My Bags are Packed

ok so we are set- ready to roll- a few things tomorrow then vacation time- I will post pictures
I was able to fit all of our stuff in 1 suitcase -
ok must get back to cleaning and such before leaving

Got a training in today

Well I got an hour swim in today- about 10 laps of our pool here- which was good- this was the first workout in the pool I got- I was also able to work with Marcus a little bit- he did pretty well- swam - he probably could survive if he did not panic- yes yes he did- but the loving mom I am said get back out there- I can do allthings through Christ- Trust God I will not be afraid- he finally dove in and swam to the other side-with lots of encouragement- whew- we still have a lot of practice to do- but I was proud

I told him he needed to help me learn how to run and I was going to help him swim- he was all about that

SO my workout went well- felt good to do laps- I can not wait til I get in so much better shape

Step by step- day by day- I will get to my goal- who knows with Marcus working out with me maybe we will do a mother son effort :)

Oh me Oh my it is almost vacation time

cleaning organizing- gathering- getting maps - routes - menus- food- timelines- making arrangements for stops-
we are going to NC- and seeing Deb a friend who has known us for forever - staying overnight there and then headed on Friday to Pittsburgh ( well a little outside that area) Staying with my cousin's family for the weekend and doing things with them- then we will go to the cementary on Sunday and visit my grandaparents ( my mom's side) grave and my oldest sister's grave- I know its not the most glamorous things to do- but it means a lot to me to go there- I never met my sister and always wonder how it would be with 2 older sisters - and how would things be different- I also often think of how much I miss my grandparents (on both sides) and how much they missed and how much I miss them for missing things in my life- I hope they are proud of the woman I have become-ok enough sappy time
We will meet up with my aunt an duncle and cousins from Ohio and then go to their house for the week-
We will leave friday and head this way- stopping in at Jill's house and the Garland's new home (so weird to say that) then on to Savannah to get a picture of Lady and Sons Restaurant and home again- whew I am tired
I amso excited though to be going - its been too long since we were back there- Tom and Kerri's wedding.
I will be posting when we are there so you can see what we are doing-

Summer Camp

Oh the joys of summer- I love the fact that the summer camp keeps the kids busy- it is great- great for who- not so great for Marcus- he does not do well with unstructured things-

and a large amount of kids- but what to do- when you need child care you try your best and with what you have-

I am thankful though they have tried working with him and are willing if I am - how silly me work with teachers- I said yes I will help you and work with you as much as I can- I also have his behavioral specialist that has called and stopped by this week to help in working with Marcus- his therapist is also stopping by twice this week. I love my support team- could not be where we are with out them-

So today will be the last day of summer camp for 2 weeks- Next Monday and Tuesday we will be with Aunt Brenda and then Wednesday on vacation.

Praying for a quiet day today there and hoping he is focused and able to do what he needs to do to be succesful today

Craziness of Summer

Lets see this week entailed- summer camp- meeting with Mr Carini- Summer Camp - track practice- - me walking-preparing for vacation-preparing for vacation at home- preparing for vacation at work- did I say preparing- the cats need looked at the dog need looked after -
We have summer camp today- meet with Mr Carini- church- then tomorrow -we have summer camp and track practice then then friday SUmmer camp and thenthe weekend- which will be the get it all done of it all weekend- whew I am tired just thinking of it plus I need to get a couple of training sessions in

Let the training Begin

ok so today I will begin the long process of training- starting off slow and gradually building
this week swim 100 yard walk for 20 minutes and bike 2 miles- alternating the days of what I do-

-plus this week we meet with Mr Carini and Emily and Luisa- training in essence for Marcus and behaviors-
Hopefully it will go smooth this week

Please keep Marcus in prayer this week- he goes to summer camp and needs to be in control

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day - to my daddy- I hope you have a fanatastic day- thank you for always being there and loving and supporting everything I do- I LOVE YOU!

For those of you who do not have an earthly father- you have the best Father around that you can count on no matter what-One of my favorite songs is a praise and worship song

I am not forgotten I am not forgotten I am not forgotten God knows my name. He knows my name. Light over darkness Strength over weakness Joy over sadness He knows my name Father to the Fatherless Friend to the friendless Hope for the hopeless He knows my name I will praise You I will praise You For I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am not forgotten Never forsaken - By Isreal and New Breed

I often remind Marcus that he may not have an earthly daddy but he has the Ultimate Father-

He does have men in his life who speak volumes - volumes and thank you men for mentoring him- loving on him- and just being there for him- we love you all

Lock In @ Church and my next goal

Wow- we had a great time at the lock-in with the kids and can not wait to do it again- and no not every month that some of the parents were hoping for- I do not think I could survive- I am exhausted but would not change the time I spent with the kids for nothing- they all appeared to have a great time- and Marcus did too - he is wiped out today though-

I can not say that I do not blame him- I am too

Ok ok- I have decided on my next goal for the year for me-ddahahah read-

a minitriatholon- I have a goal of a year to get it done and if you know me I am determined with my goals- so it entails a 1 mile swim- 15 mile bike ride and a 5 mile run- of the 3 the running will be the hardest but I am determined. I will keep you posted on how I am doing

I love you Bubba

Hey Mom and Dad - please have Marcus read-

Hi Bubba-

I hope you are having a great time at grannie and papaws- I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you and the choices you have been making-

I am proud of how well you ran on Saturday too- Have grannie and papaw show you the pictures below here.

