First day of School Pictures (9/7/10)

1st year of middle school, 6th grade at Kemps Landing Magnet

5th grade, Linkhorn Park

2nd Grade, Linkhorn Park

Julianne walking Victoria to her bus stop

1st day, Sophomore year, Homeschool

Halfway to 30!

I feel honored to be a mom. I know that God has blessed me four times over. It amazes me how time seems to fly by when looking at my children. Jacob turned 15 on Saturday, September 11th.

15!!!

I often wonder how I can be a mom of a 15 year old. Wasn't I just 15 a few years ago? Okay, maybe not, when I think about the fact that my oldest son is halfway to 30, I get a bit freaked out.

Jacob is a treasure. He has taught me so much about life. So many thing changed for me in a positive way when he came into my life. Because of him I have learned how to love unconditionally. I no longer focus on myself, but most importantly on loving God and truly loving others. I have learned and become passionate for people with exceptional needs.

Jacob makes me laugh.
Jacob has a great passion for God.
Jacob fights hard every day to overcome many challenges.
Jacob looks out for his brother and sisters.

I could go on and on...

I am grateful for my loving 15 year old!

Birthday Celebration Dinner, Sept. 11, 2010

Rock 'n Roll in Virginia Beach

I ran my first half marathon on Sunday. I was so excited and nervous all at the same time, but I am proud of myself for sticking with it and finishing! I actually love running. The one problem I am having is pain in my knees. On my long runs during my training, I did not walk. I knew Sunday after about the fourth mile that I was going to have to alternate between walking and running in order to finish and still be able to walk afterward. It has taken a few days to recover, but the pain in my knees is almost gone, but the feeling of accomplishment will always be with me. My next goal is the visit the doctor so I can figure out what I might be able to do to keep running. I love the freedom I feel when I run and view of God's beautiful creation!

Patience is needed

I have never been a patient person. Growing up, I thought the things I wanted should come immediately; that everyone should cater to me. Funny how life smacked me in the face pretty quickly after I left home. God has given me many opportunities to grow and mature, but most of all to have patience.

On September 11, 1995 my oldest child was born. I was terrified to be a mother, wondering how I would be able to take care of someone other than myself. I look back now and understand that God slowed me down; he made me focus on someone other than myself, and in turn fix my eyes on Him.

I have been blessed with four very active children and have learned a lot about myself in the process. Each one has been blessed with their own unique character and needs. It has taken me a long time to get to a point where I can say that I feel blessed to have some special needs in our home. I know God does not give us more than we can bear. In saying that, I feel like the challenges we face on a daily basis are meant to not only make us stronger, but will enable us to share our challenges and teach others the things we have learned.

So what challenges do we face? I feel like often times it is exhausting to keep explaining why my son is not like the typical teenager. His disabilities are not physical, making it difficult for others to really understand that he has special needs.

My son, Jacob, has Asperger's Syndrome. He also has bipolar, anxiety, and ADHD. I look at him and I am blown away by the perseverance he has. He just does not give up. The other day he was trying to look for someone to spend time with, he made 8 phone calls. I could tell he was getting discouraged, but he did not give up until he has called most of the phone numbers in his phone. It saddened me that things did not work out, but I was so proud of him for trying (he has been challenged to work on developing relationships with others).

He has grown a lot, yes he is tall, but that is not what I mean. I am moved by how hard he is fighting to change some serious behavioral problems. I am so proud of how far he has come. I am praying and trying to teach him as much as I can so he might possibly be able leave home and soar on his own at some point.

Jacob is not the only one with a special need in our home. He is honestly just the most obvious. I am more than happy to talk about the things we face day to day. I think it helps others...and I learn so much by talking with other.

Someday, I think I will write a book...
...for now, I need to focus on my family.

The stubborn tooth

The three youngest kids did not lose their first tooth until after their 7th birthday. I feel like this year has been the year of the the tooth. Nate lost his first tooth and within a 5 week period in April/May, Victoria lost six teeth. Recently it is Nate's turn. He lost a tooth at the end of July and then two more within the last week. His two front teeth have been loose for a long time. In the middle of August he was trying very hard to wiggle it out (I was ready to pull it).

