Conferences

Tonight we had conferences for the boys.  We sort of knew going into Zayvn's what to expect.  We've been in constant contact with his teacher since the beginning of school.  With Zayvn's ADHD we've been trying to work with his teacher and the school on a good plan that works for him, works for his teacher and satisfies Kev and I.  We knew Zayvn needed a little help in reading so we are working on that.  He's a whiz at math though and we were proud to hear that.  Zayvn has one more appt to see a pediatric cardiologist and from there we can get some meds for him that hopefully will help him out.   Other than the school work he's doing well.  We are proud of him.
Renn totally blew us away though!  Last year was not such a great year.  This year?  Incredible!!  His teacher says he is focusing and getting things done in class.  He's a typical 10 year old 5th grader, as his teacher points out, so sometimes he can get goofy.  However, he's doing much better than Kev and I even thought.  We are so proud of him!  He's been after us to get him some Nike Shocks.  I think with some of his allowance and us pitching in he'll get those Shocks!  Mom and dad are proud of both of our boys!

Spider Web

Kevin and I saw this at our old church in Salem, OR when we were back there to visit in June.  We liked the idea so much that Kevin came back and put one up in his office.  I had a wall down in the family room that I thought would be great for a spider web so I had Kevin put it up for me this weekend.  I love being able to display all sorts of pics and at the same time being able to change them around. 

A Piece of Me

A piece of me misses
your smiling face.
the many talks we have had.
the hug.
the times we have laughed and laughed together.
getting together with you and talking about our daily lives.
your companionship.
your friendship.
everything about you.
you calling me your knucklehead.
hearing your voice say "Cotton Pickin Deal"
your prayers at the most important times that I've needed them.
I miss you Grandpa, even after 7 years, I still miss you.  I miss seeing Jesus all over your face.  How you loved to share Him with everyone.  You could always make everything all right when I felt like things were falling apart.  I miss you so much.
This I know.  One day I will see you again.  I will look into that wonderful face of yours and touch it so gently.  I will hug you for the longest time.  I can picture, as I did on the day of your passing, having a great time with our Lord. 
A piece of me misses you so much.
Your forever in my mind and my heart. 

On a rant

So I've been on a rant and pondering lately why one person should pick up a phone and call someone?  What motivates someone to want to call someone?  Shouldn't it go both ways?  Shouldn't each person call each other?  I've thought about this question as I struggle with always having to be the one that picks up a phone and call.   Particulary calls back home to OR.  Maybe I'm being selfish?  I don't want to always have to be the one that calls all the time.  I want to receive phone calls as well.  Maybe the person thinks that they are bothering me if they call me.  Or I would be too busy to chat with them.  Psssst.....is what I say to that.    How long will I hold out?  How long will I wait before I eventually call?  Better yet, how long will it take them to pick up the phone and call?  I'm pretty stubborn and could hold out a very long time.  Kevin would tell me to just get over it.   Maybe I just don't want to get over it?  I know what I should do but doing it is another entirely different thing.  Eventually I'll make the call but just once I wish it was not up to me to have to call all the time.......I wish they would just pick up the phone and call......
I know, I know.  Sounds like I'm on a self pity roll.  Just for a few minutes, because this is my blog, I can be.

Pics of House

Looking at the back of the house from the backyard

Backyard

Downstairs Family Room

Standing in Living Room looking into Dining Room

Living Room

Our bedroom

Zayvn's Room

Renn's room

Kitchen

Bathroom upstairs

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Better shot of our bedroom

Front of our house

Life in the neighborhood

If you know Zayvn you won't be surprised to hear that he's made friends up one side and down the other side of our street.  He's always bringing someone to our house and asking if they can play or if he can go to their house and play.  Every waking moment is spent outside riding his bike and/or at a friends yard.  He still can't quite get why we don't want him inside someone's house.  We keep telling him we need to get to know them first before he can just play inside their house.  So he resorts to the backyard or in the front.  Zayvn has already asked two friends if they want to come to church with us.  He's my little go getter for sure!  Renn hasn't found any kids his age yet so goes along with Zayvn.  One thing Renn is in charge of now is mowing the lawn and he does quite a good job.  He gets paid for mowing it so that sort of motivates him to get it done.   Kevin loves his garage and being able to park his car in there.  I love being able to call this home my home.  When you rent it's not really your own.  I thank the Lord every day on how He brought this house to us.  Pictures are coming soon!

Answers I Received

This is a follow up to my post a couple weeks ago.  We were taking the boys to the U of I for some testing.  Here's what we found.  Renn is much smarter than what the teachers say he is.  This is due to the fact that he learns in a completely different way than what the teachers teach him.  The doctor said that if Renn was in a classroom of 25 children he would be one of the top two kids in that class.  He's smart, yet because of the way he learns it doesn't show.  Zayvn has ADHD and learns verbally rather than non verbal.  The doctors gave us just an outline of the report and once we get the whole thing we will set up meetings at the school to get some IEP's in place for the boys.  This will help get them the help they need while at school.  The doctors want to give the boys a light dose of medicine however because we don't know health background the boys had to have EKG's first.  Once those are done and sent to U of I we can then get the boys on the meds they need.  I know that God can bring complete healing where they won't need meds but for now, for this time, this is what they need.  I'm really grateful and thankful to the Lord and to the U of I for the answers we've been searching for.  Knowing that there's a light at the end of the tunnel makes it more able to bear.

Happy Birthday Kev!

I'm a little late on wishing him a Happy Birthday on the blog however I did not forget on his actual birthday.  He celebrated his 44th birthday on Wednesday.  He started his day out by getting presents from the boys and I.  I had ballons delivered to the office on Wednesday morning so that was a surprise to him too.  Since his birthday landed on a church night we went out to dinner on Thursday night to celebrate.  Happy Birthday Babe!!

Labor Day

We took a break from all the chaosis at home and went camping with some friends at Red Haw.  It's only an hour from our house so Saturday night Kev drove back and did service Sunday morning.  It was just wonderful to have some relaxation and down time after all the happenings at our house lately.  We went hiking, fishing, played games, sat around in our chairs, talked, and ate!