It's Been Way To Long!

Here it is a little over 24 hours of 2008 left and I have not posted since the 18th of Dec. We left town on Dec 20th and just returned last night. It was a great trip, somewhat tiring from all the running and visiting, but we enjoyed the visit. We attended Mike's extended family Christmas Party, went to the church I grew up in to their Christmas Program....brought back so many memories of when I was a kid, went shopping, had Christmas eve with my family, Christmas morn breakfast, watched Spencer and his toys, to the in laws for Christmas, went to see Marly and me(GREAT MOVIE!), Mike spend alot of time hunting with his brothers, loved my Mountaineers beating NC, attend my neice Tracy's 30th birthday celebration and the last day just relaxed before hitting the road....here are a few pics of the trip and all the activities. I can't believe this year is gone...where does time go? We all definitely need to slow down and enjoy the simply things in life more especially our family & friends and stop rushing. That is my New Year's resolution....to take things more lightly that I have no control over and enjoy just watching my son play and learn in his way and as the song goes ".....take time to smell the roses." I pray that you and yours have a Happy New Year and God richly blesses you in 2009!

Family Pictures

12 1/2 years in SC....wow can't believe it......time sure does fly and Spencer is 7, Mike is 36 and I'm, well.........a real woman never tells her age! My friend took these pics of us on Sunday for our Christmas cards, which by the way are very late.........don't think we're mad if you don't get it until after Christmas!!!

By the way those are my brothers!!! Are they cute!!!! Any single ladies, let me know and I'll hook you up!!!!(JUST KIDDING) Can you tell I'm in the Christmas mood....1 day left before a glorious 2 week break from teaching!! Anyway enjoy our family pics and hope all of you have a WONDERFUL, GLORIOUS, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My Terrific Kid

On Monday I attended the Jaycee/Civitians Christmas Party @ Spencer's school. He was recognized as a "Terrific Kid" by them for Fall 2008. He is doing so great! He speech is coming along and alot of his frustration is because he can't communicate his thoughts/feelings. He went up like a big boy and got his reward. Now Mommie has a bumper sticker that says "My kid is a TERRIFIC KID", but then again, I didn't need a bumper sticker to tell me that. I've always known I have a terrific kid!!! Congratulations Spencer and what a great kid you are!!! Mommie and Daddy love you!

Spartanburg Christmas Parade 2008

Spencer's school was in the parade in Spartanburg on Tuesday night. He was a littly iffy at first, but once the float started he loved the ride and waving to the people. Some friends of ours yelled his name, "Spencer, HI" and he immediately picked them out in the crowd and waved to them. They were so impressed that he heard them yelling at him. I love the fact the school, teachers and support staff were willing to do the parade after school and involved the students. I love his school and he is doing so well! Speech is coming along and recently he has starting saying mum, wt(want), ball, dada, oou(you), plze(please), I, ove(love). I'm so proud of the progress he has made over the last 14 weeks in speech. I am sure we will eventually get it! Enjoy the pics....he had alot of fun!

The Boyce Disco

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Elf Me

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Getting to the bottom of the situation!

Today after conversing with numerous people and a process of elimation we have decided that Spencer's buddy on the way from school is pinching Spencer. Don't know the reason, but as I know from working with any kid, they sometimes don't need a reason. Perhaps Spencer dangled his sock or Elmo in front of his face and he didn't like it, maybe Spencer yelled in his dismay of something and the kid didn't like it. I don't blame the kid, but I don't want my son to have bruises either, so the remedy is to sit Spencer in his harness by himself on the bus and his assistant sit across the aisle from him. That way there should be no more bruises. I have noticed bruises for sometime, but we all know kids do things and fall, etc....but yesterday did it! The bruises always seem to be on Spencer's left side, which is what led the nurse to say this. She has been a great help! So has his teacher and the elementary ed person @ McCarthy. I knew if we all worked together we could get to the bottom of this and what happened. I am so glad I didn't blow my stack and go off ranting and raving, because communication is the tool to any outcome involving school and home!!!

Confused!

