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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

NFL....Here We Come!!!










Trey and Damon decided to do football again this year. Although I don't have pictures of Trey yet I do have some of Damon thanks to one of the team's mom. Damon's team has been winning all season. However, two weeks ago, they lost against the #1 team. Damon was so upset...mainly at his teammates. After the game, they gave out treats...one of which was a soda bottle shaped like a football. Although he took the soda, he ripped the paper off because it reminded him of the bad game. When we got home he told Daniel he was not going to watch football that day with him as he usually does on Saturday. I felt bad he was so upset. This past weekend he was determined to win. They had a tough team. SInce it had been raining for several days the field was completely muddy. The team worked hard. He was so pumped out there on the field. He got several critical tackles. One time he jumped over the kids and sacked the quarterback. It was AWESOME! It had 4 OTs but they finally won! The kids were so excited. I've never seen Damon work so hard on the field. I was very proud of him. I don't have pictures of that game but here are some from other games. He is #78.





Cub Scouts in FUN!!!

Damon is a Cub Scout. He has waited so many years to be a scout like his brothers. Thank goodness I'm not his leader. I am the Webelos leader. We decided to get all the dens together to go bowling. There were several kids there. Trey tagged along with me since he loves bowling. Our family goes bowling often and Damon does really well. He can beat me.....without bumpers. The pictures are a little dark. When I showed them to Damon he told me they were the worst pictures he had ever seen. (Everyone's a critic.) I'm posting them anyway.




We have the best Cub Scoutmaster, Diana Fuller. She has great pack meeting. I'm so glad she is in our ward. Here is Damon getting his Bobcat badge. He was so excited. Unfortantely, I forgot to bring his uniform to change into after football practice.



Damon got to go to the June Day Camp. It is such a well organized event here. He hated the heat but was able to get alot of things checked off. He earned the Jr USA Shooting badge. He was very excited. I put it away so it wouldn't get lost. Since I don't sew, I collect badges for a few months for all the kids and then get the tailor to sew them on. When I got ready to take them, I couldn't find his shooting patch. I couldn't wait to take the other items. I knew he would be upset so I ordered a replacement patch. Unfortunately, the replacement didn't come before I got the items back from the tailor. Damon asked me where the patch was. I had to confess, but I assured him the replacement would be here soon. He said, "I worked really hard for that badge. If you ever do this again, I will have to go crazy on you." He cracks me up!!

First Day of School

I've always tried to take a picture of the kid's first day at school. At this point, it's old and they are annoyed with this tradition (as you can tell in the pics). Carlos is in 8th grade which is his last year in middle school. Trey started middle school this year (6th grade). He was very excited. His best friend, Anthony Geary, rode with us to school and they had a great time. (Not to be mean, but I HATE Anthony's puffy hair. Really....cut if already.) Damon is in 3rd grade. He is doing really well. It is the best year he has had since we've been here. Damon was not in the mood for a picture. This was the best one out of 5 takes.







Fun at Boy Scout Camp

I never blogged about Carlos' Boy Scout Camp this summer. They had an LDS encampment. There were lots of boys! Carlos hates to go to camp...mainly because he hates sleeping in tents. He enjoys the comforts of home. I can't blame him. Apparently, he skipped some classes and didn't get all of the merit badges he could have. I could have KILLED him. After all, camp is NOT cheap. We are slowing making up the topics he missed in order to get all the required merit badges. The one thing he did do is sleep in the woods with other boys as part of the Wilderness Survival badge. He had to build a shelter to sleep in. That night there was a really bad storm. The leaders got the boys up and headed back to the main camp. Either Carlos didn't hear them (he is a hard sleeper) or they forgot him. All of a sudden, a piece of wood from the shelter fell on Carlos and hit his nose. It woke him up. Nobody was around. His flashlight was dead. He had to use the flashes from the lighning to lead him back to the main campground. I'm sure this was pretty scary for him. I guess it's a good thing he didn't build a very good shelter. (DISCLAIMER: This was the story I got from Carlos....who knows if all of it is true.) Here are some pics of him receiving the badges. I really did miss Carlos that week. They were gone a little longer than usual. He has grown up so fast. I'm proud to have him as a son and hope he will always know how special he is to me.


