Witten's Teeth and Mommy's Mental Health

Once there was a little boy named Witten who started to complain about his face hurting.  His mommy has learned  not to make too big of deal about things because a. history has proven usually nothing is wrong, and b. she's learned that with raising spirited boys, if she doesn't try to stay calm, she might end up with a heart attack or something. 

Well, the complaining continued.  And then he started messing with his mouth.  His mommy thought, maybe he has a cavity...  but then, no way.  We go to the dentist twice a year, his brother has never had a cavity.  We brush twice a day, and even if it WAS a cavity, it wouldn't be hurting THAT much....blah, blah, blah.  And besides, how could a boy who prefers fruit and veggies over candy (seriously, the kid loves healthy food)  have a toothache right?

Witten looks forward to Bountiful Basket Saturday.

Sometimes mommy's brains just don't work quick enough.  So, she FINALLY looked in his mouth.  And wouldn't you know she could SEE the cavity. 

The dentist said, "it went up the nerve and the tooth is dead.  We're sorry, but not even a cap will work.  We need to give this one to the Tooth Fairy. Oh and by the way, but don't panic, this is probably just the beginning of issues for Witten's mouth...do you see his under bite, and the way these back teeth are facing...blah, blah blah."  I wasn't listening anymore.  I was wiping the sweat off my forehead and thinking dollar signs $$$$$$$. 

So the big tough cowboy got his tooth pulled.  He was a champ.  He goes in for a spacer in a few weeks.  And Mommy took a few more St. John's Wort that day. 

Daddy's Shoes

Our Daddy's been working so hard for us and we miss him.  So this is for you Daddy.

We love to wear your shoes Daddy,
As you can clearly see.
Pretending we’re as big as you,
For soon that day will be.
We hope to be like you someday,
Strong, Patient, full of love.
You’re the greatest Dad on earth,
With quite the shoes to fill. -author unknown-

Little Man is Two!

Little Man turned two on the 1st.  I can't believe it.  He loved his special day.

 He loved his book and bike.

He rode his bike all morning.

Lane came to our family right when Heavenly Father knew we needed him.  It was at a time of uncertainty in our economic situation.  Our business was suffering because of the economy and change was coming whether we wanted it or not.  Logically, it wasn't the ideal time to plan for another baby.  But I knew in my heart it was time, despite everything that was going on.  He's my leap of faith.  And I'm so grateful I took that leap, because he has blessed our lives so much.



We love you Lil' Man.  You bring our home so much happiness.

Happy Birthday.

OT

I am a big believer in sensory integration.  Not just for kids with Autism, but for all kids.  Race goes and hangs out with Ms. Betsy (our Occupational Therapist) twice a month.  He really looks forward to it; she's got some fun stuff in her office and focuses alot on sensory integration with him.  One thing great that Ms. Betsy has taught me is just being a kid, doing kid stuff is sensory integration.   

I find the human development absolutely amazing.  How playing outside, skipping, swimming and riding bikes are so important to our bodies.  And not just for our muscles, but for our brain as well.  And isn't it interesting that kids today do it less and less...

Race and I so appreciate you Ms. Betsy.  Thanks for letting us come play.

Going for a Circle

I remember my Papa, whenever he would take a drive somewhere, he'd say he was "going for a circle".

Well, my friend Vanessa and I needed a "Get out of Dodge" Day.  We needed a girl's day.  I've been wanting to go home and check out the fire damage, so we loaded the babies up and took a Saturday to drive a circle.

It was a great day.  Lane and Cairo were awesome.  We had some fun pit stops along the way.

My whole childhood, whenever we drove through Holbrook, I wanted to stay at the Wigwam.  Oh come on, you know it looked fun!

Well, we didn't stay at the Wigwam (I'm still trying to convince John to swallow his pride and just take me there one of these weekends before we die), but we did stop and pet the dinosaurs...which really freaked Lane out.  He wanted nothing to do with them.  

And actually "petting" the dinosaurs is a bit of an exaggeration.  There were "DO NOT TOUCH!!" signs all over, and the very not so nice man who ran the "Rock Shop"  refused to take a group picture of us.  He must have been having a bad day.  Kind of a let down since I've been wanting to stop there for the last 20 years. 

So we continued on our circle, me a little disappointed. But my day was brightened when I ran into Mr. Jacobs at the Springerville Safeway!  This pic is for you Sarah and Bonnie!

And Safeway was much more exciting for the boys than the dinosaurs anyway.

I couldn't leave RV without showing Vanessa what the huge ball you could see from miles away was.  Oh, good ol' RV dome, when did they give you a paint job?  I kind of got used to the pink beach ball look.

Then there was the old house.  It looks so different without Daddy's trees.

Then we went to see the trees.  This is outside Greer.  It's really something you just have to see with your own eyes.  I was amazed by two things.  First, that the fire came right up to the edge of town.  I knew it had gotten into Greer, but I guess I just didn't realize how close to Eagar it got. 

The second, was despite all the damage and burn, the mountains are still so beautiful.  I love the White Mountains.  The smell, the feeling, the people.  I miss it.

Across the street from Molly Butler's:

We hung around Greer for a while enjoying the cool mountain air.

Then we headed for Payson to eat at the sooooo yummy Gerards Bistro.  Love it!  It was a great way to finish up our circle before we headed back over the hill. 

 

It was a super fun day, but we were ready to be home and out of the car by the end of it.  Besides, we were starting to miss the other guys.