The Lights

Riding around the neighborhood to see the lights

(The convertable isn't quite made for 6 people and 2 dogs but, we make it work)

Christmas stockings

We opened gifts on Chrsitmas Eve b/c Big Brother had to work Christmas :-(

Heidi (my cousin dog) preoccupied with her purple Hippo, just out of reach

Daddy's "ShamWOW"

Momma's funny reaction, not recognizing the picture of Big Brother at first, lol

One of my FAVORITE gifts!

No more writing them out by hand!

And Big Brother's new stethoscope, arriving just an hour or two before we opened them

Better late then never ;-)

The dogs pretty excited for the popcorn gift


Trying out Daddy's new outdoor couch mattress

And, Finally, a little pre-Christmas Ice skating with friends

Christmas was great at our house, with so much to be thankful for. Please continue to keep those not with their family's this holiday season in your speaking as we do. Those out and serving Him and our country on various battle fields. We hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a great new year!

Love Is Here

Love is a mom rearranging her schedule and waiting until the last minute so she can go Christmas shopping with her very busy daughter

Love is a young single woman staying in West Africa when all her teammates have returned to the States because her friends there still need to hear more about Him

Love is a mother of two teenage sons and a set of 7 year old triplets still decorating her disabled daughter's wheelchair with her favorite colors every month even while her other sons have school projects, trips, friends, parties, and the other autistic son never sits still

Love is a grown grandson informing his grandmother where he's going every time he goes out, because he knows how she loves to know what to ask him about when he gets home

Love is a classmate that bangs on her friends door at 5:45 am until she wakes up because clinical starts in 30 min, and she knows she can't afford to be late again

Love is accepting a gift of leftover fruit from a man in a nursing home, because he has nothing else to give to show his gratitude

Love is holding onto a crying child as she hits you because you can't explain to her where her mom went because of her cognitive disability

Love is holding the hand of the hurt and dying on the way to the hospital over and over again each night

Love is Him coming to a world He created, to save people He created, who didn't want Him in the first place, killed Him while He was here, and may still reject Him till the end.

Love is here

Love is Him

He is with us

My "Kids"

So, as you may or may not know, I work at a special needs school for kids with motor disabilities. I love my job. I pretty much hang out and work one on one with a child as they go through their school day. It's a great school. So, names excluded, here's a quick peek at, who I like to call "my kids". (Taken mostly at our Halloween party this year.)

Several of our kids working on a fun Halloween craft with their assistants (like me!)

Getting ready to work on walking skills, getting faster, smoother, and safer for keeping up with the other kids :-)

Bobbing for apples. It's ok to get a little wet, as long as you end up with the apple!

More craft time with pumpkins!

Hugs at the end of the day

Taking a break, chillin on the floor.

Lol, someone likes to snuggle with friends.

The kids are in classes with other children with similar cognitive skills. The day focuses on combining fine motor skills, self-care skills, social skills, communication skills, and walking skills into one cumulative learning experience for them. My kids are awesome! They are all really different, but work really hard every day, and can usually be seen with a great big smile on their face! If you get a chance, I would encourage all of you to spend some time to get to know a special needs child, because they can teach you more than you will ever know. They may have big challenges, but they have even bigger hearts. A day at work hardly ever goes by with out several smiles, lots of laughs, and at least one giant, unexpected hug.

:-)

Most of our kids have a disorder that affects their brains ability to control their muscles properly, called cerebral palsy. However, some have different genetic or chromosomal disorders, all of which interfere with physical functioning and/or cognitive ability. We have kids of all different ages, sizes, and cognitive abilities. Feel free to comment with any questions you may have.

FINALS WEEK!!!

A quick "Thriller" break while studying in Panera

(Yes, with gloves on ;-)

Practicing catheters in a cup in my nursing buddy, A's apartment

Sneezing into my sterile gloves, that took sooo long to get on without touching them/contaminating them :-(


The sad "crap, now my gloves are unsterile" face


And a quick study break on the "grassy knoll" outside of our classroom with my two good friends, A and L

And that, my friend, is a little glimpse of finals in nursing school

Christmas is sneaking up on us!

It's time to start decorating the tree!


Little Brother's baby hand, aww...

eggnog, Christmas music, Ornaments, and pretending exam week is not lurking around the corner...
and finally...the angel on top!

...and Little Brother eating a seal ;-)
The finished tree...oh, and some other people I kinda like ;-)