Self Reliance

The strawberry patch.
Homegrown berries.
Dessert.

Need I say more?

Twelve Years

Carl and I were able to get away for a night to celebrate our twelfth anniversary. Some of our friends told us about the homestead resort and we decided to give it a try. The weather was perfect and it was so nice to leave the kids with Grandma where we didn't have to worry and we could just relax.

The resort has a Crater limestone rock shaped like a beehive on the edge of their property. Nature has hollowed out the rock and it is filled with 95 degree spring water. We were able to swim inside the crater. I think Carl would have preferred to do the scuba diving class.... maybe next time. He's certified but unfortunately I'm not a big underwater fan. I guess I'm just chicken. lol.

When I called to make the reservation I asked about their smaller rooms and they placed us in one of their "Historical" Rooms. We were in the upper room in their "Milk House". Hmmm... I don't think that's what we really expected. Everything was decorated like Grandma's house. The light switches were outside the rooms just like the old home I grew up in and the bathroom sink was a pedestal sink that was low enough it probably hit Carl at the knees:) Fortunately, it was modern enough to have a TV and all the amenities we needed. I thought it was kind of fun in an old-fashioned way.

We thought it was odd that they had this bunny on the bed. Later I noticed they had the same bunny for sale in their gift shop so I wondered if they put the same bunny on the bed in all rooms or if we were just special because we got to stay in the Milk House. LOL.

Thanks to my hubby for letting me spend a half-day at the outlets too! It takes a pretty patient guy to spend time shopping for clothes.

ALL STAR PLAYER

Our little Red team wrapped up the season with just ONE win. I'll tell you it was tough to sit there and watch and in fact I've probably chewed off a nail or two. I'm not proud to say I approached the coach during the last game and let him know I felt his "strategy" is what lost us the game. We were ahead until the last inning and he muffed it up. However, I did feel a little bit better when he admitted to the team afterwards that it was his fault that they lost.

Throughout the season I contemplated taking pictures of the various teams and posting here on the blog to show how poorly the teams were matched up. Our boys were clearly the smaller of the bunch but I have to admit that they were UNITED and seemed to have fun for the most part. If anything, they learned to work hard, give it all they got and still hold their heads up.

Monday was the end of season Banquet (Potluck). Today I realized, I really don't care for the word "potluck"... it just sounds like a gamble or something. Maybe it should be "pot yuck". Oh, and we have another one on Friday. Oh wow, I'm getting off topic here:) They gave out the awards, "MVP, Most-Improved, and Sportsmanship". Then at the end they announced the boys that were chosen to play on the All-Stars team.

S was one of the lucky ones. I gave him the choice as to whether or not he wants to continue playing and I think he is going to go for it. He will be competing in a 3 day tournament in a couple weeks with baseball teams from some of the communities in our neck of the woods. I look forward to watching S play another game or two. We'll see:)

Broken or jammed?

Last night on our walk, I accidently bumped my middle toe on the back tire of Crew's wheelchair. It hurt quite a bit but the pain went away after about 15 minutes. Then, in the middle of the night I noticed it hurt when I curled my toes. Today, it is slightly swollen. I was still able to run today but it hurts most when going up hill. Do you think it is jammed? I wondered if it was broken at first.... but if it was, would I even be able to run at all?

Boys and Poppies

Last month our Home Teachers challenged our family to take time and notice more of Heavenly Fathers creations... the sunsets, mountains, flowers.

Carl and the boys discovered this field of poppies at their father/son camp out last Friday. We decided to kill some time today and enjoy this wonderful creation.

Other families were there taking pictures too. Some were dressed in matching clothes and had brought props. I found it humorous that we were all wearing random t-shirts. Carl in his Big-O freebie, H in his Nike Baseball shirt, Crew sporting a $2.00 Wally clearance, me in a funny pink flowered shirt (not pictured:)). S, however in his nice white collared polo type shirt. S always saves the day!

Therapy is Fun

Five years ago I didn't even know pediatric therapy existed. I guess it's just that I never had reason to think about stuff like that and now its part of our daily life. I have been so impressed with the pediatric therapists we have had along this journey. We had an awesome PT while Crew was in Early Intervention and she opened many doors for us and continues to do so. Now, we see Shaun for PT, Darrin for OT, and Trent for Speech. All three of these men are terrific therapists and are able to connect with my child. What a blessing that is!

S loves coming along to the therapy sessions. I'm grateful that my children are exposed to so many different occupations from therapists, doctors, equipment suppliers, drug reps, attorneys, engineers, not to mention the labor intensive hands-on mechanics as well. This lays a great foundation for them in deciding which career path to pursue. Today, I was talking to my brother, who is an attorney, about it and he said, "S, once you figure out what you want to be, get started early so you will still have time to change your mind...." LOL. How true is that! I decided at 20 years old to major in Business Finance and graduated a couple years later. Now, I am 35 and I am wondering what I was thinking at the time. I really didn't know myself well enough to make that decision. Now, if I was to start all over I would pursue a career path in a totally different field, most likely Health care.... but then again- who knows!

