It takes a Daddy to raise a child

Father's day interview...

Esther, age 3.5
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Help him on the computer.
What do you do that makes Daddy happy?  Clean up.
How do you know Daddy loves you?  Cuz he hugs me.
What is Daddy’s job?  Type in the computer.
How old is Daddy?  18
What is Daddy's favorite food?  Ribs.

Levi, age 5
What do you love most about Daddy?  He tastes good.
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Go fishing.
What do you do that makes Daddy happy?  Obey.
How do you know Daddy loves you?  Cuz he does something that I like.
What is Daddy’s job?  To keep us safe.
How old is Daddy?  15.  Or maybe 78.
What is Daddy's favorite food?  Hamburgers.

Hannah, age 7
What do you love most about Daddy?  He loves me.
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Go fishing.
What do you do that makes Daddy happy?   Obey.
How do you know Daddy loves you?  He helps me get things I can't reach.
What is Daddy’s job?  He drives a truck.  A big truck.
How old is Daddy?  39
What is Daddy's favorite food?  Ribs.

Noah, age 12
What do you love most about Daddy?  His awesomeness.
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Fishing.
What do you do that makes Daddy happy?  Put away his tools.
How do you know Daddy loves you?  He takes me special places.
What is Daddy’s job?  Mechanic.
How old is Daddy?  32
What is Daddy's favorite food?  Steak.

Sandbox conversations: Where is Heaven?

E: Maybe on the roof?
L: Way higher, Essie.
E: Maybe at the moon?
L: Maybe. We can go there someday, if we love Jesus in our hearts.
E: Yeah, we should do that...

Homeschool conference

The last time I went to the upstate NY homeschool conference, I didn't know I had two kiddos with special needs.  I didn't have a broken husband either.  A whole lot of "life" has happened since then.

This year, Brian, Noah, and I went.  I wanted Noah's input on his curriculum, and the conference has a Teen Track, with workshops for the 12 and up crowd.

Some things I learned...
* There are a LOT of parents taking charge over their special need's kid's schooling!
* My "little" boy does pretty well in a crowd of people he doesn't know.  I don't think he talked to his peers much, and there was no talk of emails or addresses exchanged.  But he sat through each session, near the front, and even took notes so he could tell me what they were about later on!  For a momma with a "tough kid"...this was all amazing.  Very proud of my boy!
* My husband is not the man I married.  This is a good thing. ;)  He is amazing and his near constant high spirits humble me.  He's always been one to agree with whatever I chose, but this time, when I asked for his input on what math curriculum to get and which literature packets to get...he gave me well thought out input!  I went with his ideas there, of course! 
* God sets up some really cool meetings.  I met a lady with a son with very similar issues to Noah...same age, too!  We picked out spelling curriculum together and exchanged email addresses.  Brian met several people who had  been in car accidents or who had knee replacements.  Nearly everyone asked Brian what happened to him, since he was on crutches.  What an encouragement so many people were to us, and what FAITH so many have!  God is good...
* We need to go at least every other year, if not every year.  It's not about finding curriculum, though that is why we went this year.  It's about knowing that we're not alone.  Realizing that there are others who have very real struggles, just like us.  Being encouraged and convinced that each of us has the power, in Christ, to keep moving forward in whatever journey God has called us to.

ADHD musings

Levi has two official diagnoses...ADHD and SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).  We are close to an Asperger's diagnosis for him, but that may take a bit to sort out because he is only 5.  I think it's just a matter of time before that official diagnosis.

But...I find myself questioning the ADHD for the past couple of weeks.  I decided to not give him his meds while we were camping two weekends ago, and he did so well that I haven't given them since.  Is he still a wild man?  Yep.  But what I am seeing makes me think this has more to do with the SPD and his near constant state of sensory overload than it does with ADHD.  I think ADHD is just so common and "understood", that it's an easier diagnosis to give than any version of ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

The biggest change?  Very little crying and whining in the evenings.  This is the second ADHD medication that I was able to link to that in Levi.  No more.  We're done.  I will learn to deal with Levi as Levi needs.  We will work on his diet.  We will pay close attention to his sensory needs and try to head off problems before they begin. 

We will love and train up our child with the understanding that God has created him as an amazing individual.  If he needs to jump 14,389 times a day...that's perfectly okay. :)

Mother's Day weekend

KOA had their annual BOGO deal last weekend, where you pay to stay May 11th and get the 12th for free.  We went to the Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA, in the Adirondacks.  My sister and her family came with us, and we couldn't have had a better time.  It rained for a week straight before we went and for two days after we got home, but while we were there...the weather was perfect.

We played.

We played rodeo seesaw...Yee-Haw!

We hiked...Moms only!

We ate...and ate...and ate...

We got really nervous about how far away an ER was.

We played.

They rode many miles.

We laughed.  And loved.

We got a good picture of Brian (a miracle).

We "squatted" little girls in the grass. :P

We visited the Olympic Center.

We missed this kid...

But we did not cry on this trip.

It's okay to move on. 

It's okay to be a family of 6.

We will always love you, Nicolas.

And we will live, laugh, and love as the family that remains.

Why would I?

It's been asked several times....why would we want to move away from here if we don't have to?  Why would anyone leave the place they have lived for 30 out of 32 years?  (I spent a year in Rochester, NY, and almost a year in Central PA.)

Why do we need to stay?  Must what always has been, always be?  Of course we love our family and friends, and we will miss a lot of things we enjoy by living so close to those we love.  I don't think that means we shouldn't go.

We live in a big, magnificent country and I have never been farther west than Corinth, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee.  I want to see new things, meet new people, and do new things.

I want my husband to have better weather for his bones, because NY winter is really hard on him, though this year we had the most mild winter I can remember in my lifetime.

Trucking jobs are everywhere.  Accounting jobs are everywhere.  My husband could transfer within his same company and drive out of Bedford, Indiana.  Indiana happens to have fantastic homeschool law, which is a definite plus.

I don't know where we'll land, but I know that we're both itching to go and have been for years.  I want to take a risk.  I want to *live*.  I want my kids to know there is more to this world than upstate NY.  It will be hard to leave, I know.  But it will be good.

What's the worst thing that could happen?  We hate it and move back this way?

Roses

You might be surprised to hear me say that our married life has not always been filled with rainbows and unicorns.  Really! It hasn't been all popsicles and cotton candy either.  Stop laughing.

But it is always a good thing to stop and smell the roses. :)

My sweetie had these delivered yesterday.  Twenty-four butterfly roses.  Now my husband is not usually the most demonstrative romantic there is.  That only makes this lovely bunch of fragrant flowers even more wonderful.

It's wonderful to be loved.  And to be shown love, even when he can't be home with us every day.