Farmer Connor......

Connor spent the weekend with my parents again, being spoiled and having fun. :)

One of the things they did was to visit a farm. My mom and dad know the people who run it, and they agreed to let Connor come check out the animals. They had (among other things) a young calf who would let you ride it, a young colt, chickens (which Connor loved and is now telling me that he'd like to have) and some cats and dogs. As you can see from the photos, he had a great time.

Giving thanks every day.....

An old schoolmate of mine (whom I correspond with on Facebook regularly) challenged me the other day to post something on Facebook every day I was thankful for until Thanksgiving Day. Sounds easy enough, until you actually try it. It has to be something different every day and no repeating.


In this day and age, it's so hard to keep focused on being grateful for what we have when the world seems to be going to - pardon my French - hell in a hand basket. The economy has been down and doesn't seem to be rebounding, and a lot of families are suffering right now. Some people have been separated in order to make ends meet, and others are still struggling to find ways to get by.


It's easy to focus on the negative and forget about the things we should be thankful for instead. So every day, I am posting on my Facebook page one thing I am grateful for that day. I challenge you to do the same. If you don't have a Facebook, then just make yourself a list, hang it where you'll see it, and add something new every day. In no time at all, it'll have you thinking positive.

"The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything, the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing...."

~Hannah Whitall Smith

What a weekend!

Well, on Friday I turned 36. I don't feel 36 yet. But I suppose sooner or later, I will.

Later that night, Isaak came home from Minnesota for a visit. He had a really nice birthday present for me, too. He bought a pair of tan cords, a really nice white knit sweater and some boots. I was shocked. I didn't think he had such good taste in clothes! Thanks, honey!

Today, my parents are celebrating their 47th wedding anniversary. I can only hope Isaak and I are lucky enough to make it to 47 years (and still like each other)! :)

And this morning, I got to see Bucky -- this is one of our two bucks who hang out in our neighborhood. He has a really nice rack on him. We have another one, but he's much smaller. It's rutting season, so we're staying far away from them right now. They are aggressive and crazy and only have one thing on their deer minds. :)

Dear God......

A few days ago, one of the cute squirrels that lives in our yard got hit on the road. It always bums me out when this happens, because I like to watch our squirrels and rather enjoy having them around.

However, this was an opportunity to drive home a lesson to my son, who has, as of late, been running from our yard right out into the street without so much as a pause. People do not drive slowly in our neighborhood, and I was afraid it was just a matter of time before he got hit by a car.

So, my mom showed him the squirrel and told him that the squirrel didn't look both ways before crossing and now he was dead. I'm not entirely sure my son understands the concept of being dead yet, as he's only 4. But when I explained that the squirrel couldn't eat, play or sleep anymore, and that his squirrel mommy and daddy were very sad, he seemed to sort of get it.

Last night, as we were saying our bedtime prayers, he insisted on saying a prayer for the squirrel. It went like this: "Dear Jesus, please make sure the squirrel is in squirrel heaven and help his mommy and daddy not to be sad." Pretty profound for a 4 year old.......

Thanks, dad!

My dad spent nearly six hours in my yard yesterday, cleaning up leaves and grass with his commercial lawn mower. Nearly all of our leaves were down, so it was quite a mess. I think he did a spectacular job! As much fun as it is to rake leaves and jump into them, it's a lot of hard work to clean up a yard the size of ours, and I dread doing it every year.

THANKS DAD!

Just throw them off!

Have you all seen the story about Southwest throwing a 2 year old and his mother off a plane yesterday because the toddler was shouting "Go, plane, go!" and "I want daddy?" I've tried to post a link, but it's not working. I'm sure if you google it, you'll find it easily.


I've read several versions of this story so far, and I don't know what makes me angrier about it: the fact that it happened, or the rude and ignorant comments readers have posted after the story (including, my favorite, "toss them off at 30,000 feet!")


One has to look no further than this story and its reader comments to realize what is wrong with this world. We have no compassion, no tolerance and no understanding for others anymore.


I know how this poor woman must have felt, because I had quite the flight last weekend to Minneapolis. Connor and I had sat on the runway for over an hour because our plane was delayed. He got a little upset toward the end and started crying. I was well on my way to calming him when the flight attendant FROM HELL approached me and started yelling at me to get my child under control. She also yelled at Connor to be quiet. I calmly told her Connor has autism and he was overstimulated (even showed her the letter from his doctor), and screaming at me and him did not help, but rather made it worse. Still, she kept on. It actually took another passenger to tell this flight attendant to back off for her to do so. But she harassed me the entire flight, even after Connor was calm, sitting in his seat and being well behaved while watching a movie. It was amazing.


The flight home was better, but thanks to that one flight attendant, I likely will not fly agian for a long time.


No one wants to hear a cranky child, but chances are, if people had offered some help and kindness, the whole outcome of this event could have been a lot different. What a sad, sad world we live in.

Halloween Party Fun

Connor's preschool had its Halloween Party today. The kids performed a bunch of songs they had learned this month, and got to put on a little parade in the costumes. They played some games, and also ate way too much candy. Connor had a good time and surprisingly, isn't too wound up after all that candy!