Look Who I Saw Tonight

Hildi and Paige Davis from TLC's Trading Spaces....it was exciting for this small town!


And yes, that's my friend Beth with her hands on Paige's waist :) She doesn't know a stranger.

Let's Be Honest, Folks

Lydia has always been shy when she's not in our home. People think she's quiet and sweet and dainty...

BUT

You're about to see the real Lydia--

The Lydia that we see all day, every day...the Lydia that doesn't want her hair brushed...the Lydia that pulls out any barrette or pony-tail holder....the Lydia that wants to pick out her own clothes and put them on by herself, regardless of where the tag is located or if it matches...the Lydia that has found her voice and spent the day growling like a lion...

This, my friends, is the REAL Lydia...

Last Night

Neighborhood friends, Tyler and Lily:

Tonight

We played in the snow at dusk tonight.

Thanks for the clothes, Nora!

Night/Day

This is night.
And now it's day.

I had a conference this morning with Jonah's teacher. It was good. Did you catch that? It was GOOD! After the beast that last year's teacher thought Jonah was, it was so good to hear from a teacher that loves him and attempts to understand him. She also recognized that so much of what Jonah does is not because he's trying to be rude or disrespectful, but there are many times that he just can't comprehend what he's doing is wrong. She gave the example of getting in line when he steps all over the kids. He's not trying to be aggressive; it's a space issue that he hasn't gotten control of yet. (Ironically, this is the area that his OT is working with most-- helping him realize where he is in space).

His teacher also reported that his classmates like him and don't seem bothered by him. This was music to my ears.

I praised his teachers as much as I could. We've noticed such a change in him over the past two months. We definitely have more good days than bad, and for the most part, it seems like he's really trying. We're not doing anything different at home so I credit the therapy and the preschool program for the change-- and the prayer, of course.

This year has been COMPLETELY different than last year. I have a new kid. Now that's something to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Surgery

It's been a crazy fall. There's no doubt about it. I feel odd admitting that I'm in survival mode. After all, I'm JUST a stay-at-home mom (yeah, right) but the additional responsibilities of MOPS and photography have been a bit "taxing" to say the least. I'm typically good at setting boundaries, but with the success of the photography business, and my desire to give everything 100%, I've driven myself crazy!

So, needless to say, I wasn't emotionally prepared for Mike's surgery this week. We've adapted to Daddy spending all his time in bed, and I've been reminded of the ways Mike helps around the house and with the kids-- cleaning toilets, emptying trash cans, cuddling with Jonah after a nightmare, emptying the dishwasher, decluttering the garage, giving Lydia cough medicine in the middle of the night, etc. I'm blessed with a wonderful husband!

He's healing as planned. The doctor reminded us today that his surgery was only one week ago, and there are still many ways he needs to take it easy. We've played lots of Uno and Go Fish!

Thanks for all of you who have helped. What would I do without friends?

Mom Jeans

It feels good to laugh.

Lydieray

Hmm....

I feel like there's been a lot to blog about recently-- like the day I recently spent with college girlfriends or the night that Jonah locked Lydia in the car while it was running or the weekend I spent with one of my best friends from high school or the fact that I'm emotionally disengaged from everyone because I'm too busy to fill my mind with anything but my "to do list" or the fact that, regardless of how I voted, I'd like to tell this country that our president-elect is not, contrary to popular opinion, the Savior-- that would be Jesus.

But rather than spend time on each of those subjects, I'm choosing to show you how Jonah adorned his body last night.

There were some other parts colored in their entirety, too, that I'm choosing not to show!

Harvest Party

I'm very thankful for a good group of friends in town. They're girls with which I enjoy spending time, shopping, talking, and living life. We each have our talents, and it was confirmed that my friend, Dez, has the gift of creativity/hospitality. She planned a Harvest Party last Thursday when the kids were on Fall Break.

The Butterfly Princess & Optimus Prime

(Notice the Spiderman bag that she insisted on; she obviously has an older brother!)

We enjoyed making Jonah's costume. It was a team effort: my creativity and Mike's manpower (and dumpster diving)!

itunes advice

I received a surprise itunes gift card in the mail yesterday. It's perfect timing. I'm so sick of the music on my ipod. So I have a question: What are your favorite songs to listen to when exercising?

Welcome to Holland

As readers of this blog, you've seen some of my emotions dealing with Jonah. I'm discouraged so much of the time and I, if I had to be honest, have such a hard time realizing that this may not be "just a season."

Don't get me wrong, he's making such progress in some areas, but in other areas, life is no different than it was three years ago.

I have these conversations with God. I plead for direction. I plead for wisdom. I plead for progress. I cry, "Why me?"

I love when I find something that gives me a fresh outlook like this article:

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Fall

A kiss from brother--

Tonight

I don't have time for writing much these days-- or being too creative with my blog posts. The photography business is going well and keeping me quite busy!

Here's a quick picture from this evening. My sweet, innocent girl is not sweet or innocent anymore!

