My Smoothie King

We love books, and I'm always trying to find ways to continue to promote reading.  Brody typically enjoys non-fiction books.  He really likes books about animals. This week he surprised me by checking out a Disney cooking book from the library.   So we have been picking out some recipes to make.  I do the prepping.  Then he reads the instructions and follows them.  Today we made smoothies.

This was a fun activity for us.  I'm glad to find something new he likes to read...cookbooks!  It even challenged him with his sensory disorder.  Brody was afraid of turning on the blender due to it being loud.  I was not going to do it for him.  If he wanted a smoothie, then he would have to press the blend button on the blender himself.  He was scared, but he did it.  And that great taste was worth overcoming his fear of loud sounds. 

A Letter From Santa

Good List Certificate

Brody was delighted to get a letter from Santa!  To him, it's awesome to see and hear that he is on the good list.  There was a kid a year ago who told Brody he was bad, and he would never get a Christmas present.  Oh, how words can break a kid!  So last year when Santa's letter came in, Brody said, "I'm good.  I'm good.  I'm really good!"  The smile on his face as he reads his letter is priceless.  Pops, who is good friends with Santa, has been making sure Brody would get a letter from him for seven Christmas' now.  To a kid, getting mail is great, but there is nothing better than a mail from Santa.  Brody's favorite part of the letter was how proud Santa was of him for scoring a goal in soccer.

Come with me Coffee if you want to live!

"Come with me coffee if you want to live!"

Oh my sweet Brody!  He makes life interesting.  Some days he can be quite challenging, but he can be very humorous as well.  I write this story tonight so that one day when he is grown I can remind him of his love for the coffee pot.

Our coffee pot broke today, and the only thing going into our coffee cups were tears.  We are a family who enjoys drinking coffee...especially Community Coffee.  So when the coffee pot breaks it is a must to go to the store to replace it that day.  Brody and I picked a new one out at Target.  I thought all was well with the world again.  Until it came time to throw the old one away.  I will give the the play by play of what happened next.

Brody, "What are you going to do with the coffee pot?"

Ryan, "We're going to throw it away."

Brody, "Can't we keep it?"

Cristy, "No."

Brody, "PLEASE DON'T THROW IT AWAY!"

Ryan, "We can't keep things that are broken."

Brody, "Can we just keep it in the attic?"

Ryan, "No, we are not hoarders."

Brody, "BUT PLEASE!"  ***This is when tears begin to flow.

Cristy, "NO!"

Brody, "BUT IT MADE THE BEST COFFEE EVER!"

Ryan & Cristy, "Brody, we cannot keep it."

Brody then grabs the coffee pot as if saving it and says, "COME WITH ME COFFEE IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!"  He runs with all his might while crying to his room. 

I go to his room and explain once again why we do not need to keep the coffee pot.  Brody is sobbing over the coffee pot.  Brody says, "He made the best coffee ever so I'm keeping him forever."

"I'm not letting go!  I'll stay up all night and protect it!"

I would like to tell you fine readers that I had great wisdom and convinced Brody to throw away the coffee pot, but I didn't have anything to say that made sense to him.  He has so kind of emotional attachment to it, and sometimes there are not any words to comfort the heart.  And his heart was broken! The coffee pot is now "living" in Brody's room until another day when he is ready to let go of it.  As with many things in life, it just doesn't make any sense. But you know what?  It's ok that I don't understand it all.  It's fine to smile and laugh. There is no step by step guide to parenting.  Sometimes kids get stressed out by things.  At the end of the day, does it really matter if an old coffee pots "lives" in his room for a few days...or weeks?  It's a battle that I'm fine with him winning.  Cause' hey, I like coffee too. 

Of course one day when I tell him this story, he will then owe me a cup of coffee!  I have earned it!  I will in return buy him one too because I love him for making our lives never have dull moment.  Brody seizes the day everyday!

Brody's 1st Soccer Game

 We get a kick out of soccer!

This morning was Brody's first soccer game, and he had so much fun.  It was such a confidence booster for him.  "I can play soccer," he said.  He has an awesome coach who made out a schedule for all the players to be constantly rotating in the game and learning to play different positions.  The parents were all great encouraging and cheering on the team.  We are proud of our Stars Team!  It was a good experience, and I'm already looking forward to next Saturday.  I found myself over and over thanking God this morning for how far He has brought Brody.  Praise Jesus Brody is able to play and be a part of a team!  I know there are some "Brody fans" who would have loved to see him play so here is a short video and a few pictures. 

