Matthew's trash robot FF-300

Matthew finally got to bring his trash robot home from school! I have been waiting so long for him to bring it home so I could get some pictures of it. They made these robots out of "trash" in art class way back before Christmas. The kids all had to bring in plastic bottles, old cd's , etc. to make them with. They only had two class periods to get them done in and Matthew was sick on the first day of it. He told me he had made his into a firefighter and it's name was FF-300. Before Christmas the teacher entered them into a contest with other schools where the top prize was a gift card from Radio Shack. Matthew's robot came in 5th. Then they went on display at an area restaurant and finally FF- 300 went to an area art show where 3 schools participated and he came home with the 3rd place ribbon. He spent the last month of the school year in the trophy case at school along with the other winners. Now FF-300 makes his home on the top shelf of the book case where we can admire Matthew's handy work!

The bean bag bounce

Last Sunday was one of those rare days when Shane was in the mood to play with Matthew. Scott and I got so tickled watching them play. They started out by taking turns falling on the bean bags each one trying to outdo the other. There was a time or two when Matthew would do something to make Shane mad - like move the bean bags before Shane could fall on them - but Shane never got mad enough to want to hit. (Shane not hauling off and hitting Matthew is a big improvement recently- thanks to Mrs. Metcalf!)He just made the famous fish face that we have all learned means to get the heck out of the way! Matthew started picking up the bean bags and running into Shane with them. Then they each got a bean bag and would take them and run into each other. I don't know how long they played like that! I think they finally had to quit because Shane was too tired to get back up off the floor. It was just one of those glimpses that we get once in a while of how things would be all the time if Shane didn't have autism. We'll take all these moments we can get! I am planning on these being the pictures for this weeks (week 17) 52 week challenge. Now I just need to get them printed and the layout made!

Just a quick card to share

Here is a quick card I got in and made today. Giselle over at Papermice had posted the instructions for this and another card and they were both so cute I just had to try them out. I got this one done today and the other one will have to wait til the weekend. I really like the way this turned out. The directions called for 8 - 2 inch circles, but I was too lazy to pull out the cricut, so I just used the biggest punch I could find. I think it was about an inch and a half. I used some really old Cosmo Cricket paper, Making Memories alphabet, and Fiskars apron lace border punch. The card went together really quick and I plan on using this flower idea again!

I got to meet...

Kathi and Sherry face to face on Friday, April 16! I had gotten acquainted with them online a couple of years ago on a scrapbooking message board. We decided we were all close enough we could meet up and do a little scrapbook shoppin' together in Springfield. Sherry is from Webb City and Kathi is from just across the state line in Kansas. I have got to say I have not laughed so much in one day in a long time! They are both so funny and easy to get along with. We went shopping at Scrap Nook first - the lady that was working that day was kind enough to take our picture for us, took a break for lunch at Cheddars (they were so sweet - they bought my lunch!) and then headed to Scrapbook Generation for more shopping. I ended the day by picking Abby up at MSU and we headed home. I'm looking forward to the next time we all have a chance to get together.

Week 9/52 week challenge

Oh my goodness, I just can't get my crap together when it comes to this blog. I do alright for a while, and then it gets totally neglected again. I finally got around to doing a layout for me today. I have been so busy trying to get Marilyn's albums of her grandson's birthdays done I haven't even looked at too many of my own pictures. I've been pretty good about taking my pictures during the week, it's just finding the time to make the layout about it. So, now I've skipped to week 9 (I still need to do week 6 and week 8 and I'll get there in time!) of my 52 week challenge. It's just a good thing I make up the rules as I go along! Week 9 is for the week of Feb. 26 - Mar 4. My crocus had finally started blooming and I was starting to see the robins make their way back and the weather was starting to get warm enough that the boys were going outside to play basketball and baseball and the neighborhood kids started coming over to join in on the fun. All sure signs that spring has arrived! I had originally planned on making this a 2 pager, but since I'm trying to keep my 52 week challenge layouts just single layouts I used 3x4 pictures instead of 4x6 and cut down the number I wanted to use. It's just a pretty plain and simple layout. I used white cardstock, ribbon and chipboard letters from Hobby Lobby, and a jewel flower from Kaiser Crafts. I embossed the green cardstock with the swiss dot embossing folder from Cuttlebug and then sanded the edges and the dots. It didn't turn out quite like what I wanted, but then they rarely do! Maybe I'll get caught up one of these days!

