4th post tonight!

Okay so you must read down! I have posted 4 times tonight and hope for comments on all of them :) I seem to have so few comments. :(

It occurred to me that Jennifer is the only one that does not have a posting today so here is a precious picture of my angel! :) She is perfect in almost every way--and reminds daily, almost eerily of myself (which maybe why I say perfect in almost every way). :) She loves drawing, painting, writing, and creating anything she can. She loves school is so sad that it is almost over for the summer. To her a three month break seems unbearable. Her stomach issues have almost completely gone away. We can only assume that she outgrew whatever issues she had--and hopefully she felt validated and supported by her family while working through this struggle. We are still seeing a counselor on a weekly basis. I believe that these sessions are giving her self confidence, inner peace, and also a source for her to share her stresses about her brother and family concerns. Overall, they are truly making a difference in her daily life!

Ryan's Headstart Meeting

I have tried to decide whether to post this or not and have decided to do so in hopes of your comments, thoughts, prayers, and concerns. The meeting with the Headstart therapists went well. They felt like all areas of development that will effect his learning, although not perfect, are within a range that is progressing in the right way. His speech, fine and gross motor skills, although not as high as some his age, are still progressing and in the normal range, and also have improved significantly in the past year since he was last evaluated.

Another thing that was suggested that we investigate, by our pediatrician, was his significant issues with sensitivities concerning his head, neck and other parts of his body. He still to this day does not want anyone touching his head, whether it be washing, combing, playing, cutting, or whatever. He also has started having issues feeling like he is choking when anything touches, even lightly, his neck. So I discussed this with the therapists, and Paul, myself, and Ryan's teacher filled out a questionnaire about his behavior. The result of which found him to have some sensory integration concerns.

I looked online at information on "sensory integration" and found quite a bit. Concerns like Autism, Aspergers, etc... were mentioned but not a concern in Ryan's case. Sensory integration is something and many children with the mentioned disorders suffer with. Truly, a number of the characteristics of "sensory integration" do fit Ryan well. Here is a quote that I found that seems to make sense to me.

"Sensory integration dysfunction is a problem in processing sensations which causes difficulties in daily life."

The recommendation is that we take Ryan for further evaluation and maybe some occupational therapy to help him with coping skills early on--to avoid stresses later in his life. The idea is that if we can help get through some of these issues early on that they may not be such a concern to him later in life.

Although, of course I feel stressed a bit that something might be wrong, I overall feel relieved that we are moving forward and searching for answers and strategies to help make this issue better long term. When he is evaluated further it may be that they will feel that these issues are not significant enough for us to be concerned about, that will be great--but if not we will move forward and seek the therapy that is needed to support him in this challenge.

We all have our challenges in our lives, and we are all asked to rise to them and work through them. Ryan has amazing language capabilities and is also very much interested in the "whole" world around him. He is a wonderful, loving, compassionate, and gifted child, and I have no doubt that he will rise to the challenge of coping with any challenge that is presented to him.

I have talked about this on my blog some so I thought that I might should follow through and discuss the update. I will keep you updated. We will go on June 18th for further evaluations.

Brendan's Pump is here!

Brendan got his Cozmore pump in the mail today! Wow! We are so excited. He has decided to wait 2 weeks until school is out before starting the process, and we are supporting this decision. We are hopeful that this pump is going to make such a difference in his life. Make him feel more like a normal child again. Prevent him from multiple daily shots (he will only need one every 3 days). The pump will give him small amounts of insulin all day long instead of big shots of insulin three or four times a day. It will give him insulin for his food slowly over a period of time that he chooses instead of all at once, forcing him to eat quickly or within a certain period. This particular pump has a meter built in, so although he will have to poke his finger to check still, the pump will know his number and calculate his insulin needs. Our plan is to have him completely self sufficient before school starts in the fall. This will prevent him from having to go to the office to test, to take insulin for special snacks in class, before lunch, etc... The pump will also allow him more flexibility with what he eats and when he does so. I know that this pump is not a cure or does not allow him a normal life, but at least he will feel less like he stands out and less like he is different, we hope. We also truly believe that this pump is going to be healthier for him and that it will help him keep his numbers more closely regulated and in range. Something that is critical to his long term health.

