Graduation Day

I’m so proud of Robbie!  He marched in his high school graduation ceremony yesterday.  You have to understand that every time he’s had to do something similar – such as receiving awards at school or being confirmed at church – he has done something inappropriate while on stage, like grabbing the microphone to thank his fans or giving an “I’m the champ” type gesture with his arms.  He was the perfect gentleman yesterday – very serious, walked up on the stage and went directly to the superintendant, shook hands and accepted his diploma, then walked off. 

Then we had his party at the house, and he was cordial to everyone, didn’t disappear with his girlfriend, but stayed around to talk to everyone who had come to congratulate him.  Again, a first for him.

I think my baby is growing up!

On the other hand, he and Jimmy were wrestling over who would get to put the van seats back in the locked & upright position as we were getting ready to go to the ceremony.  Robbie yanked on the seat, and something caught Jimmy in the knee, tearing his only dress pants, and putting a huge gash in his knee.  So, the sitter took him to the hospital for stitches while we were at the graduation ceremony.  During the party, Jimmy picked out his stitches, so we spent last night at the ER getting staples to replace them.

Never a dull moment at my house!

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth

Happy Mothers’ Day!

I spent many of my childhood years complaining about my mother, dwelling on all the things she did wrong – like not letting me go to NYC with some friends from high school when I was 14.   Did I think she was crazy?!?!??!

Now that I have my own kids, I realize what a great job my mom did.  She had 6 kids to raise while dad was at work all day.  She dealt with everything from skinned knees to broken hearts, from running away to petty theft, from missed alarm clocks to broken curfews.

She told us she didn’t sleep well until we were all home safely, so we were to wake her up when we came in from dates or parties.  But yet waking her required a stick of dynamite!  No doubt she was exhausted from dealing with all of our trials and tribulations during the day.

I hope I provide my kids with even half of the unconditional love my mom showed me through my difficult growing up years.

Even now, I know I can call her (daily!) for advice on my kids.  She is so good at seeing the good in them at the very moment I want to kill them all.

Love you mom!

Exceptional Olympics

Photo courtesy CantonRep.com

Most of the school districts in Stark County sent their special needs children to a “field day” event at our local high school in Perry.  You can see the story here.

Congratulations to all the athletes who participated!!!!

Children’s Mental Health

Because I am a foster mom, I am acutely aware of the many mental health issues children face.  Today is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day.  Please spend at least a minute thinking about how you can help improve the mental health of the children in your life.  Maybe a few extra hugs are in order?

Happy Gotcha Day Billy!

Special Note to Billy, my youngest:  Happy Gotcha Day! 

This is the day, eleven years ago, when you came into our lives.  You were still too little to hold, struggling to drink even 2 ounces of formula at a time.  (Who knew you’d be eating us out of house and home now?)  You only weighed about 3 and a half pounds. 

We came and sat by your isolette for a couple of weeks, wishing we could take you home.  You were all legs and tubes, but we loved you anyways, and we love you even more today.

Special Olympics Results

Wow!  Saturday was the Special Olympics Regional Qualifier for summer games.

Billy took 1st place in the standing long jump and 2nd place in the 100 meter dash.

His big brother Robbie took three individual 4th place ribbons in powerlifting!  Not bad for his first competition!

I’m so proud of them!

(And Jimmy did a great job spectating.)

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth

Gotcha Day for our number two son

I have a friend who calls the day a new foster child comes into her life “Gotcha Day”.  Such an apt description.  So, here’s the story of Jimmy’s Gotcha Day. (Continuing from “How I Became A Mom“)

After Debbie got home from work on Sunday, we went about a block away from our house to pick up Jimmy at his emergency foster home.  The fact that Lew & Bonnie lived so close to us seemed like yet another sign that these children were the right ones for us.

Bonnie handed Jimmy to me, and I just melted.  This perfect little 6-week old baby, with a HUGE black eye.  (According to his father, he “rolled over onto his pacifier.”  A real child prodigy – rolling over at 6 weeks!)  Other than the bruise, he had a perfect round little face with beautiful bright blue eyes.  Although I hate that he was harmed, I thank God every day for that black eye, because that’s what got both Robbie and Jimmy out of their abusive birth home.

Lew handed us a beat-up diaper bag with two diapers in it, and one bottle out of the refrigerator.  That, and the onesie he was wearing were Jimmy’s only possessions.  In November.  In Ohio.  I can’t believe that, even if the police are taking your kids away, you wouldn’t think to send a coat along.  But that’s just me.

So, we wrapped Jimmy in a warm blanket and tucked him away in his brand new car seat for the short ride home.  It was pretty awesome, and I don’t mean that in a good way – maybe overwhelming would be a better word, to suddenly be completely responsible for two young children.  Little did I know that this day, momentous though it was, would be one of the least overwhelming days we would have for several years.

BTW, I’m working on getting some more pictures posted.  I’m such a horrible person, I can’t even do my own scrapbooking, so a friend of mine currently has all of my kids’ pictures and is working on putting together books for me.  When I get the books back, I’ll scan some pix in.

Thanks for visiting,

Beth

Special Olympics State Softball Champs!

A huge thank-you to the Malone Varsity Baseball team for recognizing the Stark Public Special Olympics Softball Team for their state championship before tonight’s game.  They brought Robbie and his teammates onto the field, introduced them, and each of the boys got a Malone baseball T-shirt that says “Hustle Makes It Happen” on the back.  Too cool!

How I Became a Mom

In the interest of starting at the very beginning, I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks talking about how I became the mom of the three most wonderful boys in the world.

Dogs are Taking Over My World!

Cooper and Penny

We’ve had four dogs in our house for a long time.  And they’re not little dogs, either!  The oldest is Maggie, a Golden Retriever we bought from a breeder in Amish Country on the way back from a weekend in Berlin, Ohio.  She is absolutely a beautiful dog, but the breeder had bred her twice, and she couldn’t bring down enough milk for her puppies, so he had no further use for her.