Crying tears of joy

Lunch today was one of the best that I have had in a long time! It is difficult on Sunday to have a quiet peaceful lunch after church with the 3 boys and Zoe. Peaceful meals are few and far between period but today was awesome. It was not because the behavior of our children was impeccable. Far from it at times actually. I had forgotten to give Cooper his meds so he never sat down more than 30 sec. at a time. Not to mention the times he was sitting he was bouncing off and on my side the whole time. Jaxon was squirming around on the seat, sometimes lying down looking up at the ceiling, sometimes under the table. Mason talked nonstop and wanted to play I Spy the whole time and Zoe must have shouted for more at least 100 times and dropped her bottle on the ground at least 50. All in all if you picture a family of 6 where 4 of them are 8,6,3, and 1- you might see in your head utter chaos! But within that were moments of sharing, laughing, loving and mommy crying tears of joy. We went to a restaurant that allowed Jeff and I to get 3 courses and the children colored pictures to hang up in that restaurant if we donated to one of my favorite charities. I was able to tell them about St. Judes and how they help children and none of the families have to pay because people give to the hospital to help. They listened, asked questions, made comments, and colored while we waited for our food. The food came, we ate, we talked they wiggled and talked and then came chocolate cake for dessert. Jaxon took the first bite not waiting for anyone else and certainly not asking for permission. His eyes were huge when they set it on the table and he grinned from ear to ear as he dove in. He closed his eyes for a moment, raised his shoulders up and said,"mmmmm, das good!" I took a few bites and talked to him about the hard chocolate crunch on top of the ice cream. Jeff and Cooper came back to the table from a potty break. They were both excited to see what was on the table and Cooper was extra excited to say that he had seen "crack man in the potty and he was really very nice." Crack man was the man we had seen as we entered the restaurant whose shirt was a little on the short side, and his waistband was a little on the low side to reveal to the boys the crack that the good Lord had given him. I counseled them as we passed not to speak for they were already laughing sooo very hard in the parking lot. But I digress... anyhoo Cooper took a bite of the cake. He too closed his eyes and said, "oh that is soo good!" We agreed and took a few more bites. Then I looked over to the cutest, sweetest thing. Cooper filled his spoon and gave Zoe (who had been sitting quietly) a big bite. Oh that sweet precious baby smiled sooo big- as if to say,"dat is dee best ting I have eber tasted bruder tank you for sharing!" He then proceeded to take turns taking a bite and giving her a bite and they both just smiled and laughed and ate. It was sooo very sweet and precious and I cried and cried tears of joy to see that boy's heart filled with a spirit of giving because his heart and soul (and in this case mouth) were filled with goodness in the form of Chocolate cake. Cooper looked and asked why I was crying and I told him it was because mommy's heart was filled with joy to see him know that something was so good that he wanted to share it with his sister and how that made mommy and God so very happy. In the meantime Jaxon was continuing to eat a few bites but had found the picture of another yummy looking dessert on the menu. He told us to keep eating all of what was on the table and then to get dat one too. I lost it again. His face looked so sweet and it was too cute that he wanted even more of the chocolate goodness that the menu had to offer. We all left the restaurant with our bellies and spirits filled. I am thankful to God for such an amazing moment in our lives!!!

yeah, thanks but no thanks

Kids hearts are just so naturally sweet (most of the time) and Jaxon showed a big heart tonight! I did my first short but fast training walk tonight. I had Jeff drop me off 4 miles from the house and my goal was to make it back in an hour to keep up with the pace that I want to be able to walk in the Breast Cancer 3Day in November. Cooper and Jaxon rode with us to drop me off and they all wished me well as they drove away. As I was walking down our street at the end of the walk- I noticed that Jeff and Jaxon were waiting on the front porch for me. Jaxon ran down the driveway and jumped into my arms and said, "I missed you soo good and you look bootiful" My heart melted. It was great to walk up to both of them smiling so. I walked straight into the house and into the bathroom and Jaxon followed me. He said, "mommy did you miss me so much because I missed you and your cancer." I told him that I missed him all to pieces and reminded him that I don't have cancer but I am walking so that hopefully there will be no more breast cancer when he gets big. He said, "oh thank you mommy." Now, while we were talking he was playing with the toilet paper as he always does when he is in the bathroom (even though I try to push him out and ask for privacy the majority of the time he was just so happy to see me). I figured most of the time he is out so I'll let him keep talking. I should have stuck to my guns however and insisted on my privacy because he unrolled a big piece of toilet paper and said, "do you want me to wipe your bottom for you?" Yeah, thanks but no thanks. I tried very hard not to laugh since his face was so very serious and he was being so sweet. I responded with a, "no thank you, I think I can handle it on my own." Bless his sweet heart.

