Slow and Steady

June 9, 2010

Shane had speech therapy this morning.  He’s been working on his “S’ sound and “S” blends for about 6 weeks (maybe longer).  He is making progress, but he is struggling more than he had in the past with his other sounds (b, d, p, t, m and n).  He now says his name which is HUGE!  And he says Sam….so wonderful to hear.  The problem is, he doesn’t know which words have the “S” so he is putting it on words he had  previously been saying correctly.  Red is now “SSSSSwed” and Milk is sometimes “SSSSmit” (he can’t make the “l” or “k” sounds either!)  I am telling him many, many, times throughout the day, “That doesn’t have an “S” buddy.”  And then I am reminding him, “That has an “S” buddy.”  He also doesn’t remember that a word has “S” even though he has corrected it many times….Spiderman is still Piderman.

He worked really hard today…I could tell by the way he would put his right elbow on the table and lay his head in his hand.  He’d take a moment to kind of regroup then plow away again.  He showed so much perseverance for such a little guy.

I was reminded how much progress he has made by my father who visited this past weekend.  He hadn’t seen Shane in 6 months.  He was amazed by how much he was talking.  He only understood about 50% of what he was saying, but Shane is actually talking now and he wasn’t...at all…when he had last seen him.

For some reason the moral of fable The Tortoise and the Hare has popped into my head throughout this week.  Maybe it’s God speaking to me, reassuring me and also giving me the gift of patience.  I don’t know.  But I’ve been repeating, “Slow and Steady Wins the Race.”

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Beware the “Shoulds”

May 30, 2010

I spent the entire afternoon relaxing on our deck.  I forced myself to do it.  First of all, I was completely exhausted.  Shane had been up all night last night with a stomach virus.  First Jack got it, then Shane, although I suspect Max may have had a touch of it Thursday night….oh well…..

Back to relaxing.  Shane konked out on one of the lounge chairs so I didn’t want to be too far from him in case he woke up and felt sick.   I laid down on the other chair next to him.

“Maybe I should check the garden.”  “I should go throw in another load of laundry.”  “I should bake some cute patriotic themed cupcakes for tomorrow.”  (I blame Twitter and some mom blogs for even having that thought!)  “I should get dinner started early.”

Red Flag! This is when it pays to be a therapist and work with moms…I have to practice what I preach! Beware the “shoulds.”  Those thoughts that create guilt in moms.  You know, when you are doing something for yourself…something that might just be good for your soul and fill your cup a little bit.

I resisted the “shoulds,” like I encourage my moms to do, and closed my eyes and listened to the birds and the rustling of the trees.  I watched my little guy sleep so soundly.  He has lost his toddler chubbiness and he is changing into a little boy.  I love his 3 year old feet.  I have the perspective of having older children so I know this time where he is 3 and wants to be by my side at all times is fleeting.  That’s not to say it isn’t hard, but I know it will change…because I’ve experienced it with our other children.

I am glad I resisted…


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How you do that Max?

May 29, 2010

Children provide a constant source of entertainment, right?

We planted (built and planted I should say) a garden last weekend.  So Greg was examining our plants this morning and he noticed little foot prints and a broken tomato plant.  This evening during dinner he asked the kids if anyone had been in the garden.  Max just can’t tell a lie….his face turns beat red and he says he wasn’t in there.  Little Shane looks at him and in his apraxic talk says, ” Whoa Max!!! How you do that?!  You face is red!”

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Our Little Lady Bug

May 19, 2010

Lady Bug (Ray) turned 1 a few days ago and Meg had her first birthday party at our house.  For those of you new to our blog, Ray is our oldest daughter’s baby and they live with us.

Turning 1 is such a huge milestone….for baby and parents….and in our case grandparents and aunt and uncles!  Meg did such a great job planning and carrying out Lady Bug’s party.

Meg made her own invitations using a lady bug stamp and ribbon….everyone thought she purchased them.

Meg made her  cake and we worked on a lot of the decorations together.

Meg tied ribbon around small vases of red carnations and had them placed throughout the house.  She used red and black balloons and utensils and paper plates.  I found cute small red buckets and filled them with gummy butterflies and  letters, lollipops and sour licorice.  One of the most adorable things she did was decorate small flower pots.

She gave each child a pot and a bag of soil and flower seeds to take home and plant.  Jack planted his flower immediately!  She also bought little colored canvas bags and decorated them with a foam lady bug and gave each child a bag filled with lady bug bubbles, stickers, tatoos, and wind-up lady bugs.

