Happy Birthday Scottie

I really can't believe Scott is 8 years old. Most of the time Scott is ageless to me I never really think about him compared to other children his age, except when he has a birthday then it hits me like a ton of bricks. I have had a bit of a hard time this week because the eighth birthday is such a big deal at church. I am grateful to know that our loving Father in Heaven does not require baptism for those who do not physically or mentally reach the age of accountability, but it is also the first time that Scott has been excluded from something, and that does hurt.

I love sweet Scottie with all my heart. Looking back at pictures today I realized how far he has come and how much he has accomplished and I am so thankful. He is a beautiful child inside and out and brings so much joy to anyone who allows themselves to get close enough to him to experience his special love. After eight years I truly feel sorry for those who look at Scott and feel a sense of sadness. They are missing out on one of the greatest sources of joy there has ever been. A hug from Scott is like touching a piece of Heaven. Caring for Scott nourishes my soul and lifts my spirit. The honor of being his mom is one of my lives greatest blessings.

Slug Bug BLUE with lots of dirt.

Our "new date car"--or at least it will be in a few years. It is a '56 VW bug. Lance's dad has owned it since at least 1963, according to the paperwork in the tiny glove box. Lance just towed it home from Utah today. Lance's dad had always thought he would one day restore it himself, but his health issues has made that impossible. Now Lance can restore it and his dad can watch the progress through pictures and visits and give advice over the phone. It will be almost as good as them restoring it together.

(See the tiny glove box)

I am really grateful that Lance's dad let him have the car I think it it is awesome to own a piece of family history, plus I have always felt bad that Lance had to sell his little Porsche back when Zac was first born. Once the engine caught fire at my grandma's she didn't want him storing it at her house anymore. We lived on a block with street cleaning at the time and pushing it back and forth across the street twice a week was not really an option.

Brycen wanted to get right to work with the restoration project, before the car even made it off the trailer. All we could say was gently--just pretend to pound out the dents!

Tonight the task was just to get it off the trailer and into the garage. Lance called our good friend Aaron who helps on all of our manual labor projects and Ryan, a strapping young lad from the ward to help. Luckily Ryan brought re-enforcements so we had a total of 5 guys. Our driveway never seemed very steep until I watched the guys try to push a bug with two flat tires up it! I'm just very glad it didn't roll back over any of them. They finally hooked the jeep to the front and drove the jeep all the way into the garage. Lance managed to wiggle the jeep back out with just a two point turn. From there it was just a matter of getting the bug lined up and pushing it in. One of the guys was even manually adjusting the tires to get it lined up right. I guess tomorrow I will baking lots of thank you cookies.

My Ford Windstar is now feeling very out of place with it's two VW garage mates. I guess I'll just have to go out and buy myself one of the new VW minivans! :)

Statement of disclosure: No friends were hurt in the making of these pictures!

Word to the wise: don't bend over in front of a car that is being pushed down a ramp!

"Okay we got it down, NOW what do we do!"

Keep pushing!

Home at last.

Scott's Birthday Party

We celebrated Scott's 8Th birthday today, his real birthday is next Sunday. But since our summer weather is quickly fading away we decided to have his party while the pool is still usable. What a party it was! The 8Th birthday is a big one for children in our church because that is the age when you can first get baptized. Scott does not need to get baptized because he will be innocent and pure. We decided to make Scott's 8Th Birthday special by sharing it when some of the individuals who have gone out of their way to make Scottie feel loved. Scott doesn't like having a lot of people or noise around so the guest list was well thought out. I really tried to invite kids Scott's own age who have taken a special interest in Scott like Izzie who before Scott could hold his own sippy cup, sat next to him for years in primary so she could hold his cup for him and of course the two girls who are his friends at school, Stephanie and Taylor. There are also the three little boys from church who go out of their way to be kind to Scott, some of his friends with special needs also joined us today.

