Boo Boo

Well, the first ever phone call came from Nate this evening while I was out at the library. It went something like this, "Kari, come home quick! Liam just fell flat on his face and now has a fat lip and a busted up nose!" Keep in mind, I am in the middle of checking a few things out for Landon and my library card is not working. GRR!!! So, I just said forget it, I will have to come back tomorrow. Then, he calls again. "I got him calmed down. I don't think he will need stitches. Go ahead and do what you were doing." I was halfway home at this point. Is it sad to think I knew he would be fine and that I really didn't need to rush home? I think it's because Liam is my second child and I am much more relaxed with him. When I got home he did want to cuddle so we enjoyed cuddle time. Love that boy.

Nate is off on a "man date" tonight with a couple of buddies. They are watching the movie True Grit. I have no desire to see that movie so I am glad he can have some "man time."

I got to enjoy lunch with Mary and Emilee Garrison this week. They had never been to Beth's Bake Shoppe. We enjoyed each other and Liam ended it with a bang aka a poopy diaper! I guess he liked the chicken salad a little too much.

Landon has really enjoyed his summer camp the last few weeks! This week is science week so he has brought home some very interesting projects. I am so proud of how much he is growing. He has made some new friends that we will have to play with soon.

How many of you are looking forward to the cooler weather? I know I am! Happy weekend to everyone!

Much Love for Monday

In my working outside of the home days, Mondays were such a drag to me. I dreaded Sunday nights because I was generally getting ready for the next work week. Now that I don't have to be anywhere on Mondays, they aren't such a drag. In fact, I look forward to them because I am catching up from the busyness of the weekend. My house usually is out of order and by Monday evening, I have it put back together again. I can't stand a messy house. I always have to pick up at the end of each day.

Last Thursday some of the staff wives at our church got together at our pastor's house. They have a very nice house on some acres with a nice pool. We enjoyed bringing the kids and swimming. We all brought finger foods to eat and snack on. It's always nice to hang out with each other as we all have similar lifestyles. All the kids played well together and we had a good time chatting. We hope to continue getting together as all of our schedules are hectic.

Friday I went into work for a while and got a lot done. I also got all my errands done without kids which always goes ten times faster. On Friday evening, we went to D'Arpino's with the Thrasher family. They have an incoming 7th grader and a 9th grader. We enjoyed chatting and laughing together as Ken kept us laughing.

Saturday I went to aerobics class and then came home to get ready for work again. Both girls that service the store are on vacation so I told them I would work for them. I got the department looking awesome and then went on home. We went to the mall Saturday night with the kids to get some Bath and Body soap and a new watch for Nate. It's pretty cool! We ended up finding it at the Buckle of all places. I should have taken a picture of it but he is wearing it today so I can't.

Here's much love to you on this Monday!

Sarah, me, Becky, Debbie, and Abi

The Thrasher and Bock Family

Fragile X Awareness Day

Today is Fragile X Awareness Day. Fragile X Syndrome is the most common cause of inherited mental impairment. This impairment can range from learning disabilities to more severe cognitive or intellectual disabilities. FXS is the most common known cause of autism or "autistic-like" behaviors. Symptoms also can include characteristic physical and behavioral features and delays in speech and language development.

We are blessed with a 5 year old named Landon that has Fragile X Syndrome. He is such a blessing to our family. We wouldn't change him for anything. Landon is higher functioning and is learning all kinds of new tricks. His main delay is speech and language. He has severe apraxia which is motor planning of the mouth. It's all in his head but can't seem to translate to his mouth to speak. We have done intense speech therapy with the best speech therapist in the state. Landon is now talking and not considered non-verbal. Praise the Lord! He is one happy little guy that loves his friends. He would do anything for them. See below for the rest of the story. Tell someone today about Fragile X Syndrome.

Summer Lovin', Camp, and More!

