Chicken Noodle soup & Kim Davis (Kentucky)

My easy recipe for today is Chicken Noodle Soup.  I make it at least bi weekly for Sarah.  Since she eats only pureed food, I make most of her own soups because I don't want her eating from cans.  I'm able to add things in and make it thick and good.

So I start with my big white crock pot -
Use about 6 cups of chicken broth, 2 cans of  cream of chicken soup, a bag of small carrots, 4 or 5 stalks of celery, a cup of green peas, lots of pepper, 2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts.   Turn it on high for a few hours, go back and shred the chicken breasts and add a bag of egg noodles.....YUM!  Nice thick chicken soup.  Then I fill the blender up and puree it.  Then the soup will go into individual serving bowls and be frozen for her.  The rest of  the soup we will eat.

Sam found my cup this morning and he just taught himself how to drink from it. He is so happy!  Always before he has used a sippy cup but he did fine with this.  When we've tried before with a big cup and  he's choked himself by taking in too much drink but not today.  So we've had a couple of wardrobe changes but he's been drinking from the cup all day. 

===================================================

I feel I would be remiss if I did not write about Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refuses to issue a marriage license to gay couples.  Since 1998, the state of Kentucky had on its' statute that marriage was between one man and one woman.  In 2004 the voters gave Kentucky Constitution Amendment 1 75% of the vote 

"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized."

Of course in June 2015, the Supreme Court - by a 5-4 vote, made gay marriage legal.

But in my opinion, no one should have the right to make another person violate their conscience .  I was careful about different jobs I took over the years because I did not want to have sell alcohol, cigarettes,  or be involved with anything I felt was questionable.  This woman feels she answers to God over the government and I agree.  I probably would not have had the backbone to do what she is doing, I probably would have just transferred jobs or something BUT I admire her. 

In all of recorded history, marriage has been acknowledged as between "one man and one woman" when it was anything else, it was not considered marriage. 

Of course people say polygamy was discussed in the bible.  Yes, the bible tells of kings and nations who practiced such things.  Even King David and his son King Solomon, but the bible ONLY records what happened.  It did not give its' stamp of approval to the "marriages".  In fact, the bible says that the multitude of wives and concubines is what led Solomon's heart away from God according to the bible. 

The bible says in Genesis 2 :18  "The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

Jesus upheld marriage in Matthew 19:4  4 He answered, t“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, u‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and vthe two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. wWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

If Jesus had wanted to say homosexuality and gay marriage was ok- he had the perfect opportunity.   Actually that verse seems to knockout transgender too.....

People want to bring up her past life.  She fully admits to having a messed up sin sick life BEFORE she became a Christian just a few years ago.  By all accounts since then she has strived to follow God.  She probably knows what sin can do to a life, since she was saved from a troubled past.   She realizes that her judge is God. 

I support her and her stance. 



Pork Roast and Selah's on the Porch

Last night's supper was soooooo good and totally easy!  We don't eat pork but maybe once a month, but sometimes you just got to have some!  As you can see this is my old, medium size crock pot.  I put the pork roast with ALL the fat cut off (by the butcher) in with an envelope of Zesty Italian dressing mix by Good Seasons.  Just add a 1/2 cup of water, even less if the pork is frozen and leave it alone for a few hours.....my my my my my it is good! It'll make your tongue slap your mouth!

 

we love potatoes cut up with some onions, sprinkle some Olive oil and garlic on them, add some pepper and coarse salt, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 350 for about an hour....YUM!  We like the little red potatoes the best but any type will work.



 

 

I LOVE Walmart's organic brand called "Wild Oats"   There are all kinds of products including a nice mac & cheese

Then for dessert, our favorite Gingerbread.  Its easy and somewhat healthy



 

 Usually our Gingerbread Man is prettier but Shad was at school and didn't decorate it for me. 

 

 

BTW we have a full salad at every meal-before someone gets too worried about carbs.  I was going to bake some Eggplant slices but my eggplant was no good :( 

 

 

I've been sharing how Selah is doing and it's been crazy good.  She has been doing very well with her teacher and she is consistently making independent movements.  Today she was lifting her head off the head rest of her chair and holding it for about 5 minutes while she looked around.   She was doing it in her room then we brought her out to the porch and she was so busy.  She kept putting her head down like in the second picture but would fight and resist when we'd try to move it back, SHE wanted it down and she wanted to move it back.  This is the first time she ever fought me when I tried to "help" her.  She'd done it to the nurses before, but never to me like she did today!  I LOVED it!  

