My Landscape

Summer Fun?

2011-06-07T00:04:00.001-05:00

Oh the joys of working in education. Summer is a time to relax and gives me plenty of time to get reacquainted with my lovely little angels. Especially this summer since it is the first summer in five years that I wasn't either working part-time or pregnant. I had visions of summer fun by the pool, day trips at least three days each week, library visits on the other days. Ah, so exciting! Well, that was the first day of vacation. Then my boys wasted no time setting me straight!

For instance, Sean now has a neighborhood friend, G, and he wants to spend every waking moment at his house. That means he would rather be with G than with his doting mother who has counted down the days to quality time with him. Is that even possible?!? I guess him being at G's house is better than him constantly making messes at home, right? And when he is home he has had a sour attitude and is constantly B.O.R.E.D.

And then my toddler, my sweet, sweet, precious little one. With his bright blue eyes and those long, beautiful lashes that he knows how to work to his advantage. I try to stick to a nap schedule for him with little success - he cries for Sean for at least an hour before succumbing to sleep. And boy the fits he throws if he doesn't get his nap! In addition, while he never had a potty accident with his teacher (not since November when he first trained with her at two-and-a-half!) he deems mommy the perfect one to have fun with by refusing to use the potty for #2.

Needless to say my dreams are now slightly downsized and I have been brought back to reality. I realize that in a few weeks we will get in the swing of things...just in time to set a new routine for back to school! But I aim to make the most of it. The time Sean spends away with G I will use to my advantage to spend some quality one-on-one time with my baby. Never mind the fact that he asks for Sean for the first ten minutes he is gone, this is precious time I wouldn't get otherwise until Sean *gasp* leaves for college! Okay, more realistically is when he goes off to summer camp next summer ;o)

Pastor Tim really drove the point home this past Sunday with the first sermon in his series "Making Your Family a Winning Team". Time. It is fleeting and no one knows how much time they truly have on Earth. Psalm 39:4-6 says just that:

⁴"O LORD, make me know my end
   and what is the measure of my days;
   let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!
                         Selah

⁶Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothingthey are in turmoil;
   man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

We all get the same amount of hours in the day yet we spend them, and waste them, differently. The biggest time waster in my house is the television! It is on from morning until night most days and Sean can't stand it if it is off. A few years ago I invested in a DVR for my husband on father's day so that he could record his shows and not be so rushed when we tucked Sean into bed. I am not kidding. Yet he still waits until commercials to do it! I swear it takes him an hour too long to do dishes because he is watching the boob tube the entire time (luv ya babe). And what about Sean? He stares at that screen and waits until commercials to clean up, go restroom, etc. Such a waste of time that I resolve to end.

The television was off tonight until 10:00pm and it was such a treat! We shall see how this experiment goes this summer, but I have a feeling that I will get the brunt of the backlash. But for a few extra precious moments in my day, it will be worth it a million times over. Maybe I can have my dream summer after all and get just a little more time with my boys??

In Honor of Mother's Day

2011-05-07T23:18:00.000-05:00

This will be my seventh Mother's Day celebrated as a mother yet I seem to have only recently begun to delve into the deeper meanings of motherhood. The past four months have been the most challenging of my tenure as a mother - even more challenging than the first days of my oldest son's life or the nine months of carrying my youngest. My heart has raced, ached, cried and has even broken a bit. But this only results in more joy as my heart dances, smiles and leaps for joy as I begin to see and feel God's purpose in these recent challenges.

After a four month journey of discovery, we are closer to holding the key to the solution for some struggles that my oldest has been facing. I have shed tears of frustration but they are now tears of joy as we gain a deeper understanding of him. There are still some tears of sadness, however, as I truly grasp what he has been going through and try to see the world through his eyes. My heart is heavy laden and much prayer is needed as we work towards helping him grow into the man that God means for him to be. He is such an amazing young man who owns a HUGE chunk of my heart. I know that one day my heart will be bursting with love and joy as he accepts Christ, and accomplishes what the Lord has set out for him. Please be in prayer for my sweet boy - my delicate flower waiting to fully bloom. And what an amazing bloom that will be!

