Christmas Pics!

As usual, the Christmas pics are pretty random. It's usually so chaotic that it's hard to get a good pic (not to mention it's usually too dark to get a great shot). But at any rate, here is a sampling of Christmas for us. Last year, I got a group shot of my dad's family, and this year we were able to get one of my mom's family. My only wish is that the out-of-staters could have been there for it!

A Star is Born!

Okay, so we all knew he was already a star! But his first real public performance was this weekend at the church during our Christmas music. The toddlers and preschoolers were supposed to ring the bells to "Jingle Bells" and wave streamers during "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy." Needless to say, it was a HOOT! (The second pic shows him in action). I was so proud, laughing and crying at the same time!!! Clayton started out strong on both songs, but by the end of the first verse of both songs, he was bored--just staring at everyone like "what the heck are we doing up here?!" He even tried to sing along a couple of times. Lots of people who never see him in action came up to me after church--they were so surprised he could do so much. I was glad he got to show a little of what he's good at . . . someday I know he'll be playing music for them!

ETA: Christmas pics coming soon . . .

Thursday

--Clayton doesn't feel good. Stuffy nose, runny nose, and I'm pretty sure sore throat because mine is raw as well. He does think his voice sounds cool though because he's just sitting around saying "OH." Like he's just listening to himself!

--Still not finished shopping!

--Got lots to do before this weekend and what I really want to do is just sit and scrap.

--Our Christmas music is Sunday night. Clayton is supposed to ring a bell and sing Jingle Bells with the toddlers/preschoolers. Should be very interesting! I'm supposed to sing, and I'm hoping my throat is much better by then.

--Dr. Berlinski gave us permission to start weaning Clayton from his oxygen more aggressively. Can't wait to see how he does! (But I think I'll wait until this cold passes though).

WOW!

Talk about a Random Act of Kindness! I opened the mail today only to find that an anonymous gift giver had sent us a very BIG gift card to Wal-Mart!! And everyone knows that Wal-Mart has everything, so we'll be putting it to good use! I don't know who you are, but Brian and I send a very BIG THANK YOU for blessing us this Christmas. We so appreciate you thinking of us and we will definitely be paying it forward.

Scrapbooking Your Faith

Here is the little flier I've prepared to advertise my upcoming Bible Study. You'll have to double click on it to enlarge it enough to read.

I left off my contact information for obvious reasons, but those of you who are close enough to attend know how to get in touch with me about signing up. Can't wait to hear from you!

Feeling Better

For the last three days I've been dealing with a constant stuffy and runny nose, sneezing, and super itchy eyes. I'm guessing it had to do with the fact that one day it was in the fourties, then the next day seventies (all the while being 100% humidity). Whatever it was, I couldn't concentrate on anything because I was distracted constantly by needing to breathe! I woke up this morning feeling much better. No sneezing at least. That's a relief! Must be that medicine my mom brought me last night! Her medicine is always better than my own! I'm still going to take it easy today because I was busy the whole time I was feeling bad and that made it even worse. At any rate, I can already tell I'm going to have a much better day today!

Monday

--I actually did a little Christmas shopping today. Don't know what got into me!

--Got to scrap a little last night. Nothing spectacular, but I was creative nonetheless.

--This weather is WACKY.

--Clayton is lovin' singing Christmas carols!

--Bible Study + scrapbooking: it's coming to my church, led by Yours Truly! (details to come soon)

--Helped Debbie strip wallpaper this weekend. Remind me to NEVER hang wallpaper in my future homes!

Thursday

--I am not a Christmas present shopper. I want to buy something the person will *LOVE* so searching for the perfect gift becomes a futile search

--I had lots of ideas for handmade presents this year. The trick is to actually get started on them

--It's chilly here today, but tomorrow it's supposed to be back up in the seventies. December in Arkansas.

