We're Back!!!

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Alabama. What a wonderful time we had. The weather was fantastic. The kids were healthy. It was awesome!!! (And we ate so much, I feel like a Weeble) Here are a few pics of what we did.

Three Musketeers

Fun Times

Skated!!!

Some people enjoyed it more than others.

Fishing

Happy Thanksgiving

Great story HERE.

Seriously

I am cutting off the tags to some felt ornaments. The first sentence: "This is NOT a toy". Two sentences later, "Cut off all plastic attachments before giving this toy to your child"

Seriously, it says that.

A Christmas Story

Twas the week before Thanksgiving and all through the house, all creatures were stirring.
Oh please not a mouse.

The Grinch was all Grinchy because the lights would not work.
He threatened to cancel Christmas, causing much hurt.

Away Mom did dash in the middle of the night.
To Target to buy a new string of lights.

Now all is well on our little piece of the map
The tree is all lit
And the kids are down for a nap

Company!

We had some delightful company at our house today. Little Miss O came for a visit while her Momma moved 'stuff' from their old house to their new house. What a fun time we all had! (well, except for maybe O's mommy. Moving and bad backs just don't mix)

We read books and played tea party and had a picnic while watching a movie and lots of other stuff too. See....Lest you think 5 kids created this mess, think again. One kid was in school much of the time and the only thing O pulled out was books. This is a "3 kid mess". THIS is how my house looks many nights before 'clean up'. Welcome to my world. Don't come if you can't take it because this is how we live!

Great Day

We had friends over to eat pizza and just talk. LOVED IT. You could not have asked for a better day. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It's always great to catch up with friends. Didn't take too many pictures but here are a few. The kids had a blast. My tub now has a brown ring around it from all the dirt that came off the kids at bath time.

Funny anecdote: The kids were on the fort having fun, when Ansley (almost 5) came up to me and said, "Mom, the kids are going to attack the adults". Two minutes later, Parker(who just turned 5) came up to his dad and said, "The Kids are going to attack the adults". Apparently, at 5 years of age, it is imperative to be the first to tell the secret.

So Serious
Weapons of Mass Distruction
(the logs were confiscated)

Enjoying Life

Thanks, Doug. You are DA Man!

Birthday Party

If you ever want to give your little one a birthday party, try Little Gym. (Like Gymboree) Sawyer and Turner were invited to a classmate's party. They LOVED it. They were busy running around and doing games for about an hour. After that hour, not one complaint about going to eat pizza and cake. Not one complaint about leaving. They were so tired, they were ready to go. Mommy LOVED that part. Check out the smiles on Sawyer's face. (Click on pics to make them larger)

Why do I bother????

Took the kids for the Christmas pictures today. Some days, it just doesn't pay to even try. Today? One of those days! Three were amiable. One (the 'enhanced' one) was not. In the end, they(the pictures) turned out okay, not great. BUT oh the wailing that had to be, before the end product was completed.

The day is looking up. The neighbors grand kids are here and want to come play and this afternoon is a birthday party for one of Sawyer's classmates. They said I could bring siblings, so I'm taking Turner. That makes life easier for Randy, so he's smiling!

Same 'Ole, Same 'Ole

We took Sawyer for his cardiology visit today. He did GREAT. The ECHO showed that the clot was about the same size, if not slightly smaller. The doctor said he thought the clot was firmly attached. (most likely calcified) He does NOT want to go in and touch it at this point. We will go back next summer for a new ECHO. For now, we remain on the aspirin regimen. Not exactly what we would have liked to have seen but not the worst news in the world either. So there you have it, same 'ole same 'ole.

Cardiologist

Off to the doctor today to get Sawyer's heart checked out. To be more specific, to see if the clot is growing and possibly decide next steps.

Thankful for friends who are able to watch my other children so I'm not schlepping 4 kids to germ infested doctor's office. (Lest you think I'd dump all 3 remaining kids upon my friends, we're taking Ansley with us and only dumping Judson and Turner. See, we're not THOSE kinds of friends.)

