We had a wonderful Christmas..I hope everyone else did, too! :) Annie is leaving tomorrow, and we are sad about that, but we know that she has her life there, too... We are trying to talk her into moving really close so we can drive there whenever we want to annoy her! hee, hee... ;)

I will post pics when I get a sec... everybody else has been here, too, so we've been busy getting time in with the family. We are looking forward to New Year's Eve, too, since we won't have to go back to school right away, thank goodness! :) We don't have to go back this year until the 5th. Yippee! :)

Sammy and Luke got great loot from "Santa"... Luke got a Wii from my sisters and brothers. He is loving it and I have to admit so do Annie and I. ;)

I got a Shark Steam mop from my parents for my gift....i have been desperate for one...I can't decide yet how great it cleans..I think it is just moving around the ammonia residue that was left on the floor from a week ago when I last cleaned the floors. I'll have to keep going with it and then see how well it works on the wood floors at the new house. Brian has all of the walls framed in as well as the closets... it is becoming very official... we have picked out our stove and cabinets and are looking at counter top next. We have our tub on the way and Sammy's handicapped shower is in. It's huge...

I will get to the pics soon.. hope everyone has a great new year! :)

so, the tree is up and decorated finally!! (Thanks to the snow day today!) :)

Sammy's xray results came back the other day negative, but Dr. D . says he definitely heard something so he still wanted to treat him. So he is continuing with his med schedule. It is crazy, but the breathing seems clear now and he is crazy silly and verbal from the oral steroid, i'm figuring. He'll be watching a show and just start laughing and screaming at the TV. He cracks me up!! :) I am so thankful that he went that way with the attitude instead of getting irritable as I was warned usually happens! (Although this is the boy who giggles when he gets a shot!)

My sister and my brother and his wife are coming on Sunday, so please pray for no snow and safe traveling! Can't wait to catch up with everybody!! :)

OK, God...seriously?!

So I had Brian take Sam back to Dr. D.'s today for another recheck on the bronchitis situation even though his cough is better and he is eating again and acting fine, because every once in a while I still hear a bit of a wheeze, and what was the verdict???

Pneumonia!!! What the hell??? I kind of assumed that people were really sick when they got this and you would know it! Maybe it's walking pneumonia, just he is reluctant to call it that because he doesn't to make us feel badly because it rubs it in that Sam doesn't walk?? Who knows... so here we go again...my little man on MORE meds yet again!! He is back on an antibiotic for 15 days this time... and an oral steroid for 6 days on top of the Albuterol and steroid inhalers that he has been on for 10 days already!! Still to continue to take those... I joked with Luke and Sam that he'll either be able to breathe better after this or be really strong! LOL I have to laugh or I will cry!! He is SUCH a trooper, though.... he just takes the meds no matter how gross and doesn't think twice..Kind of sad that this is all second nature to him already...

On a good note, I think we will FINALLY get the tree up tomorrow! We tried tonight, but it was late by the time I got back from the pharmacy after school and I was too tired and the tree ended up with a few icicles again after being outside in the cold today... So Brian brought it in on the porch and is letting it thaw out...I will get pics on as soon as it is done..

4 days til Annie comes home!! :)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!!! :) (For my non-family blog readers, my sister's birthday is one day after mine...the kids at school get a kick out of that!) :) I'm younger, of course! hee, hee! :)

We got our tree yesterday...we didn't realize that the tree farm would have ice loaded on all of their trees from the storm the other day. Brian and Luke had a "great" time lugging the heavy ice tree back to the truck from the field! LOL
Sammy had a ball, too, since he got pulled the whole way in the sled. He loves it!! He couldn't stop smiling! :) Tonight I didn't get home until 5:30 from our late meetings at school, and it was pouring rain, so I decided that we'll put the tree up tomorrow night when I can get the decorations out of the shed. Plus, we had to wait until the tree thawed out! Sammy was SO excited to be getting a tree...he keeps looking at the corner of the livingroom everytime I mention the Christmas tree...he remembers putting it up last year. We got cute Santa and Frosty ornaments for Sammy and Luke...I figure with a new house on the way, we have to start getting real things, not leftover, old things.

