Easter in pics....

Once Just An Ugly Pickle Jar...

And now a cool "apothecary" jar!

Okay so it doesn't look like your typical apothecary jar but I think it looks cool.  I saw this idea somewhere, actually a couple of places and I always like to give credit but I just can't find the sites!  

Anyways, it's just a pickle jar cleaned up, glued with E-6000 glue (I believe you can get it at Michael's) to a candle stick that was a wedding present years ago.  The candle stick is beautiful!  It was sitting in the attic and I knew I had to put it to good use.  I painted the lid with Martha Stuart's chalk board paint-love this color!  You'll see this color in some upcoming posts!  Lots of big projects this spring!

Anyways not sure where I want to put it!

I like it paired with this mason jar on the far right though!  (Just used the E-6000 glue and attached the mason jar to a wooden candle stick from Michael's.)  Painted it with the same chalk board blue:)  Needs something in it but I think I'm egged out;0

And I really like them both with the red truck!  This other "mini apothecary" jar that's sitting in the truck was easy to make as well- glass container and candle stick were both from Walmart for no more than $5 total- E-6000 glue again!

So eat some pickles, search your attic for old candle sticks or get them at Walmart and purchase some E-6000!

He is what he is. He'll be what he'll be.

Yep, I'm aware I haven't updated on Bennett in quite some time.  After all, "our unexpected journey" was created because of him.  But I've been wrapped up in my crafts, in our lives and I guess it just goes to show you that life can be totally "normal" when you have a child with Down syndrome.

But how's Bennett doing?  Well I think he's doing great!  He's the sweetest boy I've ever known:) and he's learning so much.  And for the most part this is how I think and how I go on and life is normal.  But then I see another kid the same age and often younger and then WHAM!  Just like that, the delays coming flying in my face.  Hmm, almost forgot he had Down syndrome but that just quickly reminded me.  Great.

These times are few and far between but I can only imagine they will become more frequent as he gets older. I'm not naive.  I'm not in denial.  I'm realistic.  And although the reminders can totally suck I still wouldn't change a thing.  I don't care what kind of problems (or so I've heard),  I have to go through when he gets older, I like him how he is, it's just a little reality check I suppose.

So this is what Bennett is doing at 2 years and 22 months old. Promise I'll have some video of this sweet boy up soon:

• B knows many of his colors (words and signs): red, blue, yellow, green, purple-he loves to say "lellow"!
• B walks all around, bends down to pick things up, backs up, turns in a circle, kicks a ball, throws a ball, tries to catch a ball

No running yet-fine with me!  Why on earth would I want him to run from me!?

• B asks for help, tells us when he wants to eat, asks for more when he wants more of something, tells us when he's "all done", when he wants down, when he wants up, says "hi" and "bye" to everyone;), asks for his "bippy" (sippy cup), he says lots of words and tries to repeat what we say but to sum that up, he uses one word phrases.  He does not talk in sentences, not even close.  Whatever.
• B likes to count to 3 when he's getting ready to kick or throw a ball.
• B likes to do fine motor skills like put small things in small containers, string beads, puzzles (although he needs to work on getting the right puzzle piece in the right spot), shape sorters, stacking, etc.
• B loves to help clean up- (he's soooo my child-who-hoo!)  Seriously, I tell him to clean up and he's like a mad man cleaning up every last piece....LOVE IT!
• B is getting very good at following directions: like cleaning up, taking his shoes off, putting shoes in the basket, getting a book to read, placing his cup on the table "nicely"-who doesn't like a kid that follows directions?!
• B loves to watch basketball and golf with his daddy!  He cheers when the player (any player) makes a basket or gets the ball in the hole, although Mike's not always happy at who he cheers for when it comes to basketball;)  

"No Bennett, we DON'T cheer for NC State or Duke, we cheer for Carolina.";)

• Perhaps my favorite one of all and I hope it never changes:   B loves to snuggle, particularly with his momma;)  Although he is starting to give out his sweet hugs with PATS ON THE SHOULDER to lots of people now!  But there is something about this sweet boy when he holds me so tightly and strokes my arm, pats me gently while he lays his head on my shoulder and sucks his thumb.  I mean, how can I not melt?   Mikes gets it too though.  B really loves his daddy.   

These are the times that make me realize he was made just for us and who gives a darn if he has Down syndrome.  And the fact that he reminds us of that several times a day with his sweet snuggles, I don't know, I think it's a God thing.  So maybe it's God reminding us;)

So I know there are tons of things Bennett's not doing compared to other kids and I'm sure even compared to other kids with DS.  Whatever.  He is what he is.  He'll be what he'll be.  Is he high functioning?  I don't know.  Is he low functioning?  I don't know.  Do I care?  Not really.  Seriously.  I kind of find either term slightly offensive because either way someone is offended by it.

