Awesome, cool, must-see blog post

No, not mine!  (Though it would be cool if it was mine.)  No, this post was written by a new friend, Tammy, whose daughter Joy wrote and sings a beautiful song.  The link was sent to me by another friend, Cindy.  I know Cindy IRL (in real life), and Cindy knows we adopted Dashlyn and how our hearts have changed since we learned about these sweet orphans.  So she sent the link and I went to check it out and was so moved I wrote to Tammy to ask if I could share her daughter’s song with all of you.  She was so generous and said “yes! please do!”.  So here ya go – click HERE to hear the song &/or read the words.  And don’t be surprised if you enjoy the rest of Tammy’s blog as well!

Andrew is 18

I know I’ve had a lot of Andrew posts lately, but that’s what’s going on with us right now.  Maybe you can stand one more?

We threw maybe his last birthday party (do 18 yr old boys have birthday parties?).  He wanted a fire pit in the backyard which sounded easy so we said “great!”.  Then we thought “we have an old swingset that needs to come down….hmmm”.  Guess what happened next?

Getting started:

I mentioned my “extra” kid before right?  This is why I love him!

Does this look like “rushing” the swing set to you?  Yep, that’s what’s happening!

The little kids got to enjoy some cookie cake with the guys before bed.

Happy Birthday to my biggest boy!  We love you, we’re proud of you, and we hope you have an awesome year!!

Paaaaar-taaaay!!

Yesterday was Andrew’s graduation party – finally!!  The party was for Andrew and 5 buddies so it was busy, loud, and FUN!!  Jack and Dasha were a little too busy for this momma while we were setting up so they spent a little time in their car seats (he he). 

A little table surfing is the best way to make sure it’s sturdy, right?

We made up shirts for the guys.  We got Sharpies and let the guys sign each other’s (and some of the rest of us signed them too!).

It isn’t a party without cake!

 

I can’t believe it’s over.  I’m excited for Andrew’s future, but I am gonna miss his high school years, his friends, all the fun.  What an awesome 4 years it has been.  Love you guys, and especially my amazing, intelligent, super fun first-born son.  Your dad and I could not be more proud of you!

My Baby is a High School Graduate!

We haven’t had the party yet.  And I still have to get a good picture taken of him.  But it happened – the graduation ceremony at the high school.

On his way out the door -

He’s in the middle -

And here are a few of the boys -

Our crew that will be partying together -

These 3 are super special – they started kindergarten together, all us moms were friends for awhile, and now they are headed in different directions.  This is quite possibly the last time all 3 will be together.  I’m so proud of them, but my heart hurts at the thought that this time of Andrew’s life is over.

And here are the 2 who’s laughter was completely infectious and who’s jokes and general conversations keep me endlessly entertained.  I will miss the 2 of them together as much as I miss my best friend from high school, who still (thank you God) is my sounding board for all aspects of my life even though we now live 600 miles apart and it’s not the same.  Good luck in everything you do Tony!

We had a little, casual celebration at home, with Andrew opening his cards and everyone eating lots of dessert :)

Congratulations my firstborn.  Your dad and I cannot express how proud we are of you and everything your future holds.  You already have more common sense than many adults we know.  You’re becoming responsible and self-reliant.  And c’mon – a 34 on your ACT?!?!  Who gets that?!  Love you so much!!!!

Jack went to a birthday party!

We got the invite a few weeks ago. It was from one of his school friends, a typical child, so I wasn't sure how he would do. His teacher said every little boy in class was invited. But we went. It was at a kids' gym, so there were things to hang on and roll down and jump over. (I will edit this to post pics after I get them uploaded.) But Jack. did. AWESOME. I was so proud. He hung and rolled and jumped just like everyone else. They did a circle activity where they held a scarf and ran around in a circle and stood on it and waved it up in the air and by golly he did it all. He was slower to do it, and watched everyone else for a second before he did, but he did it. I had to herd him when it was time to transition from one activity to another, so it was kind of nice that I got to see how he responded (I'm thinking IEP info here). They sat at a table and had cake. It was served with a spoon. He cried when he had trouble with the spoon. I said to one concerned looking parent next to me "I think he would do better with a fork". BAM, a fork appeared! And he did great with it. They served pizza (yes, after the cake). And his piece was too big for him to hold so again, fussing. I switched it with a smaller piece he could hold, and he smiled so big. And ate his pizza. He drank lemonade out of an open cup and he threw away his trash when he was done without any promting from me! He said thank you when given his goodie bag. And said bye to his friend.

He was the only child with any special need there.

It was an awesome party!

Once Again, I’m Behind on my Blog

So to catch us all up, we had the annual All District Orchestra Concert for our school district.  That’s when all the orchestra students have a big concert together, and since my big 3 all play violin it’s really cool to see/hear them all together.  As usual, it was awesome!  But sad too, since it was Andrew’s last one.  I didn’t cry though!

I made it through yet another Mother’s Day :).  I was given a delicious breakfast made by my super hubby, a card signed by all the kids, and while M and I did some shopping, hubby mopped the kitchen floor for me!  Who wouldn’t love that??

After we had lunch today and I was cleaning up in the kitchen, Jackson came in, handed me the remote, and said (WITH WORDS) and signed “Signing Time” and pointed at the living room where we watch TV.  Yes, he’s said that before, and signed it before, but this was completely unprompted, and with visual aids!!  How excited was I?!?!  So did we watch?  OH YEAH!!  We lucked into an amazing deal last month when Signing Time had a sale, so now we have a bunch of DVD’s to pick from.  Jack and Dasha love to watch, and the rest of us have picked up several signs that we use all the time.  M and I used them a few days ago when we were at Wal Mart and didn’t want to yell at each other across the store ;).

Next up, graduation.  Lord help me.  It’s seriously killing me that my baby will be done with all 12 grades and going to college.  Some days I can’t breathe.  Where did the time go??  When did he get so big, and smart, and handsome??  He shaves.  He drives.  When he answers the phone people think he’s his dad.  Very soon he’ll be gone, out of our house, living far away.  How I will miss him….

What happens when it hails

We have a tiny house.  We’re comfortable here, and we’ve done lots of updating.  Of course I have along ways to go, sorting and getting rid of unused things, and organizing in a better way, but we do love our little piece of the world.  And our cars!  Our little house was blessed with a lovely, large, oversize garage.  M and I were rear-ended about 6 weeks ago, did I mention that?  The other driver’s insurance fixed our beloved ride so even though it’s now 7 years old, it’s as good as new :).  And my someday fully restored classic Camaro also deserves plenty of love.  So when the weather got ugly and hail was threatened, we had to take drastic measures.

Unfortunately, the car didn’t quite fit all the way in, so we improvised with cardboard, fender protectors, and swim noodles!

Thankfully, the weather seems to have moved past the spring craziness (hopefully) and we don’t need to worry about hail anymore ‘til next year.