It's what life is about

Last day of school for the girls

very exciting day indeed!

Let's see how my little man handles it?!

Luckily he did sleep until 7:30AM

that's the first time in weeks... and of course he went down onto daddy's bed to snuggle

I'm sensing a theme with his sleep pattern:)

The weather is finally cooler, it's a full moon tonight,

schedules have changed for everyone

and as Ty said when he woke up this morning

"only 4 more days till my birthday!"

I'm not sure much else is on his mind these days, but it also means it's a bit overwhelming for him

as birthdays usually are- and this year it's a double whammy of it's also Father's Day!

But he's planned the day, it's a Sunday which is good

and we'll just have to roll with it!

Hard to believe he's turning 10, hard to believe my baby is going into second grade

hard to believe my oldest baby is going into 8th grade!

Where has the time gone? I think this is why I'm needing this "break" right now- just to live

as hard as things sometimes are with Ty, we just need to exist as a family in our home (which is hard to do with people in your house all week long)

I told Megan the other day, this is our year!

She asked what I meant?

I told her, our family goes through a lot, maybe more than the average family (maybe not, it's all just different)

but starting the year off with Brian donating a kidney and being in the hospital

Ty at the same time needing hospital disimpaction and too was in the hospital

it's just been a whirlwind of a year so far, and then getting to go to Canine Companions, which is also a whirlwind experience- 2 weeks, gone,

We've never been gone 2 weeks before-

and now we have Gretchen

Ty is turning the number I always feared- 10

I knew when he was little he would be 10 before we knew it and

this is why I pushed so hard to get him the right supports, services, and help!

And already we are here- he's turning 10

and still a very long scary road lies ahead of us with regards to Ty

so for right now, I'm just going to exist in the present moment,

enjoy each good moment that comes our way

know that the bad moments will pass

and capture the happy memories of what life is about!

That's what's important right now!

So it begins- happy summer!

this picture is of everyone in the pool (except mom) at one time- and it is probably the only time we'll have that happen- but it usually happens once a summer

and as you can see- lots of smiles, all three kids laughing while trying to get daddy-

this is a happy memory, this is what brings me joy, this is a wonderful carefree moment for my family!