To all of you have been supportive in many ways to this venture, thank you so much! Your continued support through this time is so appreciated. We wouldn't make it without the support you provide.

In Bordine Style :)

Our paving stone project is coming along :) We have decided to add a little personality to the pattern by inviting friends and BBQ comers to decorate stones to be put into the pattern. It may not say elegant--but it will say "community", something we love and cherish! The announcement read "calling all dremmels and artists". Paul has his Dremmel (I do not know how to spell this word) ready to engrave and I have my paints ready to paint. Our kids and mommy (me) have done a few samples for you to enjoy. Anyone that comes to visit that would like to decorate a stone at a later time will be welcome to do so--you just might have to sit on the ground to accomplish it--hopefully the project will be done within the next week or so :) So you better come quick if you want to paint one out of the ground. Hint, hint, we love visitors and school gets out in 10 days--and someone I know has a 40th birthday coming up and would love company to help enjoy that! Okay, enough hinting... Off to clean my room--yes mine is messier than the kids (well maybe not Ryan and Jennifer's)--I have a scrapbooking project to work on and have to find my desk :(

Weekend Work :)

Here you see the Pavilion that we have up in the corner (where the garden used to be). There will be paving stones all under it and around it. :)

Here you can see the nice paving stones that Paul put between the house and the hottub. This has always been a muddy mess and a walking hazard--not any more :)
Here you see Ryan standing on another section of paving stones with the pavilion in the background.
When it gets done it will be amazing! Other news besides the backyard project is that Bren's pump will arrive here on Thursday. :) He has decided to wait two weeks to start using it because he doesn't want to start a new school plan with only 2 weeks left of school. So we will be starting sometime after the 11th. :) We all seem content with this decision. He is still excited about it and says with almost every shot, when I get the pump I won't have to do this. :) We are thrilled that he will have a chance at a more normal life with the pump and he is as well.

Tomorrow, Ryan and I will go back to Headstart to see what they have to say about all of his screenings for speech, sensory, fine and gross motor skills, etc... I am pretty sure they are going to tell us that he is fine and within normal limits, but I just want to make sure!

Paul managed to stay away from his office for the whole three days! I couldn't believe it, not even on the computer one time. Jenny had a fun weekend as well. She earned 15.00 carrying stones at .10 a stone. :) She was very excited by this opportunity--the boys not so much. :(

Another big weekend event was going out for breakfast at the Tollgate Inn in Sandy and then off to see Prince Caspian at the theater. Both were fabulous. Paul also cooked a fabulous brisket this weekend and the Davis family came and enjoyed it with us on Saturday evening. I mean it, a weekend of good food and good work! :)

We also found out this weekend that some dear friends are moving back home to Portland from Texas--Jim and Erin Crawford. We are so excited. When we first moved here Jim and Paul were both unemployed for over a year and we spent every night together eating playing cards and planning our futures. We are looking forward to rekindling a relationship with them once again. They have a son Jacob that is about a year older than Bren--hopefully that will be a positive relationship as well.

Well, I guess that is about all for now. We are good and continuing on day to day to see what lies around the next corner for each of us--that is a lot as there are 5 of us and 2 dogs if you don't remember. :) Peace tonight as you sleep. I am headed there now!

Bren is getting a Pump next week.

Brendan is getting a Pump!!!! A Cozmore Pump. It will arrive next Thursday and we are sooooo excited!!! What this means for him is no more daily shots. He will make an injection once every 3 days and then will have to dial in his insulin when he wishes to eat instead of giving himself a shot. It also means a tighter control of his numbers. He will have a little bit of insulin given all day long keeping him where he needs to be, instead of big shots of insulin which can spike or lower his numbers all day long. What they say about the pump is that it allows wearer not only a more normal life but a much healthier one if it is used properly. We are so excited!!! Did I say that? We are moving on faith that all the financial issues will work themselves out as we know that this is the best thing for Brendan and his future. Please pray for us during this transition! Peace