So I officially turned old today...according to Sammy anyway! :)(He laughed when I asked him if I was turning old today!) The big 35! UGH! I know, it doesn't sound that old, but I feel like my eggs are drying up as we speak...it just stinks to know that I am slowly hitting those milestone ages where you start losing the ability to do things, like reproduce of your own will...i know, it's not like I necessarily wanted or could deal with another child, but I hate being old and having nature make the choice for me...ok, enough crabbing...at least I am healthy, I am very blessed and thankful for that! Although our colleague at school told me that I can run for President now! There's always a silver lining somewhere, hah?? LOL

5 days til Annie comes home!! :)

Hoping to get our Christmas tree this weekend...in fact, we are definitely getting it this weekend, I cannot go past my birthday without having the tree up! Annie and Mike and Barb are coming home next Sunday! Wow! My other brother is getting almost a week off of his work and coming up that next Monday, the 22, from CT. It will be fabulous to have all of the Hibbard siblings together for Christmas all at the same time! :) It's chaos, but fun chaos!! :)

I can't tell if Sam is getting rid of his bronchitis yet or not.... he always has crap in his throat that sounds like he needs to cough it up, so it's hard to tell.... there seems to be a bit of wheeze left, so I'll go by what he sounds like on Monday and that'll be 10 days, and we'll get him rechecked again if necessary. I told them I'm just going to put up a cot and move in!

His latest obsession is the Grinch (the original movie) and the Charlie Brown Christmas movie. It's kind of neat since those were my favorites (along with Rudolph that he can't stand) when I was little. He just gets so excited and starts making noise to "sing" along with the songs. He also tries to sing along if you start to sing Christmas carols. He loves the Mariah Carey "Santa Clause is coming to town" which we listen to in the car. He is such a freak for the jolly old guy!! It's too sweet to watch!
Luke is officially a non-believer this year. I finally had to come out and spill it since I didn't want him to get made fun of in middle school. He was cute, he said, "don't say it..i know what you're going to say..i just don't want to hear you say it." He said he pretty much knew last year, but just didn't say anything. That's it, it's official, his innocence is gone! At least we have Sam to still do Santa with.... hopefully for a long while...

8 days til Annie comes!!!

when it rains, it pours...

ok, blog family so another drama...

I got hit this morning by some guy on my way to drop Sammy at my FIL's. Thank God no one was hurt...he went around me on the right "thinking" I was turning left, even though I had NO blinker on, and ripped my side mirror off and smashed my side front panel....OYE! I haven't even had this car for 6 months!

So here we go with the insurance crap....

And of course we're trying to deal with the fall-out with the kids from our fellow teacher's death over the weekend. They are very flexible thank God!

I am asking for more prayers tonight.... I just got a phone call from my sister that a teacher who worked on the other side of our quad passed away tonight. She was best friends with my other sister who had team taught with her for several years. She had been fighting pancreatic cancer for less than a year. I am asking for big prayers to be said for her son who is just 13. We will all be grieving this for a long time...she was taken before she deserved to be....she was one of the nicest and most caring women I have ever met...

Two things.... first, I am asking for any extra prayers out there go to the leader of our CP board, Jessica. Her son, whom they were told he had mild CP, may have a genetic disease. They are going through the rough task of testing while having him in the hospital and having to wait weeks for an answer. He is having many seizures and they are trying to figure this out...

Secondly, and this seems so mild compared to the above, but we brought Sam for a recheck on his bronchitis and Dr. D said that he still has stuff in his lungs and he put him on ANOTHER inhaler, a steroid, that he has to have 2x a day with his Albuterol inhaler 4x a day. At least he'll be done with his nasty antibiotic tomorrow morning! A small step! It is not pleasant and he is starting to balk at taking it, so I know he's sick of taking it...it was 2x a day for 10 days. Poor guy, could he HAVE any more meds in his schedule?? I am praying that this steroid does the trick quickly. At least he's not in too much discomfort...his cough isn't bad and the wheeze is definitely lessening. We are so blessed that he made it almost to 4 before getting an issue with his lungs. Kids with severe CP usually have big issues with getting pnuemonia. One small victory for us.... He is a trooper though...i realized exactly how lucky I am that my kids are so good at going to the doctor when the little girl in the next room at the doctor's who was Sam's age was screaming and crying hysterically because the doctor was just examining her for a routine physical. UGH! I can't imagine...and then of course, when he was in with us, we heard her get her flu shot. She freaked again, like someone was killing her! I told him Sammy just giggles or does nothing when he gets a shot. (A silver lining to the sensory freakiness of CP) He actually cries when he doesn't get to see the doc when we go to the office!