My youngest, and most accident-prone, son has been quite the busybody with injuries lately. It seems as if every day his teacher is asking me what happened there? How did he get a bruise on the side of his nose? When did he scrape his knee? Sometimes these questions are followed with a discussion of whether this injury or that injury happened at school or at home! Seriously, though, I think we are tied. However, none have been more potentially tragic than the incident with his finger. While he is otherwise healthy I thought I had done my best to get him the proper treatment. When we found out the injury could be worse than we thought and have greater consequences on his well-being, the mommy in me was working overtime - worrying and praying and praying some more. He is still needing treatment but for the most part seems to be doing well. But I will forever look at that scar and feel a pain in my heart even though I know that there is nothing more that I could have done. Just remembering the entire night and all that my sweet baby went through is too much. My peace is that the healing of his finger is in God's loving hands and my prayer is that he will cut back on all these "accidents"!

Through all of this I have become stronger and more in love with my angels than I ever thought possible. And let's not forget the man who blessed me with the wonderful gift of motherhood. My husband is so supportive and encouraging yet knows when to tell me to tame the mama bear that is about to come out at times. I pray that we continue to set a good example for our boys as they continue to grow into young men. As we approach our 10th anniversary in a few weeks I pray that we continue to grow closer to each other over the next 10, 25, 50...years of marriage together ;o)

Finally, I give thanks and praise to my Lord and Savior for carrying me when I needed to be carried and walking along side me through the stronger days of my life. Thank you for blessing me with my three men and the wonderful opportunity to be a mother. For it is through this journey that I more clearly see the love that God has for us that he gave his Son for my sins! He gave his SON! That alone demonstrates that while my heart may be bursting for love of my boys, my love is a grain of sand compared to the love that God shows us every day.

Courage & Bravery

2011-03-13T20:33:00.005-05:00

In the course of one evening, my sweet little boys and Mr. Big Man himself showed me the content of their character. Well, Aiden also did further our convictions that he is our danger seeker. Aside from that the three of them demonstrated great courage and valor.

It all started when Aiden's curiosity got him in big trouble. The result was a big heavy door closed on his finger. Scott was holding him at the time and as soon as he realized what happened, he quickly opened the door and, trying his hardest not to look at the finger, shoved Aiden's hand under his arm. I looked up as soon as I heard Aiden cry - it took a while for him to reach his threshold of pain so he didn't cry at first! Scott told me what happened and said that Aiden would be okay, but I instantly knew he was not.

That is when I had to make the first decision - do I yell for help so that I can stay with Scott who is known to have situational syncope aka Gower Syndrome? Or do I leave Scott and take Aiden to get help? - this would be faster than waiting for help to come to me. My decision was to take Aiden with me and get help because not only would it be faster but it would get Aiden away from Scott and maybe then Scott wouldn't have an episode. The one person I did not even take into consideration was Sean!

While I went for help, Scott began having an episode and when that happens he gets stubborn and belligerent. He left the lobby and went outside to sit down. By the time I got Aiden's hand wrapped up and went to look for him, Scott had left the lobby. He had tried to sit down outside but then, as I later discovered, made his way to the side of the building away from the crowd. This is where he sat down and did have an episode of fainting! No one helped him! However, Sean was not far behind. While he was scared and confused, he stayed by his daddy's side and tried to wake him up. My poor boy had no idea what was happening, but acted so bravely.

Meanwhile, I am outside with Aiden. I figure out my cell phone is in the car but I can't find the car keys. I have no idea where Scott's car is since we came in separate cars. Sean makes his way to me to tell me Scott is in the car. I asked him to go to the car and see if the doors are locked and he came back and said it was locked. So I then asked him to get his daddy's phone so that I can call sometime to come and take care of daddy. That is when he told me that Scott had been "asleep". A kind lady had been giving candies to Aiden so I asked for a candy for my husband. Sean took him the candy to help him wake up. He was so brave through all this!!

Realizing that Scott could not drive and could not hold the wrap on Aiden's hand I decided to call for an ambulance. By this time sweet Aiden had stopped crying. He is such a strong little boy - in temperament and character. In my mind I kept trying to figure out how I could take care of Aiden AND Scott. This was quite overwhelming. I was so relieved when they found my keys inside the restaurant and I could start calling friends to come and get Scott.

The medics came and were very surprised to have a two-year-old superman! They cleaned and wrapped his wound so that I could drive him to CHOA in Morrow rather than go to a hospital. I just could not leave Scott behind with Sean so that was the better option. However, when I arrived at CHOA they were concerned about Aiden's bones and sent us to Egleston. They wrapped Aidens hand up completely to make sure Scott wouldn't see any blood since it was a long ride to Atlanta at the tail end of rush hour.

