Keep your Mouth Closed

Lately we have had some issues with being nice to each other with our words. The kids are starting to feel the affects of so many snow days and cold weather. They NEED spring and summer to come. A friend of mine posted this picture and I just LOVE IT! I plan to print a few of these off and post them through out the house and make the kids memorize what it says. If anything maybe they will stop all the name calling, picking and teasing each other. I know it's driving me nuts! Or maybe they are nuts and I am going crazy??!?

Twin Pack

I absolutely LOVE the above picture! These two spend half their time arguing and picking on each other! The other have is pictured below :-) I prefer the loving, hugging picture but the one with attitude does show part of their personalities!

On Jan 22 we celebrated the twin pack's 7th birthdays. YAY! I honestly can't believe my babies are 7 to be honest. WE started the celebration early that morning. I woke up with fire in my throat and ears and temp of 102. Not exactly how I wanted to start the day that is for sure. Turns out I had strep throat and double ear infections again. UGH!! That's twice in less than 7 weeks. Nasty stuff I tell you, just nasty! Anyway this isn't about me! So we started the day with giving them their presents from us. The LOVED them. We gave Sara two small horses and the larger stuffed horse she is holding up in the picture below. Sara is big time into horses. For Eli we got him a blue Hero Factory character he had been begging for since Christmas and a Iron Man 2 Lego kit that he and Jaron worked on for the rest of the day.
One thing we have always tried to do is keep them as individuals. Which is pretty easy to do since they are not both boys or girls. I always make them individual cakes. This year I tried something different and it didn't work too well. Like I have said many times, I am NOT a baker. But regardless the kids loved their cakes! I don't think there was any left by morning. :)
Oh where as the time gone? I miss my babies! Yes all 4 of my kids will be my "babies" but I really miss actual babies! I miss that baby snuggle time! But I do enjoy my snuggle time with my now 7 yr olds. Really, seven, seriously...oh how time flies.

Saw this post today at Circle of Moms and just had to share it. I did not write this just sharing it. You can read other great posts at Circle of Moms as well.

10 Autism myths

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Katherine - posted on 12/28/2010 (14 moms have responded)

My friend bamsmom2001 wrote this and it really resonated with me. In honor of Autism Awareness Month, I wanted to share it with all of you.

Myth #1: Eye contact is impossible for someone with autism.
Some people with autism find making eye contact with others difficult, but others have no problem whatsoever.

Myth #2: People with autism can't show affection.
My son is the biggest snuggle bug ever! Being able to snuggle up has never been a problem for him. For some, it is, but not all.

Myth #3: If a child is progressing, he never had autism.
This is not true. It takes work and patience, but progress is possible!

Myth #4: People with autism cannot communicate.
If someone with autism is nonverbal, they have other ways of communicating. Sign language, pictures, computers, etc. are all forms of communication. Just because a person can't talk, it doesn't mean they can't communicate.

Myth #5: Autism is the result of bad or neglectful parenting.
The "refrigerator mother" myth has been around for some time, and I'm actually surprised it still exists. Almost every parent of a child with autism I've met is very kind, loving, and incredibly patient. They also spend much of their time feeling needlessly guilty about their child's autism, so this myth is less than helpful.

Myth #6: If you have autism, you can repeat the whole phone book or know what day of the week April 23 will fall on in 4 years.
While most children with autism are very smart, an autistic savant is rare. We can all thank the movie Rainman for this little myth. So in the future, please do not ask a mom to get her kid to perform parlor tricks for you.

Myth #7: Children with autism do not want friends.
All children want friends. Some can show this is a better way than others, but I think all children want a friend. Alot of kids with autism just can't figure out how to go about it.

Myth #8: Kids with autism don't get their feelings hurt.
If you've ever seen my son's face after a kid has refused to play with him, you'd know this is not true. They might not get mad and yell at someone, or sit down and cry over it, but it's just as easy to hurt a child with autism's feelings as any other. Please remind your children to be kind.