Wednesday, August 19, 2009

"I am a Puzzle"

Ever since February, we have been addressing concerns the school and I have had with Damon. To be more specific, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As you can imagine, it was upsetting but for some reason not that big of a shock. As I began research, I found there are different types of ASD. Most people only know the traditional ASD where it is more visible to the untrained eye. After hours and hours of completing forms and going to appointments with psychologist, psychiatrist, speech therapists, school administrators, nurse practitioners, doctors, and ASD research group we finally got the answer. We spent all day at the Vanderbilt Research Center. They asked us even more questions while they "interviewed" Damon. He was on his best behavior which was really good. The dr said he was a very complex person and so he had to have more interaction than normal with him in order to get a diagnosis. The answer is yes...he has ASD but in the group called Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). Basically, he shows some of the signs and symptoms but on a higher level than someone else. This has been my speculation for months. The doctor feels he will be successful in the future as we try to build upon the set of skills he already has. To make a long story short, there is still much work ahead for us as we get the school to adapt his education plan, as we re-learn how to parent, and etc. I'm glad that we know what the answer is and I am ready to move forward with getting help for him so that he can be happy and successful.

Obviously, this is the short version as to spare you will all the nitty gritty. Until I knew exactly what we were dealing with, I really didn't want to discuss it before now. I only told the kids a couple of weeks ago since they also had to be part of the research that Vanderbilt was doing. It was a genetic study and they had to take some blood and collect some other basic medical data. I will get a very detailed report of their findings and will be a great service to us as we work with the school system. They also will be connecting us with other types of services.

Please just keep us all in your prayers as we have only begun the journey.

In closing, here is a poem I found during my research that I feel describes Damon and what he is going through:

“I Am A Puzzle"

By Melody Rain


I never understood the association of a colorful puzzle with autism before but I do now. After much thought the whole idea has become clearer to me now. I am a puzzle. A puzzle in which I do not know even myself how to put together to make me whole.


Some people enjoy puzzles and others do not. The puzzles that we are, are made colorful to make us more appealing. We have many colorful interesting pieces that make even those who despise puzzles to become interested in us.


I am a colorful puzzle in an ordinary box. The outside of the box looks just like any other puzzle box. I look just like any other person would look. But there is something a bit more interesting that catches the eye and that is my colorfulness.


The box is rather a usual size not too big or not too small but just right. The ones who become intrigued pour me out and I am scattered all over the floor. There I sit with many pieces.....confusing I become.


More pieces than anyone expected in just a normal and ordinary sized box! Some of those who poured me out take one look at all of my pieces and walk away. Others stick by me and attempt to pick up some of my pieces and look for the missing parts to put me together. Some stay for awhile and try to put those pieces together...some of the pieces fit right off and others they look long and hard.... sometimes many frustrating hours.


Eventually several people become frustrated and walk away while shaking their heads telling themselves they tried. Yet others, many others, still stay....searching....Looking ...fitting me together....enduring long and sleepless hours sometimes to the point of exhaustion...frustration but they all have one thing in common and that was commitment.


Some sit on the floor and cry for awhile wondering what to do next. Others search for more information on how to find the pieces needed to fit certain parts of their understanding. Still yet together eventually I become pieced one by one.


The pieces are me; it is what makes me unique. It is my struggles, it is my gifts, it is my talents but it is also full of the confusing pieces that just make me ...me. Understanding me is hard. It takes time, it takes effort, and sometimes it’s not so much fun.


Those who walked away in the beginning are those who did not care to try and understand me because I seemed too complicated. Those who walked away after some attempts decided it was too much for them to continue with me.


But those who stayed were those who were with me even when the times were tough, even when they were confused as to what puts me all together. They continued to try even though I made them tired or sad or frustrated or mad. With each piece being placed together I became whole. I became understood.


The more they understood me, the more they understood each piece that relates me to all of the other colorful puzzles. With each understanding the pieces became easier to find. I am fortunate to have those in my life who are waiting and willing and who will not give up on me. Thank you from all of those who are a colorful puzzle like me.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

"FUN in the SUN!!"







Our family loves to go swimming. We have a couple of friends with swimming pools. We also love to go to one of the public pools. I know what you're thinking....but really they aren't bad. It has a 10 foot high dive. They kids love jumping off of it.

Friday, July 3, 2009

"And miles to go before I sleep..."