 

 

 

 I love when she is stubborn!  She has never ever been consistent with things like she is now in just the last two months. 

 

 

I love my La La.  My heart still grieves for the abilities she lost but I am thankful for what she has and how cared for she is.  We have been able to provide her with a home where she has her own suite thanks to the help of Habitat for Humanity.  She doesn't lack for anything.  We just had a nurse come out to interview as a fill in and she was just shocked by Selah's room and equipment.  She kept saying it was like she had her own hospital room.  Selah has a wonderful team of nurses that all love her and are in tune with her needs.  Her doctors tell me time and time again how amazing her body/skin is -how she doesn't look like a "wheelchair bound child" because she is so well cared for by her nurses.  They work together to figure out any little change in her and try to find a quick solution.  I'm so thankful for all that Selah has to meet her every need.  Of course, I pray daily that she didn't need such specialized care and equipment but God has blessed her/us with all that she needs.  She actually is getting a couple of surprises soon that I'll be able to share about when she gets them.....she will really have a rocking room then!   Please keep Selah in your prayers - we love to see progress and we'd really love to see more. 

 

 

 

 

So we did get some rain but not as much as feared.  Yesterday morning I called a few tree cutting places in town to ask for them to dump off their wood chips.  It sounded like such a great idea at the time, we could fill in the parking area....I was so grateful....(and still am) BUT I see what the weekend holds for us.....  It's highest peak is about 6 foot tall LOL!  Be careful what you ask for.....

 

 

Then later, I was on the porch, and hear a CRACK- this big tree limb crashes down and hits our fence and leaves a big nick in it!  Glad it wasn't my head!    Just last weekend, a huge branch fell and missed one of the nurse's cars by inches!!!  We saw that one fall too.  We've had so much rain.   And we have frogs like the plague of Egypt!  Just the other morning I rescued 37 or 41 (sometimes they jumped out of my hand) little tiny frogs off our front porch, yesterday another 11 were set outside in the plants.  I told them to go and work on the mosquitoes! 

 

Well hope you are all having a good week! 

Shrimp Salad & Potty Training

I thought I'd share some of our favorite easy recipes. This is one of the first ones.   Recipes that are long and involved are not for me.  One of the ladies I used to work with brought in this Shrimp Salad one day to an office luncheon and I was HOOKED!  I've modified it a little to make it a tiny bit more healthy, but it is easy, fast and good!


I start with a bag of peeled and cooked shrimp, so much quicker. Just defrost them in the fridge.  These can be used for anything that calls for shrimp if you don't want to take the to peel and cook them. 

 

I try to use pasta that is either, whole wheat or like the one below with a veggie serving in it. 

I usually make my own ranch dressing but didn't yesterday.

 

Then see the little white round thingy?  It is a veggie cutter.  I absolutely adore cucumbers, but they have to be sliced paper thin and this little gadget from Pampered Chef does the job. 

 

 

 

So all you do is boil and drain the pasta

(I usually pour it over the shrimp in the sink in a drainer)

Then add the cucumbers, and ranch dressing.  I top it off with pepper

It's so good! 

 

 

 

This is one of mine and Jon's favorites.  Sam is the only kid that really likes it and this is one meal that can't be pureed! YUCK! 

 

 

So

 

8 oz of cooked shrimp

box of pasta

jar of ranch dressing

cucumber

pepper

 

that's all you need!

=======================================

Look what we got in the mail!  Pull-ups!  We are trying the different brands out to see which ones fit Sam the best then we will order them!  Right now I'm leaning towards the Sleep ones.  He is too big for Pull ups or diapers from a regular store, but only a little bit too big, so it's hard to find the things that will fit him best. 

 

I am planning to start working on potty training him in October once we are back from our yearly NY doctor visit.  Potty training was the absolute worse part of parenting Steve and Shad.  I'm not looking forward to this at all but the one big difference is Sam is so schedule oriented, that I think he will actually catch on, maybe even sooner than the other boys.  We will see.  I'd love to see him out of diapers!!!!

