Happy Birthday Grandma!

It has been a busy day! Lauren has had bad headaches the past three days, so I suspected she had a sinus infection since her nose is so stuffy. So, I was off to drop off the boys at their grandma's house at 9:00 this morning, and then to the doctor's office with Lauren. She has a sinus infection and ear infection, so she is now on an antibiotic, along with Franklin. Both of my ears were hurting this morning, so I decided to stop at my OB office to see if I could get a prescription, too. Well, we had to wait a while, and see the doctor and go through the whole pregnancy check routine, but I left with a prescription for an antibiotic for me, too! Now, if I can keep everyone's doses straight. Miles gets a half tsp of Zantac in the morning and then again at night, Franklin gets his antibiotic (3/4 tsp) in the morning and night for 10 days, Lauren had to take a double dose of her antibiotic today and then a normal dose of 3ml for the next 4 days, and I had to take two pills today, and will take one per day for the next 4 days. The good thing is...we should all be better soon!

As soon as Lauren and I finished at our doctor's offices I dropped off our prescriptions at CVS, and hurried to pick up the boys. It was already 11:30. I picked up the boys, hurried back to CVS to pick up the prescriptions and then met Roger at home for lunch a little after 12:00. We finished lunch at 12:45, I got Ari and Miles in their beds for a nap, hurried back to the kitchen to clean up the mess, got Lauren and Franklin busy with some activities, and our coordinator showed up at 1:00 from the Children's Center to do Miles' intake forms. Right before she got to our house I got a cake made and in the oven for grandma's birthday. We finished the intake at 1:45, the cake was already out of the oven and cooling, we worked on paintings and pictures and a puppet show for Grandma, Ari and Miles woke up, I started on homemade cheesy bread (YUM!), put some canned potatoes in a pot to heat, and we all began decorating the cake. It was quite a collaborative effort! We had a lot of fun! Grandma and Grandaddy came over for dinner, the food was great, the cake was great, and it was time to enjoy daddy for the evening!

Roger had a campaign fundraiser last night. He received some great donations! Very exciting! If you would like to donate to his campaign you can visit his website: www.shealy2008.com

Roger has a free evening, and I am so excited to spend some time with him! So, goodbye!

Something else that works!

I love it when I find little things that promise big things...and actually work!!! So, here is another one for you...

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!!!! This thing works! Honestly, they should have me on their commercial! It is a little white sponge that you get wet and then watch the magic as you try to clean. This is what it has done for me so far:

Takes off:
Permanent marker from my solid wood dining table
Dirt off of textured handle on refrigerator, oven, cabinets, doors
Soap scum off the textured shower floor (no cleaner I have used can do this on my shower)
Handprints or dirt from hands off of walls
Crayon off the floor, table, and wall
Marker off the floor
Spray Paint/Graffiti off of Roger's campaign signs (Ha! We got it off, you thugs!!!)

This little, white sponge has worked on everything I have tried it on! It's magic!

Could it really work?

I received an email probably over a year ago with an article. It said that if you rub garlic on the bottom of your feet you can smell and taste it 20 minutes later, and then it went on to say that if you will rub Vick's Vapor Rub on the bottom of your children's feet when they have a cough, and then put socks on them, it will help their cough. Could this be???

I was gone at a baby shower Friday night, but when I got home Roger told me he lined all of the kids up on the sofa with feet sticking out, rubbed their feet with Vick's, then put socks on them. (I wish I had a picture of that!) What was the outcome you may ask? It worked!!! He said they were all quiet with no cough within 15 minutes, and no one started coughing again until 6:00 the next morning.

Meal times have been high levels of coughing times over the past week, so Roger has begun rubbing their feet with Vick's and putting socks back on them before meals, too. It works! I'm amazed...

Lauren, he's too big for you to carry, silly girl!

Ari wanted to be Mommy's helper--Sweet Boy

A trip to the doctor

Everyone was asleep around 8:00 last night and slept through the night. Franklin was up at 6:20 this morning with an earache. I grew up with terrible ear infections so I have BIG sympathy for anyone with an ear infection. Thankfully, my children have maybe had one or two ear infections...each! That's great! I took Franklin to the doctor and he definitely has an ear infection, so he is now on antibiotics for only the second or third time in his life. His medicine is flavored, so he didn't seem to mind taking it too much.