Myth #9: Better discipline would get their acts together.
Boy, do I love that one! I've been told on many occasions that all I need to do is spank him. Another good one, "Let me keep him for a few days, I'll fix him." You can't spank or yell autism away any easier than you can spank cancer away.

Myth # 10: If a person with autism can't communicate, he can't understand you either.
If someone tapes your mouth closed, do your ears plug up as well? Comprehension skills and expressive skills can develop at different speeds and often do with autism. Just because a child can not say "I love you" does not mean he doesn't hear you when you tell him you love him.

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Ok it's me now, let me just say that our Kris blows most of these myths away. He does have eye contacted now...after many years of intense therapy he does have eye contact...not always and most definitely not with strangers-just enough to say hi and that's about it. As for affection, no he isn't a "huggy" kid but will accept hugs if you ask him. In general no he doesn't want you to touch him but he may "bump" into you and that's his way of letting you know he loves you.
Myth #9...oh my gosh that is one area I would like to take a paddle or blet and beat some sense into some people. Family members included!!! I don't know how many times I have heard "if you would spank him more" or "let me take care of him and he would stop all this"! Got news for ya....he has grown up now and although he still has some issues when it comes to behavior, its a constant and I mean daily reminder of telling him what is and isn't appropriate or acceptable. It has been draining at times yes but worth every second. He isn't a bad kid he just doesn't understand that it isn't ok to do certain things at certain times.
I could go through each myth and blow them apart with examples of our Kris but I won't. Only because at this very moment I have a TERRIBLE headache but also because I do not have to for your benefit. My boy, our boy is not any of these things. Yes he might struggle in some areas but who doesn't!!!
I love Kristofer more than life it self. I knew from the very day he was born he was going to be special. God told me so just never knew what He meant and honestly still don't. I just know he is my baby and will forever be my baby who just keeps surprising me with all his progress and abilities :)

Happy New Year 2011

2011! Seriously 2011! Honestly I remembering as a little girl thinking that when we go to 2011 we would have flying cars and hover boards. But alas we do not. Last night we had a small family party. Well not exactly, we had chips, pizza, soda and watched the ball drop. The kids danced around a little and laughed at Sean and me when we were dancing for a few seconds before he had to leave to go to work.
I am exhausted to be honest. Had a very rough night that I am not going to go into here today. Let's just say my puppy was sick, my daughter is now sick because I shared my cold :( and Kris had a rough night settling down. Not how I wanted to start this new year but if this is all we have to deal with for the year I will be very happy.
I am looking forward to what this year will bring. I am praying it will be all good but should it bring sadness I will trust the Lord to watch over me and turn it for good.

Lord I pray this year be filled with health, happiness, prosperity, peace, rest, direction and guidance. Amen

Whine your blessings

Yes you read that right! You see as of late some of the statuses I have seen on Facebook have irritated me to no end. Here are just a few:

"I hate having a job!"
(REALLY? I know a lot of people that would love to have it if you want to quit!)

"Got a new car, hate that it's a 2010 and not a 2011!"
(Seriously?! Our van is a 1994, 270K miles, has two broken door handles, no heat or A/C...wanna trade? Don't get me wrong here I am VERY VERY THANKFUL for the vehicles we have! Go here to read about how I feel about my cars.)

There are a few others that people have posted that I won't post here because I know that they read this blog and to be honest I do not want to hurt their feelings but they really need to get a serious reality check. I believe it's all about perspective and if I sat down and wrote out everything I wish were different I would be whining instead of being thankful for what God has done.

There's a little song we use to sing in Sunday School called "Count Your Blessings" and the chorus goes like this:

"Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done, Count your blessings name them one by one, Count your many blessing see what God has done."

I have days that I do whine about what I don't have but want but those days are far and inbetween. Our family is very blessed. In fact despite what I thought our Christmas celebration was going to be like turned out to be the best Christmas we have had in a variety of ways. I plan to share pictures and other things about the events of this past week in the next few days. But today I just couldn't take one more person whining about something that they are blessed with! I was sharing some of the statuses I have seen lately that have been irritating me to no end to Sean and he came up with this little parody. It is quiet funny. Enjoy!

