American Idol Fav

American Idol was pretty good tonight. I'm rooting for Kris Allen. He is a worship leader at our church. I hope he makes it to the top 12! He really did a fantastic job tonight (he sang "Man in the Mirror").

Who are you hoping makes it through to the next round?

Speaking of making it through, I am participating in the Arkansas Women Can Run Clinic. I have participated before and it really is a blast. I'm not a runner, but a wannabe! :) During this eight week clinic, volunteers that are experienced runners turn people like me into runners. At the end, we celebrate with a three mile event in a nearby town. It really is fun! Last time, I participated, I was really proud that I could actually run three miles (I really don't like to run, so this was a big deal for me)! I hope I make it through this time (the last one was one baby and several years ago...ha!).

On another note, Ella Grace is saying some of the cutest things lately. Last night when I was laying down with her (yes, she is spoiled and I lay down with her until she falls asleep...I did this with Evan for a looong time, too), I told her, "Ella, tomorrow we are going to have a fun day," and she said, so matter of fact, "The best ever." Now, where does she get that? Just shows me they are taking in everything and I need to watch what I say! :) And besides, I think at this point, her worst day has been wonderful! :) Every day is a party for her and she is just waiting to see who is going to join in! I wish I looked at every day with that expectation!

A Busy Week

Whew! What a week this has been. I've been out of blogging for about a week!

It started off a great week. Evan was happy to be back at school, and EG and I had a line p of fun things planned for the week. Monday, Anna Elise came to play for a while. Anna Elise's mom, Kim, and I have been friends a looooong time (since 7th grade). That was only 10 years ago...hee hee...really like about 23 years ago! EG and AE had the best time together. EG thought Anna Elise was IT! She was so observant of everything AE was doing. It was SO fun to watch our girls play together.

I love this picture of them in the princess shoes! Notice EG won't even look at the camera because that would mean she would have to take her eyes off of Anna Elise.

They had lots of fun with the dollhouse and Curious George.

From Monday to Tuesday, I'm not sure what happened, but Ella Grace was under the weather for the next several days. She had a fever virus. I really don't understand the "fever virus." That is really the only symptom and it's a fever that just comes back after Motrin or Tylenol wears off. Anyway, it made her feel pretty crummy. She was definitely not her sassy self. All she said for about four days was, "Hold you," so I just held her.

EG was back to her self on Friday, so that morning Derek's mom and dad asked if she could come over for the day. She was SO excited. She loves to go and play with Nana and Papaw. Derek dressed her and fixed her hair.

The outfit is fine, but the hair...OMG! I hope I am always around to fix her hair!

Derek and I got to run some errands, eat lunch together, and pick up Evan. It was a nice afternoon. Then, my mom asked if the kids could spend the night. I knew EG would want to go, but I didn't think Evan would. He always wants to stay home with us. He is a homebody, and comes by it naturally since Derek and I are the same way. To my surprise, they BOTH wanted to go. Derek and I were so happy to have a date night (that we weren't expecting)! We went to Copeland's and it was YUM! We got cheesecake to go. Sooooo good!

We kept the one-year-olds at church last night. They were so good. No one cried or pooped their diaper (ha!)!

Now, I'm working on gettting clothes together for a resale event. I do this every Spring and Fall. It's a lot of work, but so worth it to buy new clothes for them since they outgrow most of them from season to season. The hardest part for me is parting with things they were SO sweet in. I keep the most sentimental pieces but make myself part with the rest! It's HARD! :(

I've just started and realizing I've got a long way to go.
EG is having a ball playing dress up though! :)

My Funny Valentines

I have had a great day spending time with my three Valentines today. We have actually been Valentining for two days now. Evan had a party at school Friday, and it was lots of fun. The teachers treated the class to pizza and all kinds of other treats. They are always so sweet to include EG, and of course, she thinks she is big stuff in there with the kindergarteners! I remember the days when I was in school and our class covered shoe boxes with construction paper hearts for our Valentines. One of Evan's creative teachers made these...

Is that not the cutest thing? It included a working door and flag. It also had his address on the other side to help with learning it. I thought it was so creative.

This is Evan with his aid, Ms. Myrie. He LOVES her, and she is so good with him. I am so thankful for her!

Evan and Ella Grace also racked up on the candy. They had Valentines from both sets of grandparents in addition to the haul they got at Evan's school. They (mainy EG...she is a candy fan) had eaten so much candy by Friday night, and it wasn't even the official day yet!

Ella Grace with the dog Derek's parents gave her. It sings the song "Shout." That is like my least favorite song EVER! It's quite annoying, but she loves it! SIGH! And, yes, that IS candy on her mouth.

Hallmark made a small fortune off the Horton's.

Instead of candy, Derek and I got Evan and Ella Grace each a toy. Evan got a new DVD that he LOVES, and Ella Grace got these...

Needless to say, she has been clip clopping around here for two days. :)

We ended the night with going to our Saturday night service at our church. How better to spend Valentine's Day?! For the first time, Ella Grace went to her class and stayed the entire service. We then went and ate Mexican food, and the kiddos chowed down. I can always count on them eating well there.

