New Ride

Thanks to some wonderful friends of ours (whose son has outgrown his swing), Ian has a new swing and as you can see, he loves it! Tom got it put it up this evening just before the rain came, so he got to try it out for a few minutes and can't wait to get back in it.

It's a ........

GIRL..........we think!!! Apparently, Baby Humphrey is quite the active little thing and wouldn't quite cooperate during the ultrasound today, but the verdict was 95% sure that she is a girl. Elizabeth will have another ultrasound in 4 weeks to attempt a better view. We can't wait to meet her!!
How many people get a new son and 2 new grandaughters in less than a year! We are mightily blessed!!!

IEP meeting

For most of you, this will be bbbbbooooorrrrrriiiiiinnnnnggggggg, so you might want to quit reading right now. However, several have been asking about Ian's school situation and I mentioned before that he finally got to start school, but that we weren't convinced that the placement was the best place for him. This afternoon was our IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting for next fall. I think there were 11 people there, all of them somehow involved in Ian's life. The goal is for everyone to come together to put a plan in place that will allow for Ian to reach his potential at all levels. Tom and I felt well prepared, thanks to his sister, Stacy (who has taught special ed for 20-some years and is an expert in the law) and our private OT and PT (who have been attending case conferences for 20-some years and are very knowledgable). The meeting went very well and most of our questions and concerns were answered before we even asked. Ian will be attending Cole Elementary (which is the school that serves our neighborhood and community) and will be in 4th grade, with the aid of a paraprofessional. Since he has had very little exposure to school prior to coming to Indiana, he will go between the general education classroom and the resource room for more one-on-one instruction and all of his material will be adapted to help him understand it and to tell what he knows in the best way possible. He will be with his peers for "specials," recess, lunch, parties, field trips, social studies, etc. but will need more focused attention for spelling, reading, computer training and math. His "teacher of record" will be his homebound teacher, who did an amazing job of learning how to access what he knows, as well as creative ways to motivate him. She will be involved in adapting the material for him, training the para and teachers, and implementing augmentative communication devices. She is also going to continue teaching him at our home during the summer, which is a HUGE blessing!

The meeting lasted 3 hours so there was a lot more discussion but this is long enough and you get the gist of it.

As a reward for persevering through this post, you get to see a picture of our beautiful grandaughter who came to pick up her dogs last night after her 3rd trip to Memphis in her 4 1/2 weeks of life! (I have no idea why the picture is sideways and I haven't been able to rotate it, but she's beautiful in any position!!)

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

I clearly remember a certain evening when a certain young man called to ask my advice about asking a certain young lady out for a date. After I recovered from my shock that he was actually asking advice from "the mom" I calmly said, "YES, you should ask her out!!!!!." We are so thankful that he did and that God brought Elizabeth Leigh Crawford into our lives and into our family!!!! What a joy and blessing she is - a beautiful, godly woman on the inside (as well as the out!) We love you, Elizabeth, and hope you have a wonderful birthday!!!

Hard at work

Ian LOVES to be outside and LOVES to feel like he's helping in any way. Both of those qualities are a blessing since we also love to be outside and we need all the help we can get! As you can see, he is working hard to move dirt from one place to another and will work diligently at it for as long as I let him (with Jack always close by.)

COACH Kids 5K

Ian and I had a blast this morning as we got to participate in a very special fundraising event for a very special ministry. We raised $240, got some good exercise and had lots of fun! Thanks to everyone who sponsored us!!! We appreciate it and so does COACH Kids!! We even won both categories (the old lady division and the wheelchair division!)

Before the race


About 1/2 way through

Ian especially loved the end where there were people cheering for us!

Blessings Galore!

Tom and I feel incredibly blessed and humbled by God's goodness through our family. We had been looking forward to an action packed, fun-filled weekend and it was just that! We got to babysit Olivia, have Drew and Elizabeth and Tom's parents come for the weekend, attend and celebrate Troy's medical school graduation, celebrate Drew's birthday and celebrate Mother's Day with both of our mothers and my grandmother! Abounding joy....that's all I can say!!!

I think this is the last of 6 posts (I've lost count) about the weekend!!!

