A Month of Gratitude - Day 24 (Answered Prayers)

 Sometimes, we ask for big things.  This morning, I was praying something small.  Minnow-sized, to be exact.

After a long drive Friday and Saturday, we went to bed early last night.  That meant we were up with the sunrise today.

 Before the sun was fully up, Celia and I were on the beach.  She wanted to go hunting for shells.

 

All around in the water were breakfasting birds.  They'd fly up, glide, and then swoop into the water with a splash!  Up each came with a minnow in his mouth.

Celia decided she wanted to use her shell net to catch a fish.  She waded out a little, and then stood very still.

I thought this was going to take a while.  And I still hadn't had any coffee yet.  I said a short prayer, "Lord, please, just one fish so she will be happy, and we can go in."

Less than a minute later, I heard a squeal and my name:  "MOM!!! I GOT ONE!"

Meet Bob.  Everybody say "Hi."  I have no idea what kind of fish Bob is, other than he is small, has a translucent tail, and lives in the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico.  (Based on Matthew's science homework from last week, I'm guessing he is some kind of minnow.)

(Update: According to Google, Bob is likely a glass minnow. )

After a chit-chat with Bob, he went off to do whatever he had planned for the day (I assume "Avoid the birds" was pretty high on his to-do list)...

...and one happy girl and one thankful Mama headed in for breakfast.
 

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Month of Gratitude -Day 23 (Life Jackets)

We went swimming tonight at the pool next to our rental house.  Celia is not a very strong swimmer, and neither Jude nor Damien swims at all. 

But jackets means they are going to bob to the surface if they fall in (we never let them near water unattended, but it will buy a moment for us to reach them), and tonight, it meant a little extra confidence to try paddling on their own.  Both boys started out hanging on...

and by the time we got out, each was paddling the width of the pool on his own.  

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Month of Gratitude - Day 22 (Edgarton Christian Academy Art Club)

 Matthew recently joined the Art Club in school. He has talked about it for the last two years, but scheduling conflicts kept him from joining.  This year, he finally was able to join.  He really seems to enjoy art, and when he came home with his first still life, he was proud that it had been selected for display.  When I saw the art teacher, I told him how much his demeanor had changed.  She said she really saw some good talent in him, and wanted to challenge him.  She's pushed him a little harder in class (and made it a little easier by moving his sister across the room for afterschool Art Club) and said she's really seen a payoff in his focus and confidence.

This week, he came home with his second work.  He already had a turn at the display case, so his canvas came home as soon as the paints were sealed.  He gave it to me for an "early Thanksgiving present.

 I was speechless at the detail - down to the shading on the house and the highlight on the petals - consider this is the child who can't focus long enough to tie his shoes!  Mrs. A says once he finds his "zone" when he's painting, he's lost in it.

It's a beautiful painting and I'm thankful he's found something he enjoys and can do well enough to build confidence.

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Month of Gratitude - Day 21 (A Break from DuPont)

 I love our docs and therapists at duPont.

The Nemours Carillion at DuPont

I especially love that I will not see them for the rest of the month.  We have plans for the week of Thanksgiving that do NOT include trips to the hospital.

I'm thankful that there is a Nemours hospital where we are going, so the kids' meical files are easily accessible.  I'll be ever so much more grateful if we don't have to visit.






©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Month of Gratitude - Day 20 (Thanks be to God for ALL Things)

Matthew's writing assignment last week was to write a friendly letter thanking someone.  He decided to thank God for all the things in his life -- big and small.  He agreed to share his letter...


-----------------------

November 16, 2013

Dear God,

            Thank you for all You gave me.  First, thank you for my life.  You have given me parents and siblings, whom I love very much.   Thank you for the world where I live.  The earth is a beautiful place that I will do my part to keep up.  Thank you also for people who invented video games, especially MineCraft.

                                                                                    Love,

                                                                                    Matthew

------------------

I love his final sentence...in all things, let us give thanks!