 

So we are planning on taking Sam and Sarah to NY in September for their eye exams.  There is some concern about Sam's eye pressure, I get very worried about it if I let myself think too much.  Our local eye specialist is concerned about it but she is not used to dealing with a child with implants.  I'm dreading the long trip, Selah will stay here with her nurses, Steve will be in college.  Shad is probably coming with us. he said he doesn't want to stay with anyone. 

 

Obviously this trip makes me very anxious on several levels.  Being away from two of my kids makes me more anxious.  I'll dread it until it's done and we are back home!

 



Lauren

Life 2 Orphans is an organization that is near to my heart.  They help the orphans in Ukraine who are "left behind" the ones who have not yet found homes.  Both of my girls had Individual Caregivers.  For Selah it meant, she actually learned to walk a little when she was 7 years old.   Her caregiver had a real love for her.  Here is a picture with us and Selah's caregiver.  She was loved by all the children, I'd see kids come up to her and she'd always have a hug and a real smile for them. 

 

 

 

Life 2 Orphans is seeking to raise money so they can help finance more Individual Caregivers for more kids!

 

The children that were in the orphanage in Torez with my girls have been evacuated.  Many of them went to an orphanage in Druz, where we helped build a well for them to have clean water.  Life 2 Orphans is involved in so many different ways in which YOU can be a part of....

 

 

There's a little girl named Lauren/Lyuda that was in the same orphanage as my girls.  We spent alot of time with her.  I'm not sure of her full diagnosis but she couldn't walk, she seemed to have some leg deformity.   She wants a family so bad!  She attached herself to us every chance she got and it was hard for me emotionally but I gave her all I could give her for the time we were there. 

 

here she is participating in the Easter play in the white outfit, Selah is checking her out. 

 

 

 

Lauren needs a family but she also needs an individual care giver to help her. 

 

If you could commit just $40 a month, it would pay for a woman from the community to come in and work with Lauren.  It would help both Lauren and the woman.  L2O is about helping the communities when possible. 

 

http://www.life2orphans.org/cms/node/82

here's a link that will explain how you can give in various ways!

 

Thank you!!!!!

 

BTW my husband and I support a girl in the same orphanage that Lauren is in now.  Our girl, Angela, has learned to stand!  I love getting the reports on her and seeing the changes!!!

 

Our Schedule!

What a busy week.  The little kids started back with all their teachers.

This is our weekly schedule.....
Monday
10-12 Speech Therapy Sam and Sarah
12:30 - 1:30 Vision Therapy Selah
Tuesday
10-12 Speech Therapy Sam and Sarah
10-12 Physical Therapy Sarah and Selah
11:30- 3:30 Academics Sam and Sarah
Wednesday
10-11 Occupational Therapy Sarah
12-1 Physical Therapy Sarah
Thursday
10-12 Physical Therapy Selah and Sarah
10:30-3:30 Vision Therapy Sam and Sarah

You might be wondering how we work it out when various therapies/teachers are here at the same time....we just figure it out as we go.  They work around food schedules, medicines, eye drops and diaper changes AND the occasional melt down (usually Sarah needing mommy)

It's just like having nursing in our home, it's a blessing but it's also an inconvenience, in the sense I feel my house has to be clean, I have to be dressed and at least have my teeth brushed LOL.  Generally I get up around 7 am, just to get things done before the teachers come.  Most days I have to give Sam and Sarah baths in the mornings so to do baths and feed them both breakfast, it takes about an hour.  For the record, I've usually got them all ready for the teachers on time, myself, not as much LOL.   Our nurses get Selah ready for her teachers. 

Of course, Shad leaves with Jon around 7ish to go to school.  Jon is able to pick him up in the afternoons for me.  That's a huge help!

So that was my week until Friday.....  Friday Jon was off and kept the kids while I got to spend the day with one of my best friends.  She and I were roommates in college so we visited our college (where Steve is now) and ate lunch with Steve, then toured the college.  She hadn't been back in years.  We got to see the communications lab, tv station and radio station where Steve will be working.  We also got to see the new Science building where Steve works as a  janitor. 

