31 for 21 Day 7 Boys with Down Syndrome Love their Brothers!

 

 

just like most little boys, wyatt loves his brothers!  (more alike than different!)  since ethan went away to college, wyatt has developed an even more special bond with both ethan and forrest!   he gets excited when we pick forrest up from school, or if forrest is the first person he sees after naptime!   and he's even more surprised and excited when he sees ethan, because he doesn't see him every day!  i love their special relationships; how wyatt brings out a different side in both of his brothers.... a tenderness, protectiveness, gentleness..... love!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Has the Time Gone?

wow!  i think that this is the longest that i have gone without blogging!   so what have we been up to?  lots and lots!   we have spent a lot of time traveling back and forth to pensacola, house searching, as well as just everyday life.   living apart from tim has really taken it's toll on me!  i am one tired mama; fortunately that is all about to come to an end!!!!   a couple of weeks ago, tim said that we had about 3 more weeks before we needed to look into renting our home if it did not sell; UGH!   praise GOD that within the past 2 weeks, our house FINALLY sold, and we have a contract on a new home in pace!  

as happy as i am to be reuniting our family after these LONG 6 months of living apart, it is still a time of great sadness as well.  i am moving away from my hometown; i was born and raised here.  tim and i moved back here when ethan was 3 months old, and he just turned 19!!!!   my parents are here, and are getting older; my sisters are here; our friends are here!    but we know that God provided this opportunity for us, and that HE is in control.  He goes before us, and He has great plans for us (jeremiah 29:11).

i realize that i do not blog when i am feeling blue. that's why it's been 2 months since my last post. but i'm doing my best to get back; this may be more of a journal for the next couple of months about our move, who knows? but i'm SURE that you have missed cute pics of my boys..... wink, wink! so here's a quick pictorial update!   thanks for reading.....
 

one of our favorite traditions, decorating Easter eggs together!

enjoyed a wonderful visit with my bestie susan!!!

forrest had belt promotion.... this was fun!

hanging with my peeps!

field day!!!!  

ethan and i climbed the pensacola lighthouse.....
a favorite thing to do!

the significance of this picture is that this is the first time
i can remember wyatt actually communicating that
he wanted to do something....
everyone else had gone up in marine one, he wanted to as well!!!! 

ethan and wyatt..... he loves his brothers!

all my guys together = 1 happy mama!!!

me and the love of my life!!!  
we are SO ready to live together again full time!!!!

Happy 11th Birthday, Forrest!

was it just 11 years ago that we were celebrating the birth of our second son, forrest?   for the past week we have been celebrating his birthday!  he and his friends enjoyed a fun game of miniature golf last weekend, followed by burgers at home!  last night, for his "actual" birthday, forrest's gmama and gdaddy took us to golden corral (his choice) for his birthday supper!   we had a fun night!  

forrest has brought us much joy and laughter in his 11 years!  he is quite a funny kid; we never know what he is going to say!  he is very much a "people person," like me, and loves to play with friends.  he is good-natured, and is a terrific big brother!    wyatt ADORES forrest; forrest is so patient with him!  it would not surprise me if he went into the medical field because of his little brother, he would be a terrific pediatric therapist....or physician!  

we visited the potential (and likely) middle school for forrest this week over in pace.  it was very clean and QUIET..... shockingly quiet!!!    he was VERY happy with the school, which i am very thankful for!   and he expressed an interest in joining the band.... oh my!   in 6th grade you are either in band or p.e., so i guess he is going to explore band!  i was a band kid from 7th grade through graduation, and i loved it!   we will see how he likes it!   i think that it will help him to connect and make friends more quickly at his new school in a new town.

we are so thankful that God (and kym and my mama....who both take credit for forrest being born) blessed us with this precious boy, who is becoming a compassionate and caring young man.....

