Lindsay's Field Trip to the Bounce House

 The day after I got home from Florida, Scott and I went on a field trip with Lindsay's Special Ed. class.  Lindsay had been talking about this field trip non-stop for weeks and she instructed us that we both had to come! {we were the only parents there!}

 It was a LOT of "work" for Scott.  Besides rough housing with all the boys who were starved for his attention Scott had to help Lindsay do everything!  She is  so big now and she couldn't  pull herself up on the slides.  It was very frustrating for her when her feet would slip and she just didn't  have the strength to pull her own weight up.

 Her sweet classmate, Savannah came over to tell us that she "needed help getting Lindsay up to the top of the slide." It touched my heart that Savannah wanted Lindsay to experience the slide too and she was trying to push her up to the top!! {one of the boys in Lindsay's class said that Savannah looked like "Medusa" with her hair fixed like that! haha!!}

 After lots of tears and even more encouragement,  Lindsay was at the top....but I wasn't sure she would go down!

 But, she did! And she never did it again!

 Her buddy Lucio enjoyed the day free of his wheelchair thanks to one of the BEST aides on this planet, John.  He toted Lucio around all morning and even took him into the bouncy things and pulled and pushed him through tunnels! I KNOW he had to be exhausted by the end of the day!

 Lindsay liked "the swimming pool" the best. 

 She and Lucio pushed a ball back and forth and bounced a little tiny bit.  These two truly love each other and look out for one another.  They have been friends since they met in Kindergarten.

It was SILENT in the room where the class ate pizza for lunch.  They were all absolutely exhausted.   It was a fun time, and once again, I must say GOD BLESS SPECIAL ED TEACHERS, ADAPTIVE P.E. TEACHERS  AND AIDES!
Lindsay came home that day just completely out of it!  She spent the next 4 school days at home with a terrible cold and two ear infections, so I was beyond happy when she went back to school today!Softball season is in full "swing" for Anna and the weather is finally cooperating!  I am ready to get some fresh, clean air and hopefully I won't catch a cold!

Spring Break 2011~Naples Edition

When Shae asked me to meet her in Florida for Spring Break I was so excited!  But, I could not find a good deal on a flight!  Enter Susie Kramer....I started getting texts and Facebook messages with airline deals every day...from Susie.  I don't know how she did it, but she found me a ticket for just over $200.  A deal I could NOT refuse.

 Shae flew to Naples on Sunday and I joined her there on Tuesday!  I LOVED going to Florida on Spring Break when I was a Liberty girl!  Susie, Dawn and I have many happy memories form our times in Miami!

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to go was to meet this precious thing:

Cassie Rae Kramer is Susie and Bill's 13 month old!  I was shocked when Susie told me she was gonna have Kramer girl #4 when Kramer girl #3 was 13!  But, now I can see that something would have been missing without that bright eyed, VERY BUSY, expressive girl.

Shae fell in love with that baby!  She also enjoyed her time with Cassie's sweet big sisters!

Katie, Shae, Courtney and Kelly enjoyed {almost} daily visits to Rita's for frozen custard gelatis!  Yummy!!!

We could not have felt more welcomed.  The Kramers are wonderful hosts.  They were leaving to fly to Denver the same day I flew home, I would have been a frazzled mess trying to get ready...not Susie.  She made me feel as if I could have stayed another month!

It was a fun treat to see Susie's sister, Sally DeWitt, and her girls Danielle and Deanna, (and their roommate, Becca) all Liberty girls, when they drove over from Ft. Lauderdale.

We had lots of laying by the pool sessions! The Kramer resort is sooooooo nice!

We hit the beach, where the water is so much warmer than it is in California!

We did a little "house shopping"...

I found many options for us.  Now to save some money for our Naples vacation home!

We celebrated Deanna's birthday.  I held this beautiful girl when she was  just a few days old on one of my visits to Florida!  She is about to graduate with her Master's degree from Liberty University!

I simply adored each moment of uninterrupted time catching up with my girl.

The sunsets on the beach in Naples are incomparable!   I think I would have a daily appointment there if I lived 1 mile from the beach like Bill and Susie do.

As if it wasn't enough to see one of my best friends....

