More Amazing Pictures

Since I didn't get any of the birthday boy’s pictures up yesterday I am going to treat you to double the pictures today. It is funny because David doesn’t take a lot of pictures. When we have gone places and spent the entire day, Rich and I will take hundreds of pictures and David will only get about ten. But as you can see—his ten are beautiful.

When we went to Joe and Abigail’s wedding last year David took more then his usual number of pictures. He was waiting for “The Kiss,” and once that happened and he had taken the picture, that was the last picture he took for the day. But we arrived at the church early and David was able to get this beautiful picture of the church empty. He went up to the balcony to take this picture and the lighting is wonderful.



Shortly before the beginning of the ceremony he was made to sit in the pew and he leaned over the side of the pew to get this picture of the votive candle that lined the aisle.



The next two pictures were taken on his eighth grade field trip. Following the official tours we were given free time and of course his desire was to see the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The first is one of my favorite pictures he has taken.





David loves architecture. When he was in first grade he told us he wanted to be an architect until he found out they aren’t the ones that bulldozed the old buildings before they built their vision. In some of his pictures you can see his love of the buildings and their details. This was also taken on his field trip to Washington. Can you guess what building this is?



It’s Arlington House that stands proudly behind the Tomb of the Unknowns. These last three are all from Mount Vernon. You have to admit if I hadn’t told you, you would never have known. You can just see the top of an outer building in the bottom of the first one.



This ornamentation was on a wall in the garden.



This last picture shows different point of view. While visitors are not allowed to photograph the inside of Mount Vernon’s mansion, they are allowed to photograph inside the out buildings. The tour begins inside the kitchen and David is probably the only person who has ever photographed this view at Mount Vernon. Can you guess what it is?



It’s the view looking up from the inside of the fireplace! He stood inside the huge fireplace as the guide explained the rules and gave us a brief history of the building. Rich and I were on the other side of the room (since we are not big fans of standing in fireplaces) and I had to giggle when I saw the flash of light.

When David opened his portfolio that contained these and a few more of his pictures he loved it. It made him realize that his work is good and will let him show it off to others.

Exploring the World

David loves to do close up and unusual pictures. It is interesting to see him get just inches away from a fruit or vegetable and then see the results.
The first three are from our local community market.







This last one is from the garden at Mount Vernon. It is funny watching the faces of other tourist as they happily snap away at the house and outer buildings when they spot David taking 10 minutes kneeling in the dirt to get just the shot he wants of a carrot top.

Budding Photographer

This weekend David will be fourteen years old! I can’t believe how fast he has grown since I still feel like it was last week that we brought him home from the hospital during a terrible thunder storm.

Last year we had a huge birthday party so this year it will be a family celebration. This has always been our plan since I don’t think it is necessary to have a big event each year. What with the packing and house hunting it would have been hard anyway.

One of the gifts we bought him was a Kodak photo album. I had fun making a portfolio of the many wonderful pictures he has taken over the last several years. He has an eye for it and is very creative.

I decided that over the long weekend, each day I would post a few of the pictures I included in his album. I hope you enjoy his work as much as we do.

This picture was taken at Stratford Hall. We had just crossed a bridge and David snapped this one. He was only about seven and was (OK is) in perpetual motion. The effect was one that gives a covered bridge look.


This was one of the many ponds at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The water is so calm and the captured reflection of the clouds and the trees is just perfect in the picture.


David is so observant that he sees things that the rest of us miss. He saw this little lizard sunning himself at his Grandparents’ house.

ROTC Commissioning

One of our regular Wednesday night guests asked us to photograph the ROTC commissioning service at his college. Rich and I were honored to take part in this exciting event. We arrived before 9:00 am and didn't leave until 2:00 pm. We arrived early in order to watch the practice and know where we would need to be during the service.

I have to say that interacting with these fine young men and women gives me hope for our future. We sometimes get so use to seeing young men with their pants pulled down to their knees and being answered by "yeah" instead of "yes." But the young men and women at this event were so polite and respectful it shows that there is hope that manners are indeed not dead. They have been trained and drilled with the characteristics that will serve them and our nation well.