--Our Pastor gave me an assignment and because I'm obsessive/compulsive I've been brainstorming constantly about it even though I have plenty of time to get a plan together. I was super tired last night and still couldn't sleep because I was making lists and outlines in my head. I seriously need help!

--haircut today, about two weeks too late!

--And on that note, I've gotta get out of here because Clayton is "READY TO GO, MOMMA!"

Went Bowling

Brian and I had a rare night without Clayton (THANKS MOM AND DAD!), and we took the chance to do something we wouldn't normally do with him. We went bowling with Stacey and Rod, and boy, are we ever horrible at bowling! Of course I knew I wasn't any good, but our whole group was pretty sad. So sad that we abandoned the bowling alley after just one game! (Off to eating, which is something we are very good at!) Here are some of the few good pics we got out of the night. I'm sure Stacey will love that I'm sharing the last one--I think she was attempting a celebratory toe touch or something to that effect, and I just happened to catch her mid-air!

Have I Told You About Brian's New Toy?

On Black Friday we ventured out to shop with our houseguests, even though I would have preferred staying home. And since we were out, I could tell Brian was itching to make a purchase. He stayed in the kitchen section of each store. He finally told me that he had been comparing expresso machines. He does spend lots of money at Starbucks so I was fine with whatever he wanted. But little did I know what he would do once he got it home! The first afternoon he drank about six or seven expressos while "perfecting" his recipe. He was up until about 2:30 am! It wasn't that big a deal that night because he didn't have to work the next day, but last Sunday night was a totally different story. He was STILL drinking expressos at 9:30 just like they were cups of water. HE DID NOT SLEEP AT ALL Sunday night! I think he finally laid down around 5:00 am!!! I think it finally dawned on him that he was going to have to drink in moderation or never sleep again! He said that was as close to doing crystal meth as he'll ever come! He's still using the machine a lot (ANNOYING sounding machine), but at night he's running tea through it thank goodness!!

Checking In

Yes, I am here. Just busy with little things and not spending lots of time on the computer. My FIL and family were here from last Wednesday to Sunday so entertaining them took lots of my time. Clayton had a procedure done in the O. R. this morning, so I've been holding him and spoiling him for most of the day. He had his ear tubes removed and his teeth cleaned. His little preemie teeth look SO much better. The doctor explained that all of his medical issues and treatments have done nothing to help nuture the growth of strong, good looking teeth, so we're lucky that they've turned out as well as they have. I'm hoping his permanent teeth look better, but he also explained that they were being formed right after his birth and up to three years of age, so his health issues could have affected them as well. But this doctor was SUPER empathetic and assured me that whatever Clayton ended up with, if he could make it better, he would. You could tell by the way he talked and acted that he has a heart for these special kids. Such a 180 from the original dentist we saw there. Thank goodness we changed doctors!! But back to Clayton, he's been sleeping all day from the effects of the anesthisia. And of course now he's wide awake! Even so, I'm sure I won't have to beg him to get to sleep tonight--between the medicine and the getting up at 4 am, he's beat!

Happy after Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a great day yesterday! We spent the afternoon at my GrandMother's and then promptly came home for our after-turkey nap. Ah, the joys of Thanksgiving! Here is a song from Clayton--as usual he gets stagefright in front of the camera, so the only way I could get him on film was to get him while he was in the bathtub. I wish I could get one of him while he's sitting up, because he looks so much better and cuter then, but oh well! He kinda gave out on me by the end of this one, but at least you'll get to hear his sweet voice for a moment.