Anywho...2 weeks until Annie comes home!!

update...

Just an update on the goings on...

Sammy was dx'ed with bronchitis last Wed. He has a wheeze that is refusing to quit. He is now on antibiotics and an Albuterol inhaler (he's got Pepere medicine now--that's how we get him to take it!) and he's still sounding rough. I am making an appt. at the end of the week for a recheck for him. We'll see what's going on then... He is a trooper, though... he actually ate his dinner tonight :)... I am worried about his losing weight lately with being sick and not wanting to eat and I could see his ribs in the tubby tonight when he was lying down...he couldn't stop giggling when I poked at his ribs and said he was a "skinny minny". We have to laugh or else we'll cry....The poor thing is on so many meds right now...it's quite the schedule to keep track of...thank goodness for the pill organizer we got donated from Mem and Pep. :)

Luke went back to school today reluctantly after the Thanksgiving break...he is being so grown up about getting up with his alarm at 6:00 and getting himself ready and getting his own breakfast and making sure he's on time to the bus for 6:50. He is really impressing me with his maturity with middle school. I can check his grades and assignments on PowerSchool on the computer and he is doing even better than last quarter! My little man!! Although not so little anymore! Mr. 5'2" ! :)

The house is coming along...we have a full roof on now...I think Brian is working on getting the heat piping set up now. He took all of the braces out of the rooms, so it looks so real when you walk through the house now. It's very cool! :) I promise I will take pics soon and get them on here.

We are looking forward to our Christmas break already! Oye! I know we're pushing it, hah?? ;)
Less than 3 weeks until Annie comes home! (We always count down!! It's a whole Hibbard/Huber household thing!) ;)

Sammy is enjoying the holiday season already...he is already watching the Grinch and Charlie Brown Christmas...and of course STILL watching his Elmo holiday video from last year...it's just now appropriate again! :)

These are some more pics of the new house...our room, Sam's room, Luke's room...the deer next to the driveway..the far away pic is one of the "babies" trying to nurse, except he's WAY too big and can't even fit under mom any more! I got a kick out of it! Had to take a pic! ;) The other pic is from when we went to Barnes and Noble on Friday night to meet Curious George. Sammy loved it! He absolutely adores him! :) It's nice to do something typical with him once in a while! :)

Hey, hey....I have a laptop through school now, and even though I can't do Internet at home with it, I can load my pics onto it at home and then go to school and post on here!!!! Yippee! I knew there was an up side to Morningside! LOL :)

So here goes with some latest pics....

suck-o computer...

Ok, so either my computer SUCKS or it's the dial-up which i already know sucks, but I CANNOT post any pics other than the ones I posted of Luke's a bit back...

SO the house is coming along...we are getting the roof on...Sammy actually has a roof on his room and he is LOVING when we go in there...I cannot go out back without bringing him in the house and actually into "his room" or else he cries. I can't imagine how freaked he'll be when we can actually move in!

He of course is sick again! UGH! He gave it to Luke and Luke gave it back to him a couple of days ago, so here we go again! And Luke is STILL hacking just as bad! We can't win...at least when Sam gets sick, he only coughs now and again...when Luke gets a cold, he hacks like a madman...it's not fun...i'm desperate for it to move on already!

Well, that's about it for now...not too much else going on ...

Luke's falconry experience

Luke got a session for his birthday with a guy who trains hawks in Hadley, MA to fly some of the birds. He learned about the training, how they hunt, etc. and got to have the hawks right on his arm!! He loved it!! John (Hibbard) brought him and flew the hawks as well. He took some fabulous pics as you can see! They are awesome, of course I had to share them! :)

prayers, please...

Please send your prayers of strength to Brian's family. His uncle Jim (Cathy's brother) passed away suddenly this morning. It is a shock to us all and we are praying hardest for his son and daughter, both teenagers. Thank you for any prayers you can share...