Four little monkey's sitting in a row

Another day done

We had a beautiful day today! After dinner I took the kids outside for about 2.5 hours. One skinned up arm, one skinned up leg, one bumped head, two hair cuts (Ari and Franklin), and lots of fun later we came inside for medicine, baths, a quick snack and bed. All three boys have a fever, and all four kids have drippy/stuffy noses, and terrible coughs, but behavior was really good this evening. At least we were able to enjoy the weather and have fun together. They are all exhausted, so I hope they can sleep better tonight. I'll have to add pictures of the hair cuts tomorrow! Roger's home, so it is time to spend time with him!

When nothing seems to go right

You know what I'm talking about...those days when nothing seems to go just right. Lacking sleep doesn't help, either!

Behavior was very poor this morning...especially for a certain three year old. Miles and Ari decided to color on themselves with markers, too. Ari was into everything this morning and doing everything he knows he is not supposed to do!!! Of course, Miles copies everything, so they are dudes with an agenda.

I went to an event in Roger's place this morning because we were invited and he already had a meeting on his agenda. I didn't exactly feel like going, but it turned out fine. I dropped all of the kids off at their grandma's house, while one of them complained about absolutely everything. I was hurt. :-( I teared up and told her that complaining was not pleasing to God, and makes me feel bad. I told the kids that I didn't want to hear anymore complaining and if I do hear more then I may have to make some new rules...if you complain about dinner then maybe you should go to your room and not eat...if you complain about the movie I choose for you to watch then maybe you should go to your room and not watch the movie...if you complain about your clothes then maybe I will choose your clothes from now on and not give you a choice.

I had gone to Walgreen's between the event and picking up the kids. We needed more tissues, nasal spray, Mucinex and a nasal aspirator. I got home and found out that I made it home with the tissues, but none of the stuff that really mattered. Aaaargh! I called Roger and he was able to go pick them up, but after going to the wrong Walgreen's, and bring them home to me. He is so busy, and I felt bad asking him.

Then, I couldn't get one of the humidifiers to work last night, but the other one worked great. Well, this afternoon neither of them were working. I was able to fix one, and I will work on the other one when Miles wakes up.

And the latest...I found a movie amidst our other movies that belongs to the public library and was due back August 16th!!! What??!!! I have never received a notice, and we have been checking out movies and books since then and no one has ever told me this had not been returned. This a $0.50 per day late fee. I don't even want to begin to figure out how much I owe!

Think positive, think positive, think positive...
I haven't caught what the kids have. :-) I haven't heaved in 2.5 days. :-) I get to go to a baby shower tomorrow night :-) The weather is absolutely gorgeous today! :-) I have a wonderful husband. :-) I am living out a dream...I get to be a mom...even on the hard days. :-) The day feels better already!!!

Another restless night...

When Roger and I went to bed last night the house was quiet. Roger noticed that no one was coughing. Well, that lasted for a while, but when one of them starts coughing they all start coughing. I think I was up from about 4:00 to 5:30. Lauren came in and wanted a drink, and needed to tell me she couldn't breath out of her nose. Then Franklin came in and needed a drink. Then they both went back to bed, but continued coughing. I got up and gave each of them a cough drop. Then Miles woke up coughing and choking, so I ran to his room. I gave him a hug, kiss and a drink and went back to bed. Then Franklin came in to tell me he had just puked in his bed, and then ran to the bathroom to puke some more. I changed his pillow case and made him a bed on the floor with a trash can, since the top bunk isn't the best place to be if you need to run to the bathroom to puke. I gave Lauren and Franklin some medicine and went back to bed again. And then the alarm went off at 6:00.
I'm not complaining...just tired. I am blessed to have my children, and what better way to show them how to serve others than by taking care of them when they are sick?