More later...

Check out Judson's Camping Trip Pictures

http://judsonstories.blogspot.com/2009/11/scout-camping-2009.html

SUCKER!!!!

Yep, that would be the tattoo on my forehead!

Why? 2 reasons:

1) Judson begged to play basketball this year. We had not planned on it because of karate and scouts. But, he pleaded and being the slacker parents that we are, we gave in. Since this year, the league is more 'instructional' and not like last year where it was more 'play ground-esk', I figured they would want more seasoned coaches. Alas, I was not ON GUARD. I went to Judson's mini-basketball camp this morning, only to be approached by the league director to see if I would coach. He apparently was desperate for coaches!2) The local Golden Retriever Rescue put out a plea for short term foster parents for dogs during the holiday season. They said they needed them for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. So, I filled out the application and said we'd be here New Years if there was a dog that was good around small kids who needed short term fostering, we'd be willing. Now, in general, Goldens are great around kids. However, rescue dogs may or may not be good depending upon their situation. They have a lot of goldens who were breeders and were locked up in crates their whole life. So loud kids would not be a good fit for them. Goldens love to put things in their mouth. Kids love to lay things down. It can be a bad combination. I was thinking when I filled out the app last night, it's very unlikely they'd call us. When I got home from Judson's basketball today, I had a call. They wanted to talk to me.

So just stamp SUCKER across my forehead! (That would be me)

Possibilities

Click HERE and read this story! Love good stories....

Worst Down Syndrome

I came across this post and thought it worth passing on. If for no other reason, than some one trying to find out about Down Syndrome. Or maybe someone finding out the child they are carrying has Down Syndrome. It's a very well written post, albeit lengthy because there is lots to say on the subject.

CLICK HERE.

Take a Look

http://www.reecesrainbow.com/olderboys.html

Take a look at the older boys. Scroll down and check out Bobby.
Sounds like an awesome kid, don't you think?
He's 11.
He needs a family.
Maybe it's YOU.
Maybe it's someone you know.
Spread the word.

Christmas Tree 2009

EVERY ONE knows I am passionate about adoption. EVERYONE knows I am passionate about Down Syndrome. Put those two together and what do you have? Reece's Rainbow! This is the time of year they try to raise $1000 for each child to go towards their adoption. This money will be applied to the adoption costs for a family who chooses to adopt that child. Adoption is not a cheap way to build a family. It can be quite expensive, especially if you choose international adoption. So every bit of money that a child receives can make a huge difference in a family being able to adopt them.

No child should have to live without knowing the love of family. No child should have to live in the conditions that many of these children live in. ALL children are worthy and needy of love. Please help one of these children. Take a look at their faces. Truly look into their eyes. Please help.
Click HERE.

Halloween 2009

1st Fall Festival. Dad carried Judson. Dad carried camera. Dad did NOT take pictures.

2nd Neighborhood Party (MOM took pictures)
Click on the pic to make it biggerSuper Hero Sawyer, Construction Worker Turner, Elephant Ansley and Captain of the Enterprise Judson
Heading out to the party

Pizza!

I wouldn't let him get out of the garage because it was raining. So he waited for folks to come in and he'd check out their costume.


A bit overwhelmed trying to figure everything out.


Ready to get to the important stuff!


3rd (and most important) Trick-or-Treat!!!!!!

First, one more picture on front porch because Cinderella (aka Olivia) joined us!


Trick or treating at our door


Didn't get too many pics because I had to take Sawyer back home and out of the rain. The kids LOVED it though.

And for Kimmy's Mom
Nope, I'm not in costume. Those truly are all my chins. My hair does that wavy stuff when it rains, no matter how much goop I put on it to try to make it straight. Remind me to thank Dean for taking such a true to life picture!
BTW, your daughter is an awesome friend! And Olivia is a real sweetheart.
(Dean???? Well, he took this picture...)

More Garden Pics

If you are thinking, are those kids going to get wet in that fountain? Well, ALMOST. Had to grab Sawyer. He had 1 shoe off by the time I got to him. Randy never realized what was happening.