During the long ride to the hospital Sean opened up about his fears. It was a relief for him to see Aiden smiling and talking and have his Daddy awake as well. He told me that Daddy was asleep earlier and he couldn't wake him up. That is such a difficult thing for him to go through, but through it all he didn't show me any tears. My boy who tend to ignore commands became a big helper to me by taking care of his daddy. Even though he was scared for himself and what was going on I feel he showed great valor.

Aiden was very playful after the visit with the medics. Each place we went to Aiden asked for the playground and made friends with as many kids as he could! His smile and sweet personality were infectious and the parents in the ER waiting room kept asking me how he could be so happy with an open wound! That is my courageous Aiden.

The other heroes in my story, Mimi and PawPaw, drove all the way from Crawfordville and arrived at the hospital just in time for Mimi to go back with me and Aiden while PawPaw took Scott and Sean home. I was so relieved to not have to worry about them while I was with Aiden and that meant the world to me. Thank you so much!

In an effort to prevent this from happening again, I am now compiling a call list of a few good men who are willing to be on call in the event one of the boys gets hurt. Please contact me if you would like to be included ;o) Seriously, though, I was pleasantly surprised with the strength all of my men showed during the entire ordeal. And then I realized that there is no reason for me to think my boys would behave otherwise. As children of God He was with us through the entire evening. His presence was there and He used every nurse, every tech and the doctor to heal our son. And surely the Lord was with Sean. Giving him the courage he needed to help his father in his time of need. We are so blessed!

Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Thankful

2011-01-12T21:08:00.001-05:00

While some would jump at a chance of 4 days off of school (in other words a 6-day weekend), trust me when I say that there are many drawbacks. However, in an effort to remain positive and count the blessings that God is heaping on us amidst all the snowy/icy chaos I have listed the reasons to be thankful for such an opportunity:

The boys and I were blessed with two more days with Scott at home.
I was blessed to spend 6 days straight with my little men (a great addition to the 2.5 weeks we just had).
Since many places were closed the boys had to enjoy the blessings from Christmas toys that we have at home to entertain us - we got to entertain each other as well!
Sean had two days of discipline talks at school and now has a break and doesn't have to deal with the negative situation at school...for now (I wonder if we will get another letter re: discipline in the mail for this break!)
We were able to sit back and marvel at God's provision for us. We had food, electricity, Internet, Netflix, cable, and HEAT throughout.
We have saved a LOT of money on gas and food - gas because Scott didn't drive to work for two days and food because we are eating from our stockpile.
A few more rooms of our house are organized (if only I could take our "give aways" somewhere and get them out of our house for good!).
Aiden has watched a LOT of Disney movies and is better prepared for our next trip to DisneyWorld. Wait...is that a positive?
I am racking up on the SwagBucks!!
I have probably lost at least 5 pounds because I actually don't tend to eat when I am at home all day.
I FINALLY fixed my Photoshop and am now playing around with my photos.
Catching up on my reading.
I had time to sit back these past few days and spend more time in God's word.

Now if only my little men could enjoy this time together...

Stay blessed!

My 365

2011-01-09T22:50:00.003-05:00

I finally remembered that I have a blog! Here I was to post stories and photos for my scattered family. I have been doing most of this through Facebook, but really wanted to get back to my postings here.

One goal that I had this year was to do a 365 project where I take a photo a day for one year. I thought this would be a great way to keep track of my boys as they grow over the year. Won't it be neat to look back at all the photos to see the dramatic transformation of my 2yo to a 3yo? Also, I will be taking some photography classes and I hope this project will have me try new things and experiment with my photos.

Follow my progress if you like at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12115133@N06/sets/72157625632369967

Go Mustangs!

2009-09-24T20:24:00.000-05:00

Sean's love of baseball grows with each game. He was so excited to finally get out and play ball after two weeks (Fall Break and then rain-outs). He had one hit and one run. There wasn't much action out in right field - especially since the other team struggled with hits. The final score was 14 to 4. I believe his team is the only undefeated team in the league right now. I find this amazing and it helps me with my stress as a baseball mom.
What I am the happiest about, though, is Sean's attitude and behavior during games. His team doesn't realize or even seem to care about "the win". I commend his coaches for this. They rotate positions and batting order to ensure the kids get a variety and an equal chance to play. They, like the kids, are out there for fun and not the win - just what I like. The umpire tonight was great as well. When the kids made a good play (the shortstop threw to first and he caught it and got the other player out) he was quick to recognize them for a job well done. The umpire did! Those kids felt so proud :o)
When everyone around them loves the game and loves teaching others the game of ball, how can the Mustangs NOT do well and enjoy it!

