My Future Gymnist

Brady went camping with the youth group last Monday and this is what he looked like on Tuesday afternoon after I picked him up. Ashton didn't look much better but he managed to stay away from the camera. They had a blast and Ashton is driving me nuts asking for a paint ball gun now. He was bruised all over but thinks it was so much fun. Guys are such weird creatures.

Emma has been doing so well feeding herself with one certain fork. Of course I can't find this utensil anywhere in the store so we are holding on to it for dear life. Mashed potatoes! Yummy..

I have my pictures out of order, but this little ladybug stamp was her reward from gymnastics yesterday. We decided to give the mommy and me class a try and she loved it. I apologize for the quality of the pictures that BO took, but you can tell by the look on her face that she is enjoying herself.

She really liked going in circles an followed directions very well.

She still doesn't understand how to jump. We have been working on that at home and she doesn't use her legs to jump she just bounces up and down with her body. When we came home from the class we practiced doing tucks, pikes, and stradles. She was cracking me up!

I called last week to check with the local gymnastics class and see if they had anything for Emma's age. They did and we went yesterday evening. She blended right in and seemed to really like it. Another little girl from our church was also there so that was nice. The other girls had their shoes and socks off and were ready to start. I had taken Emma's shoes off but left her socks on. She couldn't stand it! She kept putting her foot up to me and saying "Off". I'll be very honest, I didn't want to take her shoes off. I am not ashamed of her feet. They are beautiful in my eyes but I know that others don't see it that way. I just want to protect her from stares and from all of the attention that I know she will get when people look at her feet. Well, we threw caution to the wind and took off those socks and she was thrilled. One of the little girls in her class (who was also 2) looked at her feet and told her mom "Boo boo." I said, yes she does have a little boo boo.

So you see, the foot thing is really about me. Again, it's not that I'm ashamed or embarrassed. I just want to protect her. It's hard enough when you have only 2 fingers and people are looking at you. Then to reveal that you only have 3 toes, it just adds more to the situation. But I realize that how I react to her situation is how she will learn to react. So next week when we go to gymnastics, the shoes and socks are coming off immediately so she can be just like the other girls. I never want her to think that she's not just like everyone else and if I try to protect her too much in the end I may be doing more harm than good.

It's tough. As a mother I don't want my kids to have to suffer from anything but that isn't realistic. I have felt the enormous pain that goes along with seeing my boys hurting, physically and emotionally. Let's face it, middle school is a b**ch. Pardon my French. Kids are cruel and hurtful and sometimes adults are not a lot better. So when I see someone staring at Emma and whispering, the momma bear in my wants to rip them to shreds, but I can't always protect her. My job is to build in her the strongest self esteem possible and pray, pray, pray. That's my job with all 3 of my kids.

My other job is to help my kids see that not everyone is alike. I have seen an amazing change in my boys since they have a sister that is "different." They have a deeper compassion for people. I watched Ashton play with a little boy last week at our OT appointment and he was so sweet to the little boy. I've heard Brady talk about how he would protect Emma if he heard anyone talking about her. This is the same kid who doesn't believe in fighting and wears a John Lennon "Give Peace a Chance" t-shirt. I hope that my kids and even their friends who hang out here have a wider world view and realize that not everyone is "perfect" by man's standards but God doesn't make mistakes and those kids who might not look "normal" are perfect in His eyes.