Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Blanton Family!

 

We have had an interesting couple of months.  We have been able to overcome some personal struggles.  Nothing so huge that anyone should worry.  But I am able to see how important my family is to me and how blessed I am with the love and patience we are able to share with each other.  And the balance each person brings to our family is wonderful!

We had a house full for Thanksgiving!  It was so much fun to see Jeremy, Ranee and their girls.  Mom and Manfred were here too and are such a huge help while they are here.

We are more than ready for Christmas.  Bobby the elf has been here since December 1st.  The house is all decorated.....inside and OUT (Thanks Jeff!).  The kids are counting their presents under the tree.  We keep it pretty modest with the gifts.  The kids are always very happy with what they receive.  We went to Myrtle Beach State Park and got the picture made.  They had games to play for the kids and we bought one ticket each for the cake walk and with the odds on our side......WE WON!!  We won fresh baked pastries from Tofino's and decided to go there for lunch afterwords.  It was a fun day!

We wish Everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Back to School!

 This morning on the way out of the door.  Benjamin is not used to eating on a schedule so he had to finish his breakfast in the car.  Ben was so happy to be dressed just like his brother!

 I love the look on his face.  Benjamin is standing beside his book bag hanging on his hook.  He made sure that I didn't hang it there, he had to do it.  He is such a big boy!

He went straight to his seat.  He still wanted to kiss and hug me before I left.  At least he isn't too big to still show his mother some affection.  Levi would not let me take any pictures of him in his class.  Ede cried because she wanted to go to school too!  It didn't take her long to get over it though.  I will be staying at home this year and starting more classes on-line so we are all excited about the new schedules ahead of us.

 

P.S.  I didn't give Levi his medication all summer and since this past May (3 months ago) he has grown half an inch and gained 12 pounds!!  You should see him standing beside his classmates.....he is HUGE!



New Flooring

My mom and Manfred came to take the kids on a "Stay-cation" so that Jeff and I could spend the weekend working on the floors.  They all stayed at Ocean Lakes Campground and had a very good time with their Grandma and Grandpa!

Ice Cream, games, swimming and the park!

We had some great friends come over and help with the heavy lifting and back breaking jobs of getting out our furniture, the old carpet and the tack strips that held down the carpet.  Thanks to Jennie and Tyson!  It was a huge help.

I kinda-sorta flaked out at the beginning and forgot to take the "Before Pictures".  So the WOW factor will be missing.  Take my word for it.......the carpet was pretty bad.  So here are the pictures of the living room after the furniture and carpet had already been moved.

And a picture of Jeff with the work in progress.  I also decided to paint the wall on the left side of this picture which is a very high wall and we put some wide bead vinyl Wainscot in the area where the clock is.

And here are some pictures of the final product with most of the furniture back in it's place.

AND

The area that now has the Wainscot has been a challenge for us to figure out what to do with it.  But I have had this in mind for a little while now and we are so happy with the way it turned out!  The living room now has all the furniture back in it and we have an area rug in front of the couch with the coffee table back in place.  We love the new flooring and are already trying to prioritize our project for next year.  :o)

Happy Easter!!

Before we went to church Easter Morning. Benjamin always closes his eyes as he says "Cheese". I just forget to not have them say it. :o)
Benjamin and his basket from the Easter Bunny.

Sorry for the half naked picture. Levi doesn't wear his shirt at night anymore. But he was happy with his basket too.

And this is Ede with what I call her "crazy hair". It really does look like this when she wakes up in the morning.

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!!

A.D.D.

Levi Van Blanton

Ever since Levi was born he has been a challenge for me. He was my first child so everything was new for Jeff and I anyway. I struggled for the longest time to see the challenges he presented for us as parents as a good thing. But, a challenge IS good. As an infant he would not go to sleep in public, he loved to lay and look at his mobile but still slept very well (at first). As he got a little older he started showing signs of Asthma but doctors were so hesitant to treat him for it because he was so young. When he ended up hospitalized we started treatment regularly. As a toddler he didn't pitch your expected temper tantrum......he learned how to make himself throw-up. First he would gag himself with his finger but got to where he could just start to cry and vomit. He has always had a lot of energy. My mom used to wrestle with him just so she could get him in her arms long enough to give him a little squeeze. We sent him to Kindergarten and we constantly received letters on Levi's behavior. In short, he has no impulse control. He would chunk something across the room and then look at you like "Oops!" But he has also had such a big heart. He wants to please us and make us laugh and smile. His sense of humor has always been advanced for his age. And S-M-A-R-T! He is a smart little guy.