Meg never seemed very interested in crafts as a young girl so it has been really fun to see this creative/crafty side of her!  She has done a great job mothering our granddaughter this past year…we are so proud of her!

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365 Cookies for Breakfast

May 13, 2010

Max had cookies for breakfast today.

Max struggles with being hungry in the morning….so I struggle with what to feed him.  He is just one of those kids that moves s-l-o-w-l-y in the morning.  So different from Jack.  I call Jack once and he pops right out of bed, no matter what time he went to bed the night before.  He is organized and knows exactly what he wants for breakfast and just moves right along.  Not Max. Max is in a fog the first 10 minutes after waking.

This morning I went through all the typical and not so typical breakfast foods for Max to choose from.  Nothing, not even Nutella, was able to entice him.  So I gave him cookies… they were from Whole Foods, I rationalized.  I threw in a glass of milk for protein.  That eased a little of the mommy guilt. I won’t win any mothering awards this week, but Max was pretty happy!

Perspective from the 8:

Dad – The apple didn’t fall far from the tree on this one.

Megan (20) – The boys are funny in the morning; Max gets sidetracked and distracted, and Jack is always aware of what time it is and ready to head out to the bus stop (even if there aren’t any kids there yet).  Blaire and Sam are also different in the morning; Sam gets up when his alarm goes off, even if he was up later the night before, and for some reason alarms don’t work for Blaire, and she manages to sleep through every alarm until Sam wakes her up (when I was in high school I used to be the one who had to wake her up).

Blaire (16) – It’s so true about Max.  One morning I had to drag him out of bed.  I would have been the same way though if I was in school when I was his age.

Sam (14) – I used to be similar to how Jack is right now. I was a morning person up until about 7th grade. Now, I hate waking up and getting ready for school, but I have it planned so that I get as much sleep as possible – which usually leaves me running for the bus every day.

Jack (10) – I like to get up quickly.  My favorite breakfast is toast with Nutella.  I am usually pretty hungry when I wake up.

Max (7) – I get ready slowly in the morning.  My favorite breakfast is oatmeal. I’m not hungry all the time.  I eat at night and it stays there over the night.

Shane (3 1/2) – Shane  wakes up happy – as long as mommy is close by!  He wants what everyone else is having for breakfast….sometimes he has 3 different things.

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Baptisms, Batteries and High Top Sneakers!

May 11, 2010

Two Sundays ago our car broke down.  We had just attended the baptism of a close friend’s baby and we had to make a quick stop to buy a baptism card because I forgot our card at home.  We stopped to get gas first and when Greg tried to restart the truck, the battery was dead.  Five hungry kids, 90 degree heat, dress clothes, and a dead battery.

As we were pulling out of the driveway that morning I noticed Shane was wearing his red crocs with his blue seersucker shorts suit.   Greg quickly ran back inside to get his sandals.  I’ve learned that just when I think I’m on top of things, something is going to get by me. The forgotten card, yes, but that’s par for the course.  When we got to the church Jack jumped out of the car wearing blue plaid shorts, a polo shirt, and black basketball shoes.  In Shane’s words, “not cool.”

I also learned you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff.  I was embarassed by Jack’s shoes, but when our car wouldn’t start after numerous attempts by two different drivers, I was wishing my biggest issue of the day was Jack’s black shoes.

I learned not to wait for Greg to make the car repairs.  I could tell the battery was going and told Greg about it two weeks prior.  He hadn’t gotten around to taking it in.  I am going to handle car repairs myself….should have done so all along anyway!

I should have learned this by now, but when requesting Greg buy snacks for the kids, I will be specific.  He returned from one of his numerous trips to the 7-11 across the street with snacks – Reese’s Pieces and Chocolate Covered Pretzels.  Broken down at noon in 90 degree heat for 2 hours with boys on a sugar high….not cool.

The younger boys don’t understand that you don’t fight with each other when the car is broken down.  I learned this the hard way.

I learned that, according to Sam, I would be the first to be voted off Survivor.  He also said we’d never be able to survive anywhere with the 3 younger boys in tow.

I learned that a sense of humor helps.  While the boys were fighting and Greg was off hunting down a tow truck storm clouds were gathering over head.  The windows were down and the battery was dead so there was no way to roll them up.  We had a good laugh thinking about what would happen if it started to storm.  Of course it was only a laugh because it never rained.  I don’t think anyone would have been laughing if all 6 of us were crowded in the back of the truck.

