It's official!!!

My kiddos rock! I am so proud of my kids--they both placed in our school science fair. They worked hard on their projects (and did them themselves) and gave a great presentation.

This is DS10 with his project. Note the critter keepers in front with our toad test subjects. He hypothesized that toad respiration would change with the temperature in the water that they were in at the time. He was right!

This is DS12 with his project. He hypothesized that since he knew the components of a battery, that he could substitute a lemon for the acid paste and the battery would still work. He did it all himself and gave the presentation. Remember, this is my aspie and this was WAY harder for him than for the other kids his age. He placed, get this, 2nd place in the entire 7th grade, not just among the special ed students!!! I am one very proud mama! He has come such a long way!

Science Fair and other methods of parental torture...

Well, it's here. Middle School Science Fair.

How can something so innocuous be disastrous in its very existence? The display boards, the markers, the lost, crumpled, and mangled charts and notes--the bloomin' TOADS in my house for goodness sake. Ugh!

All entries are due in by Wednesday. Fruit batteries and toad respiration projects, anyone?

I will post pics when I can (lost the cord to my camera--oops).

Helping with school projects is a true test of parental love and devotion.

Local School Board

The private school that I work for is looking for a new location. We are cramped in a too small facility and are paying high rent. There is an abandoned school building that we may be able to lease for less money than we are currently paying. Plus, we'll have more room. No more kids in trailers. No more having to schedule 5 or more lunches because we can't squeeze any more kids in the lunchroom at one time. A library with room for books appropriate for middle and high school. We have a library, but it is so small that it houses encyclopedias and elementary school books.

Sadly, we have loads of great books for middle and high school, but no where to house them except at our headmaster's home. It's a shame.

The local school board is going on a retreat this upcoming week and will vote on November 11th. I hope and pray that we can do this. I have already sent my letter to the board asking them to consider this. The school has sent out a letter asking for support from our parents who live in Spalding County.

If you live in Spalding County, Georgia, please contact your school board representative and encourage them to vote FOR Faith Christian Academy to lease the building on Flynt Street. Let me know if you need the contact information. Also, even if you don't live in the area, please pray for us. Thanks

Presidential Reflections

Okay, I tend not to blog heavily about political issues. Honestly, I assumed when I put the word "Christian" in my heading that people would have a general idea how I feel about many issues, including some very controversial ones like abortion. My parents are adoptive parents (they adopted my brother) and I am an adoptive parent as well. I truly believe that all children can have loving homes if given an opportunity and not killed. I vote my beliefs and my beliefs are in line with holy scripture. Period. God expects no less from his followers.

I pray for our nation's leaders and over our nation's elections. I pray for God's protection for our country and it's brave men and women serving in the Armed Services. I realize that God hears the prayers of the righteous, but does not always answer us in the ways we would choose, often for our own good.

Tonight, watching the election results was like staring at a train wreck. I didn't like what I saw, but I couldn't pull myself away. For me, it's not a racial thing; my family is very multi-racial in composition and I love it that way. But, I have to remember that sometimes God's will reflects larger issues, like calling a nation to repentance.

Tonight, we have entered a historic era with a historic President-elect who is racially different from all previous Presidents before him. I will pray for him as I have prayed for all the others.

Sometimes, we don't get what we ask for, but we get what we deserve.

Happy Anniversary!

Okay, this entry is a day late, but yesterday, my parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. They went out to dinner after church to celebrate.

Mom says she is getting Dad a "hard pillow" and some socks. I guess there is no pretense after 45 years :-) When I asked her if she was going to do something major since it was 45 years, after all and she laughed and said, "why?"

Gotta love those practical parents!

Sick kid

DS12 succumbed to the stress of the field trip (and falling face first into really cold ocean water) and has a massive cold. I kept him home today to force him into resting and irrigating his nose several times to try and force out the worst of it. I am not willing to sit back and passively watch him set up a sinus infection and go through months of trying to clear it up again. And, don't even mention surgery! Ugh!

So, we had a very low key day today with kiddo mad at me most of the time for making him rest and drink cinnamon tea (like that is really torture!) and irrigate his nose. Nice to know that I am creating the memories that will put him into a lifetime of therapy (if you believe him).

It's amazing how far he has come in so many ways, but the autism really shows it's face when he is sick. There is no filter when he is feeling unwell.

We'll see what tomorrow will bring.

They're home!

As much as I enjoyed a little adult time, I am so glad that my family made it home safely on Friday. They were strung out, overwhelmed, a little sleep deprived, and talking ten miles per minute. In other words, the trip was "way cool, Mom."

I have laughed at DS10s rendition of the "fish song." He made a video of it with Grandpa John, so maybe I can post it sometime. Too cute

Dorsal, pectoral, pelvic, caudal--pelvic caudal
(imagine skinny kid wiggling his fanny frantically at this point).

Saturday, we took more photos for seniors at our school. So far, they are all coming out wonderfully. Next week we are scheduled for the end of them--including personality shots of a goth kid in a graveyard, but, hey--it's his personality!

Today, hubby took engagement pics of a gorgeous couple who are so happy.

Sigh. Life is good.