It was a tough night

With four coughing, sick kids it was really difficult to get any sleep last night. I gave all of the kids some medicine around 6:30 hoping it would help them stop coughing, so they could go to sleep around 7:30. Ari could not go to sleep! He was up and down until 10:00 when I let him stay up and sit with me on the sofa until 10:45. He finally went to sleep around 11:00. You know the fine print on medicine that says "may cause excitability in children?" Yeah, well that is no exaggeration. I felt bad for him. He was back up at 2:00, Roger got up to give him a drink, and some Tylenol because his mouth (probably his throat) was hurting. He was up and down again until 2:30 when Roger took him back to bed and laid down with him until about 3:30. Finally, he was sleeping. Miles was up at 11:15 and then again at 12:20, we gave him a drink and he went back to sleep. Everyone was up before 6:30 this morning. Yawn...
We are blessed with good sleepers, so it takes a toll when we don't get a good night of sleep in a few nights. Our kids are generally in bed by 8:00 and get up around 7:00. I just hope they feel better soon. They sound like barking seals!

I have four sick kids. Poor kids. They all have a terrible cough. Miles has a bad cough, stuffy/runny nose, and a fever. He woke up from his nap today a little early and was pretty upset, so I went to check on him. He looked pitiful. I picked him up and cuddled with him. Lauren and Franklin went to Target with their grandma, Ari was sleeping, so I sat on the sofa with my sweet little sick boy, and he fell sound asleep on my lap for 45 minutes until Lauren and Franklin got home. I loved having the opportunity to cuddle with Miles.

I received a call from the Children's Center today, too. I called them over a week ago. Now, I have to wait for a call from someone else (I was told it would probably be another week), do an intake with her and then wait to be scheduled for an evaluation. I hope Miles will qualify, so he can get help with his sensory issues. I have to admit that I was hoping this would move along a little more quickly.

Aaaaarrrrr, Matey!

"What have you done?"

This was my question for my three oldest children this morning. And, I wasn't asking it in a nice tone of voice! They had been outside swinging (around 8:15 am)...or so I thought. We have a fenced yard, so I will let them go outside and swing by themselves sometimes. Miles is sick, so I was sitting on the couch cuddling him and watching Praise Baby. I see Franklin sneak through the house, but I thought maybe he was tiptoeing because his feet had gotten wet from the dew on the grass. Then...Lauren comes in with mud all over her and now all over my floor. I immediately jump up and ask where Ari is and run to Franklin's room to see mud on the carpet and wall as he is taking his muddy clothes off on his beige carpet. I tell him to go get in my bathtub, send Lauren to her bathtub and go outside to find the third muddy culprit. At this point, I am not a happy mommy! I get everyone cleaned up and the house vacuumed and ask all three parties, "What have you done?" Well, all fingers pointed at Lauren. The story goes something like this, "Well, we were swinging, but then it started to rain and Lauren found mud and started putting it down our shirts, so we started putting it on her pajamas." Lauren took all of the blame, and admitted that this was a bad thing to teach her brothers. We usually do baths at nighttime, but all three had baths before 8:30 this morning.
I finished cleaning everyone up, dried off and dressed just in time for Franklin to say, "Mommy, somebody pooped." Everyone is potty trained except Miles, so I knew who to look for. I pick up Miles to take him to his room to change him, but end up grabbing a leg full of poop (Yuck!). He had diarrhea that leaked from his diaper. So, I got him mostly cleaned up and off to the bathtub for a complete set of clean kids.
The day has actually been pretty smooth since then! Will it stay that way? Stay tuned...

Lauren's cute hair

Lauren had been asking for a few days to get her hair cut. I talked to Roger about it yesterday and he said it was fine with him, so off we went to the salon after the two little guys woke up from their naps. We went to a cheaper salon because I didn't think it was necessary to spend $25-30 to get a cute bob on a six year old little girl. And, how hard could it be to do a chin-length bob?
I explained to the lady that I wanted her to cut it chin-length and taper it a little in the back...the typical trendy look. She asked if I wanted it longer in the front than in the back. I told her it could be a little longer, but I mostly wanted a straight around bob. I should have taken a picture before I took Lauren outside to "fix" her hair. It was two inches longer in the back than in the front. She parted it down the middle when she cut it...Lauren parts her hair on the side. It was uneven, and she didn't taper it at all. It looked terrible!
So, here is Lauren's new hair cut...a la Mommy! Lauren said, "Wow, Mommy! You did a much better job than that lady. You should cut hair." Yeah, I should have saved my money and just did it myself! Oh well.

Rub-a-dub dub it's time for the tub!