Garage Sales

My favorite time of year is here! Garage Sale time. I wanted to share with you my two amazing finds of my week :) This cute little desk for $1.00 and this great watering can for $1.00. The watering can and the desk are both about knee high. They look great on my front porch! The tea kettle was my grandmothers tea kettle that I used to play with in her yard. :) The tea cup I found a Winco for $7.00. I love good finds! :)

P.S. I Love You

Oh my goodness. Have you seen this movie? If not don't forget your box of kleenex. What an amazing story of love and inspiration . I felt myself constantly thinking of my dear friend, cousin, and sister Janice and I think that it helped me so much understand some of what she is going through with the loss of her husband Ronnie. I cried not only for the movie but for Janice and Preston as well, and also for the many other women that went through my mind that have lost their spouses in my life. My love to all of you, I am so sorry for your pain and hurt, and wish there was a way to make it easier for you. All my love.

Bunco

Tonight I went to a TOK Bunco night :) All the teachers and staff were invited to come play bunco. We had a great time. I had forgotten how much fun you could have playing Bunco. SOOOO.....I am going to start a EC and friends Bunco Group--want to join? We will meet once a month and we will be looking for 12 or 16 women and 4 substitutes to join in our "Bunco commitment". I think it will be fun! Stay tuned for more details and let me know if you are in!

Family

Some of you know and some of you don't that I have two sisters and a brother. I have a great relationship with my brother and one of my sisters. :) The other sister and I have had no contact for almost ten years. Today I got to see pictures of and be reminded of this sister. It made me so sad. I long for a relationship with her. I remember such happy memories with her growing up. My sisters dancing and singing, helping me, loving me, and my little brother. Although, I did not have a perfect childhood it was pretty good overall. I turned out okay and so did my brother and sister.

It is hard for me to think that I have a sister, and a brother (in-law, but one I truly grew up loving), 3 nieces, and a nephew that I haven't seen in 10 years, as well as a great niece that I have never met, and it hurts me beyond words. I have prayed and prayed for her to find peace with whatever horrible things that are keeping her away from her family and I have had to come to peace with this over the years. But today I saw picture of my sister and her children for the first time in 10 years and I wept. I miss her in my life and I miss being in hers.

Today, I am thankful for my family. Now in my life I am blessed with two additional sisters (Kristy and Jessica), whom I love very much. as well as several additional brothers in law--which I love as well. I am also blessed with my sister Nancy as well as a number of sisters of faith. I cherish each of my siblings and long to have relationships with each of them. I want them to get to know my wonderful children be a part of my life and I want to know theirs, and be a part of their lives. Thank you Donna, Randy, Kristy, Jessica, Jared, and Brad for letting me and my family be a part of your families and for sharing your love and receiving ours.

Jennifer's Program

I haven't posted about Jennifer in a while. She is doing well. Really better with her stomach issues I think! Tonight at her program she was quite "chatty" and although her teacher did tell her a couple of times to keep quiet she told me quietly that she was cheering inside to see Jennifer "chatty". :) Mrs Yucho is a wonderful teacher! She tries so hard to let each child come out and be themselves and she has been such a blessing for Jennifer this year! There is one picture of Jenny singing and then a couple of her just looking cute! The black jacket is the motorcycle jacket Jared and Kristy bought for Bren that I found in the closet last week! We will have to get some pictures of Jenny in it before she out grows it, and then it will be off on to Ryan not long after :)

Insulin Pump is coming! :)

We had a great visit with Dr Selva today and have decided to move ahead with the pump. Bren seems more at peace with it today and before we even got there he had agreed to give it a trial period. But after we got there, looked at them, talked about them, etc... He seemed to get even a bit excited! The two pumps we are looking at are the OmniPod pump (the first picture below), the benefit from this pump is that it is wireless, so no tubes, the down side is that the insulin is actually in the part connected to your body and so therefore it is bigger. The other one the CozMore pump (second picutre) does have tubes but a tiny portal into the body. Both systems also are a glucose testing meter as well. So although he will have to poke his finger the machine will do all of the figuring for him. We are very excited and hope that we can work it out to have this process move into high gear so that we can get the pump up and going before camping on July 4th. They say that the first two weeks will be very intense and with daily contact with the company and nurses. I am confident that we are up for this challenge and look forward to this change as I am confident that it will be positive for all of us. We will keep you posted!

