Dallas Class Halloween Party

Today Dallas had a Kindergarten Halloween party at school. He was so excited about it he could hardly wait all week long.Playing a game of keep the balloon in the air Making his spider

Dallas new pet spider

A game of shoot out the candle in the pumpkin. All 9 kids on Dallas team went first but non of them could shoot out the candle....until shooter Dallas. He was so proud to be the first.

I did it mom!!

I REALLY did it!Lets see if I can do it with this gun this timeA little closer.....

Time for apple bobbing....or tonging (they used tongs to pull an apple out) And there's Dallas apple

Yummy apple smileSmoke bubbles with friends

Sack race. Dallas hopping along really well.Passing out is popcorn monster hands to all his friends

And more balloon fun Ms Dubeau, the Kindergarten assistant teacher. Dallas is so blessed to have two amazing teachers. Which pumpkin do you think is Dallas........that would be the BLUE one. Not only is it different, carving its own unique path, but it's also Dallas' favorite color. He ONLY likes to color with blue. Just one of those odd, cute things that makes him the Dallas that I so love.

Class pet sleepover

Boston got to keep his class pet for the weekend. The class just got him and his name is Bolt. He's a beta fish. Boston was super excited that he was going to be the first classmate to get to keep him. He survived the weekend at our house full of kids and a dog that is usually overly interested in other animals, but could have cared less about the wet fish. Boston was very responsible feeding him each morning without me even asking him to. He's growing up so much!

Dallas' teacher home visit

At the boys school they do home visits at the beginning of the year where they go to all the kids homes to get to know the kids and their families better. I'm so impressed with this and it just shows how much they care about the kids at this school.

Dallas was so excited about Mrs Holland coming last week. He was counting down the minutes, checking the door and listening for her car. She finallly got here and I'm not sure who was jumping up and down more, Dallas or our dog Dillard. He quickly whisked her in the house and lead her to his room to show her proudly his Star Wars themed room and point out all his favorite things about the room.

The kids all played on the patio while Sean and I got a chance to speak with her a little. She had some questions for us and and at the end of the questioning she said the Dallas was 100% a kinesthetic learner. We weren't too surprised with this.

But I got a little nervous about the year when we heard more details about his behavior in class this last week. The first 2 weeks he did awesome but now he's started having some issues in some areas. It tore at my heart. I know his heart is to behave his best. And you try your hardest to train your kids to do their best in school but you can't go with them to the class. I was so upset about it and was racking my brain, praying to the Lord, asking Him for a direction, a plan, a way to help him make better choices and think before reacting. That's when He reminded me about my ticket system that we use at home. There it was! It had been right in front of me all the time and I didn't see it. I emailed his teacher and asked her if we could incorporate the ticket system we use at home into his school day. He would get a ticket for behaving correctly at school during certain times and situations that he has a problem with. She loved the idea! This week has been amazing. He's come home everyday with 4 tickets and a great report from his teacher! That sleepless night spent worrying was fixed by a little rectangular, red piece of paper with the word "ticket" on it. Thank goodness for tickets!!!!

Boston's teacher home visit

Tonight we had the privledge of having Boston's teacher and assistant teacher over to our house for a little while. I can't express how much I love this part of our school. How great is it that the teacher has the opportunity to connect with each of their students and the parents on this level. Boston was very proud to show her around. I had a great talk with them and feel so good about this year. And even with the eye issues that are going on in regards to his visual processing problem I feel like he's in the absolute best hands. His teacher is more than willing to work with him and is so gentle and kind to build up his confidence and make things challenging, yet encouraging for him. It's the perfect learning environment for him to excel in. His teacher has 3 boys herself and homeschooled for several years so in so many ways I feel like she understands our family well. I'm looking forward to watching him grow this year and finding ways to help him overcome the visual challenges that have been plagueing him so that he can take off in his learning like I know he wants too.

