Helen Dances At Basketball Game!

Helen is behind the girl in the blue shirt on the right

Last week I wrote about Katie and Grace participating in a cheer/pom clinic. I asked the coordinator if Helen could participate in future clinics, she said yes. Part of the clinic was to perform the routine they learned, at half time at the basketball game. When we arrived at the High School, Lori, the coordinator had a t-shirt for Helen. They had a water bottle they made with Helen's name on it, and they made a megaphone with her picture on it, just like the other girls. When the girls went to the clinic they had a picture taken by a professional photographer for the megaphone. Since Helen didn't have her picture taken, one of the high school girls went on my facebook page and grabbed a picture of her from there. They put a lot of thought into making Helen feel like one of the girls! Then Lori told me Helen was invited to participate in the dance. She was able to sit with all the girls and watch the game. When it was time to perform, she joined the girls on the gym floor. Katie was a little upset because Helen didn't know the routine and she didn't want her to look silly. I reassured her Helen would be fine, and she was. She followed along and did her own little dance. My friends that were there told me how much that touched them to see her with the other girls. I got tears in my eyes from watching ALL three of my girls dancing. I can't wait until the next clinic when she will learn the dance and definitely be a part of the group!!

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Basketball Season

It's basketball season and we are very busy. Robbie was in tournament last week, his team made it to the championship game. They lost 35-24. His team played hard, but the team they played against had a star player that couldn't be stopped. Tonight is their first game of another tournament they're going to be in, this one goes into next week. They play tonight, and then again next Monday. How well they do will determine if they advance or not. I have a feeling some of the same teams will be playing in this tournament that played in the last one. There was one team that had a player who was a poor sport. He would put himself in a position that our boys would foul him, that way he would be able to shoot two. They beat us in the last seconds of the game by him doing that....it was awful! Katie's team isn't doing too well this season. They lost two of their key players to another team. They played against them this past week-end and lost....big! Katie made the first basket of the game, and it went down hill from there. I think her making that basket gave her a lot of confidence, she ended up fouling out in the last quarter.

Ted went camping in a cave with the Boy Scouts. They told him to bring clothes he could throw away if necessary because they get so dirty crawling around in these caves. I went to Goodwill and bought him $4.00 jeans so I wouldn't be upset if he ruined them. When he unpacked them yesterday, they didn't look too bad. I may be able to save them, which would be a good thing, then Ted has a couple more pair of pants. He said he had a great time but didn't have the nerve to go down one hole. They called that hole, the birth canal. It's a very tight hole that they climb into then slide down into the next level. He said he was okay until one of the guys made a comment at the end of the hole and it freaked him out. His Scoutmaster talked with him and he was going to give it another try, but ran out of time. I told him he can try again in a couple of years, when they go again. I asked him about bats in the cave and he told me they were hibernating. He was cool, calm, and collected when he talked about that. I told him I would have freaked out, he laughed at me!

Katie and Grace went to a cheer/pom clinic yesterday at the Catholic High School. They are going to perform during half time at the basketball game tomorrow night. They are both so excited. I talked with the woman who runs this clinic twice a year. She went to school for special education. She told me next time, Helen can join too. I'm so excited, Helen loves this kind of stuff, but doesn't have anything available for her around here....now she does!! Last year when I was working with the girls on their variety show routine, Helen was right there watching. She knew all the moves! I could put her in any position, and she knew exactly what to do, it was awesome.

We had a very busy week-end, those are the kind I like, especially when it's full of the kid's activities!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

New Year Resolution

Happy New Year!! Everyone makes resolutions for the new year ahead, and I am no different. Getting back to writing this blog is one of my resolutions for this new year. It's already Friday of the first week of the new year, and I almost didn't do it! Isn't that typical though, so many people make those resolutions every year, only to break them within the first week.

You're probably wondering why I stopped writing, is it because we are no longer working on the clothing line? NO. I felt like I was repeating myself. The kids and I don't really lead an exciting life, it's always the same thing. Sherry and I are still trying to work on the issue of the pants. We have not been working on it full-time, we do it when we can. Once we get past this issue, I know we will come out swinging. It's getting to that point that has been difficult. We have so many great ideas for this clothing line, I hope you haven't lost faith.

The kids have gotten bigger, I put the most recent picture of them on my profile. Helen is going through a phase of not smiling for pictures. There are moments when I catch her smiling, but for the most part, she will frown instead. When she sees the picture, she'll comment on her look. "Mom, look, no smiles." I ask her, "Why didn't you smile?", she answers, "I don't know." Hopefully this will end soon, she has such a pretty smile. Since my last post, Katie, Ted, and Grace celebrated birthdays. Ted is now a teenager, and has the attitude to go with it. He is an awesome kid and is very helpful to me, but there are times when that attitude sneaks out. I have to remind myself, this too shall pass! All the kids are helpful around the house, some more than others. I look at them sometimes and can't believe how big they've all gotten. The other day I came across pictures of them soon after Peter died. At the time it didn't occur to me how little they were, but they were REALLY little! We have all come so far!

For the new year I am hoping this company will manufacture the new improved jeans, along with a few other things. Health and happiness for all our supporters, and all who read this blog. Thanks for your continued support, I will do my best at keeping this blog current!!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue