My Cross Stitching Scientist

I spent yesterday afternoon in Idaho Falls with my friend Cindy. She lives in Emmett but happened to be in IF because her husband is a HVAC guy and he was doing a job up there. I hadn't seen Cindy and her family in about 6 months so I jumped at the chance to spend sometime with them. Anyway, she and her husband, Mike, have 3 children; Taylor, Luke, and Jared, all three approaching teen years, so much older than Jadon. Luke and Jadon really get along well despite their age difference and so it was that when we were driving to Subway to get some lunch, Luke rode with Jadon and I. Luke and Jadon had a cute and interesting conversation. Luke- Jadon what do you want to be when you grow up? Jadon- A Scientist. Luke- What are you going to study? Jadon- Dinosaurs, plants, and animals. Luke- I hope you don't study Evolution. Jadon- Oh, I wouldn't study evolution man, I know what God says is true. Luke- Good, Evolution is Satan's lies. Jadon- You said it Buddy!

Also, while were up in IF Jadon and I had to stop by the craft store. I have been cross stitching lately as I am working on a project for the Mother/Daughter Banquet Auction. Jadon has sat and watch me cross stitch for a long time. He just sits there and watches and says, wow that looks so fun. Can I do it? So, we went to Porter's yesterday to look for a simple, beginning project for him. We found one, it is a sailboat. It looks very easy with a big stitching surface (plastic canvas). He was so happy and can't wait to get started. When he told Luke about it yesterday, he said, I know it's a girl thing but that's okay. I said, your Uncle Rodney is a beautiful cross stitcher and no one would dare call him a girl, he's tough as nails. It's coll for boys to do stuff like that J. Luke agreed which I am sure set Jadon's mind at ease. So, no doubt, today, I will teach my little son to cross stitch. I am excited!

Reading and Telling statues a Thing or Two

Jadon read yesterday on his own, because he wanted to. So far his reading has been a product of me sitting there with him in school, forcing him to read the words of his McGuffey reader. He loves reading, as long as someone else is doing it, i.e. reading to him. Yesterday was different. I was in the bath and I heard Jadon talking, not unusual, he talks a lot to himself when he plays. Then, I noticed that it sounded kind of strange, like he wasn't sure he should be saying what he was saying. Then, I actually heard what he was saying and he was talking about dinosaur facts. I realized then, he was reading. He was sitting at the table reading one of his books because he wanted to. I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. I know that it sounds strange but it was at that moment I knew his dyslexia and slowness in learning to read was nearing an end. Sure, he will still struggle with dyslexia but he obviously felt comfortable enough now to want to read on his own. I was and am so proud of him. Hearing that yesterday was music to my ears.

As you all know, Jadon says whatever is going on in his mind. I love it about him because I rarely have to try to figure out why he cut something to shreds, ripped something up, wrote all over something, or is just plain petulant. He tells me, usually. He also will say some pretty funny stuff because he just says what's on his mind and he just doesn't see the world the way you think he would. The other day we were at a Chinese restaurant (side note: Chinese is one of Brian's favorite foods + I am hopeless at making it = once a month or so you find us at Mandarin House or Bamboo Garden) So, we were at Mandarin House, we had enjoyed a nice meal and were leaving the restaurant. They, of course, have a statue of Buddah by the front door. The statue catches Jadon's eye and he walks over to it, pats it's enormous belly and says, "Hey Buddy, looks like you need to take a break from the sugar" Inside Brian and I are cracking up. Jadon pats the belly one more time and walks out the door. Oblivious to how hilarious that just was.

YAY!

Update on my last post. Jadon passed his spelling test yesterday. It was so completely awesome to watch. I have never seen such a huge smile on a kid's face before. This is the part of teaching that just makes your heart soar!