I've Got an Idea

Since I don't "work" my mind is always coming up with new projects that I could start, but I'm too tired to ever really act on them. My latest idea involves the other parents that I see daily at the clinic. I've always known there are other people out there with special needs children, but it wasn't until I started taking Clayton to the clinic that I realized that we really have lots in common and it would be great to share the burdens and joys of our children together. So my first idea was to set up some kind of social function for the parents/moms just so we could meet and visit with each other. That was several weeks ago when I thought of that and one of Clayton's therapists even encouraged me to talk to their non-profit person about helping me get it started. Then today I thought about how I could use scrapbooking as a bonding tool. I've really missed teaching my classes since the LSS closed, and I love the outlet that scrapbooking our story has provided for me. So why couldn't these other mothers do the same? I could come up with some different ideas on how to get them started on scrapbooking their child's journey or even their personal or family journey through life with special needs. That's what's always been my strong suit anyway in scrapbooking, the journaling and telling of the story. I'm definitely not known for my unique artistic skills--just known as a mother who pours her heart into her creations. I'm really thinking about giving this a go, just need to put my ideas on paper and talk to the non-profit lady about some help from the clinic. Surely they'll be willing!

Christmas Wish List

I wouldn't normally talk about what I want for Christmas unless someone asked, but since it's my blog, I figure I get to talk about it if I want. So here are just a few items on my wish list:

1. Windchimes

2. as many of these that I can get (I'm pretty sure they are being discontinued and I love these particular albums--I've needed some for a while as I don't have any room in my albums for my scrapbook pages anymore!)

3. Merle Norman gift certificate

4. Bon Jovi CD: Lost Highway

5. Kenny Chesney CD: Just Who I Am/Poets and Pirates

6. Sugarland CD: Enjoy the Ride

7. Loungewear/Pajamas

8. ANY gift certificate to Kohl's or Dress Barn (I'm seriously dress clothes poor right now-----WELL, at least dress clothes that FIT me!)

And that's all I can think of right now. Hopefully that will help the few of you who want to buy me something this year. :)

Time Seems to be Flying!

Has it really been six days since my last post? YIKES! I can't even tell you what I've actually accomplished during those days, just haven't really been on the computer much. Haven't been scrapping, and haven't been reading. Been sittin' I guess! Church was interesting yesterday because Brian was out of town and I had Clayton by myself and still had to sing on praise team and in the choir. He ended up sitting with my friend Jennifer and he was entertaining the whole section of people during the whole song service. He even went off to Children's Church with her and saw me as he left--never got upset once! He's growing up--doesn't need his momma as much anymore!

I don't really have much else on my mind at the moment, so I'll go for now--have a great day everyone!

I Actually Scrapped!

I did this layout first:
And that got me warmed up for this one:

Journaling: When you were little the vacuum cleaner terrified you, but that's all changed now! You have your very own vacuum and you play with it everyday! You spend lots of time in the floor with that toy. And the vacuum isn't your only obsession . . . cars (particularly the red one), guitars, and your keyboard are all your favorite toys. You ask for each one of these at least once a day. It's so much fun watching your personality develop!

I'm hoping I'll get to scrap some more this week and I'll be as happy with those pages as I am with these!

Halloween Photos

Clayton has always dressed up for Halloween, but last night was the first time that he really went trick or treating! He was a little overwhelmed at first, but he loved being out and about. He never did say anything to anyone as they gave him candy though. Just stared at them with his big blue eyes!

THE REAL SUPERMAN!!

TRICK OR TREAT!!!

And here he is with his cousins and friends before the big walk around the block.

Some Photos from the Weekend

We went for a boat ride on Saturday and I tried playing around with my camera. I'm slowly but surely learning to change my settings and shoot in manual. The scenery was a bit uninteresting, but it did give me some time to practice. Brian grabbed the camera and shot the last pic here--he never gets out of practice!

Monday Morning

Beautiful day here today--I have a ton of things to keep me busy. Never got to those bathrooms last week although I did get the sheets on the bed changed. I guess that counts for something!

I've got a ton of laundry and some design team assignments I need to wrap up. I also need to sit down and pay bills which is always a barrel of fun . . . .

My friends Becky and Noel both tagged me on their blogs and these were my directions:

1. Link to your tagger, and also post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of you post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm going to cheat and only complete steps one and two--I don't know if I know 7 people that would play along! So anyway, here are 7 random and not-so-random facts about me:

1. I'm a night owl by nature, but having a child that won't sleep without me is cutting into my staying up late schedule.

