A peek at the not so pleasant side,

Todd and I had gone out and while we were gone, WWIXV broke out. Alex is not violent, he just got so mad this time.  Well, his sister knows better.  Alex wanted to play computer while we were gone and was arguing with Emily over it. (When we left, Alex was the only one who was allowed to play, I have no idea why Emily was trying to play. Never mind, that was a dumb statement.) Kate decided the best way to handle the situation was to turn off the computer.  This would have been ok when two "normal" children are arguing.  You throw in a special needs kid, bad idear.  Since Alex just can't turn the computer back on and have a turn (password protected), he gets mad and chases Kate upstairs.  Kate locks herself in my bathroom (yes, that is a pink toilet) and Alex takes a folding chair that was nearby and starts smashing at the door.  We get a call from Emily at about this time and can barely understand her because she is screaming and crying.  We get her calmed down and by this time Alex has settled down and is lying on the stairs.  He eventually goes to his room and goes to sleep.  Yeah, so we've got a door to replace.   I am concerned why his behavior was so violent this time.  Luckily no one got hurt.  Hopefully the kids will follow the rules while we are gone.  Alex isn't usually like this.  I'm sure being tired played a part.  He gets more unreasonable when he is tired.  Otherwise, he's a great kid.  He mows the lawn every Monday morning.  He just cleaned the van out for me so he could got to the thrift store and look for more Little People.  He finally found a police officer today.  He is also into collecting the Rescue Hero guys.  We are going to have so much junk.  Whatever.

Summer is Almost Over

The kids go back to school in one week.  I can't believe the summer has gone by so fast.  The older I get, the quicker the days go by.  We had a great summer.  I think we always want to do more than we have time or money for, but I think this summer was pretty neat.  I wish I could have spent an extra three weeks in Utah, Colorado, Missouri, and Kentucky this summer. We had such a great time in each place.

The children keep me busy when I'm not dreaming of playing.  Hence, the shortness of this post.  Seth is beckoning for me, make that demanding my attention.

To be continued.....................

Summer Adventures #1

This summer on part of our vacation, we stopped to see Aunt Rhonda, Uncle Justin, and Ryan. We were heading home from Utah and stopped to visit them during the Fourth of July weekend.  It was so much fun!  We even were lucky enough to have Aunt Sandra drive back with us!

We enjoyed feeding the ducks at the pond near Rhonda's house.  Uncle Justin even caught one of the ducks!

Enjoying the playground as well, all the kids!  We had to much fun at Rhonda's!  The neighbors shot off fireworks, and let me tell you, it was one of the best shows!  I don't think Missouri has any laws against fireworks.  I thought those big huge fireworks they shoot off at firework shows had to only be shot off by a professional.  Apparently not in Missouri!  It was so fun!!!!!

A very fun and relaxing fourth of July holiday!  Thanks for letting us come and stay at your place Rhonda and Justin!  We miss you!

Seth's Progress with the CI

On May 15th, Seth hit his sixth month mark since the activation for his Cochlear Implant (CI).  Our audiologist told me that the goal for someone with a CI is to have them saying single words by six months post activation and two word phrases by 12 months.  Well, Seth is saying two word phrases and longer!  We have been very blessed by his progress. One phrase that is easy to understand is "open the door". We are trying to add more words to his vocabulary so he isn't saying "open the door" when he wants a bag of snacks opened!  He also loves to watch "Signing Time".  Seth's favorite sign is for shoe (closed fists and clap together).  He always wants to go outside so he'll walk around signing shoes and then I'll ask him what he wants because although I think signing is important and I understand what he wants, I also want him to know that he needs to vocalize it as well.  He knows, but sometimes he wants to be stubborn as well.  He's a fun little guy!

Does the size of the flowers given you determine who loves you most?

Ok, so I had to post this picture.  As you can see, Todd and the children gave me flowers for mother's day, but Alex found the tall purple one in the forest.  It is just so funny to look at!  I think it's about three feet tall! It is called Allium, and it is a member of the onion and garlic family.  Deer don't like them, that's why it is growing in the forest.  I know you love me best, Alex!  You gave me the tallest flower!

IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE PURPLE FLOWER, LOOK AT THE BOUQUET OF FLOWERS AND THEN LOOK AT THE CEILING.  YES, THAT IS A FLOWER, NOT JUST SOMETHING IN THE BACKGROUND.

Happy Mother's Day!

I have the best two moms!  First, my own mother.  I am grateful for my mom.  She is always concerned for me and my family and is always interested in what the children are doing.  I love her very much and am grateful that she raised me up in gospel.  Where would I be without knowing what purpose I have in life?

And my second mom, Carolyn, Todd's mother.  (I don't like the title "in-laws" because to me they are my family as well.)  I am grateful for Carolyn and all she has done for our family.  I'm grateful she raised up her children in the church as well, or they would be no Todd, well for me to marry anyways!

And lastly, Happy Mother's Day to any other woman who taught me or was an example to me in any other way!  

One of my buddies

So this past week was Spring Break.  It was kind of a lonely Spring Break.  I was planning on doing some fun things with the children.  At the last minute, we decided to let Alex go on a camping trip with his scout troop.  They were willing to take on all the food challenges we have with Alex.  We were so happy for Alex, as it can be a burden to care for Alex if you are not use to taking care of a special needs kiddo.  I was actually sad when he went.  I was happy for him, but sad not to have him home.  About a month ago or so, Alex decided he didn't want to go to school anymore.  So, instead of struggling with the school district, I decided just to keep him home.  It has been a great experience.  For me, the best way to learn to love each one of my kids is to just spend more time with them.  Since bringing Alex home, there's been less temper tantrums and I am enjoying "hanging out" with Alex more.  That's why I missed him so much, I guess.  So the rest of the kids and I spent the week cleaning and staying up late watching movies.  It was nice and relaxing; gave me lots of time to ponder and think about how I can homeschool better, what I can do to help the children more, etc.