Pancake Adventures, Sore Noses, and Life in General

It has been quite a while since I made my mark on this blog, so, I know it is time to get caught up a bit on the chronicle of my life. Since our recovery from illness, we have been back into the swing of life full force. Busy, busy, busy as usual, but enjoying being back our regular schedule. Here are some highlights of the things which have made life...well...life.

I have been crocheting, as usual, and am so pleased with how busy I have kept myself. I have several projects done and just as many sitting around in my head waiting to be done, so I will stay busy. I am surprised at how much this productiveness has helped with the depression I have been battling. My sister told me about a funny cartoon she saw along those lines. The gist of it was that a man's grandson had crocheted him a toupee. When he saw his friend while wearing it, he expected some teasing and a hard time. Instead, his friend asked if he thought his grandson would crochet him a goatee. I haven't reached the point of crocheting hair pieces yet but I would like to make everyone in the world a afghan. I have a good start.

I had a bit of a mishap the other night. I wore my CPAP mask to tight, on accident, and apparently cut off a good portion of the circulation to the end of my nose all night. I woke up thinking somehow I must have received a punch in the nose while sleeping. I took off my mask and it felt a bit better. When I woke up again an hour later I looked in the mirror and was surprised to see a purple-ish red nose staring back at me. It was and is still so sore...and red. Ah, the wonderful adventures I have with Beastly, so fun and so painful!

Jadon decided the other morning that he had watched me enough, he was ready to make pancakes on his own. I was so happy because I remember being about 8 when I decided to start cooking and baking for my family. I helped him with the batter and getting the pan at just the right temperature. After that he pretty much flew solo, I supervised and helped with getting the pancakes in the oven to stay warm but he did fabulously. He was so cute and so grown up looking. Brian, also, was super impressed and had the presence of mind to take pictures (which I will attempt to post here) It was and has been so cool to watch Jadon inherit my passion for cooking and baking wonderful things. I am happy to have something to share with him, something to which we will have a connection as he continues to grow up. The pancakes were delicious and the whole thing was very much an answer to prayer. He had been a bit of a stinker the day before and surly. I've been a mom long enough to recognize it as more than just bad behavior but something going on inside of him. I tried to talk to him about it and he really couldn't tell me what was wrong just that he felt sad. I sat there and prayed to the Lord asking for some insight. All of a sudden I got the answer, praise God! I asked him if he was feeling discouraged. He had scored badly on his spelling test. He started crying, sobbing really, and ran into my arms. He said sometimes he gets so mad at his dyslexia and has been praying God will heal him of it. It was an awesome opportunity to remind him of a lesson that God taught me but has had to re-teach me as of late. That is that God allows hard things in our life, bad health, tragedy, sickness, disease, loss, whatever it may be to not only push us to grow but so that He can use us to minister to others who will go through the same thing. I said, your dyslexia will make you stronger and you will come through understanding something that mommy and daddy don't. God will be able to use you to help someone else. It was comfort to him. But the next morning when he tackled and conquered making pancakes for our family that was it for him. His attitude was tremendous during school, so much better, even though again, not so good on the spelling test. He'll get there though. I never want him to use his dyslexia as an excuse to fail but I do want to be compassionate concerning how difficult it must be.

The woes of having an only child can be overwhelming at times. There is also tremendous blessing in it too, don't get me wrong. I am so happy God did what was best for us and didn't give in and give me my way but it can be a bit unsettling at times. For instance, last night, Jadon was really quiet and Brian and I couldn't see him. My mom radar went off full force and I called, "Jadon where are you?" He said, "Shhh! I am playing hide and seek with Buddy" (our dog). Buddy, at the time, was laying down by our feet in the kitchen, totally oblivious that he should be seeking anything, let alone Jadon. I thought to myself, Wow! that must be a fun game! Brian and I chuckled over that. Jadon also informed us, this morning, for the million time that he really wants to get his parrot, which he will name Pretzel, and teach it to talk so that he will have someone to talk to while he plays. I can't help but wonder if my sweet Jadon will grow to be the next Dr. Dolittle.