I'm stealing this post from a mommy on our CP board and blog.... she found it on the net and I couldn't resist posting it... very appropriate!

A child with special needs. What a pity.I wish I knew then that pity is the last thing us parents need. (And don’t even think about feeling sorry for our children.)
What does it mean to parent a child with disabilities?
It means the reframing of your worldview.
It means taking nothing for granted and spending more time in the present than in future plans and dreams.
It means endless appointments and paperwork and the introduction of your child to all kinds of adults who specialize in understanding his or her needs.
It means missing your own six-month dental check-ups and yearly pap smears.
It means growing comfortable with stares, even if your comfort is in knowing that you won’t be comfortable, but it will happen anyways.
It means knowing how to silence a pesky questioner with a single statement: “His brain was injured at birth.” “I have two wombs instead of one.” “Why do you ask?’ “He has Cerebral Palsy.”“There’s nothing wrong with him.” “Well, he’s not looking at you because he’s legally blind.” “What do you mean by Ok?”
It means redefining the words OK, healthy, and childhood.
It means continually adjusting expectations so you neither expect too little or too much but rather remain open to wherever your child leads.
It means learning to follow.
It means a redefinition of your social life because either your friends don’t understand or because you find yourself with so much less time to devote to cultivating friendships. You want to extend invitations to dinner, you truly mean to return the favor, but months go by and you still haven’t had an extra second to plan a social evening.
It means being so grateful to those friends who do understand.
It means working on learning how to scoop with a spoon instead of learning how to chew with your mouth closed, learning how to walk instead of ballet lessons.Learning to go slow instead of racing.
It means letting go of comparisons and bailing out of the My-Kids-More-Advanced-Than-Your-Kid game.
It means becoming almost fluent in medicalese and actually knowing what the following terms mean: IVH-III, C-PAP, Nystagmus, Strabismus, Hydrocephalus…
It means doling out medications--even if you planned on raising all natural kids.
It means joy in the controlled bend of a knee, a flash of eye contact, sunlight on an orange Lilly, the sound of your young son saying, “No.”
It means befriending therapists, multiple adults that not only love your child but remind you when you most need to hear it that your doing a good job. “You’re a good parent,” they tell you-- and you realize that all parents could benefit from hearing this from interested parties and you think how lucky you are.
It means always thinking you could do more.
It means wanting time alone as a family, without appointments, professional judgment, and medical advice.
It means multi-tasking, squared, times three.
It means buckling your son into his car seat to drop him off at daycare and then driving straight to work.
It means constant surprise. “Did you see what he just did?!?!”
It means never shaking the specter of death.
It means gulping joy like water.
It means questioning whether you can do this again, whether you can conceive and carry another child.
It means wanting to try.
It means not wanting to try.
It means fear.
It means acceptance.
It means hope.
It means never saying, “I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl, as long as it’s healthy.”
It means…

couldn't resist...

Ok, how could I resist posting a picture with a smile like that?? He looks so relaxed and like a typical 3 year old...One of my new favorites! :)

BSA

So poor Luke spent the weekend freezing his booty off at Boy Scout camp! It was like 30 degrees overnight this weekend. He had a good time, though..his patrol came in 2nd place...not bad... He was LOVING the hot shower this afternoon when he got home, though... ;)

The doc said Sammy's ears are better.... thank god...we just have to get him sleeping again...he was only up once last night, thank god... at least it's getting better! :)

This is NOT why I came onto the blog to post this, but....I just read that Erma Bombeck article on the side of the blog again..it makes me tear up everytime I read it! I know my special needs mommy friends from the CP board know exactly what it's all about... I try not to let this blog be a downer, but every once in a while, I have to let everyone see that I am human, too. There are some days that i don't think I can last a lifetime dealing with the issues I (we) will have to deal with. I don't even have dreams anymore about Sammy talking or walking because I think my sunconcious knows that it is too painful to wake up from them and realize it was all a dream... We saw a hayperson on North St. the other day (an art display that Pittsfield has put on--they're like dressed up scarecrows) that was made by people from UCP that had leg braces on and had a ballerina outfit and wings on and it was called "I believe I can fly". It really gave me a lump in my throat. There are moments that are VERY few and far between nowadays that I feel down or discouraged, I feel like Sam has gotten me over the self-pity and resentment of it all after that first really hard 18 months. If there are times that I feel sorry for myself that I have to deal with this, i look at him, and see how he just sees himself as normal and just "Sammy" and I have to snap out of it.... he is the strongest person in this whole thing...not me...I know people say, "oh, you're so strong"... but I can walk, I can talk, I can play...it's not me that is strong... he is the one who holds us all together when we feel like we can't take any more bad news or issues...or meds...or seizures... or therapy....or idiot therapists or unfeeling specialists...

