Mixed Nuts: Onward

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Onward

Monday was Arlington's official last day of first grade. We are happy to report that they are going to allow her to continue to second grade. Whew. That was a close one.

Okay. Not really. But I wanted to see if you were paying attention.

I cannot believe she is going to be a second grader. Where did the time go? When did time speed up is more the question. I can still picture her so clearly - a little baby sitting on the couch with a toothless grin. Her little peach fuzz hair she had for almost the first full year of her life. What a good girl she is - very first born. She is independent, sweet, and a rule follower (most of the time. She is still a kid after all). She is 7 years old. She has lived in 3 states in her short life. She has many best friends. But she is friends with everyone. She never says a bad word about anyone. She is always accepting and always kind. We couldn't be more proud.

So she moves onward. I can't stop it. If I could keep my kids little for a while longer, I would. She is going to grow up, and outgrow caring about little girl things and little girl worries. I wish I could warn her on what is coming.

Cainan is moving onward too. He started his enrichment class this week. We are hopeful that this will give him the confidence he needs for Kindergarten. He seems excited so far, although I would be lying if it hasn't been trying. He will get there - it is just going to be a slow process.

We have seen so much more activity in Cainan. This summer he has been running in the yard barefoot. If you know Cainan well, you will know that this was not even in the cards for him last summer. No way would he walk in the grass. This year, he takes his shoes off almost the minute he gets outside and runs like crazy. He is also running through a sprinkler and ALLOWING it to get him wet. Amazing. He jumps off the bed, and the couch. And the stone wall. And the stool. Yeah.....that is not such a great thing.

Finley is moving onward in her own way. Somethings good. Somethings not. She has been using her brailler and she is also added many new words to her sight word vocab. Best of both worlds, I guess. Her sight does seem slightly worse, but we won't know for sure until July 1st. She seems to struggle more. She is turning her whole body to see things - not just her head. Even her OT picked up on this.

But she is still Finley. She still screams at night that she needs a hug and kiss long after we put her to bed. She is still the kid that gets out of bed, gathers about 1 million toys, and puts them under her pillow. Our free bird. I can't WAIT for elementary school to met our Finley girl. (who thinks her name is Finney).

I guess Mat and I are moving onward too. Not in the same way the kids are. I REFUSE to get older. ha ha. Take THAT age. Do I want to turn 35 in a few days? Uh...no. Did I WANT to find my first gray hair last week on my head? NO. (and I pulled it out and my mom informed me I will now get 10 more. AWEsome.)

But we look forward to all the fun we have planned this year. Our first big project of 2010 (besides being an advocate for Finley) is the excavation of another part of our yard.

Yes people, we are gluten for mowing punishment.

Here is the sight BEFORE it was started

And here it is today - nearly done. I think in another day or two, the project will be complete.

I am sure some of you remember what happened the first time we excavated our yard. We about gave our neighbor a heart attack. And rightly so. Our plans were wrong and we had plowed 50x20 feet of his property. Yes....it was woods. We didn't know. And we were forgiven. We put it back.

But I am sure he saw the excavation equipment last week and had a mini coronary. Lucky for him - we weren't anywhere near his property this time.

(yes these rocks were all dug up over the last two days)

This area is in the front of our house and we want it for more flat area for the kids and also another place to park. We will show you the finished project once we put in the plants, and the flowering trees, and grass. I think it is going to look amazing!