Happy Mother's Day

Today was a lovely day! Full of good food, none of which I had to fix myself. I got a nap and got to play out in my yard. I finished planting the last of the bulbs (which most likely won't come up this year, but next year they will), and the last of the snapdragons that I had to plant. Overall, it was a wonderful day! Paul is tired after a long weekend of shoveling, moving, and lifting. I am confident that he is thrilled at being behind his desk tomorrow, instead of behind a shovel. :)

This week proves to be busy as most of my weeks are. I have bookkeeping work to catch up on, a musical to find volunteers for, end of the year excitement, lunches, parties, etc... Plus keeping our house in order and keeping up with the yard. We are suppose to have a hard rain day on Tuesday :) followed by 2-3 90+ degree weather days. Air Conditioner get ready! So by next weekend, the flowers should be beautiful and in full swing!

These four pictures are of the flowers in my yard and my favorite tulips. If you notice in the back of the first picture you can see a small section of the large pile of gravel in the drive way.





This is a picture of my garden box that runs along side the fence in the back yard. I have so far planted (or had planted) tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, sweet peas, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, as well a few others that I am not sure about. :) The sweet peas will be climbing up my picket fence :) So it will look much better in a few weeks when everything is tall and growing--don't worry I will post more pictures.


The three pictures below are pictures where the work is being done in the back yard, around the hot tub and along side the house. Paul and a number of teens have dug down about 8 or more inches of dirt--this has been hauled away in big dumpsters. The next step will be to put down gravel (already done in some places), then sand, and then last, but certainly not least the paving stones. :) We have already purchased our pavilion and it will go next the hot tub in the open area seen in the second picture. Can you visualize it? It has been a huge job--but we are confident that in the end it will be well worth the effort!


Well that is all I have for tonight. Going to the bath and then off to bed. :) Peace as you start your week!

Woot.com

I truly know very little about it, but this is what I do know. Everyday at Woot.com there is one item that is for sale, at what "Woot" says is an incredible deal! Sometimes it is sometimes it isn't. The item is listed at midnight Texas time every night, so at 10:00 here we can see what the next item is. If it is a good deal the items sometimes sell out before you can order, other times the items are available all day. On Tuedays there are usually two of the same item in the deal. Sometimes they have a "woot-off" (the flashing lights are the symbol) where they continually change the sale item all day. Each time the items sells out they list a new one. It is a huge waste of time and most of the stuff is stuff I am not interested, but it is not any more stress than surfing blogs or whatever, and I love to find a great deal! The "bag o' crap" is something that is bizarre to me I have seen them twice and they are so hot that they usually sell out in 2-3 seconds. I guess it is random and sometimes impressive, and sometimes not, but always for .99 I have found very few things really cheap that I have ordered, probably 5 or 6 things in the past couple of years. But it does entertain me to some degree and I love the "Woot-off" days. Although, I find myself wanting to stay in front of my computer all day.

If you know more info about Woot.com please share. There is a blogging community, a t-shirt of the day, a wine of the day as well as other things that I have never looked into. Check it out if you want and let me know what you think.

Wooting!!!`

By the way I was right last night it is a woot-off day! Earlier there was a ROOMBA for 101.99. :) You should check them out!!!! A new product everytime they sell out the old one today!!! Very exciting--although I haven't bought anything--it is still fun to see the deals! I did by a driver set for Paul for .99--I have no idea if it was a good deal but for .99 I had to get in on the action, and Stanley is a good tool name. :)

Dusting and BBQ--unrelated topics

Okay, for all of you who are keeping count on how many times I have dusted in the past month--I know you are out there! Mark me down for once in my dinning room. :) I even did my baseboards and my blinds. Don't get too excited I am going one room at a time. But the dinning room and living room are clean! Now I move onward.

