Strength

Sitting at the ball park tonight, I watched a mother with a child who is 8 and nonverbal and still in diapers. I watched as she interacted with Jenna and it was heartbreaking to see that Jenna was already ahead of her in development. I watched this mother, how patient she is with this child, and thought about how it is like having a toddler that would never grow up. I do not envy this women one bit but I do admire her strength. I looked at my niece out playing softball, my nephew climbing a tree, and my daughter playing in the rocks and saying "ball, ball" and quickly said a prayer of thanks for all the healthy children in my life and a prayer of strength for that mother.

5 years

I forgot to BRAG just for Donna. Jason and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on Friday and I got a beautiful 3 stone ring. So maybe Doug did give him a call! LOL!

Splish Splash and Updates!

This weekend we went to Oklahoma and spent some time in the pool playing and having a great time. It was so great to relax and chill by the pool. Here a few pictures that make me smile!

Nightmare on Avondale Lane CONTINUED:

Well, the sleeping thing had made great progress but we never let her fully cry herself to sleep with out someone in the room babying her. The past 2 weeks she has decided (with a little enabling from Daddy) to need to be rocked to sleep 5-10 times a night. I FINALLY HAD ENOUGH! SO, last night she went to sleep as usual and as usual woke up 45 minutes later and wanted to be rocked again. I was determined and Daddy was asleep. I went up gave her passy back to her and left the room. LET THE SCREAMING BEGIN! She cried for 34 minutes before she cried herself to sleep. BUT, I did not go up there and I did not give in and she did it! ALL BY HERSELF! Daddy admitted this morning that it was a good thing he slept through it or he would have given in.

JENNA UPDATE:

She is 20 lbs 10 oz and 29 1/2 inches tall.

She is walking 4-6 steps at a time and if she'd try to walk, instead of RUN she'd already have that mastered.

Over the past week her brain has just kicked into hyper drive! She went from 2-3 words to saying:

Momma, Daddy, Gizzy, Please, Thank you, NO!, fish, deer, T (for Aunt Tina or Aunt Tammi), Nana, Papa, More, Nose, and Toes. She is also picking pictures of fish and dear out of books and saying fish or deer. She can also tell you were her nose and toes are. IT amazes me how much she has just taken off.

Momma is pretty proud! At her one year check up last week the doctor said she was hitting all of the 15-18 month milestones! YEA JENNA!

Where have I been & What the Hell is going on?

So I haven't posted in almost a month.....

It has been a very busy month and I will do my best to fill you all in!

Most importantly we celebrated Jenna's 1st Birthday! It was a beautiful day and thanks to everyone who came or sent gifts! Here are some pictures to share the day with you all:

I have also finished up my final days at my current school. I believe this may have been one of the hardest things I have done as an adult. I left my "home," the school that taught me to read and write, to play sports, how to deal with friends and family, and finally how to teach. I had a very hard day leaving this "family" that I have been a part of for nearly 20 years. But, over the past 48 hours I have seen things take place in this school that lead me to believe that I am so much better off with out it. We lost 12 out of 22 certified staff member this year. There is over 135 years of teaching experience leaving our children. It saddens me to the core, the way that these people who have given so much of themselves to the children of this community are being treated. Today, the administration fired our secretary, who was the heart and soul of our school. I am sadden and ashamed that I ever defended anyone that could make such a terrible decision. This wonderful women, a single mother no the less, was fired in my opinion because she knew what she was doing and the principal doesn't have a clue what is going on, ever. So if you have any say in this community, I think it is time someone steps up and asks "What in the HELL is going on here?" Our children deserve that much.

To all my fellow "FROGS," especially those who are stuck behind, I love you all and will miss you so much. Enjoy the pictures from the "FROG" party!