Are these curls forming on the head of our third child?
If this is the case he may never receive a haircut. I don't think I can bare to cut them. :)

James and I had hoped to make a day trip to Asheville today. It wasn't meant to be. Again.

My body still feels crummy but my spirits are soaring. We are so proud of this little guy!

Over the years we have made several changes in our home in an effort to keep our guys safe as they grow and explore. Lots of little things like getting rid of the coffee table to avoid losing an eye from slamming into the corner or wrapping rubber bands around kitchen cabinet knobs to make them more difficult to get into (Luke's brilliant idea - and much more effective than all the child proofing gadgets on the market!). Really there is only so much that can be done. And most of the damage over the last few years has not been to the children, it has been to our belongings. We have lost many dishes thanks to both Luke and Wil. (James and I have certainly had our share of mishaps, too) My favorite lamp has been broken and repaired twice. My grandmother's pie crust table, which we had refinished last year has lost all of it's "crust" thanks to Wil and Timothy - they get a big kick out of tipping that thing over! Luke sprayed bleach on a brand new shower curtain and rug. Our books. Well they have seen better days. We are constantly putting the rugs back in place, moving the chairs back to the table (this is the newest fascination - using the kitchen chairs as push toys, works great on the hardwood floors), putting the books back in place, closing the shutters, putting the cd's back in the armoire drawers, and so many other things.

A couple of days ago I posted about the report that came out of Serbia on the conditions and treatment of the mentally disabled in the country's institutions. A fellow mom and blogger, Michelle, of a daughter with Down syndrome has come up with some great ideas for those of us that would like to find ways to help. Here's what she suggests at DownBlogger on ways to help.

We all see and hear of things around us that leave us feeling angry, sad, helpless. Today's report on the "Mental Institutions" in Serbia has left me feeling that way. I am pretty speechless actually. Here is the link from NBC, story.

Washington State Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers was interviewed by CNN yesterday. The interview was not about policy, elections, or any political controversy. It was about her son Cole, who happens to have Down syndrome. He was born last May and is adorable. To see the brief interview click here.

I hope that we will hear more from Ms. Rodgers and Cole in the months to come!

Luke especially loves a house full of people. The more the better. This group seemed to encourage some very random statements, proverbs if you will, from little Luke around the breakfast table. The crowd favorite, that we all pondered, but left us a little puzzled was, "If you want peace then you must sleep with your hair squared." This was evidently inspired by Ryan's coif.

We so enjoyed the added chaos for the weekend. These guys were such an encouragment to us and left us only slightly homesick for Gainesville. :)

That's what Luke said to me as I was backing out of the garage with everyone in the van while on the cell phone filing a claim with the insurance company for a broken windshield (honestly, having them confined in their seats feels like the only time I can get through a business call). Slam! I ran into the jeep. The jeep which had just returned from the shop. Sigh. The part that bothers me about this is not that I hit the jeep. No harm done to the jeep or van - a few more black scuffs actually makes it easier to identify among the sea of silver vans in the Wal Mart parking lot. No, what really bothers me is how quickly Luke jumped in to emotionally take care of me. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate his sensitivity and love that he is a compassionate little boy. But I do worry that, at five, he is taking on roles he should not. He tells me often that he can't wait for his brothers to walk and talk so they can play with him ( me too, I think ) and does his very best to play on their level. I have been his play mate and companion for some time now and Luke has watched me closely. He has watched me struggle after Wil was born, struggle through Timothy's pregnancy and then his birth, struggle with our recent move and the strain it has caused. I am always aware that he is watching and try to be careful about what I am communicating but I am also aware that Luke picks up far more than I realize. And somewhere in the midst of all this he is feeling like he needs to take care of me. So, this dynamic. Not good. I'm not worried, we'll get it worked out. Just not so bummed I hit the jeep anymore.

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Dad! A man who has loved and served well his whole live. He has served his country with commitment and honor as a Marine, he has served his community for three decades in law enforcement and now has the often thankless job of keeping kids safe (and in many cases keeping the community safe from the kids) for a local school district. Most importantly, at least to some of us, he has sacrificially loved and served his family with consistency and strength. And now that he has three demanding grandsons down the street he is back in the business of putting together toys, pulling out splinters, and flipping burgers for birthday parties. Not to mention providing handyman services for James and me.

I have kissed and made up with blogspot - this blog - and am sticking with it. The kinks have been worked out and I have too many other things going on to get used to a new blog host and all its funny ways.

Thank you for baring with me as I test drove wordpress.com. I am happy to be back where I am more comfortable here at blogspot.

On the home front I sense another round of doctor visits on the horizon as Timothy can be heard from all corners of the house barking a painful sounding dry cough. Wil has been crying on and off all day for no apparent reason apart from the fact that he has not been sleeping well the last week and is likely fatigued. And Luke just came out of his room and told me "his body feels like it needs medicine." He couldn't point to anything in particular that was bothering him, just a generalized ickiness. So, I am thinking tonight might be the beginning of another round of the sickies.

And on an embarrassing note, yesterday we had some time to spare before church so were enjoying the brisk afternoon air while walking around five-points when Luke started fussing about a rash on his bottom. This happens from time to time. Luke, having very sensitive skin, must be very careful to clean up well after using the restroom otherwise he gets rashy. And being five and all he just doesn't want help in this area any more. On the other hand being five has done very little for his ability to control himself when he is feeling discomfort. So I grabbed W and T's diaper ointment and headed into the Starbucks bathroom to take a look at Luke's bottom. He was indeed red. As I was trying to clean him up he screamed like I was sticking red hot needles in his eyeballs saying, "get that out of my bottom!" Now, I am certain that everyone on the other side of the door could hear us. I try to calm him down by telling him that someone is going to take him away from me if he doesn't stop screaming. Naturally this doesn't help. I tell him to just let me get the ointment on, it will feel better and we can go. He is still crying heavily but agrees. When I apply the ointment he lets out another wail, "it burns, it burns, take it off!" Oh my. We get a few glances when we emerge, most keep their heads down and give a quick look over their books as we scurry out. I don't have to wonder where James is with Timothy and Wil, I just follow Wil's screams.

Church at 5 pm. After "falling back" for daylight savings time, fun times.

I went up to put Wil down for his nap today and this is what I found. Luke’s spiderweb. Of course I couldn’t get Wil to bed without removing the web because much of the string was wrapped around his crib. Luke managed to use an entire ball of string that I have managed to hold onto for years now. He also managed to wrap it around every possible fixed object in their room multiple times. I was going to get the scissors and just slice right through it but some obsessive part of me wanted to keep this ball of string in tact. Sooo, I took Wil back downstairs, delaying his nap, Luke’s quiet time and mine, in order to find the end of the string and weave it in and out and through the web until I had my ball of string back. Luke was awed and amazed when he walked upstairs and saw that once again the string was back in a ball. It is now beyond the reach of five year old fingers.