Pages

July 21, 2011

........ Special Connection ............

Nevin loves babies.  all babies.  
 When he was little, he moved through the house like a little tornado, oft times leaving destruction in his path....... and when a baby visited, that little "Nevin tornado" would cause that baby's mama to brace herself as he approached..... but then, .... just a few steps before arrival....... calm, no tornado, no wind and then the gentlest approach you can imagine.  For those of you who are boaters, it reminds me of when we would be speeding along in the boat, moving fast up on top of the water and then we would stop and the boat's motor would go quiet, slowing glide forward and "sink" comfortably into the water.   That was Nevin as he approached babies.   

But Nevin also seems to have a special connection
to babies with that something special.   
You can just see the connection.

with our very, very special friend..... Daniel


And with our friend, Shelby......  when she was little
and then consoling her after she fell and bumped her nose
 at the children's museum, when she was older.......

and a few from when we did childcare for a very special little girl.  
sorry, we don't have permission for any full-face pictures of her
...... but you can certainly tell from the pictures what Nevin thought of her.





he was even willing to be her pillow when she wasn't feeling good.  
He laid there for a long time and let her sleep.  

can't find the picture of Nevin with Andrew when he was a baby
but here he is when he's bigger.


It is a special connection, 
that doesn't take words, 
that doesn't need to be explained, 
it just is.  
And it is oh, so special to see.

July 19, 2011

The Parade!! VIP treatment

Nevin was invited to ride on the firetruck in the parade in a nearby town.   I think the firemen remembered his glee when they let him help at the Barn Burner and knew he would enjoy riding in a firetruck.   YUP, got that right!!  


He was SO excited!! When asked what his job was  "Wave at the people and throw candy to kids".  And he did a great job!   


(I love the above picture)


Again, I say, Nevin makes friends wherever he goes.
Thank you, Adam, for the invitation.
Post-parade, post-adrenalin, Rock star dance.  :)

July 17, 2011

FREE for a prayer..... GIVE-AWAY

I am doing a Give-away for "Live Life BIG" Bumper Stickers.  Nevin will randomly draw 5 followers who leave a comment on this post to receive a Nevin inspired Bumper sticker. (bumper sticker doesn't have watermark)  


All I ask is that you say a prayer for Cyril.... that his forever family will find him soon..... Nevin and I want desperately to help bring him home to that family!!    Remember how Nevin picked Cyril K, from all the children at Reece's Rainbow,  to advocate for because of his smile?  because he seems to have a "live life BIG" attitude?

Well a new picture has been posted of Cyril and this poor baby is tired of waiting.... he has lost his smile. Maybe he's been transferred already, maybe that's why his smile is gone.  He needs a miracle, he needs a family, he needs love, he needs prayers.  Are you his family?  Is God whispering to you that he is your son?   He needs you to come get him!   We will help you raise the money and do whatever we can to help you bring him home!

look at this picture...........Breaks my heart!!  


So, today...... spread the word.......  Cyril needs a family..... his smile is gone.....

For the Bumper Sticker Give-away.....
1.  Sign up as a follower on my blog
2.  Say a prayer for Cyril today.... and leave me a message on this post.

bonus chance: Extra chances at for a bumper sticker if you post to facebook or twitter (leave me a comment that you did)

bonus chance: post about this give-away on your blog and leave me a comment on this post.

(If you have trouble with leaving a comment..... just email me:   lakesmit AT gmail DOT com)


**** Drawing will be Monday (July 20) at 6:00 Central daylight savings time!  


*** stay tuned, as we will be having more fun FREE give-aways this week! 

July 12, 2011

Letting Go, whether I want to or not!! .....The Tattoo

Nevin is 21.  yeah, I know..... you probably already know that.  I'm just reminding myself, he's 21.   If I want others to treat him with respect and give him choices he deserves........  ahemmm, I guess I need to as well.



When my other kids turned 18, they made choices that no longer needed my approval and promptly proved their independence by getting a tattoo.    Nevin is 21 !! yes, I surrendered and "let" my baby have a beer on his birthday.   But this was different, it was a decision that wasn't what I would choose, this was permanent.   There had been some talk of a "sibling tattoo" ....... ok, okay..... maybe...... maybe, that would be ok with me.  They had decided on a shamrock.... three leaves..... each sibling's initial in each leaf.  Okay, ok..... he can get the shamrock.  I mean, it's a sibling love thing, right?


Sooo....... fast forward to my daughter's birthday.  She's 27.   She was planning to use birthday money for a new tatto.     So, while discussing tattoo's over her birthday dinner,  the snowball got rolling and before I knew it.... even hubby was getting a tattoo the next day (he's no help!!).


Soooo........ tattoo appointment day.....  Nevin was excited, until he learned that the plan was to get a shamrock.   "NO  SHAMROCK!!"   "I want dragon".    Said with enough conviction, that I knew there was no shamrock happening.....  so I searched and found a celtic-like, shamrock-like, three headed dragon that could have initials put into it.    When I showed Nevin the picture, he was game.   I mean his choice seemed to be shamrock or three headed dragon, right?
However, once we arrived at the tattoo parlor,  Nevin became acutely aware of his choices!! (much to this mama's chagrin).  But at least, he wasn't choosing totally inappropriate stuff...... he got a book and went to the dragon section.   And landed on a full color, very detailed, large dragon that was out of the question.  I mean, we weren't sure how he'd tolerate it, plus it would be way more expensive that the original plan.   Each family member/friend tried to "trick" him by expressing their approval of the three headed dragon.  Wasn't gonna happen.   Stalemate.


Dad had even landed on a shamrock (design name:  bad-*ss shamrock)... go figure.   But Nevin was determined NOT to get a shamrock or a 3 headed dragon.    So he vacillated between silent pouts, pleading looks, angry-talk (which typically doesn't even apply to the situation.... because he can't process fast enough, with that much adrenaline .... so instead he just gives voice to "angry talk".... often excerpts from movies, etc.).     We did hear the word "loser" come out a couple of times.  

Me on the other hand.......  just wanted to cry......  see!!  see!! everyone, see what you caused...... now we have a mess, we have hurt feelings, we have angry talking and no apparent solution.    But  as I sat and looked at my 21 year old son.......  I realized, his anguish was partly my fault...... I was trying hard to be in control... I don't want to let him grow up... .. didn't work for my other kids when they were 18....... why doesn't Nevin have the same right to prove his independence as they did.

Sooo..... I took a deep breath..... sat down compassionately beside Nevin and asked him to tell me what he liked about HIS dragon and what he didn't like about MY dragon.   Together we made a list of what HIS dragon needed to have.....  ONE head, a tail, a body, wings, horns, red eye and red wings.   After consultation with the tattoo artist, he assured Nevin he would draw him a "one of a kind" dragon.






So, there you have it....... it's hard work letting go!

My baby...... my son....... is a young man......... with a dragon tattoo!

oh, and as you can see he "tolerated" getting his tattoo just fine.

 Dad, however, wasn't fond of getting his first tattoo.


And of course, Hannah had no problem with hers, and I didn't have time to  "fuss" about what she was getting...... :)  like it would have made any difference, anyways! and it's ok, cause she's beautiful with or without a new tattoo.


And, Nevin makes friends where ever he goes!!  :)