Our Littlest Husky

We took Sophie Kate to her first Hewitt Trussville High School football game this past Friday night.  The only thing to look forward to once school starts (besides the school holidays of course) is the start of football season.  It was a great night, the heat and humidity were down and there was a slight breeze making it's way across the field and through the stands from time to time.  Pretty unlikely weather for this time of year in Alabama but we'll take it and take them we did...all of them...to the season opener for our Huskies.

SK dressed out in her red and white...

Jacob was the only one who would do the pregame face painting.  If you knew him it wouldn't surprise you at all.  I love his spirit.

She may have not made it through the whole game, but I guarantee you she outlasted a lot of the grownups.

Still going strong...

Showing our Husky Spirit...

We could not have asked for a better night, SK was so good and the boys...well, they were boys and they are always going strong and high energy.  I was undecided most of the day whether we were going to attempt going to the game or not.  I was a bit grumbly about what we were going to do with SK, where were we going to sit, would there be room for her wheelchair or stroller?  Were we going to be sitting off by ourselves somewhere in some kind of handicap section?  I didn't necessarily want to be sitting and holding her the entire game...she's heavy y'all.  So back and forth we went...were we going to brave the game with our brood or not?

I am so glad that Chad gave voice to the decision making and determined that we were going to try it, b/c it turned out so good.  We did end up holding SK throughout the game but we alternated back and forth.  We also noted that her chair would probably fit in front of the first row of bleachers if we could get some help getting it up there, so at least we know we have options. 

We have got to make these moments happen for her, staying home b/c it's too much trouble is not an option for us.  It's a lot of work getting us all together, but totally worth the effort for our entire family to experience something together and it doesn't get much better than football in a small town.  We have a great community and we love our football.

School Days

The G-man started 4K this week which means that all the brothers are now officially back in school.  SK and I had one day to ourselves that we spent getting pedicures with friends and then it was back to therapy for us.  Here are the brothers on their first days of school...

Cooper 4th grade...

      

Jacob 2nd grade...

and Grey 4K...

Oh and I forgot, it was blankie's first day of 4K too...

Hello?  Carpooling on the first day...he thinks he's something...

They won't be this excited about school next week I can assure you.

Grey and his friend getting into their new pack of markers...

Getting their game day faces on...

Alright sister this means that it's time for us to get back to our regularly scheduled therapy routine...me too girl, let's take a nap and then get right back to the therapy thing.

No one is more grateful that Grey has started school than me.  Here's what the two weeks were like from the time the older boys started school until the time Grey started school...let me set the stage...we were on the way back from the bus stop (everyday) when Grey says to me "Mama, when do we get to pick the brothers up from school?"  Me: "Grey we just dropped them off at the bus stop, they haven't even arrived at school yet."  Nevertheless I am thinking, wow it's going to be a long day.

SK and I love our time together, but we sure miss those brothers, they are gone way too long from us during the day.  Thanks for checking in on us. 

SK goes to Sunday School

Our church is trying out a new special needs class that SK has been going to for two weeks now.  Prior to this Chad was taking her to Sunday School with him (b/c I teach 4 year olds which is the epicenter of germs) and then we would take her to worship (or as it was so fondly known in my childhood..."big church") with us. 

Well, now SK has her own "buddy" that takes her to the class she would actually be in.  She is not in a special needs class, she is in the same class with her typical peers. 

Can I just stop here and do a happy dance?  Seriously, no one (besides Chad) can possibly know how happy this makes me.  I get enough "special needs" Monday thru Friday.  She is always in the special needs class and I get it, believe me I get it "big time" that she has special needs.  I get it 24/7.

What a blessing this is for a parent, to know that your child will be taken care of by only one person (once again for reasons pertaining to major germ factors) and that your child gets to be in the classroom that they should be in...it's a beautiful thing.  I don't even know the children that are her age at church and they don't know her.  It means the world to this mama's heart.

Maybe she'll get used to being around them and they'll get used to being around her and then maybe there will be friends for her in the class.  As they grow up with her and she grows up with them there will be so much they can learn from each other.  Will she maybe possibly have a friend her own age one day?  Will she get to have her own friends come to her birthday parties?  Will she maybe possibly be invited to one of their parties one day? 

Beautiful girl...there is no end to the things you can teach us.  God's creations come in many different forms.  Thanks church family for steppin' out there and getting this started.  It is such blessing to us and to our sweet babies.

Matthew 21:14-16 "The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things He did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.  "Do You hear what these children are saying?" they asked Him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, " 'From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise'?"

Pool Pics

Oh, you thought summer had been officially closed here on the blog...well it's back for an encore.  My brother in law was here this past weekend with his awesome camera and got some great shots of my boys at the pool. 

Love the background on this one...

Cooper actually took this one of his brothers and his cousin, turned out pretty good, I thought...

Probably my favorite...

or maybe these next two are my favorites...

In any case I have been battling major camera envy this week.  Although my pictures probably wouldn't look this good even if I had a cool camera b/c he has major editing skillz as well...I'm so inadequate.  Thanks for making me feel inadequate in my picture taking Brad.  I'm joking...thanks for these priceles pics of my boys...I love them.

