RaNdOmNeSs....

I am really trying to do better with blogging. It just seems like I don't get the chance to do it as often as I really want to. On the same hand, things here are fairly bland. Nothing new ever really happens. Mostly, the kids and I go to the pool almost daily. We are looking forward to the holiday weekend coming up.




A month or so ago, our refrigerator went out. We were spoiling milk like crazy before we realized what was going on. The food was just cold enough for us to not realize the fridge was bad. So I bought some thermometers for the fridge and freezer. As we learned, it was holding at just 41 degrees. We are lucky no one ended up sick with food poisoning. Who knows how long it was bad. So we found the coolest store in Clay Center Kansas. It is a scratch and dent store for appliances. Our fridge has one teeny flaw on it that isn't terribly noticeable, and it meant the difference of the price. We got the brand new fridge for half the price, with full warranty. What a DEAL!!! Its the one in the middle. :)

Kitty Carlisle, our sweet cat, is just two years old. He has not been feeling well for over a month. He just had his third round of medication to try to get him over this crazy illness. He seems more perky tonight. I planted catnip for him and have been giving him socks with it in it. He LOVES it a ton. It stinks. LOL!

Lady Bug is our sweet dog. We have had her for about 9 years. She got a nice grooming last week. She has been a good girl inside the house. She comes in several times a day. The girls love having her in. Matthew is doing just "OK" with it. Its my way of slowly getting him used to having a dog in the house. We are still working on getting a service dog for him.

It is hard to believe that I have been out of high school for 20 years now! I just cant believe that 20 years has passed us by! We have been in Kansas for 25 years on the first of June. Can you spot me in this picture? This was my ENTIRE senior class. :) One died during our senior year and he isn't pictured here.

I have been doing a lot of reading with my Kindle. I sure enjoy having it with me just in case I get an opportunity to read. I don't get a lot of time but when I can, I do enjoy it. Currently I am reading Anna Karenina.

Tomorrow, I take Matthew to get his eyes examined and to order him new glasses. It is my hope that he doesn't snap them in front of me again (or behind me). :P

Oh, and:

Autism: Meet Puberty. Just sayin.

OnE MoRe tHiNg...

I figure I had better get all my catching up done because who knows when I will get the chance to do it again!

I wanted to mention that my sweetie gave me a Kindle for my birthday last month. That's not what I wanted to mention, but I wanted to tell you a couple of really great books I read that touched me and wanted to recommend them!

The first one is a classic called Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
The other one I just finished last night was, "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom.

Both of these books were fantastic and I really recommend them. I am getting ready to start Anna Karenina.

BuSy LiFe...

I have been so very busy! I think sometimes parents falsely convince themselves that once school is out for the summer, that there will be more time to relax and get things done. ***NOT***. I can barely get everything accomplished through the day! But the kids are enjoying themselves for the most part. Matthew is still working on his studies, and should be finished with them by the end of the month. I love that he still has things to do with school each day (even though he doesn't).

As a family, for the past couple of years, we have been thinking about getting a service dog for Matthew. I have always kind of pushed the thoughts aside because I knew the amount of time and commitment it would take. I was still in school full time, battling it out with his school and then homeschooling, I just couldn't take one more thing. But time has passed and now is the time! We have a family in town who has a daughter with autism, Asperger's-like Matthew. But she has outgrown the need for her service dog, and they have offered to GIVE her to us. Of course she will go and be retrained, but we should have her hopefully by the end of the month or within a month at most. I am so grateful for such good people! This dog is a Golden Retriever named Camden. I cant tell you the hope it brings to my heart to know that Matthew can learn how to be a bit more independent by walking the dog out on his own (like most 12 year old boys can do). But looking ahead, I only have 5 or 6 years to get him more independent. So sort of speaking on the same terms, because I am so behind on my blogging, we got the North Central Kansas Autism Foundation up and running! We have a Board of Directors, and we are meeting regularly each month and have some wonderful plans coming up. I know the work that will be involved this first year or two but it is our goal to help families like ours who need some support, guide them to resources they need, and just to have fun! We have our name out there, and people have come to us, which is such a wonderful feeling!!!

sChOoL PiCtUrEs...2010-2011

Bethanie just completed 3rd Grade! She did an amazing job coming in with all A's & B's. I am so proud of her hard work. She has discovered the world of reading! This summer we are working on the Little House On The Prairie series. It helps that she gets to see the characters on TV so she can picture them in her mind. One of her favorite things about 3rd grade was her teacher. She had Rita Limon. For the first time for Bethanie, she had an IEP. Last year we found out that she has a working memory deficiency. Basically, her work needs to be in bite-sized pieces. Once that happened for her (after a couple years of trying to find out why she struggled), she was able to really just flourish! Coming into 4th grade, she was selected to be a Peer Mediator, and she will be working with younger children, helping them. I know this will be a plus for her and the students she works with. She is such a wonderful example! She is also a very devoted friend!