I just got back from student camp at the lake and boy was it great! I was just texting a friend and telling her that every year it totally renews my love for students and our volunteers. It was such a refreshing time for me personally to get away and enjoy some alone time without the kids as well as grow in my relationship with the Lord. My parents had a wonderful time with the boys and taught them all kinds of new tricks. I didn't stay in a room with girls this year, but I did get to stay with our girls associate and her sister. We had a wonderful time. Those girls keep me young and I am blessed to know them. We stayed up way too late and I am still paying for it. This 34 year old body can't handle many late nights. I forgot to get a picture of us three, but we are really cute! Ha!

Nate was off yesterday and today. He is recovering from camp and getting some much needed rest time. We have enjoyed him being home and are not happy about him going back to work tomorrow.

We have a busy end of week/weekend ahead! Lots of fun! Looking forward to date night with some student workers on Friday night and then a fun Saturday. I didn't take many pictures while I was gone, but here are a few.

My friend Robin on the boat

Alli and me

Matt and us. He was our camp speaker this year and is a college friend of ours.

Mall Findings with Anxiety

Yesterday the lovely Emilee Garrison came over for a few hours in the morning to watch Liam while I went to the mall. I haven't really shopped for shorts too much this year because I had a few pairs already from last year. Since I am heading to Lake Windemere this weekend, I wanted to see if I could find a few more pairs. As you probably know, most stores are already getting in their back to school lines. It was so hard finding shorts! I did find one pair and a few other things, but not too much. I kept texting my friend Jessie to ask her questions because I feel like I have no fashion sense at all. I have a pretty classic style in clothes so to spice it up sometimes is difficult. I hopefully did okay in my finds, but we will have to get the approval. It's the fine line of looking like a Mom because I am a Mom and then not wanting to look like a Mom. Most girls know what I am talking about.

On another note, yesterday was a hard day for me personally as a Mom. Landon and I were just on each others nerves. He is such a sweet kid, but like most kids, doesn't want to listen to me at times. Then, after we had our "family night" at El Puente, he just lost it. He wanted to ride in the Krenn's van and we kept prompting him at dinner that we would be getting in our car and going home to play. When we got up from the table he immediately started looking for their van and went for it. Instead of Nate letting him go look at their van and letting him see it and stand there for a minute, he just steered him back to our car. We both learned that we just need to let him go and look at their van for a minute and keep explaining to him over and over that they need to go home and we need to go home in our car. Transitions are one of the hardest things Fragile X kiddos deal with. Sometimes Landon does really well with transitions but sometimes like last night, he doesn't. His anxiety gets the best of him and he just melts down. After looking back at my Fragile X conference notes last night, I remembered the description they gave to us about what that feels like. Imagine this. You are standing in a room with three people circled around you. One is shouting your name, the other one is asking for your name, address, social security number, etc., and one is touching you. That is how Landon feels when he goes through his anxiety attacks!! Makes me so sad to think he experiences that on a daily basis because of his Fragile X Syndrome. Today was a new day and he did tremendous. Most days he does very well, but when we have our off days, it's hard. During my time with the Lord this morning, I was reminded of this verse. Lamentations 3:22-23. Because of the LORD'S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Boom Boom Pow

We are still hearing big booms from fireworks. I looked outside the other night and it was like the fourth of July all over again! I am hoping they end soon. Time to move on. :-)

We have had a wonderful weekend! I went to aerobics class on Friday morning. It's a very unique class. It's step, strength toning, and a little zumba all in one. It's an awesome workout and you usually burn between 400-500 calories. I look like I just came from the pool after class because I have sweated that much. Such a good feeling! After class I immediately came home to shower and got ready for work. I have a little side job with Hallmark. I have now worked for them for 11 years. I can't believe I have been with the company that long. It's a great company to work for and if we ever go back to Kansas City it will be nice to still have my foot in the door with a job at headquarters. I can't imagine going back to work right now with this "season" of life that I am currently in with two little ones. I think I would probably lose my mind, but would learn how to survive I guess. My Mom always worked full-time after having me and we survived. She was a great Mom and it never bothered me that she worked full-time. I loved going to daycare and met some great friends.

After work, we had dinner and then Landon had speech therapy. Katie stayed after for a bit and we talked about a few things and then it was time for the boys to get a bath and head to bed. After the boys were in bed, my neighbor invited me over because her sister was in town. I stayed up way too late over at their house just having some good girl talk. I finally hit the hay around midnight.

