Wheeting Castle

I tried the slide show and my computer kept freezing. So I am posting a few of the pictures instead. Enjoy!

Exploring...

So we decided that we should probably do something fun for a change for the children. We looked at a couple more houses today. Our house options kind of changed, and we think we found one today. I will keep all posted on that.
The slide show is of Wheeting Castle. This is the first little place that Mike and I went to when we were first here years ago. It is fun to see the ruins of what was once there. The kids had a great time pretending to be kings and a princess of course...Carter's voice even changed. :) He had a very deep voice suddenly. LOL...
We will keep everyone posted when we do settle with a house. I think the one we saw today will be it. It is a cute bungalow(one story) and in a little town off the beaten path. Although close enough that we will still be in a practical location for school. We are still going to have to wait a few weeks until we can move in--how annoying! Once you find something you just want to move in..now. Patience is not my best virtue right now.

House hunting....

I thought I would update on this instead of email for right now. Our internet is SSSSOOOO SSSSSLLLOOOWWWW and this is quicker than emailing a group of people. So if all goes well, this will be our house in England. We are excited because finding a house that is not totally compact is very hard and this one kind of fell into our laps. I will obviously take pictures once we get moved in. We have to wait until it is available come the middle of June--so we will be moving in and having a baby very close together. We are doing well. I feel uncomfortable with pregnant crap, so that must mean it is getting close, right? :)
We are adjusting to the time change and getting over jet lag quickly. Living in this little apartment should be fun for another month...but it will be worth it!! :)
Signing off for now. I hope everyone is doing well.
Love to all
Mike, Hollie and the kiddos.

ps..it was fun to go to the golfcourse today and surprise some familiar faces with us being back. We love that we already have friends to spend time with and life seems so much better than not knowing anyone.

Preggo update....

I figured that I should probably update this with a picture of the ever growing front side--and some backside for that matter. I will keep that view to myself. :) I am just shy of 31 weeks out of 40. This pregnancy has certainly been a challenge with the timing. I still sometimes forget that I am pregnant--I know how could I with that up front!?! I feel pretty good as far as pregnancy goes. Nothing spectacular to report, just getting bigger and bigger! This baby is however probably the most active of all of them. I dont' know what this little person is doing, but I think they are training for a marathon already! For the record and a reminder I am due June 25th. So I think that is about 63 days or so away.
I love ice cream. This is not a new fact, but it is something that I have decided I am not holding back on. I only have 2 more months to enjoy what I can, when I can. I will be the first to admit I have eaten cheesecake on more than one occasion for breakfast. :) I figure I resist all those temptations when I am not pregnant, why not enjoy them when everyone thinks that gaining weight is cute.

Starting to sink in...

Being in the military we have had many oppurtunities to say good-bye and see ya later. Today was the first time I actually cried about leaving ND. It was quite a moment since I had just told Mike a few days ago that I was becoming use to having to say good-bye. We love our families, but tears have ceased to appear when we are leaving them the last few years. I guess you just get use too it.

The kids went with our respite worker and friend, Orlayne, today for there last full day with her so that I could finish up garage sale stuff. She came and got them this morning at 7:30 and took them until about 5:30. We get respite hours through the state because of Mason. I know, most parents would kill for free babysitting. We are very fortunate to receive that hours we do and have met some great people because of it. Orlayne has been with us for just about 3 years. WOW!! Time flies I tell ya. Anyway, my children LOVE Orlayne. I wish she could see the glow in their eyes when we say we are going on a date and Orlayne is coming. Carter also has an added bonus because she has a son Mason's age who comes and 'helps' watch the kids now and then. Carter LOVES Alec as well. Carter gets to play guns, swords, and all those boys things that he doesn't have an opportunity to that often. He always comes home tired, dirty, and happy after playing with Alec for a day.

It is an added treat when they get to go to Orlaynes house. We can't even tell Mason he is going until the morning of or he is all bent out of shape. He is ready to go as soon as she walks through the door. Her husband, Mike, is also wonderful with our children and it has been such a priviledge to know this great family here in ND. I had Orlayne take the camera with her today so she could take some pictures with the kids. I saw these and just was overwhelmed with what a blessing Orlayne and her family have been in our lives. She gets payed to watch my kids, but it has become so much more than that. They are really going to miss her. I will miss her insight and influence in my childrens life. Who am I kidding, I am also going to miss having such wonderful hands to trust my children too when I want to go on a date. :)

And thus ends morning seminary.....