We recreated a picture taken about 30 years ago when we actually had to live one year in a corner of the boys dorm (where Steve lives now)  It was my sophomore year and I was quite aghast that we were moving to Bauer Hall!  The administration gave us girls one wing of the dorm with fire doors in between us and the boys.  The doors had HUGE locks on them, probably broke a few laws with the locks but heck back in the 80's you could get by with that!  They wanted to make sure there was NO way the boys could get to the girls!

 

 

I'm the one in the white sweat shirt.  Weren't we young and didn't I have a ton of eye make up on?????

Fast forward 30 years......

 

 

BTW Jan had the umbrella both times, she is always prepared!

 

What a blessing to have a friendship that has lasted all these years:)  So glad we ended up as roommates and have remained friends.

 

 

 

Walking around campus we were commenting on the "dress code".  Let's just say "back in the day" there were NO shorts, tanks, tight pants, shirtless guys, or strapless shirts!!!!   One of the last things I got in trouble for at college was running to my car in a pair of shorts.  Now the kids can go to class in shorts!

 

The students seemed so young, maybe because I have a son there but they are just so young.  We couldn't help but comment on how much of life -both good and bad- is ahead for them and they really don't have a clue, bless their hearts!  We both commented that we were quite glad we did not know ALL that was ahead in our lives back when we were in college.  

Anyhow our young college student came home for the weekend.  I cooked his favorite meals, shrimp jambalaya and steak with garlic potatoes.  I even had his favorite chips and salsa and gum LOL  I gladly did his laundry and folded it all for him.  I did everything but kill the fatted calf :)   He had a chance to go out with some local friends on Saturday night and to church with us on Sunday before it was time for him to go back to school.  I have to admit, I've not really had a hard time with him being gone but if he wasn't close enough for an occasional weekend home, I'd probably have a problem!!   Plus I'm so glad for texting and cell phones.  When we were in college, there was one pay phone per hall....it was very hard to get through on it.  I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that!!

So it was a busy week for us, as usual and I'm sure this week will be also.

We're a bit concerned about the aftereffects of the hurricane as we are supposed to get several inches of rain tomorrow.  Our road is almost underwater in one spot now.  We still have standing water in our yard in spots.  If we have a ton of rain, we may have some more problems.   Then I guess there is another one out in the Atlantic.  Just a regular August in Florida.  I love rain, but for the first time, I'm happy when it stops!  We actually went about 36 hours without rain this week, I think THAT was a record. 

Well I hope you have a great week ahead!  I'm hearing thunder right now.....we will probably have an interesting week!

Thinking about Heaven

Back when Selah was in the hospital, I "discovered" YouTube.  I had hours and hours of sitting by her bed so I found time I'd never had before to watch videos and listen to music.  I found a church, Van Buren Assembly of God in Arkansas that put out a lot of videos of their choir singing.  They sang the "old time gospel" songs that really ministered to me during that time.  They also had some sermons of their pastor preaching.  The church was "old fashioned Pentecostal" but at the same time very theological sound (sometimes you just don't get both LOL) 

This morning I saw a friend had posted one of  Pastor Bobby Johnson's sermon.  It was on Repentance, not something you hear many sermons about anymore.  My friend stated that Pastor Johnson had passed away.  I listened to his sermon and it was outstanding and I'm quite the sermon critic....    At the beginning and near the end, the Pastor said "If this was to happen to be the last Sermon I ever preach, this would be the sermon I would want to preach!"   As I was watching it, I realized that it was a current sermon as he spoke of things going on in the world right now, so I looked and saw that Pastor Johnson preached this YESTERDAY!   It was his last sermon and it is worth the listen.....just think, now he is in the presence of God, such an amazing thought after such a sermon. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3qam3wze1s    this is the link.  You can also find many of the choir songs on vbfatv.

Just really made me think.....

At one point today I was alone with Selah for a little while.  She was asleep.  Sarah was fussy so I brought her in with me and sat rocking her by Selah's bedside.  It was a sweet quiet time, not one I have too often.  I turned on this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MUBhGENW-s  (one of that church's songs)  Its an old song about heaven, we used to sing when I was a child.  Tears just started flowing as I thought of my daughters who both will be whole then.   Neither of them will be in wheelchairs, they will walk, talk and see.....   It's going to be a grand day for me in so many ways.