To the...

man from the Oil Change place: Thank you for jump starting my van in the mid day heat- my two little ones and I are very grateful for you!

man at Wally World waiting on my parking place: Sorry I didn't know anyone was waiting. I didn't see you and because I had my windows down I needed to put my hair up so it wouldn't blow in my face. There was a good song on the radio and that is why I was singing to myself in the mirror too : )

man behind me when the light turned yellow: I don't run yellow lights - that's how I got my last ticket- calm down dude no need to point that finger and honk your horn I might have saved your life ; )

and finally

Lady walking this evening wearing the Breast Cancer 3Day shirt: GO WALKER!!!!!!!

Butterflies on the Bus

My children are so very funny in the morning- On the first day of school they were hearing nothing of us taking them to school - they must ride the bus. Now mind you the school is a half mile from our front door. But because it is uphill and there are no connecting sidewalks, we have a bus that picks up at our front gate. This is when the social butterflies have their fun time. Never mind that they can't get out of their seats and they pretty much have assigned seating. Nevermind that the bus picks up at 7:03 and they could sleep at least 10 minutes more. They HAVE to ride the bus!!! (Those are their words not mine.) This morning Mason came downstairs at 6:24 fully dressed with shoes and socks on and asked, "did we miss the bus?" Silly boy! I guess I should be thankful that they are not screaming about going to school and they want to go! But they are too funny panicking that they might have missed the bus. Speaking of going to school, the boys both came home from school very happy yesterday. Mason's exact words were, "my teacher is sooo nice!" Cooper said, "there were some 'hot' girls in his class!" Ok where did he learn that, I don't know but I reminded him that he needs to not say that out loud in front of girls because it could be considered disrespectful. He just smiled and said, "well they were hot and I like girls!" Good to know buddy, good to know. So for now on the second day of school the social butterflies caught their bus and are on their way to look at the hot girls at school. Oye! I am in T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

Let the walking begin

Many of you have heard me talk about my experience with walking in the Breast Cancer 3Day- well I am doing it again this year and I am getting more and more excited as the time draws closer! I need to know if any of you who follow my blog would like for me to walk for any of you friends, family members or for you during my walk? If you will let me know I will be writing the names of those I am walking for on my tent this year. I will be praying for them as I walk ( you can't listen to music or anything it isn't safe so there is a lot of quiet prayer time). I ask that you pray for me as I begin some bigger/longer training walks this week and over the next few weekends. This is a cause that is so very near and dear to my heart and I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate in it again this year. If you would like more information about what I do feel free to ask - I would love to share!

Independence

Independence reared it's ugly head today in the form of a little boy who refused to hold his mommy's hand as we went to meet the teacher night. : ( I know, I know we pray for them to grow and learn blah, blah, blah... But I thought of all nights meet the teacher night -Cooper would need just a little mommy touch as he felt a little uneasy- nope not a bit! He saw a little boy that was in his class last year in the parking lot and pointed him out. That little boy was holding both his mom and his dad's hand - Cooper had his hands in his pockets and was talking non stop about all kinds of things. I put my hand out and was denied. I said, "are you nervous at all?" His response, "nah what for I went to Kinder here so it's no big deal." What a guy! He then proceeded to tell me about this girl that asked him every day if they could get married and he said it was very annoying. He said girls were completely annoying because all they ever want to do is buy clothes and look good- oh really mr. can I have this that and the other as we shopped for school clothes. The boy got a jean jacket from the G*P the other day (it was the first thing he picked out in the store) 100 degrees outside but he wants a jean jacket because he would "look good" in it. His words not mine. He walked right in to the classroom, shook hands with the teacher and proceeded to play with a little boy that was in his class last year. When we went to the cafeteria to put some money in his food account the cafeteria ladies remembered him as the kid who kept giving his bus number instead of his cafeteria number. He just gave him a little sideways grin and said, "well they gave me food." Looks like it is gonna be a great year!