Keep making those great choices- Remember you can do this- you can- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Remember your Reward for Fun Sunday is Chili's -

LOVE YOU BUNCHES and see you Friday-

~Mommy

I was reading..

a journal that I wrote in to keep track of Marcus' behaviors-from a little over a year ago - and can I say oh my word we have come so far so so far- I was amazed -
You see sometimes when you are in the forest it is hard to see past the trees (did I get that right PD) I am always in the mode of being with him and knowing he has referrals and meltdowns and suspensions and on and on...
but I am so glad I have a journal his behavior- because I would never have looked back to see how far we have come-and see past the forest-

We have come so so far- it will be 5 years in a few weeks that this young man was chosen for me- yes chosen for me- I truly truly believe he was chosen for me - come on when I pray specifically for a boy 3-5 years old that is a little challenging- God delivered- He chose me- who else would have dealt with all we have gone through- no one no one but me- I often think of where he would be - but that does not go too far- anyway- God knew I would be able to handle all we have been through-although at times I did not think I would get through-
He has placed significant people in our lives to help us through- to utilize the wisdom they have and press on towards the goal of Marcus being successful-
I am often told "I would have gave him back" - well honestly at times I would have too- and yet I keep pressing on knowing - knowing that God has a mighty plan for Marcus- and that Marcus is an awesome kid-
God knew what He was doing and it has taken me this long to know what I am doing- I still am learning but I have - yes I have come so far- You learn a lot when you have a child with emotional and behavioral issue- what have I learned?- and this is from looking and reading the journal I have of his behaviors

~ that you are often looked at differently when your child throws down a melt down in the store and you have to leave in order to get refocused-does not bother me anymore- others have no clue what may have happened
~calmness goes a long way and so does consistency-
~the first 4 years of a child's life is so critical for there socialization and development
~its ok to ask for help- and when you do you build a great support team
~communication is a key component in a child's life to those who work with him
~My strength is not my own but comes from Him
~on my knees is so powerful
~Unconditional love goes so far- love love love- and keep loving no matter how hard it gets
~keep persevering keep thriving- keep going no matter what
~Knowing when I need a break- and ask for that break-
~I can do ALL things through Christ

I am amazed at how far we come- and yes we still have far to go - and yet the journey keeps getting better and better-

Clearwater meet

It was a fabulous day today- from the meet to getting paperwork done for Marcus-

He did well very well at his last meet of the season- oh practice will not be over just the meets for him

so we ended the season with 2 -1st place finishes and 1 best time- these are moments of a proud momma- I even cried a little when he crossed the finish line first- such a boost to his self esteem-

Enjoy the pictures--

Today was a good day

Today was a good day-
Marcus has had a good week-so thankful for that
Brenda and Sarah watched him the last 2 days- tomorrow we have a meet in Clearwater and Sunday he will be with mom and dad until Friday

We met with Mr Carini for the plan over the summer and this year I am looking forward to the summer- it is great when you have the support we do- we meet 2-4 hours a week with him to work on school work - have fun- and work on behavior issues

I am very pleased with the meeting and will be implementing what was planned as much as I can-- so mom and dad please adhere to what we plan- it will work- and Marcus is excited about it

Last Day of School Today

Awesome- Mrs Crossley- we will miss you next year not being in your class- Mrs Burns- we will miss you cause you are not going to be there full time- and Mr Carini- we will see you over the summer cause you are such a dedicated behavioral specialist- no words can ever express how much of an impact these people have on our lives

Some of Marcus' classmates

Today was the last day of school and ended a time period of 3 years with Susan Crossley - Marcus' teacher- He has had her since 1st grade and will be missed next year- However - we will have a new adventure with Kris Madley- who is another awesome teacher on the team in which Marcus is apart of. Sandi Burns which is a significant part of the team will be missed next year but will be back to substitute- and of course there is Andrew Carini- behavioral specialist who Marcus and I will be spending some of our summer with-helping to keep Marcus on task and focused all summer to transition into 4th grade smoothly- How awesome is that-


Marcus and Marcus ( my Marcus cried when Marcus left because he goes to 6th grade next year)

I do ask where did the time go? it just seemed like yesterday I was driving to Seffner to be with Aunt Lori for VPK. Now - we are going into 4th grade again I ask where did the time go

Track meet photos - June 5th

Marcus in the black shirt and one piece (3rd at this point)

My niece playing with Aiden (coach Gig's son)

Marcus resting

Marcus resting

Two of the coaches- Coach Gig and Coach Earl they are awesome

I have some of the best villages

Well- it does- and I have some of best villages I am a part of and each one was represented today at the track meet- My family- my sister and her kids came out- My church family- Bill Letaw came out to watch- Our school family- Susan Crossley came out with her kids to watch- and of course the track family - Unfortunately the meet ran so long Susan and Bill were unable to stay but it meant so much to Marcus and I that they came-

As I was sitting there today I realized how much people love us and care- we often do not think about it- and to see the excitement in Marcus' eyes that these wonderful people were there to support him and show how much he is loved- meant so much to me.

Each part of out life was represented today-and I just loved it- wow-

So thank you all for loving and caring about us the way you do- we are truly blessed for the people in our lives- and I am so thankful for all that you all do - teach, guide, love, encourage not only Marcus but myself