God is with me...

I love reading through the papers the kids bring home from school, especially the creative writing ones. Here is one Grace did in Bible class. The words in bold were given to her & she filled in the rest.

God is with me when I am...

Outside on the playground
Making supper
Not doing what I am suppose to do
In my house
Playing outside
Reading American Diary's
Eating soup
Sitting on my bed
Early to do my chores
Next to my sister
Taking out my cat's litter

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

On a side note, she was a little too excited to find a book at the library named Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear. She cries when her sister is gone and she has to sleep alone, but she loves to find ways to push her buttons when she's around! ;) Go figure...

Why I am thankful for my "full-time" job

Lately it hasn't felt like I have been working full-time. When my little guy is sick or has a Dr's appointment, I get the day off. Though unfortunately, it's not the best circumstances for him, I have been thankful that I've yet to work a 5 day week. Having a flexible schedule has allowed me to go on some of my kids' field trips, catch up on housework & secretarial duties, and curl up on the couch with a good book. I'm also thankful that my little guy requires a nap in the afternoons. The teacher & I have discussed cutting this out, but when we do it proves disastrous. That boy needs his nap! ;) So I help the teacher with grading papers & have about 20 min. left to just relax. I bring my MP3 player and a book of Sudoku to work with me. Ahh...contentment.

So, thanks God, for this day off. You knew I needed it! ;)

Daniel's birthday

We had an extended birthday celebration this weekend. On Friday we had pizza, ice cream, and presents! I got a kick out of his giggles with each present he opened & sheer delight over a dollar store item!

I baked his cake Saturday morning & he had fun decorating it himself. Thanks, Grammie, for a great cake book! It, along with the birthday plate, have become steady traditions in our home.

Saturday night we had friends over for supper - sloppy joes & sweet potato fries. We laughed through ToyStory 3 and at the kids doing the "Paso Doble" afterwards! Thanks Jess, Sam, & Jake for coming to celebrate with your "cousins". ;)

Not a normal occurrence anymore...

These days, with the kids getting older, it's not very often they say something funny unintentionally. But when they do, I can't stop chuckling about it.

Poor Abbie. She was talking about the changes at school - "It's a whole new generation at school this year!" She's so animated when she talks, and though she's on the verge of teenage-hood, I couldn't help myself. I laughed until I cried. Then I explained the meaning of "generation". Then she made me PROMISE I wouldn't write it on Facebook. (Please don't tell her I cheated & wrote it on my blog instead.) :)

Noah - my skinny child with no body fat to warm himself. He's been wearing leggings under his pjs and the warm wool socks Aunt Jenny gave him when we went skiing in Colorado last year. He was getting ready for bed one night & proudly proclaimed, "Tonight I'm gonna be as toasty as...a piece of toast!"

And away they go...

The kids have off school for Thanksgiving break. Unfortunately, Phil & I still have another two days of work. So we were faced with something we hadn't considered before - the kids being on their own at home. As Abbie is 12, we knew that legally, this would be fine. We just weren't sure if sensibly it would be wise!

I know I have several wonderful friends that would keep my kids in a heartbeat, but that is a lot to ask when their kids are home too. So we were just planning to do it & pray the house didn't burn down in the process. Well, my sweet sister-in-law offered to care for our kids for the next 3 days. Pray for them, would you? ;)

Before they could change their minds (just kidding!) we packed up, prayed for Abbie to be healed from the flu, loaded the van, and drove up to Wichita to meet my brother. We sent him off with the kids and had a quiet drive home. The reinforcements (aka Grandpa & Grandma) will arrive in Kansas City tomorrow night to help out until we get there on Wednesday night. By then Aunt Natalie & Uncle Andrew might need a vacation of their own! ;)

It's the first time all four have gone off without us, so I had to "document" as they headed out the door with all of their stuff...

They really look too happy to be leaving us. I was hoping for some tears and not all of this unabashed excitement.

Life...as I now know it...

When I took this job in August, I imagined how my life would change...

Five days a week I care for a 5 year old boy with Downs syndrome. But there is nothing "down" about it. He's loving, silly, smiley, cuddly, and a lot of fun. He's a stinker too, for sure, but the good far outweighs the bad. Even on the hard days. And there are a lot of them.

I pick him up every morning at his home, which provides a neat opportunity to get to know his family, and for them to get to know me in turn. Some mornings he's ready to go, and other mornings, like this morning, he is kicking & screaming all the way to the car. We drive 20 minutes to school. Some times we listen to the radio, some times he sleeps and I enjoy the quiet, and every day I have the chance to pray over him and our day before it begins.

We hit the ground running once we get to school. Breakfast, attendance, recess, Speech, and Occupational therapy. 2 hours in and we're working one-on-one: counting, matching, cutting, drawing, grasping, rolling, tracing, sorting...and fighting. Usually he's fighting against what I want him to do. He has every excuse in the book. His tummy hurts, his leg hurts, he's hungry, he's tired, he can't. But my job is to stretch him and teach him and challenge him that he can.

By lunch I can see the end in sight. Another recess and then rest time, my favorite time of the day! I've gotten smart & we do exercises before we lay down to read a book. So instead of listening to him cuss me out for those 10 minutes, we're both getting a work-out & he takes a better nap! ;) Then there are centers and worksheets in the classroom, one last recess, and time to pack up & head home. Another quiet ride home and my day is done...

Not exactly. Once I drop my little guy off at his home, I have a few more minutes of respite before I start my second job. Or should I say, my primary job? And so begins the whirlwind of homework, supper, baths, stories, and bedtime. Deep breath. The kids are in bed. Now what? There's laundry, bills, dishes, piles, email...does it ever end?

None of this should surprise me.

I imagined how busy life would be. I've admired other moms who juggle work & home. But in my fantasy world I had endless energy to maintain it all. I hadn't anticipated what I would be giving up. An organized house for one. And you all know how the lack of it drives me bananas. ;) Free time. Time with friends over a cup of coffee, or over a sale rack at Old Navy, or over a plethora of card stock & scrap paper, or over a piece of pie. I love pie.

Life as I now know it is a little crazy. Well, maybe a lot. But I'm learning some things along the way. I'm learning that I can accept an unorganized home, even if I have to take some deep breaths. I'm learning laundry piles make people feel at home, because chances are they have them too! Supper doesn't have to be fancy. I've never heard the kids complain about Mac 'n' cheese or Ramen or Spaghetti or Pizza. And we're learning to all pitch in as a family to get things done.

So it's not what I anticipated.

But that's okay.

Fall projects

I'm not feeling so great today, so trying to get housework accomplished seemed like an impossibility. I was getting no where fast, and was feeling worse in the process. So I decided to scrap my dreams of a clean house & have a little fun instead. I "stole" the idea from school. The kids made pumpkins on Friday, but I realized we could print off any coloring page & make all kinds of different designs.

It's really easy. Just print off any coloring page & tape to a piece of construction paper. Lay the paper on a rug or carpet. With a push pin, gently poke holes through both papers, being sure to leave space between each hole. (If the holes are too close together, the paper will rip.) Make sure you get all the lines. Remove your "guide" & tape your picture to a window or glass door.

Here are a few others we made. They're all taped up in our living room window & it's fun to see the sun shining through the holes.