Saturday, August 11, 2012

Summer 2012

After moving last month, we unpacked and got ready for company. Betsy, Bryan, and Hart flew here in the middle of July. They stayed for almost a week and it was wonderful having them here. I did not take pix and wish I had. They were the first to stay in our guest room so it has since been dubbed "Aunt Betsy and Uncle Bryan's room." Betsy and Bryan rolled with the chaos and were gracious about the noise. 
On Thursday of that same week, Jamie and Bryan took our boys over to Jamie's parents' house. Betsy and I hosted my mom, aunt, and cousin for our second annual girls' weekend. We missed my Aunt Gail but managed to have fun. We slept in, ate out, got our nails done, watched a movie, and even had a craft Betsy brought - we made our own journals. Typing that out makes it sound corny, but it was fun.:) Many thanks to Jim, Betty, Jamie, and Bryan for helping to make that happen. 
The last week of July we headed to the beach with Jamie's family. It was fun. The kids didn't want to go to the beach as much - they were content to stay inside and play or go to the pool. Jono had a tough time - there were storms that he found frightening and a pool alarm on the downstairs doors that really bothered him. His speech has really improved this summer but with that he has been able to articulate many fears - storms and darkness (even going to the movies because the lights go out) - as well as noises that simply seem to affect him significantly - banging, crying, screaming, thunder, dogs barking, etc. With his ADHD, I think he hears everything and is unable to tune it out. While I am SO GRATEFUL he is talking, I find it exhausting to listen to him constantly tell me what scares him or irritates him. The list is endless. Tonight he even said, "Mom, you don't tell me what to do." Excuse me?
This is our first week home where we aren't unpacking or readying for vacation. We will have a street yard sale next weekend and hope to purge our remaining junk. We are good about getting rid of things, in general, but this is our chance to really clean things out. I have lots of things set aside and want to pace myself. Last summer we did a sale and I stayed up way too late pricing things the night before. 
It has been a long summer. June went well - it was rather cool and the boys all had things to do. We also got outside a lot. The last few weeks have been slow and either rainy or incredibly hot/humid and the boys have really gotten on each others' nerves. Jackson does well for a while with all the noise but it takes a toll on him after a while. It has been good for him to have his own room. Our street has been like a ghost town this summer, so if Jackson has not had camps to go to, it has been rather boring for him. I have tried taking them to the pool as much as possible as well as the library. I can't go to places like McWane because they run in different directions. We went to the zoo once with friends in June but the weather has not been very accommodating to entice us back during the day.
Joel continues to make us laugh. He is very dramatic - either squealing/screaming or very sweet. It seems to be one extreme or another. He told me he needed new eyes because the ones he had weren't working well (something was blocking his view of the TV). He is very complimentary, a warm greeter in the morning, and so fun. He can also scream until the cows come home if he doesn't want to eat his dinner. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
School starts for us on August 20th. I have been praying for friends for each of the boys as well as placement for them with their teachers. I often feel guilty for not homeschooling - I see other moms joining the homeschool front and think "I was a teacher - I should do that" but honestly don't want to do it. I think Jackson would do well with it and with all the noise issues Jono is developing, I wonder if he would do better at home. However, I often feel so overwhelmed that I am not ready to tackle that yet - if ever.:) I am convinced that the boys need more structure at home so I am committed to charting out chores and schedules. I am hoping that will help to guide them to be more responsible as well as have more grateful hearts. Jamie and I are both concerned about bratty, entitled behavior these days. I wouldn't mind pulling a Cosby show stunt and removing all of Jackson's belongings from his room, making him get a job to pay to get his stuff back. 
That is a small picture of our June and July. Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!
Julie:)



Jono at his spring music beach-themed production. He sat for the whole time!

 Jono

 Jono again.:)

 Joel, perhaps copying his brother?

Up close...

Our nephew/cousin, Hart, after some cereal.:)

Jackson and the boys in his Sunday School class
at Rock the Block at DFMBC this summer.

Hart taking a bath while visiting here. Seven months old.

 Joel's playdoh mustache. He loves playdoh!

 Joel in the sandbox at Friend and Doc's house for his birthday party.

 Jamie putting on a puppet show for the kids.

 Joel turned three on June 4!

 Meredith and Gracie.

 Jackson, Emma, and Eric. Sweet cousins.

 Jono's turn in the sandbox.

 James, Gracie's brother, a few weeks older than Joel.

 Friend and Doc/ Suzanne and Bill. They let us 
invade their home to have Joel's birthday party.

 Bill, Suzanne, Sarah, Jason, Gracie, and James.

 Eric, Jackson, and Joel playing the Wii. Eric and Emma
spent the night with us while visiting here in June. So fun!

 Joel is trying on Caillou's shoes.

 Can't remember if I washed those bowls afterwards...

 Love to get in our winter wear...

 Is this a boy or a girl?

 Joel makes Jono wear our token girl dress up outfit. 
He often wears the pink heels as well but not today.

Mickey Mouse Firefighter Joel. I think he has pink gloves on, too.

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