A few outtakes:
why we LOVE La Grange:
a few of my favs:
He's 6 going on 16. 1st grade has caused him to blossom in even more ways. Reading is his passion. He was quick to get his picture on the wall for Accelerated Reading & just yesterday he earned 30 points and his free Whataburger meal. This child is highly motivated. He's also grabbed math by the horns. He loves to be challenged and his sometimes quite the challenge himself.
And my darling Jayden. He provides me with the biggest hurdles in life. A few weeks ago at our Fall Festival, he went into respiratory distress. Talk about a frightening time. It took me a while to put everything together but I came to realize how important it is to keep this kiddo "corn free." When school started, I thought by letting him eat just that little bit @ lunch, in the bread or tortilla's, wasn't going to bother him as long as I watched his diet otherwise. After a week of him having some behavior issues at school, it dawned on me. That little bit of corn is effecting him. So I began the diligent job of wiping out his diet. And made an appointment to see our allergist. She confirmed my suspicions for me. Since starting his new diet over the summer, the kid has been extremely well & his behavior has changed completely. He finally felt better! By exposing him back to the allergen, he was getting irritated & it was causing his lungs to get inflamed. We set the recipe for disaster. So now he is feeling about 99% better. We've discovered that steroids is the WRONG answer for his problems. Turns out, they are derived from corn. So we are working on trying to get a formula compounded for when the occasion arises. We are also now equipped with an Epi-Pen for emergency situations, such as the respiratory distress. And we watch his diet like hawks.
So I've been working on putting our own "Medical Kit" together and Kreg and I have been learning how to administer the Epi-Pen. They say it's a breeze when your child is in distress.
And here's our church family picture I never got around to sharing:
it turned out decent. I spent 3 1/2 hours at the doctor yesterday trying to get some answers. He told me I have 2 options at this point in my life:
1. Surgery
2. Have another baby.
Can you guess which option has been chosen?
a wise person once said:
"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. Forgiveness does not always lead to a healed relationship. Some people are not capable of love, and it might be wise to let them go along with your anger. Wish them well, and let them go their way."
In a perfect family, what you see on the surface rarely reflects what lurks underneath. There is usually a pink elephant sitting in the living room everyone sees but steps around as if oblivious to it’s presence. Skeletons are hidden in closets never to be revealed, the theory being if I can’t see it or I don’t acknowledge it existed it won’t hurt me.
But we have to have feelings. We have to acknowledging or deal with emotions within the family.
No one ever aspired to break the family chain. Because as we can now see the links were not as strong as we thought.
We have to be able to ask for help. We can't live with never revealing any weakness . No one wants to place themselves in a position of vulnerability. But if you can't turn to your family, isn't that a problem?
I think it takes courage to step out of the illusion and give the pink elephant a poke.
Yes, it's far easier to walk in the shadows of deception.
But sometimes, it feels so much better to shake the skeletons in the closet and run the risk of being tossed from the family circle.
It is not an easy choice. But when you step around the pink elephant, ........................
As the song goes ‘I was blind but now I see."
The old, keeping up appearances, seemed less important than stopping the rot before it spread any further down the family tree. And this is the thing to remember, it isn’t only about us it is about the next generation and the next generation. If you think the family rules don’t get passed down think again. You can look back and see the patterns, the wrapping may change but the messages never do.
So here is the dilemma do you rock the boat and risk getting tossed overboard? Do you stay in your designated role to keep the peace? And why do we give families so much power over our own happiness?
You can love your family but you don’t have to like them, don’t have to accept inappropriate behavior, don’t have to give up your values to accomodate theirs. Being family doesn’t excuse you from being a compassionate human being; doesn’t make you right; doesn’t give you a lifetime pass to treat people disrespectfully.
Take the family part out of it and ask yourself “Would I accept this behavior from a stranger?”
The thing you find with dysfunctional family units is the don’t speak, don’t feel, don’t listen rule...........bit like those three monkeys, speak no evil, hear no evil, see not evil. We don’t talk about things because if we do, I might have to look at myself and it is easier for me to believe it’s all about you. We don’t deal with our emotions because we don’t want the outside world to see inside us. We don’t acknowledge realities because then we would have to shatter illusions and lose the imaginary self we have created over the years.
People will pull out the forgiveness card: the let sleeping dogs lie card, the family is all you have card, the blood is thicker than water card.
Well here are some things to consider:
1.Sometimes family comes in the form of an outstretched hand and a welcoming smile from a friend.
2.The baggage you do not unpack from your family of origin is the same baggage your children will carry around with them for the rest of their lives.
3.You only get one shot at this. God doesn’t give a next breathe guarantee think carefully about what you want to fill this moment with.
4.You can love your family but ultimately the greatest love has to be of self. If you love yourself you will ask to be treated with respect and dignity.
I don’t have the answers but I pray to God I did. I did it would make my life easier. At least now I am not afraid to ask for more, not afraid to expect more, or to believe I deserve more.
I know what losing the love of people close to you feels like. It hurts but I also know it hurts less than living a lie.
Words are so powerful yet when you can not find them they leave you powerless.
Words so descriptive, yet when you can not find them they leave nothing but assumptions.
Words the cornerstone of communication, the foundation of interaction, the building blocks of relationships, the cement that holds everything together.
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Here's what my little Jayden is up to just about every day in class: WOOD-WORKING!
Each day he brings me home yet another project he's done. Let's pray this holds up for the future!
Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin carving:
If you can't tell what Hunter's is, here's a little hint:
And here's my proof that every one in while, there are very tender moments in my house:
and why Hunter feels the need to do this shooting hand trick in every picture I take, I just don't understand.
but I think I've come to realize they enjoy dressing the same to confuse me. sometimes I will catch the tail end of a shirt & I have no IDEA which one is being sneaky. and secretly, I think they enjoy being twins.
and a picture from the Halloween I missed. I manage to get off the couch to snap one picture then dropped down back on it.