A few weeks ago, Carlos went on a 10+ mile hike at night with some of the young men at church. He dreaded going because he hates sleeping in a tent and didn't want to carry the heavy hiking backpack. Of course, any opportunity I have to make him do something he hates just gives me a thrill. After all, he is a teenage boy who picks on his brothers and bothers me to no end. We packed the backpack together. I even gave him a quiz on where everything was located. He passed with flying colors. The pack was heavy....30 pounds. In my defense, I was told he had to pack EVERYTHING he needed including a tent. When the day came, he was excited to go and was looking forward to spending time with friends. They hiked through the night. He even fell asleep a couple of times when they rested. The next day when I picked him up, he looked so tired and hungry (as you can see from the pics). I could understand the fatigue but not the hunger. After all, I packed all kinds of canned foods for him for dinner and breakfast. He told me he had some really bad oatmeal for breakfast and that was it. I asked him why he didn't eat the canned fruit we packed. His response, "I had fruit?? Why didn't you tell me?" I couldn't believe it. I said, "Didn't you see the fruit when you had dinner last night?" He replied, "I didn't eat dinner." To my surprise, the boy didn't realize he had food and water in the backpack. What did he think made the pack so heavy? Let me remind you that I quizzed him on the items in the backpack before he left. I then asked if he was able to put the tent up OK. He said that he didn't use it because they had a big tent at their destination. I was glad to hear this because he probably would have forgotten he had that also. On the way home, I heard nothing but complaints. Apparently, he had the heaviest backpack of everyone. When I got home, I couldn't resist to take out the tent, food, and water and weigh them. They were 14 pounds. So, basically it would have cut his weight in half if I knew he wasn't going to need the tent nor eat or drink anything. This was definitely a learning experience for both of us. We will need it for next year's hike on the Appalachian Trail. OH, YEA.....he's going and complains on a weekly basis about it.

"Chef BOYS R Dee"

Lately, Carlos and Trey have really been adventuring more in the kitchen on their own. One day Carlos created his own "Candy bar". It had nuts and was sprinkled with powder sugar.



Trey likes to bake. He decided to make his dad a Father's Day cake all by himself. I must say....it was pretty good. So now that my husband and my boys cook, I can hang up my apron and leave it to the men!!


"Would you like Devil's Sauce with that?"


Last week after Daniel and I dropped Carlos and Trey off at church for Wednesday night activities, we decided to go eat dinner at Pizza Hut with Damon. Damon loves hot wings and Pizza Hut's HOT wings are really hot. When I told Damon that they were going to be the hottest wings he's ever had, he asked if they had devil's sauce on them. I told him no but they were HOT. He decided to get them anyway. He loved them and keep saying, "I love this devil sauce!" He cracks me up!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

"SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!"


Trey is so excited to be out of school. He had a great graduation. I can't believe he will be in middle school next year. He is MR. POPULAR at school. The guys think he's cool and the girls think he's hot. Here he is with his "posse" at graduation. I might have to lock him in his room and never let him grow up. Time flies by......

Roses are red, violets are blue....

who would have thought, I could grow something too! I kill everything. I've even killed a cactus. HOW is that possible? When we planted flowers and plants in April I had little hope they would survive. Not only did they live, but they have really grown and are just beautiful. Here are pics from April and June. My favorite are the red/yellow asian lilies.

Monday, June 1, 2009

"Mom, I'm still waiting for the bus!"


I get a distraught phone call around noon from Carlos. "Mom, I'm still waiting for the bus!" You see my son has to go to summer school this year. Due to the times, we could not take him nor pick up him for school. Therefore, he had to ride the bus. My children DON'T ride the bus. Too many things can happen on there! The last time he wrote the bus was when he was in preschool. However, I figured there wouldn't be too many teenagers going to summer school. He got on the bus just fine this morning. Apparently, out of the 2 buses (Yes....just two buses) he didn't get on either one. I guess I failed to tell him the bus number but he didn't have enough sense to ask either driver where they were going. So he just stood there as the buses drove away. Was he waiting for someone to tell him which one it was? This isn't preschool anymore. As usual, Daniel's solution was for him to walk home. This wasn't an option as this was too far and too dangerous. Besides, if he can't figure out which of the two buses he needs to get on, there is no way he could figure out how to make it home. Since Daniel and I were both at work and couldn't get off, I was frantically calling anyone I knew that could help me. I finally was able to get in contact with a friend and ask her to load up her 4 young children and pick up my crazy teenager. (THANKS AMY B!!) Oh, the joys of being a mother of a teenager!!!! What will tomorrow bring...................

Sunday, May 31, 2009

If you're friends jump off a cliff would you do it too?

Apparently, I would...it would just take me a little longer. After reading all the blogs of family and friends for months and months, I decided I would take a stab at it. I'm not sure how successful I'll be since I don't spend alot of time on the computer outside work. 1o hours a day of computer time at work tends to detour me from getting on the web socially.

As the kids are getting ready for summer, I decided their homework during the break will be a little different. They will have to ready a book each week and give me an oral report by Friday. If the oral report doesn't work, I'll be forced to change it to a written essay! My children have never enjoyed reading so I'm not sure how well this will work out. I'll let you know.