Rivers of Joy

She doesn't answer the phone

2012-02-08T13:07:00.001-06:00

Lately, I've been quite entertained with a website called "Letters of Note."

It is a site dedicated to authentic letters either sent by or responded to by notable people.

Some are quite historical, some are hysterical actually, while many are somber...

so if you like really good prose, you just have to check it out.

Follow this link "She doesn't answer the phone" which was a letter mailed by E.B. White and take a peek into what my brain thinks is true humor.

She doesn't answer the phone

3 at the buzzer

2012-02-05T14:07:00.001-06:00

The guy in blue is a really good shooting guard. Every time we play Washington Island, he and Andrew are step for step.
But a picture like this just makes a mom smile :)
Andrew shoots over the block attempt and drains a 3 at the buzzer!!
Whoo Hoo!

nate playing the drums (short video)

2012-01-30T09:44:00.002-06:00

an impromptu video of nate hanging out with james in the studio...
this is the first time he's ever sat at the drum kit.

There are no words...

2012-01-26T00:11:00.000-06:00

I have finally conceded.

After four years of trying to describe how I feel about Nate, I realize now the language that I know has failed me.

I've made valiant efforts, but none of those efforts have come close to truly capturing the feeling I have when I look at this little boy I call my son.

I've said he is the end of the rainbow.

I've said he is the apple of my eye.

I've said he is the greatest blessing my family has ever known.

The relationship between Nate and his big brother Andrew is one of most beautiful expressions of love I've ever seen.

I have done my best to tell the world that his life is so valuable and important and worth living.

He has brought so much joy to the people in his world that I am still amazed when I see it.

I don't exaggerate when I say people line up to be with him, have their picture taken with him, have him reach out to them...

I am the luckiest woman in the world because this little man calls me Muma.

Aaron and Nicol

2012-01-20T22:38:00.052-06:00

When I came home from Andrew's game tonight, I swooped my little Natie-boy into my arms and whisked him into the kitchen. He told me he was thirsty, so I plopped him on the kitchen counter and walked over to the fridge to get him some water with crushed ice.

He likes the crushed ice.

James was on the phone with Lynn from Nashville and they were talking music and contracts and stuff. I wanted to make ~~myself~~ Nate a fried egg-in-a-basket, so I got out the pan and the eggs. Just as I was buttering the bread, James walked into the kitchen and handed me his laptop, which was open to Aaron Shust's blog. Then he walked back out of the kitchen b/c he was still on the phone.

I glanced at the screen briefly, cracked the egg inside the hole in the bread, and immediately looked back at the computer screen because my eye had caught a glimpse of a beautiful baby boy with Ds.

As the egg crackled away on the stove, I read Aaron's most recent few posts with a grin on my face.

I almost whooped because I was so happy!

I know what lies ahead for them.

It's like learning someone in your family just won the lottery.

Except the Shusts are not my family.

But in a way, they are.

They are now.

Not only are we brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, but we are members of the same community who share the common thread of a child with Ds.

And this community sure feels like family to me.

I understand my dear friend Tony now more than ever.
Awhile back I posted a story about Tony, and it's shocking to me that I actually ever felt the way that I did back then. Scared? Afraid? Uncertain of so many things?

Wow.

I wonder now how I could have felt that way, and if I didn't have the proof of my time-stamped blog post, I wouldn't remember it or believe it at all.

But getting back to Tony....the long and short of it is this; when Tony learned that Nate might have Ds, his response was, "that would be so awesome."

So yeah, I understand that now!

I get excited...I get so excited when I hear of another beautiful baby born with Ds.

I have posted the following question many, many times over the past years that I have blogged, and that is, "how did I get to be so lucky?"

Seriously.

How did I get to be so lucky to be the mom of this little boy?

It's not that I love him more than my other children. It's not like that.

It's just that it's different, and I don't know how else to say it.

It's special and wonderful.
But not because Nate is special.
It's just that he is so special!!!

Yesterday I was sitting with Nate on the couch and I was literally feasting my eyes on him. I could just hang out and watch him laugh and move and sing and play and chatter and smile and every little move he makes still to this day makes my eyes tear up.

I adore him.

Last night I was scouring the internet for information and/or pictures of Nicol and Greg Sponberg's baby girl. A friend of James from Nashville had shared with him that the Sponberg's had recently had a little one born with Ds.

Again...

EXCITED!

But I hadn't had any luck learning anything until last night when I saw pictures on Greg's twitter page.

Finally! I found her! Awwww!!

Darling, precious, gorgeous baby daughter.

When I read from both of these incredibly talented and anointed musicians the honest and raw emotions about the fear, doubt, struggle...I was briefly confused.
Why??
How could anyone feel that way about the birth of a child with Ds?
For a flash of a second I feel a thousand combined emotions of anger and defensiveness and utter disbelief...and then I remember.
Oh yeah.
That was me, too.
aarg.

But I know that I know that I know that I know that I know that I know and for sure I know it's true;
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow awaits them, too.
Ah.
yesssss.

Cut the crust while you can

2012-01-17T06:55:00.002-06:00

My daughter Hannah wakes up early during the week to get ready for school.

Since she catches the bus at 6:30 AM ( sheesh! ) she sets her alarm for some crazy time like 5:45 AM...I mean, wow.

But she is quiet like a cat upstairs, and I never hear her getting ready.

Often she will come tip-toeing into my room and whisper to me..."Mom, will you braid my hair?"

This morning we sat in the living room by the fire. It was very early.

I was on the couch, and Hannah sat on the floor in front of me.

As I gently brushed her hair for a few minutes before braiding a band across the front, it did not escape me that these are the days to remember.

These are the moments I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I admit that I brushed her hair longer than necessary.

I'm a lucky mom that she didn't mind.
I know that.

So after I was finished, and she went back upstairs to finish getting ready, I went into the kitchen to pack her lunch.

I cut the crust off her sandwich, because I know she likes that...and I don't care that she's 14, she likes it!

I won't get to do that forever!

But I get to do it today, and probably tomorrow.

So I did, and I will.

My beautiful baby girl.

cajon

2012-01-16T22:55:00.002-06:00

The other day my husband bought a box drum, or cajon.

Cajon is a Spanish word for drawer, box, or crate. It is pronounced ka 'hone.

It is a percussion instrument that originated in Peru.

It looks like this.

It's really cool.

You sit on it, like Andrew is doing, and play it with your hands. Depending on where you hit the drum, you get either the sound of a snare or a bass.

I took this picture the very day they brought it home from the music store.

Andrew started playing it immediately.

He is a great drummer anyway, and he likes playing the cajon more than the drum kit.

So James grabs his guitar and they have a mini jam session, and it sounds great!

And then...I hear this...ping, ping, pang...

And I look over and see that Nate has grabbed his guitar, too.

Nate starts jammin' with the boys.

Now this is a really cute picture in and of itself, but what is even better than the sheer cuteness is that Nate is not walking independently yet, and he struggles to stand on his own for any length of time.

But he became so preoccupied with the music and his participation, that he stood up on his own, bent down to grab his guitar and starting playing it while standing up!

Yay, Natie!

Look at him play...and stand...at the same time!

Whoo Hoo! Go Natie, Go Natie!!

Maddie the Mannequin

2011-12-28T19:59:00.000-06:00

Jammin' w/ Bubs

2011-12-27T17:12:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T22:38:00.001-06:00

Nate and Masada

2011-12-23T12:54:00.001-06:00

The best therapy horse ever!

This guy in the red suit...

2011-12-21T12:28:00.002-06:00

yeah, he's right up there...

...with M-I-C-K-E-Y.....

kNoW wHaT I mEaN?

I'm dreaming...

2011-12-20T21:30:00.001-06:00

of

a

whi...

awww..c'mon....this is Wisconsin!

Rockin' Christmas lights

2011-12-18T00:51:00.002-06:00

Tonight on the way home from Molly's, we drove through the entire neighborhood looking at lights. I'm very opinionated about Christmas lights. (like... seriously... There are some really half-baked attempts out there).

Me and the girls were the official neighborhood critics tonight. What a hoot to hear them cackling in the back seat all the while I'm complaining "Why? Why the blue?" (Hannah's like, "I like the blue!")
But we all ooh'd and aah'd when we drove the next block over from our house and saw that almost every single resident on every street did their trees in green and gold.
Go Packerz

So much ugliness, so much fun

2011-12-17T22:35:00.001-06:00

Tonight we went to Molly's for an ugly sweater par-Tay...super fun and great food. Karol even made her Stromboli ...yessssss!

Lazy boy

2011-12-17T15:42:00.000-06:00

On Molly's lazy boy!

Having one of THOSE kind of nights

2011-12-16T18:07:00.002-06:00

I'm making bread pudding. Yum.
Maddie and I just finished making the roux for home-made Mac and cheese (oh total YUM)
Later tonight, after my pals come over, I'm going to whip up some patsys (omg I totally made the mistake of googling the recipe under "pastie" oops lol)
So yeah, it's one of those carb-filled nights sitting by the fire with my besties and totally chillin out! Yay it's Friday!

When was the last time you...

2011-12-16T10:54:00.001-06:00

...crammed too many people in your back seat?

Bring on the cupcakes

2011-12-15T20:10:00.001-06:00

There is a certain obligation....

2011-12-15T20:08:00.000-06:00

I mean, when it's Nat'l Cupcake Day, don't you feel a certain sense of duty to honor that in some, ya know....tangible way?

Just because he's cute doing anything!

2011-12-15T17:56:00.003-06:00

That's what Maddie just said as we sit here at Panera having hot chicken noodle soup. I concur.