2. I get motion sick EASY--like even swinging on a swing makes me ill. Not a good quality.

3. I sing on the praise team at church and I get totally stressed if I don't get to use the same microphone each week. YES, I'm that obsessive-compulsive! (Luckily, the other members have learned to work with me on this!)

4. I finally made the plunge and started coloring my hair last year--the gray is getting bad!

5. I eat some form of peanut butter every day.

6. I wish they had had American Idol back in my younger days so I could have given it a try.

7. Fall became my favorite season in the last couple of years--lovin' the weather, just wish it would last!

Thursday

Another gloomy day here. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that I'm 0% motivated to do some housework that I NEED to get done! I'm hoping by the time I go to bed tonight I'll at least have clean sheets on the bed and the bathrooms cleaned. Here's to big goals!

I'd really rather be reading or making some cards today. I'm hoping to fit that in as well. The big wild card is what CLAYTON will want to do. He's pretty much in charge here. :) And to be honest, he'd rather watch me clean than anything else! He's big on janitorial work . . . don't have any idea where that comes from, but he sure gets a kick out of watching me scrub! You'd think that would motivate me, but not really!

It's Here, in this Town

The MRSA infection that has been in the news this week is the same infection that killed Shawn. And although I had already decided it was time to be a stickler about germs around Clayton again (going back into guard mode), I was comforted by the fact that all the cases were somewhere else besides here. But I got an email this morning from church requesting prayer for a teenage girl at a local school--she has been diagnosed with MRSA and isn't doing well at all. So my first instinct is to basically camp out here at home forever--I can't imagine Clayton getting it! His body is definitely in better shape than Shawn's, but he doesn't even do well with a common cold, much less a deadly infection!!!!!!!! Oh my. Please pray that Clayton is protected.

Journaling: While she puts on a brave face for the world, she fights an inner battle everyday. The battle against a fear so deep, she can’t even describe it. Simply put: she can’t bear the thought of losing another child. She copes by spoiling him, sheltering him, and keeping him close by as much as possible. And as he is getting older, she is regretfully letting go—but she will continue to hold on tight for as long as he will let her. Journaling 6/07; Photo 1/06

Song of the Week

My friend Allison suggested that I post a song from Clayton every week and I thought that was a grand idea! The only problem I'm running into is catching him in full performance mode. He never does as well in front of the camera--he's such a little star, I'm hoping he'll grow out of that soon. :) Here he is with my mom the other night. (I'm sure she'll be upset that I posted her on my blog, but in the interest of cuteness, it just had to happen!)

I Haven't Been Scrapping

I've been reading! For those who know me well, you know this is a big deal--I haven't been able to really enjoy a book since the boys were born. But two weeks ago, I picked up an old favorite and devoured it! I've since read another one and I'm on my third one--takes me a little longer to read a book with Clayton here, and I definitely have to read in short spurts, but I'm enjoying the escape when I can get it. It feels so good to "come home" to my old friends, my books. I didn't really think I would ever be a reader again, but I'm glad I took a chance and decided to try it again. For so long, I couldn't read for my mind wandering on life's questions and problems--but now I see that they can be a chance to forget those nagging feelings for a while--I hope it lasts!

That Was Easy

Remember my previous whining posts about Clayton's dentist? Well, we started all over with a new doctor today and let me tell you--TOTALLY different mood and approach. We walked in, met the doctor and then I told him the short version of my concerns with the other doctor's plan (not using any sedation or anesthisia for any dental work on Clayton). He looked at Clayton's teeth (what he could with the fit throwing), and then looked at me and said "when's he's next scheduled procedure in the O.R.?" I told him we were planning Botox injections and an ear tube removal in November. He said he would just clean Clayton's teeth then and that was that. Easy cheesy. Now why couldn't that other doctor have been just as accomodating?