Finally, while we were waiting for the tow truck to come jump start us, an ambulance flew by with sirens blaring.  I learned in that moment to be grateful.  We could have had someone in that ambulance.  Things could always be worse.

Greg – At first it was a bit unnerving, but it all worked out and we drove home laughing about it.

Blaire (16) -I thought it was funny.

Sam (14) – Other than Max and Jack fighting in the back seat, it wasn’t that bad.

Jack (10) –  I thought being broken down was cool.  But after a while I got bored and hungry so I kinda got mad.  Shane was being annoying.  I liked when the tow truck came and jump started the car.

Max (7) – I got mad  because the only reason I came was because I heard there was going to be a party with cake.  Then I fought with Jack and then the tow truck came which was good.  Once we got Burger King I wasn’t that mad because I got food.

Shane (3 1/2) – I wanted to buy a donut and eat a donut at home.

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Kids & Sports…..or should it be parents and sports

May 7, 2010

Another weekend of baseball games coming up and I long for the way it used to be when I was a kid (in the 70’s), before the age of political correctness.

Our son Max is seven and plays in our local Rec baseball league. Rules are, every player hits every inning.  Everyone gets a single, except for the last batter.  He gets a baseball clearing grand slam no matter what.  Seems like the parents think it’s great, but if you ask the kids, they’ll tell you they want to play “real” baseball.  The kind with three strikes and you’re out, three outs ends an inning, with one team winning and one losing……that’s what we did when we were kids and I think we turned out alright.

This brings me back to the batting.  Each child gets as many pitches as they need to get a hit.  After about 20 pitches, if they still haven’t hit the ball, the coach then brings out the tee, puts the ball on it and let’s the player smack it.  If I’m the kid who’s missed 20 in a row, I just want to sit down, regroup and give it another shot next inning.  I don’t want to draw even more attention to myself, but that’s what happens because by the time the tee comes out, all of the parents are cheering you by name, saying, “come on Johnny, you can do it!”  Talk about attracting attention at a time when you truly don’t want it!

Enough about hitting, let’s talk about water breaks! When we played sports as kids did anyone have to tell you to hydrate?  Funny thing, but no one has ever had to tell me to hydrate during a game.  I think we should conduct an experiment:  play the entire game without telling kids to hydrate and see what happens.  Do we really think they won’t drink their drinks?  If so, please contact me  to place your wager…I’ll cover all bets.

Perspective from the 8:

Tracey –   I think the days where kids went out into the neighborhood and played pick up baseball were good days!  Parents “organizing” sports for very young kids isn’t always a healthy thing.  I  think that kids can handle more than parents give them credit for….like the three strikes and you’re out rule.  Most 6 and 7 year olds can handle that….it’s parents who have a difficult time.  By the time the 20th throw comes the kids in the field aren’t paying one bit of attention to the game.  If a child hits the ball hard at that point, someone who isn’t paying attention is going to get hit by it and get hurt!

Megan (20) – In life you don’t always succeed.  Failure isn’t always a bad thing.  I think kids can handle it.  It’s important to teach them that you don’t always win.  In life, you learn more from your mistakes than your successes.

Blaire (16) – I think that our society today is too focused on making every child feel “special.”  Well surprise surprise- we are not all MLB players in the making.  Yes it is important to have a good self-esteem, but it is also important to understand what your truly good at, and what you stink at.  If a kid isn’t good at baseball (and doesn’t really love it) he can focus his time on something else-something that he loves and is good at. Instead, everyone gets a trophy, there are no winners, everyone gets a single… Life isn’t fair, and eventually kids will have to learn that.

Sam (14) – I think the games would be much more fun for the kids if they played by the real rules. It would be more exciting to watch if games were played that way too. I know that Max really wishes he could play “real baseball”, and I wish he could too. When he gets older and games start to get played more like they are in the pros, Max is going to enjoy it a lot more.

Jack (10) – I didn’t like it when I was that age.  It is really boring to watch.

Max (7) – If you are going to play baseball then play real baseball.  I like it when there’s three outs.

Shane (3 1/2) – Already knows the rules of “real” baseball.

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Letting Go of the Wheel

May 6, 2010

“12 more days until I get my license.”

Blaire’s informing me daily of the count down until she gets her license.  The countdown used to be on a monthly basis, then weekly, now it is daily.

“Aren’t you glad you won’t have to drive me to dance anymore?”

I told her, No, that I was not glad.  It is rarely convenient to take her or pick her up, but I am going to miss our talks on the way home from dance.  I’ve enjoyed that time alone with her.  After a night of dance, she eagerly talks; we’ve had some of our deepest, best conversations on that 20 minute drive home.