No, I did not dust for BBQ as some of you may be aware I do not usually do this. But prepared to be amazed at the dust free china hutch and come have BBQ with us tomorrow night! Paul wants to share his HUGE backyard project with everyone--and let you tell him how crazy he is.

He called a little bit ago from California and said "let's have BBQ, I will have been home almost 24 hours, it should be fine." :) I love that he loves having people around all the time and being hospitable. :) Okay, so I just love him all around!!! Especially, when he is coming home after being gone all week!

Sammy is in the box again at night. Last night I tried to cuddle with him, all he wanted to do was climb on my head and chew on my fingers. :( We are off to PET SCRUB today I will post pictures later. :) Better have a clean dog with the clean dinning room!

Woot Bust!

Okay, so if any of you tried to get in on the Woot-off I am pretty sure it was another gag :( I don't know why I am so intrigued by Woot.com I still try and check it every night at 10:00 my time to get the "$1.00 bag of crap". I just want to know what you get in a "$1.00 bag of crap". Hopefully not that! ;) It amuses me for some reason to see how other people react--but I guess I am just one of those people I watch :(

Baby turns one!

Lukiah made my blog title tonight! Yes, a lot of other important people in my life share this birthday, Erin and Morgan!!!! But I can't believe that Lukiah is one! His is starting to walk and his first word (well after mommy) was "dog"--he loves Sammy and Kodi--well he loves them from a distance :) He is a dear and his little birthday party on Saturday will be well attended I am sure!!! In the picture above his is looking into the magic mirror with his Papa or Poppy--not sure which John is called :) But he is cute anyways and Papa John looks cute too!

My husband is coming home!!! Can you tell that I am ready! :) Tonight the kids and I took Erin out to Red Robin for her birthday! Happy Birthday Erin! Afterwards, we made a trek to Target to purchase "black" shoe laces for the new basketball shoes that Bren got earlier in the week. (The story behind that is that Sammy decided he didn't like the other shoelaces :) But luckily he liked the shoes and left them alone. Then I went to Fred Meyer and bought shoe laces that were on the clearance rack. .70 cents! But after dinner Erin and Katy pointed out that they were Navy and not Black--which would not do!!!--So off to Target to purchase black ones--so much for the sale! Thanks Katy and Erin!!! :) Not that the 1.79 broke the bank!).

Sammy is not sure what to do with Paul gone! He kind of wonders around like a lost puppy. I wasn't sure that he was so attached--but he is! One night I fell asleep on my bed before I put him in his box and woke up with him cuddle up under my chin--well as cuddle up under my chin as a 70+ pound puppy can be. :) When I came upstairs tonight he was laying on my pillow--I think there is going to be trouble when daddy comes home tomorrow! He is awfully cuddly though!

The kids are good--it is so amazing that they are so observant of my stress when Paul is gone--they seem to cry and stress so much more--which in turn stresses me out more.

Tomorrow is cleaning house day! I did that earlier this week, but then I let it go and now--well it is a problem--so no playing tomorrow! Well better get to bed!

If you are a "Woot.com" fan it is Woot-off time again! Better check it out! :)

Peace!

Alone Again

Paul left today until Thursday. He is in the beautiful San Fransisco. He was going to have dinner tonight with our dear friend Kyle and was excited to see him and have a tour of the great city. He called me today as he drove through San Rafael. I lived there for several years, Kindergarten through 2nd grade. I remember many wonderful things happening there. My sisters were adopted while we lived there and that was such a blessing to our family! And also my little brother was born there. So in many way San Rafael was a huge significant place for our family--the place where our little family of three grew to a family of six in a matter of just a few years. I also had a dear friend there named Amethyst. I will never forget her or her family. I often wonder where she is and what her life is now like. She was from Iran and moved back there shortly after we left San Rafael. Her uncle once offered to buy my sister from my dad with some cattle :) Different way of life. But Paul's call left me with many wonderful memories. I saw my first walking stick in my bedroom window there. Had my first stitches there. Tried to pea like a dog in the front yard with my male cousin (didn't work out so well for me!). I remember hours of candy and donut making with my grandfather there. Remember having the chicken pox the night it snowed and my parents not letting me go outside and watching the neighborhood kids "steal my snow". I remember my dad building up a 10+ feet fence to try to keep Cedric from jumping it! Seemed like it didn't matter how high it would be he would still make it. I remember hiding my grandpas cigarettes--trying to get him to stop and him always finding them. I remember the countless visits from visiting preachers in the summers, when my dad was fishing, including : Bill Patterson, Bill Clayton, Neil Lightfoot, and many others that don't come to mind. They would stay days, or sometimes weeks and stay with our family. California does hold many wonderful memories for me. I guess I could say though that any place I have ever lived has held many wonderful memories. Seems like as time goes by the bad memories fade and good ones become stronger.

