Summer is flying by way too fast.

It seems like the summer is going  by faster and faster every year.  Makayla's last day of school was at the end of May and she goes back at the beginning of August.  Only a two month break, whatever happened to having three months? 
It seems like we never slow down but don't really do a whole lot.  So just a quick re-cap of our summer so far.  The birth of our grandson Everett, and the wedding of Chris and Shanea.   Makayla and I have went to see a couple of movies Monte Carlo, and Mr. Poppers.  They were both very cute family movies.   She's had two field trips with 4-H.  Today is one of them, she will be touring a bakery and decorating a cake.  Yum!!!  We spent the 4th of July at the local water park and then went back that night and watched the fireworks.
This week is Vacation Bible School, and I am teaching the 3-4 year old.  It's a blast but tiring, but well worth all the work everyone puts into it.
I guess that about sums up our summer so far.  Hopefully soon I will have time to post some pictures of Chris and Shanea's wedding.

Makayla's Baptism

Last Sunday Night Makayla made the decision to ask Jesus into her heart.  I don't think there could be a prouder moment for a parent.  Then when your child asks if you will  walk the aisle with them.   Therefore she was baptized this morning.  The pictures aren't the greatest but that's okay because it's whats in her heart that is the most important.

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Makayla's Haircut

Makayla's been wanting to get her hair cut short. It is so hot here with heat indexes nearing 110. Last summer her hair was long almost all the way down her back. We cut it mid back well as you can see in the pics. Then this time she went really short. Funny to think she use to say she wanted it to grow to her ankles, but after a summer of it being almost to her waist. She said enough.

Last Week of School

Makayla at her award ceremony on the last day of school.


Some of Makayla's classmates.

Makayla with her wonderful 3rd grade teacher giving her a gift for helping her to learn so much this year.

Michael's graduation from high school.

Can you see the excitement of being finished with high school?

Update on Makayla Living with "ADD"

She's been taking her medicine for a week now. I didn't realize it would help so quickly. She's more laid-back and mellow. Not sure how the mess in her desk at school is. I go Friday for an Easter party so we will see. Her bedroom is still a bit out of sorts. But maybe that's just the way she likes it. So I tell her I need stuff off the floor when I vacuum and she does it. She still has outbursts of tears now and then. But can't expect everything to change so quickly. Friday she came home totally excited, she went up a level in reading. For those who are familiar with accelerated readers and the colors of the dots on the books. Her dot changed colors. So now we've made a goal as to what color dot we want on her books by the end of this school year. She also made a 100 on her spelling test last Thursday, so I honestly believe we're making progress. We must be because Megan could even tell a difference in her yesterday. So maybe she wasn't just spoiled rotten. She needed help in concentrating and focusing.

"ADD & ADHD in Girls" Part 3 "Ways to Help"

The more I read the more I am amazed, at the symptoms that was there and I didn't see them. Or maybe I just didn't want to see them. Because I hated the thought of her being on medicine to control it. But I realize now just how frustrating her life must be to her. To jump from one activity to another without really realizing it. Then there's the clutterness of her room. It seems like I can clean it one morning and by that night it's a total wreck again. Simply because she may drag out her Barbie's to play with them, and something catches her eye on the TV and she completely forgets about the Barbie's. Then she sees something on her TV stand and she pulls it down and starts playing with it. So by bedtime there's a total mess all over the floor. Of all the symptoms that one has to be one of her worse. That and the whining, girls whine, and boys get mad. When you are parenting a child with ADHD, you are parenting a child who requires more patience, greater supervision, increased structure, and more creative limit setting and discipline. Add to the mix a sibling or two and a parent can quickly become overwhelmed and exhausted.
But you have to remember the three "C's".


1. Clarity of Expectations
Keep rules and expectations simple, concise and clear. Make sure they are easily understood by the child.

2. Consistency
Follow through with consequences in a consistent manner.

3. Calmness
Approach situations calmly. Take a deep breath and make sure you are in control. Take a brief “time-out” if you need to get a better hold over your emotions. Children are especially sensitive if we lose our temper. A calm approach is most effective and won’t overstimulate the child or escalate the situation.

I found a great website with a lot of information http://add.about.com/

Plan on reading more and more about it.

Will keep you up to date as how it is going here at home.

"ADD & ADHD in Girls " " Part 2 "Symptoms"

After much reading over the last couple of weeks here are some facts that I have found.
Alarmingly, some studies estimate that as many as 50% to 75% of girls with ADHD are missed. Worse, girls with ADHD are diagnosed on average five years later than boys—boys at age 7, girls at age 12. Five crucial years girls could be getting help are lost. One major reason is that girls’ symptoms manifest differently. “ADHD doesn’t show up in the same ways in girls,” For instance, girls are much less likely to display hyperactive or impulsive symptoms. Instead, they may just appear “spacey,” unfocused, or inattentive. Or they may have trouble staying organized or remembering directions or homework. But even when these symptoms are clearly present, ADHD may be missed. “Girls are less likely to be referred because they cause fewer problems in the classroom.” Socialized to please their teachers and parents, girls can be very good at compensating for the disorder, making it much harder to spot.

So, what are the signs of ADHD in girls? Here are some of the cues you can look for.

Sign #1: Nonstop Talking
A girl with ADHD may a interrupt impulsively. While a boy might leave his seat continually, many girls with ADHD express their restlessness verbally.

