MY TENDER HEART

For those of you who don't know Bennett...you are really missing out.

A little background...Bennett used to be completely obsessed with super heroes.  It was all he ever talked about, drew about, wrote about, etc... He had a lot of trouble last year with kids.  They were tired of hearing about super heroes all the time (and honestly...I can't say that I blame them!)  He used to come home crying about kids being mean to him.  We encouraged him to work things out on his own.  After a month or so of being very upset, I finally called his teacher to visit with her.  She suggested getting him in with the school counselor.  What a difference that made!!  Ms. P was wonderful with Bennett and gave him some strategies to use in making and keeping friendships.  She really made an impression on B and we saw a huge improvement in his confidence.

Fast forward to the past couple of weeks.  We have a buddy, E, who lives in a different state. He is in first grade and is a heart kiddo like my Gracie.  He is totally awesome!!  I was soooo lucky to get to meet him in person this summer and fell completely in love with him.  He is qualified as special ed due to some services that he receives, but he is in a general education classroom.  He is having some difficulties in school this year.  One of the things he has struggled with is making/keeping friends.

So....Wednesday night....Bennett comes home and does his homework.  Then, he pulls a half sheet of paper with a list of books written on it.  The handwriting on this paper definitely belongs to an adult.  I asked him what it was.  His response?  "Mommy, I went and talked to Ms. P today.  I told her all about what was going on with E.  I asked her how we could help him.  She gave me these books to share with him.  Also, do you think we could go to the store and get him a toy?  Then we could mail it to him and help him feel better."  

Okay, seriously??  That boy really got to me this week.  He is so kind-hearted and wants to help everyone.  I hope he never loses this in his life.  

My boy with a heart of gold....I love him.

JOZZY'S WEDDING

Craig and I had a great time this past weekend.  Our good friend, Karen, tied the knot with Terry.  Craig and I headed up to Detroit early on Saturday morning.  It has been so long since we have flown that we actually had to look up the rules on the internet about carrying on luggage.  Once we arrived, we met up with our friends Casey and Rick for lunch.  They moved to Texas from Detroit this summer...and ended up 2 miles from our house.  Small world.  We had such a great time!  We love our Jozzy and we are sooo happy that she found happiness!!

MAW ART PARTY...PART 2

I love the fact that Make-a-Wish shares the pictures that they take when we are at the art parties!  I was able to get pictures of the art that my girlies created.  Love it!!

BENNETT'S SUPER HERO CAMP

Bennett attended super hero camp this summer with his buddy, Jakey.  They had so much fun!  I couldn't resist ordering these cute pictures that they took while he was there.

MAGIC OF HOPE

Saturday night, we attended the Magic of Hope.  This was a really cool event benefitting Hope 4 Tiny Hearts (Chloe Duyck Memorial Fund)  This was the first time that we have attended this event since Grace was a year old.  It has evolved over the years and completely different from the last time we went.  The evening started with carnival type games, face-painting, Radio Disney, and a silent auction.  Maggie wasn't about to let her brother and sister have all of the fun and quickly got out on the dance floor to boogie down.

Once those activities wound down...it was time for the main event.  A lavenous magic show starring Mike Super!  Craig got be to a very small part of the show.  Bennett thought that was very cool.  Mike Super was great....a terrific entertainer.  Everyone really enjoyed the magic show.

Some cool face painting with our friend Jakey....

Grace had fun going through the event and looking for the posters with her pictures on them.

And, what is more fun that a crazy photo booth???

BEADS OF COURAGE

We had a really neat experience this weekend.  Grace has been involved in Beads of Courage with our hospital.  It has been a great program to be involved with so it helps alleviate some of the anxiety that accompanies hospital procedures.

Beads of Courage

We were invited to attend an event in Fort Worth at SiNaCa Studios.  We were able to watch beads being made from scratch.  It was so interesting.  They had torches set up in one area making beads.  

There was a station set up to make bracelets...which all of the kids enjoyed!

We were able to watch them make large glass pieces from the furnace.  It was very cool to hear them tell about the process they go through to create beautiful glass art.

Thanks to Beads of Courage and SiNaCa Studios for a great time!!

ART PARTY

While Daddy, Bennett, and D-Daddy had a boys weekend in Austin, we had a girls weekend that included going to the Make-a-Wish Art Party.  We only got to attend the last one last year so we were very excited to go again this year.  Grace loves making the canvas paintings.  I couldn't believe how much Maggie enjoyed herself.  She sat really still and created some beautiful abstract paintings. 

I can't believe that I forgot to get pictures of the finished products!