Let the party begin!

16 Sep

Let the party begin! 

Landon decided on a Ninjago theme for his birthday party.  The party will be held at the dojo where he takes karate.  Unfortunately, there are no Ninjago party supplies…so I was forced to get creative.

Here are his invites…

And the juice boxes and water bottles…
Landon received his cake from a baker through http://www.icingsmiles.org/.

Happy little birthday ninja!

A Gifted Heart

11 Sep
School has been back in session for almost a month, and we are getting back in the swing of our usual school-time schedule. Though I strive to raise exceptional little people, there is a part of my life I work ever so hard at making as “normal” as possible; the normal ever day life part.
In September of 2006, I was preparing to welcome my first child, a baby boy. At that time, I had already been informed that he would be born with a special heart. This is where we kept everyone informed of what was going on: http://www.babysites.com/sites/babyhoward/default.asp?page=myjournal&seq=1&cmd=prev&story=255084
I have made the choice that every day I wake up…I have children… plain and simple. I don’t wake up and think, “I have a child with a REALLY big problem.” Sure we have to account for meds and doctor visits and surgeries; though thankfully, the majority of the surgeries are behind us now. But, we get right back to our “normal” life. This brings me to last night. My sweet boy’s teacher emailed that he is getting his work done more slowly than the majority of the class. We are now readying ourselves for a new chapter in the ever-evolving life with a CHD (Congenital Heart Defect). We will be looking into what may be causing him to work at this pace. I just keep telling myself “slow and steady wins the race!”
Thankfully, his “Gifted Heart” has allowed us to be blessed with knowing other amazing families who are walking this same path! As I sat there this morning feeling a little defeated over another hurdle that has been placed in front of my son, I remembered that a heart-dad, who also works in schools, posted about options that are available to our kids. http://blog.wholehearts.org/?p=45#comment-264 Thanks, Trent, for making me remember we are not alone in this and also for giving us some great information as we learn about this next phase in our lives.

Love

6 Sep
This is the leather-bound journal my husband gave to me on our wedding day.  We write notes back and forth to each other and leave it for the other to find.  As our 8th anniversary is approaching in a few weeks, I’ll take this opportunity to call him out! It’s been too long since we’ve used this. 😉  I love going back and re-reading the things we’ve written over the years!

A week in the life…

5 Sep
A week in the life…
I would love to start my first post with something witty, but it is what it is.  This week has brought many highs and lows, excitement and sibling arguments.  On a high-note, a dear friend welcomed her first baby!  Sadly, this week is also when we said goodbye to our dear, sweet, Grandma June.  First grade has now started its third week – and homework.  The invites have been sent for the Ninjago birthday party, and my children have started fighting over imaginary toys!
As I said, it is what it is.  We live, we play, we love, we do the best we can and we never stop learning.