Abby's Art

I love it when my kids draw me pictures...Here is a picture Abby drew of me.

Pretty accurate, right?

Here are some bugs.

(From left to right)

Ant, butterfly, and two ladybugs

XSI Basketball Tryouts

Andrew tried out for XSI's basketball team today.
This is the first time he's ever "Tried out" for something.
I think Andrew did really well,
but there were a lot of good players.
We should find out the results in about a week or so.
Whether or not he makes it,
it was a good experience.

Lots of cheerleaders...Go Andrew!

Andrew and another boy were the tallest!

The boys were separated into two teams.
Andrew's team took their shirts off.
When Abby saw them take off their shirts she said,
"Look Mom, they're buff and tuff!"
(I'm so in trouble)

Brody wore his pajama bottoms and kicked off his shoes as soon as we arrived.

"Home" Work

My girls love to color.
They're always drawing pictures and taping them up on the walls,
Or giving them as "Gifts" to others.
Yesterday we had lunch with Grandma Walker.
All of my girls drew her pictures for her, including Alyssa.
Here they are hard at work.

Spring Has Sprung!

Some of our seeds have begun to sprout!

Above: Cucumbers and pumpkins

-Can't wait to plant these in the garden!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's my Dad's birthday today.

He's 60 years old!

(You didn't hear that from me.)

Be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday when you see him. :)

Kiss Me

I know it's not St. Patrick's Day anymore,
But isn't Brody the cutest little leprechaun you've ever seen?

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

So...Earlier today we went grocery shopping.
The girls were pretty good,
so on our way out we let them pick a treat.
Bree picked out what we thought was a sucker.When you glance at this photo,
Doesn't it look like a sucker?
We thought it did.
-I guess we should have read the package.
Bree took a bite.
She didn't like it so she passed it on to Abby.
Abby tried it and didn't like it, so she gave it to me.
I myself didn't try it,
but I gladly passed it onto Alyssa.
Alyssa tried it and also didn't like it.
By this time Aaron was like, "What is going on?"
He took the"Sucker" and licked it.
"EWE! What is this?"
I grabbed the package out of the garbage and read the label.
"Mixed Berries Soap!"
Ha ha.
It was pretty funny.

Projects

I've had a couple of projects this past week.

My first project was finishing my daughter's beds (See above).

I saw these beds at a yard sale last Saturday and had to buy them.

The beds didn't need a lot done.

I just cleaned them really well

and put a new coat of white paint on them.

I sold my sons bunk bed

and put my girls bunk bed in their room.

I love the way the beds turned out.

The second project I've been working on,

is putting trim on my parent's windows.

The picture above is of a window before...

And here is a picture after!
What a difference it makes. :)

Gosh I love this guy!

Tiny Seeds

Saturday evening we plowed
Grandma and Grandpa Walker's garden.
We want them to have the most amazing garden ever this year!
Today we bought a whole bunch of seeds.
Beans, peas, beats, carrots, zuccini, corn, pumpkins, and watermelon


Since many of the seeds can't be planted until after the frost,
we planted them in little cups.
They'll sit near Grandma and Grandpa's window for the next 6-8 weeks.

We hope they grow!

Grandmas Are So Special

Give Me That Camera!

My little photographer Abby took these pictures the other day.Bree didn't want her picture taken...at all!

Alyssa really wanted the camera.

She chased Abby all over the house.

Poor little girl.

I think she was a little tired!

Lost It

I lost it today. It makes me sad to admit that, but I did. I was having such a good day. Really I was! I went on a field trip with my son today. We went swimming and my little Brody was so happy. We came home from school. Brody didn't have any homework, so I decided to let him play on the computer (His favorite thing to do). After about an hour, I told him it was time to turn it off. This really upset him. I told him that we needed to do something else. I thought he'd gone in his room to draw on his dry erase board, but that wasn't the case. He found Abby's polly pockets and flushed several down the toilet. (Why he does this I don't know, but he's done it several times). Brody clogged the toilet. Rather than coming to me to fix the problem, he kept flushing. When that didn't work he headed off to my bathroom. I caught him with Abby's Polly pockets and told him to come bring them to me. He ran away and quickly handed the polly's off to Alyssa. I chased him and oh my goodness. What a sight! The floor in the bathroom, the hallway, and both of the hall closets was soaked! I ran downstairs, and a large section in the back of our basement was soaked, (Several of our moving boxes and food storage). All I could do was cry and swear. -And I know I don't need to swear. Especially not in front of my kids. I tried to explain to all of my kids..."If the toilet ever gets clogged, please don't keep flushing it. Come get me!" I think everyone understood, except Brody and Alyssa. Brody because of his autism and Alyssa because she's too young. I wish Brody could understand me. It makes me so sad. A part of me wants so badly to believe that Brody isn't going to be autistic forever. Every day when my husband and children say their prayers, they pray "Please let Brody's autism go away." Even Brody prays for it now. :( I truly believe that God can heal Brody, but maybe it's part of his plan for Brody to have it. Brody is 7 years old. He'll be 8 in October. A lot of people have been asking me if he's going to be baptized. I don't think he is. It's so incredibly hard for me to tell people that. -But he just doesn't understand. I sit with Brody every other week on Sunday. I see his classmates engaging in the lessons and talking amongst each other, and I cry. I want my son to participate. I want him to have relationships. I want him to tell me what he's learned. Autism is so cold. If you've gotten this far, I apologize. Sometimes I just need to vent.

Andrew's March 2011 Progress Report

Mommy Skills

I just love how my girls put their babies to bed.
It makes my heart happy! :)

Not So Lucky

Yesterday I made some "Lucky" St. Patty's day blocks.
As I was sanding,
the block I was holding slipped out of my right hand
and I sanded my hand.
I should have been wearing gloves.
I knew better than that.
I've been in a little pain since then.
Stupid is as stupid does, right?

Rapunzel Rapunzel!

Abby's friend Chloe turned 5 yesterday!
Chloe had a "Tangled" Birthday party.
Everyone dressed up as Rapunzel or Flynn Ryder.

Abby of course chose Rapunzel.
Out of all our dress-ups,
she chose this little cowgirl outfit.
I asked her why?
She told me it's because there is a horse on the front
and there is a horse in the movie.
(Whatever works for her works for me.)
We put a hair extension on her pony tail.

Doesn't she look cute in a Rapunzel cowgirlish way?

Emily and Brad

I watched the final episode of the Bachelor last night.

(I'm such a geek... what can I say???)

I'm so happy that Brad chose Emily.

My daughter and I have been hoping he would propose to her

since the very beginning.

She seems so sweet and genuine to me,

plus her daughter needs a dad!

That's my 2 cents.

Licking The Bowl

Thanksgiving Point Dino Museum

Busy morning today.
I went on a field trip to Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum with my girls
and Aaron went to Brody's IEP.
The dinosaur museum was amazing as always.
I noticed a few changes since the last time we went.
Always a good time.
Brody's IEP went well.
Aaron and I are both appreciative of everyone that helps Brody.
His teacher (Mrs. Cameron), his TA's (Mrs. Nye, Mr. Turner, Mrs. C., Mrs. Bown), his speech language pathologist (LeAnn Gowans), his adapted P.E. specialist (Tad Hunter), and his occupational therapist (Ryan Hemming), etc.
Everyone is amazing.