By Request

Here is a very homemade video of our band--hope you enjoy it (despite the sound issues!)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3960077265758545892&hl=en

Another video

Well, now that I've figured out how to videotape on my phone, I'm taping everything! Here is one of Clayton swinging at a birthday party on Saturday:

Now I just need to figure out how to get my regular videos on to the computer and I'll be set!

Oh.My.Goodness.

Last night a storm rolled through--LOTS of lightening. It woke me and Brian both up and as we were laying there half out of it, a bolt of lightening struck SOMETHING close! It felt like it was in the room with us! The TV popped and I swore I saw it flash, so I assumed it was ruined. The breaker for the bedroom flipped, so Brian got up to rummage around and check out the damage. He couldn't find anything wrong and the TV actually worked when he tried it. And everything is working this morning. All I know is a lightening strike like that makes it hard to go back to sleep! I layed there for quite a while before dozing back off. Thank God nothing serious happened!

Listening Ears

It's been brought to my attention by three different people that I didn't hear Clayton right yesterday--apparently he was saying "SUNSHINE" and I assumed it was Allison. As Judge Judy would say, I needed to put on my "listening ears!" Sorry I made you miss out on him singing "You Are My Sunshine," maybe we'll post that one next time! And I'm SO glad everyone enjoyed him as much as we get to everyday!

He Gets it From Me :)

For a long while, I've been promising some of you a video of Clayton singing. Unfortunately, everytime I had the video camera going, he got stage fright or something because he didn't want to sing for me while it was rolling. So since we sing during bath time everyday, I decided the best time to catch him off guard would be in the bathtub and it worked! I also used my phone so he wouldn't be so distracted by the actual camera. Hopefully you'll get a kick out of this even if he is sitting in the bathtub! (By the way, Gail is my aunt and Hannah and Allison are two of his therapists).

Hope You're Not Tired of Hearing about the Band!

We played last night for a launch meeting of a new church and things went SO MUCH BETTER than the fair! It was a small crowd, but we turned all of our levels down and tried to be really conscious of how we were sounding--I think almost everyone in the audience came up to us a one point or another to tell us how great we sounded! Made us feel much better and kind of erased the bad experience we had had earlier.

And for those who have asked, I'm working on getting a video clip. My friend Stacey is making a copy of a DVD for my Maw-Maw to watch and I'm hoping there is something good on there I can share here with my blog readers. It's questionable since the tape was made at the fair . . . hopefully there's one small clip to give you a little taste of our music.

Fair Report

Last night was our big gig at the county fair. And I must say that it was a little anti-climatic. We had sound issues from the get-go and I was immediately frustrated, which makes for a different feel when you're up there singing. In a nutshell, the crowd reported that you had to stand in certain spots to get a good sound and to actually understand what I was singing. Very frustrating! I'm such a perfectionist and stickler for these things that I was very disappointed after we left. My mom said it all sounded good in the way that you could tell we were playing great and on key and stuff, but you just didn't always know what the song was about! And that's the whole reason we're up there--the message of the songs!!! At any rate, we got paid for our work and that was the nice part of dealing with the issues . . . we had lots of people come out and see us as well--I just hope they don't judge us too harshly because of the sound problems!

One good thing about last night was that Clayton got to ride some rides! He loved it! I was so proud that he got to do what the other kids were doing--I snapped this picture with my phone, so the quality isn't that great, but you can see he has a smile on his face!

New Kit

Noel Mignon is now in the kit business and her first one is jam-packed with product! Check it out here.

Hi from Clayton!

Paying Gig!

Well, if you've been wanting to hear our band play, next week's your chance--we'll be playing at the county fair! And what's even better is it's actually a paid gig! Never thought I'd be excited about going to the fair (I usually tried to avoid it at all costs), but I'm pretty excited that we'll be playing to a public crowd instead of just our church. We've got some more plans that are coming together--the ball has really been rolling for us. Can't wait to see what God has in store!

We Will Never Forget