Those were the final words spoken by one of my students on our last day. :) I actually ended teaching last week and have spent this week organizing and sorting. I learned ALOT by teaching the Old Testament. It was an experience I will never forget and might be tempted to teach again if ever given the opportunity. It was interesting having the 4 boys in the class and I learned ALOT about non-scripture things as well. I look forward to those lessons being applied when my boys are older. I had a good group of guys to teach and it was a pleasure doing so. I am officially still NOT a morning person. Maybe you just have to be born like that?
On another note. Our plans for our move are coming so fast. It is like someone hit the fast forward button and forgot to come back to hit play. We started our garage sell today and will continue tomorrow. We actually sold most of the big stuff and just have alot of misc items that will be donated if not sold. I am still getting worried about whether or not we will sell our washer and dryer--what to do if they don't sell? Someone came today that had just got here and had just bought a set and had them delivered yesterday. Both of us were bummed about that. Myself because that is $400.00 I could have had and she because it was $400.00 she could have saved. How timing works, bummer. Out packers come on Monday and start the two days of packing, then Wednesday they pick up the boxes. Thursday our smaller shipment gets packed and then it will be the sign off day until we get to England!
I hope everyone is having some well deserved spring weather like us--it is so beautiful outside. My kids are covered in sweat, dirt, and just outside stuff--I LOVE IT!!

Mason's field trip.

All the first graders in Mason's school went on a field trip yesterday and it was so fun that I was able to go. When it comes to helping out in Mason's classroom I have to avoid being there. He completely loses his 'mode' if myself or dad are there in the classroom. He doesn't mind if we come on field trips, so I love these chances. Mason loves 'his kids' in school and is a friend with everyone it seemed. The classes went to the Uof Minnesota in Crookston, MN. They were able to see the horse arena and stables, and other farm life on the campus. I figured that everyone knows what animals look like so I didn't include those pictures.

Being taught how they give the horses a bath. I love seeing Mason just being part of the crowd--it is the best thing ever. He has come a very long way in the last couple years and you can really tell he is getting more mature.

He decided that he was done walking with Ms. Santiago(his para--and a absolute wonder with Mason) and myself. He went and grabbed the hand of one of his many girl friends and continued the walk to the dairy farm. I am told he has about 5 girls he gravitates to at school. NICE!! :)

Mason would see, and then go. Not much for the story as to why something is how it is. You will notice my child is the only one without a coat--he gave it too me before we left. I got in my van to follow the bus and then some other moms asked if I wanted to drive with them. Leaving the coat behind I accepted the offer--great mom am I!! Good thing Mason didn't care and it actually was like 50 something degrees. Just a little windy. I felt pretty bad about myself until we found out that one of the teachers forgot her classes lunches--my coat problem didn't seem so bad after that. :)

Kids being Kids

Carter needed his picture taken before he left to play soccer with his friends--that would be pretend soccer. We still are failing miserably at getting him to call it football. He is so interested in soccer and we will be looking into getting him started in England. That would be why the calling it football would be so important. :)

Carter and Taylor have been playing so well together all morning. It has been great--yes I just probably ruined it.

Thought I should get a shot of Taylor's new bangs. These were not intentional AT ALL. In fact her bangs had just reached that point where I could finally pull them back into her hair. Well, one bathroom break for mom later she had found scissors and taken a few chunks out of her head. The damage was minimal--thank heaven!!! :)

Aaahh, the military

Update on our move. Yes, we are still moving. We FINALLY got our orders yesterday and finally have some dates. You can't schedule anything without those special little papers saying that you are really going. So last minute everything here we come. On the week of the 21st they are packing up our house and it will make a head start to England. Hopefully it gets there quickly. We are so excited for this new chapter in our life. It hardly seems real. I am sure that it won't be until we step foot off the plane in the UK and realize..oh they really took us here!
It is weird to think that one more month and we will be leaving ND. Now because of the bad rep of ND I would like to say..we did not hate it here at all. Of course, like any human might think weather is not ideal here. Not if you enjoy being outdoors. You can get out, just not as much as I enjoy to be. So on that note I would change the weather if I could. The school, therapy services, friends, and ward have been great. We had a great time here and are going to be sad to go. Although part of being in the military is looking forward with optimism that the next place will be just as great if not better! Just wanted to update everyone on this move that is fast approaching.

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy Easter!!!

As always our holidays are quiet compared to what we both grew up with, but we love it!

