LOVING TEACHER CONFERENCES................

Thursday was teacher conferences which we always look forward too.  We had conferences in preschool too and I suppose if we had a bad experience there we wouldn't love them now but we didn't.  I love to hear what she is learning, where she stands academically and socially and what we can do to make her school experience even better.  This conference was exciting because there was much more to cover.  Raelynn is learning so much and so quickly.  She is beginning to read which is very exciting.  Sometimes I do not know which of us is more excited when she reads a word!  Her teacher is wonderful and Raelynn really likes her.  She said Raelynn is doing fantastic and we were shown some of her work and the progress she was making.  Mrs. Mooring said "Raelynn is just so happy and always eager to do whatever activity we are working on."  I love this and I was beaming with pride!  I had asked Raelynn if there was anything she wanted me to talk to her teacher about and her only concern was a tardy that her progress sheet was showing but Raelynn promised she and Daddy had never been late and of course I knew I had never taken her late.  Mrs. Mooring removed the tardy :)

Thursday night the Ballard boys came home with us and we had a fun evening.  Raelynn was soooo much help with Brooks and Coop and Kaden played like wild little boys all night.  I don't usually get to see this side of Coop because Raelynn always dominates the play at our house but she was so busy with Brooks it was just Kaden and Coop playing.  He was having soooo much fun!  Coop did end up in time out at one point.  He had only been there a few seconds when Kaden came and asked me if Coop could get up now and assured me he wouldn't do it again.  It was all too cute!

Tonight we had a quiet evening at home which was wonderful.  The rainy dreary day made us all just want to get comfy and snuggle so we did.  At dinner tonight Raelynn and Coop were being pretty loud and messing around a little.  Terry was getting after them.  Raelynn turned to me, held her hand up to block her mouth from Terry and whispered, "Reeeeaaaarrrr!"  I tried so hard not to laugh but I couldn't help it.  I looked up right into Terry's eyes and I lost it.  I started laughing which made Raelynn giggle and Terry glare.  Raelynn is just so funny and says and does exactly what I am thinking most of the time. I told Raelynn that I should not be laughing that it wasn't funny......a statement hard to make convincing when you are laughing so hard your eyes are watering!!!!

Last night I was doing some research for a family and stumbled upon a blog of a family who have a son with a congenital heart defect.  The blog title that day was, "When will I stop crying and when will things be back to normal"  I read the post which basically was a Mother who could not come to terms with her sons heart defects and could not find happiness.  She sounded very detached from her son and saturated in sadness.  I explored her blog a little more because I was so taken back by her grief.......then I discovered her son was 3! He was born with the defects and they knew about it prior to his birth.  So this wasn't a new mother who was trying to learn how to deal with things this was a mother of a 3 year old who I was instantly angry with!  My instinct was to think she was so selfish and hateful and how could she be so negative.  Then I stopped and thought, what if I did not have an amazing support system; what if I did not have a strong husband; what if I did not have an amazing daughter; what if I did not have a family who would sacrifice anything just to help; what if I did not have such a supportive boss; what if I did not have amazing friends; what if I did not  have God......would I still be as happy and thankful as I am.  I really don't know.  I would like to think I would have kept my head up but I cannot be sure.  Now however, I cannot imagine our lives any other way.  I thank God often for what he has given us including the difficult things.  It is the difficult things that define us and God gave us every tool in the world to make it through all our challenges.  I initially wanted to comment on this Mom's blog and literally "chew her out" but by the time I thought it all through my anger left and my heart ached for her.  Not because of everything she is dealing with and not because she is so sad but because she will never know the immense joy and love that I do.  She will never look at her son's scars and smile like I do.  She will never smell her son's hair and tears come to her eyes because she fears she will someday forget that smell.  She will never understand the excitement of his little accomplishments.  So to this Mom I simply wrote......."Find God and you will find the son you long for."  I cannot tell you how much I hope she does.  Her "normal" life is right there waiting for her.  I hope her tears never end but I do hope the change from tears of sadness to tears of excitement and joy.  THANK YOU TO MY HUSBAND, MY DAUGHTER, MY SON, MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS, MY BOSS, TO EVERY PERSON WHO HAS ENTERED OUR LIVES AND TO GOD! If that Mother's sadness is what you saved me from, I am eternally grateful!