Boy Meets Ocean

2009-07-19T08:37:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was our first day at the beach...ever!! It was my first time to the gulf -- I have only known the Atlantic Ocean. Being Sean's first trip to the ocean was a wonder to me! My boy is a big six years old and we live rather close to a coastline. Growing up in Ohio all I had was Lake Erie. So, it kind of saddens me that we haven't brought him before.

We are beginning to realize with Aiden that he is going to experience a LOT more than Sean at an earlier age. this is simply due to the fact that he tags along to all of our activities for Sean, but we never would have had a reason to take Sean to the zoo, or the beach, day hikes etc. at less than a year old. Aiden pays real close attention to everything that we look at and seems to be absorbing it all. It is so wonderful to look at him and wonder what he is thinking and learning.

Sean is more of a mystery when we travel. He imagines such off the wall things about upcoming events and you really have to get him to talk to you about his thoughts. For example, he started worrying that there would be crabs everywhere on the beach -- probably a flashback to a NatGeo special. We tried to assure him that there were no crabs and Scott started to mention the "S" word (sharks)!!! That would have scared Sean to no end!!

But as you can see, boy met ocean and boy loved ocean. We plan many more trips over the next three days with some mini golf sprinkled in :o)

A Whole New World

2008-11-29T21:14:00.005-05:00

So, we went to Toys 'R Us at 5am on Black Friday. For years I swore I would NEVER be one of those people. To top it off we went to, of all places, a toy store! That would have to be the most insane place to go on such a crazy day. But the jumparoo we were looking at for Aiden was $30 off!!
The whole experience wasn't too bad, but once Scott and I spent an hour in the check-out line, we just couldn't wait to let little Aiden try out his new toy. After all, he was with us when we bought it and he has no clue what Christmas day is....so here is our cutie checking out his new digs. As you can see he quite enjoys his new toy and every time he turns around there is something else to play with.
We think that he enjoys standing up the most. My baby is trying to grow up too fast for my taste!
As if this cute little pic isn't enough, here is some video of his first foray into jumparoo land:

China! Everything is made in China!

2008-11-28T21:38:00.006-05:00

Ah, from the mouths of babes. This is Sean's latest epiphany. For some reason he has begun to notice the labels that say "Made in China". I honestly can't remember the last time that I paid attention. You can bet that I will pay attention now.

So, that got me thinking, why are so many products made in China even with the many product recalls and manufacturing shortcuts that have come to light lately. Let me share with you two websites that provide different perspectives. The first is a website geared toward "enticing" companies to have their products manufactured in China rather than the U.S. Here it all boils down to lower labor costs and increased profit margin:
http://www.csra.com.cn/resources_detail_an-comparison-cost-structure-china-us.aspx

But at what cost? This website highlights the consequences of this manufacturing boom in China:
http://managingthedragon.com/index.php/2007/08/29/china-vs-the-american-consumer-ii-the-environmental-cause/

So make of it what you may, how are we going to solve this problem? I very well can't always pay more for American, nor can many others in this economy. Especially not if the American products are lower quality. But I will certainly try to buy American more often now that I have little eyes watching...and reading...my every move!

P.S. Sorry for the research and hyperlinks, it kind of goes with my occupation :o)

Aiden Finds His Feet!

2008-11-28T21:07:00.005-05:00

Alas, my baby boy now realizes that there is more to life, and himself, than his hands! As soon as he discovered that those moving objects were attached to him, he continued to kick and move his feet. Thankfully he has yet to reach out and grab them, though. I fear when he does the toes will replace the fingers that are constantly in his mouth. At least his feet are clean...for the time being...

Sean & Nana

2006-07-20T19:05:00.003-05:00

Nana and Sean at Martin Army
Community Hospital

Nana and Sean posing in Nana's office!

Sean likes to wear Nana's hat and boots...seriously he wouldn't take them off! He actually thought he could go to dinner like this!

Sean was about to turn 3yo in these photos