I just wanted to include a clip from our therapy session today. This ball swings from the ceiling (genius idea) and we've worked on this before but Crew is making great strides. The ball activity is working his "core" as well as hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Hope you enjoy!

• Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the blog and turn off the music before playing the video. I wouldn't want you to miss his little giggle.

DO YOU EVER...

... HAVE THE URGE TO MESS SOMETHING UP?

Transitions

Crew came along on our quest in finding the perfect tree to plant behind our water feature. He really seemed to enjoy walking around the local nursery.

I'd love to say he is making great progress with his walker but the last couple of weeks have been rough. He is really tight in his right hip which makes it difficult for him to stand tall and straight. Last Friday, I talked to his PT about it and he showed me some stretches to do on the ball. Since then, I've been working and stretching him at home with our new therapy ball. Yesterday he was able to sit on the ball with minimal support for 10 minutes.

Aside from walking...something very exciting happened with Crew this weekend! Crew is not a "roller" and we've been working for ages on getting him to roll from his back to his front and transition up to quadriped. Well... while we were playing our little therapy game to encourage rolling side-to-side he successfully completed his goal. It was so exciting to watch! I called in his brothers and dad and he did it a second time. We were all so excited for him...

I cannot express appropriately how HUGE this is. Imagine the difference this will make in his life. Also, it is just another step to other transitions in the future. He has been working so hard. I hope to get it on video soon so you can all see how hard he works to accomplish this simple transition.

In My Garden June 2008

Despite the fact that we hit freezing at ground level last night we have lots of coreopsis to enjoy...

Anybody know what these pink flowers are?

My all-time favorite.. Shasta Daisy

The berries are coming along too! Yum.

Photos

The other day, Carl and I spent some time looking through all the digital photos stored on our computer. We noticed a change in Crew over the past while... he has lost his smile. In fact, he looks downright ornery. It is very disturbing!

Also, he cries all the time now-- which is new.

I'm not sure if he doesn't feel well or if he is frustrated because he struggles to communicate his wants/needs. I wonder if he is starting to realize what he might be missing out on.

Oh, and I'm tired of his biting and scratching. I hate it that our family can't even sit together at church.... it never ends.

Backyard Project

Two years ago we started this yard project. DH wanted a waterfall with a pond where he could grow fish and I wanted a pondless waterfall. So we ended up building a waterfall with a pond with the option of filling in the pond later if we decided to... some things are hard to compromise.

Since then we've decided the pond was just plain ugly, dangerous, and ended up being a pit full of everything that blows around the neighborhood. For some reason any debris flying around would end up in the pond and it was just plain gross. Besides... we didn't really know what we were doing and it didn't turn out the way we had hoped.

This spring we consulted with a landscaper and he walked us through the process of transforming our pond into a pondless waterfall. We had to pull out all the rocks we had hauled in two years ago, fill in the hole with dirt, bury a barrel with our pump in it and basically start all over. We have a cute little waterfall now where the kids can climb all over it, throw rocks and NOT get hurt. I love it! Crew loves to sit out there and throw rocks which is totally fine with me.

I realize the pictures are not that great and it probably just looks like a heap of rocks to you but it does look a lot better up close.

I just had to post this last picture of Crew because his expression speaks volumes... he is totally not comfortable sitting on the rock:)

P.S.

The orange funny looking chair that Crew is sitting in above is awesome! We have outgrown the Bumbo and I found out the company created a bigger Bumbo called the ChildRite. While the price is outrageous I decided it was worth it... and the chair is bigger than I thought it would be. It will last a lOOOOng time. In fact, S (who is 11) can sit in it;)

PERSPECTIVE

I've posted about the "Everyone Can" program before. S took it upon himself to submit an entry for their art contest. I didn't give him any ideas... it's just something he decided to do on his own. The art was judged by several artists and not only was he picked as a WINNER for his age group but his picture was selected to be on the cover of a calendar.

I love the way this kid thinks:)

Stuff

I'm still here...

Crew is on his second round of antibiotics for an infection.

S is busy with baseball and Scouts.

H is in summer school and will be attending Cub Scout Day Camp on the rainiest day of the week;) Carl and I are going.

I've started working again which calls for a new level of organization. I'm not there yet:)

Last week I learned a new acronym... HAGS (Have a Great Summer). This is the faster and easier way to sign yearbooks in Elementary school apparently.

Hope to post some pictures soon.

HAGS y'all!