So congratulations to all the wonderful men and women that have been commissioned and are ready to serve our nation. I pray that God will watch over and protect them.

Life In The Fast Lane

Just when I think things will start to calm down they explode! My well laid out plans lie around the ground in bits and pieces. But, yes, even this is well within the plans of God. I may be caught off guard but He never is. This is very important for us to remember right now.

When we moved to where we are living now it was not planned. David needed to be hospitalized for what was to be 9 months and turned into 18 months. So our original plan was for me to be in the area for only a short time. During this time we were able to rent a home and fall in love with our new city. Rich stayed at our old home during the week and only came here on the weekends. Then unexpectedly he was given permission to work from our new home except for one day a week. Such a blessing! So we got rid of the other home we were renting. This occurred just before the fall of the economy, which resulted in Rich losing about 40% of his income due to no overtime. But with tightening of our belts we would be fine.

Now about two weeks ago our landlords have informed us that they have a new use for the home we have been renting and we would need to move. Part of our rent was paid by web site designing for them that Rich did. They have requested that we be out by the end of July so we have been very busy.

Our first question is what is God's will. Are we to stay in our new city or does He want us to move somewhere else? Rich's work now would like to see him more often so we are looking closer to his work. Luckily, Rich won't need to go in every day. But, David needs to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. When we do travel into a heavily populated area you can actually see David becoming more aggressive and agitated.

So we have been doing some online house-hunting and last weekend went to an area that would fit the bill. We found a house that was perfect in our opinion, but not in God's, since when we scheduled to see it we were told it is already sold. So please pray as we seek God's will in this area.

One of the benefits of the area we are looking for is that it is close to my parents. We stayed with them and David and my Dad really enjoyed being together. I can't even begin to tell you how much of a blessing this is. When David was small there was a severe break in my relationship with my Dad since he wouldn't accept David as his grandson. My Dad had always been very prejudiced and the fact that David is bi-racial was a real issue with him.

In order to help with finances I applied for Disability for David through Social Security. Yesterday I spent three and a half hours filling out all the paperwork online—including all doctors and tests that David has received and school information. When I had the actually interview this morning I was told that it sounds that, yes, he would qualify as disabled, but since he is a child he doesn't qualify due to Rich's income. What really upsets me is that they take the family income and only deduct the amount you pay in insurance. They don't deduct any amount of money that you pay out of pocket for medical needs for the child. That means that if a family made $50,000 a year and medical expenses are $45,000. the child is not eligible. David's expenses are not that high, but at $350.00 out of pocket a month for meds and that his issues prevent me from working, the check really is needed.

This amount also doesn't include the additional medical expenses due to his frontal lobe damage that results in his impulsive behavior—such as his fractured knee in March. It also is very shortsighted since when David was hospitalized for the 18 months the amount of his medical care was just over $500,000.00. When I hear that the Gitmo detainees may be getting a government check when they are sent to the US [news here and here] this makes it hard to swallow that we are denied.

But, I know it is all in God's hands and these events have helped us teach David that we must all trust Him. We have also explained that "And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose." This means to His glory and that doesn't mean the new house will be bigger or nicer then the one we currently live in, but we need to be more concerned to seek the glory of God. We are looking at purchasing and not renting and this is actually a great time to buy.

A Century Old Mystery

First, I am so sorry I have been absent for so long. With having to recite Proverbs in order for David to write out his sentences, his suspension and spring break along with other stuff I have had very little time to read or write blogs. Also slowing me down is lack of sleep due to seasonal allergies and the meds that help me make it through the day without sneezing my head off.

During one of the middle of the night can't-breathe-or-think nights I did a quick search on Ancestry.com. Imagine my surprise when I solved a century old mystery!
When I began my family research before David was born my great uncle Russ wrote me a letter explaining that his father Stephen was born in 1888 and gave me the names of his parents, but that was all that was known about that side of the family.

