front yard 2

The mailbox ^ Before

V after - ready for Marigolds to grow~!

the front mound under the toy room window v before

front mound - ready for marigolds to grow!

My "Helpers"

 ^^^Grayson testing out my hole I dug for a future tree (not sure what yet) ^^^
Thomas had jumped into this hole moments before I got this shot, and he yelled "I'm a Tree!"

Thomas helped me make sure everything was watered really really good!

And Micah was thrilled for his turn with the hose too :)

Micah leaves a wet trail as he goes exploring

Yard work - front yard

 So our front yard needs quite a bit of help.  Thomas is "helping" by collecting "blossoms" LOL - he had to get every single dandylion stem he could see, all while singing a song he learned in primary - "on a golden springtime" - (if I can, I will try to upload the video I got of it).

 "On a golden springtime
underneath the ground
a tiny seedling lay asleep
 until the sun shone down
awake, awake, o little seed!
Push upward to the light
The day is bright
with all your might
push upward to the light."

 Our neighbors installed this cute 4 ft. fence~  I decided it needs some dressing up - plus it made my rock mound look sorta out of place. or too small, or something - so I used my garden hose to map out a much bigger mulch garden area.  Tyson did not approve of how big I made it, so I shrunk it down a tiny bit more.

Forest Street Compost had advertised that they were giving away free mulch for all the month of may!  I was excited.  Until we went to get the first load, and found out it was full of trash, that is why it was free.  So that load went behind the fence, and can be used in the backyard.
After all the work it took to get our first batch unloaded, I wasn't sure I was up for another round, but we got the second load, and I waited until the next day to shovel it out of the truck.   (Thanks Nate, for letting us borrow your truck, and AJ for letting us borrow your wheelbarrow)  (and Tracie for letting us use your truck for the last load we still need to get ;)

 The rocks for the border were collected from down the street.  Another neighbor  had removed them from their yard, and just thrown them into the common area, so we have slowly been loading them up and bringing them home.  I wish they'd just told me they were getting rid of them, we could have saved a step by having them thrown directly in our yard :)

Still To do in the front yard - LOTS OF WEEDING .....

Redbud

Just a few shots I captured of the Redbud tree as it was blooming.

family photos

yesterday we had coordinated with Tyson's mom and brother and his family, to get a family photo taken.  we  picked a day and after a bit of searching about, I picked a spot to meet, that I hoped would have some fun places for nice and different background.

well, the day rolled around, and the weather forecast was NOT looking good.  it was a gorgeous morning, bright and sunny - but they said the rain would come.  It was hard to believe with the sun shining down so gloriously.  BUT, sadly, in the afternoon I could hear the thunder rumbling.  The funny thing is, that in Corinne, we don't really get the rain - so I watched it as it was hitting the mountain range, but we still had sunshine.

Anyway, we had to head into Logan early to borrow my brothers truck (yard projects this weekend), and as we went up over the mountain we saw the sun had broken thru the clouds - BUT we still had an hour til photo time - would the sun last??

I wish I had thought to get out my camera for what happened next.

Just after we stopped to get the truck, the black clouds rolled up over the other side of the mountains.  The lightning began striking very close and very quickly,  followed with ground shaking thunder.  I wanted to cry.  We drove our way up to USU campus, where we were going to take the photos.
The sky just Opened up, and you couldn't even call it rain - the water just came DUMPING out of the sky, all at once, and it was mixed with hail as well.  It just Pounded down.  The road was instantly covered with a foot or more of water.
BUT then as suddenly as it had started - it stopped.  It was all done.  And the storm moved off.

we were left with fantastic light for our photos.
it was a tiny bit chilly, and the wind picked up a bit which is problematic with my long hair - I couldn't keep it under control LOL, and poor Micah was so 'done' with it all by the end (and so was Thomas, but you know him, he is 'done' before we even begin in most cases), but everyone did good and I think we got some great shots.

and I had Tyson run back to the car and grab my camera while the photographer was working on the brother's family, and I got a few cute pics of my boys :

poor little man = getting cold and tired

handsome Grayson!!  growing up so fast!

I LOVE this photo I caught of Thomas (one in a million) - His face and smile are nice and relaxed, and his body language is happy and calm!!!

My silly little Micah - only wants to be held by MOMMY - that is why he's crying in this photo

Peek-a-boo Grayson!!!

Special Needs

I have a son with special needs.
He needs to take his medications.
He needs his family.
He needs understanding.
sometimes he needs me to give him some extra space.
sometimes he needs me to hold him close.
some days he needs me to listen to every detail he knows about his favorite subject.
some days he needs me to teach him how to listen.
sometimes he needs to give hugs and be sweet and loving
and sometimes he needs me to practice my patience
some days he needs his favorite foods
some days he needs me to teach him to try new things
some days he needs to play with his brothers
some days he needs his brothers to let him be alone
some days he needs to color the entire driveway with chalk
some days he needs to rip paper
some days he needs to wrap up in blankets
some days he needs to scream
some days he needs to give in to his impulse controls and touch (and break) everything
sometimes he needs to stand in one place and rock his body back and forth
sometimes he needs to bounce his head on the couch
sometimes he needs to repeat everything
sometimes he needs to ask a million questions
sometimes he needs to read books
sometimes he needs to do play-dough for hours
some days he needs help but I don't know what to do
My son's special needs make him different and special.

April is Autism Awareness Month

my handsome boys!

I got matching ties for the boys.  Aren't they the cutest?!!!!

Happy Easter!

Here is last year's easter post .  I had been upset with myself for forgetting to emphasize the real meaning of Easter after I have spent so much time focusing on Christ at Christmas time.  

We did better last year.  And even better again this year.

We made our easter tree again this year.  The boys really like putting the pictures of Christ on every branch.

Thomas loves when we get to do things with Micah for the first time.  

We praise them for teaching him how to do all these awesome, fun, new things.

This year I took the time to tell the story that went along with each picture.  I had a hard time controlling my emotions with the crucifixion, so I kept that short.  We talked a lot about the resurrection, because we discovered from F.H.E. lessons  that this is an "issue" for Thomas.  But this time he was beginning to understand and was happy that because Jesus came back, "after we go to heaven, we can come back too."  He talked all about it as we took a walk around the neighborhood yesterday.
I have felt good taking the time to focus on the atonement for myself, and then to teach it to my children.