cousins

Yesterday, Seth and I went over to watch Gavin and Makayla while Amanda went to work for a few hours -- well, we're really only watching Gavin since Makayla sleeps the whole time. I got two pictures of the boys being cute AND nice. Seth seems to think that he can physically attack Gavin since Gavin is smaller right now. If Gavin cries, though, Seth is nice and sympathetic, giving him hugs and pats.


They get along perfectly, though, when they're being ornery together. I got off the couch for a minute to refill Gavin's cup, and Seth scooted over to my spot and took over as book reader. They both thought they were being so sneaky and funny :-)

one year

it's been one year
most of it's a blur
still crying
i know i'm not the only one

World Down Syndrome Day

Today is World Down Syndrome Day :-) It's on 3-21 every year to represent the 3 copies of the 21st chromosome that people with Down syndrome have. A friend let me borrow the book Gifts, a collection of essays written by mothers of children with Down syndrome. I have been shocked that so many medical professionals assume that when a mother finds out mid-term that her baby has Down syndrome, she'll want to kill the baby (or "terminate the pregnancy," as they put it). WHAT??!!! Do these people not KNOW anyone with Down syndrome? Probably not -- they're stuck in their stuffy little clinics. How could anyone even consider "ending" someone as perfectly beautiful as Seth? Just because his life presents different challenges from those brought about by children like Joel, Makenzie, and Luke? That's ludicrous! MANY people with Down syndrome have NO medical problems, and many more have no serious health concerns. Seth was born with a hole in his heart, so he had open-heart surgery to repair it. His biggest health concern right now is that he's allergic to green beans and he needs a daily dose of Miralax to keep his bowels moving properly (i know -- tmi, but i'm trying to make a point). How many "normal" kids have so many more health problems than Seth has!

God blesses everyone who has the privilege of meeting Seth. Some people don't even really meet him and are still blessed by him. There's a lady at Seth's school who watches us walk from the school to the van every afternoon. Seth just makes her day because of his growing independence and his laughter. She rolls down her window some days to make a comment about how much she loves to watch him. I'm sure part of it is the entertainment of watching me try to get him to actually walk instead of lie down on the ground or lean over and lick the dirty snow and then catch him before he runs into the road. I believe, though, that Seth's mission in life is to make people smile. No matter how horrible your day is going, hang around with Seth for just a minute and you'll be smiling. You just can't help it!

Seth's smile :-)

Before I get to the smile topic, I forgot to put this picture on the last blog about the wrestling tournaments, I think. Seth (and anyone else who happens to be around) watches movies on Jason's laptop pretty much the entire day at the wrestling tournaments. He's so cute with the headphones on :-)


(p.s. on the wrestling topic -- i'm not uploading the wrestling matches to youtube because it's hard to see who i'm trying to video and the sound is so loud because it's total chaos in those wrestling gyms!)

Friday was the 3rd quarter award ceremony at Seth's school. Each teacher gives a few students certificates for something special like being helpful or kind or hard-working. Seth got an award for his beautiful smile :-)



When he saw me in the assembly room, he started to walk away from his class to come see me. His teacher and his aide both called him to come back and sit with the class. He kept walking, but turned a little to put up his finger and say, "Right back. Right back!" HAHAHAHAHA! Maybe I should consider starting to teach him the concept of obeying authorities.

catching up

I can't even remember what all has happened since I last posted on here. Apparently, I've been busy, though, since I haven't had time to come here. I've been working a lot, of course. And the boys have started their wrestling tournaments, which means entire Saturdays spent in gyms waiting for them to wrestle for a few minutes.

Luke warms up with Dad before his matches:




and then climbs the walls when Dad's not looking:


Seth gets to watch movies while we wait for the boys' matches.


Joel is in the big kids' division now. He's only a couple months away from being finished with grade school!


I have videos to load on youtube, which I'm going to do as soon as I finish this. I guess I should've done that first because I don't have a link for them right now. My page on youtube is under "polarmom4."

One last thing -- I learned a valuable lesson on Thursday: do NOT drive on the highway right after it snows! I was in a little accident. Just me -- no kids, no other cars or anything. No damage to the van and no injuries to me. I was actually driving very carefully -- usually I'm getting a drink, eating something, talking on the phone, wiping a child's nose, or even texting. But this time, I was driving slowly and carefully because of the snow, ice, and cars in the ditch. I looked over for a split second and saw another van on its side in the median. I wondered in my mind how in the world that could happen. And just like that, I was joining them. Since there were two other accidents in that spot already, the cops were already there. One police officer asked me if I was all right and if I needed her to call me a tow truck. Before her tow truck could come, another one came along (driving up and down the highway making money). So that little lesson cost me $50 and a half-hour of work time. Not too costly a lesson, I guess.

toothless/re-decorating/migraines

Luke lost his other top front tooth at Awana Wednesday night. It was barely hanging on, so he let one of the leaders pull it out. He would scream if I touched it, but he let some guy from church yank it out. I don't get it! Anyway, he's so cute with his "All I Want for Christmas" mouth!! That's one less tooth for the dentist to have to deal with in a couple weeks. Luke has a problem with teeth not getting loose enough to fall out before the permanent teeth grow in.

My computer wall is complete:


I found this picture somewhere on the internet and had an enlargement made for my wall. I'm pretty sure it's a sunset at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park. I have a "thing" for sunrises and sunsets, especially in Alaska where God seems to just get ultra-creative with the sky colors. My picture of the picture doesn't really show how beautiful it is.


Today starts Spring Break for Seth. Jason's out of town with Joel today, so Seth got to spend a few hours with his cousins at Aunt Amanda's house. He didn't get upset at all about my leaving him there. He just threw off his coat and shoes, scooted up the stairs, and joined Gavin. So unlike the daily guilt trip I get when I leave him at school!

I've had two "migraine" days in row :-( Wednesday, I woke up with a headache. I took a little nap in the clinic waiting room while Seth was in speech therapy, managed to get through the afternoon somehow, then slept for a couple hours at home while the kids did I have no idea what (I'm guessing they were watching t.v. with Jason). Thankfully, that one went away with that last nap so that I could make dinner and get everyone to bed. Yesterday, however, was a different story. My kids showed just how great they are because yesterday's headache started at about noon and didn't leave until about 2:00 this morning. I got the kids safely home from school and went right to bed, apologizing for being such a rotten mother. I threw some corndogs in the oven, put the laundry away (which Makenzie had folded and put in the basket!), set the cooked corndogs (at least I hope they were fully cooked) on top of the stove and the drinks on the counter, and went back to bed. Makenzie took care of everyone. She got the boys to get their drinks and food and later put the dishes in the sink. Today she told me that everything went just fine and that they watched a movie and played some card games. I must have gotten them ready for bed, but I don't remember it. Overall, I slept for about 13 hours last night. This Headache from Hell is threatening to return today, but I'm refusing to allow it!! Makenzie needs a break!