Hi, Des Moines mamas! I’m Jackie, and I’m so excited to be back with Des Moines Moms Blog. I started contributing with the blog about two and a half years ago as the play date coordinator. After some time off, I’m beyond thankful to be part of the team again and give back to this community that has blessed my life in so many ways!
My journey as a mom started in 2010 when I had a miracle baby, Easton (5), who was born 10 weeks early, weighing 2.0 lbs. My husband, Andy, and I will be married nine years in July and absolutely love Des Moines. I am a St. Louis, Missouri, native and vowed to never move away from family after having lost my little brother to epilepsy back in St. Louis, but like many other areas of my life, God had a different plan. Back in St. Louis the hubby traveled a ton and would be gone weeks at a time while I still worked a busy career with many hours. We realized our marriage would never survive at the rate we were going–and that it certainly would not be the best thing for our family–so we made the decision to drop my career (another thing I vowed never to do!), and I became a stay-at-home mom to our little boy. That change landed us here in Ankeny three years ago with my husband’s job.
Boy, was that tough moving in October right before a horrible winter set in, not knowing anyone, and restarting life in every way I knew! I was beyond overwhelmed, and the move was more than enough to wreak havoc on anyone, but especially a two-year-old little boy. We couldn’t go to the store, visit churches, or pretty much even leave our house because he would cry hysterically.
With Easton’s prematurity, he had a language delay which we were in therapy for, but I also started to have that mommy gut instinct that something else was going on. So, good old Google became my best friend, and there it was: toe walking, adaptive and social communication delays, hard transitions, and language delays all added up to a diagnosis of Autism. After two evaluations it was confirmed he is Autistic.
Looking back, I see God’s plan for our life. A special needs little boy needed his mom at home, our marriage needed time and communication to restore unity within our family, and our hearts needed a church family. When we mustered up enough energy to see how Easton would do visiting churches, one of the first ones we visited was First Family in Ankeny. Easton was able to handle the children’s ministry to allow Andy and I to attend service, which is where I met Sarah Farnsworth. She handed me a cute little business card from Des Moines Moms Blog, and the rest is history!
Since our life change, you can find me researching and providing therapy for my son and constantly trying to create and find new recipes my picky and limited five-year-old can eat and LOVE! In addition to Autism, Easton also has a compromised GI system and has intolerances to gluten, dairy, and soy. I hope to share some recipes that are special to our family and which can be modified for gluten, dairy, and soy-free diets. Probably one of my biggest rewards is watching him enjoy food since that is an area we struggled with for so long!
Here are some of my loves in life outside of God and my family:
- Coffee, Coffee, and more Coffee! – Recently, Andy and I, along with some friends of ours, started buying raw coffee beans and roasting our own beans from various places all over the world.
- Cooking – I love to create food for any who will eat!
- Cheese – Really any kind except blue cheese. (Cheese is my absolute favorite food, but I have to limit myself due to my own intolerance!)
- Travel – I LOVE to travel (especially beaches). My dream is to go back to Europe and travel to Italy, but in the short term I am excited for a trip with the hubby to San Antonio at the end of February!
- Dogs – I have two additional babies, and they are spoiled rotten — Samson, a 90 lb. Weimaraner who is 11 ½, and Sydney, a little 25 lb. Beagle who is 8!
- STL Cardinals Baseball – I don’t have much time to watch TV but love Cardinals Baseball.
- Movies – I love movie nights with Hubby after Easton goes to bed.
- Games – Uno and Cribbage are some of my faves. Plus my passion has carried over to Easton, so many a game night at the Strawn House!
- Friends – I love my friends. I couldn’t imagine how I would journey through life without them and treasure any time I can get!
My biggest passion is to advocate for my son in all areas of life because we all know life is hard enough without a learning difference, and as moms we just want our children to thrive how God created them. Whether by providing information I have acquired through my own journey or by just offering a listening ear and heart to those who need it, I hope to help moms to not feel alone and encourage them to persevere through the trials and mountains in life.
Thank you so much for listening to my story. I can’t wait to hear from you!
