Category: love

Understanding Autism

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Being a parent can be very difficult especially if you add autism to the mix. For me that is a challenge, one I am not too fond of. Today I find out if my third son is on the spectrum, which in a Way makes me nervous. If he is diagnosed that will make it three for three. I have five kids, three boys and two girls. None of my boys have escaped the burden of autism so far and the first screening we had with our last was not good at all.

It is so discouraging at times to watch my sons struggle everyday. My nine year old struggles the most and it just breaks my heart. Knowing that he gets bullied at school doesn’t help at all either. It is definitely a hard transition for my babies when it comes to interacting with their peers, strangers, or other social experiences. It’s sad to watch them get overwhelmed when I take them out into the store knowing many are probably viewing him as a bad kid and not one that needs comfort and understanding.

My goal here is to help bring awareness for Autism. So many don’t understand it!!! I hate when people say ‘they don’t look autistic’, well no duh, Autism is so much more involved. Every child, adult, person is different on the spectrum. First ask questions, do research but don’t judge. Until you know the struggle and heartache just pray and be more understanding. Also feel free to check out my website, The Family Way

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Can’t Believe it is Almost Fall

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Fall is literally around the corner. Yikes! It seems like just yesterday we were just abandoning winter for Spring and summer. Time is truly flying like it normally does. Kids are back in school, normalcy is starting to arrive once again. Too funny on my part though, I am absolutely not used to the quiet that is going on in my house. Usually I have five and now only two at home because the rest are back in school. It is funny, there are days where I even feel out of place because I am so used to the madness.

Looks like I am going to be getting back into my freelancing and novel writing again. During the summer it seems like my groove just gets thrown off. So looking forward to the holiday season too. This is literally my favorite time of the year. The decorations, emotions, and all together awesomeness of Fall is absolutely epic in my book!

Here are some pics to brighten your day!

Date Night with the Spouse

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The other night I posted a blog relating to spending time with your little ones by having  a movie night!  Well now I am going to touch base on making time for your spouse.  It is important to focus on your spouse even when you have kids.  Trust me I know it can be difficult especially if you aren’t used to multi-tasking and don’t have any time management skills.  What I do is normally send the kids to bed at their normal bedtime which is between 8-8:30.  Once they are in bed me and my husband talk about movie options, we make sure we have snacks available to enjoy as we watch the movie also.  Normally we pick a movie we both like but there are times we also take turns of who gets to pick the movie next.

This is a great way to bond with your spouse.  I call it our date night and it works, at least for us.  Sometimes we will even play board games, write together, even just sit down and talk and eat together.  It is important to make time with your spouse and the evenings are a great chance to do that.  For our schedule it definitely works but I understand that everyone is different and may have unusual work schedules.

It is healthy in a marriage to make sure you are connecting with your spouse.  I am sad to say I have witnessed so many divorces over the last eleven years that me and my husband have been married.  Most of them only lasting between two to four years.  It has been a mission that I have been trying to pursue since I have noticed the drastic incline of divorce rates since we got married.  Another factor I would encourage to help with growing a healthy marriage is communication.   Make sure you and your spouse are talking to each other, it helps build a much stronger bond between the two of you and you start to understand your partner much better than before.  Hope these little tid-bits help.grass-2601662__480

Taking a Time Out

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Today I got a lot of one on one with my kids.  It was nice considering I normally seem to be caught up with so much unnecessary stuff throughout the day.  To be honest I just get busy and forget how important it is to spend time with the kids.  Our children need attention, it is important to give them that.  It helps there imaginative play, their social skills, and overall mental health.  Kids thrive on having their parents attention.  Me and my daughter got to play with her barbies, it was quite fun to go back in time and pretend to be a kid again.  With my boys it was war, playing with army men.

As an adult I feel like all I do is stress and dwell on the negative but when my kids play with me or vice versa I actually feel much better.  I am able to actually be myself and enjoy some quality time with my kids.  Also I have really gotten to love the outside time with them also, especially with the water guns.  My boys are very sneaky and have gotten me good many times this summer.

I think taking a  time out and taking a break from adulthood is good.  It helps me take a breather and feel refreshed.  My kids are happy and truly enjoy the time as well.  Just seeing their face when I am there spending time with them brightens my day.  I encourage all parents to try it, take some time to just sit down and spend some quality time with their little ones.  You might actually find it to be an amazing experience an a chance to make unforgettable memories.

Attention…Attention…Please.

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You know as a parent privacy is hard to come by.  It is so true.  To be honest in my opinion I feel like when I make a phone call that is the time you will see my children show their true crazy nature.  It brings the maniac out of my kids!  Getting on the phone especially if it is an important phone call my kids go bananas.  It’s “Mommy I need this.”  “Mommy I want to talk.”  and so on.  Then I will have some of them even try to climb me as I am on the phone.  Yep my kids are definitely the attention speaking type.

Getting on another point I have noticed that the same behavior comes out when we have visitors.  They can’t just sit quietly or play calmly, nope, that would be too easy.  It’s like they have this initial embedded beacon that goes off when mommy is doing something or visiting with someone.  It is quite humorous in a way.

Parenthood is definitely funny, there are days that I feel like I am in a comedy show.  Kids do funny things especially when they have an audience.  There are times I wish that I could catch some of the stuff they do on camera, I would be famous.  Just kidding.  But it is true, kids are funny.  When I get overwhelmed I just have to think of the funny crazy moments and remember they are just being kids.  As an adult I feel like I have forgotten the true nature of being a kid.  When I sit down and spend time with my kiddos I get a taste of how I felt in my childhood and it helps me relate to them better.  So spend time with your kids.  Laugh together.  Make unforgettable memories.  Live life to the fullest.

Dedication to my Grandfather

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My brother Michael sent me a beautiful video that was put together by him of our Grandaddy. He passed away back in September of 2015, that is when I really cut back on my writing also.

This video shows just a fragment of the service he did for the Lord. Giving Bibles to churches and all over Bulgaria. Risking his life while working for the Lord so others could know about Jesus. We need to have that dedication, that motivation to drop everything and put Him first!

Thank you again Michael for the beautiful video!

This is Us

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Love at First Sight

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It’s hard to believe it has been eleven years already.  Me and my husband, Billy, got married June 2nd of 2007; Personally it feels like it has been less time than that but nope it has literally been eleven years.  Can’t believe during that time we have become parents of five amazing kids which have stolen our hearts and minds lol. During those years we have gone on many adventures, we have been through a lot personally and I feel like life has just been absolutely amazing.

God knew exactly what He was doing when he placed Billy into my life.  It’s a funny story how we met, one of my favorite ones to talk about.  It all started when I was sixteen, looking for a job to be exact.  I had an interview at Hollywood video across from the mall known as North Park there in Jackson, Mississippi.  When I went in for the interview they needed to reschedule due to the Manager being called away.  At that time I was bummed but what happened next was no coincidence.  Me and my family decided to go to the mall, it was kind of a tradition for me and my siblings to wander the mall on Saturdays.  Well I went into the bookstore called B. Dalton, a smaller version of Barnes and Noble basically.  They weren’t hiring but I decided to humor myself and apply, so I did.  After that I went home and didn’t think anything of it.  The next day I get a phone call asking me to come in Monday with all my credentials for an interview.  When I got that phone call I was stunned, I went in to check it out and was hired on the spot.  A week goes by, Billy was out of the store due to personal leave, he came back and that is when I met my husband for the first time.  It was so weird because I knew there was something about him, I fell for him almost immediately.   Love is such a funny thing and honestly this is only the beginning of how our relationship began.  For the next few weeks I will be blogging about how our relationship bloomed and how love is such a precious gift.

Life is like a Box of Chocolate

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It’s funny as an adult to think of the phrase “Life is like a box of chocolate’s you never know what you are going to get.”  That statement was made by Forrest Gump in the movie “Forrest Gump”.  As a child it went over my head and I never really connected with that statement, now that I am an adult I see how true it is.  Life is full of many twists and turns and you never really know where you are going to end up.  Today I was thnking about all the many different routes my life could have taken due to choices that were laid on my lap when I was younger.  Life is like a path with many different directions or a river with many different currents.  It’s interesting to think about all the many different choices and paths that could have been but weren’t because of the path you chose already.

Life is like a box of chocolates, we don’t know what will happen the next day, moment, or year from now.  There are so many different scenarios that can result from one choice that was made and you don’t know which one is going to when the lottery for that day.  To be honest I enjoy not knowing, living life with laughter and joy without knowing what is going to happen next makes life more exciting in my opinion.  Just like in the featured picture for this post, my youngest son is holding an Easter egg full of candy.  Until he opens it he doesn’t know what kind is in it.   Life is amazing and is like a roller coaster that gives you so much of thrill and excitement.  Live life to the fullest, you never know when your journey is going to end.  Live. Laugh. Make Memories.

Goodbye Winter Hello Summer

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The seasons have changed, the grass is greener, the sky is brighter, and the kids are out!  Yes, Summer has officially begun!!! Personally I can’t believe how much time has flown by this year.  It seems like it was only Yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas and now here it is almost Memorial Day.

Planning fun outside activities with the family, like picnics and park trips are great ways to connect with your family.  I have been trying to incorporate a lot of water play with the kids to keep them cool as they play outside in the heat.  Having chalk, bubbles, and crafts available for the kids help alleviate boredom and build on their creativity.  On another note though, boredom isn’t a bad hint to have.  When children are bored they are able to use their imagination which I feel is a great way to help your child build character and think outside the box.