Dog friendly pick up line

It's 2:45. I open the door to the garage and Dillard bolts for the car. She knows what time it is. She's a smart dog. And she knows where I'm going. And she knows there's something special there just for her.



Mr Cole is standing in the heat of the Florida sun calling names on his walkie talkie. My car pulls up to him and Dillard bounds over me to the window, panting and wagging her tail as he reaches into his pocket. A bag of colorful dog bones comes out and Dillard inches closer to him. He carefully picks out a color and smiles as he hands her the extra special treat. It's a little gesture but it means the world to her.....and to me.

Back to School Celebration

Traditionally I have always taken the boys to Twistie Treat for the first day of school but since Dallas really isn't a fan of ice cream I decided to make a cookie cake instead. I didn't have a lot of time today with all my running around but I whipped this together and threw on some icing. Not my best work, but the boys loved it anyhow! When I picked them up they each had a bag with a granola bar and Superhero silly bands in it. Then after dinner I surprised them with the new Toy Story 3 video game. That was a huge hit! (and good incentive to do good at school....because otherwise there's no gaming after school!)

After dinner we were off running to Boy Scouts....let the games of school craziness begin!

First Day of School

The first day of school went amazing today!

Here is Boston who is going into 2nd grade. He is sporting his school uniform and a star wars back pack with star wars lunchbox

Boston is such my big man now. He's so independent, doing everything on his own. It seems like just yesterday he needed me to dress him, tie his shoes, fix his food and buckle him in his seat. Everyday I am reminded to pay attention and love each and every moment because in a blink of an eye he will be heading off to college saying, "Mom do I have to take ANOTHER picture!"And here is my Dallas who is entering Kindergarten. He is sporting his school uniform with a Superman back pack and lunch box (complete with a cape!)When I looked at this picture I was awestruck by how grown up he looks. It's amazing how much he has grown in the last two years on every level. I am so proud of him for all he has accomplished and the mountains he has had to climb over. I know the Lord has big plans for him!The boys in the back of the car while we waited in line to drop them off. They had ants in their pants to get out and head to their new classrooms and begin this new adventure! I wasn't allowed to walk them in and it was a little hard for me to watch Dallas walk away from my car knowing I wasn't going to see him until after 3:00 today. What a long day! But I just focused in on the fact that Asher and Sydney and I would have some nice one on one time together and Asher was really excited to be hanging out with mommy!

First we went over to my friend Joy's house to meet a few other moms who's kids also go to the same school. It was a great time together with some new friends. I have been so impressed with how friendly everyone is at this school. They all reach out to make new friends and help each other out. It was such a blessed time together with these lovely ladies.

Then Asher and I headed to get new tires on my car, went to Toys r us to browse around with my mom while the tires were getting put on. I ran home to meet he appliance repair man to fix the washer and back a cookie cake for our Back To School celebration today.

Then it was time to get my car and head to pick up the boys. They jumped in the car with the biggest smiles on their faces so happy about this new school, their teachers and the new friends they made. It couldn't make mommy feel any better.

Boston and Dallas meet the teacher

Tonight I took Boston and Dallas to meet their new teachers at their new school. When we drove in Boston said to Dallas, "wouldn't it be great if we could go here all the way through high school? I then said, "This school does go all the way through high school boys!" They started jumping up and down. How funny that that was what he thought of.

Here is a picture of the boys in front of the school bell. Here is Dallas meeting his Kindergarten teacher. He played with the toys she sat out for a little while. We even found out that 2 of the girls who are in his class were in his PreK3 class 2 years ago. And we have been beyond blessed with an amazing teacher who is ready and willing to help him out to make things transition for him. Teachers truely are a gift from God! I'm so excited for this new journey for him and I know he's going to have a great time.