It just wouldn't budge and he wouldn't let me touch it (especially after I pulled out two of his friend's teeth). Last Thursday, one of his teeth was so loose I was afraid it would come out while he was sleeping so I talked him into letting me pull it. He yelled at me afterward because he said it hurt. The next day he was eating a burrito at Taco Bell and the other tooth came out. Now he has lots of space in his mouth. It is cute to watch him try and eat a corn dog!

Girls

I am so grateful that I have both boys and girls. I think there are amazing things about both genders. Funny, growing up I had friends of both genders, but I often felt like it was easier to get along with guys. Now I work hard on having strong girlfriend relationships. There are just so many things that guys just don't understand...

I am trying to teach my girls to build their relationships with girls.  For Julianne, friendships come easily. She will call, write, encourage, etc. Victoria has more of a challenge, but she is constantly improving. 

Once a year we have a statewide church service in Richmond. I love going because I see so many friends that I don't see very often. The kids and I make many friends during the summer, while we are at camp.  Our statewide service provides the opportunity to see our friends from camp. I encouraged my girls to sit with their friends. I would like to see these relationships develop into strong best friend type of relationships over the next few years. 

Here are a few pictures from the weekend of the Statewide Service...

Lauren Westbrook and I.  She was the nurse and I was the nurse assistant at teen camp. What a wonderful woman of God!

Victoria sat with most of the girls that were in her cabin at camp. Many of the girls live in NOVA. I think she was surprised when I told her I would drive her up to spend time with them.

Julianne with her friends at the statewide service. They sat in front of us. It was difficult for them to sit for so long, but it was fun to watch them work together to behave.

Princess Tea and lesson at the Walker's house for the preteen girls.  The lesson was on friendship.

Vanessa and Julianne

Brielle and Victoria...they have been friends since they were toddlers. I will have to see if I can find a picture of them together when they were little.

Mom is there an easy button for this?

Jacob's exact words as he is cleaning out the trash can!

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

When Julianne was 2, she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis  or JRA. I just thought she had fallen and hit her knee on something because it was swollen. At the time we lived in Sacramento and there was no one in the area who was a Pediatric Rheumatologist and accepted our insurance. We ended up making trips to Stanford Medical Center every few months. By the time she was 3, the joints in her toes affected and she had a steroid injection in her knee. Here are a couple of pictures of Julianne when she was 2.

Victoria and Julianne at Disneyland, April 2003

September 2003

Many kids have difficulty with walking and playing. Julianne remained active. She would wake up with a stiff knee, but she never complained.

Now she has been in remission the past couple of years! We make a visit to the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters every August to see the Pediatric Rheumatologist. She enjoys the visit and giggles during the exam as her legs and arms are bent in all different directions. Her doctor always says she looks amazing.

I am so grateful! Here are pictures of our visit yesterday...

CHKD

Waiting for the doctor

Dancing with the statues after the appointment

The bear Julianne keeps asking for at Costco

Julianne and our friend Dawn

After lunch at Olive Garden

Father/Daughter Dance

Once a year our church has a dance for Dads and their daughters. Charles always has two dates! The girls look forward to the special evening. Charles actually dances with his girls...dancing is not something he particularly enjoys, but he loves to encourage the girls.

In the garden before they left for the dance.

Victoria

Julianne

Busch Gardens

Charles' mom came for a visit about almost two weeks ago.  July 31 (Saturday) we went to Busch Gardens. We definitely had a fabulous time once we got there and look forward to using our passes again during the end of the summer!

This picture was taken as we first came in the gate.

Right after the picture above was taken had Nate and Julianne measured for wristbands. Julianne was excited because she can ride everything. Nate was right at the line of two color bands, they gave him the one that allowed him to go on less rides, so we just took it off and had him measured at every ride.

We are a family that enjoys roller coasters, at least most of us. Julianne has tried riding them a few times because I would encourage her, but she always comes off crying. During this trip she decided on her own to try one of the roller coasters. I think it is one of the mild ones, it was the only one Nate was tall enough to ride. He had a blast. She was terrified, but didn't cry until she saw her dad after the ride.

This picture makes me laugh because it is before we went on any rides. Just Julianne making her funny faces.

