Mixed Nuts: A fun and busy weekend

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

Sunday, December 19, 2010

A fun and busy weekend

I cannot believe it is less than a week until Christmas day. The kids are so excited that they are starting to make us a bit crazy. But I understand their excitement. This is my favorite time of the year.

My parents came in for a long weekend visit on Thursday and we have been busy ever since. Thursday Arlington came home early because she was wheezing at school, so I had to take her to the doctor. She is not an asthmatic, but has had this cough for a few weeks. And then on Thursday she went to the nurse at school and complained she couldn't breathe. I picked her up a little early from school and took her to the pediatrician, and sure enough she was wheezing all over. So she is on Albuterol liquid for 3 weeks. She is already improving, so I am glad I took her in.

Thursday night was the night of my school district's (where I work) high school/middle school combined concert. Finley, My mom and I went to watch because they were going to be previewing the telethon there and we were to speak after that was over. There were about 600 people there, so I was a little nervous, but not too bad. As long as I can hold Finley, I do alright. They passed buckets around during the time of the video and my talking as well - as an extra collection for the telethon.

It has been amazing to get the word out about LCA and the Fund. You can watch the telethon promo HERE (just click on HERE). There is a commercial before it - PLEASE BE PATIENT. It is a little rough online for some reason, but you can definitely get the idea!

Friday Finley and my mom came to my school for an assembly the school was having about our telethon and Finley. The kids were really excited to see her. We did an assembly for about 20 minutes, and it was a lot of fun. Finley did great. From there, we went from class to class just for a few minutes so she could give them some braille books to look at for the day.

Then after she finished at my school, my mom took her to another elementary school in our district that was expecting her. The principal wanted to take her around to each class so she could say hi to the kids. They have been doing an unbelieveable amount of fundraising, and so they wanted to see Finley. How could we say no? The kids have all been very sweet to her.

Finley and my mom had lunch with me on Friday before going home and I stayed and finished my work day. I am anxious for the telethon that is coming on this coming Thursday - it is going to be a lot of fun.

Saturday was busy. It started with about 3 trips to Lowes trying to get the right paint color. They were having a lot of trouble matching it and we were going a bit crazy. This paint is for the dreaded playroom, of course. That room is cursed. Mat and my dad made a LARGER hole in the wall where the leak was, so that they could make sure they get it completely covered. But I will have to stare at that nice neat hole until the next rain - we are not going to seal it until we are absolutely sure the water isn't going to come in under our new floor.

After we got the paint situated, it was halfway through the afternoon. Mat and I went out in the evening to do the last of the Christmas shopping while my parents were here to watch the kids. We are officially ready.

This morning started with a beautiful cantata at church. Then we had lunch at the Olive Garden. We decided to take a trip to a local castle that was decorated for Christmas.

It is not that far from our house, so it was worth the drive. We haven't been there before, and it was beautifully decorated for the holidays.

You will have to excuse the pictures - we weren't allowed to use flash inside and my camera was not pleased with that. It doesn't like to be told what to do.

We stayed there for about an hour - the kids got to do a scavenger hunt. The theme was Nutcracker - it was really well done and a nice treat from our busy weekend.

After getting home, we got to work on the playroom once again. Mat and my dad laid about 1/4 of the floor, and it looks amazing. They did a great job. It took them about 2 1/2 hours to do that, but now that Mat has the hang of it, he and I can continue to work on it. I can't wait to share pictures of the final project.

So that was our weekend. Right now it is nearly 9pm and we are just sitting down for the first time today. WE have baked 4 loaves of bread for Mat's Christmas party at work tomorrow, and I have made a few more braille shirts.

So that is the end. I will blog again on Tuesday. In the mean time, check out the promo for the telethon, and here is the information about where you can watch the telethon the day of. I won't be able to say thank you to everyone who has made wonderful donations on the day of the telethon, so I am telling you now. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.