A note from Natie's teacher

2011-12-15T16:07:00.001-06:00

Hi Jill,

Just wanted to drop you a quick note and let you know how awesome Nate did on our field trip this morning :) He ate 3 mini pancakes at IHOP, then used the walker to walk up to see Santa, sat on his lap, and used the picture board to point to what he wanted from Santa, and imitated the signs "I want guitar." to Santa :) It was ADORABLE! He looked like such a big kid :) Some passers by even stopped to comment on how cute Nate was with Santa. We got some great pictures too that we will send home or put in the field trip book.

**sigh**

Little boy, you are the end of mommy's rainbow.

Sent from my iPhone

Team Spirit!

2011-12-12T18:13:00.000-06:00

Hellooooo reverse camera!

2011-12-12T07:37:00.001-06:00

How did we ever take silly pictures of ourselves before you?

2011-12-12T07:35:00.001-06:00

VIP

2011-12-11T14:30:00.001-06:00

Getting ready for kickoff at the Bart Starr VIP party! Go Pack!

Don't you love it?

2011-12-11T13:13:00.001-06:00

Sunday brunch is always the best!

Breaking bread with Nate

2011-12-10T20:59:00.002-06:00

Look at that face...is he ready to have some fun, or what?

Kneading....

a little OT during baking never hurt anybody

Rolling....

Get all the air bubbles out

mmm.
a little butter and strawberry jam on warm bread...
(*sigh*)
It was a lovely Saturday afternoon.
I hope yours was, too.

A very merry Lexington Homes Christmas party

2011-12-10T18:17:00.003-06:00

We had the best creme brulee ever

My beautiful boss, Michelle

Yuckin' it up with a few of my favorite managers! (Carol I thought you were in this picture... where are you? Oh yeah....)

Oh captain, my captian

2011-12-09T10:23:00.002-06:00

Andrew bringing the ball in during last night's game against Bay City Baptist.

Emily's paper

2011-12-07T21:44:00.001-06:00

Friends, this is Emily.

She is a beautiful young woman who has come into our lives and made a huge impact on each one of us. We girls especially could seriously argue over who adores her the most!

(The truth is though, Nate would give all of us a run for the money).

Emily is enjoying her first year in college.

We miss her so much.

Last week she told me she was writing an English paper about my family, and about Nate.

She posted it on her blog the other day, and I want to share it all with you.

It's a wonderfully written paper, and I am so honored that's it's written about us!

Emily honey, we love you!

Down Syndrome: [n] a genetic disorder, associated with the presence of an extra chromosome 21, characterized by mild to severe mental impairment, weak muscle tone, shorter stature, and a flattened facial profile.

Three years ago, I met someone who stole a chunk of my heart. His name is Nate Kocian and he is four years old.

For the past five years, I have volunteered at a camp called Camp Daniel which is a nonprofit camp for people with disabilities. I have been a counselor every year. Unfortunately, they only hold camp for four weeks each summer. Every week of camp is different, wild, and crazy. The people that come to camp as campers have a wide variety of disabilities ranging from Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and/or autism. Although those are the three major disabilities that are seen at camp, there are more diagnosis’s represented by the campers who come to Camp Daniel. I have seen ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities, blindness, and hearing impairments. One thing that I haven’t seen at camp is when people have an illness or a strictly physical disability. Almost all of them have mental disabilities. Camp and my school life didn’t really connect that much because our school was small and didn’t have a large special education program. Something that I saw at school and not at camp was through a girl named Marissa. Marissa was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was born. Over the years, she got worse and worse, but kept her spirit up. Over the years, I always wanted to introduce Marissa to camp, not so that she could be a camper, but so she could visit and meet people that had situations closer to hers. I think that if she came to camp, her life would have changed, much like everybody else’s lives.

I met Nate sitting on a swing at Camp Daniel. He was sitting on his older sister's lap singing 'I Will Rise' by Chris Tomlin. He put his hands up to his cheeks with his fingers outspread, his sign to pick him up, and he crawled over to my lap. This was the first moment that Nate captured my heart and we sat there for ten minutes singing songs with his big sister, Hannah.

Nate has Trisomy 21, the most common form of Down syndrome. When Jill, his mother, was pregnant with Nate, the doctor told her and her husband James that their baby had a possibility of being born with a disability and advised them to get an abortion. Luckily for everyone in Nate's life, they didn't listen. They changed doctors and Nate soon came into this world.

When somebody is diagnosed with Down syndrome, it doesn't mean they are stupid or a moron, and especially does not mean they are a retard. It simply means that they are slightly delayed at body control and mental function. Most of the time, people with Down syndrome have moderate IQ’s. At four, a 'normal' child can walk, run, play, and talk. Nate, on the other hand, can walk with help, play with a different ability that other kids, and can say some words. People diagnosed with Down syndrome usually have decreased muscle tone. This is the reason that Nate cannot walk without assistance yet. He goes to horseback riding therapy to help his core muscles develop. Instead of always using words, Nate has his own form of communication. He can verbalize some things and he uses his own form of sign language, which differs slightly from the normal American Sign Language. Nate is not talking in whole words. His normal words are ‘dada’, ‘bubba’, ‘up’, ‘bah’, and ‘no’. He is four years old and although he can’t talk like a typical child, he can have a conversation with anybody. Like most people with Down syndrome, Nate’s emotions are pure. They don’t care what you think; they will speak the truth about what they see. If they think you look funny, they won’t even think twice about telling you. Another thing commonly seen in people with Down syndrome is heart conditions and health problems. Luckily, Nate has a perfect working heart. Just because Nate is delayed does not mean that he is any less of a person than a child without a disability.

Nate and I were sitting in the camp chapel watching the camp puppet, Georgie; sing his ''famous'' song. We sat there dancing and singing along. As we were singing and dancing, he would sometimes look up to me and smile. When he smiles at me, I know that I want to have a child with Down syndrome. Again, Nate captured my heart. At this time I wasn't close to Nate's family and I went a whole year without seeing him. Yet I still thought about him thanks to pictures put up around my room. So, the next summer, I decided that I was going to grow closer to him and his family.

Some people claim that people with Down syndrome are worthless and contribute little to nothing to this world. Some people claim that people with disabilities should not be allowed to live in this world. TheGrimJesus said on fugly.com:

“I for one think they should be snuffed out in the womb so we do not have to deal with them. There not meant too be here. I never remember anything in history about retarded Cavemen or Retarded Knights. You know why? We fucking killed them and it worked for a very good long time and should still be done today.”

One out of 800 babies is born with Down syndrome. In the United States, 84-91 percent of babies diagnosed prenatally are aborted. (Enouen) Due to prenatal testing like Maternal Serum Screening, many expecting mothers now have an easier chance to find out if their child may have a disability, which makes it emotionally easier to get an abortion. This means that the number of babies being born with Down syndrome is declining quickly. To most people who have never experienced being around somebody with Down syndrome, this does not make a difference in their lives. They say that we are getting rid of the weak and useless in society but to people like me, who know and have been touched by the joys of someone with Down syndrome, this is terrifying. Another thing that is terrifying is the bullying that goes on as quoted on this webpage:

“Up until a few years ago my Church used to organise trips to our local retard home, so we could get a look at these filthy animals close-up. I used to take a few of my children at a time, and get them to stare into these creatures eyes, until they saw the demon within…. You can really see the wild animal in there. The demon. You can see them for what they truly are. Their hatred for my God, their denial of him.   I for one can't wait till all retards burn. Praise Jesus!”

So many people use the word ‘retarded’ to make fun of people. They think that it is only affecting the person that is acting, as they say, ‘retarded’. Most people don’t know the horrible connotation it emits when you call somebody retarded. They are affecting people who have disabilities and you are making fun of people that are diagnosed with a disability. I have met people who have been teased, pick on, and even abused for being disabled. Because of these stories, I fear for Nate’s future. I fear that he will come across people that will make fun of him and abuse him. I fear that people will look at him as though he is not a person.

December 2010, I visited the Kocian family for an afternoon. Nate had turned three a few months prior. He was practicing standing up by himself. We were all huddled around him in the living room. James stood with the camera, Jill sat with the reward, and everybody else watched with support and love. Every time he stood up, he would be rewarded with a bite of a Reece's Peanut Butter Tree. He stood longer and longer each time he tried. When he stood up and stayed up for a few seconds, the whole room erupted into cheers and praise. Because there was over ten of us cheering him on, this gave me hope for his future. Hope that not only will he be loved, but that he will be supported throughout his life.

People often declare that a child with a disability is harder to raise than one without a disability while many families with a child with a disability report that it isn't true. According to Exceptional Learners textbook: some parents experience high degrees of stress, but over time it decreases. And some actually gain unanticipated positive benefits from having a child with a disability. [116] Every child has good days and bad days. That goes for every. Single. Child. Say a parent has a child that can't speak at the age of five-it doesn't make a child different from any other child. The child can bring difficulties, but it can also bring immense amounts of joy.

Nate Kocian is the prized member at camp. Whoever has Nate gets all the attention. Everybody fights to have a turn holding him and sitting with him. Because of my close relationship with the family, I got the privilege of holding him more than others. That summer, Nate and I made a bond. If I walked past him, he would hold his hands up to his cheeks with outspread hands and I would gladly pick him up.

This past summer of 2011 is full of stories of Nate, his family, and me. For four weeks of the summer, I volunteered at Camp Daniel, a place where Nate's family volunteers. Throughout the weeks, I took care of Nate for a couple of hours at a time, whenever I had time to. One evening, I was having a particularly rough night because I had a camper that was physically and mentally challenging for me. She was in a wheelchair and had the functions of a one-year old. Whenever I have rough days at camp, I go to Nate so he can cheer me up. So, I took Nate and sat down watching the talent show with my camper. Something miraculous happened. My camper was sitting there quiet and relaxed, unlike her usual self. Nate was sitting on my lap very calmly, and I was sitting there in peace. Nate brought peace to my camper and I and I will never understand how he was able to do that. Then, after sitting there for about an hour, another magical thing happened. James went up to the microphone and sang Amazing Grace while playing the piano in the background. As he sang, Nate sang along with every word. He didn't pronounce and sing every word exactly how it is supposed to sound. Instead, Nate sang his own words, a combination of dada-up-bah-yah, but they meant exactly what the lyrics in the song meant. He had a way of making my bad day end with a great moment. That whole week when I had a rough time, Nate would cheer me up.

