Tonight's Dessert

Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced apples

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 water

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x8 (I used a 9 inch deep pie dish). Place apples in dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Pour water over all. In a bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Blend in flour. Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples. Bake 30-40 minutes, until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

Thanks to Carrie from All Recipes. This was a very easy and delicious recipe!

Saturday Projects

We had a pretty productive day today. The girls and I decided we would make our scarecrow. As we were going down our front steps, which we rarely use, we noticed them feeling loose. Upon closer inspection, I saw that they were way too dangerous to use much longer. I love our little rustic log cabin but those steps were beyond rustic. They were rotten! So the hubby had an unexpected project for the day. I think he did a pretty good job on our new steps. I'm so thankful that I have a husband that knows how to do these kinds of projects.

The rotten boards

Our new steps

While the hubby was out getting supplies, the girls and I worked on our "pirate" scarecrow. Since we love the East Carolina Pirates, we made ours sporting his pirate shirt and his pirate bandanna. We couldn't find our flag, but we put him near our pirate wreath. We aren't finished yet. I still have to find a yellow mum to go along with the purple and pot them. I also want to find our ECU bandanna and flag. I don't have a clue what to do with those handless sleeves. Anyway, we had a fun time working on it and I found it quite funny when I heard that my neighbor called out to it thinking it was Caroline. It's a good thing he was quite a distance away. I sure hope Caroline doesn't look like that!


I wonder how many people will think that this is a real person when they walk up on our porch?

Our crazy cat loves walking along the railing on our porch.

Sick Day

I'm home today with a sick baby. Mattie hasn't been feeling well all weekend. She actually is starting to act more like herself today. I went ahead and took her to the doctor anyway. She has a sinus infection and they've put her on antibiotics. Aside from her kidney reflux and the 24 hour bug, this is the first time Mattie has been sick with cold like symptoms. When she was born I was told she would be more susceptible to ear infections and sinus problems. I think she is doing rather well. She has been healthier than both my older girls. Oh....she weighs 21 pounds. I don't think she has gained a pound all summer. It must be all that dancing!

Well off to go get her prescriptions and enjoy my day being a mommy! I feel bad that Mattie is sick but I LOVE staying home with her!

Buddy Walk

Last Sunday, we headed to the annual Buddy Walk. This was the second year we've attended and we really had a wonderful time. Mattie loved the music and dancing. This years main event was the band Music for Aardvarks from Jack's Big Music Show. Mattie got to go on stage and meet them with her daddy. I was so busy talking with a new friend we met from our area, I never got a picture. Bad mommy! But I did get lots of other great pictures. Here are a few from our fun day!

Dancing!!

So thankful for all the support from our friends!!

Two Posts in One

So I am very far behind once again! I have two posts in one. Multi-tasking! At the bottom, I have posted a video of Mattie. I am completely amazed at this child! She has started standing up without using her hands. It seems like it would take a lot of leg strength to do this. Is it because she is closer to the ground? I don't recall my older girls doing this. Anyway, check it out. She does it part way through the video a couple of times.

I also have been tagged by Banana Pants and Jaxson's Fight ....How your children got their names. So sorry I am just getting to this but I really have enjoyed reading how everyone has chosen their children's names. So here it goes:

Abby Lynn: Our first born. Wow. Almost 13 years ago. There really isn't anything significant in choosing Abby except that we both really liked that name. Of course, we went through the "What sounds good with this name?" We finally decided on Lynn. One of Matt's sisters has the same middle name so that was the deciding factor on the middle name. The final test was stepping outside and yelling the name. Yes. We liked the sound of it and could live with it. There was an issue about the spelling of Abby. I wanted it to be spelled Abbey. My husband says why add the extra letter. He says it is an extra letter she has to learn when she goes to school......you know we wouldn't want to add that extra challenge for her...HaHa! He also insisted that you will never find any "name stuff" spelled that way. Well, I rarely see Abby or Abbey anyway. It is always Abigail. And speaking of that, he also requested that we never name our children one thing and call them something else. Just another school issue for him. Both of us have nicknames and it never bothered me. I guess he will forever be tormented for being called Matthew in school instead of Matt. He is quite demanding huh? No, he really isn't. If I had insisted, I would have gotten my way. I loved the name spelled either way and I could live with all his quirky name requests.

Caroline Elizabeth: Our middle child. I have always loved the name Caroline Elizabeth even as a young girl. My grandmother's middle name was also Elizabeth. She had passed before Caroline was ever born. Matt knew how much I loved the name so he agreed that Caroline Elizabeth it would be.

Mattie Rose: Our third child. I posted last year about the special meaning behind Mattie's name. It is amazing to me how her name just fell into place. Her name is the most symbolic of our children and I truly believe she was destined to have this name. Mattie is named after Matt. After Caroline was born, it was said that Caroline should have been named Mattie because she favored him so much. Well, too late. We were not having anymore children......so we thought! Well 7 years later, surprise! surprise! We find out we are having another girl. Matt says in the ultrasound room, "I really want to name her Mattie..........click here......to read the rest of Mattie's story. It is quite an interesting story!

I have to also tag some other folks. I'm behind on blog reading so if you've been tagged already, please forgive me!

Your turn! Le Frevre Times, Braska, Life with 4 Kiddos, The Heflin Family, B.A.D.D is Good.

Don't forget to check out the video!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Characteristics

So I've been thinking about doing this post for some time. I know a lot of people who comment on my blog are walking the same walk as mine....fellow Ds bloggers. But I'm sure I have some readers that don't have a child with Down syndrome and don't always comment. I thought I would share a little bit of information concerning the characteristics of Down syndrome. When we were informed that Mattie may have ds, that is the first thing I tried doing...comparing my child's characteristics with children that had ds. Not all children that have ds have the same characteristics. Some may have more than others and some may have less. It is also important to note that the number of characteristics do not determine how severe the delays may be in that child. Most children with ds will have mild to moderate delays. Our children simply learn at a slower rate.

One of the most obvious features in my opinion are the eyes. Mattie's beautiful eyes slant upward and have an almond shape. She also has the epicanthal folds at the inner part of her eyes. If you look closely, you will see she has Brushfield spots. These are white specks around the outer rim of her iris. They will not affect her vision and are more common in blue or light colored eyes. She has heavenly stars in her eyes!


Another characteristic is a flat bridge in the nose. This makes the perfect place to give a kiss!


Mattie has the "sandal toe" gap between her first and second toe. She has the best flip flop feet! I have also read that ds children have wider feet. Mattie never had a chance in our family anyway. We all have wide feet.


Many children with ds have a single line across the palm and a pinkie that turns in slightly. Mattie does not have either of these characteristics. She does have shorter fingers than my two older daughters had at her age. Her arm and leg length are also shorter. She is going to be our little pip squeak!


The doctor noticed that Mattie had an extra fold of skin at the back of her neck when she was born. Also known as a fat pad. This does not stay as they will grow out of it. I think Mattie's was gone before she was even a month old.
So these are just a few of the characteristics that you may find in a child with Down syndrome. God created Mattie with all these beautiful features and we wouldn't want her any other way. She is absolutely perfect!

Special Exposure/Wordless Wednesday