Saturday morning we got up and around and got ready for the pool. We went out to the Nixa Community Center and had a great time. Liam didn't nap at all so he lasted about thirty minutes and then wanted to be held and fell asleep for a bit. Landon had a great time with Daddy. The Copeland's met us there as well. A good time was had by all. On Saturday afternoon Landon and I were suppose to get together with some friends but that got changed so we enjoyed playing games at home together. It was so fun!! He is getting good at a few games. Good thing he really isn't competitive.

Saturday evening we enjoyed a double date with the Lamberson's. They asked us earlier in the week so that we could get a babysitter. We had a great time with them and enjoyed our conversation. They are a newer couple to our church and are getting involved in a small group and enjoying that. It's awesome to hear what God is doing in certain situations. He is up to something big!

Today we are headed to church. Nate gets there between 6:45-7:00 every Sunday morning. Wowza! After church we are going to eat lunch here at the house and then Nate has to get a new battery for my car and install that. I am thankful he takes care of that stuff. After he gets back, I can hopefully head to aerobics at 2:30.

Hopefully you had a "booming" weekend too! :-)

Self portrait by Landon while I was getting ready for the pool.

My hubby and me.

The Lamberson's and Bock's.

July 4th Weekend!

I have loved reading all of the July blog posts. We are truly in the heat of summer and I love it! I still can't believe we are into the month of July.

We had a great weekend here at home. We had a lot of things planned and loved every bit of it. It started off with swimming. Landon is getting to be such a fish in the water. He is getting more brave as he gets older. Liam on the other hand isn't really interested in it much. He likes to walk around the water and play in it but not actually get into the pool. We are going to try splash time again tomorrow with our friends Abi and Mya. We will see how that goes.

On Saturday we played outside, went to the park, and played with our neighbor friends. Saturday evening Nate and I had a wedding. Karla Thrasher and her girls watched our boys for us for the evening. They had a blast! The wedding was for two of our former students. One of them from Kansas City and one of them from here. They met when they were interning in our student ministry and the rest is history. The wedding was wonderful and very unique. I should have gotten more pictures of all the decorations but I didn't.

On Sunday we got together over at the Lamberson's house. Liz and I went to eat dinner together while Nate and Dave kept the kids. We both had fun and enjoyed new friendships. Again, I forgot my camera. Ugh!

On Monday we enjoyed time as a family. Landon and I ran some errands and played at the park for a while. The cul de sac began getting ready for the big firework show that our neighbor does. He spends at least $500 on fireworks. So, we enjoy a nice show in our driveway. The boys were so tired and couldn't stay up for them. They slept through it all. I don't know how, but they did. I was amazed!

Summer is my favorite season! Happy July to you!

Some of the best student workers! (and Emilee)

Bride and Groom

Nate and his good friend, Tim

My handsome date!

Trashed House=Fun, Summer Days

You know you have had a great summer day when you have swimming suits, towels, sunscreen, beach bag, and sunglasses laying on the laundry room floor. That is what our laundry room looks like today. We have had a great day with friends. Brooklynn and Savanna have been wanting to play with Landon for a while now so we decided today would be a perfect day for that. We went to the pool and had a wonderful time. Those girls are such cuties. They showed us all of their tricks in the pool. We played many games and had a blast! Landon jumped in at least fifty times so my arms are a little sore. The days of just laying out by the pool are over when you have kids. I was in the pool with them the whole time. Laughing, talking, swallowing water, getting splashed, and doing dead man floats. After we got done swimming we ran a quick errand and then came back to the sand volleyball courts to play in the sand. Even though they are girls, they loved to dig in the sand.

I told them that we would take them to dinner tonight. They got their showers and got all dressed up in their sun dresses. Darling! I definitely got my girl fix today. They are some of the sweetest girls. Their hearts are full of compassion and love. Their parents are wonderful and are great friends of ours. We took them to Braums afterwards and had ice cream. What a great start to a fun, holiday, three day weekend! More fun things in store for our family this weekend!