turnout of almost 50 people!! We were thrilled to have our family and friends join us to celebrate this special little guy.


As Gabriel's birthday approached, we could have easily focused on the fact that we are not making the progress we had hoped to see at this point in our journey, but instead we chose to dwell on the many positives in our lives and to acknowledge the abundant blessings being granted to us from a loving God. We have a son that is so pure and innocent. He knows nothing of deceit, greed, or manipulation. Everything he does and every emotion he expresses is straight from his heart and with only the purest of intentions. Gabe works hard to learn things that come so easily to his peers and he refuses to give up. Instead , he shows us each and every day what a brave and useful soul he is... just like his hero, Thomas, "the brave and useful engine."

"Thomas is a tank engine

Who's small and short and blue.

He sometimes causes mischief, but

His heart is good and true."

(Railway Rhymes)