School

So far the school year (the whole week and a half so far) have been great! I feel MUCH better about this years curriculum and am excited to start each day! The boys are doing awesome and already learning a lot. Logan can now count objects up to 3 and can draw a circle and is working HARD to try to draw a square. The big boys are doing a study on a book called "The Squire and the Scroll". It is a bible study about how to become young men of God. They love it and it's so fun to have Biblical discussions with them. Today we studied about how Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son and how he trusted God and the promises He made to him. It was neat to be able to study those promises and talk about how WE are also a part of those promises as Abraham's heirs. I love that they are excited about studying the Bible. It's the best part of my day!

School is getting ready to begin

Monday begins a new school year at Grace Covenant Academy. I have been busy preparing lesson plans, fine tuning curriculum, organizing schedules and mostly mentally preparing for another year teaching the boys. This year we are adding Logan to the home school mix. I never really did an organized preschool program for the older boys, so this is new for me. I am both excited and nervous! I'll be sure to share the highlights of the school year with you all. Please pray for diligence for both myself and the boys, and that first and foremost I would keep the fact that our main goal for all of them is to train them up to be Godly men who long to serve their Savior.

Horn Creek Colorado 2009

I can't even begin to write how amazing this vacation was. We have probably never had a week as a family as amazing as this one. I will try to write a short summary of what we did during the week.

First off, the boys were in HOG HEAVEN with all the sticks, rocks and dirt. The very first thing they did upon arrival was find the perfect walking stick. They guarded that stick the whole week! I am amazed at how long boys can play with sticks, dirt and rocks. :)

Sunday night there was the famous log hanging night. The boys have been practicing for this since they saw the video of our pastor and his wife doing this. They had a blast...until Aiden puked (altitude sickness) It is so fun to see families beating each other with pillows trying to knock them off this log.

Monday; Zach, Aiden and myself went on the Alpine swing. This consists of two poles with a cable run between about 45 ft in the air. You get harnessed up and then the other people who are doing this pull the rope and hoist you up. On the count of 3, they pull the harness lose and you free fall then begin swinging. It was super fun. Monday was also game night. The games consisted of shaving cream/ cheese ball toss, water/spoon racing and a scavenger hunt/ quiz. Super fun!

Tuesday started off with pancake catching. You had to catch your breakfast! The table with goodies to put on the pancakes was just insane. I had a oreo cookie crumble whipped cream pancake. The boys were on a major sugar high from the sprinkles, cookie crumbs, syrup goodness they piled on it. It was tasty!!! (it's vacation, right?!) Which brings me to the food...it was amazing. Yummy! We also went to Bishop's castle that day. What a trip that place is!! It really is amazing! The night ended off with a campfire, singing with Russ and Nathan Clark George and s'mores making. It was one of my favorite nights! The weather in Co is AMAZING.

Wednesday Gina (the friends who we went with) and I went kayaking. sp? It was super fun and so beautiful. That night was western night. They had horse rides, tire bumping, face painting, popcorn, root beer floats, barn dancing, and more singing. Oh, and the horn creek staff melodrama. It was SOOOO funny! Unfortunately, Logan was terrified of most of it and had to be kept outside. After a little bit of barn dancing, Todd took Aiden and Logan back to the room and Zach and I danced the night away.

The last 2 days went so fast. We did hikes, more time in the rec center with bowling, rock climbing, basketball. Friday night was the banquet. They had an amazing meal and shared the mission and vision of the camp. I got all teary as they shared their heart about how they want this camp to minister to families. No one wanted to leave, we all wanted to stay another week and are already anxiously awaiting next year!

Personally, one of the things that meant so much to me was the number of people who came up and shared stories of people they knew who have Down Syndrome and how God had used them in their lives. It was encouraging as a mom to see how God uses each of His children, no matter their abilities.

We made many new friends, it is just so neat to know you have a common bond with these people in Christ and how easily the friendships formed. We love love loved the week and Lord willing will make this a yearly tradition!!

It takes forever to upload pictures on here, but I will upload a family picture that we had taken. (grandma and grandpa, I think Dad saved most of the other pictures on their computer...I'm sure they would love to show you sometime :) )

Family Update

It's been WAY too long since I've updated this blog! Shame on me!! Here is a brief family update. We are all doing great! HEE HEE! We are getting ready to take a vacation to Colorado in a few weeks. We will actually be spending my 30th birthday there. WOW! I can't believe I'm turning 30! I guess I'm aging right along with my boys! Zach, Aiden and Logan will begin school after Labor Day in September. I am getting all their books and I am FAR more excited than them (I always love home schooling for the first month or so! lol) We are so thankful for our health this summer. I can't believe the summer is coming to a close! We were able to get together with a bunch of family over the 4th of July and it was SO great to see people we hadn't seen for a long time!

