Had a busy morning getting kids off to school and getting Hunter to one more hearing eval. Doc said today that all looked great. Added that if his developmental ped is trying to decide if his speech and responding/hearing concerns are either autism or hearing she can say they are not related to his ears and his ability to hear. Glad to hear his hearing has been ruled out and all seems perfect :)

A few more photos of Jamie ~ one is her wedding day that I just found :) She and my mom look GREAT! I remember how tan my mom always LOVED to be, Jamie was JUST like her :) As camping and boating season approaches it will be hard to not have her there.. who will do the grill cooking??? That was def not my area of expertise!! I love to cook but not grill, lol, I can do it just not a fan of it. Dan will have to do it :P I'm sure Jamie will tap me on the shoulder every now and then to be sure nothing gets burned :) And boating, gosh our last trip out she was with us ~ She just had one of her surgeries and wasnt allowed to get wet so she went in only as far as she could to her waist, be damned if she was going stay out of the water lol. She loved it to much :) I didnt get in though, to cold for me, lol, has to be at LEAST 80 plus water temp for me to even think of getting in.

Found some old writings of mine from the 80's ~

Anyone remember this one? Its one of my fav :)

You and me are two not three
He and she are not you and me
Us and them are more then one
Noone and nobody means there's none

:)

For those of you that dont "know" my oldest son, here is a glimps

He got a big heart and like a Jim Carrey we say :)

Quote by Benjamin Spock ~ There are only two things a child will share willingly -- communicable diseases and his mother's age.

Some videos of Hunter ~

Will be adding a few videos today ~ some show great eye contact, others show little or no response to us trying to get him to look ~ One shows him pointing great to show me he wants the balls however he hates to crawl through things when any object is in the way so he will not climb into the area where the balls are because of this ~ this is very common for him.

Happy HUMP day!

Colleen sent me this, it is hystercial :)

Hump Day Humor for Wednesday, April 28, 2009:

50 Fun Things to Do In an Elevator

1. Make race car noises when people get on and off.
2. low your nose and offer to show the contents of your kleenex to other passengers.
3. Grimace painfully while slapping your forehead and muttering, "Shut up, all of you just SHUT UP!"
4. Whistle the first 7 notes of "It's a Small World" incessantly.
5. Sell Girl Scout Cookies.
6. On a long ride, sway side to side at the natural frequency of the elevator.
7. Shave.
8. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask, "Got enough air in there?"
9. Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator. Wear yours upside-down.
10. Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
11. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to pull the doors open, and then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
12. Lean over to another passenger and whisper, "Ever had a Wet Willy?"
13. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you "Admiral."
14. One word: Flatulence!
15. On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stay open until you hear the penny you dropped down the shaft go "plink" at the bottom.
16. Do Tai Chi exercises.
17. Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce: "I've got new socks on."
18. When at least 8 people have boarded, moan from the back, "Oh, not now, motion sickness!"
19. Give religious tracts to each passenger.
20. Meow occasionally.
21. Bet the other passengers you can fit a quarter in your nose.
22. Frown and mutter, "Gotta go, gotta go," then sigh and say, "oops!"
23. Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected.
24. Sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" while continuously pushing buttons.
25. Holler, "Chutes away!!" whenever the elevator descends.
26. Walk on with a cooler that says "Human Head" on the side.
27. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce, "You're one of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
28. Burp, then say, "Mmmmm.....tasty!"
29. Leave a box between the doors.
30. Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for them.
31. Wear a hand puppet and talk to the other passengers "through" it.
32. Start a sing-along.
33. When the elevator is silent, look around and ask, "Is that your beeper?"
34. lay the accordion.
35. Shadow box.
36. Say, "Ding!" at each floor.
37. Lean against the button panel.
38. Say, "I wonder what all these do?" and then push ALL the red buttons.
39. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
40. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your "personal space."
41. Bring a chair along.
42. Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger, "Wanna see wha in muh mouf??"
43. Blow spit bubbles.
44. Pull your gum out of your mouth in long strings.
45. Announce in a demonic voice, "I must find a more suitable host body."
46. Carry a blanket a clutch it protectively.
47. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
48. Wear "X-Ray Specs" and leer suggestively at other passengers.
49. Stare at your thumb and say, "I think it's getting bigger."
50. If anyone brushes against you, recoil fiercely and scream, "BAD TOUCH!"

I think I need to excersize...