We work with Bennett, his therapists work with him. He learns, he gets things or he doesn't get things, so we continue to work on it.  Could I do more?  Probably.  Would I be happier if I did more?  Maybe, if he was doing more but do I want to kill myself to make my son like other kids when I don't even know if that's possible?  No.  If I feel I need to work more with him on something, I will.  Trust me, I go through stages where I tell Mike:

 "Now don't just let Bennett sit there and play with some toy! Work on his puzzles, work on his colors, work on his flash cards."  And then there are other times where I just think he needs to play.  

Is it hard that I even have to think about that with my child...

Should I just let him play or should we be working on something?  Am I doing enough?  Where are the flash cards!?  

Yeah.  But that's what we've been given and I'll gladly take it in return for the snuggles I get every single day from this boy.   Not to mention the PURE joy that comes when he does accomplish something new.

He is what he is.  He'll be what he'll be.  

And I thank God for reminding me of that every single day.

Tiny Peep "Easter Baskets"!

So I'm helping with Harper's Easter party at school and since they're allowed to bring in candy I made up these "Peeps" baggies with the little printable I got here. They say:  "Happy Easter to one of my favorite peeps".   (side note: peeps are put in zip lock back and then printable is attached to top with staples-very simple).  

Anyways, I had a ton of these little peep boxes (they come in two packs from the Dollar Tree) and had one extra peep baggie I made up...

and with extra candy to put in it, Ainsley's good friend gets a cute little "Easter basket"!  I need to add some grass and maybe a candy filled egg.  But as usual- it's things I already had!  A little wrapping paper, the extra peeps box, staples and card stock for the handle can go a long way!

Now for Harper's class I'm just going to give the peeps in the baggie but I've got all these extra little boxes!

I know what some of you are thinking-why not just keep the darn peeps in the box they came in and give them like that?  Well now that would be just a tad boring, wouldn't it?!;)  So much cuter with the free printable!!  But these boxes are sturdy enough to add more candy along with the peeps.

I don't know, I just though it was a cute and easy way to do something just a little more special;)

A simple solution....part 2.

This was part 1:

 Here's the necklace post.

And next it was time to tackle this:

An awful way to store earrings!!

Here's what it looks like now!...

 I just painted an old black frame I had (took the glass out), hot glued the wine corks to the back part of the frame and stuck my earrings in!  I love how it turned out and it's soooo much better than what I had before!!  I just have it hanging right by my necklaces... just high enough so no little fingers can touch;)

A friend of mine pinned this picture and it inspired me!  

For the record I've been saving some of those wine corks and I also found several in the attic from a wreath my mom made us years ago;)

Easter around the house.

With Easter less than a month away, here's some bunny and egg love for ya...

And outside...

No bunnies but lots of hopping;)

Spread the word....

I've found myself in several situations- 3 this year, to be exact, where I didn't say anything because it was "too awkward".  I wish I said something but still struggle with the right words to say without coming across like a total "mama bear".  There's a time and a place for "mama bear" but in most of these situations, it's "innocent".  Ugh.  I gotta work on it.  

Just stop sayin' it and spread the word!

March Showers Bring May Flowers....

So I know it's "April showers bring May flowers" but I just couldn't help myself....

Today was beautiful here in NC-close to 70, light breeze.  Tomorrow's supposed to be warmer.  What is a crazy girl like me supposed to do with a bare door?  I'm not really into decorating for St. Patrick's day ...but it is GREEN!

So I saw this "wreath" on Pinterest a couple months back....

Original pin I saw.

and thought if I see a green umbrella, I'm getting it and I'm making it.  Sure enough, a few weeks ago I spotted one at Target, just sitting there.  I practically ran over to snatch it up.  Poor Bennett was hanging on for dear life to the cart as I sped down the aisle...as if everyone else is looking for green umbrellas;)

Ya'll know I had to add the little "D" somewhere!  I've had this little egg for a few years-it's just an egg with a sticker on it-lol.  He makes his way into my decor pretty much year-round and I thought he'd be perfect on this spring wreath.

So this is very easy to make!  If you'd like to make one for yourself you'll need:

• a large umbrella (this one was $12) 
• tissue paper or newspaper
• fake flowers (got mine at Walmart) 
• other fake greenery (had it in the attic) 
• some cute eggs (had them in the attic)
• maybe a nest or two;)
• moss  
• ribbon  

I opened the umbrella just to the little button then stuffed the front 4 folds with tissue paper to make them puff out.  Then I shoved my fake greenery and flowers in there.  And then really just took my moss and hot glued the eggs and nest to the moss.  I may have glued the moss a tiny bit to the tissue but it stays pretty well.  You can add whatever spring item you want.  Tie your ribbon at the bottom, you can add more of that too!

Now you can have yours hang straight but I liked it at an angle so this is what I did to get that look...

Just took some clear wire and tied it around the door knob, looped it around the umbrella base and secured that with hot glue so it wouldn't slip down the umbrella.  Pretty clever, huh?;)

I feel like I can get away with this because it has been sooo warm and flowers are starting to pop up everywhere....but really I don't care.  I always decorate early and I'm sure the neighbors already think I'm a little strange anyway:0

"Letting go of our plans"

A friend of mine asked if I would write an article for her MOPS newsletter this week.  She asked that I write about our story with Bennett and what we've learned. It brought back some yucky feelings I had but good to see how far we've come....

