Mittens

Since we had no snow...Kennedy found a new use for my mittens...she did this on her own. I laughed my head off.

Walkin' on Sunshine....

We were SOOO happy to see the sun today....since we weren't pleasured with any snow or ice! It had been awhile...and all it was here was GLOOMY!!!
It was so nice today - that we were able to play out in the yard! The sun seemed to help all moods in this household!! :) Kennedy was hilarious today - and Jaxen seemed less fussy...I also seemed to have more patience...hmm...







And our new fence....

Wordless Wednesday

Girls Weekend

I had SUCH a great weekend!!! It was my friend Danielle's 30th birthday party!! She and I have been super close for about 9 1/2 years now - so being able to celebrate with her was amazing!! We chose the city of New York as our destination. Danielle has always aspired to live there...and loves to visit!! I flew out on Thursday (after a sad goodbye to my mom and dad, kids and Jon)...and flew into Baltimore. Danielle picked me up at the airport and we headed for her parents house in New Jersey. We belted along with Celine Dion and Jodee Messina, had tons of girl talk and God talk and laughter!! The road trip was one of the best parts!! The weekend only got better. I was able to spend some time with her family, who I am super close to as well! We visited both of her sisters and hung out with her parents the whole day. We had pizza, saw the beach, and had coffee!


Friday night some of the other girls arrived in New Jersey. We had a slumber party at her parents house - and then left the next morning for NYC in 3 cars!! Talk about difficulty in staying together!! :) Amazingly enough - we made it in! We had to make a lunch stop for nothing other than PIZZA! You can't go to NYC without it!

Next - we hurried to the Theater District to see Mamma Mia on broadway! It was INCREDIBLE! I am a HUGE fan of the movie - and love Meryl Streep in it...so I wasn't sure how I would take to the show...but it was fantastic! I don't think I sat back in my seat once...I laughed, cried, sang along and danced. It was amazing!

After the theater - we went for a long walk...did some shopping - and saw the restaurant Serendipity...where the movie was filmed. We walked by Central park and saw the carriages and ice skaters...and pretty much just froze our butts off!!



For dinner - we ate at a restaurant by the name of "Becco". The head chef is William Gallagher. You may have seen him on the Today Show or Good Morning America. It was wonderful!!!

To top the night off...we hit the nightlife of NYC. We headed down to the Village - and went to a club called "Hotel on Revington". It was sooo nice - and so exclusive. It was a little hard to get in...but when 7 girls showed up - all decked out - how could they say "No"?

On top of ALL the fun we had - I got to see one of my best friends since the 4th grade...Holly. She is living in the city now - and it was SOOO fun to see her! I ended up staying the night with her - instead of at the $500 Hilton in Times Square...but it was worth it to be able to catch up!!

Hats off to my WONDERFUL husband - who stayed home with our children - and encouraged me to take this weekend guilt free! He is an amazing man...I'm sooo blessed!!!!

Fun with "Mom" and Papop

We have had SUCH a great week with my parents! It makes me feel like my life is "complete" when they are here. It's like the one thing in the back of my head that I'm missing is them. :( Sure wish they would move here!! (We're working on it!)
By the end of the week Kennedy is now calling my Mom...MOM. :) She will say -
"Gook MOM"...(Look Grandma). I think it's because she has heard me say it all weekend! Haha! At first I thought she was calling ME Mom...but we soon realized that it was actually Grandma! haha...sooo funny! Here are some pictures...

New lipgloss

Kennedy got invited to a princess birthday party in a few weeks for her little friend Julianna. With the invitation she got a little lip gloss...I think we're going to have to have a makeover informational session...

Kitchen Complete!

Mom and Dad got here on Saturday! We've been having a GREAT time...but we DID put Dad to work! :) He installed the last part of our 4 phase project in the kitchen. It looks BEAUTIFUL!!! Here's some before and after pictures!

Sometimes these things still hurt

This was written by my cousin Emily....I wanted to share with some readers who follow my blog because I think it is such an important message to share!!

I was reading an article this morning about a discovery about what may trigger Autism. In this article they interview a scientist about this discovery. Here is part of his quote

"But doctors say that now is the time to start debating if having a prenatal test for autism would be desirable, even if it was scientifically possible. "There is a test for Down's syndrome and that is legal and parents exercise their right to choose termination, but autism is often linked with talent. It is a different kind of condition," said lead researcher Professor Simon Baron-Cohen in The Guardian."

He later adds

"What would we lose if children with autistic spectrum disorder were eliminated from the population?" he asked.