©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Month of Gratitude - Day 19 (One on One Time)

 When there are five kids in the family, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle.  I try to work in one-on-one time (or at least a minimal number of other kids around) with each.

Lately, Jude and I have been having breakfast on the way to therapy.  "Officially," it only takes just over an hour to get to the hospital.  In reality, we are tagging on to the tail end of Philadelphia rush hour, and sometimes it can take almost two if there is even a minor fender bender, so we leave ourselves two hours to get there.  It seems excessive, but it actually works well - we just leave right from dropping off Celia and Matthew.  If we have extra time, we either stop at a playground or for breakfast, depending on if he's eaten or not.  Today, he had breakfast but was still hungry.  Thankfully, there was not much traffic so we had time to stop to eat (instead of racing through the drive-thru window), but the whole way up the Blue Route he was talking to the cars ahead of us, "Hurry up! MOVE! I'm hungry!! You're wasting my sandwich time!"

We finally made it and he got his "sausage hamburger." He then told me all about what he planned to do with his therapists, and I got a lovely dissertation on the differences between the Lego Batman and Lego Star Wars games.

A few times when Matthew has been late getting out of school, I've walked over to meet him.  It's a bit of a hike (almost two miles each way, but it sure won't kill me!), but on the way home we talk about everything from school to movies to whatever else pops in his head.  He's finally big enough to ride in the front seat, so we're starting to get into those "I'm not looking at you so I can talk to you" conversations.

Damien gets a lot of hospital time, too.  He's a bit like a Pavlovian puppy - doctor first, then snack. I think he likes the fuss made when he shares.

Care for a strawberry?

Celia, being the girl of the house...we shop.  She talks about anything and everything -- to the point where sometimes I have to tell her to hush already so she can focus on trying clothes on.  We do some other "girl" things - like the hair salon, etc. - but shopping is her thing.  She also loves Justice.  The louder, the glittery-er, the blingier, the better!  Last time we were there, I texted Neal that there were more sequins and glitter than backstage at a drag queen beauty pageant!  She's also good at sniffing out sales -- that's my girl!!

Luke and I get a lot of time - more than most of the others - because he's my errand boy.  Often when I need to go grocery shopping, he's the one I take with me because he's the biggest and can push the cart when it gets full.  (I broke my elbow about 18 months ago, and the pull of the cart still hurts it.)  Sometimes to reward him, we'll grab a quick dinner somewhere -- much like any other soldier, he marches on his stomach.

I remember this meal - he just started working with Neal a little bit and was telling me about the differences between hard and soft bottom bushels baskets (most notably - hard bottoms are WAY heavier) and that he struggles with moving them around on the hand trucks.  He's still growing and just under 5'5" tall.  As he puts it -- "I'm like a T-rex!!  Big head, little arms!!"


I'm thankful for the time I get to spend with each of kid individually.  It's fun to see the different personalities in their own spotlights!




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A Month of Gratitude - Day 18 (The ABC song)

 Jude has been working for what seems like forever on learning his letters.  At first it was learning letters themselves, then the sounds.  He was finished kindergarten before he had a grasp on 75% of the alphabet -- but never the same letters twice in a row!


We've been working on ABC order recently, mostly to reinforce the letters but also to work on sequencing.  It's been a slow process.  We've been matching letters to numbers, so he can see A is 1st, B is second, etc.

Even with the numbers, he's struggled to put them in order.  He always is getting H and I reversed. Once he looks to check, he knows its wrong and switches, but the first round always is switched.

We haven't even attempted singing the ABCs in a long time.  He was getting the letters all jumbled up because of his language issues.  I tried a bunch of different ways, but it just wasn't working.  He recently started watching Super Why!  and they sing an "ABC song" at the end of each episode.  I thought maybe he'd learn that one, if only from hearing it so often.