The second week of camp the Kocian's went back home, but came back and visited. When my friend who loves Nate as much as I do saw their van pull into the camp, she grabbed my hand and ran. After we got to the van, I gave everybody hugs and then opened the side door where Nate was sitting in his car seat. He gave me a big smile when I opened the door and I returned the favor. I unbuckled him and picked him up out of the car. Nate grabbed my cheeks with his hands, smiled widely, and put his face up to mine. He does this when he is extremely happy. Nate loves everyone, but for him to grab my face like this was very special. The moment he grabbed my face, I was full of joy.

The final week of camp came around. My camper was fun, easy, and relaxed. I had my week scheduled perfectly. Wednesday evening I was told that Marissa was back in the hospital again and not doing too well. Marissa and I weren't the closest of friends, but we did have a history and friendship that carried back into middle school. Marissa was constantly in the hospital. That day I was very worried about her. In the evening, a fellow counselor who was also Marissa's friend told me she was stable and doing better. I was still nervous, but a bit relieved. Thursday at dinner I was waiting on my camper to finish eating her meal. My friend at camp came in and told me sadly that Marissa had passed away that day. It didn't register with me right away. I got up and left for outside. It was heartbreaking because she was a beautiful girl who was fun and loving. Even though she was going through so much pain and suffering, she never gave up hope. I walked outside and even though I was miserable and devastated, I couldn't help but think that the setting I was in was a cliché. In most sad movies, the main character gets heartbroken and walks in the rain. It was raining that evening, making me feel like I was in a movie. Even if it felt like it was a movie, it was real, Marissa had died and I couldn't change it. Even if I was sad that evening, I still had a responsibility to take care of my camper. I composed myself and went back into the dining hall and took my camper to chapel. Because it is a small camp and everybody talks to each other, everybody knew what was going on. Knowing that Nate could always cheer me up, my friend stole him from whoever had him, and set him on my lap. Nate sat with me during the first half of chapel. I couldn't help but cry. It wasn't bawling though, it was simply a couple tears that consistently ran down my face. I had tissues next to me that I would wipe my tears away. While listening to the songs, I didn't notice some tears that were running down my face, but Nate did. As I was holding him, he reached over and grabbed a tissue and wiped my tears off my face. That moment, I know that Nate knew exactly what was going on. He wiped away my tears and gave me hope that it was all going to be okay.

Nate Kocian is an extremely intelligent young boy. He is four years old and diagnosed with Down syndrome. He will need support the rest of his life, he won't be able to do things that 'normal' people do, and he will be made fun of. Yet to me, he is perfect exactly the way he is.

If you read the whole thing, thank you! This is one of my final papers for English and this one is my favorite!!

Love you, kiddo!

2011-12-06T13:29:00.001-06:00

I will call him "BEAUTIFUL"

2011-11-29T16:33:00.003-06:00

for as long as I can get away with it.

My beautiful son!

Your mom loves you.

One day that word will embarrass him. But until
then...

My beautiful boys.

Has it really come to this?

2011-11-21T09:02:00.001-06:00

The CUTEST and FUNNIEST VIDEO I HAVE EVER SEEN!

2011-11-18T09:22:00.001-06:00

I'm not the kind of girl who rushes Christmas....FoR aS mUcH aS i LoVe ChRiStMaS! I actually love ThAnKsGiViNg too!
(Yes, I still have pumpkins and scaracrows in front of my house...at least until next Friday!!)
But my mother-in-law sent me this video and I laughed out loud and loved every minute of it!!
Watch it HERE!

The pre-rinse

2011-11-14T22:22:00.001-06:00

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on demand

2011-11-12T15:18:00.001-06:00

It's a beautiful thing.
Thank you, Youtube. Thank you.

Where did these children come from?

2011-11-12T09:19:00.003-06:00

"Andrew, are you working on your typing assignment?"

"Yes, Mom."

"As soon as you're done your sister wants to use my computer to update her blog so no screwing around, alright?"

"Hannah go ahead and get your blog post done because it's time for bed soon."

"Ok!"

"Hey! what is so funny in there? Com'on guys, it's time for bed...."

"Don't make me come in there!"

Poor Nathan.
There really is no hope for this kid living in this house.

You can't leave them alone for one second

Where did these alien children come from;

why are they in my house?

I've

been

invaded.

Westin Obsession

2011-11-11T22:31:00.001-06:00

I want to go back!

Seriously this was the most fabulous bed I have ever slept in.

It is so stinking fabulous that there is actually a catalogue in the room with all their stuff for sale, like the linens, soaps, mattresses...even the shower head....everything.

It even has it's own brand name; Heavenly.

Oh yeah.

Now I'm on a mission to make my bed at home as luxurious as this one was.

And I have a plan!

As much as I'd love to drop $3200 and just get the whole shootenmatch, I don't really need to do that.

I already have a Vera Wang super plush pillow top.

But it's the sheets! And the 2 down comforters! And the crisp, white bazillion thread count! And, And, And....wow.

If you've never slept at a Westin hotel, it's worth every penny.

I actually did snow angels in all of the delicious plushisness.

Wheee!

So I have my new sheets ordered.

I already have a white down comforter, but my other one is in my popup, so I have to get it out of there and clean it up.

Now to find a white-on-white striped duvet......

If I can track that down I will seriously be in business.

I mean it.

I can start charging for naps.

Dear Anthrop....oops I mean "Santa"

2011-11-10T23:54:00.000-06:00

Dear Santa,
Is it too early to put this on my list?
Love,
Me

Today

2011-11-10T18:32:00.002-06:00

Today, in a nutshell, went something akin to this:

I woke up late; this is really never a good way to start a day. Since Monday was a travel day and Tuesday was my first day of the work week, I was off by a day. That ever happen to you? I hate that. But I recovered nicely.
Andrew's homework assignments for the day included Typing, Language Arts, US History, Bible study and Bio.
I then accomplished a great deal at work. I went to Waterford Heights and did a site inspection. This took a little longer than expected, but I was entertained throughout it by James's funny tweets.
I drove through snow, sleet and rain to get through my day, but I ended up at home at approximately 4:40 PM. I ran inside to change so Andrew and I could head out the door to get some studying done at Barnes and Noble.
Before we left, James and Nate put on a bit of a show for us! James asked Nate if he wanted a drink, and Nate replied "yah!" So James had Nate sit in his little rocking chair, then Nate stood up on his own. James handed him the bottle of water and Nate took it from James and drank it while standing! Yay, Nate!
Andrew's choice for dinner, McDonald's of course, meant that I was obligated to have a McRib. We made short order of the french fries, and although Andrew decided on the extra McRib for only a $1 more, I refrained from such additional indulgent behavior. As we were leaving McDonald's, I got a tweet from Hannah. Aww. (Andrew complained of an early onset of McGurgles...)
We headed over to Barnes and Noble where we learned Rule 5; do not join independent clauses with a comma. I ordered a skinny peppermint mocha while Andrew had his vanilla bean. I checked his typing; he is improving every day. I checked his chapter review answers in US History. I then wrote this blog post which includes samples of each of the 5 rules we have learned so far. Tomorrow's assignment will be that he has to find the examples of each. Fun times ahead!
Lastly, we head out the door to Dick's to find shoe grip spray for upcoming basketball practice.

A deal too good to pass up

2011-11-09T10:30:00.005-06:00

Andrew's photobook cover pic

I've been working like a crazy person trying to get the kid's picture books done. I usually use Shutterfly, and I work on the pages whenever I get the chance, otherwise it's a daunting task.

So in Shutterfly, all of my photobooks are nearly done. This is quite an accomplishment because Shutterfly now has all the whoopdee-whoo clip art and fillagree and crap like that, and it can take like, weeks to finish one page! (I don't actually know if this feature is good or bad....I tend to over-analyze every little quittle, page layout, font color and dottie-doo.)

I also like to wait for the sales too, like free shipping or buy 1 get 1 half off or whatever.

So along comes this email from Snapfish the other day...buy 1 photobook, get 2 free!!

Wha??

So I race against the clock to upload all of the photos into Snapfish and make all new books, but it was so worth it.

I got 3 books for like, I dunno....$4o bucks or some crazy thing.

Here's a funny tidbit; last night was the deadline, right? I worked all day,we had dinner quick, went to rehearsal, I was already wiped out from traveling the day before and it was nearly midnight....and I'm still working on these books! I go to check out to buy the books I've worked feverishly on, and it's still like $68 I'm like what the heck.

So I go and read the promo (I know right) and it's for the first 20 pages per book!

Oh no

So now I have to go back and condense the books down from 28 pages each to 20.

aarrgh!

It's such a great deal though, and I can't pass it up.

My kids LOVE to get their photo books!

Last night they were like, "mom are you working on our books?"

Yeah, totally worth it.

What day is it? Oh yeah, Friday

2011-11-05T20:04:00.000-05:00

On a trip such as this, it is very easy to lose track of what day it is. I guess I haven't fully recovered from Thursday's 24 hour deal.

I suppose it bears mentioning that we are here attending the 2011 Road Rally for Taxi.

Friday morning we attended the Lifetime Achievement award ceremony at 9 AM. The guest of honor was Charles Fox.