Some wonderful news & Week 12/52 week challenge

I got the best news last Thursday the 25th. I got a phone call about 1:20 in the afternoon. It was Mrs. Hawkins, the principal at the school. She told me she had Matthew in her office - which made my heart beat a little faster, wondering what in the world had happened. She went on to explain that they have started something new at school called the Star Student of the day and that Matthew had been picked for that day. She told me that Matthew's teacher had written a really nice note about Matthew and wanted to share it with me.

It said: Matthew Stroup tolerates all of his peers even those who other students can't get along with. He is very responsible and respectful... I know I can count on Matthew to do the right thing in academic and social situations. He leads instead of follows and takes himself out of situations when he doesn't feel they are right to be in. When other students are confused, Matthew is willing to help them and does it in a humble way. It is obvious that his parents are very involved with Matthew and taught him morals. Matthew is the type of kid you would be proud to have as a child - when I have children someday I like to think they will be like Matthew -HAHA- if I'm that lucky.

Now I've got to tell you - this brought tears to my eyes. I am always afraid that with everything we have going on with Shane that Matthew may feel like he gets overlooked. It is just so nice to see that other's recognize what an amazing boy he is. I am so proud of him!

A sweet surprise

I got the sweetest surprise on March 18. The kids were out of school for their one day of spring break and I got a phone call from Jenny. She told me that Katie had a present for me and wanted to bring it over. I thought that it was just so sweet of Katie to think of me. She brought over the cutest little chick that I have ever seen. Jenny said that they had gotten a Momma and baby chick and when they were in the checkout line Katie asked if she could get one for me. I think that Katie Beth is the best niece I could ever have!

Yard sale time at the Civic Center

This time of year is always busy because we're getting ready for the yard sale. Lebanon has a community wide yard sale at the Civic Center the third Saturday in March. We have been going to it for at least the last 5 years - maybe longer. This has become a yearly tradition for us. And every year I say that I don't know if I will do the next year because it is a pain getting everything around for it. But it's a great way to get rid of stuff we don't need anymore and to make a little money in the process. We try to move all our stuff in on Friday night so that leaves Saturday morning to set up and prepare. Scott goes by and picks up breakfast at McDonald's while Abby and I take the boys to spend the day with Grandpa. This year Matthew decided he wanted to stay at the yard sale and see what it was like.He was a great help - getting bags ready when people came by and bought things. He also enjoyed doing a little shopping of his own. He found some Sim's games for the computer that he and Abby didn't already have and couldn't wait to tell Abby about them. They ended up buying 6 of them for $1 a piece. They have definitely gotten their moneys worth! Abby also got a great deal on a mirror she had been wanting. It was at the booth directly across from us and she looked at it all day wanting it. Scott had asked the people the night before how much it was. We thought they said $15. The next morning when Abby and I looked at it the tag said $50! Abby said, "Well maybe if they knocked $40 off the price I would get it. Around noon the man came over and told her that they were dropping the price of the mirror to $10 if she was interested. She jumped at the chance and was very excited to get her mirror. We have a lot of people tell us they look for us first because they know we'll have the stuff they want/need and for a good price. It's a lot of fun seeing how many people come through that place. I'm glad it's over for this year and I'm going to try to be better about getting things around during the year so it's not so much work! We'll see how that works out.

It's a busy time of year!

So much has been going on - I cannot believe how fast time is flying! Next week is Easter. Easter! Boy, do I need to set aside at least one day a week and stay caught up on here! I have a lot of things to catch up on, so I will start from my last post and try to give a quick update. First of all, the boys made sure to wear their green for St. Patrick's day. Yes, Matthew's shirt does have green on it. I was really surprised when they both didn't pitch a fit when I wanted to take their pictures! And they both look so cute! Abby assured me that she remembered to wear her green, too. She was even a little surprised at how many other college kids wore green that day. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her, too.

Week 5/52 week challenge

Okay, so I got a little out of order, but at least I'm getting them done! This is my layout for week 5 of my 52 week challenge. I knew this was the picture I was going to use, but had trouble coming up with a title for it. I settled on You are so silly, well, because Shane is a silly boy! On this night he came in while I was washing dishes, scooped up some bubbles and managed to get them on his face and not in his eyes. I still haven't figured that one out! He does love bubbles of any kind! I used Basic Grey's Sugar Rush line (I absolutely love this line!) and old, old, old, Making Memories button, some ric rac and the border punch and foam letters are from EK Success. I used a sketch from Page Maps which is the sketch Kelly at Scrapfit had posted for the sketch challenge for this week. I like how this one turned out and I really wish I had some more of those papers!