More Harvest Party Pics

A friend from church caught these two adorable cuties in all their deliciously adorableness!

Harvest Party

Last night was our church's Harvest Party. It was a great turnout of about 100 children! Cody and Carleigh enjoyed playing games to win candy. Both came home with a bucket FULL of candy! My niece Brittany gave Carleigh quite a "beauty treatment." Carleigh quickly learned that beauty is pain!

I never imagined...

Honestly, I never imagined that I would be a parent to a special needs child, let alone TWO special needs children! It's amazing to see God's plan work out in the midst of pain and heartache. Broken dreams brought me two incredible blessings that I am so thankful for every day. It's so very challenging to parent a child with developmental delays. Not only do you have to be a developmental milestone specialist, but you also have to be a specialist with the child God has blessed you with. Some days are so very hard and I often wonder how I will get through the day.

Although there are days that I honestly think, WHY ME? I honestly can say WHY NOT ME? No parent dreams that their child will be "different" or "labeled." Cody has taught me many, many lessons, the first one is unconditional love. There is no one on earth that has more unconditional, pure love as Cody. He absolutely loves you with his whole heart. He has also taught me patience and hope. Doctors were not hopeful with Cody's future. Cody proved them wrong every time. He walked when they were skeptical, he talked and now Cody is reading. My heart was overjoyed last night as I was listening to him read his book he brought home from school. As a special needs parent, you learn to celebrate any progress whether it be big or small.

I always just knew deep in my heart that I would adopt (starting with the creation of Cabbage Patch Kids). God was preparing my heart so early at a ripe age of 7. I did not know anyone who adopted or was an adoptee but I wanted to adopt a child.

Then infertility hit at such an very early age, so I had time to prepare for what God had in store for Matt and I. It was a long, hard, difficult road to travel. I wouldn't want anyone to have to go down it, but despite the heartache, God did bless me with the desires of my heart....but very different than the plans I had made.

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, '

plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

This is my life verse. It sums up everything that I hold dear. I can rest assured that God has special plans for my life and my family's. Whether we are complete as a family of four or God blesses us with another adoption, I will be content. I recently discovered that each day is an absolute gift and I will never take another day for granted!

Parenting Award

I was surprised to get an email stating that I had won a blog award for special needs parenting! Wow! Thanks to whomever nominated me!


Medical Billing

Royalty Amongst Us

Princess Carleigh and King Cody will make their debut on Wednesday night at the Harvest party. Their second appearance will be Halloween Night. They are quite charming and dignified to say the least.

They were originally supposed to be another couple, but God's Little Princess insisted that she come as her true self....Princess Carleigh! And I will give you a little sneak peek into their royal garb!

Conversations with Carleigh Again...

My sister put the kids on the bus this morning due to my mom being in Kentucky (more about that later). As the sun was rising, Carleigh said to Connie "Look, the sun woke up!"

On a sad note:

Please pray for my Uncle Tom (my dad's brother) who had a heart attack on Monday and will be having open heart surgery on Friday unless they need to do it sooner. Tonight I got a call that he had another setback tonight so my thoughts and prayers are with him and the whole family. I am so worried about him. My dad is one of 13 siblings and out of all of them, I think we are closest to him and his family.

Wordless Wednesday

I know you are not supposed to write about the picture, but I felt a need to add a narrative. While I was cooking dinner on Monday, I saw this sight. I am very sure I know who did it!

Cody's New Piano

My sister decided to cater to Cody's obsession with FP Rock-n-Play pianos and bought a gently used version on EBay. Cody was in PIANO Heaven Sunday evening. In fact, he did NOT want to go to church that night!

Monday morning, he popped up quickly for school (normally you have to drag him out of bed) and instantly RAN to his new treasure. And when he came off the bus that afternoon, his first words to me were "Go home and play my PIANO!"

The boy was engrossed with his piano and I found him asleep before 8:30 next to his treasured possession!

Our Fall Fun Day

Every weekend this month, I am trying to do something very fun for my family. Last week, we went to the pumpkin patch, this weekend we went hiking, playing in the leaves and a skating party. Next week, we are thinking about going to Tom's Maze (which is totally fun!).

To start our day, we went to Houston Woods State Park and went on my favorite hiking trail. (I used to go hiking there a lot with my bff in high school/college. It is so scenic and peaceful! We did run into a lot of hikers and frisbee golfers. We had a picnic lunch by the lake and the kids played on the playground.

We were all very tired after our long hike! The kids had a BLAST and I just love making lasting memories with them!

Skating Party

To end our fun day, we were invited to a free skating party on Skating on Main. We have been attending a parent organization for parenting children with special needs and developmental delays. It was fun and that skating rink was only open to the kids and families of children with special needs. It was Cody's first time on roller skates and he managed to keep them on for an hour however, balance is not his strong point, therefore, the poor boy needed me or Matt to keep him from falling. Carleigh was a different story. I took her to my school's skating party last November and it was amazing to see her progress on her second time skating. She announced that she was "practicing!" She told me that Santa MUST bring her skates for Christmas! It was fun and I got to know a few parents who can relate to what we go through every day.

It strikes again!