It has been a hard day. I was sick, the kids were "sick" or so they claimed and I was too bad off to argue. But at the end of the day today it turned out okay. I got their rooms cleaned. Caught up on my laundry and took a cute pictures of my cute kids!

This week will be busy like every other week it seems. Our back yard project is in full swing. We had 5 teens come and help Paul dig all day on Saturday and they accomplished a lot--although it never seems like you can accomplish what you think you can! I will post some pictures of the transformation soon! I also got everything planted in my garden (vegetables that is!). I planted spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peas, beets, squash, and carrots. My strawberries are going crazy and my flowers are about to take over the entire yard. Life is good and we are blessed and happy. :)

Peace

Blake's Birthday Party

My kids had an amazing time at Blake's birthday party this weekend. The party started with all the kids getting into their Jedi costumes, doing a bit of Jedi training with their "light sabers" and then continued with a personal visit and fight from Darth Vader himself :) The kids were thrilled when the garage door opened, smoke bellowing out and Darth Vader Stepped out to challenge each of them. Darth Vader eventually ran inside feeling a bit too attacked from the many blows from the Jedi attacks :) Cheryl had many cute games which included fighting off bubbles with your light sabers, keeping balloons from touching the ground using your light sabers. And then of course there was the bash in the head of Darth Vader Pinatta. :) She also had cute titled snacks as you will see below. Just thought I would share her cute party ideas! Great Party Cheryl and Eric! Happy Birthday Blake!

Fun day in the sun!

We have been so soggy for so long here! Seems like summer will never come, but today I had a glimpse and was able to get out and work on some of my flower and garden beds. Tomorrow we are having a huge dumpster delivered for the weekend and we plan to move 10 yards of dirt, sod and rock out of the upper half of the back yard. Then we are going to have 9 yards of gravel delivered to put down which will be covered with Sand and eventually with paving stones. :) Our goal is to make a covered sitting area in the back corner where the garden box used to be. This should be accomplished in the near future! We also plan to put down hogs fuel (splinter free bark) along the bottom half of the back yard where we will be putting up a play structure and play area. We would also like to put in some kind of water structure--although we don't know what or where that will be yet. :) We are so excited!!! Our back yard has been a swamp since we moved in and we are about to change that and make our little back yard into a use able area. :) I will post pictures soon!

I had fun today planting some annuals in my beds. They don't look like much yet, but it won't be long and they will take off and spread everywhere!

Took Ryan to his Headstart appointment today. The consensus was that his is moving in the right direction. His speech is improving and when he works at it he is able to say most of his sounds correctly. As far as the other concerns they pretty much assured me that he was bright and quite ready for Kindergarten. That he could do anything he wanted and tried to do--that probably he most of the time just didn't take the time to do things carefully--always busy and on to the next thing. I will meet again a few weeks for the final observations. But overall I think all is well.

Got a new Alexander McCall Smith Book tonight at Borders. "The Miracle at Speedy Motors" another No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Book for those of you that are fans! If you aren't you should be! I am anxious to start reading. I have been out of reading for so long--when I start I can't seem to stop so I have avoided it--but the time has come. Let the reading begin!

By the way I love comments :) I know that many people are reading this blog, but I would love for you to just drop a comment to say hey :) Thanks! Peace!