To my surprise, he's started singing the "old" ABC song - the one that is set to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  The other day in the grocery store he started singing it, and I was utterly shocked!  Most of the letters are pretty recognizable, too! Today at the doctor's office he started singing it again, so I pulled out my phone and recorded it!






I am so proud of Jude!  The ABC song seems like such a little thing to be thankful for, but for him, it is HUGE. 

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Sunday Sharing Pinterest Party - Week 17

 Welcome everyone to a new week at the

I'm happy you're here. If you are new, welcome!  I hope you'll be a regular.  For the folks who are here and link up week after week, thank you for being so supportive.  In honor of this being week 17 of the party, I'm going to make all of my blog readers "what I am thankful for" on this 17th day of November!

This party is a bit late getting started because this weekend we celebrated my parents' 40th wedding anniversary! I invited them to come to my house on Saturday for an early Thanksgiving dinner -- and instead of a turkey dinner, they got a surprise party!

I'm grateful to have them as a wonderful example of what a good marriage should be.


In keeping with the theme, this week's featured pins are have materials in them that I am thankful for.  A special thank you to featured bloggers My Favorite Kind of Crazy, Craft Cravings, and Bakewell Junction!

First, I'm thankful for pumpkin! Getting a pumpkin is a field trip, the pumpkin itself is a decoration, and then something yummy to eat. This pin is a pumpkin muffin - perfect for eating on Thanksgiving morning to fortify yourself for the parades, family gatherings, and football games of the day!

I'm thankful when I can get a little more life out of something.  These mittens are a simple way to upcycle an old sweater.  Given how many gloves and mittens we lose, I will appreciate this pin all winter long!

And finally, I'm thankful for chocolate!  What girl isn't?

Doesn't this Chocolate-Bourbon-Pecan Pie look fantastic?  Yum!




It's time for this week's link up!  Share your favorite pins - Thanksgiving or other themed!

An InLinkz Link-up

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A Month of Gratitude - Day 16 (My parents on their Ruby Anniversary)

 I'm grateful for my parents! Of course, there is the obvious, I wouldn't be here without them, but I am especially grateful for the example they have shown me.  They've shown that marriage is not always a honeymoon, but worth every bit of effort.  They have had easy times and hard time, sickness and health, and are as committed and in love now as ever.

 Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Month of Gratitude - Day 15 (Matthew)

 There are some days, I'd swear this child is the incarnation of Shakespeare's Puck.

The one who tries his hardest but would lose his head if it wasn't attached.  I can put something in his hand as he walks in the door to school and he will misplace it by the time he reaches his classroom 20 feet later.   Here he's hunting for a work packet that has been missing for so long the teacher gave me a heads up.  He finally found it -- spread among four sections of his portfolio and two sections of backpack.  (We wound up photocopying it so he had reasonably neat forms to turn it.  Forget "The dog ate my homework," it looked more like "The dog threw up my homework."  Ay.)

But pull him out of the hullaballo, and interact with him one on one, and he's really quite funny.

When Celia was born, it took him about two weeks to want to be bothered with her.  We'd offer did he want to hold her, and he'd decline.  Politely, but he wasn't particularly interested in her.  Finally, one night he asked to hold her, and of course I parked him in a corner of the couch and slid her into his lap.  He looked at her from either direction and said, "Hmm.  I guess we can keep her," and handed her off.  I remember it like yesterday -- he was such a little old man stuck in a three-year-old's body.

Last week, he wrote a paper about the genes he inherited.  He said he hopes his kids get better ones from his wife. Oh, and dad talked to him, and he knows all about babies. Through the discussion of exactly what genes he hoped his kids didn't get, he was alternately horrified and resigned to the fact that he'd have to do..."you know....that" with his wife.  I hid my laughter as best I could and said, "Yeah, that's pretty much a requirement for being married," and his response was "Well, thank goodness I'm not getting married for a long time."  Thank goodness, indeed...because you're only twelve and your mom isn't quite ready to marry you off just yet.

