Tuesday, April 1, 2008

back in the saddle again....

that was a long stretch. i admit it. i quickly fell into a rut of not feeling well/kevin not feeling well/going on a couple of weekend jaunts/and general slack-off mode with regard to my blog. i'll try to do better.

spring has almost sprung here, which is a good thing. this is the time of year where, in my house, we're desperate for warmer air, something--anything!!--growing outside, so that our winter spirits may be lifted. it is at the end of march every year when i get a small taste of spring, only to be extremely disappointed the next day when another cold snap hits us smack in the face. that happened last week, and this week it's cold and rainy so far.

we took a day off about a month ago--all of us!!--after the fog of sickness had lifted from our house. it wasn't a real day off for kevin, who had a job fair in wilmington to recruit teachers. but it was a great opportunity to drive to the beach for one day, see my sister, and get away from it all! it was a gorgeous day and we got some great pictures of the girls.

kevin had a birthday in march. then came my annual self-advocacy convention in winston-salem, one of the highlights of my year. self-advocates are individuals with developmental disabilities who choose where and with whom they want to work, live, socialize, worship--whatever. self-advocacy is a growing movement in the world of developmental disabilities and my agency sends a group every year to this convention. they learn about health and safety issues, current public policy issues facing this population, accessing affordable housing, finding a job they want to have....things like that. it's also a great time and reaffirms for me always that i work in a field that i love. my job may stink sometimes. i think everyone's does. but i come home so incredibly proud of what my self-advocates accomplish, and so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to teach my children what it means to be accepting, tolerant, and kind to people who have developmental disabilities. it is a source of great pride that they can and do choose to socialize with people who are quite different cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, than they. we've taught them to ask questions and be patient and show others that this is not something to fear. with permission, i'm showing some of the pictures from my weekend in winston below.

we spent easter with my parents. wonder of all wonders, the easter bunny found the town of chocowinity, north carolina. we all had our doubts based on its remote location, but it did happen! i have pictures of that weekend also. georgia finally found her bike balance, and she's now an official bike rider. one more step towards big girl-hood. juliet can't keep up, and i have a feeling she won't be that far behind her sister.

happy april first to all!



jules and georgia testing out the *chilly* waters of wrightsville beach.






another birthday; another cake i did not make.

our group in winston-salem. such a great weekend.

here's jake, pimped out and ready to hit the club.
home again. just in time for our neighborhood easter egg hunt. does my house look crooked or what??? like it could break right in half!


how did this deer find his way to chocowinity?? santa must be looking for him.


a friend from church let the girls come play farmer franny for an afternoon while daddy swiped about 5 truckloads of mulch. the girls are convinced--as is daddy-- that country life may be the way to go for the plues. lord help me.



though, i must admit, the girls are CUTE little farmhands!


how cute is this face? who would think she went off the deep end of the river normal when i told her to get off the swing and get in the car!