I went to eat a piece of this AWESOME cheese cake a dear friend made for me, it was homemade and SO good but I soon realized it was all gone!! Who ate it all?? ....... I did, ...MY BAD!!

Hoping for a good day :)

Bit of pain in my ribs/chest today from a flare up of my costochondritis that I struggle with, it is often aggrivated by stress, cant imagine why I would have stress!! My stress from worry has been common for me lately so I guess it is no surprise. Got a new book last night, The Out of Sync Child, looked really good :) Hunter has Sensory concerns along with his ASD/Autism and I did see alot in it on Hypo versus Hyper and Hunter is far more Hypo inthings with how he processes things. He has PT this morning, His PT Jill is AWESOME, we really love her and Hunter does too :) Cant remember if she said she was going to do a video today or not but I do have some for her if she needs them. A good one showing great eye contact when his name is called and another showing the opposite and how he wouldnt make eye contact. It really varies with him, you just never know what you are gonna get ~ I love him so much... I feel so blessed to have him, some wonder how I can not be so sad at his dx. I am and the day I got his dx was really hard on me but at the same time I feel blessed too, I've learned that facing his challanges doesnt even compare to what others have faced and that makes it not so bad after all. And he is doing amazing and will live a wonderful successful life because what he does have is so mild and his therapy is really helping :) Love ya my Peana man!

Steph-a-reno

So I go and download some photos from my camera and low & behold I find one that Stephen took, lol. :) Such a dude that he is, lol.

Danielson and the Choochaman :)

What a great big bro!!

An AWESOME tribute to Jamie from our cousin :)

This was his email :)

Hello all,

I had Ryan make this up with our vinyl maker after I saw it setting on the table the other day, I'll be proud to have Jamie riding with me.

Cuz Jeff

Found an awesome lost photo of Jamie and her girls..

This was taken in Wildwood, NJ guessing about 13-14 years ago. Girls are 18 and 22 now. Jamie looks great!! We LOVED Wildwood!! It was the place we always went on vacation :) Many great memories there :) It was moms fav place to go ~ we stopped going a few years ago, Jamie and I had talked all last year about going there again this summer since we missed it so much....

Relaxing with my cup of "joe"

Its not a good morning til I've had my coffee, lol. Hunter is having a ball playing with his trains in the front window :) Good thing I unplugged the xbox or he'd of had fun with that too, lol. No therapy for him today ~ he really loves therapy so we'll find some fun to do. Yesterday was fun, he got to see daddy for the first time mowing the lawn and of course he had fun trying to push his own mower along side him.

Daniel is headed back to school, hoping his sore throat is better today. Esp since he is now feeling great from the grade 3 concussion he is recovering from... He is so sad though missing his Aunt Jamie, I can see it in his eyes... Big hugs to him...

Stephen *shakes head* my little dare devil, lol. Lets see if we can get through one more day without him breaking a bone somehow on the skateboard, lol.

Have a great day all..

One of the hardest things I've ever done, my sisters eulogy..

Many heartfelt thanks to everyone ~ the heartwarming support we received at her viewing and services was really amazing. So many loved Jamie it was amazing the number of people who came to share, approx 450 we were told. My heart hurts so much... thank you all SO very much!! (((()))) luv ya!

Every bone in my body trembled as I read this, I didnt look at anyone on my way there, while reading or on my way back to my seat cause if I did I would have lost it ~ Some have asked for a copy so decided to share it here ~ Many many TX!!...

My Eulogy:

Jamie loved nothing more then to be surrounded by her friends and family. Whether she was on the softball field, at the beach, camping, at a sporting event or crashing your family get together, her presence was always known and welcomed. I have no doubt that even now she will continue to let us know she is here with us having a good laugh, whispering jokes in our ears or maybe even taking a sip or two from our corona or bloody mary.

Jamie would always find a way to make a difficult or stressful situation easier to cope with, esp when it came to how she coped with her diagnosis, surgeries and treatments. It was not uncommon to hear her make a joke to lighten the mood, especially when she or someone she loved was facing something that would otherwise be filled with tears or great sadness.

I'm sure that we can all sit here and remember many times when soon as that moment of awkward silence came, or something happened that we'd all bite our tongue so as not to say something embarrassing, she was not only ready for the punchline and ready to say it but when she did it was ALWAYS a good one!

