Christmas thru the Year

At our house Christmas lasts long after I take down the Christmas decorations.  Ethan will have the "holiday spirit" probably until mid-March.  Today he invited me into his room for his "holiday decorations," as he put it.
 
 That boy uses that red camping chair for a multitude of things.  For the last month it has been his Christmas tree.

His room has a festive air to it......




Side note on the reindeer in the picture....Ethan got some playmobil characters for Christmas - Santa and his elves.  He played and played with them.  Then he left them on the floor of the living room while he ate dinner.  Unfortunately, one reindeer and and the head of an elf are now missing.  Axle is looking too innocent for our liking.

Ethan's decorating skills have extended to the upstairs as well.  Any toy will do, really, it is all in the imagination....right?
 
I am old enough and wise enough to know which battles to fight, so the decorations stay put until Sunday evening before school starts.  That will make life more fun for the both of us this last week of glorious vacation!

Survivorman

These, my dear friends, are the faces of optimism.  After six weeks of preparations, these young men are setting off on an adventurous three days of "Survivorman".  Armed with only a backpack, sleeping bag, and a knife, they are off to conquer the untamed world.


They camped in groups of two on spots of land they picked out on a 120 acred wilderness site.  Due to the protestations of this worried mama, I insisted that dad give them all a bottle of water so they wouldn't drink out of the creek.  Unfortunately, some did anyway.

Some made elaborate shelter....some, none at all.  All were very cold.  Their elaborate noose-making failed to catch any rabbits.  However, the neighboring farmer distributed the 8 ducks he killed that morning.  By the end of the second night, some compassionate scout leader brought them some pizza, lol.

Yes, there was a lot of bravado before they left and a lot of excuses when they got back, but it will be a long-lasting memory.  They had a blast regardless of their "survivor" skills!

The Shakedown

Ethan may be behind his peers academically.

Ethan may not be able to talk like the other kids around him.

Ethan may still believe in Santa.

But Ethan is not dumb.

This kid loves

 He loves it so much that his grandmothers have him spoiled with multiple

This week Ethan and Jordan were out of school.  I had no idea what Ethan was up to until today.

Here is the lowdown:

Ethan was with Phil on Thursday.  Around noon Ethan says he is hungry and wants to eat at Taco Bell.  He even has his gift card (what a surprise) that he pulls from his wallet.  Smart kid - always be prepared.  So Phil takes him to get three tacos (his standing order).

On Friday, apparently, he was with Jordan.  He pulls the same request.  Voila - three tacos!  Happy kid.

Saturday he was with me.  We are pulling out of the bike shop and he says he is hungry.  He wants to go to Taco Bell.  I am thinking to myself, why not - it will be special treat for him!  Plus...he has his gift cards.

When I pull up to the window to get his order the young man at the window shouts out "Hey there, Taco Man!"  I look at him surprised.  He proceeds to tell me that this is Ethan's third day in a row to come get his "three tacos."   Ethan and the drive thru guy are now buds.  (I was a little embarrassed at our bad parenting :-)

After enjoying his tacos for the third day in a row, Ethan veges out with an episode of Psych - along with his other best bud.

My goal this week??  NO ONE takes Ethan to Taco Bell!

Santa

Last night my 13 year old son enthusiastically embraced the arrival of Santa.  I do not lie when I say Ethan will always believe in Santa.  I. Kid. You. Not.

However, he is becoming a little more street-wise.  After all, a kid who loves Santa so much can definitely tell when it is not the "real" thing.  Ethan came back from his visit telling (signing) me that "Santa flew down to Church, but it is Santa's grandpa." 

As excited as Ethan was though, he remained a gentleman.  He got in line pretty quickly for the visit, but began letting the younger children behind him move on up.  Sweet boy.

Christmas Concert

Ah, the Christmas Season.  That time of year filled with parties and activities every night......


For the McGraths it always includes the schools' Christmas concerts.  Jordan's concert was last Thursday and I woefully neglected to get a picture.

Ethan's was last night.  He was SO excited.  And to think he almost didn't get to be in choir...

When I met to go over his IEP last Spring I was informed that junior high students in special ed did not get a fine art class because they need a double literacy block.....!?!?!  What!?!?!  After I picked my jaw from off the ground I asked in all innocence..."Are you telling me that my son, who loves music, can't go to music because he has a disability?  He can't do the classes his peers do because he is disabled?"

Hint:  That is totally against federal and state law

I was quickly assured it would be remedied.  By August he was enrolled in music although the music teacher was not at all happy about it.  Thankfully, his aide went to class with him to be the buffer so the music teacher wouldn't have a meltdown.  And, I assure you, Ethan behaved a lot better than some of the kids I saw at the concert :-)  He takes his music very seriously because, after all, he has spent years watching his siblings' concerts.  He has it down.