We started out on saturday having a fun get together with some friends. The Daw's hosted a fabulous Easter Hunt and BBQ. I forgot to take a picture, but it was snowing while Tyson was out cooking. What a trooper!! I loved the image of a t-shirt, long pants, a beanie and snow falling while the grill cooking. The kids had such a great time. It was hard to get shots of Carter and Mason who were a bit frantic about finding eggs. Carter wanted to find the loot, Mason wanted to eat each eggs treasures while he found them. :)

Saturday night we had the missionaries over to our house for dinner. We figured what better way to get our eggs dyed a bit fast them recruiting them to help. They were good sports and all white shirts remained white in the end! The pink seemed to want to spill the most as you will see the spots of spillage getting greater and greater.

Sunday we went to church where Mike and I had the privilege of speaking. It has never really bothered me to speak in church. Mike gets very nervous, but did a great job. It was nice to have a couple weeks to prepare about the true meaning of Easter. It helped us realize what traditions needed some down play, and which new ones to start.

When we got home we had the Easter Hunt for the kids. They loved finding their baskets and we were able to sit down a watch a little family movie. They actually all loved Far From Home.

I hope everyone was able to have a relaxing Easter that centered around the Savior. What a reminder of the most important events to take place in mankinds history. The Atonement and Resurrection of our brother Jesus Christ!

Happy Easter everyone!!!!!

My thoughts this week. This is a novel, just a warning!

So I have been debating about writing this post because I don't want it to come out wrong. Then I thought maybe it is something that I need get out there because of recent comments made around me that have made me think.
First comment. Someone in our ward just had a new baby and I was talking to her about how exciting having that first one is etc.. She said someone actually told her not to teach them to talk because then they aren't that great. It was something along those lines. I about died! How dare someone say that for one, and to a new mom. I just shrugged and thought, "well, they obviously don't know the challenges facing someone who can't talk."
Second comment. The word retard being used to describe how someone looks. "He looks so retarded." "That was so retarded." I am not one that points out to everyone the word choices they use and what it can mean to someone else. I just kept having that word thrown out in a conversation and I wanted to scream! "Does Mason look retarded? Because he is!!" No one die because I just said that. By medical definition Mason is Mentally Retarded and there is nothing wrong with that. I just get irritated that it is such a loose word used in everyday vocabulary. Although I don't feel like I should point it out to people everytime it is said. Then I become that lady where everyone feels they might hurt or offend me and have to walk on egg shells around me. I would hate that. I want to be approachable. I want people to ask, what does your son have? What is wrong? I don't care how you ask. Personally I simply take appreciatation that you WOULD ask. Many just try to figure out why a big child is throwing himself on the floor screaming because we aren't actually staying at the restaurant to eat. Then you hear, "If I was his mother."
Third comment. That person is in a wheelchair and they just got into that van. People like that dont' need a wheelchair. What the crap people? I figure most wouldn't be so blinded to the needs of others. It is surprising what people think though. I have a wheelchair for Mason, he can walk, but he does get tired!!! The amount of energy it takes to keep balanced, walk upright and just plain function is amazing to me!
There are more but I will keep it at that. I hate that if I admit I sometimes wish Mason was typical I sound mean or hurtful toward who Mason is. The reasons I sometimes want him typical are not why some might think. The other day Mason got home from school. Taylor and Carter were both asleep and the house had been so quiet! I was so excited to have Mason home because he is always smiling about being home. Well, then it hit me. This would be a great chance that most moms would be able to talk with their child about their day. How was school, what did you do, who did you play with? Mason and I went through his back pack got his few work sheets out and just sat there in silence while he had his snack. I do ask him those questions, although sometimes he looks at me like I am ignorant for asking such questions he can't answer. We get little notes from his aide and that is great. Although what Mason enjoyed in her eyes and what he enjoyed himself could have been totally different. Then I was making bread that same afternoon. Mason was 'helping' like he likes to do in the kitchen. We ran out of flour and it occured to me that the big bag of flour we just bought was still in the van. So I start to walk out of the kitchen and realize I can't leave Mason here alone with all of this(although feeling irritated that he is almost 7, most moms could leave it). So I proceed to put the bowl of half made dough on the freezer, make sure the lid is tight on the oil, put oil away, sugar away, one more glance and I head out. I was gone for all of 45 seconds. On my way back in it dawns on me that I have left the salt on the counter. Sure enough that salt is being dumped, smeared, and tasted while I walk in. So I roll my eyes to myself and clean up the salt. Mason again is realizing that didn't taste very good. Mind you that is only the 20th time that child has downed a good spoonful of salt..does he remember, no. I tell Mason after we put the rest of this flour in we can read some books or something. He had decided to watch a movie prior to bread making, but apparently it was one of those times he pointed to something he didn't actually want to watch. So I am stirring the rest of this flour in when I hear the familiar sound of something being dumped in the pantry. I walk around the corner to see my new can of peanuts being dumped. You can only fit so many things on the top shelf people. I tried to salvage some of them, but while getting up to run away Mason steps on the whole group of them with his shoes. So now, they need to be thrown away. Just think about where his shoes have been and tell me if you could have eaten them? So I am throwing those away and thinking, well that is 5 dollars worth of peanuts down the drain. None of this is a huge deal, as I know that it could have been much worse, it has been much worse.
The point in sharing this is that sometimes people think that I am always happy about Masons disabilities. Always confident in my skills as a mother, and for some reason can handle anything. I can handle anything, because if you aren't handling it, you are letting it pull you down. Everyone can handle anything if the have confidence in themselves. I had a big break down at church and people were in shock that I was crying. Don't we all feel overwhelmed at times? I love the following story in relating to having a child with special needs. It is written by a mother that has a child with Down Syndrome.