Life as it is is normal for us now...i know everbody on the outside sees us as dealing with so much, and we do, but the other day it occured to me that we just take it in stride...everything has become so normal for us... i guess it's a good thing at this point...a coping mechanism... things are still difficult, but you really do learn to adapt... human beings are amazing creatures...and so is my Sammy..........

Dr. Dempsey spends the entire well-child visit talking to me and his medical student about what Sam is and isn't doing and how his tone looks,etc. As is the norm for EVERY visit to EVERY doctor.... well, at the end of this visit, he mentioned how tall Sammy would probably be when he grows up...it took me by surprise...i think my jaw hit the floor...to hear something "normal" said about my child that for once wasn't connected in some way to his CP... I thanked him for adding that and explained that we never get "normal" kid fun check-up stuff said to us...it also made me sad later that I had to be thankful for that.... such is life...

Anywho....the REAL reason I got on right now was to post pics of the house progress....we have the gable end up!! And he is now putting up the kitchen wall so he can do the roof!! Yippee! :)

The bundles are almost all gone!

Sammy-lo-lammy

I went in to wake Sammy up yesterday morning and he was all snuggled up on his Lightning McQueen body pillow (I'm doing that so he won't cough and throw up again!) and had the mouth open catching flies!! He was too funny, I had to snap a pic! :)

So we went to his routine check-up appt. with Dr. Dempsey today and found out he has a double ear infection! WTH!? Poor guy has been acting ok, so I had no idea!! Thank goodness we went to the appt. today!! He's on the meds now so hopefully everything will clear up soon and he'll be on the mend...at least he slept ok last night... I'm hoping for the same tonight... mommy and daddy are much more pleasant when they get sleep !! :)

Luke-a-licious.... :)

Thought I would post some pics of Luke with his new fly fishing gear and 3-D buck target. He's pretty darn good with his bow. :)

We also got his MCAS results in the mail today and he got high proficient in English Language Arts and Math, and advanced on the Science test!! (The categories go from warning to needs improvement to proficient to advanced) So awesome I couldn't believe it!! And I saw the tests last year for 5th grade and that is ABSOLUTELY an accomplishment!! Way to go Luke! :)

Sammy is sick with a nasty cold, AGAIN!! Poor guy, fortunately he is a trooper and has pretty good spirits even though his nose is stuffed and he's got a nasty cough... One week without SOMEbody sick in our house would be a godsend!! :)

More pics from the party. We were having an arm wrestling competition..Sammy and Luke won!! (Hands down, get it!?) LOL

(Sammy makes this hysterical grunting noise when you arm wrestle him like he's really straining to win! It is TOO funny! :) Hence the mouth wide open!) :)

And he's actually laughing in the pic with Brian..it looks on my computer like he's bawling...

My favorite is the pic of Amelia sitting Bart on Brian's head! hee, hee.... :)

AAHH.. Luke is 11

Oye... is it possible?? My sweet little boy who was once obsessed with the dig-digs is now 11 !?!?

And obsessed with hunting and fishing ?!?! He just went out tonight to Dick's to get a 3-D deer target for his new "grown up" bow. So if you happen by the house and see Luke shooting at a deer, it's only fake for target practice! :) He respects the cutie mom and baby we have in the backyard.

