Rebekah's Moment to Shine

Precious Rebekah also gets a moment to shine. Being the youngest and the only girl, she's a little bundle of energy who loved the photo shoot. She thought it was great fun to be the center of attention with a camera capturing her every move.

Rebekah thought the flowers were the best thing ever. She wanted to show them off. Part of showing off anything involves lifting it high above your head while yelling, "Ta Da!"


She did try to sniff a flower for us before doing some dance moves. Look at her ponies in motion.


We got her to sit for a brief minute and caught some of the many expressions that we see daily. Her face is a continuous progression of thoughts, feelings and emotions.
When we gave her the photo frame, she immediately decided it was a hoop-a-loop (hula hoop) and was just about to swing it (and probably break it) when we stopped her.


She's also growing up so fast. Rebekah is spunky and sassy. But she's sassy with a smile and a big hug---probably how she gets away with it so often. As my last baby, I've tried extra hard to hold onto every moment and enjoy everything. And she, too, is growing up so fast I can't believe it. My baby's in preschool and becoming her own little person. I remember the joy I had when she finally had enough hair for a Pebbles Flintstone pony. Now we've graduated to the double pony and as I look at her, I often see glimpses of the woman she'll become. Beautiful, but with a caring heart that wants to help 'make you soooo happy'.

My 'framed' baby girl. I thought you'd be another boy, Rebekah, but oh how I love having my baby girl. You're the pink to compliment my purple, the sunshine for my day. You're my slide and swing and reading buddy and you are quick with your puzzles. I love your little voice and your giant expressive gestures. You're my pumpkin-poodle-doodle and I love you very much.






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Nathan's Moment to Shine

Today, I'm focusing on my thankfulness for Nathan. At 7, he's a wonderful mix between little boy and big boy. Here's a serious look from our photo shoot.

Nathan is often my ray of sunshine in a dreary day. Look at this smile--hard to be sad or upset with this smile and his infectious giggle around.

He holds that unique spot in our home called "Middle Child". And he's unique enough to pull it off. It's a glorious and maddening experience for a child to be the big and little brother all at the same time. He likes the perk of being able to play in both big brother and little sister's worlds. Yet, sometimes it's very difficult because you're supposed to be grown up and yet a baby all in one person.

Check out these photos of Nathan. The first one he's jumping and actually off the ground. Second is one of his 'poses'.

Here we've 'framed' Nathan. He had fun with this frame. He's my planner and likes to have everything completed in his head before he ever begins. But, out of that comes all of this spontaneity with a picture frame. I think he liked being the center of attention. With his being Twice Exceptional, there can be a lot of focus put on him. We're always studying him for reactions and improvement and to see if we're reaching goals. I have to work at times to let go and remember that he needs to be a kid first and foremost.

This is one of my favorites of Nathan. Check out that grin. I see this a lot more often now. I'm glad that all his hard work at everything we do for him is paying off. He's growing up and starting to make friends. He is happier and happier all the time. He's starting to grow into his intelligence and his social skills are starting to catch up with some of his peers.

While I still think of him (and call him) my baby boy, he is also growing up. He's a sensitive child who is highly attuned to the emotions of others. He seeks to please and will work hard to turn your mood to happiness. He is still my snuggler and hugger and he really can NOT fall asleep unless he's had a hug and a kiss.

I still look for this little boy with the cherub face to come out of school and I'm amazed at this young man walking/running towards me. I'm not sure when I blinked, but the exact moment I did is when he started growing up before my eyes.

Andrew's Moment to Shine

For Thanksgiving Weekend, I'm featuring three of the blessings I'm most thankful for.

From our recent photo shoot, here are Andrew's pictures. He's 12 now and growing up before my eyes...which he almost looks into. Sigh, I'm slated to be the short mama with tall kids.

Andrew has matured into such a nice young man (most of the time). :-) What we hear from his teachers is that he continually shows respect and kindness to the other students. He often goes out of his way to do the 'little things' that need to be done without being asked. We were very proud to learn that last year he took it on himself to move the chair away from the desk that a wheelchair bound student uses. The teacher had planned to assign that job, but Andrew realized it needed to be done for the student to use the desk and just automatically did it every day.

Here's a smirk-giggle that I often see. As kind and helpful as he is at school and other places, we still have our run-ins at home. Even when he pushes my buttons, I am still amazed at how much I love this kid.

I don't think any pre-teen boy wants to know that he's still his mama's baby, but what can I say. When I look at him, I expect to see this:

Instead, I'm looking at an intelligent young man who can talk intelligently about politics, social concerns and books we both like to read. I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line he started to grow up.

I'm very thankful for my first-born baby boy. What a privilege to be your mother!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!

This year, I've been enjoying playing the song "Simple Gifts" and wanted to share the lyrics with you. I think of it as a Thanksgiving song...even if it's not.

"Simple Gifts"

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Tips on Tuesday: Safe Driving Tips

A while back I did some research regarding carseat and carseat safety. While I was searching, I ran into some terrific information that I wanted to share with all of you about general safe driving. Most of what I found was at the Safercar.gov site.

