A really big deal

I have to give a huge shout out to Jay this week.  As he wrapped up his week he got 2 A's and 1 B on tests this week.  Good grades while managing basketball practice and small group.  The picture is hard to see but he got an A on his science test, an A on his social studies test and a B on his math test.  I looked at his math test and it was like trying to figure out a foreign language.  I couldn't have passed a test like that in 7th grade, let alone now as a 40 year old adult.  I'm just saying.  Mike, Jay and I (especially Mike and Jay) put a lot of hard work in during elementary school.  There were a lot of tears, a lot of frustration and a lot of confidence issues.  Jay will always have dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADD but with growth an maturity, he has learned what techniques work best for him to learn and he's finally figured out he's one smart boy! 

January wrap up

 How can January be almost over?  It's been a good month.  Nick always seems to battle the winter blahs during January and February.  Don't we all?  It's nothing abnormal or even concerning.  He's just a little more argumentative and everything and everyone seem to get on his nerves.  Let's just say his complaining reaches a whole new level.  Ha!  Leslie gave my mom some great advice and suggested the happy light for Nick.  The happy light is on in the picture above and Nick is working on his circuit that my mom got him for Christmas.  He loves his happy light and he loves working on his circuit.  We turn the happy light on in the morning for breakfast and in the afternoons for homework.  Actually all of us are enjoying the happy light.  Even Mike!  Ha. 

 And this boy is actually relaxing.  Jay has had a grueling schedule lately.  He wrapped up his season of basketball last Saturday but has been practicing with the 8th graders this week.  However, there was no practice today.  It's been a busy week for him.  He's been battling a cold, he's attended practice, he had a math test on Monday and scored a B, he had a science test today and last night he had small group.  Today he came home from school and collapsed on the couch with his dog. 

Unfortunately, Cole wasn't down with the attention Copper was getting and proceeded to jump right up on Jay's lap.  He is totally clueless that he's not a lap dog.   

Just a random pic

We were at Jay's last (and very painful, I might add) basketball games last Saturday when I looked down the bleachers and caught a glimpse of Nick and his buddy.  These boys played football together and loved it.  For all I know they could have been discussing strategy for football in the fall.  Ha. 

Fire tornados

This morning I was driving the boys to school.  I dropped Jay at the middle school and Nick and I were en route to the elementary school.  The sweet, innocent stories that came from Nick's mind which then came right out of his mouth are numbered now as he's not a little kid anymore, he's almost 9.  But this morning I got a small reminder that he's still little and I got to enjoy one of "those stories." 
Nick: "Mom, what do you think is worse, a fire tornado or a regular tornado?"
Me: "Nick, I don't know what a fire tornado is.  I've never heard of it but I guess if you're asking me, I would assume a fire tornado is worse than a regular tornado."
Nick: "What do you mean you don't know what a fire tornado is?  They talk about it in the Bible."
Me: "Nick, I think you are referring to Moses and the burning bush!!"
Nick: "Oh yeah, that's it, the burning bush.  I was confused."

Nick and I enjoyed a huge belly laugh together on our drive.  If only every Monday morning could start with that much laughter and innocence. 

Pottery

 My blog has been such a buzz with Jay's birthday that I am behind in blogging other things that have been happening.  For Lauren's 7th bday in December I got her a gift certificate to paint pottery, knowing we wouldn't have time to do it in December but that it would be a great thing to do in January.  Kim and I took Nick and Lauren.  Lauren and Nick painted monkey's and I painted a "Cole" dog for Nick. 

Jay's par-tee

 My boys get a "kid" birthday party on their even numbered birthdays but I thought 13 was kind of special so I told Jay he could have a party this year but I also made it clear that this is basically his last kid birthday party.  I have to say that boys are relatively low maintenance.  Jay wanted to have his friends over to play air soft.  I don't know what it is about air soft but boys LOVE it.  Jay had 8 boys over.  With Jay and Nick, it was a group of 10.  You never know how the weather will be in January.  I told Jay we had to wait for a day when it wasn't crazy cold and no snow.  That kind of day just happened to fall over his birthday weekend and there were no basketball games or baseball practice (for the other boys in the group who play baseball). 

  

Nick takes air soft seriously & once again I go back to what I always say, the boys may be different personality wise but they love the same things.  Nick hung with the 13 year old boys all day and I had no issues.  Nick played with the older boys like he was part of their group and to Jay's credit, he never complained about having his little brother play with them.  I did joke with Mike that after Jay's party we only have 3 more "kid" parties left and they are all for Nick.