It was super neat the way they had the stage set up; it looked like the inside of a living room, and the owner of Taxi and Mr. Fox chatted for an hour or so, and then Mr. Fox played and sang “Killing Me Softly”. He is a very unique and interesting person to hear speak, because he is so creative and musician-minded, and yet intellectual, too. These two personality traits don’t normally manifest in the same human being. Like a professor of all things uncertain. Doesn’t make sense. I don’t typically stand in line to buy anything and I’m certainly not a crowd follower but I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his book. I had him sign it to James. J

I didn’t want to attend anymore sessions so I came back to the room, changed and went to the gym. I had a great run. I chilled in the room so long I was actually getting bored. It was wonderful. Wonderful, I tell you….wonderful!! When James got back, we headed to Culver City and In and Out Burgers.

James loves this place.

I don't really get it?

I mean, I guess I prefer 5 Guys, if I had to choose.

Thursday in L.A.

2011-11-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

Thursday was a really great day…although by the end of it, we had been up for nearly 24 hours. It began with various loud, obnoxious alarms which were set a few minutes apart from one another in an effort to ensure we woke up at or around 2:30 AM. At one point I struggled to find the off switch to Molly’s cell phone when suddenly, the TV turned on full blast and then my blackberry starting buzzing, vibrating and every-all-else. It was a bit of a freak show there for a minute. But at any rate, we made it out the door and promptly to Kwik Trip where I began my vacation with a calorie-laden sausage, egg and cheese croissant slathered with not one but two packets of mayo.

(I resisted the cappuccino however, and opted for a cinnfully cinnamon roast with a spash of cream.)

We drove to Milwaukee and boarded the plane to Minneapolis where we had a short layover. After a long 2^nd flight we finally arrived in LA. We took a shuttle to Avis and got our car, and in pure James Kocian style, got a free upgrade to a Jeep Liberty with leather interior.

Nice.

We checked into the Westin and immediately got in a what seemed at the time to be a long line for registration. Man, I felt like I had been awake for half the day, and it was only 10:30 AM. I mean I realize there is a 2 hour time difference but still....

So we ended up meeting a few cool characters while waiting in line.

We even met this seriously goofy looking fella who had an infectious song-writing style and played a mean guitar. He was old, fat and had the craziest way of twisting his mouth around when he sang, but it was engaging and fun to listen to him. I never would have expected to hear such a great sound and cool songs coming out of a guy like him. He insisted James sing a song, and he did. He sang “The S Word” and when he was done, the guy says, “if you don’t hear anything else this week, here this; we need to hear your music. We need to hear your songs.” It was awesome.

After a few hours of being in line, I strolled across the street to Taco Bell to continue my pattern of lousy eating. We registered (finally) and James got signed up for the mentoring that he wanted, and after all was said and done, we got out of the hotel early enough to head to Venice Beach. On the way out to our car, we saw that the line for registration was so freaking long that it snaked through the room where we had been, out into the hotel foyer and all the way into the parking ramp. So what seemed like a longish line to me a few hours earlier was actually very close to registration! Whew I was so glad we were not stuck in that line. I very much enjoyed the looks of envy from the sorry suckers stuck in line as we headed out to Venice Beach.

There we shopped and people watched and had dinner at our favorite place. Best pizza on earth. I ended my day much the same way as I had began it....with a mega-calorie plate of fettuccine Alfredo. (I mention food because we have been so careful about food lately! I decided to take a foodcation, James did not).

I mean it's not like he's turned into a tree hugger or anything....err...what?

At some point in every vacation, one person always believes the other has the room key,right?

But when it was all said and done, it was an exhausting and fanfrickintastic day.

You are...

2011-10-26T14:07:00.002-05:00

...my sunshine, my only sunshine

you make me happy

when skies are gray

you'll never know, dear

how much i love you
how much i love you
how much i love you
i love you

ASPIRO gala

2011-10-25T22:43:00.001-05:00

Hangin' out with my good-looking husband at the Jewels, Jeans and New Orleans gala.

yep.

I'm all for disability awareness, but...

2011-10-22T13:24:00.003-05:00

...this brings it to a whole new level.

BTW

...this is NOT my house!

It's some crazy guy who lives several miles away from us.

Sadly, we must pass this house on our way to the highway.

It gets more gruesome everyday until October 31st.

Then on November 1st, every last eyeball-popping-blood-splattering-knife-wielding-tooth-bearing goon is gone, and baby Jesus appears in the manger.

It's truly a phenomenon.

Happy Birthday

2011-10-20T23:21:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T13:31:00.001-05:00

Recipe from a farmer's daughter

2011-10-13T10:31:00.002-05:00

I work with a really cool girl who grew up on a true-blue Wisconsin dairy farm. She is a great cook, and makes the most delicious apple crisp I have ever tasted (and I make a pretty mean apple crisp myself).
Hers is the kind of apple crisp where you groan after each bite, and when you ask, "how much butter is actually in this crust?"
the reply is
"you don't want to know."
mmm.

So the other day we were talking about monkey bread.
Why I do not know.
Probably because I was hungry and she is preggers.

In any case, she told me her rendition of monkey bread.
Her recipes often sound something like "a little of this and a pinch of that" and this one was no different.

This is what she told me; "take a little brown sugar and butter, melt it together and pour it over biscuits that are filled with cream cheese. You know, take each busicut and smash it, cut it in half, and put a little sweetened cream cheese in the middle...and roll the balls in cinnamon/sugar mixture."

There you have it.

I really wanted to make it. I thought it would be fun to have the kids help, too. At first I was hesitant to have Nate help me. I don't know why...I mean who cares if he gets sugar all over the place.

I remembered my friend Ria's post about making muffins, and that really inspired me. So I sat Nate up on the counter and gave him the little balls of dough that were filled with cream cheese....

He giggled at first...

But then he did it! He rolled them like little meatballs...

Then he rolled them in the cinnamon and sugar...

And placed them into the pan...(most times...)

A few times he wanted to cram them into the hole.

After the pan cooled a little, I flipped them out onto a serving plate. This is such a yummy treat. The pieces come apart easily and are filled with warm, sweet cream cheese.

Thanks, Krista! This beats my recipe any day

A must-read!

2011-10-11T09:56:00.001-05:00

This interview just came out in Taxi...
It's awesome!

More fun with friends

2011-10-10T11:56:00.001-05:00

Raking is one of those jobs like, well...like shoveling snow. Someone's got to do it, but it's definitely more fun with friends.

Playing in the leaves is really fun, too.

But also more fun with friends!

Webcam fun

2011-10-06T09:21:00.002-05:00

We were hanging out last night watching movie trailers on my laptop when Hannah turned on the webcam.

Totally fun and spontanious!

We watched the old and new trailers for Footloose back to back, which was a trip (as in...a trip back in time! omg helloooo '80s jeans!)

What is so funny about seeing yourself on camera? I don't know.

When I got into work this morning and opened my computer, the webcam was still up... Here's me checking out last night's pictures. LOL
and...daydreaming about 4:30 PM, when I get to be home again.

Unless you live in Colorado...

2011-10-05T13:29:00.004-05:00

(or maybe Michigan...)

You'll probably be jealous when you look at this picture.
:)
This has happened to me a few times already this week...where I'm traveling to one of my properties and the fall colors just take my breath away. So today I pulled over briefly and snapped this quick pic.

Gorgeous, right?!

Actually....

2011-10-05T07:06:00.000-05:00

This is the whole team! (the previous one was the varsity boys :)

Cross Country

2011-10-05T07:01:00.000-05:00

Andrew joined cross country this season. He was awesome! Before his first meet, he used a sharpie to write "T21" on his arm bands. He says he runs for Nate.

This is a team photo from last night after his final meet.

2011-10-05T06:55:00.000-05:00

I realize we're getting blown out tonight, but...

2011-10-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

James and I sure had fun at the game on Saturday! Hope the Brew Crew can make a come-back tomorrow night!

Moms Like Me

2011-09-28T12:03:00.001-05:00

Natie was featured in a wonderful cover story for the October issue of Moms Like Me Magazine.

Since October is National Down syndrome awareness month (and it is Natie's birth month!) we thought it was a pretty cool feature story.

I can't tell you how good it feels to talk about his beautiful life to such a huge audience, it's like a dream come true.

I hope you take a minute to read it!

Bubba's Red Truck Chile

2011-09-26T23:05:00.002-05:00

This year for the Ds awareness walk, I decided to try my hand at being a chili chef. I happen to have an inside track to an already award-winning chili, or chile recipe...thanks to my friend Tim... and I wanted to give it a whirl.

I decided on the name "Bubba's Chile" because I thought it would be awesome to have Nate be a part of the whole thing, since he's the reason why we were all there to begin with...and since Bubba is his, well, his bubba....it made sense to have both boys be in the gig, with Andrew being the "chef."

So I got Andrew's chef's hat all squared away with his name on it, and when I went looking for a matching chef's hat for Nate, I came across one with a red truck on it. A no-brainer. Have you ever seen a 3 year old boy with a red truck? omg-sh. It's his favorite thing in the world. So there it was; the full name. Bubba's Red Truck Chile (with an "e", since I made the real deal)

What a bunch of troopers. Walking in the rain. But really? Doesn't rain kinda make it more fun and memorable, anyway? I think so.

The girls sampled all 13...wow. That's a lot of chili!

I love it that Andrew is so game for this kind of thing, especially at 16. He made the event tons of fun. He was in charge of serving up the chili to everyone, and he was funny and happy and wore a silly hat all day for me.

Bubbas

The best friend in the whole world that any girl could ever ask for. For the 2nd year in a row, Becky was the #1 fundraiser for ASPIRO's Ds awareness walk. You are so cool, Becky B-Jones!! We love you so much!!

The Bubba crew 2011

"He's so laughy!"