Airbag Safety: Did you know that you need to be at least 10" away from your airbag in order to be safe in an air bag inflation? Grab your ruler and check it out. Most people I know (including me prior to now) are not 10" away. If you are unable to be 10" away from your steering wheel (ie: not tall enough to slide back that far), please contact your local law enforcement agency and get a waiver. They can write you a special waiver that you take to your mechanic. Then have the mechanic disengage your airbag on your main vehicle.

I didn't think it would be a big deal to be too close if the air bag inflates. It is a big deal! Please be safe!

Hands on Steering Wheel: How many of you learned to place your hands at 10 & 2 on the steering wheel? Did you know this information is no longer taught? Student drivers are now instructed to places their hands at 4 & 8 on the steering wheel. That sounded ludicrous to me until I heard the reasoning behind the change. With almost all vehicles having air bags, the number of injuries to wrists and facial injuries from hands/arms has dramatically increased. By lowering your hands to 4 & 8 on your steering wheel, your hands won't be caught in the airbag when it goes off.

Safe Following Distance: I was taught the two second rule in following cars. The new safety guideline is 3 seconds. Who knew? To figure out how far behind a car you are, find a fixed object (street sign, mile marker, etc.) and when the car in front of you passes it, start counting 1-one thousand, 2-one thousand, 3-one thousand. You should not pass the same fixed object in less than three seconds.

Driving Distractions: It is now estimated that almost 3/4 of accidents are caused by distracted drivers. That is almost 75% of accidents!! Distractions include eating or drinking while driving, messing with the radio/music, cell phone usage, texting, personal grooming (shaving in the car, applying makeup, fixing hair). Please keep in mind that you are in a 3,000 pound machine that has the power to take a life. Minimize distractions in your car and arrive safely.

I hope everyone will be safe this holiday weekend. If you are driving, be extra careful. I'll be praying for all of you. Happy thanksgiving!

Cutest Couple on the Block

Sean & I wanted a photo of the two of us in our matching shirts. Mine is "My Husband Rocks" and his says "My Wife Rocks". We sat down and the kids were playing and watching a movie. After the first couple clicks, here comes Rebekah barrelling across the room. "Wait for me!" she yells as she hops onto Sean's lap.


We got her off his lap so we could try again. Then I wanted a kissing photo. So we kiss and the next thing you know...


It's kisses for everyone from Rebekah.


As Rebekah ran off, Addie got this one of Sean & I. While I wouldn't blow it up and hang it on the wall, it is probably my favorite photo of us in recent memory. I love my hubby and part of why I love him is because he makes me laugh...a lot...even when his jokes are dumb. We often work to get each other into fits of giggles. So this picture got me.


We did end up with one more nice pose (frame-able) that I could even use on Facebook.

Cutest Kids on the Block

Perhaps I'm biased, but I don't really think so! Aren't these the cutest kids on the block??

Our MOPS group has a photo shoot fundraiser every fall. This year, I was inspired at the MOPS Convenetion to create matching shirts for all of us. The boys have shirts that say "My Dad is My Hero" and Rebekah's says "My Daddy's My Hero". Addie, our photographer, snaps constantly and gets some fantastic 'real' shots of their personalities shining through.

Come back tomorrow to find out what I wrote on Sean & my shirts.

Nathan's Oral Surgery

At the dentist, she discovered that his 6 year molar was coming in at an angle. When she took an x-ray, she discovered that the molar has eaten away part of the baby tooth. She sent us to the orthodontist to take care of the problem.

Orthodontist took a panoramic x-ray and discovered that Nathan does not have permanent teeth behind the two baby teeth next to the molars. The ortho decided to have the baby tooth that is being eaten away removed. She will allow the molar to drift for now and when he gets enough permanent teeth, we'll pull the matching baby tooth and use retainers to straighten his teeth.

Our dentist didn't want to pull the tooth and felt it would be better handled by an oral surgeon. Last week we were able to get Nathan in to have his tooth removed. We chose IV sedation because of the anxiety he goes through for just a routine cleaning. No sense having him awake while they pull the tooth out!

Here he is before surgery in the waiting room. We took Teddy with us for moral support. Nathan was confidant that the numbing cream they would put on his arm would help him be relaxed while the IV was inserted.

Here's Nathan with numbing cream on his arm and the back of his hand. We had to wait about 30 minutes for it to take effect.

After the fact, he told me he cried because the IV hurt a lot. Not sure if they were restraining him and that is what hurt or if he could still feel the IV going in. I forgot that 2E kids often feel above and beyond what normal people feel so numbing agents are not always truly effective for them.

Here he is after surgery. He's VERY groggy and trying to keep his eyes open so he could go home. They brought him to the van and we got him buckled in. He was happy that the bleeding had already stopped so he didn't have to use any more gauze. He hated having the gauze in his mouth.

By lunchtime, the sedation had worn off. He was still a little numb (you can see it in his smile), but he was hungry. We went to DQ and he got to eat applesauce, ice cream and an artic rush (slushie) for his lunch. Lunch of champions!

In the evening, he wanted to eat chips, onion rings, crunchy granola bars, etc. We managed to get him to survive with leftover Texas toast from lunch, a cereal bar chewed very carefully on the other side of his mouth and lots of jello and pudding. The next day, we took him out for the onion rings that he had been begging for on surgery day. He was thrilled that the tooth fairy brought him double because a pulled tooth is worth more than one that comes out on its own.