My Kids, The World Travelers

We are always trying to open our children up to different experiences.  So, this spring break we decided to 'travel'.

First Stop:  Jungles and Safari!

 lucky for us, our cousins went with us!

2.  Next Stop, THE PARTHENON!

3.  Yet another stop, Paris!

I bet you're thinking, "I thought the Eiffel Tower was much larger"

(So did I)

4.  That brings us to our last stop, Milan!

Visiting with GiGi.

A Wee Bit Proud

For the past two years, Judson has participated in World Education Days. (http://worldeducationgames.com/)  This year he did really well in all aspects of the contest. He did exceptionally well in World Maths Day.  He was 10th place among US contestants in his age group.  For his efforts, they sent him a certificate and a medal.  We are quite proud of our little man. 

Easter

I just love family holidays.  Holidays when I can go back to my 'home town' and celebrate with family.  Easter is one of those holidays where I try very hard to get back home.  This year was no exception.  Many (but not all of my siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc) were there too.  We went to church.  Had a big dinner.  Hunted eggs.  All the things I remember from my childhood, that hopefully my kids will remember from theirs.

The 10 and under set.

My immediate family (minus about 9 who could not make it)

I know, way cool to have that many in your immediate family, right?

The egg hunters wondering how long I'm going to make them sit there.

After being on the road all day, I have nothing profound to say.

While I had a wonderful time, 

I'm quite happy to be home.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

More pictures to come.

Things That Make Me Smile

Judson's crystals.

(would have been better if I had focused the camera)

Ansley's collection but Judson's display

Just big, goofy, hairballs

Begging for a haircut.

A Lot To Think About

I have four very special and most wonderful children.  Each day they bless me with warm accepting smiles and hugs.  They understand that I am imperfect.  They don't care.  They are just happy that I am their mother.  How cool is that!

What I want most for my kids is to be allowed to grow and achieve all their abilities will allow.  I don't want to have to worry that because my  youngest has 'brown' skin (as he says), some vigilante will shoot him down.  Or some company may not hire him.  Or some STUPID mother won't let him date her daughter. I don't want his heart or his spirit to be broken. I don't want his life cut short.  http://globalgrind.com/news/michael-skolnik-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-race-sanford-florida-photos-pictures

I don't want to have to worry that my middle son will not be allowed to work or learn or have a girl friend or whatever he wants, because he has Down syndrome.  http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-saw-someone-today.html?m=1

I just want ALL of my children to be allowed to dream, and be, and grow, and achieve.  I want what everyone wants for their children:  Acceptance. 

Overheard Conversation

Had the best time today.  Our buddy, Charlie came for a play date.

This is just one of the conversations I heard today.

Turner:

"Charlie, you have to sound out words so that you can spell them.

MOSS

Mmmmmmmmm-oss

M-S-S.

Mom, How to do you spell MOSS?"

Mom:

"You mean the green stuff that grows on trees?"

Turner:

"No, the little things that fly around outside"

Mom:
"You mean MOTH.

M-O-T-H"

Turner:

"Charlie, you spell moss, M-O-T-H"

No pictures today.

Just lots of fun.

Those two are a pair!

Hope we didn't confuse poor Charlie.

He doesn't have the same speech errors that Turner does.

So he may think you spell MOSS, M-O-T-H.

We Like To Run

I use "we" in a loose sense, since I REALLY do not like to run.  Judson, Daddy, and Turner like to run.  Ansley is going to try running soon.  Sawyer and I are more the walking type.  Even when we try to run, it seems more like a walk.  Not even a fast walk.  More like a "I hope I can make it" walk. 

Today Randy ran in his 2nd marathon. Even as I am writing this, I have no idea how he did as we have not heard from him yet.  We did see him run though.  We posted ourselves at the 14 mile mark and waited.

Our patience was rewarded with a great smile.

I know how much work he put into this.

I am very proud of him.

I appreciate that he is also setting a great example for our children.

Setting goals

Keeping healthy

Pursuing your passion

Things We Like to Do

We are growing our own crystals using an egg shell,

Salt, Water, food coloring, and time.  We are waiting for the

water to evaporate.  It's been two days and the water is slowly evaporating.

(I think we all know who is doing this one)

Build 'houses'.

"Mom, we didn't have to dig a hole to get the mud to hold the sticks up.  We just used the hole from where the tree fell"

(Somehow, I don't remember the hole being that big.)

Thankfully, the pups knocked down the 'house'.

(I always knew they were good for something)

Track mud into Mom's house.

Look carefully at the dried up Georgia clay.

Face, legs, hands, clothes.

"I couldn't help it, I accidentally fell down"

How many times did he accidentally fall down, you might ask.

THREE.

I also took ALL 4 to the eye doctor.  Just for kicks, don't you know. (Only 3 had appointments, so one just came along for the ride)

Ansley needs glasses.  Judson does not.  Sawyer is about the same.

Funny thing.

While we were in the room you wait in as your eyes dilate,

Sawyer entertained the crowd.

One man was there with his daughter, who happened to be blessed with an extra chromosome of the 21st kind.

Another man had a daughter (who died 15 years ago at the age of 33).  She, too, had T21.

Another man was friends with the man whose daughter had died.

Let me tell you, Sawyer TRULY blessed those people that day. 

They all were smiling and happy and excited to see him and talk with him and just be with him.

And in turn, those people blessed me with their kind words.

"Love makes the world go round"

Great Weekend

Lots of fun this weekend.  Girl Scouts.  Boy Scouts.  Bike Riding. 

Not everyone can pull off this look.

Ethiopia hat AND bicycle helmet.

First casualty of the season.