2011-09-19T21:27:00.002-05:00

Hannah was in the backseat with Nate on the way home from dinner tonight.
She and Nate were giggling about something ...I don't even know what.

Then she grabs my phone and starts taking his picture and on and on they go, cracking each other up.

Then I hear her say, "he's so laughy!!"

These are the times that I try very hard to make mental recordings. I never want to forget the beautiful sounds of my children being happy for no other reason than that they love to be together.

Cozmo's Day Off

2011-09-18T08:27:00.001-05:00

What's your go-to app?

Camp D's picnic

2011-09-16T11:36:00.001-05:00

Molly's right....Camp Daniel's appreciation cookout has turned into a weekend affair. This year we slept in the new dorm and WOW that is all I can say...WOW. I should have taken pictures. I'll have to ask Molly to take some for me since she's up there all the time. I mean for reals, the dorms they are building are AH-mazing!

It was so fun seeing everyone again. It's only been a few weeks since we had camp, but when you're heart is there, going a few weeks without seeing everyone is so hard!

I got to see Amanda again. This girl is a total stitch. Right after this picture was taken I said, "Hey did you know so and so was going off to college?" And Amanda looks at me funny and she's like, "what? no she's not. she's making that up. she makes up a lot of stories, Jill, you just have to learn to go with it." I was seriously rolling. She said a few other hilarious comments like that throughout the weekend...omg she's too much fun. I love you, Amanda!

Smiling so sweetly....awww.

Jen asked me to go out on the boat with her. I had just finished my 12th bowl of chili so I was afraid I might sink the thing. It was really relaxing being out on the water, and we had such a nice time chatting.

Andrew, Jake and Nick just before heading out to go water skiing.

I wish this picture wasn't so blury. It is such a cute snapshot of the day.

Hannah, Ruth and Annissa! Even when they are screwing around they are still so photogenic!

(Who is missing? Awwww Emily!!! Wish you were here!)

When Jake and Nick came, Nate was so happy to see them! They were talking with James, but Nate just wanted to be passed from one to the other.

It goes without saying that these are Nate's favorite camp guys

Family Camp

2011-09-15T13:37:00.001-05:00

This year at family camp, a few of the kids from youth group worked all weekend in the snack stand making money for the next Africa missions trip.

Poor thing, she's working soooo hard.

Tim making his award-winning chili omg yum

What can I even say about this? He's so stinking CUTE

Taco dinner night at the campsite

Flag football (where all the grown men hobbled away)

A common occurrance...girls fawning over Nate

Family Camp II

2011-09-15T13:26:00.003-05:00

Every year it gets more fun!
Our church takes over the entire campground at Spencer Lake Christian Camp over Labor Day weekend. It's awesome.
I wish I had taken a picture of all of our campers together... There were 5 families in campers and 3 in tents and we made a huge circle around a huge-er campfire. We shared food, drinks, snacks...
It was totally different this year because we camped in our pop-up instead of staying in one of the lodges.
So we were a bit set apart from the rest of the group (there were about 300 of us total at the campgrounds)

The snack stand...where the kids worked their butts off and the grown ups hung out!
there's a turn-around for ya

Hannah cleaning up

An annual tradition-a family pic at family camp.

Nate at the fire with Steve...the speaker for the weekend but more importantly a dear friend we miss very much! (Come back, Hays Family!)

Nate singing and signing "Jesus Loves Me" (can you see his hands are signing "Jesus")

Ameilia and Nate making faces at me :)
This is one of my favorites.

Smile!

2011-09-08T12:48:00.001-05:00

Nate and Anthony hanging out at Family Camp over Labor Day weekend.
More pics on the way!
(Thanks Molly for sending me this adorable photo.)

Drummer boy

2011-09-05T22:15:00.001-05:00

Andrew gets ready to drum for the first time during Sunday morning worship.

Scooter try-outs

2011-08-25T13:36:00.002-05:00

My friend Sabrina was helping Nate on his first ever scooter ride while we were at Camp Daniel. You can't see it on the bottom, but it's one of those that are wide so you can stand with your feet side-by-side. Nate was standing for a very long time! Looks like I have a trip to the toy store in my near future. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-24T09:33:00.001-05:00

Quiet Days

2011-08-24T00:57:00.003-05:00

It's late Tuesday night....so late in fact, I think this post technically will be on Wednesday, which means I'm up waaaay too late!

It sure is quiet around here without you guys belly-achin-movie-quotin-chip-eatin-lawn-mowin-music-playin-tv-watchin-guitar-strumin-door-slammin-mercy-me-singin....sheesh.

Miss you guys!

So...other than work, not a whole lot has happened the last few days.

On Monday Nate had hippotherapy.

His therapists are thrilled with his progress.

Yay Natie!! Ride on, cutie pie!!

During Monday's session he had to take a Velcro ball and throw it at a target hanging on the wall of the riding arena. The target is large and round and also has Velcro so the ball sticks. He had to throw the ball while astride the horse. He did very well.

I got home from work and Dad and I watched a double-header...the Brewers are awesome, right?

Whoo hooo Bernie

Which reminds me...Dad bought us all tickets to the Brewer game coming up next week...yippee!! Not the nose-bleeds either, he got us some really GREAT seats!!

And basically, that was it for our Monday, other than boring work stuff which you won't care about.

Tuesday was a L-O-N-G day....and I got home late.

So I stopped to pick up dinner....

General Tso's, your favorite.

(Enjoy, Enjoy....Thank you)

I got to listen to a new song Dad wrote for a TAXI listing...and it is REALLY GOOD!!

In typical Dad-fashion he read the listing at 3:30, wrote the song, recorded it, mastered it and had it submitted by 5:00. What's even more impressive is he wrote the song using the

His guitar playing is so good, it won't be long before he can play this as well as he plays the piano! I think you're going to really love the song!

I also picked up a few movies, and Dad and I moved the couch like we like to do, so it's smack in the middle of the living room and we can kick back the recliners all the way.

Snacks were plentiful for all in attendance.

Namely....

and

and even

for the

Love you!

Day 3

2011-08-21T22:44:00.000-05:00

Hi Hannah,

Yesterday I decided to re-post your counselor meeting confession, which I thought was particularly wonderful! I considered that my post for the day.

Besides, we didn't do a whole lot yesterday anyway...kinda lounged around in the morning...

it was nice for a change!

Later in the afternoon Becky came over, and she and I drove to Dykesville together for a singing gig we had with Trish. You would have loved it. The house where we sang was right on the beach-it really looked like the ocean it was so pretty. The house was totally awesome, and we sang on the stone terrace overlooking the water. People from all over were invited to come, and there were other people singing, too. Not just us.

Mid-way through the gig, someone lite two campfires on the beach and the sun began to set over the water.

It was really beautiful!

Dad and I took a walk down by the water for a few minuets, and I don't know if Tim intended to take this picture or not, but I like it. (Even if the wind is blowing my dress making my butt look big...I still like the picture!)

Today is Sunday. Steve and Christine led worship so I got to sleep in a little bit.

Dad played the drums and he was so incredible that people were just amazed!!

Steve and Christine did a great job...they really sound awesome together. Then Steve preached, and you know how that is....always great!

Then we went to the O'Connors for lunch. Yum. Jeff and Vicki, Pastor Jerry and Jeanne, and Tracy were there too. We laughed a lot and told lots of stories that you would think are boring adult stories.

But WE had fun.

When we got home later, Dad went shopping for a new vacuum cleaner. The Dyson finally bit the dust (lol no pun intended) so he got this whoppdeewhooo Hoover Pet-Rewinder-super-sucker-cleaner thing that totally ROCKS! It has some pretty crazy stairs attachments just for you, dear.

Counting the days!

Miss you and love you.

Mom

oh....I thought I'd throw this in just to make you laugh.

Look at the expressions on everyone's faces!

Nice headlock you got Amelia in...rofl!!

Hannah's Story

2011-08-20T23:20:00.001-05:00

My daughter posted this on her blog, and I wanted to share it with all of you...
Hannah dear, you are a special young lady!

wow. Camp Daniel is really over. I'm so blessed that I got to spend an amazing time with my friends,but most of all, making my relationship stronger with god!!
This week4 was so different... in a good way!!
I really had a hard time on Sunday because I felt like doing camp was just not for me anymore. But God totally pushed me to go so I had no choice.

This week was so beautiful I swear I don't think Iv'e ever seen anything like it before. The first two days I really saw something and it hit me. The days couldn't be though any harder on me until Tuesday night. I was in the counsler meeting and Tony was going around calling people,I really was so tired and was kinda out of it.

Then I hear: "Hannah" I was so shocked thinking: "Why are you calling on me, I'm not a counsler" So many things were running through my head.
So I had started to speak about how my week was going and how excited I'am to be a counsler. After that I thought I was done. Then Tony asked me if I was scared for the future of Nate. Well I said I'am because its scary just
knowing how people are gonna judge him or laugh at him and its gonna be super tough.
Then God just said: "Hannah now"

I had shared what I had thought of people who had Down Syndrome way before Nate was born. I had said how I didn't want a brother to look like that. I would never get a brother like that. I couldn't take it or believe what I was telling everyone. This was waaayyyy out of my comfort zone.I did cry but I had my beautiful friend Annissa who I dearly love right their by me. People were glaring, and I noticed smiles but I still felt like I had said to much. I prayed for strength and love and the people at Camp Daniel are just unbelievable people!! Feeling love from everybody there is the best feeling in the world!!

I hadn't realized I had helped someone along the way. I had apparently spoke to them from the words of God!!
Then I realized that this is my life. Camp Daniel is my everything. This is my family. This is my home.

Day 1

2011-08-19T23:41:00.005-05:00

Hi Hannah! I told you I'd blog for you while you are gone... So here goes, girl.

