National Honor Society!

Tyler came in from school yesterday and announced that he had to be back at school at 7 "for some ceremony thing". We questioned him about what it was and he said "I don't know, some honor thing." Tyler is notorious for sweeping things of such importance under the rug, because to him its no big deal!

We were finally able to get him to admit that he was to be in "sunday attire" which meant that he had to put on his "funeral attire" LOL. (Our church is very casual and he usually is in tshirt and shorts). It was a struggle but we finally got him in a pair of khaki's and a white button down shirt. If anyone reading this actually knows Tyler, that was an honor in itself. It doesn't happen often or without argument.

Anyway, dressed and ready to go, Tyler remembered that the ceremony was not going to be at school, but at the local baptist church. So, off we went.

When we arrived we settled into our seats while Tyler found his at the front of the sanctuary and it began. A mock trial where the defendants academic career was put on the stand. There were four witnesses: Leadership, Scholarship, Service and Character. And not to mention the jury. Each of the 20 defendants were found guilty of possessing each of the witnesses qualities. What am I talking about you ask???

The National Honor Society. Tyler was inducted last night and now represents the top 5% in Fayette County. He's a sophomore and has already had inquiries from colleges such as Birmingham Southern and Tulane just to name a few. Needless to say, I think his future is pretty bright.

I was a proud momma last night. Well, scratch that... I'm a proud momma everyday. Last night I just got pictures!

Wordless Wednesday...Dooley

This was the view a couple of weeks ago outside our kitchen door. We were certain that Dooley had fallen down the stairs and died. It actually took Eric a few loud bangs on the screen door to wake him up. He was just asleep. This dog is going to send me to the looney bin!

It is finished!

As most of you know I have begun painting again and actually was "commissioned" by my sister to do a painting for her boyfriend's birthday. His nickname is 'Buddha' and she wanted his birth year included. So this is what I came up with... The kanji symbol is for 1983... Year of the Pig!




Please feel free to comment. It's been a long time since I wielded a brush, but I am pleased. I, absolutely give God all the credit for me even being able to attempt this, especially Him, because I have finished it!

Mack's First Birthday Disaster~

This is Mack's BEFORE picture.

Hi everyone, I'm writing to you as I check Mack's poor fingers to make sure the flame did not do too much damage last night.

Yes, I said flame.

Let me start my entry by stating that we had been without power from Sunday to yesterday (Wednesday) at about 11am. I was pretty certain that a birthday party on Mack's actual birthday was not going to happen. But as soon as the lights came on we loaded up and headed to the grocery for birthday provisions.

By the time we got home I had a little less than an hour and a half to make 2 cakes (one for us and one just for him) and pizza's for everyone. During this time, I realized that I was going to have too much cake batter and ended up making 5 cakes just to use it all up, flipping a pizza cheese side down on the door of a HOT oven, and stubbing my toe to the point of it bleeding.

After getting it all done and ready for the party, I set Mack up in his highchair and put his froggy cake in front of him, candle lit, ready to have him blow it out... Well, have the kids blow it out while I was taking pictures...

Before we could even get close enough he very carefully reached for the flame, extinguishing it with his little one year old fingers.

He's fine, but our hearts are scarred forever! Eric couldn't even stand to look at the pictures that I insisted on taking with him crying... Hello! there has to be pictures!!!

He did recover in time to climb his presents like a mountain,

then when he did open it, HE LOVED his giraffe rider!

He worked on it, rode it and climbed more on the empty box until he was aboslutely tuckered out~ I think it was a very Happy Birthday... disaster or not!

This is Mack's AFTER picture.

Wordless Wednesday... Pride...

Russell doesn't get very interested in anything; but when he brought a craft home from church where he was to construct a bird feeder, he hopped on board with both feet.

Below you can just see the pride oooooooozing out of every pore.

I was pretty proud of him myself!

Autism Awareness Month

Hi all, we've been without power since yesterday late afternoon, so I was unable to post my original thoughts on Autism Awareness Day so I thought I'd just point out that April is Autism Awareness Month.

Honestly, I can say that up until recently I didn't give much thought to Autism and how it affect families. I knew some 'friends of friends' that had been dealing with it, but it wasn't, close enough to home, to warrant more that a few random prayers for those in its midst.

However, the past few months we have been thrown into the throwes of finding out everything we can about Autistic Spectrum Disorder and all of the different diagnosises that fall under the 'umbrella'. For those of you who may not know, Russell our 8 yo son, has been given a preliminary diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. In essence it is, if there is a good one, Asperger's is it. It is a very high functioning form of Autism that mainly is pinpointed by stunted social interaction. Kids with Asperger's are usually highly intelligent. There is, of course, a laundry list of other symptoms but I'll refrain from listing them all here.

I would like to invite you though, if you have a moment to please visit http://www.autism-society.org/ to educate yourself, and hopefully someone you love. Don't be like me and sweep it under the rug until it's standing at your front door. It's probably closer to you than you think.

I can tell you that at first I was bewildered that our family could be affected, but the more I learn it has been such a blessing. It's not what Russell can't do, or what he won't be able to do, rather its just how we retrain ourselves to see how they observe the world. Nothing is beyond his reach and one thing about Asperger's children is that when they set their mind to something they will achieve it. It's an inate drive.

Thanks for your ear. Be aware! LOL

Wordless Wednesday...

Ok, I know its supposed to be wordless Wednesday but this is my first time participating and wanted to invite anyone who sees this to join the fun. My wonderful, angel of a friend Amy has participated in this on her blog http://cheekycocoabean.blogspot.com/ for quite a while now and I have always enjoyed her posts. Check her out. I guarantee you'll giggle at least ONCE. And now for my favorite picture of the day...
Mack absolutely loved his trip to the garden to help plant watermelons! I think this is the beginning of a long relationship between him and dirt.