A Couple of Monkeys at the Zoo

Savannah's teacher told her that if her parents had never taken her to the zoo, that she should ask to go. Thanks, Ms. Maynor! Savannah has asked to go to the zoo every day since then.



So this week was spring break, and we broke down and went.



Sydney came along with us. Savannah and Sydney are good buddies.



And wouldn't you know, we walk the long path into the zoo, get in there, and a downpour begins. It was okay because we'd already seen all... 9... of the animals.



And then Brooklyn had a diaper blowout the size of I-don't-even-know-what.



We should have left our monkeys at the zoo...
But, we survived and had a fun time doing it!

Wordless Wednesday

Date Thirty-Nine: Scrabble

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Eve!

Good Friday Blessings

On good Friday, my heart is filled with gratefulness for the price paid for me. Thank you, Jesus! In that spirit, I wanted to share a song that has ministered to my heart recently. You can listen to it here and the lyrics are below.

We pray for blessings. We pray for peace. Comfort for family. Protection while we sleep. We pray for healing and prosperity. We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering. All the while, you hear each spoken need. Your love is way too much to give us lesser things. What if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near? What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise? We pray for wisdom, your voice to hear. We cry in anger when we cannot feel you near. We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love. As if every promise from your word is not enough. All the while, you hear each desperate plea and long that we have faith to believe. What if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near? What if the trials of this life are your mercies in disguise? When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win... we know, the pain reminds this heart that this is not, this is not our home. Its not our home. What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is a revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy? What if the trials of this life... the pain, the storms, the hardest nights... are your mercies in disguise?

Thank you, Jesus, for all of it. Thank you for the sleepless nights as well as the happy days. And most of all, thank you for the freedom you gave me... you paid much too high a price. Thank you.

I will miss this. Supposedly. I doubt it.

It is in moments like these, "they" tell me that I'm going to miss this. I'm not sure where "they" got the idea that I will miss not being able to whip out the camera with a reasonable expectation that my kids will 1.) sit and 2.) smile, but whatever. Supposedly, I will miss this.

This next one was the best one I got. I'm not sure even Beth could work wonders when the children act like they have ants in their pants!

Sigh. They say I will miss this.

Wordless Wednesday

Special-Needs Moms

Being the mom of a special-needs kid is hard. Rewarding, but difficult. It is a roller-coaster. In the past week, we've gotten bad news about Brooklyn's speech progress, and good news about her progress in physical therapy. Up and down, up and down.




Yesterday, I was flipping through a magazine and came across a list of why moms with special-needs kids rock. And as I read through the list, my eyes got all teary... because I felt like someone else understood what I deal with on a regular basis. So... here is that list for all of you other special-needs moms. I hope it encourages you like it did me.




Why Moms of Special-Needs Kids Rock:
Because we never thought doing it all would mean doing this much. But we do it all, and then some. Because we've discovered patience we never knew we had. Because we are willing to do the same thing 1000 times if that is what it takes for our kids to learn something new. Because we have heard doctors tell us the worst, and we refuse to believe them. Because we have bad days and breakdowns, and then we pick ourselves up and keep right on going. Because we are strong...who knew we could be so strong? Because we aren't just moms, wives, cooks, cleaners, chauffers, and people who work. We are also physical therapists, speech therapists, first responders, nurses, teachers, coaches, and cheerleaders. Because we've spent countless hours on the phone and in meetings, fighting for our children. Because we give so much love to our kids, and then still have plenty left over for our other children. Because we understand our children better than anyone else, even if they can't speak. We know. We just know. Because we never stop pushing, never stop hoping for our kids. Because things seem to be going okay, and then suddenly they aren't. And we deal. We deal even when we feel as though our hearts might explode. Because we are always prepared for an emergency. Because sometimes our weeks include 4 medical appointments, and nobody is sick. Because when we look at our kids, we just see our sweet babies, not some other label. And thats why we rock.

Not Me Monday!

My child did not get sent to the principal's office last week. I did not have to have a parent-teacher "pow-wow" because she apparently decided to eat the gummy worms taped to the wall for an art show project. She did not then tell the teachers it was because she was starving because her parents didn't let her eat. No, that would never happen to me.
She was not in really big trouble for being bad AND lying.
She did not spike a fever that afternoon and end up having a double ear infection.
I am not giving myself some peace of mind by convincing myself that the sickness has something to do with the really bad behavior.
After being punished, Savannah is not getting gummy worms in her Easter basket, and I did not fix her 4 different items for breakfast the next morning.
Sigh. Not me.

Date Thirty-Eight: Dinner and a Movie

Due to being sick for almost three weeks straight and having an immense amount of pressure at school right now, we went for the easy option of dinner and a movie this week. Favorite comfort food at Outback Steakhouse, and the comedy of Arthur at the movies. And of course, our favorite sodas and peanut butter M&Ms. Hooray!

Coupons.

I have a confession to make. I have a new obsession with coupons. It all started when I went to a couponing class. I was amazed to find out that there are deals lurking around out there just waiting on smart consumers to discover them. And, I just love research and organization... so this was like a dream come true... do a little homework, get lots of stuff for free - yes, please!
Yesterday, for example, I went to CVS and left with the following items. Retail value was $22.55, and I spent $2.58. Total. Seriously, couponing is awesome.

How is it done? Here are a few guidelines:

1. Follow coupon blogs. Southernsavers.com is my personal favorite. They do most of the homework for you and tell you exactly what to buy and which coupons to use.

2. Buy the Sunday paper. It has tons of coupons that you will need for deals.

3. Get a CVS card, a Kroger card, and Food Lion card. Seriously, so worth it. And make sure they have your updated current address... they'll mail you coupons!

4. Combine offers. It seems like cheating sometimes, but it isn't (and they will let you know if it is!). For example, Special K was on sale for 3/3.33 each at CVS, making the total 9.99. Then, you got $4 extra care bucks with purchase of 3 Special-K items, making the total 5.99. Then, I had a coupon from Special K for 2.00 off a purchase of 3 boxes or more... bringing the total down to 3.99. Then, I used a CVS coupon for $3 off any purchase, making my total 0.99 for 3 boxes of cereal. Always combine sales + coupons + extra bucks.

5. Stock up on things when they are on sale, and don't when they aren't.

6. Have fun with your deals and steals!

Date Thirty-Seven : Cherry Blossom Festival

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Deskins

This past weekend, we traveled to Washington, DC, for a wedding of a childhood friend. Darren and Daniel go way back, and have played many games of football together, cheered on the Hokies many times, and are like brothers. Daniel is a Marine on security detail for the President (I know, right?!), so he is currently working in Washington. We all traveled there for his wedding.
We were excited to be able to be part of his special day with Danielle and thoroughly enjoyed the wedding weekend.

Congrats, Daniel and Danielle! We are so happy for you!