A Swimming We Will Go....

We had such a great day today!! First, when we woke up this morning it wasn't raining, YEAH!!! And second, Jesse had the day off from Wal-Mart today so we decided to have a family day until he has to go to Dominos.

So what is there to do when the sun is out and Daddy is home? Go to the beach of course!! So we packed all of our bags up and headed over to Kingston Lake (we wanted to go the the ocean but we did have the gas and there is just too much running room at the ocean)!

Aidan was very excited about the ducks and chased them around the beach saying, "Come here ducks, come here duckies, come play with me!!" It was very cute! Unfortunetly the ducks didn't want to play with him...

Apparently Cora felt the need to "water" the lake, maybe she felt it wasn't wet enough!!

Haylee LOVED the sand! Digging, throwing, and yes -- even eating the sand! Eventually she headed over to the lake and plashed around. Everytime I looked over at her she just had a great big smile on her face!!

Jesse was a good sport and had fun with the kids in the water. He even got Aidan to go out all the way up to his neck and helped him float -- it was great to see!

All in all it was a great day! Though I must say that I think it is time to buy some new sunscreen -- even though we all had SPF 50 on we all came home a little pink!! Oh, well -- at least I have aloe in the frid

How dare he!!

Where do some people get off!!! I received an e-mail today and this was the subject line --

"99% of Autism cases are brats who haven't been told to cut the act out. "

This quote was given by a nationally syndicated radio talk show host (you can read all about it at http://mediamatters.org/items/200807170005).

Things like this aggravate me! This gentleman obvious has never had to deal with a family member with Autism, he has never been in a position where he couldn't communicate with his child, he has never seen his child intentionally hurt himself, he has never had to fight for his child to get an education, he has never had to face the realization that there is a chance that his child will never live a normal productive life! HOW DARE HE!!

I take great offense to comments like this because he is talking about my children! If it were as easy as telling the child to stop -- don't you think we would have done that Mr. Savage -- please give us parents some credit! I have and will do anything for my children -- and I do not let my children walk all over me as you propose Mr. Savage!

I have to most incredible children, and even though 2 of them have Autism -- they are some of the most artistic, analytical, and outstanding children! I love my kids with all that I am and they teach me something new almost everyday - can you say that Mr. Savage? My kids rock and my life wouldn't be complete without them -- even with their Autism!!

Eternal Reflection

In Church yesterday the unofficial theme of our Sacrament Meeting was having an Eternal Perspective, which got me thinking --

About things that seem big and troublesome now that don't matter when you think eternally --

-- A broken window

-- A house that is messy for a few days

-- Arguing Kids

-- Autism

-- Homework

-- 2 - 6 more years of college

-- Working 2 jobs

-- Getting a bath while giving 3 little ones a bath

-- A lawn needing mowing

-- Not seeing a brother for 2 years

-- Worrying about a sibling's decisions

-- Yucky humid weather

-- Missing deceased family members

-- Feeling there isn't enough time in the day

-- Not getting enough sleep

-- Only having 1 car

-- A broken computer keyboard

-- Loosing a shoe

-- Dealing with Jury Duty

-- Forcing a screaming child onto a school bus

I know I could go on forever! Yesterday made me realize that our time here is short, an though we may have times that are frustrating and we may not have everything go as we would like -- in an eternal perspective our time here is short! I have a feeling that if I can keep the "eternal perspective" maybe little things won't bother me as much and I can better appreciate the time that I have in the here and now and cherish the time that I have with my family, friends, and especially my 3 little ones!!

I survived...

I have survived my first Microbiology exam!! I should probably explain that this class meets Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 6-9:30! Also this class is only 7 weeks long. I knew I was in trouble when the first night of class the teacher stated that she usually teaches this class in 16 weeks and she decided that she was not going to cut out any information -- she is just going to cram it all into the 7 weeks!!! So we had our first exam and I got an 83, which is OK. I am really hard on myself and it has been a long time since I earned a B -- but considering I had 27 typed pages of notes all given in 5 days I think I did pretty well.

Only 3 class exams, 2 lab practicums, 21 lab reports, and 4 1/2 weeks left!