Even though today's his official birthday (3:56 p.m.) we had his birthday party last night with a Simpson's theme. Very cool decorations, of course, thanks to Mary! :) He had a great time and loved the gifts... Thanks everybody! I am going to try and post some pics, including the Bart cake. (Which was SO much easier since I bought the cake undecorated, and only had to draw the Bart on myself instead of having to bake AND decorate!) :) I think it came out pretty well for me not getting the Hibbard art gene! ;) Luke loved it, which is the most important thing! :)

Happy Birthday, love of my life!!!!!!!!!! :)

Sammy had his asleep EEG yesterday and did great. The meds really kicked his butt quickly this time and he was ready to crash before THEY were even ready. He was even great on the way home even though he was exhausted and didn't nap other than the 40 minutes during the test. He went down quickly for bed last night and slept through like a champ and seems to be in a good mood this morning. of course, he always gives Grandpa the big smile when he comes out of the house to take him!! :)

Not much to update on, other than everybody in our house is in the midst of yucky colds right now, with the exception of Brian... I guess he's been avoiding the cooties by staying outside all day building the house! Sam had stopped eating for 2 days, but is back in action almost to normal, so that's a relief!! Ironically, it wasn't his school that he caught this from...Luke's friend came over with a cold.... so hopefully he'll be back to school on Tuesday...we have to get him early though because he has an EEG on Tuesday (also Brian's birthday) and we have to be there by 2:00 p.m. He is being sedated for this one because they need him asleep for it. I hate these.... Fortunately he is a trooper and always wakes well from the chloral hydrate with little or no side effects. Thank goodness!

The house is coming right along... the walls are up and stained...it looks like a REAL house now!! :) Yippee!!! :) I am trying once again to post pics here...we'll see if my computer is feeling it today!!

So Sam started preschool on Tuesday. Brian went with him for a little while and then left when he looked happy. The teacher said he did well for the rest of the class... Brian went back to pick him up and check the carseat on the bus, and they ended up just keeping him on the bus and bringing him home. The bus monitor said he laughed the whole way home and Brian said he cried when he had to get off the bus and had to say goodbye to the bus driver.

I know this is probably my imagination, but he seemed so grown up when I got home from school. I told him he didn't need me anymore and he just laughed. I guess that says it all!! :)-
He'll be going again tomorrow and then I'll decide if we will bump him up to more days next week or in the next few weeks. He is done with therapy at the private place now since he'll be starting at school, thank goodness! And now he'll be getting way more!! :)

Luke is loving middle school...i guess my freaking out for him getting lost and picked on was for nothing because he is doing fine! :) Thank goodness for that! :)

The house is coming along slowly but surely...as long as the weather continues to cooperate we'll be ok! :)

That's it for now.... school is going well for me at the moment... we'll see as more commands come down the line, but I love my little ones...they are really little... and too cute! Thankfully they are still innocent and sweet...what a difference a year makes!! :)

OYE... my little man....

My "little" man officially started middle school today! OMG...what the hell happened to my life?? I swear it was yesterday that he was watching his "dig-dig" movie and making Mem and Pep wear the "bad witch" hat while watching The Wizard of Oz for the thousandth time in a row! ;)

I asked him this morning if I could cry as he left like I did when I dropped him off at Kindergarten. (He DIDN'T cry, of course, back then!) Today was the same thing... yeah, Mom, whatever, BYE! And then he was out the door and on a new path in life! UGH! I feel like I am losing my innocent, sweet baby to the real world! I am NOT ready even though he insists he is!

:(

I also started on a new path...my official first day of school with the little ones. (Ok, fourth grade, but they still feel like "little" ones to me after fifth grade!) My class seems good so far...they are so young acting which I consider a good thing after experiencing 9 years of back talking and fresh 10 and 11 year olds! I am hoping to make this a great year in the "Hibbard Quad" ! (I am teaching with my two sisters this year for those of you who don't know....

I am going to try and post some pics again...I REALLY need to get some recent pics of the house on here! It is really coming along! :)

Ok, ok, I'm going to update!! I've been trying to post pics on here, but my computer sucks, so if the pics won't upload, at least I'll give a verbal update...

