Mike laughs at me because I get so excited when I get something new that is “domestic”.

I have had an Oreck vacuum cleaner for 10 years and this week it finally bit the dust.  While I’d love to have a new Oreck, we just don’t have the funds for one right now.  So off to L*wes we went to buy a cheapie, since I had a 10% off coupon for there.

The cheapest regular upright they had was $59.99.  It is a Eureka.  I figured, at that price, it would perform marginally, but better than nothing at all.

The one I got is the Eureka Maxima Bagless Upright. Well, I’ve never owned a bagless and wasn’t really thrilled at the thought, but in the lower price vacuums, that’s pretty much all you can find.

I was totally shocked last night when I vacuumed the house!! I had to empty the collection canister 4 times!!! My gosh, we are living with filthy carpet and I didn’t even have a clue! I am so thrilled!! Even Felicity is wanting to help vacuum today!

Here in our new place, we have problems in the yard with sticker burrs…ACK!!!  So we really should vacuum at least once a day, twice would be best.  Those yucky things come in on Margo and Bailey every time they go outside.  Petunia (our adoped Chihuahua from Katie) is the lucky one, they don’t get on her hair at all.

So….I’m having a love affair with my new vacuum and Mike thinks it is hysterical!

Have a great Saturday!

She went and did it!  Katie turned 21 on October 30.  I just can’t believe it.  Here’s a photo of her a few weeks before her birthday.

Here’s the afghan I made for Katie’s birthday gift.  I also purchased a couple of things for her, but this I made myself so she’d have something special for her 21st.

She loves camoflage and her favorite color is pink.  She really loves it!

When we lived in the Houston area, one of Gregory’s therapists gave us this story (for lack of a better word).  It was soon after Gregory’s formal diagnosis of autism, and she knew we could use some inspiration.

“The Beauty of 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 guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David.  The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

After 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 never would 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, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. Holland 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 will never, ever, ever go away, because the loss of that dream is a 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.”

We keep a copy of this on the refrigerator.  It’s our inspiration on bad days. A reminder that Gregory is, indeed, a very special child.

I’m 42 years old and never registered to vote. I’ve never been *big* on politics.  Mike’s always been very politically active, but not me.  Sarah Palin for VP is what made up my mind to register.

Monday morning (yea, the last day possible) I’m registering to vote so that I can vote in this year’s Presidential Election.

We have been waiting since April for a large sum that is owed us on Gregory’s SSI disability.  I have heard from other parents of Autistic children that many of them have never received their back pay, or it was paid months after the date they were told it would be paid.

We have been in such turmoil with this.  We were told “6 months” when he was approved in April.  I have called 5 times in the past 3 weeks to verify this payment will be paid in Oct as we were told. Never a return call…which is typical of our SS office. They are horrible up here.

Well, glory be!!  The direct deposit hit today, just as promised.

I can’t tell you all how much stress is now off our family.

It is truly a glorious day!  We will now actually have a “cushion” in the bank for emergencies, etc.

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted here.  Several of my family members have commented that I haven’t been around here, so I figured I should post.

 I’ve been in a funk lately.  Overwhelmed, indecisive, stressed.

Mike and I have been doing alot of thinking and decision making about the future of our family.  For most of the 8 years we’ve been married, it seems we’ve been in a downward spiral.  We’ve finally come together and made decisions that we think will help us start gaining ground.  I’ll post more details soon, I promise.  Just don’t have time right now.

The kids are doing very well.  Gregory is doing fantastic in his therapy/preschool.  He’s learning/using more and more signs every day and we are thrilled!  We’ve been trying to teach him to sign since he was a year old and never have we had so much success as we have in his current situation.  He’s also trying more to form words vocally.

Hank (our rooster) got very sick 1.5 weeks ago.  And after a week of ICU and round the clock care in the house, he was outside for fresh air for the first day he was able to be out, and Margo (our poodle) got him and killed him. That’s 2 of my chickens now that she has killed.  We were devastated.  Margo is on very shaky ground right now.

Currently, Gregory and I are sick with respiratory infections.  But at least Gregory is still eating and drinking, so…so far, so good. No hospital stay so far.

I will post again soon with more details.  We are all doing fine, though. 

