We love country music in our house. Being from Texas and Georgia who couldn't really love it...
One of my new favorite country artists is Miranda Lambert...here's one I really like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZg7EUlHFw
Counting blessings
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
It is so different...
raising a girl. I know it sounds stereotypical and I know there are variations of the norm...but it is so different in this house. Brian and I just said last night we can't imagine just how different our family would be if we didn't have that little girl. I get more hugs...I love you's...I want to marry you (she knows she cannot marry me but somehow continues to ask if she can)...I want to be a mommy like you...the list goes on.
She tells her brothers she loves them..and she tells them she is mad at them, thinks they are not fair, wishes they would leave...that list goes on too. But..so different from my boys who don't really have a great grasp on their feelings all the time.
She's a bundle of girl energy...now that comes along with some female "fickleness" so Brian says. She is quite sensitive, emotional, and horribly DRAMATIC. But just so funny.
Gracie and I had the chance to spend some girl time this weekend. Brian took the boys on a Cub Scout camp out. We dressed up and went to her pick of restaurant ( Panera), went shopping and looking at girl toys and clothes. Then came home and watched a Strawberry Shortcake movie. I told Brian I am really looking forward to really enjoying her. I didn't get to really have a friendship with mom. She was sick for three years before I lost her at 15. I can't wait to be there for Gracie.
I feel blessed to be able to be her mom...
She tells her brothers she loves them..and she tells them she is mad at them, thinks they are not fair, wishes they would leave...that list goes on too. But..so different from my boys who don't really have a great grasp on their feelings all the time.
She's a bundle of girl energy...now that comes along with some female "fickleness" so Brian says. She is quite sensitive, emotional, and horribly DRAMATIC. But just so funny.
Gracie and I had the chance to spend some girl time this weekend. Brian took the boys on a Cub Scout camp out. We dressed up and went to her pick of restaurant ( Panera), went shopping and looking at girl toys and clothes. Then came home and watched a Strawberry Shortcake movie. I told Brian I am really looking forward to really enjoying her. I didn't get to really have a friendship with mom. She was sick for three years before I lost her at 15. I can't wait to be there for Gracie.
I feel blessed to be able to be her mom...
Thursday, November 4, 2010
gracie the performer
My little girl is quite the performer. Most of you wouldn't know that because she only performs in quiet or with her family. When she does it is quite funny...She is the author of her songs. Know where she gets that? Me...when I was younger I wrote many songs...most of which revolved around my anger over something I felt was not going my way. I did have a knack for repeating key words or phrases until I would forget the rest of the song. Gracie does the same thing...except her songs are generally happy. This one is about her "digida" or princess wand she got at the fall festival.
Relentless
That's the word to describe living with a disability. I have been reading this book called Same Lake Different Boat by Stephanie Hubach. Here's how she describes relentlessness. "...an extremely unpleasant, repetitive process that, almost upon completion, is entirely undone only to be repeated perpetually. At time relentless difficulties are something we can laugh about when the intensity has ebbed. Often, though there is nothing funny about them..." I know every family with or without a disability encounters relentless behaviors but according to Hubach..." families affected by diability will find it to be more so..."
It has given me quite a bit to think about. To be honest, I don't ALWAYS think of Bubs disability. It doesn't plague my mind day in and day out as it once did when he was a baby. I see what a beautiful child he has become and I often forget that there are difficulties and struggles we face simply because of the extra chromosome. Most days he blends in with the rest of the chaos of our lives and he doesn't stick out. He is just Bubs to me...most days!
Yesterday I had one of those days when RELENTLESS is the only word to describe the difficulties.