The Rest of the Weekend

Birthday Party for Judson's friend, Luyushu.

They made Pizza.

Tree Climbing


Dumplings

(Luyushu, Olivia and Ansley)

Busy Weekend

Yesterday, up early to get the cat to the vet. Then off to a birthday party for one of Judson's friends. Today, up early to go out to eat breakfast (for Sawyer's birthday) and then off to the Botanical Garden. Then later we have Dumplings. It's a beautiful day outside. Lots of sunshine and a cool nip in the air. Loving it! Here's some pictures. I took over 150 at the garden. Won't bore you with all of them.

5 year ago....

We were preparing for Sawyer's birth. We knew he likely had Down Syndrome. We researched and reached out to folks and tried to learn what we could. (In fact, while in the hospital all the social workers/doctors/nurses would come up and try to tell us about something related to Down Syndrome. We'd say, "yes we've heard of that". They soon learned we were their worst nightmare. We were internet savvy and would ask questions to which they had no answer. But I digress) We also knew he had some sort of heart defect. About fifty percent of babies born with Down Syndrome have a heart defect. What we didn't know was he would be the 1 in a million baby to have Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. What we didn't know was there was no cure for PAH. What we didn't know was how few doctors wanted to deal with us after such a diagnosis.

What THEY did not know was our Sawyer was a fighter! He was too stubborn to believe their prognosis. He comes by that honestly because we, too, are stubborn and refused to follow the status quo. If the doctors didn't have a known cure, we'd follow our instincts and fight right along beside Sawyer. Sawyer slowly began to convert the doctors. They slowly began to believe he would get better because indeed, he was getting better. In the end, we had 3 very good cardiologist and 1 wonderful surgeon(along with hundreds of folks sending up prayers on his behalf) who stood beside us when the rest of their doctors were still doubtful. They operated to correct his heart defect about 10 months after his birth. Immediately, his PAH went to normal. Still there were doubters. Our 'team' refused to listen to the naysayers. Today, this is the result of their dedication. He's still stubborn. He is also very funny and smart and annoying (according to Turner) and loving and engaging. He's all any mommy and daddy could ever want. We are blessed beyond measure because he is ours. We gave him drums for his birthday. We decided to give them to him early so he'd have all weekend to play them.

(Dad, this is a video. You may not can play it)

Big Words

My kids use big words. I guess we must use big words a lot around here, not sure.

Example 1:

I'm in the kitchen and I hear the typical (aka normal, all day every day) yelling. Not paying much attention until Turner comes to the door, whining. (I can NOT stand whining. ) So I tell him in my ever so understanding and loving motherly way, "Go back and watch tv, Mommy is getting supper ready". He's holding the top of his head and yells, " 'awyer 'it me" (translation, SAWYER HIT ME) I say, "It'll be okay" To which he responds, " 'awyer is ANNOYING me" Yep, he can't say Sawyer, nor can he say Hit. He can, however, say Annoying.

More Examples:

I take Judson to the doctor yesterday for his checkup. (on a side note, should he continue on his current growth track, he will be between 5'10" and 6' by the time he's 21. He will weigh about 140 pounds!) While waiting for the doctor, he continues to worry that shots are coming. So the nurse is asking him questions. He is getting pretty annoyed at her for the types of questions. (Do you play sports? Music lessons? etc) She asks about his sleeping patterns: What time do you go to bed? J: Well, my bedtime is 9pm. Actually, it's about 9:10 when I get to bed. Nurse: What time do you wake up? J: Actually, it's pretty RANDOM. Somewhere between 7:15 and 8:10.

The doctor comes in and says immediately, "There will be no shots today" Ahhhhh, life can continue as normal. So he and Doc T are talking. Doc T: So are you and your sister still fighting? J: Actually (a word he uses often), we try to be ALLIES more. Doc T turns around and looks at me. I just shrug my shoulders and tell him, J is learning to play Axis and Allies with his dad. J continues: We're probably allies more like 65% of the time, maybe 66%.