Scott has always been my spiritual beacon. I learn so much from just basking in his sweet spirit. That sweet spirit filled our home today. I am just so honored to have Scott as my son. I think this is the first party we have ever had that everyone who was invited came. They all came because in one way or another their lives have been touched by our little angel boy! I watched today as strangers became fast friends because of Scottie. Two of my closest friends Tricia and Karen met for the first time today. Tricia is an incredible mom who with her wonderful husband is raising four tender-hearted, remarkable, and bright children. Karen is the mom of Ian who has lots and lots of disabilities and the most amazing smile, she is also Gavin's mom. Gavin's adoption into Karen and Pat's family will be finalized in November; Ian was also adopted. I watched as Tricia held Ian and song primary songs to him in English and Spanish too. I watched Karen, who is not a member of our church, enjoy so profoundly having Tricia sing "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" (Zac picked the song). Ian just lit up with his beautiful smile as she sung. Words can't even describe with tenderness of the moment, but perhaps this picture might help.
Because Scott doesn't really play with toys we asked that people not bring gifts, but if they wanted to they could donate money so we could buy Scottie a light box, which helps visually impaired people see objects. Scott just loves the one the visual therapist brings to his class once a month. One of the families at the party gave Scottie $250! I was just astonished by this incredible act of love and giving. I think now we can buy a light box for Scott to have at home and one for him and his classmates to use at school.

Another friend stayed after the party was finished to swim with Brycen a Zac while Lance cleaned up and I took a nap; she knew that I only got about 2 hours of sleep last night--I'll explain in a later post. She also made a coupon as a gift for Scott that said she would be his companion the next time our family goes to do something that Scott doesn't want to do.

I just feel so truly blessed to have these incredible people in my life. Again, Heavenly Father knows exactly what he is doing he has filled our life with just the right people to keep us going strong.

Scott liked the water slide once the water was turned off.

The water slide was a splashing success.

Just like Junior High, there was a girls' table and a guys' table.

Scott gets by with a little help from his brothers. By the way, the cake was shaped like a dinosaur.

Brycen's 9/11 Tribute

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Okay so I usually don't like to do two post about the same child in a row, but I just have to share this video. Brycen's class learned about the tragedy of 9/11last week. This video is Brycen retelling the events of that horrible day to my mom. I am glad he understands some of what happened that day even though it happened two years before he was born. When he came home from school that day and told me the story he finished by telling me that just because bad things sometimes happen doesn't mean everyone is bad; and sometimes bad things happen to good people.

By the way I think the many jealous interruptions by Zachary add to the cutest of the video. Also I think my ability to cover Zac's mouth while almost holding the camera steady is rather impressive!

Soccer Boy

Brycen has started playing soccer. It is actually just a four week soccer clinic, but he is just thrilled. Now that he loves it so much, I am trying to find an real team he can join to play indoor soccer this Fall. He even wants to create a soccer field in our backyard. We do need to work on his soccer lango though; when he and I were playing soccer in the kitchen he explained that the person who stands in front of the goal is the BULLY. I love watching my children learn and love new things.

Reflections of a "Special Needs Mom"

This is a very bad picture of my wonderful Mom's Night Out Friends. Our group meets together once a month to share in the struggles, triumphs, challenges, and joys of raising children with special needs. We chat into the wee hours of the morning until the restaurant staffs kindly asks us to leave, then we go into the parking lot and talk some more. Lance doesn't worry about me even if I'm not home by 2:00am. These are all remarkable women, some of them have become my closest friends. It is refreshing to be around other women who just really get it. We often wonder what people at other tables think of us. The things we celebrate can be a little strange, for example one of the mom's recently told his that her daughter who is 11 years old can finally poop on her own--for this group news like that creates an excitement level that surpasses Lance and his friends celebrating a BYU winning touchdown in the last few seconds of a game. Another mom just told us her eight year stood holding onto the couch for the first time-yippee! One thing that is amazing to me is that as we sit there sharing in each others lives we all thank God for our specific challenges and marvel at what other mom have to cope with. As I sit there counting my blessings that I have Zac and Scott my friends are counting their blessings that they don't have Zac and Scott. It is funny, but we all feel the same way. It just goes to show that God knows what He is doing. We have the children we have because we need them and they need us.

