She Was So Caught Up in the Excitement

Beth's birthday is October 10th and she's been talking about it for months. Back in July, "My birthday comin' up!" She gets so excited about it!

She sends the family her birthday list, talks about what she wants, and when she thinks of something new she tells me to "add this to my list."  

We'll be celebrating on Sunday afternoon but she's been celebrating most of this week. On Tuesday she told some of her friends at All aboard that her birthday was on Friday. 

Then on Wednesday all the bowlers get to go up front and tell everyone their birth date. Then they sing Happy Birthday.

The DART bus was going to be very late so I took her to the bowling alley yesterday and she walked in at 9:59, just in time! I was parking the car and missed her telling her age.

I don't think she saw me because she flew by me and headed down the bowling alley so I followed her. I guess each person celebrating their birthday that month gets to spin the wheel. I don't know how they figure it but she got to spin it three times!

You can tell she's so excited about her cold-hard cash and she walked by me again! She was so caught up in the excitement she never even saw me!

You can see how close she is to me in the photo above but she walked right past me! I had to run to catch up with her and asked if I could get a picture.

She loves bowling so much. Can you guess what she said when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday?

Today at work she saw the Happy Birthday signs I had hung up, everyone was telling her Happy Birthday, and a co-worker gave her a small bag of gifts. Then on Sunday the celebrations will continue: we'll go to Red Robin for dinner, and then to the bowling alley. Then back here for cake and presents. 

Happy Birthday Beth! 

It's finally here!

Remembering On This Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day weekend and I'm remembering my mom even more this year. This Tuesday marks 20 years since she passed away: May 13, 2005. 

She married at 16, had two kids before she turned 19 and thought for sure she was too old and her life was over when she had me at 25.

She was elegant, trustworthy, and loved her family passionately. 

When my sisters and I were growing up she sewed all of our clothes. Every Easter brought new dresses, shoes and hats. She kept the house spotless and worked magic with the money my dad would give her to buy groceries each week. Meals weren't fancy but we ate well.

She married young (her mom was physically abusive) and never graduated from high school so when I started Kindergarten she went to night school and got her diploma. Even at that young age I remember being so proud of her.

She gave her heart to the Lord in her forties and walked with Him the rest of her life. She was only 69 when she died. 

I'm really missing her this year. I wish I could just sit down with her and talk about life. There's so much I understand now that I didn't when she was still alive. She would say things like: "The hardest part about raising kids comes after they turn 18." Or "Getting old isn't for sissies." I miss her advice. I miss her laugh.

If you're celebrating and/or remembering this year, I pray for peace, joyous memories and a very blessed weekend. 

So Much Fun, So Little Time

There's so much to write about, but so much happening around here I haven't had time to write.

I guess the first thing is that Beth and Chuck are both feeling much better. Still a tiny bit congested but they're back to their regular routines.

My visit with my sister was so much fun. She had always wanted to go skydiving but due to a knee replacement, and minor back issues her doctor advised against it. So my niece and I surprised her with indoor skydiving! She was shocked! Our plan worked perfectly! This is when she first realized what she was going to be doing - 

She had also wanted some nice photos taken so my nieces daughter did her make up and we headed outside for a fun photo shoot.

Then we headed out so she could learn to fly!

Each person got to go twice if they wanted to and she did! I thought she'd be too nervous to go at all but she wasn't. I'm so proud of her. At 70 years old, she 'flew' by herself. You can see in the second picture the trainer isn't even holding her.

Then we took her out for a family dinner at her favorite restaurant, The Olive Garden. She was overwhelmed. It was a great day!

We went for a walk at a local park, watched her tortoises eat lunch, (that pan is the size of a large pizza) and spent a lot of time just talking.

It was exactly what we both needed. We decided next time I need to spend a week there because it just went by so fast. We're the only two left of our original family of five. 

Back at home - I'm gearing up for Sunday school. The Leaders Handbook is finished, I've been working in the classroom, and I even had a wonderful assistant help me with the bulletin board on Wednesday.

And Diana and Adelaide arrive tomorrow night. I filled my car with gas, I'm getting the den ready for them, putting out toys, baby-proofing the house... I'm beyond excited to see them! So if you don't hear from me for a while, it's because I'll be  chasing a two year old around the house! And loving every minute of it!

I'll get back to visiting your blogs soon, I promise!

Beth Turns 40!

We'll be celebrating her birthday on Sunday but October 10 is her birthday. We've got a lot of surprises for her, one being the chair in the header photo!

We didn't know Beth had Down Syndrome until after she was born. We were stunned when the doctor told us but we knew right away we would still love her.

Funny story - unbeknownst to us, my doctor relaxed our visiting hours. Beth was in my room all day while our families came and went. After a few days my dad stopped by again to see us and I was told they couldn't bring Beth to my room. That's when I learned the doctor wanted to see if we were planning to keep her. How would we treat her? When he saw how much we loved her he put the visiting hour restrictions back in place.

When she was just a couple months ago the Regional Center of San Diego sent therapists to our home to work with her. She learned to sit up at one year, and learned to walk at two.

Beth at One Year

Beth at Two

In this picture Beth is three and Sharaya is one

The Regional Center only worked with kids until they were two, then they started going to preschool. A contained class with other kids with special needs. I drove her the first few times, and this is Beth taking her first bus ride.

She absolutely loved riding the school bus! And did so for the next 19 years.

She's traveled all over the country. We've been on over 40 road trips in her lifetime and she does really well in the car.

Back when car seats were for kids under two

Beth's grown up with the best sisters. They look out for her and make sure she's getting the best care. They fight for her, and with her. 😊 We couldn't have asked for better kids.

Sharaya and Beth

Beth, Diana, Sharaya

Has it always been easy? No. We didn't expect this journey. We didn't even have time to plan for it. Forty years ago we made a decision to bring her home and to love her. She's been bringing joy to our lives ever since!