Louisville Road Trip

Drew and Elizabeth were here for all the weekend festivities and Ian adores them both. He loves it when they come and thinks the guest room is theirs. Sunday afternoon as they were leaving, he "walked" (with help, of course) right to their car. Drew asked if he was going home with them and he practically ran the rest of the distance. We opened the door and put him in the driver's seat and he immediately reached for the seat belt and tried to get it on. Drew helped and he then reached for the keys in the ignition. He was ready to go!!! Thankfully, Mom-mom and Dad-dad were still here and not leaving until Monday or he would have had a major meltdown when he realized he wasn't really going with them. Ian is not a fan of "good-byes."

Ian is ready to drive Elizabeth home!

5 Generations

After Troy's open house and before dinner, we were able to squeeze in a 5 generation picture:

My dad and I are standing and my grandmother, Lindsay and Olivia are on the couch. (Sorry for the glare from the mirror.)

Great-great Mamma with Olivia Grace. We are so blessed!
(More posts to come.....I'm catching up from the weekend.)

Celebrate!

Lindsay and Cheryl (Troy's mom) hosted an open house in Troy's honor on Saturday afternoon, after graduation. Later that evening, we all went to Stone Creek restaurant in Zionsville for a delicious dinner and more celebration!

Troy and his proud parents, Ted and Cheryl Roberson

Lindsay, Elizabeth and Drew

Troy's sister, Karie and her husband, Chris and their family

My dad and grandma, my mom, Tom's mom and dad

Keep reading....I'm on a blogging roll!

Congratulations, Dr. Roberson!!!!

Our wonderful, genius son-in-law graduated from IU School of Medicine on Saturday in the top 5% of his class. Tom and I were honored to attend the ceremony, along with Troy's parents, Lindsay and Olivia. We are so very proud of both of them!! Med school is a team effort and they've made it through 4 very tough years. Although it hasn't been easy, God's hand has been evident as they have grown spiritually as individuals and most importantly, as a couple. We have been and still continue to pray that He will lead them to a gospel centered- church where they can serve and grow during residency in Memphis.

Dr. Troy with his dipoloma!

The team!

So much excitement in a short span - new baby, selling their house, graduating, and hopefully buying a new house! Keep reading....one more post!

First Babysitting Job

Papa Grande, Ian and I got to babysit Olivia last Friday night while Troy and Lindsay attended a banquet at the Indiana Roof Ballroom to honor the 2010 IU school of Medicine graduates. She was perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Ian loved playing with the dogs and Papa Grande and I tried to share Olivia.

Happy Mother's Day

These flowers were delivered with a card that said,

"Thanks for being my forever Mom!

Love, Ian"

(which was followed by many tears.)

Happy Birthday, Drew!!

May 7, 1985 - God blessed our little family with Drew Thomas and we haven't been the same since! From his "dutchy" declarations of "I wuv you" to enduring tea parties and dressing up with his sister to his crazy antics on the back of a horse to his challenging and humbling theological discussions and now, on his way to being a daddy himself........all of it has been a joy and we are so thankful for him!!!
Happy 25th Birthday, Drew!!! We love you!!!!

2 months

pre-school graduation

senior picture

Fall, 2009 with beautiful wife, Elizabeth

On your mark, Get set...............

GO!!!!!!!!!!!! Ian and I are running/walking/riding in the COACH Kids Friendship Run on May 15 and we need sponsors!!!! COACH (stands for Christ Offers All Children Hope) Kids is the ministry that I had the priviledge of working with for 3 years before I "retired" to be Ian's mom. It is a youth mentoring ministry that matches children with Christian mentors in a variety of programs and God is using those mentors to change the lives of children. Obviously, I believe in it and have a soft spot for it. Check out their website at coachkids.org. (If you'd like to sponsor us, your donation will be tax deductible.)

It might not be quite as exciting as being presented a first place medal by Usain Bolt, but I'll do my best to make it fun for him!

Love that Christmas Gift!

Tom got a power washer for Christmas and boy, am I glad! He fired it up today and washed off the front porch and back patio. What do you think? Can you tell a difference?

Back patio

Front porch

On Friday evening, we headed to Indy to congratulate our favorite son-in-law for completing medical school (and to see his precious daughter!) I didn't take a picture of Troy but managed to snap a couple of Olivia.

Papa Grande (as he is calling himself) hadn't seen Olivia since Sunday and was in need of a fix!