Matthew just finished 6th Grade. Explaining it for him is a mixed bag because he is at different levels of academics for certain subjects. This was his first year in a Virtual Public School. I have to say that I am VERY impressed with the district he is in. Even though he does his work at home on the computer, he has re-embraced his love of learning. Sadly the school district here nearly killed all his love for it. It took us almost a whole year to regain that back by loving him back into learning (through his greatest love, reading). Matthew is a very happy kid. He loves his routines with me during the day. I am so glad to have him home with me during the day. I have learned so much about myself through Matthew! Today he said, "Mommy, how do you draw an angel"? I said, "I'm not really sure, why"? He said, "Because I want to draw a picture of you"! My heart soared. If you know anything at all about Matthew, you would know why that is a piece of real treasure for my heart. God is good, and he works in mysterious ways. Through a mothers heart is one of the greatest ways to bring joy.

Just look at my beautiful baby! Wait! She isnt a baby any more! WAAAH! My sweet Madison is now 4 1/2 years old. This was her first year in Preschool. She LOVED each and every minute of it! She went on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the mornings at Bright Beginnings Preschool (both of her siblings went there as well). This next school year she will be going 3 mornings a week. That will help when it is time to get Matthew on his new school schedule. She LOVES her teacher and had her first boy friend. :P His name was Coby. I wonder if he will be in her class again next school year. :P Madison is quite the spunky and very outspoken young girl. She is like her brother in many ways, she will be bold when she needs to be, but sometimes her shy side creeps out. That is pretty rare. But she has a heart of gold, and she is tender and sensitive in spirit. I know that there never has been anything small about this child of mine! Even her personality is huge! What a sweet kid!

I am so blessed with my sweet children! I marvel at the gifts the Lord has given to me. I know my family is complete, and I am so fine with that. I know I will still have the yearnings of a little baby to hold, but my hands are full and I feel complete. Thank you Father for my sweet and wonderful children! I love them so! And I love their dad with all my heart!

My SwEeT BeThAniE hAd A BiRtHdAy!!!

What can I say about this sweet daughter of mine! I cant believe the young woman she is growing into! She just turned 9 a couple weeks ago. She was so excited because we gave her her very first American Girl Doll. She has wanted one for a very long time. I gave her the choice between that or a laptop. She chose the doll, hands down! I was very impressed that she wanted to stay little just a bit longer! So for her birthday, we rented a conference room at a hotel and had her party there. Her friends all came, and we played games. One of the funniest was the Hula-Hoop contest. Little Madison (4) took all of the girls down and won it easily. :) She is great at it! So I ended up making her a 4 layer birthday cake. It was a confetti layer, then a chocolate layer, then a confetti layer and a chocolate layer. She helped me decorate it. Since Matthew is allergic to egg whites, I made it with applesauce instead of eggs. It makes the cake very moist. I was afraid the cake would just fall apart, and it did once we started cutting into it, but it was DELICIOUS to say the least. At any rate, she had a great time with her birthday.

Soon, she will be moving into 4th grade. She was chosen to be a Peer Mediator at school. Only a handful of 4th graders are selected to do this very responsible job. I know this will be good for her, and for the younger children she will be working with!

Bethanie is such a wonderful example. She is my guide that tells me we are on the right path as a family. In all the chaos of our life, she is there setting the examples. She does so many kind things for people. Her heart is so full of love! I know what a gift I was given when I was chosen to be her mother! I remember clearly the day I found out I was pregnant with her, after 10 years of trying! I had been sick for a long time. I thought I was suffering from the flu. I went to my dr and they asked all the usual questions, have you taken a pg test, and such. After 10 years of trying, we never suspected. So I was pregnant, and so terribly excited! My pregnancy was a dream with her. The hard part was a couple months before she was to be delivered, my husband lost his job. So we had a scary time deciding what to do with a child almost here, another one who had such high needs at the time (even then) and then, as she took her time to come to the earth, suddenly she was in a hurry to be with us. She came 6 weeks early. Oh how terrified I was! But even though she was early, she was still 6 lbs 11 oz. She is a terribly shy young girl, but once you break the ice, she is full of spunk, spirit and loves to tease! What a gift she is in my life! I LOVE YOU BETHIE!!!