I sure love my Valentines!

My heartbreaker

My sweeter than candy girl

Not pictured is my big Valentine, and I'm pretty sweet on him, too! :)

Thanks, Kroger!

Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite things to do. Our town recently got a beautiful, HUGE, new Kroger. It is very nice, but no amount of pretty is going to make me love the grocery store. Lately, I have been doing my grocery shopping on Sunday evenings. The main reason is so I can go alone to avoid my nemesis, the car shopping cart.

The bright green and yellow cars attached to the front of the grocery cart are oh so fun for the toddler. Mine LOVES them and can spot them in an instant. It doesn't hurt that the friendly staff at Kroger are sure to park them in the very front of their store. I had to get groceries on Tuesday and took Ella Grace along. As soon as we arrive, there they are, and I hear, "I want car!." It admit it does entertain her...

And, she is so happy and proud...



She took this one to show her view from behind the wheel. :)

It's all fun until it's time to leave. Then, there is stalling and a little bit of fit throwing. Once back in the car to go home, comes the hair bow tossing, tear flowing, screaming part of the trip. Good times. Goodness, I hope she NEVER notices those miniature shopping carts for kids. I'd never get her in the car! Thanks, Kroger!

You can see this was an action shot...mid throw of the hair bow! Nice!

I Neeeeed Band-Aid!

Ella Grace is obsessed with "owies" of any kind. She is very aware of any owie she has and points them out to others in public. She is also very kind to point out age spots on women at the grocery store, pointing at the person and shouting, "She got owie!" Just a tad embarressing! Hee hee!

Owies at home cause all sorts of drama. There is always a band-aid involved (and there is never any evidence of a scrape). We have gone through a couple of boxes of Dora band-aids as well as Hello Kitty. This week we had another dramatic owie episode, and EG went to get her band-aid.

Wait a minute. That's not Hello Kitty!

That is one big band-aid! Hee hee!

You Would Never Know

Yesterday, like most days of the week, Evan had therapy after school. We have the sweetest outpatient speech therapist. She is a doll! I love her even more because she also went to OBU! :) After every session they have, she comes out with Evan giving me feedback on their session...things he did very well and things we still need to work on. Yesterday was one of those days. One of those GOOD days. The words she spoke made my day, made my month! She said, "Today was a great day. It was one of those days where if you didn't know, you would never know." I know my eyes got big. I said, "You mean that he has autism?" She said, "Yes!"

Wow! How awesome is that??? As a mom of child that struggles with autism, something like THAT said about your child is beyond WONDERFUL! Derek and I see glimpses of the "you would never know" all the time, but it is so nice to hear it from someone who works with him all the time.

If you were around Evan for a little bit, you probably wouldn't know. However, if you hung around for a while, you would probably start thinking to yourself that he doesn't talk much or that he wants to be in a different room than the rest of the group or that he doesn't play exactly like other children you know.

Overall, autism stinks! That pretty much sums it up. However, along the way, we have learned how to manage autism, and it no longer manages us. It doesn't dictate what we do as a family. It doesn't have complete control over my thoughts every day. It doesn't keep me glued to my computer every day (like it did for four years) searching for "the cure." It doesn't keep us from much at all that we want or need to do! I am very protective though, and if it is an activity that I know will not be fun for Evan or too overwhelming for him, we just don't do it, but for the most part we are just a regular family. We try not to take ANYTHING for granted. Evan is such a happy and healthy child, and that is what is most important to us. We have challenges, but it's okay. It's really okay.

Thank you, Jesus, for this precious child you have entrusted to me. Thank you for days like yesterday. Thank you for the wonders you work in him every single day and for what you teach me along the way.

I See Hey-copter!

Saturday afternoon Derek had to go into work to see in a helicopter. It had been on a mission to help people in the NW part of our state that were hit so hard by the ice storm. The kids and I decided to tag along. Evan and Ella Grace had THE best time.

They were at the windows most of the time looking for the "hey-copter," as Ella Grace calls it.

Loving Evan's expression here...

"Hmmm. This place is pretty cool. Wonder what kind of mischief I could create!"

EG got to talk to the pilot on the radio.

She asked him, "What you doin'," and told him, "Good job."

Her hair is getting so long.

Side note...super cute Spring sweater from Target for $6.49, thank you very much! I love 3/4 length sleeves and it is ADORABLE in such a small size! LOVE me some Target! They have the cutest little girl things.

Oh, and Evan can't be left out. I'm loving this "Heartbreaker" t-shirt for Valentine's Day from Gymboree. Also, LOVE me some Gymboree (that's another post...hee hee)!

The highlight...

What a perfect Saturday...74 degrees, lunch at Chik-fil-a with the fam, shopping at Target, Kirkland's and Old Navy (where I found this super cute chiffon top), field trip to Derek's work, and then dinner out with the fam! Just wonderful!

I am SO ready for Spring! How about you???

Are y'all watching the Super Bowl tonight? Looks like we are having a party for four here. I just found out yesterday who is playing and who I am rooting for! Ha!