Dawn and Kenny walked in the front door on Friday! Oh.my.gracious. was I surprised to TEARS!  Shocked isn't even the word!  Dawn is VERY busy with work and I was planning to see her this summer in South Carolina at her house.....What an unbelievable treat to have a weekend together!  There is nothing like friendships that have lasted over the years and what torture to live so far away!

Susie has a precious neighbor, Miss Peg.  She was a home economics teacher for many years and is the most wonderful neighbor anyone could ask for. She loaded me down with some cute patterns and lots of cute ideas! She embroidered special shirts for us!  

Hilarious!

I feel like I have been refreshed and encouraged.  These girls have a way of making me feel VERY loved and special.  They love my family, are interested in my life and the little details and they understand and adore Lindsay.  We have a bond that will only grow closer as time passes.  The JOY of friendships that have The Lord as the common denominator cannot be compared!

I love that between the three of us we have 9 daughters, who are all friends! {funny that the tough football boys don't have any boys...and Bill is a football coach!}

Katie is graduating this year (she and Shae are only 2 months apart) and I am waiting on pins and needles to find out where she will go to school!  She has multiple offers to swim and she is VERY dedicated (swimming 7 days a week before the crack of dawn!) but I hope, hope, hope Liberty gives her an offer she cannot refuse!

Florida was just the place we needed for a week of rest and relaxation...

Shae enjoyed every minute!

We had WAY TOO MANY of Susie's yummy creations (her homemade waffle cones are out of this world!).  I am always challenged by her skills as a Mama.  Her lunches make me feel inadequate...I will be making better sandwiches and wrapping them her way too!!

We fell hopelessly in love with this little girl!
I don't know how I will stay away for long,  she has captured my heart!

Shae kept up with her "faithful employee of LU Baseball" status by watching the games online all week! And, I might add that I HAD TO WATCH and text updates to her while she was out with Katie!
"any good hits?"  "WHO scored?"

We were loved on...

Spring Break Naples 2011 was one I will never forget!!!

Thank you to the Kramers and The Smiths for making it Perfect. So perfect.

I came home to a perfectly clean , laundry all done, clean sheet house complete with roses,

and the sweetest notes..... the perfect ending to a perfect week!

Thank you to Scott for dressing, bathing, fixing hair and answering questions all week by yourself for Lindsay,  going to the orthodontist, the consignment store, driving to two different schools, cooking healthy dinners, making lunches, reading bedtime stories, going to Lindsay's IEP meeting by yourself, upgrading me to first class, giving me money to buy my college girl some goodies, and for making me feel like it was all "no big deal".  

YOU.are.theBEST and I adore you.

The Evolution of a Purple Bench and Other Things

Life is sure busy when you have middle school aged children.  It seems that projects never cease!

Anna had to make a poster for her country report on Sudan.  I have to admit, I do LOVE me a poster assignment!  Lucky for Anna, her Daddy spent 6 months in Sudan back when he was at Liberty University. He was on a famine relief team and he had lots of pictures and mementos from his time there that we were able to use on her poster.

Lindsay went to the Dollar Store with Scott after she bugged him to death asking a zillion times if he'd take her one afternoon and bought this fun "windmill".  She had to "show Anna how cool it is" when Anna got home from school.

It is really nice to have a special ed student.  The pressures of schoolwork for Lindsay are basically none.  Her homework consists of tracing her name or doing a simple dot to dot...both of which she needs help doing.  That's okay, though...she gets a prize at school on Fridays for completed homework and it makes her whole week!

She was sick on Monday so she stayed home and caught up on some of her "shows".  She had to make sure her Sid and Gabriella dolls (that Shae got for her) were able to "watch themselves on TV!"

Basketball season ended with second place for Anna's team.  It was a fun season!

And now begins softball!!

Scott's got another job to add to his list: catcher.

Remember my little garage sale find last year?? 

Remember how my husband became a "professional stripper" a few posts back?

Well, look at her now!!!

Doesn't it look precious in Shae's room??

I think she will be very happy living in this space!

I was a little worried that the fabric I chose would be too "busy" in the room but, I think it works.

She'll have to enjoy her breathing room until May, because as soon as the girl who lives in this room gets home, I have a feeling this little bench won't be empty!