Please Pray for Linus

 Linus is a 5 1/2 month old triplet with an identical brother, a fraternal brother and two moms. As of today he has spent 96 days in the hospital , more than half his life. He has critical aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis, and Shone's Variant. He has had to have 18 blood transfusions, 4 heart catheters starting at two days of age (3 balloon, 1 diagnostic), one open heart surgery (aortic valve repair and unsuccessful mitral valve repair) imminent mitral valve replacement. He loves to play in his jumperoo. Is known by all for being a smiler, a flirt and a hand holder. He is significantly smaller than his brothers, but still big for a "heart baby".

Please pray for Linus and his family. They have been through A LOT over the last five and a half months.  If you are interested in reading more about Linus you can click on his picture and it will take you to his mama's blog.

Until next time......

Response to My Neighbor

I finally responded to my neighbor's "unwanted" note in my mailbox. While every bone in my body wanted to respond to her and just tell her off, I decided to write a nice but direct note and just let it go. Below is what I said to her.

Neighbor,

Thanks for thinking of us but we are not the least bit interested in attending the Exodus Freedom Conference. We are not in any way struggling with who we are. Quite the opposite as we are a very confident family who loves each other very much. While our family is a more “non-traditional” family, it is still a family in every sense of the word. Our hope is that you can accept us for who we are and that you will continue to care about us. We too care about your family and have enjoyed being great neighbors. We have often considered moving but the fact that our neighborhood is as diverse as it is, has kept us here for over 10 years. We like the fact that there are same-sex families, bi-racial couples, black families, singles, elderly folks and families with children and without children all in the same small neighborhood. We hope you are enjoying this wonderful weather. Have a great weekend.

Hopefully I got my point across and she will not try to "help" us again.

Until next time,

Angry About a Note in My Mailbox!

Today when I got home from work, I checked the mail as I do almost every day when I get home. In it was the usual bills, junk mail from credit card companies wanting me to enjoy now and pay later, and an envelope from one of my next door neighbors. I opened it and inside there was a handwritten note and a brochure for the Exodus Freedom Conference. The note said the following:

Hi to you, Kim and Dawn, In connection to hearing a woodpecker somewhere to the back of our properties and trying to actually see it, I got an idea to give this brochure to you. We've been on Exodus supporters list for a number of years because we care about their experiences and heart for God now. We have never been able to go to this retreat but it's been appealing and maybe (hopefully with enough time to think on it and plan) the pieces would fall together for y'all. We care about you both and Mason in hopefully the most eternal ways. People have shared love and truth with ----- and I and that is how God has bridged our separation from him. Love, ------

I read the brochure that was included with the note and in it was a section on who should attend. That included the following...men and women who personally struggle with same-sex attractions, parents and other family members impacted by homosexuality, etc. WHAT? REALLY!

After reading it, I passed it to Dawn and asked her her thoughts on it. She read it and said OMG. I then asked if she thought we should respond and she said, no! I put the letter down on the table and went on about my nightly routine of playing with Mason until dinner was ready. Later in the evening while I was catching up on emails and my blog reading, I saw the note and I read it again. Not sure what I expected to change in the 2 hours that it sat on m table but I did. This time it thoroughly ticked me off and now I am wide awake from anger. How dare them? I told myself to wait until morning before writing a response and before storming over to their mailbox with m reply! I hope I will be able to find the words that will send a clear but "neighborly" message that I LOVE my family just the way we are and while there may be some struggles in our home at times (as with all families), we love each other very much and are proud of who we are and the lifestyle that we live.

So what are your thoughts on unwanted notes with unwanted invites in your mailbox?

Play Structure Shopping

On Saturday, we went all over Raleigh looking for a play structure for Mason. The first place we went was Creative Playthings. They had an indoor showroom with over a dozen different play stuctures set up for the customers to try out. We had the entire place to ourselves so took advantage of trying each one out. Well not all of them. We went for the big ones. They were much cooler than the smaller, dinky structures. Of course, we would like the big ones. They are the ones with the $3100 price tag. The one below is the one we got a quote for.

 Now on to play structure place #2. Rainbow Play Systems had an outdoor "showroom". They had about a dozen structures set up and since the weather was nice there were a lot of people looking for a cool play structure for their children too.  Mason had a blast sliding down all of the slides and climbing up the stairs to get to the clubhouses. He also enjoyed throwing rocks and playing with the recycled rubber mulch.  Mommy and Momma had lots of fun too. After asking a ton of questions, we decided that we like the one below the best. Of course it came with a hefty price tag as well. This one topped the charts at $3500.

