Legoland 2011

It's been a while since I've blogged mostly because we have been so busy... with good stuff, but nonetheless busy. Our busy month of October included a vacation to Legoland with grammy & grampy. Vacations are totally relaxing while ON vacation but preparing and cleaning up after one is not so relaxing. Anyway, it was a ton of laughs and a bunch of fun, not to mention really good food!

Our favorite hotel The Sheraton which is attached to Legoland and a hop skip and jump away...

Mylie loves this game where I bounce her on my legs and then fling her upside down...

This is what makes my heart grow...

This is what makes me somewhat ill...

LOVE this girl~

and because we were celebrating Ty's willingness to patch aggressively... he patched on vacation, too. Amazing kid!

...and huge accomplishment worth mentioning: Ty learned to make bubbles with his gum. Cool huh? 

I remember that day as a kid. HUGE accomplishment. Will make hours of life very fun!

 morning snacks...

and of course LEGOS...

I had fun capturing all of us in the mirrors I found around the hotels...

Cracks me up how uninterested Ty looks in this picture. It looks like all of us are thrilled to be at Legoland while he seems to be anywhere else but there. Must of had something REALLY important on his mind... or the pumpkin was just not doing it for him. 

Anyway, could have been a cute Christmas card pic...

Good try Daddy...

Probably the best part of Legoland... the mini city all made with little legos...

 and STAR WARS

 On to Coronado Hotel where we have lots of great memories.

and then on to Lowe's Hotel...

ahhh... foot up, little breeze...

boys rough-housed in the pool...

girls watched in horror... 

jk, we just laughed. Silly boys!

 San Diego, you've been good to us. Thanks for all the treats!

ta ta!

Mylie's Pre-School

Mylie has a new pre-school. 

She actually started in March when she turned 3, had the summer off, and is back now at the Orfaela Children's Center at Cottage Hospital. It is a pre-school for hospital employees only except that they have an inclusion program and two of the spots are for the outside community. 

We happened to get one of those spots.

The inclusion program simply means that the county of Santa Barbara provides the Special Education teachers for the 4 children with special needs at the school. The four children with special needs are included in the regular classroom, hence - Inclusion Program.

Every parent of a child with special needs feels different about the inclusion program. I have many friends that have chosen not to put their child in this type of program. Every parent will weigh the options and choose the best one for their child. I respect that immensely.

Tyler and I were not sure we wanted Mylie in an inclusion program. We visited a few sites and were not convinced until we found the Orfaela Center. It is marvelous! and I rarely use that word - marvelous - but to describe this school any other way wouldn't fit. 

It is marvelous!

Mylie's classroom door. We walk in a say, "Hello Friends!"

She practices the obstacle course with her friends

The inclusion program provides the Special Education teachers that include Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, PE teacher, Special Ed teacher and Special Ed Instructional Assistants. 

Mylie is in GREAT hands!

Mylie loves the sandbox and all the fun stuff that happens in there.

Mylie paints all the time. Between both kids I have way more art than I can handle. I keep it all! There is no way I'm throwing those masterpieces away!

Snack time is a sweet time to share food with friends. They literally share food together as if they were at a dinner table. The teacher serves the kids and they can pour themselves or their friends water or milk. 

The effort that the Special Ed teachers put into the children is... frankly... unbelievable. It amazes me that Mylie has her own All About Me book that the teachers read to the class. In the story about Mylie, her family, her likes and dislikes, all the things she can do... there is a part that explains to the children that she is not yet using her words. She uses her signs to communicate. Her teachers have compiled another book full of all Mylie's signs to reinforce the signs with her and her friends.

The result is that her friends are learning sign language 

and have a wonderful understanding of who Mylie is. 

There is nothing more precious than this in pre-school.

I could go on and on about all the wonderful things that the inclusion program is for Mylie. While she continues to get settled after three months away this summer, I can see that although all the new noises and people may seem overwhelming,  I can tell she likes being there again.

She feels safe there.

She is happy.

and if Mylie is happy then I am a happy mama.

xoxoxo

Schools

School has begun and my days have been full getting these two angels of mine adjusted. 

It's been a rough start for both of them but we are getting on track finally. 

It's hard to go from no set schedule to fully scheduled days.

This is how Ty feels about going back to school...

I remember feeling that way too. 