Happy 13th Birthday, Jay

 I am officially the mother of a teenager and I have the gray hairs to prove it!  After my less than creative blogs over the past few days I wanted to put some thought into what I would write about on Jay's 13th bday when Jenny Ausili gave me the perfect opportunity.  The beauty of old friends who really get you and your kids is such a blessing.  Jenny sent me an article with Jay in mind.  The article was written by a mother whose son was turning 11.  If you're interested in reading the article, the blog is: We are that family, You know the ones."  So I did take some tid bits from her article, mostly because I could totally relate to what she was writing and I thought her thoughts were perfect for a 13 year old boy (even though she was writing for her 11 year old)

I told the boys this morning that when I gave birth 13 years old I could not have imagined how much joy they would bring into my life.  I think often that God has entrusted Mike and I to raise them and He sure must have a lot of confidence in us - ha!  A week ago we had a family dinner for Jay and we all went around the table talking about what we love about Jay.  A few things mentioned were his love of the outdoors, his sense of adventure, his heart for Jesus and his nana loves her donut buddy.    I am proud of Jay and the young man he's turning into.  He's starting to self reflect and be aware of how others feel.  He's starting to understand life isn't easy but he totally gets the love of family and he's at his best when he's surrounded by his dad, brother and yes, even me, although he'd appreciate it if I'd ask him less questions.  So in reading the article written by the author of the blog, she had the following thoughts/advice for her son which I tweaked for Jay. 
*You don't have to give in.  You know all about the pressure and you handle it so well.  Just look at how far you've come in school.  Possess the strength and character to walk away, the Christ living in you will help you stand. 
*You get second chances.  You don't always have to get it right every time.  It's what your dad always tells you, try it now and maybe you'll fail and that's okay, at least you know you tried it. 
*You don't have to be tough.  Your dad is one the "toughest" men I know and we all know how tender hearted he can be when he needs to be.  Remember, it's good to open the door for people and tuck your kids into bed at night.
*You don't need a girl yet (which you're well aware of at this age).  Become friends with Godly girls.  The girls will come, trust me. 
*You make me proud.  Every time I hear how well you're doing in school, every time I see you balance school and sports and when you offer to help Nick with his dribbling.
*You are a success if you love God and others.  Enough said about that because to me, this is the most profound advice!
*You have great men in your life.  Boy, do you ever, Jay!  What a blessing. 
*You can always come home.  I know we joke about how we don't want you living in our basement when you're 30 but things happen in life and you will always have a home (with rules) with your dad and I.
*You are loved deeply by your parents, your brother, your nana, your aunt, your grandparents and the Ausili's.  Most of all you are loved by God and are a blessing to Him and us.  Despite what joys or sorrow come your way, you will be just fine, you're surrounded by love.  Make sure you also give your love away, it's the best way to receive it. 

Love you, Jay and Happy 13th Birthday!
 

Story # 5

 So here it is, Jay's 13th birthday and I still have four stories left but as my mother always says, "Good enough."  I may have bitten off more than I could chew with 13 stories.  Ha.  Plus my creative juices have not been flowing lately so these blog posts have not been as fun and creative as I intended them to be.  So this will be the last of the "stories."  All of the pictures in this blog were taken when Jay was 18 mos - 2 years old.  However, he was four in the last picture. 

 Even though Jay is turning 13 today I still see his cute toddler face smile, just with bigger teeth.  Ha. 

 As I reflect on his birthday today I am very proud of the young man he's turning into (more on that later).  While it is true that as I look at these pictures I remember the absolute exhaustion that encompassed my life at that time.  Jay was a demanding baby and toddler and he never sat still for a moment - probably my first indicator of ADD.  Ha.  But now that he's in middle school, I gotta say, he's fairly easy and trust me, easy is not a word I thought I'd ever describe in raising either of my children. 

 Love, love, love this picture.  Jay's daycare provider, Heather Jones, took this picture in her back yard. 

Jay's pre school picture.  This is the smile I wrote about that I still see but yes, the teeth are much, much bigger.  Keep smiling, Jay.  We love you, are proud of you and can't imagine our lives without you in it. 

Story # 6

 Jay is a daddy's boy and always has been.  And rather he chooses to admit it or not, he loves his brother and I'm not quite sure what he would do without his brother.  Nick may talk way more than what Jay wants to hear (ha) but they enjoy the same things.  They like sports, fishing, shooting, playing air soft, you name it, they enjoy it together. 

                                                        One of my favorite pictures. 

                                                         I love this picture too.

 Another example of the boys enjoying the same thing.  They caught these frogs together and then came home and ate them. 

 A really old picture.  This was taken when Jay was two.  Jay jokes this was taken when dad had hair!

 A favorite family photo of mine when we were a family of three.  Jay was three in this picture.  Time sure does fly.

 Another old picture.  Jay was two in this picture too.  It seems like a life time ago.

Story # 7

 Silly is not a word I would use to describe Jay.  So when he is silly it gets my attention and he usually gets a big belly laugh from me.  Jay also hates to draw attention to himself.  The only reason he agreed to wear the reindeer ears above was he was around family and it was Christmas. 

 Jay is three in this picture.  Every now and then I see this exact same, silly smile.  Love it. 

 Another silly pose.  I think he put this get up on one night and pranced around the living room.

And one of my favorite pictures because Jay is so living outside his box.  It was mis match day at school.  As I'm blogging this, Jay is standing behind me saying, "I look really stupid in that picture."  Personally, I think he looked pretty good and it sure made me laugh. 

Story # 8

Jay is three in this picture.  If I remember right he had a stash of chocolate in his pocket and decided to eat it on the way home from daycare.  Jay loves sweets.  He comes by this naturally.  My mom's family, the Schmidt's, love sweets and ice cream and Jay's Grandpa Siebert LOVES sweets.  However, there is a catch to Jay's love of sweets, he barfs.  Yep, he barfs if he eats too much junk/sweets.  He's done it since he was a baby.  If I fed him a bottle and if he would eat it too quickly, he would projectile vomit.  When he was a toddler and in early elementary school he would go out on the boat with his grandparents and eat too many Chee too's and always come home and vomit.  It was a vicious cycle.  Now at almost 13, it is not uncommon to find Jay sprawled out on a towel in front of the toilet after indulging in too many sweets.  I try to warn him but now I think he just has to learn the hard way.  He knows this about himself but he's a gluten for punishment.  I am constantly finding wrappers in his backpack, his room, you name it.  The ironic part is, the kid doesn't have an ounce of fat on his body.  I remember this summer when he went on his mission trip he was really nervous about throwing up.  Let's just say that when Jay travels, he takes pepto with him. 

Story # 9

 I couldn't write reflections about Jay without including Copper.  Copper is Jay's girl right now and has been for about three years now.  They sleep together every night.  Jay's only disappoint in her, he's never been able to teach her to fetch and return.  Ha.  But the two of them really are thick as thieves. 

                          Riding the four wheeler is one of Copper's favorite past times with Jay.

Okay, I posted this picture and I think it just might be Cole in this picture.  LOL!  Oh well.  Both dogs are our family dogs but Copper is more Jay's dog and Cole is more Nick's dog. 

Story # 10

 This blog is a reflection of sickness and sports.  My pics didn't quite go in the order I wanted them to go but Hey, I can roll with that.  Ha.  When Jay was a baby, he was sick, A LOT.  He had tubes in his ears before his first birthday.  He had his tonsils/adenoids out when he was 6.  He was tested for cystic fibrosis before he was 2.  He had pneumonia when he was 5.  As far as injuries go, he fractured his finger in third grade which then became infected.  He had surgery on his finger and was hospitalized for 2 nights, 3 days.  I remember when he was little everyone kept telling me that he would be the healthiest kid into elementary school.  I think I did a lot of eye rolling back at those people out of frustration.  Ha.  But it turns out, they were right.  Jay had perfect attendance in 5th grade and middle school (so far).  He is never sick - only when he eats too many sweets and barfs (that's another story/blog). 

 Sports has been vital to Jay (and us, ha).  He played football in 4th and 5th grade.  He wasn't crazy about it though.  He didn't like the contact. 

 Basketball is Jay's true love.  He started playing in 4th grade and is still playing.  He loves it and we all love watching him on the court.  I think the picture above was taken in 5th grade.

 And here we have another injury.  He was two in this picture and took a tumble on a driveway.  Jay was and is always on the move - always!

 Jay and his nebulizer got to be very close when he was little.  In the picture above he was 5 and had pneumonia. 

 And here he is out on the water with his grandparents.  His grandpa likes to tease him that when it  comes to adventure on the boat, he's a trooper but when it comes to water skiing, he's a pooper.  Ha.  Jay isn't crazy about skiing (just like his dad). 

 Jay ran cross country in 6th and 7th grade.  I wouldn't say he's in love with it but he realizes the benefits of it.  It remains to be seen if he runs in 8th grade. 

                                                    Jay ran track in 6th grade and enjoyed it.

And here is he in the present time, 7th grade ball.  I'm really proud of Jay.  As I write this, he's managed to run cross country and play basketball and get all A's and B's on his report card.  What an accomplishment! 

Story # 11

 This isn't so much a story as a memory or reflection.  Jay's friendship with Faith and Curtis which ties into his friendships in general.  Jay's choice of friends and who he chooses to surround himself with speaks to his character and it's one of the reasons I am proud of him.  Jay is fairly introverted but he's picked a lot of extroverted friends - go figure.  Jay and Curtis have been friends since birth.  They are 4 months apart, to the day. 

                                       In this picture I believe Faith is 6 and the boys are four.

 TN!  I couldn't write a blog about Jay without including TN.  Jay and Nick LOVE TN and they love going with Faith and Curtis.  It wouldn't be the same without them. 

This picture was taken the summer of 2014 so the kids were 14, 12 and Nick was 8.  Although I didn't include pictures of Jay's other friends, I did want to write that I truly enjoy all his friends.  He's made really good choices in that regards and I pray he continues to do so.