Warming up

Families praying before the game

Game about to start and he was a little nervous.

Brody's awesome coach

Go Brody!

Being the goalie 

"Come here ball!"

Mother's Day

My kids- Brody age 6 & Maggie age 10

Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I'm beyond blessed to be a mom!  It's good to have people to share your life with.   My family brings smiles and laughter into our home daily.  My kids are just fun!  And I look forward to having more fun kids become a part of our family one day!!!

 

 

Brody's drawing of me

Brody made some great art for me for Mother's Day!  

Brody thinks I weigh 80 lbs...God bless that sweet kid!

Brody wrote why he thought I was special.  My favorite part is "She knows what I like to do."

My Mother's Day present from my guys was an awesome pair of TOMS loves Moms shoes.

I loved getting shoes for Mother's Day...awesome points to my hub!  I have such thoughtful guys.  They made my day very special.  Of course, just the privilege of being called "mom" makes everyday special.  I'm so thankful to be a mother!  I thank God daily, and I pray He will make me a mom to many.  There is no other way I would rather spend my time than being a mom!

Six Wonderful Years!

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.  Ecclesiastes 11:5

Thank you God for making Brody!  He has blessed our lives.  

My first time to see and hold Brody.

Our 2 lb. Tiny Wonder

Ryan's first time to hold Brody.

Happy 6th Birthday Brody!  Our "Tiny Wonder" is now a wonderful Big Boy!  He makes us smile, and he is a joy to have around.  Hard to believe how far he has come.  God is so good to us!!!

Our handsome 6 year old!

1st time to wear clothes- 6 weeks old  "Praise Jesus!"

God has taught us so much through Brody.  Because of Brody, I learned to completely depend on God to take care of our needs.  It has not always been an easy journey with Brody, but I would choose to have him again in a heart beat. I know God has a great purpose for him, and it's exciting watching God's plan unfold daily.  What a privilege God gave us to be his parents! 

We have made many awesome memories together, and there are more memories to be made. We had a small party for him on Saturday to celebrate life.  It was a Star Wars theme, and it was fun!

 
Life is good!

Life is precious!

Life is WONDERFUL!

And we are thankful for every moment of it!

B's 1st Day of Kindergarten

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.  ~Clay P. Bedford

Brody's first day of kindergarten was yesterday.  He did GREAT!  I was a little bit emotional yesterday, but I didn't cry and I held it together.  I was emotional at the thought of how far Brody has come.  My 2 lb. baby boy who I have guarded for five years is completely able to learn and go to school.  God is good!  There were doubts for years if Brody would lead a normal life.  We love Brody just the way he is, and we always have and will.  But it's amazing to watch your child be successful at things.  It was a good day!

Brody said, "This shirt is going to make everybody laugh."

He picked out Batman for his book bag and lunch box

He didn't have time for pictures because he was ready to go!

"No, more pictures please."

He had to sign-in.

Brody with his teacher hanging up his apple.

 

To learn where things were in the school, his class did a Gingerbread Man hunt around the school.  His first homework assignment was to decorate a G-man.  I made him a Mario Brothers shirt, and Brody glued and drew the rest. 

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

 

Dorthy:  Goodbye, Tinman. Oh, don't cry! You'll rust so dreadfully. Here's your oil can.
Tin Man:  Now I know I've got a heart, 'cause it's breaking...

Brody graduated from preschool this morning.  And yes, my heart broke a little!  The graduation theme was Follow the Yellow Brick Road.  This was quite the appropriate theme for us considering the journey it took Brody to get where he is today.  We are so proud of him!  He sang his heart out this morning without any fear.  I cannot even explain what a blessing it was to watch him on the stage just being joyful.  We have so much to be thankful for.  It's funny how you travel down the road of life and not feel like your getting anywhere only to one day to magically arrive at your destination.  Oh, our journey is not complete, but we do feel like we finally got somewhere.  Today felt good!  Please remind me of this feeling next week when I'm crying because he started Kindergarten.  Haha! 

My sweet little Tin Man

 

Brody singing the Tin Man song

The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.  ~Author unknown, in reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11, "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

We're going to continue our race right on into Kindergarten!