A Few More Things

Joel is officially employed by Manhattan Area Technical College (MATC)!  He is now the Vice President of Student Services.  After working for Barton County Community College for 11 years, it was really a hard choice for him to make.  We decided that it would be worth the risk to work closer to home and hopefully have some better hours.  Barton threw him an extremely nice going away party his last day of work for them.  It was great to see everyone and get so many well wishes.  Thanks so much!  There are many things and people he is going to miss, but we are greatly appreciative of the new opportunity with MATC!

Last week during our very rainy Spring Break the boys and I took a road trip to Wichita to visit our friends Tanya and Randy.  The boys were so excited to go!  We spent the day with them and even got to go play at Chuckee Cheese.  The boys really had a blast!

I Have Been Terrible At Taking Pictures Lately

We have had a lot going on around here, but I have not taken one picture.  First, we got to meet our 12th cousin and newest nephew of the family.  Kellan Thomas Murphy is yet another cute nephew to join our family!  We went and visited him and the boys LOVED holding him.  It was so cute watching them all together!  Since I didn't take any pictures I stole these from my sister-in-law's blog.  So cute, right?

Then last weekend we had visitors!  It is always exciting when people make the trip down here.  The boys love having people at their house.  The Hogge's came down for the end of our Spring Break and it was a ton of fun.  But again, I did not take ONE picture.  So disappointed.  The boys had a blast playing with Noah and Lydia.  It is always so great when our family gets to spend time with the boys one on one and in their own environment.  It is so much better then in the chaois it usually is during our trips home.  Hope it was worth the long, boring drive to see us Hogge's! 

Lastly, is just a cute story about Tyson.  Tyson and I have been going to church again.  It has been a lot of fun watching him enjoy church so much.  I mean he LOVES going!  Every time we walk out he says, "That was fun!  Thanks, Mom!"  Seriously, how could I not take him?  During mass he pays so much attention.  He sits, kneels, stands, sings, reads along, and can't wait to put the money in the basket as it goes around.  He doesn't know any of the words, but as he sings he throws in a "God!" every once in awhile.  It is so adorable.  He always walks up to communion with me and is begging to get a piece of the bread.  I have talked to the church and it sounds like we can maybe make it happen for him sooner then later!  I know he might not ever really understand all of it, but it seems to be really important to him so I am going to try my best to make it happen for him.  The church has been amazingly open to the idea and has ordered material designed special for kids with special needs.  I am so hopeful for him to be able to join me during this important part of mass.  He is pretty excited!  I will keep you all updated through our journey!

The Hardest Part of My Day

**Warning** This is a very long and wordy blog post!

As you all know Charlie is a pretty big handful to put it mildly.  We have had our struggles with his behavior for as long as I can remember.  For the most part if we are home with only the four of us he is pretty "good".  When we try to do anything in public or away from our house we have a terrible time.  He is very strong willed and tends to be a little more on the aggressive side.  In other words if he is frustrated in any way he hits me or pushes other kids down.  It has been a real struggle for us as parents.  We have been contemplating starting some ADHD medicine with him for a while now and we finally bit the bullet about a week and a half ago.  My oh my, has it made a world of difference!  I know how a lot of people feel about medicating kids, but let me tell you when you see what a difference it can make in kids that really need it you might change your mind.  He is so much calmer and is using his words so much more.  It is absolutely like he is a different kid.  He can control himself and his body like we have never seen. 

My best example of how it is so different is to look at one little 15 minute part of my day.  The part where we go to get Tyson from the gym after school.  The same thing happens every day.  Charlie and I walk in and he heads directly for a ball he should not have.  I take it away from him and he throws a fit.  He slaps me, screams, slaps me again, stiff arms me, anything he can do to get away and get that ball.  I stand there while he beats me up and everyone watches until Tyson gets out and then we are on our way.  It really is beyond terrible and it happens EVERY day.  Joel and I have had so many talks about what we can do to change how it goes and nothing we have done has made a bit of a difference...until this week.  We walk into the gym, he stands beside me, waits patiently for Tyson (not even holding my hand), walks over to Tyson when his teacher brings him out, and we all walk out calmly!!!!!!  I was even able to carry on an adult conversation while we waited!!!  We got in the car, buckled everyone in, and I just sat there with tears in my eyes not believing that that had just happened.  It really is the small things in our lives that mean the most right?  So what used to be the hardest part of my day now is becoming almost enjoyable.

I could go on and on with examples but this has been seriously life changing to our entire family.  I love the little man so much and I know this is the best thing for him.