Stephen's parents split and his mother took him to live with her father. His mother then went to another state, married and started another family. That was the last that any of us heard from Stephen's mother or father. It is quite a sad tale.

My search pulled up two family trees. One was a tree I have seen before through Stephen's wife and found it very faulty since there are no sources cited and there are many errors. One such error is a man that died in 1862 and the next life event listed for him shows his baptism in 1979. I certainly hope that he was not exhumed in order to baptize him.

The second record solved not only my own mystery but also the mystery for another person. In 1968, Stephen's father's daughter-in-law wrote a letter. This letter interviewed a minister that knew the father well and the family history. Stephen's father had four families—the first two marriages ended when the wives died and were laid to rest next to each other. The third marriage was to Stephen's mother and a quote from the statement caught my interest:

The third time Isaac married Ollie from Appalachia, VA. She loved horseback riding and took no interest in housekeeping, nor in rearing the children of the former wives. He was a man of great farming interests and logging—delivered the logs down the Clinch River into Chattanooga, TN. Therefore, when their only child, Stephen, was very small he was sent back to her parents' home in Wise County, VA. No communication was made between her and the Williams family ever again. They never knew the son she reared.

Stephen's father would then go on to marry happily again.

I immediately wrote to the other family tree holder. His mother would have been my grandfather's cousin. She is in her 80s and she can't wait to meet us. She had given up hope of ever finding out what happened to Stephen and his family. I am glad that I could answer her questions.

In another quirk of fate, Stephen worked in a coal mine that they also had other family members work at over time. They had just been to that exact coal mine last month on a research trip.

The Foolish Little Man

Last week I shared how David was having to write sentences in order to get him to listen better. His listening has gotten a bit better, but his behavior is still not up to what it should be.

Even though this is spring break we can't let this area slide and let him just have fun so I have changed what he is to write. Last week it was directions, but this week I began him at Proverbs 1:2. He must listen then write down what I say. I am quoting just a section of the verse, but at the end of the passage he must read back to me what he wrote. This has caused him some concern as he can't always read what he wrote. If it is wrong he must rewrite the verse.

Since so much of Proverbs deals with the wise versus the foolish man I thought that would be the perfect place to begin. As we are going along I am explaining what the verse means so that he also gets the concept.

It is not the spring break that I had envisioned. I had planned on taking him to the Y's pool but since he busted his knee I can't do that. It has been rainy and not so nice outside, but since we do need the rain I'm not complaining.

A Lesson in Listening

David is in trouble at school again! He has a three-day suspension. I could almost see it coming, but it wasn’t until today (the second day of the suspension) that I think I know why he’s having such a problem. He isn’t listening. I gave him several easy chores with one- or two-step directives to complete. However, I found that either the steps were not followed in the order I gave them or they were skipped altogether.

So we went over the chore directives and I explained what he didn’t do correctly. David thinks that when he is told that he is to clean out the grill he knows how, because he wants to do it his way. The problem is that when he is finished, his way is not correct. A case in point is when he was to clean out the grill and cover it from our weekend barbecue. He cleaned it out and left the bag of ashes on the grill, the lid left up and the cover on the ground. All these issues had been addressed with the directions. But his mind shuts off after he gets the general concept. This is happening in the classroom when he is given work and then doesn’t listen to hear what the directions are. He then gets upset and angry when the adult tells him he hasn’t gotten it right.

Even though many tell me this is a normal stage in a teen’s life David takes everything to extreme. So I usually have to take my correction to the extreme also to get the point across. After verbally talking to him about the issue and what needs to be done, it has continued. I am now having him sit down every hour with a notebook and I will give him 10 directives. David will have to write exactly what I say without me repeating it. If he missed it, I will say it one more time and he must rewrite it. David really doesn’t like to write so this is also helping with his handwriting skills. I have explained that this exercise in listening will continue until he can consistantly follow the directions we give him the very first time.