We took Nate to Sam's after I got home from work today...whoo hoo! Fun times! Wish you were here!! LOL
Just kidding...

oh but we did happen to run into Nana in the parking lot, so we got to say Hi to her....seems like ages since we've seen Nana.

(Nate at the wheel in Nana's car)

But then, as you can see from the photo below, we had quite the company for dinner. Emily and I had been texting since last night cuz she wanted to come to town early before Able and hang out. So I invited her for dinner! Molly texted this afternoon wanting to know if she could have Nate for Able. So she got invited for dinner too. Tim had Caleb so Becky came over with Amelia and Molly brought 'Nis and Crystal.

We had burgers on the grill, grapes (that the girls would eat by peeling the skins off first)
and Laughing Cow and pita chips, of course.

We went to Able afterward, and it was a great service. There were a lot of people there from camp. Patty said she wanted to adopt Nate, and Dad thinks he found a date for RALPH!
The plan was to go to Sonic for limeades when Able was over, but I stopped at Kwik Trip for 7-Up and juice and made them at home instead....with popcorn and s'mores, cuz we had a campfire.

My home-made graham crackers seemed to be a big hit, especially with your bestie cuz she asked for them. Dad gave Emily a new nickname..."Emily All-Neizter"
(That should go over great in college)

FUNNY

Last night after I dropped you guys off I came home and we took the boat out to Legend Lake.

We were the only ones on the lake so seriously....we were B-L-A-Z-I-N-G up and down and all around.

Nate kept saying, "more! more!"

Dad stands up, puts his baseball cap on backwards and yells "I"m the king of the world!" at the top of his lungs, just to be funny.

I mean seriously we were going 60 miles per hour! YEEEEHOWWW!

It got to be 8:30PM or so and we decided to go get some pizza. We pull the boat to the dock and a police officer is waiting for us. It went something like this;

"You all from around here?"

"We're from Green Bay, officer..."

"ok then, did you know there was a "no wake" after 6:00 PM?"

"uhhh...no sir" (no signs were posted anywhere so what the heck, right?)

HILARIOUS.
The poor, unsuspecting people living around the lake were probably enjoying a nice, quiet evening at the dinner table when what probably looked like a bunch of lunatics go zinging by at full tilt screaming More! More!

So then we stopped at Aunt Kim's house and took her out for pizza with us.

Hope you're had a nice day, and we miss you!
Only 9 more days...

Love, Mom

Jake's story

2011-08-14T22:08:00.005-05:00

It was midway through week 4 at Camp Daniel. The counselors had put their campers down for the night, and all congregated in the dining room for a late night eat-a-thon and meeting. Little Tony eyes up each and every one, and then seemingly picks at random a few to share what's been going on, what has the Lord revealed and how has life-as-you-know-it been impacted so far. These meetings are hilarious, exhausting, emotion-packed and usually go into the wee hours. Jake is a 16-year old counselor...it is his first year as a camp counselor, and this week is his 3rd week as he counseled weeks 1 and 3 of Camp Daniel as well. Little Tony had already picked him to share earlier in the week, so when he was called on again it seemed a little strange. But Little Tony has this sixth sense about these things.... Initially Jake quietly stated that not much had happened since the other day when he shared with everyone...but then, just when we all thought he was going to shrug and say, "that's it." he grew very still, stopped for a moment and then told us all an incredible story. Earlier in the day, a friend of his from school had passed away from a long-term illness. Jake and a few other counselors were really shook up and terribly sad. Jake got emotional as he continued telling us about how that night at the campfire he was holding Nate, and that Nate kept looking at the sky and then back at him then back up to the sky. He kept asking Nate... "what are you looking at?" But he said Nate would actually put his hand on Jake's chin and gently push up so that Jake had to keep looking at the stars. Then he would point up again. All the young men sitting at the table with Jake were emotional as he continued his story. He said that Nick came over and when Nate saw Nick he signed that he wanted Nick to hold him, so Nick put out his hands and Nate went to him and did the same thing to Nick...pointed to the sky and emplored Nick to look up. Nick later told me that when he asked Nate what he was looking at, Nate replied, "God." When Nate went back to Jake,he said Nate pointed to the sky again and blew a kiss toward heaven. He said, "If that wasn't God speaking through Nate, I don't know what is." Jake felt like Nate was being used by God to bring him comfort during a really hard time, and the tenderness with which he shared his affection for my son is something I will never forget. Of course I believe that what Jake shared is true. I totally believe that God used Nate in an amazing way that night so His presence would be felt to two pretty special young men who adore Nate and were hurting over the loss of a friend. At the end of his story, Jake said that he had originally come to Camp Daniel because his friend Emily kept bugging him to be involved. (God bless you, Emily!)
He didn't even have a relationship with the Lord at that point. (James made sure that got taken care of in week 1!) He came back to Camp Daniel again again, and had a wonderful encounter with God that everyone in that dining hall will remember for a lifetime.

Even still after all this time....

2011-08-06T21:22:00.004-05:00

Nate, As you know, today as in most every day I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I couldn't stop myself from putting my face in that sweet little place inbetween your shoulder and cheek, mmmmmkisssy kissy even when you shrug, giggle and say "bap!" I'm totally amazed at how smart and wonderful you are, every little posture and position you make is adorable. I've asked myself a thousand times how I got to be so lucky to be your mom. Sometimes I say it outloud to whomever is in the room. Sometimes I say it to you when I hold you super close in a mamabear hug. Sometimes I say it in a silent, thankful prayer as my eyes well up in gratful tears.

I don't give two rips that you have Down syndrome. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do than watch you grow up. You are such an amazing little boy, and I love every thing you do. Even when you say "doow" (no) it is the cutest little vowel I've ever heard. (Even if it's a little sassy) But really, you're not even naughty, and I'm not just saying that becasue I'm your mom. And I'm not saying it because "those Down's kids are always so happy" (whoever started that rumor should be strung up by their toes) I'm saying it because you are a lovable little kid who enjoys his life and has a beautiful disposition, which has nothing to do with your diagnosis. You're just awesome. There's no other way to say it. I've said it before, but I'll say it again... You're the end of the rainbow.

Seriously, can they get any cuter?

2011-08-04T13:15:00.001-05:00

My kiddos over the weekend

Boating...

Working...

Camping...

Having Fun

Lakewood

2011-07-29T11:19:00.004-05:00

I'm not ashamed to say it...I'll admit it.
Maddie has more guts than me.
Now granted, she's been on a jet ski a lot more often than I have, that is true.
But I'm not exactly a fan of speed, at least... I'm not if I'm the one who's in control of it.
I like it when James drives the boat really fast, as long as I don't have to drive it really fast.
But Maddie is another story.
It's safe to say that the person whose jet ski we used is also a speedster.
(this would explain her use of the phrase, "dump the chump")
ha ha....errr.....whaa?
As I reflect on this picture, I can seen now what I couldn't see at the time, which is Maddie already gearing herself up for a wild ride.

It reminds me of a few years ago, when we decided Maddie was old enough to graduate from the bunny hill to the mountain. I was all nervous for her to go on the ski lift and James made sure he was wearing the harness so he was connected to her at a safe length so she didn't get away from us going down the mountain....yeah. That lasted about 2 times. I can still hear her as she hollered over her shoulder, "Dad! You're slowin' me down!"
And....that was it for the harness.
(I should have recalled that incident before I decided to get on a jet ski with her.)
And before I knew it, there it was.

Instead of "Dad, you're slowin' me down" she says,

"Mom, let me drive!"

sheesh!

Hannah tried water skiing for the first time.

She's another one who's got nerves of steel.

I wonder if I will be able to get up on skis again after so many years?

Yay for friends that come for the day and visit us!!

Molly, Anissa and Emily

The Lakewood Zoo was fun...interesting....small town-ish but with a surprising collection of exotic animals.

While at the beach the next day,

Andrew once again attracts a gaggle of little kids to play ball.

This is actually a phenomenon.

I'll blog about that another time, but just know this, Andrew is like the Pied Piper.

This picture makes me howl everytime.

You have to click on it so you can see their expressions.

Maddie's saying...."hurry up and take the picture, I'm sliding down the airplane!"

LOL

The girls getting ready for work after a day at the lake.

The spoils.

This is what Hannah buys with her paycheck.

She ran off to the gift shop as soon as she got back to the camper from working all evening.

She walks back up to the site with an enormous ice cream cone, and a bag full of ice cream treats for everyone else.

What a sweetheart.

rofl

I love you, baby girl!

James and Nate

2011-07-28T15:35:00.002-05:00

Having a little fun over the weekend.

It's a tough job but....

2011-07-21T22:10:00.002-05:00

someone's got to do it.

Think back to the job you had in the summer when you were a kid. I babysat for a neighbor a few Friday nights a month. I also worked in a bakery filling and icing donuts. After that I worked the drivethru at McDonald's.

....pretty sure I never had a job that was this much fun! I mean can you imagine the luck of all luck?

"So...what did you do all summer?"

"I had to work"

"aww bummer! What did you have to do? Mow lawns? Paper route?"

"naw, I set up inflatable bouncers and played around with kids all summer...it was a tough gig, but.... "

And Nate gets to reap the benies.

But I guess the truth is....it's not really all fun and games.
Andrew really does work his rear off.
These bouncers are H-E-A-V-Y

It's usually a non-stop-ticket-selling-kid-watching-money-handling-head-turning-sweat-wiping-sibling-managing-boss-expecting-heavy-lifting job.
Andrew gets it done.
Just look at that face.

