This Moment::In Words::June 20

I don't have a picture for this week, so I'm thinking about a moment that I'd like to savor and remember for later that I will tell instead of show...

Yesterday I went to lunch with Cindy so that I could hand off the pictures I took of her niece, Kim, and her baby, Addi.

I took Michael with me, since I had already been to the chiropractor in the morning, and he doesn't like to be left behind twice in the same day.

I loved it!! I loved visiting with Cindy and talking about things that we might not have if our husbands would have been with us (her husband Matt and my husband Steve worked together a long time ago and became good friends, so Cindy and I are usually with our guys when we visit.) Not that we talked about our husbands, but you know how topics get switched up a bit when couples visit as opposed to a one on one visit.

While we visited, Michael, who is learning to eat and drink now but still has a g-tube that we supplement through, ate a biscuit and gravy and some of Cindy's fries and his entire glass of water. SUCCESS!! The eating of food didn't surprise me much, but the drinking of a full glass of water sure did! I long for the day when he gets all of his calories and liquid just from eating!

Also while we visited, Michael was patient and just listened, which is something in the past year that I have learned that he is great at! I'm so grateful that this little guy, who will forever stay my little guy, is fine with sitting still and listening to conversation and then will talk when appropriate. I was always the child that was seen and not heard, by choice not force, and I LOVED it so much and miss it now that I'm older and have to be the one to think of clever things to say - I am truly an introvert. My mom took me with her when she visited her friends, and they gave me a soda at the beginning of the visit, and I sat at the table with them and listened to conversation if it interested me or looked out the windows at the falling snow, or the fluttering of butterflies, or the flying of birds, or I would just entertain myself with my own thoughts. I loved the downtime and that no one expected me to converse much past, "How is school going for you?" Michael seems to be cut from that same cloth :)

I love that as we go through life together, he will be comfortable with me taking him with me to visit and that he doesn't get restless or bored. After raising 5 other children, I can tell you that this quality is rare, but it is and will be such a huge blessing to me!

So, envision this if you will: Cindy, Michael, and me sitting around a circular table in one of those circular booths and eating our food, talking, laughing, and connecting. That is the moment that I truly loved this week.

♥

In the Garden::June 6

I've spent the week weeding and cleaning up the garden, then planting and transplanting. It's been a good week :)

♥

This Moment::January 17

Grandma Mema (me) with Mercedes Brielle just a little while after she was born

Mercedes Brielle born:
January 16, 2014 @ 6:49 p.m.
7 lbs 3 oz
19.5 inches long

Welcome to the world, Sweetie Pie ♥

♥

34/52::This Moment::August 23

I'm back on track for this week! :)



Yesterday was Michael's check up at the pediatric dentist. The fact that this kid has never had a cavity and has mostly straight teeth excites me and yet blows me away! We are very fortunate, since he is oral aversed and doesn't tolerate poking around in his mouth well. He will need to have a deep cleaning though, and for him that means being put under. He also needs one baby tooth removed, since the adult tooth is in a weird position and will not come in naturally by itself. The dentist is hoping that when the spot is opened up, the tooth will turn and come in properly. Keep your fingers crossed!

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This Moment::Sunflowers!::August 2

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This Moment::Steve and Michael::24/52::June 14

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This Moment::23/52::June 7

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."



{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

♥

This Moment::May 31

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

♥

This Moment::Friday, March 29

{this moment - inspired by SouleMama} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

♥

This Moment::He's Here!!::March 16

Bentley James March 15, 2013 12:48 pm 19.5" long 6 lb 12.2 oz And I'm the proud Grandma ♥

This Moment::9/52::March 8

{this moment - inspired by SouleMama} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words (I always break this rule) - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.



9/52 Playing with his helicopter - the blades on top remind him of a fan, and we all know how much he loves fans! :)

(This pic was taken with an external flash. I took a few pics with the lamp off, but didn't like them as well - the lamplight didn't add much light to the picture itself, but it adds a warmth that is aesthetically pleasing.)

Have a wonderful weekend!

This Moment::Friday, March 1

"This Moment" is typically a word without pictures. I, however, have used up all of the pictures that I've taken this week, leaving myself only with words.

So, I will pick one moment from the week and tell you about it...

Steve, Michael and I were sitting in the waiting room, just outside of radiology, where Michael was needing to get xrays of his hips, legs, and spine when another family came into the waiting room. The mom was typical enough that I don't even remember what she looked like, and unless the 3 year old boy with her had his special "stubbies" in view, I wouldn't recognize him again either.

She came in carrying the little boy. As soon as she put him down, I looked at him, and without thinking uttered aloud, "Kids are amazing, aren't they?" Embarrassed, I went on to tell a story about how Michael shouldn't be able to climb but does, but that wasn't really what I was referencing.

When she put her little boy down, I saw that he had no feet yet he quickly walked away, off to play with the toys set out for the kids who were waiting for an xray. From his ankles, there was only a little portion of flesh and bone - only a couple of inches of what should have been feet - and that is what he walked on.

I thought back to my mom having to get a portion of her foot removed when she had gangrenous toes, a result of her diabetes. We all were worried she'd never walk again, because the toes, and all portions of the foot, are used in balance. Yet here was a little boy who had never been told that he might never walk, nearly running everywhere he went.

Children are amazing at the way they adapt. Because they have no comprehension of what "normal" is, they don't realize that they should sit down and mourn for their own loss; they don't realize that no one would think less of them because they couldn't walk and needed a wheelchair.

We could get scientific and mention synapses in the brain. An adult has formed synapses of how to walk. We know how it feels to balance as one foot goes in front of the other. When our hips or knees are sore, we are made very aware of how our muscles and bones move as we walk, and that is our version of normal. If, for some reason, the way we balance was shifted, we would need to gain a new version of normal. It would feel very different from what we are currently used to, and it would totally throw us off our groove. A whole new way of walking would be needed, and in that sense, we would be almost like a toddler learning to walk. The only problem is that when we fall, children bounce but grown ups break.... which we are keenly aware of, so we have to add "fear" into the mix of emotions, too. A child with "disabilities" is learning to walk for the first time, so what they do feels normal to them.

Every time our lives shift and change, especially with big changes like death, injury, divorce... the BIG stuff in life, we have to learn to accommodate that change. We have to find our balance again and find, or create, a new sense of normal. It is painful and uncomfortable and very, very scary, but adults are amazing too! Even if we don't want to adapt, even if we fight against it, change we will, for the good or for the bad.

As we go through shifts and change, let us be very aware and very judicious about the direction our change pushes us. Even if we cannot will ourselves to walk but need a wheelchair instead, our thoughts are still within our control. As we choose positive thoughts, we will become positive people. We will look for new possibilities. We will take delight in the small accomplishments we make. At the end of the road, we will have become a person that has overcome the obstacle, because the greatest obstacle is the way we choose to think about things.

This Moment::Snowflake on an Icicle::January 18

{this moment}(Inspired by SouleMama) - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

This Moment::Michael 1/52::January 11

{this moment - inspired by SouleMama} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

This Moment::Aiden's Birthday::January 4

{this moment - inspired by SouleMama} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
**I gave him a Thomas the Tank engine and movie for his birthday. I love the smile. :)

This Moment::Friday, November 30

This Moment::First Day of School::August 17

Two pics down, four to go.

This Moment::Friday, August 10