I purposely made him an appointment for today with the psychiatrist.  He was due about now for a revisit, but we wanted to wait until his first report card and teacher conferences, to see how he was settling in before making any changes. Yesterday was conference day, and they all agreed that he is smarter in reality than he is on paper.  When you ask him a question, he knows everything about the topic.  Ask him to put that on paper and you're lucky to get a five word sentence.  We're going to work together to try to help him -- them, us, and his doctors. At today's appointment, he talked to the psychiatrist about what was going on with school and the problems he was having, and when the doc asked him "Well, why do you think that's happening?" his response was, "I don't know, I'm just a nervous kid.  I know I'm weird, so I just stay away so I don't get in trouble when the other kids point it out."  We're going to try to change his meds and help give him the tools to overcome some of this, and I'll give the teachers a heads up (I don't fault them - they are absolutely awesome, but he's been hiding all of this under the guise of "I can go to study hall and nobody will suspect anything." 


Three things I discovered about him today: 

1.  He likes singing along to pop songs.  I never hear him sing when others are in the car, so I was surprised.  (Of course, it could be he never gets a word in edgewise with the others around.) 

2.  His art teacher says he has a real talent for art - he has a good eye, but the hidden blessing of his ADHD is when he actually does focus, he's got tunnel vision and can really get into creating art because he shuts out the world.  His imagination also sees whimsy.  I saw a burger bun, with a crease when he pointed it out.  He turned it one way and said, "It looks like a smile...but if you turn it this way, it's butt cheeks."  Yeah, he's a 12-year-old boy!  He then took his finger, punched holes above the burger and said, "Look...it's happy to meet me."

3.  He told me today was the "Best day ever."   He said that a few weeks ago when we spent the day in New York for his birthday.  I asked him why was today "better" than that, and his response was "Because even though we had Damien and an appointment for him, it was mostly just you and me."

Yeah, OW.

Today I'm grateful for my wonderful little changeling, but also for the reminder that I need to not forget him in the shuffle. 





©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Month of Gratitude - Day 14 (Ketchup)

 Ah, that bright red stuff that flows through my boys' veins.

No, not blood.

 Ketchup.

The three most common answers to "What's for dinner?" are:

1.  "Stuff you'll put ketchup on."

2.  "Does it matter?  You're going to drown it in ketchup anyway."

3. "We're having <food>.  Don't worry, you can put ketchup on it."


I like ketchup on scrambled eggs, scrapple, and cheesesteaks.  That's about it.  I used to tease Neal about how he liked "a few fries with his ketchup," or "a side of meatloaf with his ketchup."  Then Matthew came along and put it on everything.  There was nothing that couldn't be made better without ketchup.

Then came Jude.  When he was little, he needed to take a pancreatic medication that had to be swallowed as a capsule (not happening with a 1 year old) or sprinkled onto an acidic food; usually we would put it on applesauce.  Then one time we caught him with a spoon, eating ketchup from a little condiment cup like soup.  He wins! From then on, we gave him his meds on a spoonful of ketchup. Perfect for on the go - every restaurant and convenience store has ketchup packets.

Doesn't everyone carry an emergency bottle ketchup in the car?  Often we will stop at a grocery store and get bread and ham to have a picnic lunch.  Rather than having to buy a bottle of ketchup every time, I just keep one in my car.  It also works well for the drive-thru burgers where they remember "no cheese" but forget "ketchup on both buns," which is why it lives up front and not in the picnic bag in the trunk. (A bottle is easier to pass back and squirt than trying to rip open all the packets without decorating the car.)

One of Jude's favorite breakfasts is ketchup toast.  It was the first "meal" he ever "cooked" on his own.   Last winter, he helped me write a tutorial on how to make it.

If it wasn't for this condiment, there would be a lot of skipped meals here.  I'm very grateful for ketchup.






©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com