We are one of those families that use to drive me crazy. We usually skip the lines and enter through the exit. The first time I realize this was something we could do I was so grateful! Jacob has a difficult standing in a line with all the people around him, so this privilege is a lifesaver. The only problem with it is that most parks only allow 4 people. Jacob enjoys that too though because it means he gets to ride twice! Last year when we went with the teens to Kings Dominion he went with his friends and they loved the privilege.

Here is a typical sight getting on the rides.

Victoria is a thrill-seeker to the extreme. She will be the one to bungee jump, sky dive, etc. I love that she has no fear in this area!

The smile never leaves at an amusement park (unless we spend too much time on "boring" rides.

 We went on the water rapids ride. Everyone gets wet on this ride, but one or two on the raft usually get drenched. I usually escape without getting drenched...not this time! The first ride Charles, Jacob, Nate, and I went. I told Charles he could go with the girls and Jacob the second ride. By the end Charles and I were so wet I knew he was not going to go again so I volunteered. I got even wetter the second time! There are 4 waterfalls on one side of the rapids. I was hit by all 3! I wore my running shoes so my feet wouldn't hurt. This was a big mistake! I felt like I was walking in puddles for the rest of the day!

All of us in the family dryer.

We definitely look forward to going back! I hope to go with the oldest two and Charles at some point so that we can ride all the roller coasters!

He cut his hair!

For awhile now I knew Nate needed a haircut. It was getting really long, but I think he could pull off almost any style.  I took the kids to get a haircut and Nate was throwing a fit.  He said he did not want anyone to get near him with a pair of scissors.  I told him his grandmother was coming and it would be great if he got his hair trimmed.  When we arrived Nate's hair was like this:

When we got there he looked through the books with many different hair styles. He picked a lot of styles that are for people with thick hair (Nate, Julianne, and I have thin hair).  Finally he picked out a picture he wanted his hair to look like.  Honestly my heart dropped!  While I wanted his hair cut, I still surprise myself that I like it longer.  He told me he thought his grandmother would like the one he picked.  She he got his hair cut like this:

I think it looks good, but I was sad to see his long hair covering the floor.  I knew Charles would be happy, He has been saying Nate needed a haircut for a long time, but he surprised me.  He told Nate he like his hair, but thought he looked good with the longer hair.  The one thing about short hair that I like is that it is easy to wash, but the one thing that drives me crazy is that it takes more work.  My boys have a cowlick at the back of their head that needs to be brushed just so and then sprayed with hairspray so it will cooperate.  For now...I can see his beautiful blue eyes!

1/2 Marathon Training

 As some of you may know, I am in the process of training for the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon. I started working out again at the beginning of May. At that point I could only run for a minute before I walked for a minute. Tomorrow we are scheduled to run 9 miles! This is a big scary, but I can run most of it (and I have lost 20 pounds so far)!

Two weeks ago we set out for almost 8 miles (I ran for the first 75 minutes). Charles told me the first thing he thought of when I came home and talked about my run was "how stupid" (he can't imagine running for so long on purpose). It is odd to say I ran for so long, but I am excited to continue adding to the length of my run!

This is probably pretty close to the course we will be running tomorrow:

New Bern, NC

 

Charles has been looking for a job for almost two years now. He had a temporary job at the post office, but he has finally been offered a job and started today. We decided as a family to use our time-share for two days in New Bern, NC to spend some quality time together before started his job. We were not sure what to expect, but the resort was amazing and New Bern was beautiful and rich with history. 

I have been on a lot of adventures (more to come) this summer, but this is the first time Charles was able to get away.






I love to take picture of my children, although they are not always excited about my constant use of the camera. Julianne seems to be starting her own fascination with taking pictures (which I love to see). I gave her my old camera to use. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the kids during our trip...

Victoria is a beautiful girl, but it is often difficult to get a natural smile.  This is one of my favorite pictures of her and you can't see it, but her dad agreed to let her wear a little bit of makeup. She started wearing mascara along with wearing her contacts every day.

Jacob does not like his picture taken, so photos of him, especially good pictures is a bit difficult, but I knew he would be excited about taking a picture with a cannon!

I absolutely love Nate's hair long (never thought I would say that), but it is time for a haircut. He does not want one. Hopefully it will happen in the next week or two.





















I have so many great pictures of Julianne! She loves her picture taken. So I am picking a few of my favorites.

New Bern is the Birthplace of Pepsi.













Julianne is a nut, definitely apparent in this picture...