OK, you guys all know that I try to do what is right, but right now I want to freakin' raise HELL with someone over the bruises I found up and down Spencer's left arm. What the hell........I really don't know what to do....do I go raise the roof off and demand that if he can't be safe that I want a one on one, or do I let the teacher handle it while I cool down. Ms. Patice is great and I know she will help us get to the bottom of the bruises he is coming home with. I am questioning the bus, Mike thinks another kid is pinching him. A couple of weeks ago the same thing...bruises on his hip and arm. I wondered if it was at the YMCA, but no one I talked to could tell me for sure. I want so bad for Spencer to answer me when I ask him "who did this to you." But he can't and I feel so responsible for it. I am at wits end and need you all to pray for me and how to approach this problem and how to deal with it. Spencer can be a handful but still I have never left any bruises like the ones I seen on his arm this evening. He can pull, jerk, squirm, etc and I tug and pull, but never like this has he ever had bruises. HELP....suggestions would be nice, but know I'm trying not to lose my cool but to approach it in a calm manner. I just want to know what happened!!!

Starting the Holiday Festivities!

Well it's here, the hustling and bustling of the holidays! Mike said to me last night that the holiday party and outings always make us alittle irritable. Once he asked me if I was tired around 8pm after rushing home to get little man in bed and I said yes. I asked how he could tell and he said I was a little irritable. Tired and aggrevated......yesterday after we sat in our vehicle watching the Greer Parade, I tried to cut through some side streets to get out of town and cut the curb to close and busted my rear tire. He got upset, I got upset and so that was that....now on top of buying Christmas we need a new tire. I'm trying to take things in stride, but sometimes once again I am so overwhelmed that my anxiety is kicking in and sending me over the top. I am trying so hard not to "lose it" and keep my outbursts down. Please send good thoughts and prayers as we continue through this holiday season for my peace of mind and to enjoy the things that are really the reason for the season.....the birth of Jesus Christ! Thanks so much good friends for that! You are all loved and respected. I know we all have our different issues, but I thank God that I have friends and family to help me through!

By the way.....Spencer will be in the Spartanburg Christmas Parade on Tues., Dec 9 with his school. The parade starts @ 6:30pm if you'd like to attend....8 marching bands.....wow!!

WOW Where do I start!

It's been awhile since I've blogged....the holidays, how stressful are they!! We traveled to WV for Thanksgiving...it was ok....stressful though. Mike and I have talked and in order for us to have a restful Christmas vacation, we are making a schedule of what is going on during our time in WV. This way we are not stressed and most of all Spencer is on a schedule. All of us who have children with Special Needs know that our children love structured routine, a place they can chill and do what they like...as for Spencer it is down time in Papaw's bedroom with his laptop and a number of movies and no one else in there with him! Mike and I think this works best for our family and in order for us not to be "at each other" we need to put us first! Spencer is the most important and in order for him to enjoy the holidays.....we need to do a schedule.

Here is a pic of some of the pics from WV! The family during the WV/Pitt game!

Unhappy Rudloph!

While decorating the house for the holidays Saturday I ran across this antler headband that I wear at my school before Christmas. I put them on Spencer to take a pic and he was not happy! I told him just 1 pic and he looked at me with the look that said...."ok lady hurry up and get this over with because I do not like these things on my head!" What a pic....can you tell he doesn't like them but tolerated them for me long enough to get a picture. What pressure we put on our kids to get that picture that we think will be so cute? The things we put our kids through especially during the holidays......a trip to see Santa, which they hate and can't understand why we make them go sit on a stranger's lap that has a strange look and then they freak out and have a meltdown and we look like idiots trying to console them! I'm sure we all have stories to tell....share one with me so I can see how silly I am for asking my child to be tolerant of these experiences! I really don't do the Santa thing because after the 1st meltdown with him seeing Santa I decided right them and there it wasn't worth it! We pick and choose what we want to battle and a picture with Santa is at the bottom of my list! Happy Thanksgiving!

A Girl's Night Out!