I allowed Bubs to stay home from school to get over his sinus infection. We needed to get out and headed to Target. It was turning out to be a fun outing until we stopped to look at the PJ's. Bubs and Gracie absolutely LOVE new pj's. I suppose the excitement combined with being in the cart way to long made them very silly. They started to hide from me under the clothes rack. That's something most all kids love! I could tell it was starting to get out of hand and I asked them to get back into the cart so we could go before someone had to ask us to leave! Gracie quickly obeyed but Bubs found this all a fun game. He threw down the Pj's I had asked him to put away and ran under a rack of clothes farther from me. I could tell this was not going to be easy to get him back to the cart. Oh...did I mention I had lost my voice from a sinus infection I had just had and could not pull out the BIG voice that he usually understands means business. Well...before I knew it, he had run laughing from the children's dept into the baby aisles and as quickly as I could get there he was gone. I couldn't see him anywhere. Panic hit me and tears were flowing. I grabbed Gracie and found an associate to help me. She called a CODE YELLOW for a little boy in a Spiderman shirt. They asked me how old he was. When I told them he was eight I had to explain that he had Down Syndrome so he really looked like a five year old! Several customers rallied around to help look under the racks. Within seconds but what seemed like minutes they had found him in the MEN'S department... hiding in the racks and still laughing. His laughing turned to fear when he saw my face and my tears. I couldn't help but hold him but I was so frustrated on the inside. How could he have seen no danger in what he just did? We have punished him for running away so many times...but I still feel like it's going to take until eternity for that kid to get it...
So...I come home hoping to recover from the ordeal from earlier. Bubs decides to color. He loves to color in new coloring books. That sounds pretty tame right? Well...something possesses him today to draw with the crayons on the carpet. What in the world?? I have told him not to do that so many times before and I thought surely he understood that. So...my peaceful afternoon is spent trying to remove the crayon stains from the carpet. It isn't easy at all!
So there seems to be no end to this day...but wait there is more. Now this next disaster isn't exactly Bubs fault but he was the cause. So Samuel's latest gameis bouncing tennis balls on the roof of the garage and then counting how quickly he can catch them. Well...Bubs enjoys the same game except never really manages to get the ball on the roof. Yesterday was no different. Bubs was using a very soft training baseball. If you don't know what these are...they are very light and pretty safe...so I thought. After a few throws to the garage door I hear a shattering sound of glass. I turn around to see glass lying all over the ground and a huge hole in the garage door window. Bubs is speechless along with the other two...both waiting to see my reaction. Fortunately I was on the phone and couldn't really exclaim the words that came to my head. I sent the kids inside. Shaking my head I picked up the glass and swept the ground. How could this kid get in this much trouble today...why is life so different? Knowing that it wasn't his fault I went inside and let him know I wasn't mad at him but at the situation and that it really could not have been his fault. But seriously???
I will go back to what I have been reading. Hubach reminds us that our lives should not be about the disability and how we can overcome it, bring pity to ourselves, or ignore it. Our lives should be God focused. As long as we can keep Him in the focus then our relentless struggles will pale and we can take heart.
Here's a verse I have found some comfort in day to day...
Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2a
I need to daily ask God to evaluate my heart and to help put some perpespective on these relentless areas of my life. Many of us did not ask for the race they are running...disability, illness, death, financial problems... But we must run with perseverance and only with His help. It's the only solution!
It has given me quite a bit to think about. To be honest, I don't ALWAYS think of Bubs disability. It doesn't plague my mind day in and day out as it once did when he was a baby. I see what a beautiful child he has become and I often forget that there are difficulties and struggles we face simply because of the extra chromosome. Most days he blends in with the rest of the chaos of our lives and he doesn't stick out. He is just Bubs to me...most days!
Yesterday I had one of those days when RELENTLESS is the only word to describe the difficulties.
I allowed Bubs to stay home from school to get over his sinus infection. We needed to get out and headed to Target. It was turning out to be a fun outing until we stopped to look at the PJ's. Bubs and Gracie absolutely LOVE new pj's. I suppose the excitement combined with being in the cart way to long made them very silly. They started to hide from me under the clothes rack. That's something most all kids love! I could tell it was starting to get out of hand and I asked them to get back into the cart so we could go before someone had to ask us to leave! Gracie quickly obeyed but Bubs found this all a fun game. He threw down the Pj's I had asked him to put away and ran under a rack of clothes farther from me. I could tell this was not going to be easy to get him back to the cart. Oh...did I mention I had lost my voice from a sinus infection I had just had and could not pull out the BIG voice that he usually understands means business. Well...before I knew it, he had run laughing from the children's dept into the baby aisles and as quickly as I could get there he was gone. I couldn't see him anywhere. Panic hit me and tears were flowing. I grabbed Gracie and found an associate to help me. She called a CODE YELLOW for a little boy in a Spiderman shirt. They asked me how old he was. When I told them he was eight I had to explain that he had Down Syndrome so he really looked like a five year old! Several customers rallied around to help look under the racks. Within seconds but what seemed like minutes they had found him in the MEN'S department... hiding in the racks and still laughing. His laughing turned to fear when he saw my face and my tears. I couldn't help but hold him but I was so frustrated on the inside. How could he have seen no danger in what he just did? We have punished him for running away so many times...but I still feel like it's going to take until eternity for that kid to get it...