The tales we could tell

2011-07-15T12:27:00.007-05:00

Camp Daniel is a summer camp for people with disabilities. Most people who are differently-abled do not have the opportunity to go to camp in the summer because either their needs are too great, the facility is not equipped to assist, or the activities are too difficult for them to participate. Or all of the above. But if you've ever been to summer camp as a kid, or you are sending your kid to camp this year, you know that it is often the highlight of the summer. Sadly, there is an entire population of kids who will never experience camp. And that is why campers come to Camp Daniel from all over the country. Camp Daniel caters to needs of every camper regardless of their ability. Each camper is paired with one counselor who has volunteered to dedicate the entire week to their camper and their camper alone. The fun that goes on at Camp Daniel is too much to tell for one blog post....the life lessons learned at chapel each night are life changing and as is quite often reported....the counselor leaves with a greater heart impact than the camper. Every day is a new food and costume theme, and every afternoons activities are a total scream.

There is no place on earth as awesome as Camp Daniel.

There is nothing as disgsuting as Messy Games.

This answers a lot...

'alo matie

run, Forst....run

This is the girl responsible for taking such cool photos of my family at Camp D. Thank you Molly!

Tailgate party

Andrew having fun with his camper at the Western BBQ

my super cute peeps

Natie givin' it all he's got

2011-07-14T16:14:00.002-05:00

I figured, why not? That cute little tricycle has been kickin around in the garage for years just waiting for Nate to get old enough. I originally thought I'd have him try it once he started walking... but that hasn't happened yet. (We're really trying hard!) But I saw it in the garage again the other day and thought... "what the heck, it will only help and if he falls off or cries then we wait a few more months" But Nate sure gets focused on that thing, and he gives it all he's got. It didn't take him long at all to figure out how to keep his feet on the pedals. That's the face of a determined little boy!

See Nate pedal. Go, Nate, Go!

See Nate smile. Hurray, Nate, Hurray!

Nick and Natie II

2011-07-13T09:35:00.003-05:00

Last year at Camp Daniel, Nate met Nick for the first time, and they were buds all week! This week is like old times, like a year hasn't even past.

Lifest

2011-07-11T15:22:00.003-05:00

Every year I say I'm going to go.
"This is the year I'm going to make it happen!" I say to myself...
And every year, there's always something that prevents me from going.
Usually, the conflict is with our kids schedules. It seems that Lifest always falls on a weekend that is not "our weekend" if you know what I mean.
It's a total crime, it really is.
It's so close!
Lifest is a Christian Music Festival in Oshkosh (which is about an hour away from Green Bay) and it is held over a 5 day period. It has 150 musicians on 7 different stages and draws over 20,000 people.
It's amazingly fun!
My kids are crazy Christian music fans.
Lifest kicked off this year on my birthday, and it just so happened that all of us were going to be together the following day before splitting up for the weekend (yes, splitting us again this year).
So for my birthday present, I asked for tickets for all of us to go!
The beauty of it was MercyMe played on the main stage Thursday night!

But during the day, the kids got to see a lot of other musicians they love...
Here is Hannah and Nate rockin out to Matthew West.

Inside the Market Place, which was this huge pavilion where every cool t-shirt, wrist band, CD, hoodie etc has ever been displayed and sold....they also had these huge boards lined up with white paper stretched across them. There was a bucket of markers next to each one. The title on each board was different, but in the same vein....one read, "What I wish my dad knew" and "What I wish I could tell my daughter"

I decided to write a message on the board, "What I wish I could tell my son"

Natieboy, your mom adores you.

Later in the afternoon, Hannah decided to write on the board labeled, "What I wish my mom knew"

She wrote the most amazing thing.

But I have to tell you, I was heart broken and completely choked up when I read some of the messages on these boards. People are hurting, people are scared, and have lots of regrets. I closed my eyes and thanked God that Hannah had the courage to write about me, and that it was beautiful and not sad.

After dinner Hannah and Maddie wanted to get henna tattoos.

Then we had to race to the main stage to see MercyMe!
Totally our favorite!

Ginny Owens performed on the cafe stage on Saturday and drew a huge crowd.
She hadn't played at Lifest for a few years.
She got a standing ovation...twice!
She emailed me a few days prior to coming to let me know her flight info (she stayed at my house!)
in that email she asked if I would sing back up to several of her new songs!
HUH?
"Are you kidding me??" I replied..."How awesome would that be!!"
So Ginny emailed the songs to me and I called Becky and asked her to sing alto with me (we sing together most ever Sunday anyway).
We hammered out the parts Friday night...

....and sang them Saturday night
Her lastest single "Before You Fly" is available on itunes....you should really download it.
It's incredible.

James got to play for Ginny and about 700 of her closest fans.

G.O rules! Look for her new CD due to be released in August :)

Priceless birthhday card

2011-07-07T11:01:00.002-05:00

Fun in the sun

2011-06-27T14:30:00.001-05:00

Just like always, Nate was awesome this weekend when
we took him out on the lake for his first boat ride.

I'm sure I haven't mentioned lately that Nate is the greatest! He is getting to be more opinionated, a little more sassy ....he likes to think he can tell his momma, "baaap!" He whines when he doesn't get a Popsicle every time he asks and basically acts like any other 3 year old...but I still think he's the end of the rainbow.

We're brothers!

2011-06-23T11:41:00.003-05:00

I walked in on Nate and Andrew sitting at the kitchen table the other day....poking at each other, giggling, half-whining (Nate) and otherwise acting a little obnoxious. I scolded Andrew, "Stop picking on him, he's just getting all wound up." Andrew laughed without even looking up at me, and he replied, "Mom...."

(it's what we do)

Hippotherapy

2011-06-20T11:33:00.002-05:00

Hippotherapy is totally special and unique…no machine has ever been invented to take the place of a horse's muscle groups moving from side to side, forward and back and up and down. This closely mimic the human gait.
Hippotherapy has been shown to improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor development as well as emotional well-being.

The discipline was formalized in the United States in 1992 with the formation of the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA).

Hippotherapy can be used to treat a wide variety of neurological, skeletal, muscular and emotional disorders, including autism, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Down syndrome, traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries, stroke, attention deficit disorders, learning or language disabilities and visual or hearing impairments.

The horse's pelvis has a similar three-dimensional movement to the human's pelvis at the walk. The horse's movement is carefully graded at the walk in each treatment for the patient. This movement provides physical and sensory input which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The variability of the horse's gait enables the therapist to grade the degree of input to the patient and use this movement in combination with other treatment strategies to achieve desired therapy goals or functional outcomes. In addition, the three-dimensional movement of the horse's pelvis leads to a movement response in the patient's pelvis which is similar to the movement patterns of human walking.

(Nate is not waving to me....this is part of his riding therapy-he has to lift both hands and stay on the horse while the horse is still moving.)
No less crucial is the bond between rider and horse. Like other forms of pet therapy, connecting emotionally with an animal seems to increase attention span, memory, concentration and speech in impaired children and adults.

It is a treatment approach that uses activities on the horse that are meaningful to the client and specifically address the individual's goals. Hippotherapy provides a controlled environment and graded sensory input designed to elicit appropriate adaptive responses from the client. It does not teach specific skills associated with being on a horse -- rather, it provides a foundation of improved neuromotor function and sensory processing that can be generalized to a wide variety of activities outside treatment. In other words, the client's adaptive responses to the environment and the horse's movement ultimately bring about improvements in function.

Nate rides with a PT at his side and a PT who leads the horse. The horse is directed to walk, side-step, lean, stop and start at certain intervals and cadence to help build Nate's muscles. I was given a ride myself so I could feel just how much work it is. Without a saddle, reigns or stirrups, it is very difficult to stay astride while the horse is moving through the paces. Nate goes to Exceptional Equestrians, and his PTs are wonderful!
This is an incredible form of therapy. I can't recommend it enough!

Yesterday in church...

2011-06-13T14:09:00.000-05:00

James is the worship leader at our church, and yesterday after we had our sound check he continued to play with the band for a minute or two. Nate loves to hang out in the sanctuary for sound check, and on this day he was sitting behind us singers with his own mic (unplugged) and was singing a long with us.

(He is also infatuated with Scott the drummer)

So before James finished playing, he brought over a little stool and sat Nate on it so they could sing together.

Everyone in the sanctuary was so taken with the scene that unfolded, and I begged everyone around me to take a picture with a cell phone or anything because I hadn't brought mine.

Our friend Craig, who had been up in the sound booth watching, came down with his iphone and took this video.

Natie is amazing!!!

Summer Project

2011-06-08T11:30:00.006-05:00

This was my back yard.

Until last Friday.

Last Friday the heavy equipment showed up and did this...

...and so it begins.

We're adding a hot tub to the back yard.

For Valentine's Day James rented a hot tub. I didn't even know you could do such a thing.
But they showed up Valentine's Day weekend and set it up, filled it and turned it on. I was very exited.
We were only supposed to have it for a few weeks, but the company he rented it from ended up leaving it on our patio for months!

I guess they didn't want to come in the middle of winter to drain it and haul it away, and we didn't mind that at all.

Now.... I like a dip in the hot tub as much as anyone else....but I wouldn't say it's one of my most favorite things to do...

Well, I would have said that, until we had one steaming away in the middle of a snow storm ready and waiting for me at the end of a long day!

Besides that, James and I discovered that we enjoyed the fun and interesting conversations with the kids, and that the topics were different, and their attitudes were low-key and relaxed and we enjoyed our family in a whole new way.

So during the winter months we searched for a hot tub of our own.

(Remember the "mama...bap!" story?)

We found one...a much larger one than the one pictured with Andrew, Maddie and James.

(because for as much as we enjoyed the kids, I have to admit we were crammed in there like sardines when all of us were together.)

We decided to get a gazebo too, so it's not so cold getting in and out in the winter.

That's when the heavy equipment came into the picture.

And the friends.

Thanks to Tony and the guys from Camp Daniel, the hot tub and the gazebo landed squarely inside our garage after a very long and terribly fun and exhausting day!