SK meets SK

Two friends from church made this cute little dress for Sophie Kate and it was such a sweet moment when they delivered it to us at church one Sunday.  SK meets SK...that's right Samantha Kay meets Sophie Kate.  This SK and her mom made my SK this little dress themselves, isn't it darling?

and here is SK lovin' her new dress...

Here we are over 2 1/2 years into this journey with our little SK and it is such a neat feeling to know that y'all still think about her and pray for her from time to time.  We feel so loved and so supported by our community and our church family.   Thanks for your continued love and prayers.

This time last week...

This time last week we were doing this...

this...

this...

and this...

all with our friends...

best friends.

Summer...we'll miss you.

Her Spirit

Her spirit embodies the sweetness of everything good in this world.  Just one look at her and you know that she is in this world but not of this world.  Her face tells the story not of pain, difficulty and disappointment but of peacefulness, joy and contentment.  Her spirit is so strong, she is under girded and upheld by God Almighty and she lives like she knows it.

I watch her sometimes as her daddy holds her during church and there is something about the way she lifts her head and looks heavenward...it brings tears to my eyes.  You know, I think to myself, she couldn't possibly have the "head knowledge" that I have about God and about His Word, but I don't have near the "heart knowledge" that she possesses.  What is her relationship with God like?  She knows Him, there is no way anyone could have the countenance she has apart from Him.  His handiwork is all over her...in her smile, in her eyes, in her physical creation as well as in her spirit, her soul, her very bones.

I make it too hard.  I let all this "head knowledge," all this stuff I think I know about God crowd out my "heart knowledge," things like my feelings and my actual relationship with Him.  Sophie Kate has every right (in my book) to be upset with her lot in life and to be sad about her circumstances, but she's not.  She wakes up happy every morning and goes to bed smiling every night.  She is the strongest person I know.  Peace, joy and contentment just emanate from her...it is her spirit...it is the Spirit of God in her.

Job 33:4 "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life."

Every Year

This happens to us every year...no nothing having to do with SK this time, it's the boys.  We are less than a week away from school starting and now they are sleeping in until almost 10:00 each morning.  Seriously...you guys could have been doing this since June.  I am not complaining though, I will just enjoy it for the next few days until harsh reality imposes it's will upon us.

Chad and I have no one to blame but ourselves, but we have so enjoyed this summer with our kids.  Yes, I know that summer is not technically over but for those of us with school age children summer "officially" exists from the last day of school until the first day of the new school year.  We have played hard and stayed up later than we should have.  We have worn our pajamas until late in the day and have been barefoot more than we should have, but that is the beauty of summer.  There have been many days where literally the only thing the boys have worn all day have been their swim trunks, those were some good days.

Of course there is something to be said about the fresh start of a new school year and the organization and routine that comes with it, not to mention the clean white reems of wide ruled paper and perfectly sharpened #2 pencils...it's just that I'm not there yet.  I am still hanging on to lazy mornings, unscheduled days, playing games with the boys, family movie night and having my first cup of coffee at 8am instead of 6am.  I'll miss their laughter filling every inch of this house at 11 o'clock in the morning, I'll miss seeing them in their pjs at 10am and I'll miss their barefeet padding through the house at any given moment of the day.  

Time is going by so quickly it saddens me to think how few summers I have left where they are happy to spend every minute of it with me, so I'll do just about anything to make every summer with them memorable.  

Quick change of subject but I just couldn't leave this one out.  We have had someone sick in this house for almost a week it started with Miss Sassy and ended with me, but that is not the point to this story.  This is what happens in the house when the mama is sick and the daddy is "in charge" and I use that term very loosely...

Alright, let me tell you about this little marker or rather permanent tatto marker.  It's like a sharpee on steriods.  I have never seen anything like it.  The removal process only causes slight fading.  We have done everything we can think of to get this off of them just short of sanding off the top layers of their skin and it only fades to a certain degree.  The rest will have to "wear off."  So if you see these two out and about just know we've tried.  By the way, big brother did this to them and they were all about it and it all occurred right under their daddy's nose...so funny.

    

When She Smiles

Our girl has been sick over the weekend, just a virus and thankfully this time a virus that we could manage from home.  It always amazes me how quickly things can change with her.  SK had shown absolutely no signs of not feeling well all day Thursday and  then that evening she spikes a 101 degree fever followed a couple of hours later by a 103 degree fever.  Motrin was only able to bring it down to 100.5.  Of course being a virus and all it was also accompanied by the usual vomiting, dry heaves and overall lethargy.  She felt nothing like this...

.
She felt terrible...I could see the effects of the fever in her red cheeks and lips but her eyes told the whole story...the look in those baby browns broke my heart.  Again her eyes looked nothing like this either...

She is definitely feeling better, her fever has come down and more importantly her face is starting to smile and her eyes are starting to sparkle again...just like this...

See, this is just what I am talking about...these pictures were taken just before SK got sick.  You never know what's going to happen next with this girl, there is never a dull moment with her.  These pictures were taken when Sophie Kate was in her stander one afternoon.  She was in an unbelievably smiley mood.

I know we are going to get a laugh out of her soon, b/c if this smile were any bigger it would've been a giggle...

"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37