After spending several hours out and about looking for the perfect play structure for Mason, we decided it was time to head home to read about the reviews for each of the structures. 

Is it crazy to spend $3000 plus on a playstructure for our child? Dawn says yes and I say no. I look at it as at least a 10 year investment which equates to only $300 - $350 a year. What do you think? What type of play structures do you have for your children?

Until next time......

Mommy and Momma or Her!

When Mason was first born, we weren't sure what he would call each of us. I wanted to be Mommy and we started out thinking we wanted Dawn to be called MiMi. Many of our friends told us that we could "pick" what we wanted him to call us but he would most likely start calling us what he wanted and sure enough that is what happened. We both were momma. It was so cute. He would point to me and say "momma" and then point to Dawn and say "momma". This went on for a couple months and then all of a sudden a few weeks ago he sarted saying mommy when he was referring to me! I loved it. Of course, I loved it too when he called me momma :-) but being mommy was what I have always wanted to be. So we thought hey maybe he is going to sure enough call me mommy and call Dawn momma.

Last week, he started something new. When I would be holding him and ask him who I was, he would say mommy and then I would point to Dawn and say well who is she. He would say, "her". It was too funny. When I am not at home, he will call her momma and refer to me as her. Very interesting how he is putting it all together.

I must say that I am glad that MiMi didn't workout. Too many grandmothers are referred to as MiMi so things always have a way of working themselves out. He knew all along that he wanted us to be mommy and momma!

So for you same-sex families out there, what does your children call you?

Until next time......

Really? Not My Child!



Mommy's Lil Devilish Guy

I mentioned in an earier post that we have been seeing some typical toddler behaviors from Mason lately so I was not surprised to learn he has been exhibiting similiar behaviors at daycare. Some of those behaviors include temper tantrums, hitting, not wanting to share and running away from you when he knows he has something you don't want him to have! Well when Dawn picked him up from daycare yesterday, she found out that he has now added kicking to his list of things we would prefer that he not do. To make it worse, the report that she was given was he kicked one of his teachers! Ouch. Now, I know that he is going to do things to get in trouble as ALL kids do but I was not quite ready for reports from daycare that my child is misbehaving and had to sit in time out several times throughout the day.

We are going to use time out with him at home as a place for him to go to settle down and think about what he has done. So far we have used the last step at the bottom of our stairs as his time out spot. We have only put him there a couple of times but when you mention the words "time out" he automatically goes there. You would think we have put him there tons of times or you can think like me and just admit that he is pretty darn smart for 19 months. I must say that Dawn is the "mean" momma and well I have not been such a "mean" momma. Every family has one parent that is the "mean" one, right? I know that I will eventually need to be firmer with him but...I can hear my mom saying now, don't let him get the upper hand on you. I know, I know. I'll get there. For now, I plan to use re-direction as much as possible.

Today was a much better day for him at daycare. No tantrums, no hitting and most importantly he didn't kick his teacher!

Until next time......

1 Year and 7 Months

I was editing the layout of my blog today and saw the LilyPie counter and it reminded me that my child is growing up too quickly.  Saying he is 19 months old is bad enough but to say he is 1 year and 7 months makes it sound like he is so much older than he really is. Either way you look at it, my baby is growing up! Where has the time gone? While I am loving this stage, I am also wanting things to slow waaaayyyyyy down. My little baby has turned into a very active toddler much faster than I ever imagined it would be. Father time while I am extremely thankful for this "time" in my life, I'd like to request that it not move so quickly when it comes to my little man growing up!

So what is Mason up to these days? For starters, he is talking nonstop and picking up on new words daily. His new words this month have been as follows: hard, help, bue (blue), orr ange (orange), ellow (yellow), her, buhfly (butterfly), peese (please), jack (jacket), cloud, vroom vroom, gahic (garlic), man and gurl (girl). He has mastered a few new names too. Those include Hannah, Bremen (Brandon)' Seff (Seth) and sihmey (Sydney).  These are some of his cousins!

We also have the typical toddler things going on as well. Some of these things are not wanting to share, pitching temper tantrums, and being bossy. I am not sure where he gets his temper from but for some reason my mom keeps telling me the apple doesn't fall from the tree!!! :-) He has learned to say "NO" very well and is using that word much more than I like! He got in trouble today at daycare for kicking and hitting his friends. He even kicked one of his teachers and was put in time out! OMG - not my child. Guess it is time for a little firmer discipline at home for all of these things. :-(

As you all know by now, I could go on and on about my dear child as I adore him but I will cut this short and save some for another day.

Until next time......