Typical of Gregory, when he gets sick with anything (even a cold), he stops eating and drinking.  Dehydration is next, then off to the hospital for a few days of fluids and meds for whatever caused him to stop eating and drinking.

Last weekend, he started downhill.  Sunday we were at the Doctor’s office at 2pm. Ear infection and cold virus.  She sent us home with antibiotics for the ear and told us to come back for follow-up on Monday at 10am to see if he had any improvement.

Monday at 10am, he was extremely dehydrated and off we went to the hospital.  Fluids, bolists, meds…and he started drinking again on Tuesday.  We were sent home on Wed.

By Thursday morning, Gregory wasn’t drinking anything again…back to the Doctor’s office and straight back into the hospital.

We got home tonight and I’m exhausted.  We were home less than 24 hours between hospital stays.

This is a typical sceanario for Gregory, though, through the fall straight through to spring.  We were just about a month early this year. lol

I’m exhausted…gotta love vitals every couple of hours through the entire night.

I’ve got a few posts planned for this week.  Just need a good nights rest and clean up the house first.

When we got the Buff Orpington chicks (full story to come), I had no intentions of keeping a Buff Orpington rooster.  I planned on only keeping the hens out of the 5 we got, for yummy fresh eggs.

Well this handsome guy, we call him Hank, has totally won all our hearts. He is the sweetest thing since sweet cream

He’s about 8 weeks in the above photo. It was taken on Sunday.

Katie (my grown daughter) is living with us for now.  She’s quite smitten with Hank (and all the chickens, for that matter).  She, Felicity and I are partners in crime with planning for our new chickens, turkeys and guineas.

As I have read and heard, Buff Orpingtons are absolutely the most docile, friendly and loving chickens!  We love them! 

Well, after Mike pushed to get through his training (at the request of his District Supervisor) for promotion with TSC to Store Manager, now we’re told, there’s no place we could transfer until maybe next spring. UGH. 

So we’re here, in Amarillo, indefinitely.  It’s fine, though. A great opportunity has opened up for Gregory through the place he goes for all of his therapies, so we have decided staying here as long as necessary is a good thing. He will be attending preschool, as well as all of his therapies. Four days a week, 9-12.  It’s really good for Gregory.

We will continue to homeschool Felicity.  She will be participating in 4-H, soccer, and Girl Scouts.  There’s even a Girl Scout troop in each level here that is mainly homeschooled girls.  She’ll be able to make all kinds of new homeschooled friends!

There’s an equine rescue about 5 minutes from our house that Felicity and Katie (my grown daughter) are going to volunteer.  They are thrilled!  They both adore horses!

We FINALLY found a Catholic church where we are comfortable.  It took 2 years, but the Parish in Canyon, TX, is about 10 minutes from us and it’s a very comfortable place. Lots of “country folk” there and not “hoity-toity” as we have felt the others we attended here in the Amarillo area were.

Katie has decided she wants to finish her Senior year of school (finally).  We are researching an online high school that’s specialty is helping kids finish high school online. She will be able to get an actual diploma, not having to take the GED.

Gregory was approved for his MDCP program, which provides paid respite care for him to give me a break to work, clean house, etc.  Katie has been hired to be his care provider. She’s making really good money, paid through Gregory’s program, but technically, she works for me, I am her employer, but she’s paid through the agency.  She’s living with us again, as well.  It’s working out well.

We plan to add to our little farm soon.  We will be getting more chickens in the next few weeks.  We will also be adding guinea to our brood. Guinea are excellent at keeping away snakes, mice and bugs. Turkeys will also be coming along soon, too.

As soon as we get the pen built, we will be getting a few goats.  Not only for companionship, but Felicity will be able to show them in 4H competition, and also to help with the grass/weed mowing lol.

Felicity is talking about wanting a pig to raise/show.  Not sure if we’re there yet.

So…that’s some updates for now.

Have a great Sunday!

Felicity decided it was time to do a photo shoot with her, since Gregory has already had his “moment in the spotlight”. These were actually taken through the course of three or four days.
So, without further adue, here’s our girl!

Felicity absolutely adores tomatoes!!! She asked if the tomato on the vine was ready to be picked. I told her yes, she can pick it. Little did I know that my saying she could pick it meant she could eat it, too!!!

She loves the chickens! We got five Buff Orpington chicks a week and a half ago. I’ll post separately about them.