So...I come home hoping to recover from the ordeal from earlier. Bubs decides to color. He loves to color in new coloring books. That sounds pretty tame right? Well...something possesses him today to draw with the crayons on the carpet. What in the world?? I have told him not to do that so many times before and I thought surely he understood that. So...my peaceful afternoon is spent trying to remove the crayon stains from the carpet. It isn't easy at all!
So there seems to be no end to this day...but wait there is more. Now this next disaster isn't exactly Bubs fault but he was the cause. So Samuel's latest gameis bouncing tennis balls on the roof of the garage and then counting how quickly he can catch them. Well...Bubs enjoys the same game except never really manages to get the ball on the roof. Yesterday was no different. Bubs was using a very soft training baseball. If you don't know what these are...they are very light and pretty safe...so I thought. After a few throws to the garage door I hear a shattering sound of glass. I turn around to see glass lying all over the ground and a huge hole in the garage door window. Bubs is speechless along with the other two...both waiting to see my reaction. Fortunately I was on the phone and couldn't really exclaim the words that came to my head. I sent the kids inside. Shaking my head I picked up the glass and swept the ground. How could this kid get in this much trouble today...why is life so different? Knowing that it wasn't his fault I went inside and let him know I wasn't mad at him but at the situation and that it really could not have been his fault. But seriously???
I will go back to what I have been reading. Hubach reminds us that our lives should not be about the disability and how we can overcome it, bring pity to ourselves, or ignore it. Our lives should be God focused. As long as we can keep Him in the focus then our relentless struggles will pale and we can take heart.
Here's a verse I have found some comfort in day to day...
Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2a
I need to daily ask God to evaluate my heart and to help put some perpespective on these relentless areas of my life. Many of us did not ask for the race they are running...disability, illness, death, financial problems... But we must run with perseverance and only with His help. It's the only solution!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Halloween
My kids always have the option of choosing their Halloween costumes. Ironically each one really says something about their personalities. This year was no exception...Gracie chose Strawberry Shortcake...or "cupcake!" as she says. She kinda reminds me of Strawberry. I guess because she is not quite an all out princess because she will wrestle and play boy games and doesn't like "itchy clothes"...but she does love girly things and loves most anything that smells so "yummy!" My Samuel was Indiana Jones...cracks me up since he has never seen the movie but he loves the WII game. He has moved past the superhero stage. I think that he understands that most superheroes are not real and that he could never become one of them. He could however be Indiana Jones, and has asked me how hard he would have to practice in order to be him one day. The costume was great until somehow we lost the lasso along the way. That was the coolest part of the costume and unfortunately it didn't make much sense to look for it in the dark! And then there's my Spiderman. Okay...so the kid has been Spiderman for four years...(not to mention we have had a Spiderman birthday party for four years also)...Well...this year was no exception. We did have to buy a new suit this year. He busted out of the old one last year when we had to wear it at the last minute when he decided he couldn't be Iron Man! You gotta love that about that kid!
So..the weather was great and except for a couple of scary houses, one fall, one kid who got tired of walking, and the loss of a lasso in the neighborhood...it was a great night!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Pumpkin carving
I just love the fall! Apples...pumpkins...cooler weather...and then Halloween. I know it's a controversial holiday for Christians but I just love it. I think we have done pretty well at keeping it pretty child like. The unfortunate thing is that this year I am appalled at the world's ability to make this the scariest, creepiest, most demonic holiday ever. Thank goodness for churches that provide fall festivals, and fall parties to keep the party fun...but not scary! The kids love dressing up...photos to come... and I just love watching them. They have been counting the days until they can wear their costumes. This week we carved "Jack!" We named him this year...thanks to the book Pumpkin Jack! Dad always does the work...this year with the help of Samuel...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)