Boston is a big 2nd grader this year. Since we homeschooled last year for 1st grade, the last classroom he was in was Kindergarten. What a big difference a kindergarten class is from a 2nd graders class! (Especially since we had just left Dallas class). I'm so excited for him and this new adventure. He thought it was super cool that there was a ships steering wheel on the front door and a whole class theme about it. I know he's going to have a great year.Here's my grown up little 7 year old at his seat

Here's a picture of boston with his teacher (on the right) and her assistant (on the left). Not a great picture. I was holding Sydney and I obviously wasn't keeping the camera very steady with one hand (if you knew how much my camera weighed you would understand.) His teacher has 3 boys of her own and homeschooled for 4 years. Yah for teachers who understand boys! It seems to me like we have hit the jackpot with both the kids teachers this year. Daddy had to work late, and Asher spent the night with Nena and Papa, so I treated the boys to Perkins for their favorite pancakes. Boston said the blessing at the table and said, "Thank you Lord that you let us come to this awesome restaurant and have these amazing pancakes and thank you for our new school." Isn't it funny the little things in life that are such a big deal to little ones. Mommy was thankful she didn't have to prepare the food and clean up and even more thankful for God's divine hand in choicing this school for my boys!

A step in the right direction for Dallas

Exciting day today! Dallas did his 30 minute evaluation with 2 kindergarten teachers and the ESE teacher at the charter school Boston has been accepted at. The best part was that one of the teachers is a lady that Sean used to run regularly with when he was training for triathlons. What a since of peace I felt as he left me with a jump in his step and ready to take on the world. Maybe we will actually make it through these education years with some since of grace.

30 minutes later he came back smiling and not wanting to part from the new little boy, Elliot, he had met at the evaluation. My little social butterfly loves to land next to anyone and strike up a conversation. And I see him blossoming each day, learning to be more interested in other people than himself. And despite his Aspergers he seems to be more genuinely interested in interacting with other people and learning more about them than non affected kids. Even at Target the other day we passed by a lady who had a girl about 4 years old and a baby girl. Dallas said the Mommy, "Your little girls are so cute, " and the mom beamed. Then in the sweetest tone he said Hi to each of the girls. "How are you today?" he said the 4 year old. And in a googly, sing song voice he said to the baby girl "Oh look at you. What a cutie you are!" I smiled. Dallas has always been the kid that will walk up to a complete stranger as if he has known them forever. He the one that makes adults uncomfortable as we walk through walmart and he says hi because people no a days seem to keep to themselves and not make eye contact. Dallas could care less. "Hi, how are you today" "Hi, you are a very pretty girl." "Hi little boy, cool shoes" It's one of the things I'm most proud about him.

Back to the evaluation....the sweet teacher who was Sean's running partner pulled me aside in the other room and mentioned that she thought Dallas was very high functioning Aspergers boy (praise God he was having an especially good day and that he has progressed by leaps and bounds since his IEP evaluation at the beginning of the year!!!!!) She saw him having no problem coming to school there. I could have jumped up and down like a school girl getting asked out on her first date. We discussed some awesome things that would be available for Dallas at the school and I even learned that she herself is a Behavioral Therapist who works with severely autistic kids part time. What a true blessing. I feel so safe and comfortable sending him to school there knowing that he will be loved and cared for and most importantly understood! I thank God for having his hand on Dallas' schooling the whole time, even when I started to lose faith. And especially in those dark hours when I couldn't see the brightness of the future and wondered how in the world we would make it through the schooling years. And praise God that Dallas is making such huge steps!

I was looking at an old picture of Dallas from 2 years ago when we first started his testing to find out what was going on with him. At the time he licked his upper lip constantly. It was forever chapped and I would try every flavor of chap stick to help heal it but nothing seemed to work. At that time I thought he would never grow out of it. But he eventually did a few months later and has never done it since. I have to remember that there will be seasons with each of my kids. Good seasons where they strive to please and do good, and other seasons of learning that need constant correction and discipline. But during those dark times I have to remember that God always brings us out and He always teaches us a valuable lesson.

God is good all the time and ALL the time God is good!