Mr. Ambassador

I took Sawyer to the doctor yesterday.  He has a rash that will not go away.  Turns out, they were not too concerned with the rash but with his ear.  Apparently, he has an ear infection.  I could have predicted that.  Anytime I take him in for anything, ends up he has an ear infection.  He NEVER shows any of the typical signs of ear infection. (fever, pulling at his ear, etc)

What was unique about this visit was they had a visiting med student from Emory.  So, our doctor sent this kid in first to let him do the exam.   The guy was very new to medical study, probably 1st or 2nd year at most.  He was good with Sawyer and could understand much of what Sawyer was saying to  him.  As he was looking through the medical paperwork, he came across the notation that Sawyer has Down syndrome.  He had not picked that up via his exam.  He asked me when Sawyer was diagnosed.  I told him we knew he had the markers in utero but we chose not to have amnio because it would not change our life choice.  He seemed a bit surprised by that but voiced no opposition.

When the doctor came in, they went over his diagnosis of Sawyer's condition, etc.  I mentioned that he had not picked up on the outward signs of Down syndrome.  Our doctor said, He is new to medicine and we are trying to raise him up right.  Our doc went on to explain to the kid-doc how smart Sawyer was and what a good kid, etc. 

So my hope from this experience is that this kid-doc will look beyond what the books say and probably what his teachers say, and remember the smart kid he met once early in his career and REALLY see that the answers to life's questions are not always found in books.  Sometimes they are found in the heart.

*SMILE*

Scouts

Three of our four children are in scouts.   One wants so badly to be but is NOT old enough just yet.  I admit I have many reservations about scouting, both boy and girl.  I also recognize there can be a lot of good too.  So I try to keep an open mind.  That being said, this has been a full weekend of scouting.

Last night, Ansley had  2012 Thinking Day at scouts.  It was for her whole service unit which is pretty big.  Each troop picked a country and decorated a booth.  They also served food relating to that country.  Ansley's group chose Mexico.  (one of Ansley's favorite food groups-Mexican)   Now, the weird thing about Girl Scouts (at least to me) is that they really don't encourage parents to be involved.  Sometimes you're made to feel welcome and encouraged to get involved. (cookie sales)  Others, you don't get a warm fuzzy feeling that they want you involved.  Last night was one of those, "You can come but please don't" nights.  So I dropped her off and we took the boys out to eat.  When I picked her up, she seemed to have had a good time.  When I asked what her favorite thing was she responded " The rice"   (aka, Mexican rice her troop served)

I only got one picture.  I think she had candy or ice in her mouth.  

Today was the annual Pinewood Derby for the boys' scout  group/den/pack, whatever.

Both Judson and Sawyer entered a car.  Each had a part in designing/making their car.  Obviously, Judson did more on his car than Sawyer did on his.  They divided up the kids into 2 groups.  The Tigers (which is Sawyer's group) had their own group with 4 cars.  Then the rest of the boys (all ages combined) were in a group together.  There were 20 cars in that group.  (I think you see where I'm going with this)  Sawyer won 1st in Show and 2nd in speed.  He was so happy and excited.  Judson did not win a trophy but handled it pretty well.  (this is the first time he did not win something, I believe)

Sawyer's is the red pickup truck.

Judson's is the blue one.

Super cool action shot!

Front row seats for all the action!

Whew, another year down for Pinewood Derby.

I'm trying not to think of how many more years of car racing are ahead of me.

Tomorrow....clean this house day.

(maybe even get the PEE smell out of the bathroom, if only for a few hours)

In My Dream Home....

I will have a boy's bathroom.  It will be in a spot all by itself.  It will be made of concrete.   Over the toilet will be one of those pull down hose thingies (like they have in fancy restaurant kitchens for cleaning).  It will have plenty of force to clean all of the boy pee that goes everywhere except the toilet.  I shall call this bathroom, The Out House. 

Three little boys.

Just sayin'.

Valentines 2012 * Stricklin Style

Happy Valentines Day!

This year the kids came up with the menu and decorations.

We made it for lunch, since Randy is able to join us most days for lunch.

Ansley made the white chocolate layer cake with strawberry icing.

Judson chopped up strawberries.  (after all, he does have his whittling chip from scouts)

Turner made the lemonade for strawberry lemonade.

Sawyer helped supervise, taste test, and set the table.

Mom made the spaghetti as well as the shrimp scampi.

Dad fixed the tea.

So it was a family affair.

The kids loved it.

We ate off of the good china

And tried to use our good manners.

(some more successful than others)

And what would Valentines be without a little bling.

They each got a dog tag with their name and phone number printed on it.

Ya Know What's Curious?

Sometimes you just gotta get away, 

even if it is up on top of Mom's frig.

When you are old, you can get away with such things.

She used to get shot with a water gun when she did such things.

Now, not so much.

Give a Boy a Chicken Leg

And he'll gnaw it down to the marrow and ask for a 2nd one!

(Btw...J will not eat meat.   T will only eat ground meat.)

Week In Review

So, what did we do this week????

Play date with new friends.
Home School.  (finished day 113 of 180-we are on the down hill slide!)
OT for Sawyer
Speech for Sawyer
Well Visit for Ansley.  Grew 3 inches and gained 5 pounds this year.
Saturday School for Judson

Sewing

Thankfully, Ansley is not too picky about Mom's sewing expertise.

Mommy-Son, Daddy-Daughter Date Night.

Daddy-Ansley went to Chickfila Annual Daddy-Daughter date night.
I took the boys to try out a new restaurant in town.
Both dates were a success!
 
Lots of outside play because it's February and 60 degrees!

 No, it's really not that cold out.
However, Ansley's signature color is PINK.
So, she found everything she could that was pink and wore it!
Don't be hating because you don't have a pink hat like that!