Okay, I thought Cody's puke episodes at school was over. We thought it was a stomach bug, but now, we are really starting to wonder what is going on! I got a call today at school at 2pm from the nurse. Now, I think I know the nurse better than his teachers! Apparently he threw up again and needed to go home. This is the 4th time Cody has been sent home within a month. What is up with that??!! Throughout all his 2.5 years of preschool and one year of Kindergarten he NEVER went home sick or vomited at school. I am starting to wonder if he has acid reflux or some other stomach issue. Needless to say that we will be visiting his pediatrician soon about this. He NEVER vomits at home so we are quite puzzled. He is not eating anything new so that eliminates food allergies. Hopefully we get down to the root of the problem before he misses more school!

Hilarious!

Matt and I were almost in literal tears laughing last night. Matt was helping Cody put on his pajamas and Cody was laying on the floor. Well, Matt was holding Cody's feet when Cody moved from laying on his back to a sit up position! What was funny was that he starting counting while he was doing his sit ups! He counted to eleven before stopping! Apparently he must be doing this in P.E.!! It was so cute and funny to watch him do the sit ups and count! He is also feeling much better and went back to school on Tuesday. His afternoon bus driver and aide was so worried about him since he had not been on the bus for a week. Needless to say, Cody was VERY happy to ride the bus yesterday!

A Day with Cody

I have had the BEST day off work with my favorite little man! I was overjoyed when he ate his breakfast muffins, ate ALL of his lunch and now has polished off his dinner. Yep! Cody is on the road to recovery! While Cody was relaxing, I was busy cleaning and doing 8 loads of laundry. Yes we can accumulate that much laundry in a couple of days (plus towels and linens)!

I must say that it was such a blessing to have this day to spend with Cody and give him all my attention when he wasn't napping or playing with his toys. He was confused as to why he was home and Carleigh was at school. However, he quickly got over it and enjoyed having the house and TOYS all to himself!

A Trip to the ER

The past few days have been rough for my little boy. Thursday, I received a call that Cody had vomited at school. Friday he still was not feeling well. Yesterday he was okay and feeling a little bit better and we went to the pumpkin patch. This morning, he was lethargic, crying, and laying around. So off to the ER we go! It took 2 hours before a doctor saw him and then she ordered chest xrays because she heard a rattle and a strep test because his tonsils were red. Both tests came back negative so we left the ER four hours later. If he is still not drinking and eating well in the morning, we have to follow up with his pediatrician. My poor boy! It makes me hurt to see him sick or in pain. It was cute to see Carleigh trying to take care of him this afternoon.

My creations

Last night, I tie dyed the kids' pumpkins shirts that I wanted to last year after reading Family Fun's October 2009 issue. It didn't make perfect circles, but I don't think it was too bad for my first time at tie dying! The kids LOVE them and we got a lot of compliments at the farm today. I made them in a size bigger so that they can wear them next year. Not too bad and the tshirts and dye was about $10 for everything. (Can't get ONE brand new fall shirt for that price!) And this morning, I baked cinnamon rolls with orange icing for breakfast for the kids. It was a hit and their first time eating them.

Iron's Fruit Farm

We decided on a spur-of-the-moment not to visit our usual farm that we normally visit in October for several reasons two of them being that Cody and I will be going at the end of the moment with our separate classes. We visited Iron's Fruit Farm and went on a hayride, completed a very confusing maze, and found pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. Oh, and we also fed goats, llamas and saw some ostriches and horses. Despite having an unusually warm day, it was fun!

The Maze

We took the hayride to the maze and pumpkin patch. It was quite a long hayride compared to the farm we usually go to. The kids had fun, but since Cody has been battling a stomach bug, he was a little weak toward the end of the maze and we had to carry him the rest of the way. All in all, everyone had a fun time!

A New Look

I am trying to decide how to organize and update my blog. I am not sure what I am going to do, but seeing that this blog is 5 years old now, I think it needs a new "look." Stay tuned to changes!

A Long Day

Today was quite the long day for lots of reasons! At school, Thursdays are my very busy days plus I received a cell phone call in the middle of math class from a number I couldn't identify. Debating if I should answer it, I think Hmmm maybe it is an emergency and boy was I glad I did. It was Cody's school. I think I am getting to know that nurse more than anyone else at his school! LOL! Cody got sick and threw up. L*O*V*E*L*Y So I call my mom and she picks him up from school and he was crying for her as well. No doubt he was very confused about his mamaw coming to get him plus getting sick and not being able to verbalize what is wrong. I feel so bad for him. Think about it...how frustrating would it be to not be able to tell people when you are sick or tired or even happy?! My mommy heart hurt and aches for him and wishes there was something I could do for my sweet boy.

Came home, had supper and then rush to Cody's school for a parent/teacher conference with his teacher and intervention specialist. It went well and I was so relieved that he is doing everything expected of him. He is progressing well in the reading/language arts program and has such a positive, enthusiastic attitude about everything. We have one thing that is a concern that we can handle on our end and hopefully that will be taken care of quite easily.

After the conference, I came back, cleaned the porch while the kids played, and then it was time for baths, homework and bedtime. Whew. What a day! And to think I do this all over again tomorrow! And of course it will be Friday so that is ALL good!!

A Movie You Have To See!

There are two reasons why I want to see "Like Dandelion Dust:" one because I am a HUGE supporter of adoption (obviously) and because Karen Kingsbury is one of my most favorite authors. "Like Dandelion Dust" is a movie based on her book. It's an awesome book about a couple who adopt a baby and has a legal battle when the birthfather comes into the picture years later. I recommend this great CHRISTIAN film! There are such few good, quality movies out there and if you want to see a movie, this is the movie to see! If you want to see the trailer, go to http://www.likedandeliondust.com