Everyone got dirty outside with daddy tonight, so a bubble bath made the agenda! It may be hard to tell, but Lauren got her hair cut today, too! A picture and a story behind that tomorrow!

A busy day

I'm tired. It has been a busy day. Our very kind babysitter came at 8:15 this morning, so I could get out the door to my doctor's appointment at 8:30 and sonogram at 9:00. Miles actually waved and said "Goodbye, mommy." What a surprise?! Thank you, Ginger, for being such a great babysitter!

I got home after seeing our new baby boy, brought everyone inside, said goodbye to Ginger and we started on school. We got most of our school work done and did a "quick clean" of the house. Then, it was time for lunch. I met a new Mary Kay lady a few days ago and she came over with some new foundation at 1:00, which was just after I put Miles and Ari down for a nap. Roger came home around 2:00 for a quick sandwich (he still had not had lunch yet), and then we finished school, and waited for two little visitors to show up at our house. We had an extra two year old (really special, cuddly, kissy little guy), and an extra 4 year old super hero until about 4:45. When there mom came to pick them up she took Franklin home with her to play more, and offered for others to come while I went to Target. Bless her heart!!! I dropped off Lauren at her house, she fed everyone dinner and let them play, I took Ari and Miles with me to Target to get a few things and a refill of Miles' Zantac, bought the boys a hot dog and walked over to a chinese place for a quick dinner for me. The boys were so good through dinner (not so much so through Target...little stinkers). So, one Target trip, two bathroom breaks, and a quick dinner later we picked up Lauren and Franklin, visited for a few minutes, and headed home to get everyone in bed.
Now, I am way behind on laundry! How did that happen??? I usually stay on top of laundry really well. So, I am doing laundry, and waiting for Roger to come home, but if he doesn't get home in the next 45 minutes he is going to see a sleeping wife. Did I mention that I am tired? I didn't sleep well last night because I was too excited for my sonogram today!

Boy or Girl???

I had a hard time sleeping last night! And, I know everyone is dying to know, so.....

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!

His name will be Ian (pronounced E-uhn). His middle name is still not determined. We are deciding between Ian Gabriel, and Ian Presley. Hmmmm....just don't know!

Lauren is disappointed, but hoping he will have dark hair and dark eyes just like her. That would be great! I was hoping to pass on my boy clothes and go shopping for a girl, but we are pretty much set. I told Lauren she could help me pick out some new blankies for Ian and a new teddy bear. I had to soften the news somehow for this poor little girl who wants a sister so badly!

After having two miscarriages in a row I am so happy to have this little boy growing inside me and kicking around so much. He is an active little guy! I have been feeling him move since 13-14 weeks, which is a great comfort. Now, I can't wait to see him!!!

A better day

Today is a much better day! Ari got to go spend the day with his grandma! He kept saying (all the way out the door), "Okay, mommy, you stay here, okay? Miles stay here, too, okay? I go with grandma." He was so excited to go alone with grandma. I am so happy for him to have some special alone time.

We have already worked on our AWANA verses for tonight, Miles is blissfully taking a nap, Lauren and Franklin are getting to watch a movie from the library, I finally put on makeup and fixed my hair, and had a little time to rest.

Everyone seems to be in a much better mood today!!! Praise the Lord!

And, tomorrow we find out if we are having a boy or a girl! I just don't know! I would love to have another girl, so Lauren will have a sister (although we plan to adopt a little girl someday), but I honestly couldn't imagine having anything, but another boy...after having three in a row. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to find out! Roger is just as excited. He brought it up when we went to bed last night. May tomorrow come quickly!!!

One of those days...

Is this day over yet??? It has been one of those days. Lots of complaining, fighting, boo-boo's, and just plain ol' yuck! Roger's at a meeting, I put the kids to bed a little early tonight, I need some quiet time in prayer, so I will be more excited to do it all again tomorrow (hopefully, better than today though), and then I will grab a pillow, lay down on the sofa and watch The Biggest Loser...and maybe I'll have a snack! How does a snack go with the Biggest Loser??? I don't care! I'll be 19 weeks tomorrow, I am right at my pre-pregnancy weight, I'm not heaving at the moment...so I think a snack is just what I need while I watch a bunch of overweight people sweat off the pounds!!
I feel grumpy...blahhhh...