Mylie's inclusion program started and she is back at school with her awesome special ed teachers Suzy and Kana. And even though Mylie thinks she may be overwhelmed by all the kids, I know she loves all the new stimulation. I will post soon about the details of her inclusion program. Tyler and I feel it is such an incredible blessing for all of us. We are so blessed and so grateful.

So, while I continue to get my kids settled into new schedules I leave you with these two pictures.

Wishing you all a fabulous start to fall...
xoxoxo

Both Hands Project

This Saturday I was given the opportunity to photograph and video a coming together of friends and family of Gentry and Luis Zuzunaga. Together they were able to clean and repair the house of Louise, an elderly woman in need, and at the same time raise funds for their adoption. 

Through the Both Hands Foundation, a non-profit that helps families with the process of raising money for adoptions, Zuzunaga friends and family were all sponsored to work on Saturday and help Louise... 

and also help Maria, an orphan with Down syndrome in Russia.

Some of the friends and family sponsored to work.

Louise, a 90 year young former missionary with the Zuzunaga's

I was so charmed by Louise, the elderly woman served that day. She spent many years in Taiwan as a missionary and speaks Chinese. She was so sweet and kind. She wanted to touch my hands and while mine are always cold, hers were warm and comfortable. I did not want to let her hands go.

 I instantly felt her beautiful soul. 

Louise lives in her mobile home by herself. She has a little dog that keeps her company. 

She suffers from Dementia. Her home was full of reminders of her trips abroad 

as she dedicated her life to serving God. 

She was born in 1921. She's seen almost a century of this world.

I was in awe of her that morning I met her.

Maria, a beautiful angel with Down syndrome in a Russian orphanage

 This is Maria who is 4 years old and lives in an orphanage in Russia. Her parents were pretty well off Russians that refused her after she was born because she had Down syndrome. They signed papers to send her to an orphanage. She has been there ever since.

Maria, as most children with disabilities in some foreign countries, will be sent away to a mental institution for the rest of her life when she turns 5. 

I can't even talk about what happens in those institutions. 

It is not a happy place with love, peace and joy.

And that is why the Zuzunaga's are doing all that they can to adopt Maria before she is sent away.

Both Hands for Maria, for Louise, for our Father in Heaven.

All involved spent all day Saturday serving Louise and repairing her home. 

Here is the video I made of the event. Click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bEoti1qyRo

I'm humbled by the love and dedication that I have witnessed from people who live to serve.

There is a joy and peace like no other.

I hope to have caught that joy and peace in the video.

I hope to capture that for others and for my family for as long as I can.

Thanks to all of you for sharing this with me!

xoxoxoxo

Toothfairy

This has been an incredibly busy couple weeks. Between my SUV dying finally, buying a new hybrid and school starting it has been a bit of race around here. But, none of that is important.... 

...not like loosing your two front teeth!

There is nothing like the little accent that comes along with no front teeth. 

I remember Karlos and I used to make Sofia say "Michelle" when she had no front teeth.

She would say it at every request and Karlos and I, hearing that adorable toothless accent, would crack up hysterically. We must have made her say "Michelle" hundreds of times. And it never got old!

Now, my sweet boy has that same accent and I am flooded of memories of my little sister as a child his same age. I remember it like yesterday!

So, Ty now gets the hassle of repeating all kinds of words that make his toothless accent pronounced.

Michelle

French Fries

Ship

Fooey

Fascist 

I bust up every time... and he loves it that I laugh uncontrollably so he repeats them over and over and laughs with me.

And to celebrate the end of summer Ty's eye patching 4 hours a day all summer long has increased his vision by three levels. That means he is able to read letters three sizes smaller than at the beginning of summer. We have more eye patching to go, but we are very happy and grateful for this blessing.

BTW, the toothfairy left Ty $10 for his two teeth! Can you believe that? 

He had no change. What was he supposed to do? 

Yes.... he.

Personally, I would have left a quarter.... but that's me...

He's a generous giver.. that toothfairy...

xoxoxox

JOY

There is a certain joy that emanates from a parent seeing their child happy. 

There is yet another certain joy that emanates from a parent of a child with Down syndrome 

as they see their child happy. 

It's a unique experience.

All the things they (doctors, social workers, outdated research) said she wouldn't do, 

all the things they warned us could happen.

So, this joy that I feel comes from a place where once I worried about the unknown

and was so very wrong...