WOW is all I can say....what a great group of friends I have to be able to meet, talk about alot of different things, laugh, cry, agree to disagree and just have fun! It was awesome to know that we all share our love for our special children and we have their best interest at heart and that we would do anything for them. But also to share our deepest, darkest secrets(you guys know, but remember it's our secret) laugh have other things in common other than the special needs world, but we always tend to come back to that somewhere in whatever conversation we are in. I love you guys and since my family is not here, I rely on you guys for advice, laughter, tears and whatever I need to make it through. Thank you all for being a very special part of me and Spencer's life...Mike to!

Sunday afternoon

What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon then with family! Tammie and Syd were in Charlotte with Ronald and stopped by on their way back. Samantha came over from her Dad's house and we had a great, restful, enjoyable afternoon.....played with Spencer and Syd, watched movies with Sam, helped Tammie with her cookie business online, jumped on trampoline with Spencer, made lasagna for lunch, made homemade mac 'n cheese for Sam for dinner.....what a great day. I am so glad they came and spent the afternoon with us! Syd is growing so much, Sam is a typical teenager(which in a earlier blog she corrected me, she doesn't play a cello, she plays a viola) Spencer loves them both and Mike and I love spending time with all of them! Tammie is a good mommie and loves her girls with all her heart and does a good job of taking care of them! Thank you guys for spending time with us this afternoon...I enjoyed it alot and love you all very much!

Sleep

The hardest part of having a child that is non-verbal is that you never know for sure what is happening with them or to them. This week Spencer has been up every night.....last night it was 3:30am and he stayed up the remainder of the morning. By the time we got home, he bathed, we ate dinner and was relaxing, he was gone! So sleepy he could barely hold his head up. We pottied, brushed our teeth, lotioned up, sprayed the nose, started the cool mist machine and went to sleep. This was just before 7am. Around 9pm I heard something in the kitchen, I was in our bedroom surfing the net. I went in and there he sat in the middle of the floor, half asleep and not wanting to get up. Mike was gone and I can not lift him anymore. So I finally convinced him to get up, took him to the potty and led him back to his bed. He layed down and within seconds he was asleep for the 2nd time.

It makes me wonder what the heck is happening.....bad dreams, is he hot, is he cold, does he have sleep apnea, does he have anxiety or hyperactivity.....all these thoughts invade my mind and I have no idea what is going on because he can't tell me. So here I sit typing my thoughts and praying that God will give Spencer the peace he needs to sleep all night and get his rest. I give Benadryl religiously during allergy season which usually helps him relax, but am also thinking maybe he is developing a reverse effect to it. I'm so confused, so if you have any thoughts I would appreciate you sharing them with me. Broken sleep is so hard and I haven't had to do that for many years and I don't want to start again. He needs his sleep so he can perform to his highest ability and I need my sleep to also perform on my job! The body needs a deep sleep so that our bodies can restore and recover for a new day!!

VOTE!

Today we went to vote. What a privelege to have this right! As I stood there waiting for a booth to open, I told the lady not to forget my "I voted" sticker so I could get my free cup of coffee from Starbucks! Those of you that know me know that is my one bad habit!! So off to Starbucks we go after voting. We stopped and 1st I went in so Spencer wouldn't have to get out. What a line, there were more people in there getting their coffee free than were at the polling place! The lady in front of me said "don't we live in a great country?" I told her YES we do and I hope it stays great! I hope I didn't offend her, but this country is the best and we all need to continue praying for our country, our leaders(whoever they may be), our troops and our people! GOD BLESS THE USA!

Happy Halloween 2008

We went to our friend's neighborhood Trick or Treating tonight with Spencer. She lives in a very nice subdivision in Duncan and she had wanted to see Spencer. He really doesn't care for Halloween, but this year he loved walking up to the houses and .........yes, you guessed it, walking right on in just like he knew them! It was so funny and all the people were very nice and understood. I'm not sure where this came from but I have a hunch it is from when we go around to new subs and go into houses and look around. He is so funny because what he is looking for is not something that most people are looking for. For a long while now he has had a facination with heating vents that are in the floor. The one thing is that ours are not, they are in the ceilings. At my friend's house he went from room to room flipping on lights, looking behind doors, under windows, etc looking for them. Then he would take his foot and slide it up to it to see if he could get it up out of the floor. This is very interesting to watch, but not really sure why he does it. We had fun Trick or Treating and each year he is liking it more!