A new lawnmower!

Our lawnmower was dying quickly...actually, it was probably already dead! Roger was going to try to get it fixed, but his dad decided to get a new lawnmower and give us his old one. Wow! It is a nice push, self-propelled mower that should help Roger get the job done much more quickly. The only problem we have now is Roger finding the time to mow!

Miles 2 year check-up

Miles had his two year well-check today. He started crying as soon as we walked in the door. About the only time he has had to go to the doctor is for well-checks and he always gets shots, hence the fear. I was already planning to speak to the doctor about some sensory issues, but didn't have to explain much because the doctor and two nurses could definitely see what I was talking about. He was terrified to be weighed, measured, and everything else that happened. When I explained the issues (fear of people, strange places, vacuum, hair dryer, ears cleaned, face wiped, bottom wiped, nose wiped, etc) the doctor agreed that we should seek an evaluation. The way he responds and the things he is fearful of seem unreasonable, so it can be hard to deal with. My hope is that we can find a way to help him cope. It breaks my heart to see him so miserable, and this is the way he has been since he was a little baby. The doctor ruled out autism today, so we at least have one thing off the list.

Miles is tall and thin. He was in the 97th percentile for height, and the 21st for weight. The doctor wasn't concerned about him being thin since he is built just like his daddy. He will remain on reflux medication until...we have no idea how long he will be on medication, but it works, so we are happy about that! He got a flu shot today. I generally take the kids to a free flu-shot clinic in Orlando each year, and this year will be especially important since we will have a new baby in February, but Miles has such a hard time with crowds, and then getting a shot would send him over the edge, so I will leave him with someone and take the other kids when I find out about the clinic.

Please pray for Miles. Please pray for Roger and I, as well. We need wisdom. Miles is much better than he used to be. He used to cry at least 85% of the day until we took him off of milk, and put him back on his reflux medication. I had not heard him giggle until he was 18 months old. That was when we took him off of milk and put him back on his medication. It is so hard to see him get so fearful and overwhelmed. I love him so much, and I just want to help him feel better.

One last post for today...

We had a great campaign event today! It was fun! The kids had a great time! We were able to meet some new people and Roger received more campaign contributions. We have a wonderful group of volunteers!!! Roger's family has been a huge help, and we really appreciate them!

Toothless Lauren

Lauren has been losing a lot of teeth lately! It's so cute to see her toothless grin. She had already lost one of her top teeth and the other one was really loose, so I convinced her it was time for that tooth to come out. I tied a piece of thread around it, and I didn't want to be the one to pull it out because it makes me queasy just thinking about it, so I asked her if she wanted to pull the string. Much to my surprise she yanked, the tooth flew across the room, and we ran to the bathroom to wash out her mouth (it was bleeding...ewwwwww). Here is my toothless girl!

Happy Birthday to Miles!

At this very moment two years ago Miles was about 2.5 hours old. He was HUGE! The doctor, as well as everyone else, was shocked to find out that Miles weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces, was born naturally (no medication!), and without any complications. He told me the following day that angels were watching over me because Miles should have had at least a broken collar bone, among many other problems because of his size. He was bruised, I was in a lot of pain, but we were fine! Five weeks later Miles had emergency surgery at Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando, and ended up staying four days because of breathing problems. Miles continued to have reflux and apnea episodes, but the apnea disappeared at six months...thankfully! Miles still has reflux and we are going to try to look for help for him with some sensory issues, but other than those things he is a healthy, blonde headed, blue-eyed, talking up a storm, cutie boy! He loves to sing the ABC's during school time and he can already count to 10. I love my Miles Augustine Shealy!!!

A few new clothes!

My wonderful mother-in-law and I packed up all of the kids into her van this morning and headed out to do a little shopping. I needed a few new maternity blouses for the campaign and church, some new jeans, and return some jeans I had bought for Lauren. We were able to eat lunch at our favorite place...Panera!
We worked on school early this morning, and we'll finish up a few things this evening and tomorrow morning. The kids were pretty good even though going shopping seems to be about as bad as getting shots! They are like their dad in this area! :-)
Tonight I get to go to a friend's house for cheesecake, games, and friendship. I haven't seen my friend Laurie (or Jennifer who will be there, as well) in a very long time even though she lives less than 10 minutes from me. We are both homeschooling moms and have four children, so go figure!

Another campaign event

I went to a campaign event with Roger tonight and it was relaxing...it wasn't for Roger! This one was a fund raiser for Senator Bill Posey who is running for Congress. Roger and I have been told so many times that I needed to meet Katie Posey, Bill's wife, but we knew they were busy with their own campaign, so we never pursued. Well, tonight I spoke with Katie for a long time. She is exactly as she has been described...nice, forthright, and compassionate. It was great getting to know her. Her husband has been in politics for a long time, so she has tons of experience. She was full of wonderful advice and encouragement. I now have her cell phone number and email address and an invitation to call anytime. Thank you, Katie.

Inevitable arguments

Is it a boy or a girl? This is the topic of daily conversation at our house. Lauren prays for a girl. Franklin gets mad and insists he needs to pray, too...and, of course, he prays for a boy. Lauren gets mad. It's a vicious cycle! :-) I told them the other day that we all have the opportunity to pray and ask God for what we want, but God is going to give us what He knows is best, and we have to choose to be happy with His decision. Everyone agreed happily, and the arguing has lessened.

Update on Franklin

Franklin still has a difficult time with handwriting, but I think we figured something out today...he moves his entire hand when he is trying to write rather than moving his fingers. Try it and you'll see how difficult it is to trace something unless you keep your hand still and move your fingers. We worked on that and it made a huge difference! Handwriting is not going to come easily for Franklin, so we'll practice, practice, practice!

I also got him some short pencils with a grip at the bottom, which gives him more to hang on to. He loves the new pencils, and they seem to be helping, as well. Progress!

Pregnancy update

I guess you have to take the good with the bad in pregnancy, right?

The bad: I'm almost 18 weeks and still nauseated, frequent headaches, middle of the night bathroom trips, painful varicose veins.

The good: I feel the baby move every day! The baby seems to be doing well, and I am grateful to have made it this far. We'll find out a week from Thursday if this is Sarah or Ian!

A great evening...

To say we had a great evening is really minimizing the evening. Roger and I went back to Park Avenue Baptist Church tonight to see Nick Vujicic from Life Without Limbs.

If you have never heard of Nick please check out his website. Nick is from Australia. He is 25 years old and was born with no arms or legs. He is a true ambassador of Christ. His testimony is amazing, and funny, and encouraging, and full of insight.

I would love to have the opportunity to adopt a child with special needs someday. Thankfully, I have a friend who has gone before me, and now I watch as she gets to be a mom to three children with special needs. (Yes, M, I'm watching you!) As I watch M's children I am filled with hope and excitement! As I listened to Nick tonight I thought of the possibilities!

Let go of expectations...

I find it so hard not to have expectations. I am a planner! This is good and bad. When my plans fall through it can be quite frustrating. I thought I was going to go visit with a friend today and borrow her maternity clothes (yes, I am close to 18 weeks and my belly is finally growing :-) ), but Roger got home much later than I expected, so I didn't get to go. Then, we were expecting to go hear a gentleman speak at a church in town, and knew it would be crowded, but didn't expect the cars to line the busy street for over a mile. My expectations were squashed when we got to the door and were told they were overcrowded in the sanctuary and every overflow room, so we couldn't come in. So, once again I remind myself to let go of expectations, and choose to let God lead and accept His path.

Fun Day!!!

We worked extra hard on school this week, so we could take off today! My friend, Angela, who was in my wedding just got married last Saturday and came to Disney for her honeymoon. Lauren, Franklin, Ari and I met up with Angela and her husband, Jamie, at Downtown Disney. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe, played with Legos, got some ice cream from McDonald's, and walked around and had FUN! Miles gets overwhelmed easily, so he spent the morning with his grandma.

Tonight we went to Aunt Judy's for a special celebration cookout...Roger's cousin got a job! We have been praying for him for a while, and it paid off! Thank you, Lord.

We got home, put the kids in bed and started working on campaign "stuff." It is certainly going to be busy the next few months. Please continue to pray for us. We are praying that the campaign stays clean, and that Roger and his family will leave this election without a damaged reputation. Of course, we are also praying that Roger wins! We rest in the fact that we are working hard, God will bless our willingness to serve Him, and Roger will win if it is God's will.