So then came the decision; pavers to match our patio, or concrete slab?
For several weeks while the snow melted we debated, and finally decided on concrete.

I was very sentimental when we were putting our hand prints in the soft mix.
I didn't expect it.

This is right after James made his mark!

I was holding Nate so he didn't fall into the concrete, and Andrew placed Nate's little hand in the right spot and made sure he spread his fingers all the way.

James gently pressed his hand down, and then each finger one at a time.

James, Andrew, Hannah, Maddie, Nate and me.
This is going to be a huge family project!

A fun summer project.

So by the time the weather changes again in the fall, you'll find us in the back yard...

oh yeah!

Nate's prayer

2011-06-06T15:01:00.001-05:00

5 Awesome things about this video...

#1-I only had to tell Nate once or twice to fold his hands because we were going to pray before dinner. After that, he understood and knew exactly what to do.

#2-We don't hold hands at the dinner table... this is Nate's idea.

#3-The first time James asked Nate if he wanted to pray, he replied, "yah" and nodded his head, and then he was silent for several seconds before he said "ahhyeeeee!" (amen). But now, he's got his own prayer.

#4-Although he uses the phrase "da, da,daah...." for many things, it only has this cadence when he is praying. We think it's a beautiful sound.

And finally,

#5-If we forget to pray, he will remind us!

(btw...notice how Nate looks around the table to make sure we all have our heads down. LOL.

prayer police!)

'tis the season...

2011-06-01T10:22:00.001-05:00

We love to camp.

Where we live in the great midwest, well...it's that time of year again to break out ye 'ole popup.

So I thought I'd post a few pictures of Nate camping, just in case you're new in these here parts,

and you think that maybe having a kid with Ds is gonna keep you from having "normal" family fun.

It won't.

Cuz ya see...Nate loves roasted marshmallows.

He gets his fingers all in it like any other kid.

He wipes his tongue all over his face to get all the gooey parts, just like any other 3 year old I've ever known.

He especially likes it when someone like his big sister roasts them for him.

He hangs out at the campfire just like the rest of us, eating junk food and asking non-stop to go for walks, to go the bathroom, for kisses, etc.

This is his new "camp cup" with an attached swirly straw that he thinks is totally awesome.

So yeah, we have a kid with Ds.

We have kids without Ds.

We live life just like everybody else.

We do not believe we are special people, or hand-picked by God to have a guardian angel live with us, we don't think we are any different in God's eyes than anyone else.

We just said yes.

And the grace and the courage that previously was not there, was suddenly there... waiting.

Live is sooo good.

Extreme Makeover: Nate Edition

2011-05-09T10:41:00.003-05:00

Have you ever had those days when the kids are in the car for a long trip and they get just grubby and sticky and fall asleep all cockeyed in the car seat with crumbs still on their face?

Oh man, it makes me cringe to think about it.

Last Thursday started something like this.....

Hannah was entertaining Nate on the way to Madison, which is a few hours away from us.

We were there to honor and celebrate National Day of Prayer at the state capitol building.

We were all a little off schedule afterward, and Nate finally fell asleep in the car on the way back.

The girls did a great job strolling him through the capitol but for real, he was in the car seat for a few hours to get there, in the stroller for a few hours, then back in the car seat for a few more.

He was a bit cranky, a bit more grubby, and his black pants were half-white from the powdered sugar donuts (don't judge me).

But his day didn't end there because as soon as we got home, we had to leave again to drop off Hannah and Andrew and make our way to Becky's house to take her to dinner for her birthday!

At this point Nate needs his pants changed. Seriously changed.

In all of the NDP planning and organizing I realized that I didn' t have anymore diapers in the car.

Ohnooo!

So I stopped at the only place between mine and Becky's house that would accommodate;

Family Dollar.

I got diapers, a change of clothes, wipes...and before I knew it...Nate went from awfully grubby.....

To awfully adorable.

And even though he had to sit again at the restaurant, he was too busy chowing on the soup and bread that he didn't even notice.

He deserved a Cold Stone after all that!

I love to take Nate wherever I go. I never have weird or awkward experiences where people look at him strangely or with pity. NEVER.
I still can't keep my hands off him and I kiss his face constantly.
He waves and smiles and chats people up all the time.
His is delightfully engaging.
I believe that one outing at a time, I am helping change the perception and negative stereotype of kids with Ds.
If you are pregnant with a baby diagnosed with Ds, don't be afraid.
Be exceedingly joyful!
You are about to enter into the most abundant and wonderful time of your life.

Nate's been busy!

2011-04-30T23:58:00.003-05:00

Just in case I've never mentioned it before...Nate is the greatest!

Ever!

He's been a busy kiddo...

I take him to swimming classes so he can work on his little belly muscles, and it also helps strengthen his legs.

He is doing awesome with this cool reverse walker. His dad likes to take him outside for little neighborhood strolls, especially now because there are two houses being built on our street, and Nate LOVES to watch the big trucks coming and going.

(Look at Nate's t-shirt. lol...looks like the crane in the background!)

Pop up books? Totally his favorite.

Andrew will take nearly every opportunity to hang out with Nate if only to get the most kisses! Nate is smitten with his bubba, and I know the feeling is mutual.

Easter Sunday with rarah (Nate's word for sister)

We are so blessed to have Molly as our dear friend! Over the last year or so she has become practically part of the family! She comes over on Friday evenings and takes Nate to Able Church. He loves it. She loves it. They are crazy for each other!

er...or they're all just crazy, period.

Nate visited the dentist and was AMAZING! He is such a little rock star.

Can I just say he makes my heart burst with happiness??

I still get tears in my eyes when I am holding him ....tears of pure joy.

I just can't believe he's mine, and I get to squeeze him and kiss his perfect little face every day!

Here we are at KeKe's house....awww....how he adores his Aunt KeKe. He was asking for her tonight in the car on our way home from dinner. We were celebrating our anniversary.....and we met some incredible people tonight! We had such a great time.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Last minute

2011-03-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

Loss!
Boo Hoo!
But it's always fun when you're in the lead....AND on the big screen. It makes the last-minute loss a little easier to take.

Hi Hannah! Hi Maddie!

2011-03-23T19:20:00.001-05:00

Hope you're having fun in Arizona! Don't worry about all the rest of us here...we're okay, really. Just go on and go to the pool with Nana today...ya know, don't give our comfort and well-being another thought...its fine.
I thought you might be missing home a little so I took a picture of the back yard for you !
Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

Buh-Buh!

2011-03-18T23:38:00.002-05:00

The kids have made some pretty hilarious puppet pal videos over the past year....as a matter of fact, these shows are Nates favorite thing to watch, even more than Elmo.
The other day an update came out allowing the app to use personal photos as characters. Finally! So The kids wasted no time. I can't post all of them for the sake of protecting the innocent and unsuspecting (rofl) seriously......! But this one is adorable! And you get to hear Natie's little voice! (FYI, "rah rah" means "sister") so check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQ7WC3zKjQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my iPad

Nothing to say

2011-03-15T13:20:00.002-05:00

I don't have anything profound or significant to say today, and certainly nothing to say that you've never heard me say before.

But Nate, well....he's the greatest and most wonderful gift ever.

He touches people's lives wherever he goes....and everyone in my family is ga-ga over him, we couldn't live without him, and we still fight for the most kisses from him.

His silly, spunky, funny, sassy little personality is like a craving and I miss him when I'm at work!

I don't know how I got to be so lucky that I get to squeeze him and hold him close every single day and night.

He's game for every game, he's not ever a bother or bothersome, he's delightful and delicious, always.

He says, "Bu! Bu! Bu! and pumps his fist in the air!

If we're at a Bucks game or Disney on Ice, it doesn't matter...he goes with the flow and charms everyone in his path. He's the icing on the cake, the end of the rainbow, the cherry on top.

Muma....baap!

2011-03-08T18:49:00.007-06:00

So we were sitting in Culver's having a burger, the three of us; me, James and Nate.

I was sitting next to Nate, and James was across the table from us.

We were having an in-depth pros/cons conversation about a hot tub...(more on that later)

when I reached over with a fry and dipped it into the little tub of ketchup that was on the table in the middle between me and Nate....and it was then that I heard..."baap"I didn't really pay attention to it... I mean it was just one little utterance. baap.

I dipped another fry.

"Muma....baap!"

I looked at Nate and saw that he was talking to me!

He had his little hand out, palm open and facing me, and he was telling me to stop using his ketchup!

The nerve!

Baap!

Up until that point I had forgotten that I had used the sign and the word together on a few occasions. Nate picks up new signs really quickly and easily, but he usually doesn't say the word.

And then it just so happened that the following week in school, his class made STOP signs. Too funny.

Muma...baap!

Hilarious.

Sweet 16

2011-03-03T22:43:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

You should hear the sound effect for this!

2011-02-16T13:59:00.006-06:00

This was my husband's toy when he was little. I brought it up from the basement last night after we had watched a program about antique toys. When Nate caught sight of it this morning, he started making his little tractor sound that is hilarious and only he can do it! No one can really figure out exactly what position he rolls his tongue and puckers his face, but it's seriously cute. He already loves this old rusty thing, and it doesn't even work! It needs a little tlc, and James said he knows just the guy to bring it to for restoration. I found a little trailer for it online, because we no longer have the original trailer...

...but you know when your kid would rather sit in this than the soft couch, it's gotta be love! I can't wait to have it restored and ready for spring. When Nate was born, my dad refinished James' cradle, and that is a treasure to me. I'm such a softy when it comes to this kinda thing! I mean, if it was worth my husband dragging it around with him all these years in hopes that his boy would one day play with it then I can't wait to get'er done (yehaw! bring on the John Deere!)