 Jordan spent the time helping back stage.  He is loving music and drama.  The junior high and high school are now out for the rest of the week, or those that don't have to take finals are.  Jordan and Ethan spent the day in the fine art center hanging out and singing with the choir.  Ethan loved it.  Jordan was a great big brother today!  (He always is, but today was extra special).



Happy Singing!

Old Man

No, not Phil. The dog.  Life is good,  apparently.  (You may have to listen closely....it doesn't come across as well on camera)

On another note.....summer is slipping away because of this:

Doesn't anyone in our district believe is "delayed" start times????  If only I had known I was getting two five-day vacations in a row I would of totally planned for it!  The good news is, by the time Christmas break gets here I won't have much more cleaning out to do :-)  I am running out of closets to go through which leaves the attic ..... and for some reason I can't talk a single man in my household to go through the attic with me when it is below freezing.  Go figure.

Cabin Fever

Well.  This is what three days of not leaving the house gets you. No, this is not my creation. This is all Ethan. 

Cabin fever is hitting me differently. I have managed to go through every closet in my house. While, of course, watching old episodes of Star Trek Voyager. Yes, cabin fever is a dangerous thing. 

The first night of ice detention I decided to have a little party and make chocolate chip cookies. But when I realized I may be in house for multiple days I quickly had to change my strategy or I wouldn't have anything to wear when school started back up again. 

I am going to remember these lovely days of quiet bliss when next semester hits and there isn't a break until spring. 

Winter Weather

Icy rain brought Arkansas to a standstill. We decided to put the time to good use. It is Ethan's favorite time of the year… Putting up Christmas decorations!   He has been singing Christmas songs all day long.  Loudly.  We have encouraged the use of the ipad Christmas song list to help quiet his enthusiasm.  It doesn't help much.  Unfortunately I couldn't find the star for the tree.  But even Ethan's insistent requests for the star can't get me out on the icy roads to go buy one.  It will have to wait until next week.

The rod iron grating for the fireplace that I used for the stockings is ruined because "someone" (hint: I don't put the decorations up in the attic) loaded suitcases on top of it and it broke. 

I. Was. Not. Happy. 

Now Ethan is obsessing over where the stockings are going to hang..........

Just a side note:  No vacation day on February 17th.  Bummer.

On another subject:  I am starting to get a great collection of nativity sets.

This is actually my first nativity that mom got me 8 years ago.  The picture isn't the greatest, but all of the characters have real clothing. I love this one!

from Ghana

from the Congo

From Guatemala.  You can tell the carving is a lot more crude.  I didn't add the picture of baby Jesus.  He looks scary.

This was a different nativity from a different group of Guatemalans.  It isn't scary like the other carved pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Little History

I have to show off the birthday present my mom and sister made for me this year.

This is a kimono that my grandfather on my dad's side got when he served in the Marines in China. It has to be at least  100 years old.  My grandfather served in the Marines in 1921. He claims it came from royalty during the Peking dynasty. But my grandfather was well-known for his exaggeration.  So I accept his stories with a bit of skepticism.

It is starting to fall apart at the seams, but mom took it and she and my sister had it framed for me.  I love having this bit of history preserved forever.  The hard part is now I have to decide who gets it in my will!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Yes, it has been four months since my last post. Of course a lot has happened.  After all, we aren't that boring. 

So what, you may ask, has kept me from the important duties of keeping a blog? Well…

After coming home from Guatemala. I flew to Utah to get Megan and the three grandkids. I returned home and had a house full eagerly awaiting the arrival of Logan from Africa. 

We enjoyed Logan for about a month before he decided to move out to Utah to work, go to school, and… Date!

I have managed to be distracted with school, church, and bike shop work. I am getting to work with kindergarten and first grade students this year. I love it!

Jordan, who is a senior, was in the school's production of "Seussical". He played the Cat in the Hat. It was definitely typecasting.

Part of the reason I haven't been blogging is because I am finding it highly inconvenient to carry around the camera.

However today I went to the special Olympics bowling in Little Rock to watch Ethan. I took pictures! Now mom and the rest of the family can enjoy my blog once again.

I'm not sure which category Ethan competed in. But he won a gold medal!  It was fun to watch him with his fellow students cheering everyone onto victory.  He has a very special teacher, who I love. He also has a fantastic aide. I feel lucky he's in such a wonderful environment. He loves going to school every day.

Great job, Ethan!