Some of these moms spend huge amounts of time and money trying to help their kiddos in any way they can. I admire these women, but I am also glad I don't feel the need to follow in their footsteps. I think if I didn't know that my boys will eventually be able to do everything, even if it is not in this lifetime, I too would be trying anything and everything. I am grateful for the knowledge that has come with my faith. Also, I think my focus has just changed with time. One friend was so excited Wednesday night because the school district agreed to give her child a huge list of therapies. I thought to myself her joy would be my nightmare. I pick my battle with the school district so differently now, I fight for things that my boys enjoy, like Scott's tricycle and Zac being able to continue his friendships with his typically developing peers. Those things are a much greater priority to me now than the quantity of therapy hours. Of course this was not always the case. When Scott was first born and Zac had just turned two we were constantly on the go. Zac had seven therapy sessions a week--and all of them were at least 45 minutes from home. His therapies include physical therapy in the pool, and therapy on horse back. Little tiny Scott had four therapy sessions a week. I really don't know how I did it all, especially with Lance being in school and working. I am just grateful for all the times my mom came with me! Looking back I have to wonder what good all those sessions did. I think more than anything I needed the reassurance that I was doing my best for my boys. I also think some of Zac's outgoingness can be attributed to him having to be comfortable around so many different people at such a young age. Our schedule also did not allow me time to sit around and feel sorry for myself--perhaps that was the greatest benefit.

Now that the boys are older life has settle into a much more normal pattern. Their only doctor is our pediatrician and the few therapies we have continued are done during school hours. My time with the boys now focuses on things like pointing out stars and dragonflies, catching lizards, and reading stories. We have plenty of time to snuggle and chat and I couldn't be happier!

Way to Go Folsom Families!

I am very impressed by the families at my kids' schools. I enjoy seeing dads riding home from school with their children; there are always parents helping in classroom, and just being involved in the children's lives. People around here just seem to take family life very serious and not just people from church. The love, time, and energy parents spend reflects well in their children. We have never had problems with Zac being picked on. All his classmates look out for him and he even gets invited to birthday parties. Even more touching to me right now, is that Scott has two real friends. There are two little girls at his school that have decided to be friends with the four kids in Scott's class. These sweet girls play with Scottie and his classmates at every recess. They hold Scott's hand and take him up to the slide then slide down with him, and they also help him ride his tricycle. When I asked if they would like to come to Scott's birthday one of the replied "I would be honored!" The other little girl's mom has already contacted me through e-mail about the party and about how much her daughter has learned from Scott and his classmates. She said that she has really enjoyed watching Stephanie become friends with these special kids. What wonderful parents! I am just so grateful that there are parents who take the time to raise such incredible young people. Thanks to all of you great parents out there--and keep up the good work!

A Camping We Went

The Jones Family

The Kusz Family

We spent labor Day Weekend camping at Donner Lake. We had a blast despite the freezing temperatures at night and the wind that blew all day Saturday. We did take a canoe out on the lake, but I didn't get any pictures of it--I was trying to keep my camera dry.

The kids instantly found a way to get nice and dirty!

The little girl is Victoria (Vicka) her dad works with Lance. Zac kept calling her Paprika.

Another root beer picture. He could be an A&W model.

Look at those hands--yuck!

Brycen kept busy...

Riding his bike all over the place. He just loves having no training wheels.

(He pretty much just kept his helmet on all the time.)

Rock sliding,

Rock climbing,

And scooter riding.

Zac liked...

Playing with "Paprika"

Entertaining the baby. Her eyes are just locked on him.

(Doesn't he look sleepy! )

Catching bugs,

And playing horse shoes.

Everyone enjoyed the smores!

Because of the high winds campfires were forbidden, but the coals really are warm.

The park had a cute, little Donner Party museum.

Zac after a long, hard day on the trail!

Brycen and the 100% accurate weather predicting rock. This was quite funny. The sign says things like, if the rock is wet it is raining, if the rock is all white there's a snow storm, and if the rock is jumping up and down, there's an earthquake.

Me, pointing to one of my "almost relatives" from the Donner Party. See my dad's step siblings are direct descendants of the Eddy family from the Donner Party. So I am related to people who have Donner Party relatives.

We cooked lots of yummy food too.

Finally, we came home happy, dirty and exhausted

Time for a long bath!

P.S. Scottie spent the weekend being spoiled by Nana and Papa. So here are some Scottie pictures too.

The chin boo boo is a mystery. It makes him look like a tough guy.

Happy Labor Day!