It’s hard to communicate that to a 16 year old.  How you wish you could slow down time a little and even go back and relive a lot of the truly wonderful times.  You don’t even always know you are having one of those amazing times at the time you are having it!  It’s when you look back that you realize.

I was more eager for Megan, our first, to drive.  Like I was more eager for her to do each of her “firsts.”  I’ve learned that time really does go by quickly.  There are times the days are long, but my weeks are short.  My months are getting even shorter. Each milestone is an achievement, a new chapter started, for our children.  For me, their mom, it is also a chapter closed.  It’s a process, the whole letting go thing.  I’m still learning it.  I’m learning how to let go of the wheel.

Perspective from the 8 -

Dad – Driving is like the beginning of the separation and independence process.  You have mixed emotions because you want to see your child be independent and doing things for themselves, but it’s hard to let go.  In the end, it’s a good thing.

Mom – You would think with a whole year of driving with us behind her I’d be really ready to let her go!  Doesn’t work that way.  This new chapter will involve a lot of worrying.  That part of motherhood I am told never ends. :)

Megan (20) – It is weird to think that Blaire will be driving in just a little over a week because as much as I realize that she is growing up, I still think of her as my little baby sister.  I am excited for her because I can vividly remember how excited I was to get my license, but I also am experiencing a different side of the whole licensed-driver process — the worrying about her part — especially about her getting lost! LOL!  I know that she will be more than fine, because if I was able to figure it all out, and navigate my way to various locations while only getting lost several times, I know that she will do the same.

Blaire (16, almost 17) – I am SO excited to drive! I have had a countdown going for about six months now, and its finally right around the corner.  WOOHOO!

Sam (14) – I’m really excited for Blaire to start driving.  It also benefits me because if mom and dad can’t take me somewhere there’s a better chance I’ll be able to go because Blaire can take me.  I’m excited for her.  I know she’ll love driving, obviously.

Jack (10) – I think it’s cool she will be driving. It’s exciting because if Megan’s not here then Blaire will still be able to help out. Blaire can take me to a baseball game if Mom or Dad are busy with something else.  Or we could see movies and have fun.

Max (7) – I kinda feel good about Blaire driving because me and her can see movies together that we want to see and she can drive us there.

Shane (3 1/2) – Ba tat boo boo when dibe.  (Blaire get a boo boo when she drives.) Shane thinks she will fall out of the door.  I’m not sure what that is all about….not very reassuring!

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Cleaning with 8

May 4, 2010

This isn’t necessarily a topic I enjoy writing about, but it is something I’ve been asked about…A LOT, a client this week just asked me so here goes….

What do we do about chores and cleaning in our home?  I want to start by saying that what works for us may not work for you, #1. #2, what works for us now, didn’t work for us 2 years ago or 10 years ago.  As our family has changed our cleaning/chore thing, has changed.

We’ve had help in the past so I want to be clear that I am not in any way opposed to having help. When I was pregnant with Max (baby #5), I had someone come in every week to clean for a big part of the pregnancy and post partum. I am trying to figure out how we swung that financially! I love having help with cleaning.  It’s just not something that works for us right now.

We have a chore chart for the older 3 children.  Their chart includes emptying the dishwasher, making dinner, dinner clean-up, and taking all the towels from their bathroom to the laundry room (a little funny that we actually had to put that on the chart!) Sam mows the lawn and the girls help keep the kids’ bathroom clean and are “responsible” for their own laundry.  (That is in quotation marks because in February I did Blaire’s laundry and found several swim suits in the bottom of the hamper that had been there since August.) The little guys empty trash cans, scoop the dog poop and put their clean clothes away. “The Big Clean” happens every 2 weeks.  We all help with TBC.  Greg and I do the majority of it, but we give the kids jobs depending on the day, how many activities we have, how tired I am or how guilty I feel about asking them to help!

Our kids do not receive an allowance.  When our oldest 3 were small I tried giving them an allowance that wasn’t tied to chores.  It didn’t last long because I never had cash on hand! I’m just not that structured. I haven’t even thought of trying it again!

I don’t enjoy cleaning, but I like to have a clean, orderly house.  I am able to mother better when the house is organized and fairly clean. There are times I clean and am able to be mindful of what I am doing and grateful that I have the ability to clean and I have a house to clean!  Other days I am not so grateful, feel a little resentful that I do the majority of the cleaning, would like more “free-time” and my effort seems to be unappreciated.