"You have taught me more in your lifetime than I learned in mine.."

Thank you, Mylie for giving me the most beautiful joy known to me. I may worry, but that is only because I have forgotten for a moment that I am not in control of my life. 

The same force that blessed me with your life has a plan bigger and better than mine.

Your life and joy has healed my soul.

You have endured so much. You work so hard at things that others take for granted. 

People misjudge you because of an extra chromosome.

And yet others are healed by your genuine smiles and hugs.

Your ministry, I know, is yours... not mine. 

I love your extra chromosome. I love everything about you. I will help you with whatever you need the rest of my life. You have so much to teach me. I promise to learn and love.

love you mama!

Miracles

I don't know how long it has been since I laid on the grass and looked up at the sky.

Today, I did just that. I melted into the grass. I had nothing on my mind. It was blank. It was quiet. 

All I heard were the birds and the wind rustling through the trees.

It was so very nice!

Why don't I do this more often?... was my first thought. And then I realized it only took away from this moment if I wished to have more of it.

Such is life. 

I had been tired, we all were. We had been at Children's Hospital in LA for most of the day on Wednesday for a procedure for Mylie. We were checking her kidney reflux, which we had been watching since she was 5 months old. Both her kidneys had been affected and she has been on prophylactic antibiotics ever since. This had been the cause of her countless UTIs and possibly the cause of her scarred right kidney. The procedure would verify if we had to take more drastic measures to fix it.

The results came back "reflux has spontaneously healed".

"miraculously healed" for us....

Three years of stress seemed to drift away in the wind. I hadn't realized it was there. 

So nice to send it off.

I felt like putting my feet up...

Albert Einstein once said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

I live as if everything is a miracle. 

xxoooxoxo

TYSON ALONSO WILLSON

Tyson means "high-spirited".

Alonso means "noble and ready; prompt".

I would add the following to describe my #1 boy:

energetic, confident, active, compassionate, one who likes to debate,

loving, independent, creative, willful, a loyal friend, faithful.

"Mommy, how about you and me go to Corktree for dinner. 

You know, so we can spend time together... just the two of us." 

It was the greatest thing I could hear. I had been cooking dinner for all of us and as I looked ahead to the following few days there was no time for going out to eat together. It was one of those times, when the spontaneity of the moment felt so right. So I finished dinner for Tyler and Mylie and Ty and I went to Corktree.... just the two of us.

Ty is one who is full of life. He leaves nothing unsaid or unnoticed. He says what he thinks and wears his heart on his sleeve. Good or bad, appropriate or inappropriate the boy is pure. 

And he has a heart of gold.

The trick has been to show him when to pause, when to let others speak, when to hold that thought.

I think it's his sense of humor that describes him most. 

Eating out with Ty looks a little like this:

We'll sit down to order and he'll use the menu as a hat for awhile. Then, because the table next to us is open, he'll sit there for awhile and talk to me from the other table. He'll play with his straw and make different things out of it all the while talking about his faith. Then, he'll notice something or remember something and skip over to talk about that. 

He'll make faces and want me to take his picture. Then, he'll ask me if I need to go to the bathroom. 

No, I say. He asks me again. No, I say, should I need to? He's got something up his sleeve, I think. 

He wants to trick me somehow. 

Then our food comes and he gets his burger ready. He eats fast and furious, offers me bites and ends up eating about 3/4 of the burger and a few fries. Then, he slumps over in his chair and says he can't move he is soooooooooooooooooooooooo FULL!!

He'll play with the window covering that looks like it will fall on top of us if he continues. I ask him to stop. He forgets and starts to play with it again. I ask him to stop again. OH, I forgot, he says. We talk about school and he makes up jokes. He starts playing with the window covering again. I remind him that I've asked him to stop twice and if I need to ask again we will leave. 

Ok, he says. He seems to remember now not to play with it. I see him freeze when he goes to play with it again. Wow, he remembered!

Still slumped over in his seat, he asks when we can have dessert.

Ahhh, my boy! 

He's only complained of being bored once this summer. I think that is pretty good!

 Out of the two months we've had off, he's been able to be entertained, 

entertain himself or entertain others. 

No time for boredom. 

That's my boy!

and my girl.... she makes Ty a better person every day, a great brother and a loyal family man!

xoxoxo