Summer Lovin'

What a fun summer it has been! I was just talking with a friend tonight on how fast the summer is going. I can't believe Friday is July 1st. Landon's last day of summer school is tomorrow and he will be starting his summer camp next Tuesday. Time flies when you are having fun!

Last night was a fun but sad night. We celebrated one of our friends, Julianne. Julianne got accepted into a doctorate speech pathologist program in Minnesota. Her husband is already working up there. Julianne was such a blessing to our family. She was Landon's speech therapist this past school year. She loved Landon like her own and worked so hard with him. We celebrated at the Olive Garden last night with Katie and Melissa. It was such a fun girls night out celebrating our friendship. We will get to see Julianne one more time but then she moves on to bigger things. I am blessed to know her and her family. I know she will do so many great things in her future. What an ambitious person!

My usual "hump day" was a little different. Liam and I went to splash time at Nixa Community Center. We went with our friends Katie and Derrick. Derrick was like a little fish in the water. So funny! Liam was very timid and took a while to warm up to the water. He LOVES bath time so I am not really sure why he was so timid. I think it had to do with him not really having his morning nap. He was so tired. All in all he did great and the boys had fun. Afterwards we went to a little tea room in Nixa called Lola's and had lunch. I love that Liam has a little friend his age. They are just four months apart in age so that makes it fun.

Tonight one of our babysitters came over to hang out with Landon while Liam and I ran some errands. Landon had a meltdown when she left because he wanted to go home with her. It's been a very stressful night since. Then, I realized he lost his front tooth on the top! That makes four teeth he has lost. I can't find the tooth anywhere! I explained to him that the tooth fairy can't really come if we don't have the tooth. We have searched everywhere. His third tooth he swallowed so who knows. What an evening.

Off to bigger things....LAUNDRY!

Eating everything in sight!

Today has been a day where I have eaten everything I could get my hands on! I am normally a pretty good eater but not today! Let me just journal with you what I have eaten. This morning I had a bowl of shredded wheat with skim milk, for lunch I had leftover house chips from a restaurant with some pasta salad. For an afternoon snack I had a 100 calorie nutty bar and some string cheese, and for dinner I had a chicken sandwich. Now, that may not sound like a lot to some, but normally I am very good at eating light during the day and then having a bigger meal at dinner. I normally just have something small for breakfast and lunch. I feel so bloated! I am back on track tomorrow. I don't know what my problem was today. I was home all day and that might have something to do with it. It was a very lazy Monday. I was suppose to go to a coupon class tonight at the library but Nate didn't get home until 7:00, but who's really watching the clock......

Last week I got to keep Baby Derrick for a couple of hours while my good friend Katie ran some errands. He just turned 10 months so it was really fun to have a 10 and 13 month old together and play. They were so cute together and laughed a lot. It just seems like this stage is flying by. I sure do love this stage! Cute babies to love and kiss on all the time!

Back to eating better tomorrow!

Steel Anniversary

Nate and I just celebrated 11 years of marriage on Friday, June 24th. I looked up what the traditional wedding gift was for 11 years and it was steel. Needless to say, I didn't get Nate anything with steel! We had a nice date night on Friday night at one of our favorites, Haruno. Nate had chicken lettuce wraps and I had a sushi roll. Afterwards, we went to Best Buy and then rented a movie. It was a great anniversary! I am thankful for a husband that provides for us in so many ways.

On Saturday I went to aerobics in the morning followed by a much needed shower! We got a lot done around the house that afternoon. We went and grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to the pool with the Krenn family. Landon is getting a lot more brave in the water. I am still looking for someone to do swim lessons for him. He is ready. It took about five minutes for our boys to be asleep last night. They were both tired!

Today we had a great day at church. Nate got to preach and did a wonderful job. We also showed our family video testimony. I was very nervous. If I can figure out how to post it on here from a DVD, I will. The Lord's timing was perfect for this video.

Sick Day

I have not felt well all day. Landon had a little bug on Sunday and I think I have caught the bug. I didn't go anywhere today except to pick up Landon from summer school. I had one of those "bad Mom" days where I didn't play much with the boys and laid down on the couch. That isn't my personality at all. I am starting to feel better and hope to be back to eating tomorrow.

Speaking of eating, Nate went to the doctor last week for a physical. He didn't get a good report at all. He has high cholesterol and slightly elevated blood pressure. So, he is at the store right now buying "low sodium" foods and getting back on a healthy lifestyle. He will also renew his gym membership and start swimming again. He can kick this. He just hasn't made the best choices in the last year in his diet. I am glad he is taking this serious and doing the right thing.

Last night I celebrated with my friend April and some of her friends at Macaroni Grill for her birthday. It was a fabulous time. I always enjoy getting out of the house with great girlfriends and having great conversation. It's nice to talk to other Mom's about different things and bounce ideas off of each other.

