Ever since Marty yelled STOP! I have known that the words are in there and he just needs to get them out.  It's like there's a wall between his brain and his mouth.  Prior to the STOP incident, all words Marty had learned has been through repetition watching someones mouth intently.  It has been a grueling process that has frustrated Marty something fierce.

Sweet Roberta came over today and did another session of speech therapy.  Something changed during the session today.  Roberta has a great way of wanting Marty to learn and to try to talk.  She doesn't push him.  She allows him to write when she can tell he is frustrated.  However, today he has really started talking more.  Here are the words that were added to Marty's vocabulary today.

Carolyn (Marty's mother)
Ray (Marty's dad)
Yes
No
Hot Rod
Train
Bus
Good
Catch
Push
Day

There are probably a few more, but those are the ones I can think of.  Hot Rod, Train, Bus, Catch, and Push are all words that Marty actually read.  Roberta brought him some flashcards and we also have a "things that move" picture book that we are borrowing.  Marty's dad tried to get him to say Limousine, but Marty refused!

I told Marty that this language barrier is like a wall that we are chipping away with a small little hammer and one day it will come crumbling down.  Marty then made the motion of a sledge hammer beating down the wall.  This has to be extremely frustrating for him.  He knows what he wants to say, but just can't say it.

I am not sure why I was in such a funk today.  I suppose I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with the pressures of work, girls, home, Marty, bills, etc.  I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that could sense my frustration and answers my prayers.  He sent an angel to help me see the potential.  Thank you my angel, Roberta.

I have a room in my house that I refer to as the perspective room.  It has come to be my favorite room in the house (though really messy right now as it has turned into a dumping zone).  The perspective room is a place of peace, tranquility & prayer.  It's a place to help find my eternal perspective when life's challenges cloud it over.  I love to look in the mirrors sitting opposite each other and see for eternity.  In challenging times, I cope much better when I can keep that eternal perspective.

On the first day of Marty's stroke, Bishop Jarvis gave me a priesthood blessing.  In this blessing he promised me that there would be lessons learned with an eternal outcome.  I have thought a lot about this since then.  There are lessons that the Lord is trying to teach me, through Marty, that I will need for the rest of my life and for all eternity.  That's beautiful!

Perhaps patience is one of those lessons.  For today, we will celebrate the small breakthroughs.