Not bad at all

School shopping was not bad at all! I thought it would be tough shopping with four, but my Mother in Law had done some pre-shopping and price comparisons and we were able to get in done by just going to three stores. She had an awesome 20% of complete purchase from The G*P and their tee- shirts were buy one get one free (cha ching). After lunch and a stop at Gymb*ree's sale rack for another 20% of purchase we are clothed and ready to start school. We had a lovely lunch in the mall food court and it was a lot of fun to watch Jaxon be amazed at the stuff in the mall. It is obvious I don't shop much or go to the mall for that matter - he had no idea what to do with himself or what to look at. It was funny! My mother in law can shop I tell you and I was all out of breath by the time we were done. We all had a good time and I am very grateful to the Babcock's for their generosity! 1st and 3rd grade... bring it on!

Obsess Much?!

If you've seen Ace Venture Pet Detective then you can hear how he says, "Obsess Much?!" when he goes to the house of Ray Finkel- the kicker that missed the super bowl field goal (ok a movie that I have seen many many times : ) Anywhoo- I digress- Cooper has been on medication for 4 days now and here is what I have noticed... He is very obsessed with organizing things. He has said several times that he needed to "clean up the toy room" and I have found him lining up the trains and cars in their containers. He has asked to clean up the laundry room and pick up his clothes. It is like his eyes are suddenly open to what is going on around the house. But he is most obsessed with lining up the trains and cars again. Meltdowns.... we had one today but it didn't last long and he went straight to his room on his own. Eating... so far so good although I have noticed a desire to drink more that eat. Oh and he is drawing a lot again. He had stopped for a while but now is drawing and coloring again. These are just some of the observations I have noticed. We will see how this week goes with getting ready for school to begin.

ADHD

Usually I post on things going on around our Babcock world and they tend to have a bit of humor in them. Today, however, I am asking for your prayers as we begin a journey that many have traveled, but it is new to us. Several years ago we started Occupational Therapy with Cooper and a wonderful friend Mrs. Robbie Dunn. She has done wonders with Cooper and with us regarding some of the special needs that Cooper has. In the beginning I was learning about Cooper and why he was so driven in everything he did. If it was something he liked he strove for perfection. If it was something he disliked, he disliked it with enormous amounts of passion. When he was forced to do something he disliked, or when he made a mistake on something while striving for perfection, he would meltdown. I don't mean just throw a fit- we are talking 30-45 min of wailing, screaming, crying, stomping, running, hiding, destructive behavior that was hard to deal with much less understand. Since seeing Mrs. Robbie, most of the time he is able to tell us what he needs in order to not meltdown and stay in balance. He is a textbook case for Sensory Integration Disorder. After learning more and more about it, I have learned that the apple doesn't fall far from this tree. (me) We recently had him tested by an educational psychologist to see what the realms of his issues were. Those results showed that he also suffers from ADHD. As a teacher, I had many students who struggled with adhd but having one of my own was not what I was prepared for. Now we come to the question of what to do. We are not opposed to medication. If he had a problem with his heart and medication were the best route -he would get it. If he had kidney problems the same thing. As Dr. Chappell explained to us those who suffer from adhd do not have the same amount of neurotransmitters that non adhd children have in order to stay focused. So the medication helps with that. Still we know that things in the house will have to change as well. A steady routine is crucial. Sleep is crucial. I guess what we need is the support of our friends and family as we help Cooper learn to cope with his diagnosis. We want him to be comfortable and well informed enough to be able to talk about it and at the same time we don't want him to use it as a crutch. We want him to feel loved and wanted as he always has been. We covet your prayers and ask that you pray for strength and wisdom for all who are involved. We know that God chose us to be parents to Cooper and I wouldn't trade that for anything in this world. We are thankful that he is our Cooper!

Speaking of firsts

Our lives are filled with firsts. There are first words, first steps, first dates, first kiss etc... Today I experienced a first because I turned 40 this year- I had my first mammogram today. I was very nervous. Nay, I was scared. I had heard horror stories from women about them. I had even heard them compared to slamming your "girls" in a freezer door and then allowing a mac truck to back up into it to attempt to make them as flat as possible to get a good picture. I was stressed because they ask you not to shower or wear deodorant, powder or perfume before you go. In this weather- wow!!! When I went in the lady said, "hello, Mrs. Babcock how are you today?" My response, "My pits are sweaty because I am very nervous but other than that I am doing great." Laughter is very important to me in stressful situations. The two ladies had a good chuckle over my response and reassured me that things are not like they used to be. Not only are they not like they used to be, but I am pretty sure that they are not even close. The place was quiet and pretty - the temp was perfect. I was ushered back to a room with little curtains and asked to put on a gown front first. I even got to choose between blue or pink. The wait was short and let me just say that breastfeeding hurt 100 times worse than getting this taken care of. In fact there was not one part of it that was painful! All those years of freaking out for nothing. The greatest part about the whole experience was that I allowed myself to relax enough to notice my surroundings and get a chuckle out of several things. The funniest thing I saw made me chuckle for quiet some time- just in case you forget the whole no deo, powder, perfume rule, they have cleansing wipes for you to use. The name of the wipes "mammowipes" yep that is what you read "mammowipes". Even now I am laughing- who thinks of that- seriously - someone said, hey, I have got a great marketing idea and we will sell them only to mammogram places : ) Awesome!!!! Why can't I come up with stuff like that to help the world out?! They also provide spray deodorant for you to use when you are finished so you come out of the place smelling good! The whole thing took 25 mins from beginning to end. I walked in at 10:20 and was in my car before 10:50. I hope that this post will encourage you that have been putting things off to suck it up and just go! You can do it! Your health depends on it! On a serious note, breast health is very important to me. I want breast cancer to be eradicated before Zoe has a chance to hear "I am sorry to tell you, but you have breast cancer." I will be walking again in the 3Day and will let you know in a later post how you can help! Good luck and go forth to get yours done soon!

It was one of those days

I have been working in little bits for the last few weeks on organizing and redistributing all the stuff in the house. I feel very much like I am nesting although it is like what a year and a half later. Anyhoo, today was one of those days where I didn't feel like I got much accomplished at all because I spent the day corralling the children and holding Miss Zoe. I actually had a child say to me today "I don't have to if I don't want to." In case you are wondering - that child is still alive and he doesn't have a bruise on him : ) But, I don't think he will ever do that again! I waited until Jeff got home and then quietly slipped out for a little shopping therapy. Of course it was to Wally world and I really just needed cat food and diapers but just a little quiet time always refreshes my spirit. I was reminded again as I drove with my windows down, drinking my Dr. drink for everyones favorite drive through, listening to my choice of praise hymns, how truly blessed I am. Even if it was a rough day- I have kids who are healthy and mostly happy, I have a home to take care of, I have clothes to wash (too many), and I have a God who made a plan and it was fulfilled through His Son. "Love soo Amazing" I am thankful tonight that all are sleeping safe and sound in their beds and I am thankful that it was able to have "one of those days!" God Bless!

Precious moments

I was taking a moment to rock Zoe this evening as the older two boys were taking their night time shower. I could hear them talking and heard Cooper say he thought whatever Mason used smelled good. Mason said, "oh here I used this conditioner, but you only need a little." Very sweet moment caught by mommy ears. Well, I continued to rock Zoe who was singing herself to sleep as I was kissing her little eyes closed and I saw Mason get out of the shower, towel off, and put on his undies. He then picked up his brush, styled his hair, put down the brush and then - the precious moment that I didn't even tell him I saw- He had given himself a mohawk doo and proceeded to play his air guitar in the mirror with head banging and everything. Then he flexed his muscles a few times both from the front and the sides. I guess he was pleased with what he saw because he brushed his hair down and then left the bathroom. Oh my eyes and my heart were full this evening! I thank God for my precious moments tonight!!