At first I read this and was instantly angered. How dare this man make an assumption on who deserves life and who doesn't. We should save kids with Autism because they generally have a unique talent, unlike Down Syndrome (he says)? So in his mind, he had no question to parents aborting their babies with Down Syndrome because they are apparently talentless....they perhaps won't contribute enough to society to let them live.

Then however, my anger subsided to pure sadness. I know and understand that in this fallen world we live in, there are many people that think that Logan shouldn't be here, many people have said (and yes some to my face) that allowing him to be born was us mooching off the government and I quote of the man who said this in my earshot "All those retards are good for are cleaning up my mess and mowing my lawn". I get that people think that way. While it hurts to hear those words, I understand we live in a fallen world with fallen people. Most of the time I can let those comments roll off my back and just let it go. But every once in a while I will come across an article like this one and it still just 'gets me'. I wish everyone knew the joy Logan gives us, I wish I could shout from the rooftops that our lives aren't miserable because he's here. While he might not ever do anything that society deems as 'good enough to have a right to life', that is not my goal for him. My goal for him is the same as my other boys, to grow to be a Man of God. God can and will use Logan in mighty ways, they may be small quiet ways, but while Logan is here in earth, God will use him for his glory. While I know those types of articles won't ever pop up on Google or Yahoo, it would be nice to sometimes see the secular world show Down Syndrome in a positive light.

Anyway, I'll step off my soapbox now. I am forever thankful for our family, friends, and church family who have accepted Logan for who God created him to be. They see his uniqueness and love him all the more for it. They know that God will use and already has used Logan in mighty ways, all for the Glory of God.
Posted by Emily V at 11:17 AM
5 comments:
Audrey said...
Ugh, that gets to me too. I work with a girl that has an Autism Spectrum disorder, and I LOVE her. She genuinely brings a smile to my face everyday at school, and acts as though she doesn't have a care in the world.

She is still young enough that she doesn't realize that her peers sometimes make fun of her, and I dread the day that she starts understanding. We try to explain to them while they are young that she is just as much part of the class as anybody else, and nobody likes to be laughed at.

And we love Logan too! I missed seeing him at Christmas!

January 13, 2009 1:46 PM
Anonymous said...
This breaks my heart at so many levels. It's hard for me to think about MY "baby" having to hear these things about her child. It's hard for me to think about my grandchildren having to hear these things about their sibling. It's hard to think about Logan growing up in a society that thinks he has no worth as a human being. I do know that you and Todd are doing an amazing job not only with Logan, but also with Zach and Aiden to help them know how to respond. You all are amazing! And we love you all to pieces.

January 13, 2009 2:56 PM
Logan's Great Uncle Brian said...
It really boils down to what you believe about God doesn't it? He is either sovereign or He is not. To believe the latter is no belief at all.
Unfortunately too many people profess to know God but have no trust in Him that He is in total control of absolutely every event that occurs. Logan is fearfully and wonderfully made.
It just occurred to me that Logan will probably never make fun of anyone, will never judge anyone, and will probably never question God for creating him just as he is.
Hmmm...who's better off?
We can all learn more about God by watching His handiwork with this little guy.

January 13, 2009 7:29 PM
thesawhooks said...
You said Logan "Can and Will" be used of God...but he is already!! Look how many lives he touches now...and he's only 3!!! We are ALL blessed in sharing in Logan's life!!! You're right....the anger went to immediate sadness!

January 14, 2009 4:55 AM
Emily V said...
Thanks guys! All your comments really mean a lot! I praise God daily for being totally sovereign.

Anniversary

Jon and I started off our day with 2 crying kids in our bed this morning!
How appropriate! :)

UPS Delivery

Today the UPS guy came to deliver 20 35lb. packages to our house. Usually when we see a UPS truck - we say "There's grandpa's truck"...and they are in our neighborhood about 3-4 times a week - so we see it OFTEN! :) Today - I opened the door and Kennedy yelled "PAPA!"...I had been telling her that Mama and Papa were coming for a few days now...and I guess she thought this was it! The guy felt bad disappointing her - he was about Dad's age...when he left...Kennedy cried. Guess I'll wait until closer to the end of the week to talk about them coming again. :)
Oh...and Mom and Dad think it will take a while for her to warm up to them...I don't think so! :)

First Dose

Poor little Jaxen got his first taste of Amoxicillan!! I FINALLY decided to take him to the Dr. yesterday - even though he's been sick for a while. I tried to be the mom who waited it out...but ever since Sunday - I knew it was something more...and kept him and Kennedy home from church. They were both pouring green from the nose and coughing like crazy. I didn't think the other mom's at church would want their kids exposed. I hate it when people bring their sick kids around...it is so rude! It's like sealing an envelope full of germs and handing it off to another mom! haha! :)

It's so hard to tell if they have ear infections b/c he is teething...and I heard sore ears is a side effect of that! Who knows.