As I sat in the patient room waiting for the doctor to come in, I knew something was wrong.  It was taking much longer than it usually did and I began to worry.  I was 17 weeks pregnant and up until this point things had gone well.  That was until 24 hours before when I realized some test results never came back in the mail like they should have when all was "normal".  As I sat there watching the door handle and waiting to hear the rustling of my chart, I envisioned a little girl.  I had no idea yet what we were having but I was sure it was a girl.   She was wearing a dress that matched her big sister but she didn't look like them and something was very, very wrong...she had Down syndrome.

The doctor finally came in and after too much small talk, my biggest fear was confirmed. The test results did not come back normal and the probability of my baby having Down syndrome was very high.  During the next few days further testing was done and on December 26, 2008 we found out through an amniocentesis that we would be having a little boy and he in fact had Down syndrome.  He also had a major heart defect that would require surgery.

That day was one of the worst days of my life.  I felt like the perfect baby we were supposed to be having was taken away from us.  So many terrible thoughts went through my head.  For a brief minute I thought to myself-maybe he won't survive, maybe his heart defect is too big to fix, maybe that would be for the better.  Having a child with special needs was NOT in my big life plan after all.  I did not sign up for it and really wanted no part of it.  I knew we had options, which thinking back now brings me to tears because although I would have never ended the pregnancy, it's estimated that 9 out of 10 women do.  9 out of 10 women didn't want the baby I was going to have.

Where was God in all of this?  I felt like he left us to sift through this huge mess. Did he just let our baby have Down syndrome and now he wasn't going to help us out?  As the weeks went on I  would think how did this happen to me?  I was a college athlete, did well in school, I was healthy.  Things came pretty easy to me and that's how it was supposed to be for my children...PRIDE.  I would see other pregnant women glowing, knowing nothing was wrong with their baby, all would be perfect for them....JEALOUSY.  I would read the statistics about children with Down syndrome and clinch my fists....ANGER.  And then I would see an adult with Down syndrome walking around in the store with most likely their elderly parent....SADNESS.  All these feelings:  pride, jealousy, anger, and sadness came to me and I couldn't understand why God was allowing all of this.  Why would he bring me such terrible feelings from a little baby I was about to have?

I had 5 months to prepare for this baby and in those 5 months I prayed a lot.  I began to realize that these feelings were not from God.  God isn't about pride, jealousy, anger or sadness.  He's about love.  And once I saw that my life plan was never really in my hands but in God's hands, I saw that this baby must be part of a much greater plan than mine.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord," plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

And then I realized that God didn't just let Down syndrome happen.  He made my son carefully just like he made my daughters but with a little something extra;)

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb,"

Psalm 139:13

In God's eyes my son was perfection.  He made him just the way He wanted to make him.  

Bennett is now 2 years old.  He has a fixed heart and is healthy as can be.  In the 2 years that he's been with us, he's brought us more joy than we could have ever imagined.  Never in a million years would I have thought having a son with Down syndrome would be such an amazing thing.  I feel like I've been given this little gift!  God gave us this beautiful little person to love and to cherish.  Through Bennett we've learned to be more accepting towards others that are different from us.  We learned a whole lot of patience.  We've learned to let go of our plans and give everything over to God.  We've learned to not sweat the small stuff.  We've learned that Bennett was made perfect in God's image and that we wouldn't change one thing about him.

Raising a child with special needs is hard, there's no doubt about it.  But the joy and love you experience is indescribable.  It's something I never thought I wanted, until I had it.  To think that so many women choose to not let these precious babies come into the world.  If they only knew the love that would come from it.

If they only let go of their plans and let God step in.  

Adrienne is the wife to Mike and mother to three:  Ainsley (7), Harper (4) and Bennett (3)

http://wwwourunexpectedjourney.blogspot.com

A simple solution...

...to annoying problem:  Where to hang all those jumbled up necklaces?  I've had my necklaces sprawled out all over the bathroom counter this week because I was determined to do something with them.  Sure, I've had jewelry boxes in the past but nothing really good for my necklaces or my earrings for that matter.  I was getting frustrated because I wanted a simple fix and didn't want to spend money to do it.  And I just couldn't find something I really liked, and then I saw this pin:

I knew this is what I needed to do!  I could not take another stressful session of untangling 5 necklaces when I was already running late!  I had the hooks and I had the towel rack that wasn't being used behind our bathroom door!  Perfect!  It's not in Mike's way and it's right near our closet.  Now I'm a happy, more organized mom who is always running out the door...

Again, not sure why I had extra shower curtain hooks but I did and I was so excited when I found them! Don't ya love when a project works out easily?  Doesn't happen very often.

Got any spare towel racks?  Got some extra shower curtain hooks?   And even if you don't, they're super cheap!  Now go organize those necklaces!!

Now I need to find something to organize this mess:

Another day I suppose.  Here are some cute pins I found for organizing earrings though: