Our Saturday

My newest hobby is stalking Craig's List, and this leather sofa is my latest find!  We needed something that is durable but looks nice, and that we don't have to worry about little boys playing on, and this fit the bill exactly.  So Rodney and I picked it up, then met Tommy and Allison, who are looking at mobile homes to tide them over until they can build.  We had a nice lunch, finally gave Audrey her birthday presents, and Tommy helped his Dad move this sofa in and the old love seat out.  They didn't stay long, and when they left, I went down to Bergfeld Park where they had an arts and crafts show going.  I found some scrumptious smelling and rich lotion made from goat milk.  The lady who made it raises goats and makes her own lotions and soaps from the milk.  Some day I want to do that... (Make soaps and lotions--NOT milk goats!!!)  Wrapped up the day by watching "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood."  Combining all of this with the finally blooming azaleas and perfect weather made for a divine day!

Our Alternative Prom

Every year the Life Skills classes in our area schools get together for an alternative prom.  It's during the day, and it's always a very special time for the kids to dress up, dance, eat, and enjoy seeing one another.  This year, the big one (which gets bigger each year--600 attending last year in Kilgore) was held in Nacogdoches.  That's too far for our medically fragile boys and girls to travel, so we had our own alternative prom in Gladewater.  It was so much fun!  Great attendance--we had lots of regular ed. seniors attend and dance and eat with our special needs kiddos.  We may open it up to some smaller schools in the area next year.  When you start mixing our autistic and fragile kids with huge crowds, the results aren't always fun, so we may avoid the big one from now on.  We had good community support.  The mayor came, as well as some of the school board members and the superintendent.   Working with these kids and our incredible teaching staff is the best part of my job!

Tea Party in Tyler

We attended the Tea Party rally at Bergfeld Park April 15.  We heard a few good speakers, ran into an old friend, and enjoyed spending time with like-minded Americans!

Cousin Fun!

This old house has been bursting with little boy and girl energy the past two weekends!  This weekend is quiet enough that I have time to document some of the fun.  The kids played in the house, behind the house, and under the house (in the basement), exploring every inch of this old place.  Dade found the old cedar chest upstairs, and decided it was the perfect pirate chest, and we needed to bury it!  They found a dead rat in the basement, which, according to their description of it, had been painted white.  Luke said it had a really long tail, "twice as long as a giraffe's neck!"  He got a sideways look and eye roll from Dade at that comment.  Christopher is a man of few words, but his face is expressive enough to tell a whole story.  And I was lucky enough to catch the small drama in photos when Audrey knocked over his sand castle!  And it's so cute to watch Joshua be the big boy, and he and Dade walk together and talk so seriously to one another.  I wish I could hear some of those conversations!  And I love to watch Audrey interact with Wyatt.  She loves to "mother" him, and he's so patient with her efforts!  And he is the ultimate cuddle bug.  He's content with any of us holding him, soaking up that baby sweetness!

Easter Eggstravaganza!

Easter weekend had perfect egg-hunting weather, and we had just the perfect crew here to take advantage of it!  Lots of little boys, one precious little girl, two very adroit egg hiders, and parents and grandparents aplenty to herd them toward the eggs!  Tyner and James hid the dozens of regular eggs and did an excellent job of it!  PaPa loaded the golden egg with a $5 bill and the silver (which we decided was really platinum!) with a $10 bill and Tommy hid those VERY well!   The crew of egg hunters had to stand still long enough for a group photo, then the hunt was on!  It was very difficult to photograph the boys, because they were blurs in a flurry of feet!  Audrey, however, had no need to hurry.  Our girly girl, she savored the moment, examined the eggs carefully before touching them, and watched the boys in action around her!