Sign #2: Friendship Troubles
Sadly, girls with ADHD tend to struggle to fit in with their peers. “They can be talkative and outgoing, but by the end of the week, they may not have many friends because they got too bossy or interrupted too much,” A girl with ADHD may be slow to pick up on social cues and may even be verbally aggressive when she feels frustrated. Conversely, boys with ADHD are less likely to suffer peer rejection. The rules for boys’ play are less stringent; their games are more physical. But for girls with ADHD—if they don’t receive help and guidance—self-esteem can take a pummeling.

Sign #3: Difficulty Paying Attention
It’s tempting to describe the girl who fiddles with her crayons while you’re explaining fractions, then quickly says, “I don’t get it” as ditsy—a word that somehow seldom gets attached to boys. But trouble listening can be a symptom of ADHD. A girl may have difficulty listening and retaining multi step directions. Finding it hard to stay tuned in when the teacher is talking for several minutes at a time is often a sign of the disorder.

Sign #4: Exceptional Messiness
While girls with ADHD are far less likely than boys to be disruptive in class, they are just as likely to have organizational problems. A very visible sign of a girl struggling with ADHD may be her disorganized desk or backpack. She may also have issues with homework and classroom routine—i.e., she’s not able to keep her papers in order or find a pencil when needed. While all kids can be sloppy at times, the frequency and degree may be a clue.

Sign #5: Unfinished Work
Since girls may try hard to mask their disorder, teachers don’t always realize how much they are struggling to finish assignments. They may appear shy and studious in the classroom and don’t often stand out to teachers. Teachers should take note of girls who consistently fail to finish classroom assignments or tests in the allotted time even though they seem to know the material.

Sign #6: Emotionality
So, if your daughter bursts into tears at the slightest reproach or turns into a ball of fury when play doesn’t go their way. ADHD, can cause an impulsive that might make it hard for them to control their emotions. At the same time, compensating for ADHD in the classroom and on the playground is exhausting and may leave them depleted and vulnerable. We all want approval and success, and when it’s hard to come by, the tears may seem to flow over the smallest incidents.

Makayla "ADD" Part 1 Getting diagnosed

Last week I posted that I had a conference with Makayla's teacher and then an appointment with her pediatrician. That I would explain everything later. Well I dug my heels for as long as I could. I really didn't want her on medicine. I was leery of her being labeled at school, as having to take medicine to control her behaviour. In which she's not a bad child, not disruptive, or mischievous. But I've known for over a year that Makayla had a problem focusing on her work. So after the conference last week I asked Makayla if her mind tried to think about several things at one time. She said no it just drifts off to other things. "I dream of a chocolate land" Wow! Could it get any better than that? Lots, and lots of chocolate. But seriously, her mind wanders when it should be doing school work. Her desk on my goodness every time I happen to be there for a party or something, it's a total wreck. Then there's her handwriting. I don't know how many times we have erased, or started homework completely over. It had all become very frustrating for me, so I'm sure it was for her too. But after talking it over with the two pediatricians that has seen her for the past 6 or so years. In which come to find out, one was on medicine himself when he was a child. I felt alot better about it all. She has been diagnosed as being ADD. I've also explained to her that it's nothing that she has done, just something she was born with. So we tried this morning to start taking the medicine that was prescribed. It's a gel type pill, and this is the first time she's ever had to try and swallow a pill. Just say it didn't go well. We both ended up crying. So we're trying again tomorrow and see what happens.

My Three Children

I'm wondering how can three children from the same parents be so different. Megan my oldest has always been laid-back, easy going. But not lazy, whatever she puts her mind to doing, somehow it will get done.

Never into any trouble for the most part. A good head on her shoulders most of the time. We had our normal teen-age years, you know the ones. Nobody can tell them anything, they know it all. But I don't think the rough part lasted more than a year.

And now she has grown into an intellegent, beautiful woman, that's going to be a Mommy any day now.

Then there's the middle child, the only boy, Michael, he's 18. Like a torpedo, full speed ahead. When he was younger I always said from the time his feet hit the floor in the morning until his head hit the pillow at night he was non-stop. And now he is so head-strong, and argumentive about everything. You could tell him the sky is blue and he would argue with you that there was some white in it too. Every day it seems we butt heads about something, and most of the time it's the most trivial things. But he just has to argue his point, to no end. And getting to his point. Oh my it's never ending. I think sometimes he could make a preacher drink because I know there's days I've thought about calling Megan and tell her to fix

me one. Where did I go so wrong with him? Why did he have to be the one

to be 100% like his Dad?  Why couldn't he have been more like my side

of the family?  Quiet, easy-going, laid-back? I know they can't all be

alike.  But he could have been a little like my side of the family.

Maybe he should be a lawyer

since he likes to argue so much.

Then the youngest one. A girl, Makayla. A surprise to all of us when I had her. She's another torpedo, for lack of another word. Wide-open all the time never slows down until she goes to sleep.

She's only eight but sometimes I think she's already a teenager. Her moods, oh my goodness. You would think she was hormonal already. Five more years until she's a teenager.

She has a best friend at school, which happens to be a boy. They were in class together last year, and this year. Field trips, playground, lunch, it doesn't matter. If you see one, you see the other.

Then this year, the buying each other stuff started.

They had to buy each other Christmas presents, which I thought was cute. Then came Valentine's and yes we had to buy a present again. Yesterday she comes home from school, and they've exchanged phone numbers. They know everything about each other. I have never seen two people so young talk about so much.

How will I ever survive her teenage years?