Your prayers are needed!

Please pray for our friend, Ginger, and her family. Ginger has cancer and the decision has been made to stop treatments and bring her home to be with her family and to have Hospice in to help. Please click on the link on the right of my site to read her story. She is a fighter and such a beloved person! Someone told me today, "the Lord on only picks the best for his garden." Here is a photo of our some of our staff at work wearing yellow for Ginger and one of our some of our tailgating group. We took this photos to send to Ginger on her website. Ginger, we love you and you are always in our hearts and our prayers!! (NOTE - they photos are fuzzy...sorry. Can't see me in the FSU photos because of Keith's big head:) In the one of us in yellow, my eye is very swollen...that was the day I learned I had a scratch on my cornea! It's the purpose of the photo that matters)

7 months old and 7 years old!

Well actually, we are 7 1/2 months old now...Owen that is:) Owen is still feeling much better and he' s on the move. He is in the first stages of crawling...inching around all over the place. We can no longer expect that he will be in the same place we left him if we leave the room- he is on the move now! He has 2 teeth on the bottom and he's very proud of them. He has one more coming in on the top and so we are still DROOLING ALL THE TIME! Owen spends a huge bulk of his day saying "hey daddy" over and over and over and over.... When is he going to say MOMMY??? My friend Lucy Clay joked that Baker must be getting up in the middle of the night and making him practice that:) He got a new high chair (Thanks Austin and Lisa) and he really loves it. I think it makes him feel very independent and much like a "big boy" that he can sit and eat on his own. He's eating more finger food and that's really cool to him (and nice for us). We are just about 22 pounds and just over 28 inches now. He has graduated to the next car seat- which is a whole different story- shopping for a car seat is stressful! You want to get the best, safe one but you also don't want to break the bank. It was much more taxing than I thought it would be - there are WAY too many brands and types to pick from. Not to mention, I GOT THE WRONG ONE the first time! Long (embarrassing) story!

On another note, our sweet Brogen turned 7 years old this week! The dogs have kind of gotten the shaft since Owen has been born, so we made sure to make a big deal about Brogen this week- he deserves it! Tuesday was HIS special day! WE LOVE YOU BROGIE!! He will always be our FIRST baby boy!

All better!

Owen had a tiny ear infection last week but he is all better now! He was a trooper through the loss of appetite, sore ears, and Amoxicillin (which bothered his tummy a bit). Of course I was in worse shape than he was! Seems like bad things always happen in bunches: Owen got sick when Baker was out of town and when I was having a very crazy week at school with the kids...not to mention, some kind of bug was floating around the classroom getting students/staff sick. The good news is that we are ALL all better now! Here's a photo of him waiting at the doctors office. Can't tell by looking at him that he had no appetite last week:)

Priceless Moments

Most of you know that I have a friend, Amanda, who is also a photographer. She photographed Owen's Baptism weekend and she did such a fantastic job! Here are just a few of the many amazing photos she took throughout an amazing weekend! Owen is also featured on her blogspot page - there is a link on the right of our page - Amanda Hammerli Photography. Thanks Amanda!!

ALSO - formal "thank you's" are in the making but I wanted to say another "Thank-you" on behalf of all of us for the precious thoughts, prayers, gifts and visits to be with us for Owen's Baptism. It was such a special weekend, and Baker and I are just touched that family and friends came from near and from far to be here for Owen.

Hey Daddy!

I am so excited to report that the O man is talking. Well, not really talking but he actually says 2 words, and in context. Owen can say "hey" and "daddy" - it is SO COOL! Owen's 'first word" was "Hey" and he actually said that the other week when he was playing with his cousin Clay. We had heard him mumble it a few times, but it was never in context. We even have it on tape because we were video-taping the boys playing. Clay had been saying "hey" over and over to him and he looked right at him and said it back! This week, he said "daddy" and at first we thought it was just babble but he will look right at Baker and say it! Not, "da- da" but a clear, sharp "dad-dee." I have been saying and signing "mommy" over and over for MONTHS so it's only fitting that he would say "daddy" first- isn't that the way it goes? Last night he actually said them both back to back, so I wonder if can go as far as to say he has said his first sentence?? If I can ever figure out how to transfer the video recordings to something like You-Tube, I will post it. Of course we have been using up more DVD's than you can imagine trying to get "daddy" caught on tape this past week.

Funny Classroom Stories

So most of you know that I work with students with special needs- specifically behavioral and emotional needs. So it's needless to say, I hear some of the funniest things in class. I thought it would be cute to let you know the ones that allow me to laugh, even at myself some days.

I have one particular student who pays very careful attention to what you are wearing and the cleanliness and quality of your attire. Now by the end of the school day I am usually pretty dirty. My clothes are adorned with various pencil, ink, and marker stains and I usually have some evidence of being on the floor as well. Well this student I am referring to stopped me at the end of the second day of school (when I was dirty) and says to me "Wright's clothes dirty! Take them home; put 'em in the pile; wash 'em!" The next day I was wearing clean clothes to work and sure enough he stopped me at the door with a precious smile on his face and said "Wright clean clothes today- Wright did the laundry!" The other day I wasn't quite on task myself and was running around trying to gather my materials and he says to me: "Wright stop waisting time!" I had to laugh!!
I had another student who was frustrated with me as I had been the one who had held his feet to the fire most of the day. Later on that day, after receiving a consequence from me, he told one of our instructional aides "Man she really does take her job seriously!" Again, I had to laugh! There is never a dull moment, but there is ALWAYS a rewarding moment each day, even if it is a hug at the end of the day from the kid who tried to kick my ass all morning.

Hurricane Party at the Drabiks!

When Fay decided to head down our road...literally, we packed up and headed to Southwood to stay with Joe and Elaine because they had power and we had been without for almost 2 days. Lisa and Austin joined us there and it turned in to a very messy, wet but FUN weekend together! After rescuing the dogs and finding them a cool, dry place to evacuate to, there was no other option but to have a party! A great time was had by all. Owen got a bath in Aunt E's sink from she and his Aunt Li. A HUGE thanks to Joe and Elaine for allowing us and their God Son to evacuate our home and enjoy spending time with you. We had a great time. It felt like college again! We need more of that!

Owen's Baptism Weekend

This past labor day weekend Owen was baptized at our church here in Monticello and it was a day I will always remember. We were fortunate to have so many family members present who traveled from near and far. We had many of our close friends and family over for a BBQ and party Saturday night. It was quite a party for the kids and the grown-ups! Owen had a great time being passed around and playing with his guests. He loved every minute of it! After the service on Sunday, Dad and Martha hosted a luncheon at the bed and breakfast they were staying in and it was so delightful! We even had Owen's cousins, Clay and Marshall, from Virginia here to have Owen's first Sleep Over party Sunday night before they left on Monday. The kids had a ball together in their PJ's. We had a photographer shoot the various events and will have access to those great pics soon but I have some from the weekend to share no.

Mommy Moment: standing there holding Owen with Baker's hand in mine as we listen to the scripture and commit to raising Owen in a Christian home as Owen is just smiling and sucking his thumb and staring at the beautiful stained glass windows of the church...WOW. It simply takes your breath away and really puts things into perspective. For me, it was a moment that I will never forget. Then to hand him to Janice, who is our stepmother, who is also a priest, where she baptized him with Holy Water and Oil just made me cry and made my heart still. This was the moment where we vow to the best that we can by God to raise him along a path to Christian Love. I am so excited about this endeavor and I was touched and moved by love and support that Baker and I experienced over this weekend.