Everyone who knew Jamie knew she was a fighter no matter what she faced. I can say with all honesty she tried her best to never let it get her down. Our mother was very strong and fought hard too and Jamie often reflected on our mothers strength when searching deep within herself to find the strength she needed to continue to fight hard. Cant remember her exact words but I can recall her saying a few times a phrase like “I will cry today because tomorrow I need to be strong and just do the things I love to do with a smile.” ….Thats what mom always said to me Jamie would then add.

Whether you had the pleasure of hanging out with Jamie, knew her only briefly or just knew of her through "a friend of a friend" you were sure to be able to recall a funny story about something she did. And it was often something that made you laugh so hard it would bring tears to your eyes. You knew from the day you met her that she was the kind of person you wanted to call your friend. It wouldn't be possible for me to share all the memories I have because there are so many.

Jamie had a very special place in her heart for everyone. She was the big sis in our family and we are going to miss her more then I can even put into words. It's very hard for me to imagine her not being here. We are a very close family and we did most everything together. She loved being an Aunt so very much. When she traveled to visit my kids or Colleens she always arrived with a special little token of love for them. Not only was it always the perfect toy but you could just see the special bond she had with them when she played with them!!

She was an incredible mother to her girls, they will tell you that she wasn't just their mom or Madre as Carissa called her but also their closest friend. She went above and beyond to be sure she was able to provide for them as best she could even in the toughest of times. She was SO proud to be the soccer mom and cheerleading mom! It was very important that she be at every event cheering them on, and yes you were sure to hear her yelling from the side lines or stands. The love she also had for her close friends was unmeasurable. You weren't just a “girlfriend” you were, as I recall her saying a few times, a sister from another mother... you were her family.

On wed I told Jamie how much I love her and how proud I am of her. I asked her to promise to send me a yellow butterfly to let me know she was with our mom in heaven, she shook her head yes. And so I will continue to watch for it :) I was staring out the window Saturday just wondering..... what is she doing now?.... A little voice in my head said that she and mom are catching up...I can only imagine what their first conversation was like.

We lost a very special part of us Friday and the memories she left behind with us will never be forgotten, I can still hear the sound of her laughter right now :) She touched our souls in so many ways, no matter how hard you try or how much time passes the fingerprints she left behind will never fade away. God brought her angel wings so she could return home and one day we too will receive our wings so we can all be together again. Sadly having lost others I loved so much I know how hard the days ahead will be for all of us, especially when we feel others have moved on and we are still climbing the ladder of grief. It really takes a year, sometimes even longer, the first of all things, holidays and anniversaries to begin to heal and cope. Soon after my mom passed I wrote a poem that helped me cope and to ease the pain. I was SO afraid to go on.... I know that in the days ahead I will be turning to this poem once again...... this poem helped me so much, Some of you may recall it... I'd like to share it again in hopes that you too will find the same comfort it gave me...

Its called Amazing Grace

The clouds came in so fast it seemed, but are slowly going away.
The angel sent me blessings as he is watching me today.

He whispered in my ear that he was giving me his hand, the tears ran down my face as he said he understands.

He told me that I will see the truth and in it I will know, the things in life that prevent our spiritual ability to grow.

He pointed out to me again that he was giving me his hand for when he gave it out initially, I didn't understand.

I hadn't seen it there for me to grasp and hold on tight to, I was busy pacing and thinking about the material things to do.

I stopped suddenly for just a moment and finally saw the sight. There is an end to rainy days and darkness from no light.

I saw what he was showing me, in my head so bright clear... The trouble I was facing was only known as "fear".

The roller coaster we ride on, the one we call "this life". Will have many ups and downs and smiles, frowns and lots of frights.

Ever wonder why we go on the scary amusement rides? Ever notice how much we scream yet love the feeling inside?

The ups and downs and fears in life, will always come hand in hand, It isn't until we have faced the fear and cried that we understand.

The angels watching over us, are there all human days. For when we get off ride of life, we are always truly amazed.

We go away and return to our homes, from which we truly came. We bring with us the memories of laughter, love and rain.

We greet the angel as we cross, he holds our hand again. We see our maker, God our Lord, the maker of all men.We turn around once again, to see the coaster we called earth.

We know that it was scary but plan again our birth. We shall return in many ways, as human or a spirit. We'll whisper blessings in their ears, and hope they too will hear it.

So next time when you hear the wind or feel the rain on your face. Know that you are being watched by the angel Amazing Grace.