Vacation was AWESOME as usual!! Great to spend the week with the sisters, et al... The boys always get too spoiled having so much entertainment all week and then have to come back to boring 'ol Mom... LOL :) I think Sammy is ready to kick me back to the "S" word... not allowed to use the actual word until summer vacation is officially over... Ask Mary... ;)

The teachers have to go back this coming Thursday for teacher crap and setting my ENTIRE room back up after being kicked to 4th grade and a whole new quad! UGH! :(

So we had a neuro appt. this past week and I was noticing some mild seizure activity in Sam at bedtimes, so I mentioned it to the neuro, and he told us to up the Zonegran at night. He was still doing some at naptime, so I've upped the morning dose, too. I guess he growing too fast for the meds... I am praying this lasts for a while now since this dosage is as high as he can go on these meds... say a prayer for us... He is fussier now, though, not sure if he's just adjusting to the new dose... it doesn't make for a pleasant Sammy, though... :(
I have to get some pics of him getting off of the couch by himself...his latest adventure! I couldn't figure out how he got off the couch when he was lying there after I changed his diaper and didn't hurt himself, so I let him do it when i was there, and he bicycles his legs until he hangs them over the edge, and then bicycles until he slides off (it's a slippery couch) into a sitting position, and then tips over onto the floor. I think it's ingenius if you ask me, but then I'm biased, and also now easily impressed by things of this nature with him doing ANYthing on his own! He loves it!!

Luke is super excited to be starting middle school, and way too excited to be taking the bus there! (Can you tell he's always been driven to school??) ;) I am happy he's excited because I'm freaking out enough for the both of us!!

Sammy is starting at the integrated preschool at Crosby (of course it HAS to be across the city!) on Sept. 9th. Thank goodness it's a week after I start, so at least it's not total stress all at once. I am totally freaking out about this situation....as you can imagine. His teacher has a 27 yr. old son with really severe CP, and she's super nice, so I figure he couldn't be in better hands! I have let God take care of him when I'm not I guess... he's growing up too fast for my liking! :( Say a prayer that all goes smoothly...he's only starting a couple of days a week to start..it's only 3 hours a day, but it feels like longer!! :(

On the house front....Brian and his Dad and Luke have some of the beams up and about 5 rows of logs up on the house... I took pics, but we'll see if I can load them... they are stained and everything, so it looks very official! It's weird to stand "inside" and feel like it's my house... Cool, though! :) Can't wait for the whole thing!! :)

Well, that's about it for updates for now... now let's see if the pics work...

ready for the Cape...

YEAH, baby!! I am so psyched!! We are headed to Cape Cod (that's that finger in the Atlantic for my readers out west and down south!) on Saturday!!! Can't wait!! I think I have everything, now I just have to pack! UGH! :P

Not really sure how Mary's going to fit all of my crap in her car... hmmm.... ;)

Cutie deer....

Let me preface this by saying that no, Luke will NOT be hunting the deer!!

I went out on the porch tonight at about 8:00 p.m., and the mom and baby were grazing out in the back yard. I opened the door to take a pic, and they weren't even bothered. When I tried to take the video, the mom got spooked for some reason, and took off, and the baby just kind of stood there and watched me for a minute before he followed her off... Brian said the mom took off the other day and he whistled to the baby and it stopped following the mom and started to come back towards him!! Not sure what that's about!! :) Then the mom gave the baby a look and he followed her back out...

They are too cool to have right in the back yard!! :)

I also had to add a pic of Franklin in the weirdest turtle sleeping position EVER!! He just cracks me up!! :)

update post...

So my "little" man made it the week alive and with no broken bones.... thank goodness....He had a good time, without his nagging mom to tell him what to do all week! ;)

He got his swimming badge and his fishing badge (surprise, hah?) :) and he completed a ton of requirements toward his next ranks as a Boy Scout. It's nice to have my bubbalah home! :)

I am posting a pic of the big female deer we had in the yard this evening. Brian said he saw a mom and a tiny baby this afternoon, but of course I missed it!! (Hey, a baby is a baby...I'm not discriminating! :) Not sure if this deer is the same mom, but this one was alone tonight. (Maybe the baby was napping and she was having some "me" time!) LOL :) She's posed right in front of our piles of house materials...I think she likes the moose! :)

I am also posting some pics of Sammy's new glasses. He looks SO grown up with them on!! It's crazy! He doesn't mind them and has been wearing them all day so far the last 2 days.... The eye doc said that he isn't getting worse with his prescription, it's actually improving a little. YEAH! He says most kids with this with CP outgrow it! Thank God!! :)