I know most people think about heaven, but I'm not sure how many people anticipate it like I do.   Suffering in this life, will make a person look forward to that day where every tear will be wiped away.   When I think of heaven now, one thing I think about is seeing my children healed and meeting my twins.....I have a lot to look forward to. 

BTW, this service is just what I grew up going to. 

I like all kinds of music but what speaks to my heart the most is the older hymns.  Recently I heard a minister say that whatever songs where being song when a person became a Christian was usually the music that spoke the most to their hearts.  It's true, I became aware of God as a child and these are the songs, I knew and sang and even to this day, they speak to me. 

So I'm thinking of heaven tonight....

There is a lot of shaking going on in this world right now in so many different areas, I think all of us should be thinking of repentance and of heaven.

Long post, from college/school update and pictures to the Duggars (again)

Update on Mama.....I was absolutely determined not to call or text Steve after we left him.  I did not want to be THAT mother.  But I was quite happy to hear from him daily about all that was going on, he called and texted me and is having a great time!  We are so happy for him.  It feels good!   So far he has gotten a job there on campus cleaning the science building.  He has made friends and decided to add another class, RAW TV.  He will be working at the tv station too.  His major is Communications/Broadcasting and he's enjoyed every single thing about that aspect of school.  Yesterday I picked him up as he had an early morning dentist appointment today.  It was great to see him, although it was a bit rushed.  I did have to take him back this afternoon before his class and it was much easier than Saturday.  When he was walking off, though I  had this deja vu ..... I can remember walking him to the preschool door and him walking off without ever looking back.  Funny thing, he has the same walk he did as a little boy, so cute.....

 

a friend sent me this.......



 

That's the building he'll work at, brand new, just dedicated today.  



 

BTW I did not know HOW I was going to get up and get all the kids ready for church on Sunday without Steve's help.  (Jon is at the prison to do an early morning service)  Well I got up at 6 am and managed to get us to church 30 minutes early and I rushed around spot cleaning since I hadn't had a chance to clean. I was very proud!  Sunday mornings are not easy with all the little ones.  We also take Selah to church so there is some extra stuff even with having a nurse to do most of it, mostly coordination.  But we did it!

 

 

 

 

 

Monday was Shad's first day of 6th grade.   He has his same teacher that he's had for the past two years and she is absolutely awesome!  I was so happy when I learned she was moving up with them.  She has helped him to reach such high achievements.   So as far as school work goes, he is firmly in 7th grade work :)  We are expecting a great year!

 

 

The little ones don't start back to home bound school until next week but we were working on Sam feeding himself some this week.  He was good to hold the fork, but he fed himself with his other hand LOL

 

 

 

 

Sarah LOVES her toy.  She sits on it and goes all over the living room.  It makes her much braver. 

 

 

 

 the kittens love her wheelchair

 

 

 

Sam has a light up bath toy.  It turns 6 different gorgeous colors.  He laid in the tub tonight till he was almost asleep watching the toy turn the room all kinds of colors.  It's like a disco.  There bathroom is so large, it is easy for me to sit on the floor in there and let him play to his heart's content. 

 

yes he has a funny chest, and yes we've had it examined and no he doesn't need surgery.   It's called something, I can't remember right now but we've had it checked a couple of times over the years because it does become a problem for some kiddos but not for him thankfully!

 

 

Well you know I have to talk about the Duggar situation once again.....

This is what I wrote on FB

 

Well.... I defended Josh Duggar when his juvenile crimes/sins were published. I believe people can repent and change. I know I've had things in my life that I had to repent of & turn away from. I thought as a teen he had done something so stupid but was open with his family & truly repented. Obviously I was wrong.

Personally I've never cared for the Duggars, I don't like patriarchy systems like the Duggars adhered to nor did I like the way the mom related to her kids- as if... she really didn't know them & was ready to pop out some more for the other kids to raise.

I was uncomfortable with their dating system & the fact none of the older kids were encouraged to have their own life & plans.
 
I don't necessarily blame the parents for Josh's sins- we all stand alone in front of God but I doubt seriously that sexuality was discussed in a normal way in that family
 

It's a mess. I'm very sorry for his wife Anna & their children. I pray that God will give her the strength & courage to go on with her life.
 