The other pic is of Spencer's new trampoline compliments of his cousin Samantha who was tired of it. He loves it, but doesn't like it when Daddy is on there bouncing him everywhere. This will be a great activity for him and help build his balance and increase his brain activity like horse back riding did.

More Speech

I have always been concerned with Spencer speech and if he'll ever talk. I still don't know 'cause even at 7 he still doesn't have any consistent words. So I began looking for someone to add more speech other than what he gets @ school. Today we did our 2nd session with her and I've heard so many more sounds from him in these last 2 weeks! Thank God for people who have a heart and want my child to succeed in his abilities! Hopefully this is what we need to push us over the top with our speech. Thank you for helping Spencer out!!

She's growing up!

This post is about my great-neice Samantha. Last night she had her orchestra concert, she plays the cello. She had to have a black formal and I never thought she'd do it, being the athlete she is but wow....I'm so proud of her! She is growing into such a nice young lady and mature and stands up for what she believes! I am very happy for her and all of her accomplishments.....

Yesterday Mike went with Spencer's class to Niven's Apple Farm. They did a hay ride throught the orchards, picked out a pumpkin and got a small bag of apples. Ms. Neely took a great pic of Spencer and Daddy on the hay ride. He loves field trips!

Drained

On Monday I did my prep for my colonoscopy so I went to sleep early without posting. No excuse just tired. So here I sit in the dr office getting ready to go back for the procedure UGH!!!!

Where has it went

Can you believe this is the last week in October? I was driving to Hendersville today to visit my neices and wow how pretty the leaves are traveling up Hwy 25. I was thinking, my goodness, where has this month gone. Next Sat is Nov 1 and before you know it we'll be doing the Christmas Holidays, then end of 1st semester and then spring break and the cycle continues. It seems the older I get the more time seems to just FLY by! Went I was in my teens I never thought the end of school and graduation would ever get here. I long for the days when time seemed to be slower and a slower pace of life with it. Next weekend we change our clocks back and this seems to help because we slow ourselves down, or at least I do once the darkness falls outside......who knows, maybe my new bedtime will be 9pm!!! Yea right! Time with Spencer flies also. When he was born, I was a mess. Scared to death he was going to die, he wouldn't eat, his heart, etc. Now 7 years later I look back to those times and wish they hadn't went by so fast! Enjoy them when they are little, those days don't last forever!

The fall pic is in WV on a lake as a kid we used to camp on and fish.....awesome pic!

"Oh What a Night"

That's what I'm sayin' right now! Tonight we went to the Dorman vs. Brynes football game. I'm a high school and college football junkie! I've been @ 2 high school teaching since coming to SC and both schools are big about their football. I was @ Spartanburg High School 6 years, then I'm starting my 4th year @ Dorman. Tonight the Cavaliers beat the Brynes Rebels 35-28. It was amazing! I'm so proud of the coaches and the jobs they have done with those young men and the example they set for them. Most all of them are good christain coaches that lead not only on the field but off the field also. Go Cavs!

Friday nights!

I can remember a few years ago that staying home on a Friday night was a sin! Now, I love it! Can't wait for Friday when I get home and put the lounging pants on, a big t-shirt and lately my WV slippers that anytime I'm cold a few minutes with these on and I'm real cozy! Now, Friday night are about spending quality family time together, playing games, watching a kid friendly movie, letting Spencer stay up later or just sitting on the couch covered up with Spencer cuddling. That give me warm fuzzies deep in my tummy! I love when he sits with me and cuddles and then he'll turn around and give me a kiss and even though he can't verbalize, he says with his eyes, "I love you Mommie!" EWWWWWW.....cold chills just thinking about it, gotta go and get some more cuddle time!!!