I had suspected A.D.D. for a long time but had already developed the mind-set that it was over diagnosed and could be dealt with if we were consistent with discipline. We have always been very strict with Levi. At one time he was waking up during the night or playing all night with his toys so we had only his mattress in his room and turned the lock around on his door to lock him in his room. Find your front door wide open at 6am with your son playing in the front yard a couple of times or find that all the junk food wrappers are under his bed from one night.....you'll turn his lock around too. :o)

Our solution, I would take control. We decided to home school him. We love home school but I found myself wanting to return to school myself and go back to work. Levi did very well in home school. He excels in one-on-one instruction but it became obvious that if he was to succeed in a group setting he needed some medication. We put him on medicine for ADD and he went back to a charter school for 2nd grade. He did very well! It was a small class and his teacher knew him well and was able to give him the special one-on-one attention when he needed it. But I hated putting him on the medicine. He went from being my energetic, smart-alec kid to just wanting to sit around the house and watch tv all day. So I didn't give him the medicine on the weekend or during the summer.

This year, 3rd grade it became obvious that something wasn't working anymore. His grades, his mood swings and attitude were pretty bad. I was thinking about home school again and when we made it a sincerely prayerful decision Jeff and I felt like we didn't have enough information to make a good decision. We had a conference with his school and took Levi back to the doctor where a new medication was prescribed. This medicine is new on the market. Let me tell you, he is my child again! He is mostly smiles, grades are good again, he is active, he has gained weight and has grown in inches! He is able to self-correct BEFORE he does something. And I realized that if he had seizures, I would not withhold that medication. It is hard to come to the realization that something you can't see should be medicated. He is a different child when he is not on medication. We still have to be strict with him discipline wise but "1-2-3 Magic" helped with that a long time ago. I wonder if I did some damage those years that I was in denial with yelling at him and punishing him for things that he literally could not control because of a chemical imbalance in his brain. Did I hurt his self-image? Do I have time to repair it?

I don't know. But Levi has helped me to become a more patient, compassionate and think out-side the box person. He may be a challenge for me at times but that challenge has been a blessing to me. He does make me smile, laugh and stick to my word (because he doesn't forget a thing). I will always need self improvement, it is a constant progression but let me tell you, Levi has helped me to become a little bit better all on his own.

MARCH!!!!

So far March has been quite eventful for us. We have celebrated two birthdays and enjoyed our first experience in the Pinewood Derby with Levi. Here are some pictures of the fun times we have had this month.Levi's is the red, white and blue car. His number was 50. My little Levi is such a patriot!

Get ready! Get set! GO!!

Levi placed 2nd overall in the local races. He went to the district race and we learned that we are mere amateurs in the Pinewood Derby arena. :o)
Ben and Ede were very good supporters for their big brother.


Benjamin's Birthday!!
We went to the circus after the presents, cake and ice cream to celebrate Ben's 5th birthday!

Does this look like a kid that is enjoying what he is seeing, or what? :o)

Five candles and he blew them all out on the first try.

He was happy with his gifts. I am not sure why he decided to give such a silly smile, but he did it in all the pictures.

It has been a fun and exciting month so far, and we are only half way thru it!

Bad parenting??

I'm thinking that maybe I was not clear enough when I said "It's time to go to sleep". She has to have it her way.......just a little bit. I let her stay there too. I couldn't bring myself to wake her up just to put her in her bed. :o)

In Loving Memory of Ava Kaye Blanton

Ava's pinwheel in the "Baby Lost Mother's Day" memory garden.Each family member got to put a small message inside their balloon and we all launched them at the same time. Ede, Ben and Levi in the center of the garden. Ede, Levi and Ben at Ava's grave site. We always visit when we go to Gaffney. It is important to me that they know who Ava is. I see graveyards so differently now......I see them when Christ comes again and the tears of JOY that will be shed as we reunite with our loved ones.

I am a different person because of Ava. I have been at the cross-roads where I had to make the decision to walk further away from my relationship with my Heavenly Father or to walk closer. I remember contemplating both options. I made my decision and even though some nights my prayers consisted simply of getting on my knees and saying "I know you are there but I am angry and I don't want to talk right now." I would linger on my knees and feel the deepest sorrow and despair turn to comfort and peace. I would get up from the floor to purposely push the good feelings away. I struggled with letting go of my pain because it was the only thing I had left of her. I never got to bring her home to create any kind of memory to hold onto. I was afraid that if I had no heart ache, that meant I had let go of the love I have for her. I know now, that it is not true. I will always feel somewhat of a void in my life and when I read my journal and remember my short time with Ava in my arms I know that it will always bring tears to my eyes and ache in my heart. I know that I will always feel the sting in my heart every time I see my children playing together and know that my family is "minus one". But Ava brought me to the place where some people never have the privilege to go. She took me to the place where everything I had ever been taught, everything that I thought I knew about God and the Plan of Salvation was tested and now when I say that I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is real and exists in it's entirety here on earth today......I mean it. Ava, you are a real and impressionable person in my life. I love you and cannot wait to hold you again.

Est. January 2, 1999

Jeff and I have been married for 13 years! It has been quite the adventure. We have had our ups and downs as I'm sure most couples do. We have been able to grow stronger as we worked thru the troubled times. Jeff is my rock. He is everything I could have ever wanted in a husband and father of my children. We have been blessed with four children.....Levi, Ava, Benjamin and Eden Rose. We are a happy family and I am happy to celebrate another year with the union that started it all!