A friend of mine who had been raised somewhat in a "Duggar style" and I were talking before any of this had happened. She shared with me that often the 2nd generation of these type families seem to run as far from God as they could go once they got a chance. That's so sad. I saw the same thing growing up in a strict Pentecostal home. So the thing I've learned is that my kids have to find God on their own. I can't make them be "little Christians" nor have I ever wanted to do that. While we've home schooled some when we had to, we have always sent them to Christian school but we've also tried never to be legalistic (nor is our school at all).

We are all sinners in need of a Savior. There is probably not one person reading this who has not sinned sexually so before you grab a stone just remember that. On the other hand IF you are a Christian God gives us a standard to live by- live by it or stop calling yourself a Christian.


I don't see this new scandal or any scandal really hurting "the cause of Christ".   I love that the bible is so very open about people's sins, even "pillars of the faith" who sinned like David or Abraham.   We are clearly all sinners in need of a Savior.  But we have a cure for our sin and that is Jesus.

I'm very sorry for people caught up in sin.  I've been caught up in sin before and it is a miserable place to be.  That old saying is so true "SIN will take you further than you ever wanted to go, keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay and cost you more than you ever wanted to pay"   Not just sexual sin, although that seems to be something a lot of folks struggle with.  But any sin...

I pray that Josh gets his life straight and gets to really know God, not just rules.  I hope that his marriage will survive and grow stronger.   And I hope this is a wake up call to people to be real about their walk with God and not just have a list of rules to follow.

One thing that really warmed my heart is a conversation I had with Steve a few weeks ago.  We were talking about Christianity and things that have happened with various folks over the years.  He thanked me again for how we raised him.  Although we certainly had some perimeters like going to Christian school, we didn't demand from him a "Christian life".  Of course we wanted him to have a relationship with God but on HIS own.  We laid it all out for him but didn't force him to respond in a certain way.  Of course we had ground rules of what he could watch or listen to at different ages or where he could go- I think even most atheists would not allow a 7 year old to watch a R rated movie!  But as he got older, we allowed him to make a lot of his own choices.  Sure there have been a couple of things we've talked to him about over the years but we've allowed a lot of choices too.  We've always keep open conversations with him about things and are doing the same for Shad.   Steve has a faith that has weathered storms and disappointments in life.  He may not be on the front row jumping up and down, or running the aisles shouting, but I have no worry about where his heart is.  He has strong convictions about some things and he has stood true.  I'm not saying we were the best parents in the world, I'm quite certain others do a much better job than we do.  I'm pretty sure he has learned some things from me that he should not have  (LOL and I'm not telling what!) and he does have a mile wide streak of sarcasm.... wonder where that came from?  Of course most pastor's kids have seen a lot.....   And that's another thing our children have always and will always come FIRST before anyone else and before the ministry.  After seeing plenty of PK (pastor kids") disasters we swore that we would never ever let that happen.  And we would never ever make our kids feel like they had to follow us into ministry.  I figure ministry is hard enough....no one will make it unless God calls them to it!  Frankly, I have no desire at all for my children to go into full time ministry.  Not one tiny shred of desire.  I've never fantasized about one of the boys becoming some well known preacher.....not one bit!     I've never ever thought about it for any of them.  If God calls them we'd support them 100% but it has to be God. 

The only ambition I have for my kids are that they serve God and that they are happy.  If one of the boys was a Catholic monk living on an island and was happy, I'd be fine with it.  If one of them is a multimillionaire like Trump, as long as he was serving God, I'd be happy.  If one of them was a janitor and didn't even own a car, if he were a Christian and happy, I would be too.  "Success" is not important to me at all.   I just want to know that they will make heaven their home and we'll be together for all eternity.  I so do not care about how something looks to someone else.  I'm happy to celebrate my kids' accomplishments but we don't push our kids in any way.  Shad is amazing academically and I will admit to a little bit of pushing him just because he thrives on it.  But it's not who he is.  If he was two grades behind, as long as he was trying his best, I'm good with that.  I've never felt like I've had to "keep up with the Jones'" in any way LOL. 

With my three little ones....we say they have "the golden ticket" as they are like young babies/children and have not reached, nor will they reach "accountability" 

Well that is my thought on all of this......Good night :)