This will seriously cut into his fun time until he begins to listen.

The Capitol

The Capitol Building with cherry trees

We arrived at the Capital building and had just a few minutes before our tour began. We began the tour with a film that explained the history of the building and the laws that were passed to change the course of our nation.

One of the statues in the Capitol Building

We had a wonderful tour guide who escorted us through the public areas of the building. The beauty of the building can not be described. There was a purpose and meaning behind all the craftmanship that is displayed. The kids were amazed by the fact that the mural on the ceiling was done with the ceiling in place and the artist had to paint from scaffolding. The painting is of George Washington surrounded by 13 maidens. The sheer weight of the dome as we stood directly under it caused some worried looks—8,909,200 pounds of cast iron. With all this work ceing done long before the mammoth construction trucks we have today.

George Washington and maidens - the Capitol Dome

As I gazed around the rooms we passed through it brought a deep sense of pride in being an American. It also made me wonder what the building would look like if it were designed today. Would we have spent so much time and effort on conveying who we are and ensuring the building would be survive for many generations?

David in front of the Capitol Building

After the tour we walked past the Supreme Court and we had around an hour and a half to see the sights on our own. Of course, David wanted to head over to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. This is always David's favorite place to visit when he is in Washington.

One of the Capitol Building skylights

The bus ride back was very long, in fact we arrive back at the school an hour and a half late.

Boys on the Bus

After a very hectic week of doctor’s appointments—three to be exact—babysitting, house cleaning and prep for our field trip we were ready to roll. We were glad that David’s doctor said he no longer needed to be on crutches. His bedroom lamp was a casualty of a crutch gone astray. The gaping hole in his knee will still take several weeks to heal over. Of course it doesn’t help that he keeps sliding on his knees and reopening the wound. So he had an all-clear for his field trip.

Robert E. Lee House at Arlington Cemetery

So Friday morning I headed out in the pre-dawn hours at the back of a bus filled with 75 thirteen year-old BOYS. There were just two other moms on the bus and they sat in the first rows away from the fray. We had a total of 300 eighth graders heading to see the nation’s capital—two buses of girls and two buses of boys. You wanna bet the person who organized the bus arrangements was on a girls’ bus.

I was amazed at the number of kids who had MP3 players and cell phones, but few had an actual camera. The kids borrowed and tossed their expensive electronics with no regard to how much their parents had spent on them. I allowed David to use my MP3 player on the drive up. Yes, I have one, and no, he doesn’t. He had one and can’t find it so until he can save up the money he will not be receiving another one. The music kept David quiet and content for a good part of the trip. When we got very close he started his seat jumping and I was left all alone.

One of the guards at
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We arrived at Arlington Cemetery and began the long uphill trek to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was a rough walk because David flips from walking slowly to an almost outright jog up the hill. We stood and watched as the soldiers placed a wreath at the tomb. Years ago there was much more gun twirling than they had on this visit. We were very sad to not see the guns being thrown from one soldier to the other in such crisp movements. But David was impressed anyway.

On our way back down to meet the bus David was running to catch up with a friend. I had just yelled “don’t run” when, splat! David had gone off the sidewalk and slipped in the mud. It had been raining lightly all morning. When David got up his school uniform was a mess—the shirttail, both sleeves, pants and my backpack were covered in a wet mushy mess. Luckily one of the teachers chaperoning the trip was kind enough to loan David an extra shirt he had brought. Of course, this made David stand out since he was the only student not in his school uniform. Only my son!

Cherry blossoms

All boys on board and we headed to the Capital building. The drive over was beautiful. This was the day before the Cherry Blossom Festival and the trees were in full bloom. If you don’t know the history of these unusual trees, it really is interesting, Three thousand flowering cherry trees were a gift from the Mayor of Tokyo in 1912 honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan. In 1981 Washington was able to repay the Japanese kindness when cuttings from our trees were sent to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood.

I will share our experience at the Capital tomorrow.