Todd is still unsure about the future of his job, so we are continuing to pray for that. We thank God each day he has a job and know that He will provide for us no matter what happens.

Here are a few recent pictures of the boys...enjoy! I will try not to have SO LONG between the next posts!

Those precious moments

Most days Logan no longer takes a nap. However after a short nights sleep, he was VERY tired this afternoon. He was very fussy and just wanted to be snuggled. I sat down in the recliner and began to rock him. Let me just say, there is nothing sweeter than a child falling asleep in your arms. I think in the business of life, sometimes it's easier to just put them in bed. However, it has been hitting me recently that the days of having babies around is almost over. My babies are all growing up! So I sat and rocked my 'baby' to sleep. If I don't take advantage now, I'll have to wait for grand babies! ;) However, now I want him to wake up so he isn't awake until midnight! LOL!

Four years ago today

Four years ago today, our lives took an unexpected turn; at least unexpected to us. Almost immediately after the birth of our third son, the normal joyful, lighthearted mood I was used to after my previous births took an unexpected turn into a scene of scrambling, quiet nurses and Dr’s. At first I didn’t think much about it until I saw my Dr checking out our newest baby with a look of concern and intense concentration on his face. Shortly after that, my husband and the Dr were talking in hushed tones beside the warmer where my new precious babe was laying. The nurses were walking around quietly with somber looks on their faces. This was not a scene I was used to after a delivery. It is amazing how in just a few minutes time, the entire course of the life you had planned can come to a screeching halt and take a completely new direction. I finally began listening intently to what my Dr and husband were talking about. The words I heard next pierced my heart and sent my head in a tailspin. “I think your son has Down Syndrome”, the Dr said to my husband. At that moment, I had never been so thankful that our Dr was a faithful man of God. He pulled up a chair and sat with us for over an hour sharing scripture, praying for us and telling us what an amazing journey we were about to embark on. I truly believe that God used this amazing Dr to help us begin to accept this new reality in our lives. As the night went on, and Todd and I were finally alone, we felt an amazing peace literally being wrapped around us. We knew that Gods plans were ALWAYS better than ours, and that this child too, was fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together in my womb for God’s glory.

This journey has not been without its trials. Logan has had a few significant medical issues. We were unsure, for a time, if he would live to see his 3^rd birthday. This was a time of amazing growth for our family and we experienced God’s grace in a way we had never experienced before. I am thankful to report that his health has greatly improved this last year, PRAISE BE TO GOD!

The blessings of this journey however, far outweigh the trials. We had been told at one point (rather coldly) that Logan may never walk or talk. When Logan was 3.5 he took his first unassisted steps. While it is always amazing to see your baby take their first steps, this was especially sweet. Both Todd and I could not hold back our tears as we saw him try SO HARD and then succeed. He also has begun talking up a storm and I heard the best phrase a Momma could hear “Love you momma!” We are SO thankful that God proved the Dr’s wrong in both of these areas. His therapists are always asking what our goals for Logan are. While they are looking only for earthly goals, we are also praying for eternal goals. Along with physical and mental development, we are praying that Logan never remembers a day when he doesn’t know that Christ died for him, and that he grows into a man of God who longs to serve his Savior. These are goals we have for all of our children alike.

We praise God for each day we have with Logan and pray that God gives us a full earthly life with him, but we know that even if Logan’s life is ‘cut short’ on earth, we have the hope of spending eternity with him in Heaven and seeing him praising his Savior with a whole body. We long for that day!

I want to thank all our family and friends who pray for and support us as we walk down this path. While we weren’t expecting it, we are very blessed to be walking it with our family, friends, and God’s continuing grace and peace.

Happy 4^th Birthday Logan! We love you!!

Monday/Tuesday workout report

Monday- nothing

Tuesday- 1.5 miles walk/jog on treadmill and 45 minutes Wii Fit

To answer the question if I like the outdoor challenge......Yes. It gets my heart pumping more than the Wii Fit.....but I like the wii fit for the strength and yoga, which the outdoor challenge doesn't have. I think together, they work really well.