The Kids

I just found this picture of the kids I took a few months ago. It's so "them."

The Birthday Boy

We planned our vacation during Jonah's fifth birthday. Here are a few pictures of the birthday boy:







And a few of our Little Miss Lydie:


Mike and I were on the vacation too! :)

A Private Message

This is a message for my dear friends, Dan and Suzanne:

I can't find your blog. I can't find your email address.

Help me!

Disney World

September is a great time to visit Disney. We had a wonderful, fun-filled day without waiting in lines! Here are a few highlights:

1. Jonah stood and watched Splash Mountain for 20 minutes, trying to decide if he wanted to ride. This was a new experience for us, i.e., Jonah with a fear. He thought there were monsters that would come from the water.


2. Lydia persuaded Pop and Grammy to buy her a Pooh Bear. She's never been a stuffed animal lover but she's sleeping with her Pooh Bear as I write.


3. Jonah decided that Peter Pan and Buzz Lightyear rides were too scary too. Amazingly, he said he wanted to ride Space Mountain. He rode it-- and rode it again-- and rode it again-- and rode it again. He rode it six times!! He was on his way to number seven when a different employee decided that he wasn't the 44 inches that were required to ride.

Here are a few other favorites:

Guess who turned five today?

Cousins

All the Ways Lydia is Displaying her "Twoness:"

1. She wants to "choose" everything to a degree we never thought possible-- shirts, pants, shoes, cups, cheese sticks, blankets, toys, crayons, socks, underwear, cereal, snacks, pajamas, etc.

2. She's learned that "time out" is not a fun place to be.

3. She wants to do everything "elf," i.e., by herself-- getting water from the fridge door, putting on her clothes, wiping her bottom, carrying her clean clothes up the stairs, putting laundry in the washer, etc.

4. She's developing her feisty spirit. I heard myself say, "Lydia, quit jumping off the couch onto Jonah; you're going to hurt him."

5. Her verbal language is drastically improving. When Mike says that she's "Daddy's girl," she always says with a smirk on her face, "No, Mommy's girl." Tonight, at the end of a long day, Mike said, "You're Daddy's ragamuffin," to which she cleverly responded "No, Mommy's muffin."

What would I do without her?!!!!

This is Me

This is what I get for coordinating MOPS, agreeing to work in the admissions office, hosting a garage sale, making meals for new moms, hosting friends from Alma, starting a photography business, hosting 22 new college freshman, working in the church nursery, attending soccer games, and trying to keep up with the everyday demands of laundry, cooking, cleaning, and parenting.
I'm hoping next week will return to normal.

School!

School started today!

It's a bit of a teaser for me, actually. Jonah is attending the special needs preschool from last year on Monday afternoons. I never intended to send him another year, but he'll receive speech and occupational therapy during his school day, and I thought it would be a better transition if we continued with their special needs services throughout the year so when he's back at the school next year for kindergarten, they'll be more aware of his needs, the progress he's made this year, etc.

His teacher from last year visited our home last week (she visits everyone's home in her class; I'm sure it's a very interesting thing to do). While holding back tears, she explained to me what a better teacher she'll be this year now that she's a mother (I think her son is four months old). She also told me that last year was just a bad year since her energy level was so low from the pregnancy. I felt like it was her way of apologizing to me for her attitude toward Jonah last year. I think if she would reread some of the notes she sent home, she'd be embarrassed and mortified at the way she described my child now that she has a child of her own.

He starts his "five year old preschool" next week. He'll go there three afternoons a week. I have high hopes for this school, his teacher, and the progress we'll see him make this year. I'm driving 15 minutes away, passing one perfectly good school, and giving up carpooling options to another school because I just feel good about this place. I'd like to think that it's what God has for Jonah this year, allowing us to exhale a bit.

And since I'm kinda on the subject, we were excited to learn that Miss Kim, the OT, has a place for Jonah in her fall schedule. We'll be traveling every Friday afternoon to see her.

This child of mine is so loving and so smart and so fun...and so overwhelming. As I've said before, I know that God gave him to me because I'm the best parent for him. I have to tell myself that everyday-- literally-- so that I don't feel discouraged. But then I see pictures like this and think, my golly, he's worth every ounce of emotional energy, don't you think?

ELF!

Lydia wants to do EXACTLY what we're doing all the time. If I'm mopping, she wants to mop. If I'm folding clothes, she wants to fold clothes too. If I'm setting the table, she wants to set the table too. Today she got into the battery stash and was attempting to change batteries in a toy that needed new ones before I saw what she was doing. Everything is "elf." She wants to do it HERSELF.

So at small group on Sunday, I chuckled when she approached Mike with her version of roasting marshmallows. I have no doubt that she helped herself to a marshmallow and then went hunting to find the stick.

She's my little lady.

Mom

I thought it would be fun to have a mini photo session with my mom. We took a few pictures around her house. I think she looks great, don't you?