Point is...he has 2 VERY SEVERE (words straight from the Dr's mouth) ear infections. He is supposed to take the antibiotic for a week and a half and then come back and see her. She is not convinced that one round will kill it.
Poor little Jaxen. He is such a good baby -that he never even cried! The Dr. couldn't believe that he had been sleeping through the night still! He's a tough guy!

Moment of Pride

I have to take a minute to tell you this story. I had a moment of pure JOY watching my child (Kennedy) play at the Bounce House yesterday. First off....we have tried to take her 4 times...and not one time has she gone on any of the jump jumps because she has been TERRIFIED!! I have finally come to grips that I have a somewhat "shy and timid" daughter. It's very hard for an extrovert to know how to raise someone that struggles with fear. It can be an annoyance at times because you know that she is missing out on so much fun!! Well, when I say terrified of the bounce house - I Mean screaming and crying and snotting EVERYwhere! She usually buries her face in my chest and honestly feels like she is going to DIE if she even comes in EYE contact of these large bounce 'things'.

Yesterday - I got to experience an entire process of overcoming this fear!! We arrived at around 10am and the minute she saw where we were going she started FREAKING out! "Bye-Bye"..."NO MOMMY!"...over and over. I calmly told her that she wasn't going to play - only watch the other children play....it didn't help! She sat on my lap and cried for 30 minutes until she cried herself to sleep. :) I ignored her for the most part and tried to talk to my friend Stefanie...but I'm telling you...her face did not come out of my chest for an entire hour.

At about 11am...she woke up and decided that she would use the crayons and color sheet I had gotten her...and she started watching the other kids! She would say "Gook Mommy"! "Slide!" I would ask her if she wanted me to go with her and she would say "NO!"

At about 11:15 she met a little friend named Jordyn who was having the time of her life! I started making friends with her Mommy and before you know it, Kennedy was running around. This was HUGE to me! She wouldn't even go NEAR the inflatables, but this was the first time in 4 visits that she wasn't on my lap!

At about 11:30 Jordyn must have gotten tired of running, because she started going back on the inflatables. I could see her desire to try it...but she was so sad because of her fear! She came over for a few hugs and then went to watch Jordyn bounce. Before long Kennedy was bouncing on these little mats and peeking her head in the inflatables....I knew she was close! I asked her again if she would go with Mommy...and she said "NO!"

At about 11:45, Jordyn's Mommy took Jordan on this huge slide...and said "Come on Kennedy"...and Kennedy kind of followed - and then chickened out..and then followed...and then chickened out...and then FOLLOWED!!! My heart was POUNDING for her!!! She had to go through a tunnel, around an obstacle course - and climb a wall...and then all of a sudden...SHE WAS LOOKING DOWN AT ME FROM THE TOP!!! I cheered and whistled and clapped - and counted to 3 and down she came....saying "WEE" in a shaky little voice! The minute she got to the bottom - she looked at me with this HUGE smile and said "MORE!" She went constantly for the next 45 minutes...and even said "Come on Mom!"....I have to say...it was a blast!!

I could have bawled my eyes out!!! My heart was bursting out my chest! I was so proud of her for overcoming her fears! I felt at that moment I could conquer the world...because in Kennedy's world...she had done just that!

Can't live without.....

COFFEE!!! Our bathroom is now the new best place to get a "cup 'o Joe"....

Stage 1 Complete!

Now we have to wait for a WEEK for Stage 2 (our granite)! This means we are without a sink and without a dishwasher...(and obviously countertops!) Soooo exciting though! :)

My kids are so sweet!

Yesterday - Jaxen was crying from waking up from his nap...and Kennedy's new thing is RUSHING into his room - trying to beat me in. She loves to be the "mommy" and console him....
Anyway - I had to let him cry a bit longer to run and get the camera....here's what I found...

Day 2

Kitchen Demolition

Well - we've begun the process of the kitchen transformation!!! How exciting!!!
I'll post pictures of the progress!! :)

After Christmas....

It was finally nice enough that we could take a walk in the new wagon...OUTSIDE! :) Fun was had by all!


Kennedy and Jaxen sported their new outfits from Uncle Wes and Aunt Miranda.


We spent some of our Christmas money on more furniture for Kennedy's bedroom:


And saw some great friends from Kansas: