A Life Inspired. . .

Great blog Tracy and I completely agree with every...

2012-03-07T15:42:27.446-07:00

Great blog Tracy and I completely agree with every word. She is wonderfully made the God wants her to be so He can use her to glorify Him. Thank you Tracy

I completely agree!! Thanks for writing this Tracy...

2012-03-07T10:09:15.399-07:00

I completely agree!! Thanks for writing this Tracy! I promise...to not use the r-word, and to correct those I love, especially my children if I hear them use it!!

Fabulous post, Tracy!! And if I haven't said ...

2012-03-07T09:08:05.864-07:00

Fabulous post, Tracy!! And if I haven't said it lately...Karis is gorgeous!

Hi Tara! The biggest factor for us was that when ...

2011-04-21T19:34:29.697-07:00

Hi Tara! The biggest factor for us was that when she turned three she aged out of early intervention and all her therapies stopped. At the age of three therapies become the responsibility of the school district. So, if we want therapies for her, we had to send her to school. Now we didn't have to send her to the actual preschool classes. We could just take her to her speech sessions at the school, but we thought since she was there anyway, that the experience would be good for her.

Happy Birthday, Karis! Looked like the party was f...

2011-04-20T18:01:06.503-07:00

Happy Birthday, Karis! Looked like the party was fun. Total tangent, but I was wondering how you decided to send her, or if not sending her to preschool was considered. (Eon turns 3 in January and I'm already a basket case.:)

She is so pretty!!

2011-03-07T04:58:31.447-07:00

She is so pretty!!

thank you for writing this i have a son with Down ...

2011-03-02T19:14:46.937-07:00

thank you for writing this i have a son with Down syndrome and i feel just the way you feel about the R word. we can not change the world but if we just change the way 1 person thinks about the R word and its meaning then we have accomplished a lot. THANK YOU!

Tracy I love our Kariscakes just as I love my Jess...

2011-03-02T12:23:39.114-07:00

Tracy I love our Kariscakes just as I love my Jesse the bear! The r word has always been a sore subject for me but I have had Jesse since I was 5 so yeah. I however can not stand the medical communitee to use it either! The people some of the most intelligent in our world and they can not use developmentally delayed. or special needs. But thats my high horse!

a friend posted this on face book and i completely...

2011-03-02T09:36:51.557-07:00

a friend posted this on face book and i completely understand your point of view. your daughter is absolutely precious! i wanted to reach through the computer screen and give her a big hug! a child's disabilities are so hard for parents to come to grips with, God bless you guys on your journey with Karis. i will definitely think of her sweet little face the next time i am tempted to use the "r word."

Tracy I love you for this! I love u for sharing e...

2011-03-02T08:08:39.708-07:00

Tracy I love you for this! I love u for sharing exactly how it makes u feel and why...there are too many people in our world who use the misfortune or differences of others to gain acceptance with humor or trying to fit in. Why do we continue to conform to hatefulness and rudeness when reality is the thoughtless words we say can and do hurt people! I am standing with you 100%! Thank you for making people aware and for speaking out when others won't! Change only comes when someone is bold enough to say that its needed! I have been and forever will be an advocate to stop the Rword from being used in my pressence! Love u

you have learn this way younger than I have .I hav...

2011-01-29T10:17:49.404-07:00

you have learn this way younger than I have .I have learned this lesson only a few years ago. maybe I have know this for years but didn't realized it or put it to words .But in the last few years I have realized that i enjoy my work sometime its like playing and sometime it just hard work.but I love creating flower arrangement , cake,cards .Sometime it is hard to keep a balance.stop and smell the roses.

I compleatly agree, and have always felt very stro...

2010-11-01T23:10:09.313-07:00

I compleatly agree, and have always felt very strongly about letting my children dress up as something scary, so much so that originally my older girls were only allowed to dress like bible characters. You can only wear a sheet and be a shepard or Mary so many years in a row before the child thinks, "wow this stinks." I have been lax on that this year more than I would like as family dollar only had a skeleton and an alien, but I felt those were still appropriate.

I think as Christian parents we also have to be careful to not make being a Christian to a child seem boring and oppressive.

Your brilliant by the way, which is why I love you!

Yayyy! LOVE you and your views and your honesty. T...

2010-11-01T14:50:54.531-07:00

Yayyy! LOVE you and your views and your honesty. Thank you so much for writing this.

Chris, Light the Night, that is a GREAT idea! I r...

2010-11-01T14:23:09.484-07:00

Chris,
Light the Night, that is a GREAT idea! I really really like it. The yards in our town are so small, I don't if we could pull it off. But we'll definitely be thinking about how we might be able to make that work here. I liked your gansta costume by the way!

Mary Sue,
I appreciate your comment! Maybe it's a good thing I didn't post it before Halloween. It gives people a chance to mull it over!

Interesting thoughts, Tracy. Definitely made me r...

2010-11-01T14:06:31.430-07:00

Interesting thoughts, Tracy. Definitely made me rethink my stance on Halloween (as an anti-Halloween person). I especially liked your point that Halloween is a social event. More thinking involved, I think. Good thing I have a year...

Tracy, As a pastor......I agree with you! The ch...

2010-11-01T13:44:40.930-07:00

Tracy,

As a pastor......I agree with you! The church where I serve sees Halloween as an incredible opportunity to establish and deepen relationships with our neighbors. It's the one night a year where they come to you rather than you having to go to them.

We challenge families and small groups to offer an event called "Light the Night" at their homes. Essentially, you put some floodlights out on your front lawn along with an inflatable jump house, bean-bag toss games, bozo buckets, etc for the kids to play and offer up hot chocolate to parents and kids alike to help them stay warm. (A lot of parents take us up on the free hot chocolate!)

Typically, the kids want to stick around and play so the parents are forced to stand there and watch until they're done. This is the moment when we have adults from the church who intentionally strike up a conversation with the parents. Oftentimes, they will ask, "Why are you guys doing all of this?" and that is a great opportunity to talk about the church. I was amazed at the frequency with which this question led into a deeper conversation about faith, Christianity, and/or the need to attend a church more regularly.

Before the families leave, they are given a pre-packaged bag of candy that includes a promotional piece about the Children's Ministry at our church. We have seen several families begin attending the church as a result of "Light the Night."

Thanks for your post, Tracy! And by the way, we do the same things with our kids...dress them up in "friendly" costumes never the "blood and guts" costumes and we don't allow them to go to haunted houses, etc.

Besides...if it weren't for Halloween, how could I justify eating so much candy?!?

Dusty, you did not fail. There are just some thing...

2010-11-01T13:26:36.769-07:00

Dusty, you did not fail. There are just some things a person has to learn on their own. You and your family, have definitely been a part of that! We love you guys!

You know Tracy I know that when you guys were in T...

2010-11-01T13:02:05.551-07:00

You know Tracy I know that when you guys were in Tucson and we came to see you guys and Karis. It lifted me up to see someone else caring for a child with d/s. I had no idea that you had these thoughts. I kinda feel as though i failed because I tried to let you know that life continues and you guys will be blessed very much by her. I know this because I have been Blessed to have Jesse in my life. I have also been blessed to know Karis, Keaton and you and Tim! Thanks for everything!

she a sweety alright !!!!!!!!! And I love to sho...

2010-10-05T20:59:06.647-07:00

she a sweety alright !!!!!!!!! And I love to show you off to in the frilliest dresses I could find.

Hearing my daughters giggle and laugh with delight...

2010-06-14T06:55:59.768-07:00

Hearing my daughters giggle and laugh with delight as they play with each other!

Thanks for posting this...I think I'll do the same! You have a cute and inspiring blog. I found you from Karen Zabel. Blessings, Rachel :)

I make the Italian Chicken one often and use the s...

2010-06-03T23:45:42.514-07:00

I make the Italian Chicken one often and use the same sauce u use :) we r 2 peas in a pod my dear....

I remember all of the same feelings when you kids ...

2010-05-02T12:09:45.546-07:00

I remember all of the same feelings when you kids were young and most of the time I don't think I handle it well. I have regrets and I'm here to tell you will miss this time in your life. Because this is the best time in your life.There is no better feeling than a mother can feel is the need to be needed.Besides its is just a short time in your life it goes so fast.Time is going to fast and gets faster when you get older. Love like your life depends on it, because it dose.Don't sweat the small stuff take time for you and your family that is were your treasures are. The love of your family is all you take with you when you die not how clean your house is.I wish I had taken more time.For some reason God
keeps a lot of road time between us
and I pray we could live closer so
I could make up some lost time and help out and give you a little support. Your doing a great job better than I could ever do.Your a beautiful women very smart and a good writer and I can't believe that you were born from me.We are proud of you and your family.I miss so much time with you kids because I had a job outside my home.Hang in baby girl, you can do it !!!!

In my own mind and dreams and with the most sincer...

2010-05-01T20:57:37.473-07:00

In my own mind and dreams and with the most sincere intentions, I am this woman. In reality, I've given up long ago on a lot of things that you try to do (but I need about a week's notice before anyone can come to my house!)
As an educator of grades K-7 (all at once and all subjects!), I would love to communicate with you about Keaton's kindergarten readiness, but only if you are interested (let me know!)
I hate being overwhelmed and admitted to myself earlier today how much I am feeling that way. Your post is really well written and brings hope.. and a feeling of not being the only one!

Reece's Rainbow definitely has my heart!!! I w...

2010-04-14T17:51:49.995-07:00

Reece's Rainbow definitely has my heart!!! I would love to be an author and speaker when I grow up. Not sure when that will be as we recently announced our pregnancy with number 7, but hey, a girl can dream, right? :)

Let me think about it and I'll get back to you...

2010-04-12T18:44:34.736-07:00

Let me think about it and I'll get back to you. Actually, I think about Rachel Ross (do you remember her from Lincoln) a lot and the ministry she's doing in Romania with an orphanage. One day, I hope to take my thoughts further, but for now, I continue to think and pray for her from a distance.