The Big 35

My husband celebrated his 35th birthday yesterday. Yes, it was shared with Father's Day this year. The last time this happened was 6 years ago when we found out we were pregnant with Landon. Such a great memory!

If you know my husband, he LOVES guitars. He is obsessed with everything that goes with guitars as well. He had emailed me a couple of months ago asking for a certain custom made guitar pedal called "The Little Black Buffer." We had a budget for our gifts and it was within that budget. I went ahead and ordered it for him that week and have had it for a while. He is worse than a kid when it comes to gifts and surprises. He kept asking if he could have his gift early because if it was this certain guitar pedal, he REALLY wanted to use it for Sunday morning worship, etc. I did not give in and give it to him early! I told him he had to wait until his actual birthday. Such a kid at heart! Needless to say, he loved it and was glad I got it for him.

I thought it would be fun to get some band members/friends together for a birthday dinner last night as well. We enjoyed our dinner at Cheddar's with great friends and conversation. Sundays are always very busy, so it was a great end to a busy day! Nate is very blessed with great friends that love him!

Kari, April, Louis, and Nate

Andy, Sarah, and kids

April and Louis

James, Abi, and kids

Curtis, Becca, and Nate

Andy didn't like the edamame. Too salty.

Hot Houston

Last Thursday, Liam and I packed our bags and headed to Houston, Texas! I booked this trip right after I was done nursing Liam. It was my reward to myself for lasting a full year with breastfeeding. At first I was just going to go by myself to see some friends but after stewing over leaving Liam, I just couldn't do it. So, that's why Liam tagged along. :-) To say we had fun is an understatement. Liam was the best little traveler. He didn't cry one time after missing many naps and just rolled with the punches. I was so blessed and thankful. I had never flown by myself so it was a new adventure. We made it with no problems and my friend Rachel was there to meet us. Nick and Rachel are dear friends of ours from Kansas City. We went to the same church and did "life" with them. Nick recently accepted at position at Houston's First Baptist Church as the Director of Productions. He is loving his new gig! They have four beautiful children that were great entertainment for Liam. He was loving the extra attention! I got to tour the church, eat some great mexican food, shop, play games, stay up late, swim, and talk about old times. It was truly a nice getaway and very relaxing. I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but here are a few.

Kindergarten Transition Meeting

This post is really not interesting just to warn you. I am solely doing this for Landon's scrapbook. :-)

Thank you to all who prayed for me. I could tell I had many people praying. On Thursday, June 2nd we had Landon's Kindergarten transition meeting. It was very long. Four hours to be exact. Time flew by. It started off by everyone introducing themselves around the table and then on to review the evaluation that was done on Landon. As we looked at some of his scores, it was hard. I knew from our Fragile X conference that it would be like this. To see your child not fall into the category of "normal" is hard. Landon's case manager and process coordinator did very well. They read the evaluation and then we talked about Landon and painted a picture of Landon to the other people around that table. I invited my dear friend Katie Hensler who is also Landon's private speech therapist. I was SO thankful she was there. She works for the school district but was also Landon's advocate. She did an amazing job. She thought of things to say that I wouldn't have. She described Landon in her own words that really painted the picture of him. I think we got across who he was to the others.

In our school district, not every elementary school is supported with intense special education. Landon's home school is one of those schools therefore they were recommending another school close by for him. At first, we weren't sold on the idea. After many questions that were answered, we were feeling like the school close by was for him. The meeting ended with still so many unanswered questions wondering in my mind. After laying awake for the second night in a row, I called the process coordinator that morning. She contacted the principal of the other school to see if I could come over and talk with her, meet the teachers, and see the classrooms. I am so thankful I did that. It confirmed that he is suppose to be there. I am very excited but very nervous at the same time for Landon to start Kindergarten. I know it will be a hard adjustment but with time, he will do great. We are already praying for a great year.

Prayer Request

As I sat down to type this post I couldn't get my mind off something. I thought that was the Lord's way of telling me that I need to ask for prayer.

Tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m we have Landon's BIG Kindergarten transition meeting. To some this isn't as big of a deal, but when you have a child with certain needs that need to be met, it is a big deal. This meeting will decide where he will attend Kindergarten. His home school is a wonderful school but we aren't sure if they will be able to meet certain needs there. We have a list of questions for the staff that will be present and we are confident all of us as Landon's team will make the best decision for him. I have never done this before so it's a whole new thing in my life. It makes me nervous, anxious, scared, and tired. In my heart, I truly know it will all work out and Landon will get what he needs but my head won't stop thinking about different scenarios for him. I need to just trust. It's a huge downfall of mine. I love to have control and feel like that is my job, but God reminds me daily to trust. So, could you pray that I will have trust? Will you pray for our nerves? Will you pray for the staff that will be at this meeting to see exactly who Landon is and what he needs?

Our big 5 year old.