A Trip To Holland(by Emily Perl Kingsley)
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability -- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans... the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, gondolas. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland!" "Holland?" you say. "What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy. I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine, and disease. It's just a different place. So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. And Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that experience will never, ever, ever, go away. The loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

I wish I had such a way with words. This is a touching relation to what it is like.
I love Mason with all of my heart. There are many things that if given the chance I would change. Not for my sake, but for his. Although he is trully happy, he's not just smiling because that is part of Angelman Syndrome. Anyone who would say otherwise does not trully know my son. He never tries to hurt when he is pulling hair, squeezing to tight for a hug, smacking you out of frustration because you just aren't getting what he is trying to tell you. He doesn't fit a mold of likes and dislikes because he has Angelman Syndrome. He is Mason, he is smart and sneaky. He challenges himself with tasks all of time and is sincerely proud of himself when he is able to accomplish something. If anything holds him back it is myself as his mother. Not intentionally, but because I don't understand him always and how his mind works. I love this calling in my life to be his mother. That I was given this privledge is a testiment of what the Lord feels I am capable of. I fail many days at loosing patience, loosing control, not staying focused on what trully matters. What mother doesn't? Although I am the best at loving Mason. No one is better than Mike and I at trully loving our son. He shows us what true unconditional love is. Mason shows us what true forgiveness is. He shows me what it is like to take true joy in the simple things of life. If I could catch a picture of what he looks like when he is focused on pictures of Christ, that would explain it all. He loves the Savior and has a relationship with him that I will never understand. I look forward to the day when Mason will hug me and say I love you mom. That he will be able to tell us how he feels. When he will have complete control over his body.

I feel like I have written a novel and trully didn't mean too. I just felt overwhelmed with some thoughts about what it means to me to have Mason. This is probably my most personal post. I hope that if you did get through it that you know what I was trying to convey. Maybe not to any of you, but just to myself. Thanks for listening on this reflection of my life. :) I guess this week I was just missing being in Italy.

Family

The season of moving...

Living in a ward full of military and students we often get the chance to say "See ya Later." We have made some great friends here in ND and one family is getting ready for their next chapter in life. James, Heidi and their boys have been such wonderful friends and it will be sad to see them go. We did get together for a joint FHE on Monday and enjoyed some quality time together. I decided to go ahead and make a slide show of our fun because there are too many cute pictures to choose from! It is great having the oppurtunity to meet so many great people in our life!

Swimming

Our friends had a birthday party for their daughter at the base pool and it turned into a great family night for us. We swam, had fun with friends, and picked up some pizza for dinner. The kids had a blast. We also discovered that Taylor is a fish!!

Taylor had no fear jumping into the water. I could even let her go under and she still dove in one time after another. Certainly didn't get from her mom!! :) You will notice that mom is more nervous about her jumping than she is.

Swimming with daddy! Mason loves just to hold on for the ride.

Taylor's favorite thing to do was chase after the many balls floating around the pool. She alone emptied the big basket of balls on the side of the pool.

Carter loves the water as well, even though he is a little timid. Each time we go he gets better and better at getting in deeper. We are grateful for great services that we have on this base that are free for the taking! :)