AWANA begins

AWANA began at our church this evening. The kids were SOOOOO excited to go!!! This is Lauren's second year in Sparks (she finished her book twice last year!), Franklin's first year of Sparks, Ari's first year in Cubbies (he had a lot of fun!), and another year in the nursery for Miles. I helped with Sparks tonight and really enjoyed all of the kids!

As for school today...Franklin did so much better. I bought him different pencils (although I they don't sell the fat ones anymore) and he loves them and they seemed to help. I also bought some paper for him to practice more that has the right kind of lines, similar to his curriculum. He was so proud of himself today...and I laid on my proudness really thick to keep him going!

Lauren is doing really well reading. She catches on very quickly. She has been wanting to learn to write in cursive, so I bought her a dry erase activity to teach her cursive.

Ari is as sweet as ever. This little boy has a smile that lights up a room. He cracks me up!

Miles was full of kisses today! He doesn't want to kiss me on the cheek, so he holds my cheeks in his hands so he can lay one one me...straight on the lips! Funny boy!

A little strange...

Lauren worried me this morning. She fell asleep on my bed while I was getting ready, then she fell asleep at the breakfast table, then she went to bed and I woke her up at 10:00. She was fine when I woke her up. She got to bed late a lot when my parents were here, and I think the late nights and stress of not seeing daddy have caught up with her. She was fine the rest of the day. Very strange!
I'm just glad she is okay.

We made the top 25!

We did it!!!!!!!! We were able to hang on and made it to the top 25!!

Congratulations to all of you and thank you for your efforts!

Please forward this to everyone who you recruited to vote so they know.

We get a week-long break before the official top 25 are announced. During that time, those projects will be contacted to set up new project pages for voting.

Remember that ONLY US-RESIDENT CARDHOLDERS CAN VOTE IN THE 2ND ROUND.

If you don't have an Amex card, you can sign up online for free! That gives you a vote. And if you decide to close your account as soon as the card arrives, that is OK too! :))

In the 2nd round, they are whittling it down to the top 5. Everyone has to vote ONCE A DAY, EVERY DAY! That voting period is 3 weeks long (ends September 30). This is a VOTES ONLY thing, the advisory panel will not be involved in choosing the top 5 finalists.

But we will know the outcome in only 6 weeks (October 14th!) So please get the word out, make sure folks are signing up for cards if they wish to vote, and that they are ready the minute the voting begins!

Andrea Roberts, Executive Director
Reece's Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry
www.reecesrainbow.org

Roger and I had the opportunity to sing a duet at our church yesterday morning, and then another duet last night at another church. I really enjoyed singing with him. Someone asked us last night if we had a CD. LOL! Sorry, but that is just too funny! I appreciate the compliment, but I'm not that confident in my voice to let other people listen to it in their car. I tend to pick myself apart when I hear a recording because I hear all of my mistakes!

Today was a typical day. We had a lot of schoolwork to do. I have to admit that I felt a little overwhelmed today. Franklin doesn't have very good hand-motor skills yet, so writing is very difficult for him. I've heard that is true of most little boys. Handwriting came so easy for Lauren, so this is a new challenge for me. I am spending more one-on-one time with Franklin to help him with writing, but that takes a chunk out of my day. If anyone has any suggestions for how to help him with handwriting please share your advice! I will gladly accept any help I can get! He is doing much better with scissors now, so I hope that helps his writing as well.

It has been tough for Lauren and Franklin the past few days. They seemed to do fine before the primary election with Roger being gone so much, but it seems to be getting to them since Roger won and we are now heading into the general election. It breaks my heart that they miss him so much. Franklin asked twice on Saturday to make a picture for his daddy because "he doesn't see him very much anymore." *tears* Lauren cried and cried after Roger went to work this morning. She misses him. Ari patted her on her arm and Franklin went to get her teddy bear for her. I loved seeing the love and compassion her brothers had for her. It blesses me! Only two more months and the election will be over, and daddy can be home for dinner more often. He is home as much as he can be, but I understand that it is important for him to be out doing what he needs to do to win!