Today was Garrett's last day of Pre-school FOREVER! Can you believe that? I took a half day off to celebrate with him :) We went to lunch at McDonald's and then to the movie The Night at the Museum 2. It was a fun day with just the 2 of us, which we don't get to do very often! *sigh*

Things seem to be at a stand-still with my grandma! Moving very slow! She is still on ice-chips and is having discomfort ~ Ethan and I visited tonight....by the time we left, she was in better spirits :) It has been a rough go for her!

Tonight while I was at the hospital, Kurt and Garrett chalked up the driveway! My kids LOVE to draw on the driveway! I was NEVER allowed to use chalk on the sidewalks and to this day my parents STILL don't like it on their driveway! LOL! I never understood why? A good rain washes it right away! Well, tonight there was not one inch left of our driveway showing! Garrett is quite the artist! He will draw for hours if you let him! I hope you enjoy his artwork ~ while I type I think it is being washed away! Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Estok and Mrs. B

Brayden, Cam, Garrett and Jackson!

(Garrett's FAVORITE Friends!)

The whole class!

Spongebob......
Dinosaurs......
Dinosaurs.....
and yes! More dinosaurs!...........

~* A Good WeEkEnD! *~

Given the circumstances, we had a pretty good weekend! Yesterday was Ethan's birthday party! It was pretty neat that my aunts from Indiana were here, I just wish it was for different reasons! Ethan had a great time! He loved being sung to and he had a great time blowing out the candles!

My grandma is looking better tonight! She was asking to see my boys, so I took Ethan with me tonight! As much as I hate taking him to the hospital with all the germs, I think it is what she needs! She was more lively tonight than I have seen her in awhile! I hope things are turning in a positive direction!

Maybe this week will bring good things! I try very hard to think of the small things that I am thankful for when nothing seems to be going right......here are a few of them on my list this week :)

1. Grandma D. is coming hom on Tuesday!
2. Only 1 more class to go for the Autism Specialist certificate, which starts tomorrow :)
3. Grandma gets to eat a popsicle tomorrow :)
4. Only 2 more Mondays with students left!!!
5. 14 days of school left until summer vacation!
6. Garrett turns in his library book for the last time this school year tomorrow! No more looking for the library book on Sunday night:) Yippee!
7. I am very thankful that Dr. F is not controlling my grandma's medications anymore!
8. Also thankful for the hands that are helping her through this tough time! She has had some excellent nurses!
9. We raised $880.00 for Autism Speaks through "penny wars" at school!!!

This week has to go better than last! Here is hoping right? Enjoy the pictures from Ethan's party! I didn't get many good ones ..... I am hoping Randi shares hers with all of my family here!

This is my Aunt Randi .....from Indiana :) She is the one doing "night-duty" with my grandma, staying all night with her at the hospital! The Dr. told her she was looking pretty "rugged"? I say she is looking pretty good with NO SLEEP! lol

Lastly, a picture of Miss Ava Ruby so you can see how big she is getting! I can't quite say she is still a princess......maybe a princess gone wild??

~* A RoUgH Week! *~

Needless to say, it has been an awful rough week for me and my family! My grandma remains in an "unstable" state as they have been messing with the medication! Wednesday evening's events took a turn for the worse while I was there to visit her, which will remain with me for awhile! It is pretty disturbing to see someone you love so much in such a condition ~ life is fragile!

Yesterday was Ethan's birthday! My mom and dad came to celebrate with us for a little bit! His party is tomorrow....... he loves being sung to and blowing out the candles! It is hard to believe that he is 2! Exactly 2 years ago to the day our life was full of such joy and happiness with the arrival of Ethan...... it is hard to remember that feeling when you are going through a time such as this that my family is going through! Please keep us in your prayers :)

~* And Worse YET! *~

My heart broke into two as I learned this morning that beautiful Kayleigh went to be with Jesus last night after a courageous, but much too short, life. I have followed her story forever and prayed that this day would never come for her family!

This is the day that my grandma is having surgery....please keep her in your prayers for comfort throughout the day! The surgery went OK, however things are not good.

After the weekend, I needed a little bit of a pick-me-up! I took the boys fishing last night with a friend from work.....enjoy the pictures!

~* And So, It Can Get WORSE! *~

It was a pretty tough weekend here.....just when my heart told me that things can only get better, it lied! They got worse!

The prognosis is not good for my grandma ~ please continue to keep her and my Aunt Susan in your prayers!

Lots of Love,
Shawn

~* Mother of the Year Is ...... *~

While our favorite Mother's Day gifts will be handmade cards and bowls of cereal in bed from our little darlings, we mothers also value applause...from the world. It's nice to finally get recognized for all my hard work. So, I just want to thank you all for voting for me....

I made the news here: video feel free to
forward this email to your family and friends so they can know about this award and can congratulate me also. This is so exciting. I never win anything...

I am working on my acceptance speech now...

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day! I love being a mom more than anything in this world!

P.S.
*someone sent this to me and I thought it was too funny....I am SO not mom of the year but it's fun to pretend:)and to lighten things up after the terrible weekend we had :)

~* I Did It! *~

Check this out....I think I figured out how to put a video on here!


I am not sure if it is going to be sideways or not....we will see after I post! This is one of our nightly trips to the creek....I will post another one later! Hope you enjoy getting to see the boys in action!

Lots of Love!
Shawn

~* I didn't WIN! *~

Ok, so I didn't win Michelle's gift card give-away! Shucks! AND I am assuming you didn't either because I didn't recognize the email address listed :) Keep checking her site though, she has other great give-aways planned! I did win one and got it in the mail yesterday! The kids were thrilled! It was a beach set from Yoplait!

Things have been hectic as this time of year always is! The month of May at school is a killer! Not only does work pile up, but the kids are ready to be DONE! As I am! We have 2 countdown calendars at our house and 1 is for the last day of school! 20 more days of school!!! YIPPPEEEE!

The other countdown calendar we have is GRANDMA D is coming home in 13 days!!! Garrett is in charge of that calendar! We are so excited to see her!

The month of May is filled with lots of things to be thankful for!!! It is so hard to believe that the twins will be 12 tomorrow! Ethan will be 2 next week......Jessica is turning what, 25??? on Sunday! Brian's birthday is also next week! May is one of my favorite months! So much to look forward to!

I will leave you with some new snapshots ..... we have our sidewalks tore out as you will see! We are anxiously waiting for new ones to be put in! Ethan is sporting his new hat .......I had to search high and low for a hat like this for Ethan! That poor kid is so ear infection prone, that a hat is a must for him! Goodness he had been wearing a winter hat all this time!

I hope this finds you all doing well!