My Eyes "Leaked" A Little... The Lion King!

wow!  just returned from a few days at "the happiest place on earth".....walt disney world!   since our oldest son was 9 months old, my mom has taken me and the boys to wdw every year or so..... so we ventured down on sunday to experience spring break with a few thousand of our closest friends!   i have NEVER EVER seen the parks more crowded!   we were so thankful to have the guest access card that disney provides through guest relations for people with disabilities.  otherwise, i don't think we would have been able to accomplished half of what we experienced in the time we had! 















the very last thing that we decided to "squeeze" into our schedule, on our last day in the parks, was the "festival of the lion king" show at animal kingdom!  we had just gotten to see mickey up close and personal, and the lion king show was just about to start, so away we went!   we were seated and the show started very quickly.  now, i have seen this show many times, and i know that it is pretty "loud and wild", so i was very nervous about taking wyatt to see it, with all his "sensory" issues.....  i spied where the nearest exit was, and was prepared to make a speedy departure if need be! 

now i love the movie, "the lion king".....it was the first movie we ever took our oldest son, ethan (18) to see in a theater, and he loved it!   so we know all the songs and story line by heart, you know?    "circle of life" and "can you feel the love tonight?" bring tears to my eyes every time!   "i just can't wait to be king" and "hakuna matata" are just FUN!    so as they sang those magical songs that have so many memories attached to them, and my eyes leaked a little!   

and there was NO NEED TO EXIT..... wyatt LOVED it!!!! from the first song to the last, he was amazed!!!! the look on his face was priceless.....it was truly a MAGICAL experience for him!!!!  to see wyatt "dancing" along, clapping, and just enjoying the whole show, certainly caused my eyes to LEAK A LOT!!!!   we were right beside timon and pumba, and wyatt was COMLETELY ENTHRALLED WITH THEM!!!   it was so very cute!  and when timon finally spotted wyatt and started waving at him.... wyatt was so very happy!!!!  

it was truly a magical way to end our time at disney.... to remember how ethan loved that movie as a toddler, and forrest has loved it through the years, and to see wyatt enjoying it as well!  a timeless story and music!!!   and to think, we almost didn't even go see the show, because i was afraid that wyatt would not be able to "handle"  it!  ..... so glad we did, and yep, my eyes did leak a little......

While Wyatt Waits.....We Celebrate... Happy Valentine's Day!!

me and my "valentine" of 24 years!

while wyatt waits to hear from katie..... (she left him hanging yesterday, you know)..... we celebrate valentine's day!!!   katie should give us an answer by tomorrow.... and there are MORE little cuties to come.....so keep READING every day as we celebrate a month of valentines!!!

so i'm CRAZY about holidays!   i decorate for Christmas, valentine's, Easter, summer (patriotic) and fall (including thanksgiving!).   so our home has been decorated for valentine's since we took down our Christmas stuff!    it's just fun for me to do!!!   i even have our wedding cake topper featured in my valentine's decor!    when we talked to the listing realtor for our house, tim asked him if we needed to take down our valentine's stuff, and i was like "no way!"   this is our house and this is the way we live!  the realtor said it was fine!   

cuter in person!

as you can see, i am not kidding about decorating for valentine's!  maybe i am the "crazy valentine lady!"  and this is not everything.... i even have a red valentine tree with white hearts.....very cute!







 

banquet time!

chocolates!!!

anyway, the "littles" and i have been celebrating valentine's since last week..... we went to the valentine's banquet at my parent's church with them!   we had a fun time, and my parents enjoyed "showing off" their grandsons to all their friends!   

the very next night, forrest and i went to the "mother/son night of fun" at our church!  this event was formerly known as "mother/son banquet," until the leaders figured out that our boys liked the sound of "night of fun" better than "banquet!"   we had a great time there!

although we won't all be together tonight for valentine's, i am proud to say that tim took ethan out to dinner last night for valentine's, since ethan has to work tonight!   i will probably take the "littles" out for a bite to eat tonight before we pick tim's mom up from the airport!  she's coming to visit us from texas!!!

before our bestest friends, the millers moved, we would usually get together on valentine's to grill steaks and have FONDUE!!!!    we miss them terribly!!!


my parents always give each of us steaks for our families to enjoy for valentine's, so we will all be together enjoying steaks this saturday night instead!   and maybe we'll have a little fondue then...

valentine's and love would mean nothing to me if i didn't know the love of God.  the most important love letter ever written is, of course, the Bible.....  God's love letter to the world, guiding us in how to live a life surrendered to Him, loving one another just as Jesus loved us sacrificially by dying on the cross to forgive us of our sins.....  do you know Him?  do you know this love?   the greatest love of all?      "for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish...."  (John 3:16)  i'd love to tell you more about Him....
blessings..... and happy valentine's day!

Thankful for U-Pick Orange Groves!

i just finished some of the fun packing/getting ready for a big trip stuff and was so thirsty!    i had finished off my sweet tea this afternoon, and it's too late for a soda (kind of).....so i thought of the oranges in the bottom of the fridge....  so i hand squeezed two of them for a glass of fresh (and refreshing) orange juice! 

so what does that have to do with u-pick orange groves?  as we drove home from tampa a few weeks ago, we noticed "u-pick" orange grove signs along the interstate, and decided to stop!   it was wyatt and tim's first time picking oranges; my mom and i have taken ethan and forrest orange picking a few times on our many trips to walt disney world together!  

it was a beautiful day in the orange grove, and we had the grove all to ourselves!  we were able to pick delicious naval oranges, tangerines and grapefruit!   we made some wonderful memories that day....



Thankful for Little Boy Cowboy Boots....

yep you read that right!  today i am thankful for little boy cowboy boots!  i have had cowboy boots sitting in wyatt's room to accent his cowboy themed room, and today wyatt noticed the smallest pair.....and then i realized that they might fit him now!   these are boots that were originally ethan's (18) and then forrest (10) wore them....

i quickly ripped off the footie part of wyatt's pajamas, put a pair of socks on him, and wrangled him into the boots..... i was so scared that i had let him outgrow them....  but they fit!  perfectly!    and so he roamed the house in his diaper, while i sang "these boots were made for walking....", snapping our fingers all the way!   so cute!




so today i am thankful for the memories that these cowboy boots evoke.... of ethan dressing up like "woody" and other cowboys throughout the years..... of forrest strutting around as a rough and tough cowboy.....  and now wyatt can wear them!    sweet memories.....   we are so blessed!  

Thankful for Royal Ambassador Leaders! Men Willing to Lead Our Boys!

today is the annual "royal ambassador" races!  royal ambassadors is the southern baptist missions organization for boys in grades 1-5.  men from our church give up their wednesday nights to work with our boys week after week as they teach them about missions around the world, memorize Scripture, help them with service projects, take them camping.....the list goes on and on!   it is similar to boy scouts in many ways.  for many boys these days, r.a. leaders may be the only positive male figure in their lives!  i am thankful for many different men who have faithfully served in this capacity as both ethan and forrest have grown up in this program! 

the boys are at the church this afternoon racing the pinewood derby cars that they have been working on for the past several weeks!   i hate that i am not there, but wyatt needed his nap and would not hold out!  the boys take the wooden cars and sand them, paint them, and put decals on them to decorate them as they like!   they really enjoy putting their own personalities into their cars!    they even have test runs with the cars to see how "fast" they are running!   i am sure that there is a lot of excitement up there right now! 

this is forrest's last year in r.a.'s, as he will transition into the youth program when he goes into 6th grade.   but we are so thankful that year after year men volunteer their time and talents to lead our boys to serve and love God with their whole hearts!   we are blessed! 

Thankful for the Generosity of Others....

today our local Down syndrome organization, acton up with downs, was blessed with the opportunity to have a fun day riding amusement park rides at our local shopping area, pier park.   next weekend, our local marine park, gulf world, will also bless our families with free admission for our kiddos, and a discounted rate for family members!   too bad we will be traveling for thanksgiving and have to miss that fun day! 

for years, panama city beach was home to the miracle strip amusement park.  it closed it's gates in 2004, and recently 6 of the original rides from the amusement park have been restored and placed at pier park for kiddos to enjoy while their parents shop, eat, and enjoy our beautiful beaches!   the owners of miracle strip @ pier park contacted our group and offered complimentary unlimited all day passes for each child/adult with Down syndrome as well as a companion/parent for today!   we had a lot of fun, even after i, ever the graceful one, tripped and fell off the carousel.....  embarrassing!!!   and painful.....hope i can walk tomorrow!   but i digress.....

the boys and i were able to join friends on this beautiful fall day and have fun riding rides!  wyatt particularly enjoyed the "balloon race" and the ferris wheel, as well as sitting on the seat of the carousel.  he does not care for the horses on any carousel for some reason....  the ferris wheel was a bit scary for this mama as i held on to our little man pretty tightly!  but what a beautiful view of the gulf of mexico from the top!  forrest enjoyed EVERYTHING!!!   particularly the spinning rides....not this mama!   

so today i am very thankful for the generosity of these folks, who are two icons of tourism for panama city beach, to graciously entertain our families!