I don’t strive for perfection (It will be interesting to hear from the kids about that!) and I don’t clean as often as most people think.  I learned early on that if toys are picked up and things are kind of orderly, people think my house is “cleaner” than it actually is. One day a client was talking about keeping her house clean and I had her look at the table next to where she was sitting… and write in the dust! She had been sitting there for 40 minutes and never noticed!  (The kids are responsible for cleaning the basement) Striving for just good enough is a piece of advice I would like to offer  all the moms of young children out there!

I go to bed nightly with dishes in the sink. I honestly can’t imagine what it would be like if I allowed that to bother me. More often than not the boy’s clean laundry sits in laundry baskets, or worse on Jack’s bed, for several days before they put it away. My kids walk around in wrinkled clothes and the world doesn’t stop spinning.  Noone really cares.  Most people are too concerned with their own stuff to notice and if they are concerned with my house, clothes, etc., then they have issues! I do what I do for myself and for our family. It works for us…and that is all that matters.

Perspective from the 8:

Dad – I can’t stand doing chores. I like it a little better when it’s the entire family cleaning together, but all in all, there are many things I’d rather do than clean. It’s like a balancing act..you should live in a clean environment, but you don’t want to spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning. I get a kick out of Tracey quoting all of these cute sayings about chores and kids. Truth is, cleaning the house turns her into a “Crabby-Patty.” She’ll never admit it, but just read the kids responses…….(Blaire!)

Mom – “Cleaning while children are growing is like shoveling while it is still snowing.”  I don’t know the author of that quote, but it has helped me keep things in perspective through the years (or so I thought before I read Blaire’s opinion!).

Blaire (16) – I hate chores.  They are a waste of time, and they are painful to do.  Number 1: Every time our family has a “chore” day, I end up getting yelled at. By this time, I’m use to it.  I wait the whole day for the moment when my dad comes out and yells at me for how disgusting the bathroom is, or my mom yells at me for not helping enough, OR both of them yell at me for my room.  Number 2: Every time we clean, my mom gets into the WORST mood.  For the entire day, if you’re smart, you try to avoid her.  Number 3: If my mom’s bad mood is able to transfer to my dad, then its bound to be one of the worst days ever.  When both of my parents are angry and cleaning… Well let’s just say its not fun.  I am a naturally lazy person when it comes to cleaning.  For me, I love clutter… It feels home-y.  So chores to me, are dumb.

Sam (14) – I don’t like chores.  Mowing the lawn isn’t that bad because I’m used to it so it isn’t hard anymore.  I forget to do some of the chores on the chore chart.

Jack (10) – I hate chores.  I don’t mind emptying the trash cans or making my bed, but I don’t like scooping the dog poop.  I can’t wait to graduate from scooping the poop and have Max take it over.

Max (7) – I feel mad about chores because then I can’t play with my friends.  We should do chores because if we don’t our house will get so messy there will be dirt every where.

Shane (3 1/2) – seems to be the only one who enjoys chores.  He likes to help Max and Jack.  Shane loves to Swiffer (love, those things!) I’m thinking we need to turn him loose on the basement.

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“Why, Mommy?”

April 29, 2010

A few days ago Shane (3 1/2) asked something that really shocked me.  Shane asked, “why, mommy?”

I can’t even remember what he was asking about.  The question literally stopped me in my tracks and threw me off for a few hours. I was shocked by how much I was shocked…and flooded with emotion.

Shane has Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).  CAS is a motor speech disorder where the child has difficulty programming and planning speech movements. (See www.apraxia-kids.org for more info)  We received the diagnosis last fall. I’ve felt like we’ve been coping pretty darn well. We have a pretty good perspective on it…our child is a healthy little guy and other families are coping with so much more than this. At the same time, we ‘ve shed a few tears (and allowed ourselves that), especially when Shane has tried to tell us something and has become exasperated and given up on our understanding him. We’ve felt blessed by Shane and discussed his many strengths and committed ourselves to giving him whatever he needs to be able to communicate.

Shane started speech therapy in January. Four months ago he was only saying a handful of words, many of which were unintelligible to those outside our family. He communicated primarily with gestures, signs and by miming.  Shane has made tremendous progress; thanks to our amazing speech therapist .  The progress has been remarkable on one hand and on the other it is a slow process and one that requires a lot of work and patience…on everyone’s part…  He is still delayed (he is speaking at the level of a 2 year old), but we’ve seen his confidence in speaking grow,  his attempts at words and at  at entire  sentences increase.