WHINE ABOUT YOUR BLESSINGS by Sean Kelly

(sung to the hymn, “Count Your Blessings”)

When upon life’s pillows you are self-absorbed

You got a new Chevy but you want a Ford

Whine about your blessings, spew them one by one

And it will surprise you how ungrateful you’ve become

Chorus:

Whine about your blessings, whine them one by one

Whine about your blessings till the day is done

Whine your blessings… whine them one by one…

Whine about your blessings till the day is done!

Are you ever burdened with blessings untold?

Mounds and mounds of silver when you cry for gold?

Count your every instance when you get short-changed

And don’t be surprised when you turn out deranged.

Chorus

So amid the blessings whether great or small

Do not be content for God should give you more!

Whine about your blessings, others nerves you’ll grate

Wallowing in self-pity till it’s way too late!

Great night!

So last night was our church's Christmas candle light service and children's program. It was FANTASTIC! Great message, fantastic worship, kids did wonderful. Jaron had his first speaking part and did excellent. So proud of them. Even Kristofer did great...a wise man on crutches. Oh yea, you see over the weekend Kristofer took a tumble down the stairs and bruised his ribs. Then on Sunday afternoon he tripped and bruised his heel bone and Achilles tendon with a slight sprain. He was on crutches for a few days. Did fantastic on them and used them last night. Today he has not been using them and seems to be doing a lot better.
So last night Jaron was one of the narrators, Sara was an angel, Eli a shepherd and Kris a wise man. They all did fantastic. So proud of them!
Today was cookie day. I guess I could make this a seperate post but I have decided not to. You see I woke up once again sick. I just got over and finished antibiotics for strep and double ear infections. I was just starting to feel better and today I get slammed. Actually it started last night with my sinuses burning but I am sure you don't want to know the details. Seriously though I woke up feeling like a mack truck hit me. :-( I do not like being sick! Specially when we have special visitors coming to visit for Christmas.
Anyway on to the cookies. You see the cookie below well that is suppose to be a gingerbread man for santa. Note to self next time take the time to make sugar cookie dough instead of purchasing the pre=made dough at the store! Our sugar cookie cut outs well had issues and because one giant sheet. Kids just laughed but I know Kris was very disappointed in the gingerbread man.

Our sugar cookie cut outs...SO SAD! But they did still taste good!

Then I got creative with the sugar dough and added snickers bites and crushed candy canes. Don't they look yummy! They are!

To finish off the batches we made chocolate chip cookies. All in anticipation of our special guests!
Of whom we have not spent Christmas with in 5 years. My parents are coming, my parents are coming! YAY!!! I can't tell you how excited I am about this. My brother Chris and his wife Leah and their two kids and my other niece Anna whospent the summer with us is also coming our way. SO excited to see them!!! They should be here sometimes tomorrow night and will stay for a week. YAY!!!

Introducing RG

Kristofer has been working on RG all week. He started by finding some bottle caps,
light bulb and the jar. Then he set out to go to work creating his newest robot.

Through out the week he has added and changed different parts. This morning as soon
as he got up and dressed for school he was back to working on RG. You can see the
changes he has done....oh wait "up grades" as he calls them.

The air freshener container is the robot's (RG's) gun.

When he returned from school he was ready for more "up grades." This time he added an air tank (pill bottle) to the back. The finished RG at least for now is below.
I am always amazed at what he creates. When asked what he wants for Christmas this year all he says is a robot creation box. In layman's terms...a box filled with craft stuff, a glue gun, glue sticks, googley eyes, pipe cleaners, other odd shaped items ect... This is one amazing kid we have been blessed with.

Kris' Aircraft

Well he's at it again :) He really does amaze me with his creations. Now he is starting to show Eli how to do it. He has a hard time letting Eli do it alone or create what he wants. Kris' creative mind is always working. This was another creation he made yesterday.