The question for me and Shane’s Apraxia has been,  how will it affect him and his future? Will he ever be able to speak normally? Are there other challenges Shane will face?  Does he have other learning difficulties that we are unaware of? Will he be able to process information and language when he is school age?  What does his future hold?

So, the other day, hearing the question that I have heard from our other 5 children and taken for granted each and every time, “Why, mommy?” was a sign that he is developing like other 3 year olds.  Hope. Hope that Shane will have the ability to obtain his dreams – whatever they may be .  And his family will be cheering him on!

So, little guy, ask Mommy “why” over and over and over again!  I am going to try my best to be grateful for every question you ask!

Perspective from the 8:

Dad – I’ve never learned or thought I could learn so much from a three year old. I think it’s human nature to become complacent and really take things for granted. Shane’s Apraxia diagnosis instantly grounded me, helping me to focus on what’s truly important. He’s had to learn how to make an “S” sound, so the first time he clearly called his brother Sam, it was unbelievably gratifying and heartwarming. The clear sound of Sam rolling off of his lips stopped me in my tracks, making me pause and say “thank you God.”

Megan (20) -

Blaire (16) -I had never thought anything of Shane’s difficulty talking.  He was the first kid who my mom taught sign language to, so we all just figured he didn’t feel the need to talk because he could sign.  But that wasn’t it.  When I found out that Shane had Apraxia, I was very taken aback.  I mean, you always hear about all of these different types of diseases and disorders, but you never think that they’ll have a direct effect on your life.  I guess it kind of put things into perspective, and really made all of us realize how lucky our family is to be healthy.  Above all though, I was sad for Shane.  I hoped that his Apraxia wouldn’t cause difficulties in his future.  But, Shane has continued to improve, and anyone who knows him knows that he is a very smart little boy.  I know that he will grow up and be able to succeed in anything that he wants to, and for this, I am grateful.

Sam (14) – When I found out Shane had Apraxia, I was a little shocked.  I knew that he was behind in speech for his age, but I never thought he had a speech disorder.  Ever since Shane started speech therapy, he’s really been improving.  He’s getting a lot better with saying full sentences, although sometimes I still have to really focus to understand him.  I know that he will continue to improve, but we still don’t know if he will ever be able to talk completely normal.  I believe that Shane will be able to communicate just as well as other kids.  I truly hope that he will not have any difficulty talking in the future.

Jack (10) – I feel bad about Shane not being able to speak well.  He’s a lot better at talking then he was when we first found out.  It can be frustrating trying to listen to what he is saying.  I hope Shane will improve in the future.

Max (7) – I feel bad about Shane not being able to speak well because he has trouble saying words and I can’t understand it so I get mad at him and start yelling, then I get into trouble.  I wish that he gets better cause that will be easier to understand what he is saying.

Shane (3 1/2) – likes speech therapy because he “play games.”

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Family Personality Tests

November 29, 2009

How much do you know about your family members?  We think you’ll be surprised…..

A few weeks ago, Greg and I attended a workshop at our church that involved a personality test and then a discussion around the different personality types.  The results and what we learned about each other were amazing.  On the ride [...]

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The Birthday Wish Candle

November 30, 2009

As we’ve grown as a family, we’ve done certain things on birthdays and holidays that have become family traditions. When we celebrate a birthday, we gather around the kitchen table, turn the lights off, light the candles and all sing Happy Birthday. After you make your private wish and blow out your candles, we pull out [...]

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Christmas – The Three Gifts

November 30, 2009

With Christmas fast approaching, we wanted to share how we handle the childrens’ Christmas gifts. We’ve really tried to keep the birth of Jesus front and center at Christmas, which sadly enough, can be difficult. When Megan was a toddler, Tracey heard of a great idea; giving your children three gifts which represent the gifts [...]

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Hiring a Babysitter

April 25, 2010

We haven’t updated our blog in a long, long, time!
One thing I’ve realized in the past couple of months is that I need a little help here at home. This evening I told my sister we need and are getting some help and her response was, “you think???”   So…I’ve been on a mission to [...]

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Happiness is…

April 26, 2010

Happiness is…a Christmas morning
playing with all of your presents
Happiness is…striking out the last batter
being tackled by your screaming teammates
Happiness is…the sun shining down
warming your heart
Happiness is…your family celebrating
every special moment in your life
Happiness is…after a sports game
your family congratulating you
Happiness is…on your birthday
your family celebrating
Happiness is…playing a sport
with all of your friends
Happiness is…being with your [...]

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