The King

Well, with Halloween around the corner, we have been dressing up a lot around here over the last few weeks. I thought that I would share this picture of Seth dressed up like 'The King'. He needed some help with cutting out the crown but the blanket robe was all his doing.

I have had a fabulous week with my son. He has done several things this week worth making known to all of you. This week the original prayers continue and Seth said, "Dear Jesus thank you for making me...me." What a fabulous prayer. What an outstanding feeling! We should all be so thankful for who God has made us to be. Thinking that this was something they were covering in school, I asked his teacher and she assured me that they were not. So, that is just something that came into his mind and he shared it in prayer. I'm speechless.

He also introduced me to one of his school friends this week. Seth had forgotten his lunch at home and so I raced over to the school to drop it off. After seeing me in the classroom, Seth brought this little boy over to me. He puffed out his chest proudly, looked up at me, put his arm around the little boy and said, "Mom, this is my pal, Rene." He smiled at me with that little chest held out so proudly, he could have been a soldier standing for inspection by a superior officer. I looked down at his friend and told him that it was nice to meet him. The two friends turned and ran to another part of the classroom getting ready to say The Pledge of Allegiance and hear morning announcements. His teacher looked at me with tears welling in her eyes and said, "Wasn't that just a wonderful thing for him to do?" And I agreed.

When we received our diagnosis of Autism just about 6 years ago now, Seth being able to do these things was thought to be an impossibility....at least the doctor told us that it was.

After that meeting in the doctor's office being told that Seth had already reached the pinacle of what he would achieve in life especially in the areas of relationships and social interaction; after being told that he would need to be institutionalized; after being told that he would likely become violent and unmanageable; I did the only thing I knew to do...I prayed. I believe that God met me that night. He said this into my spirit, "Why do you believe that woman over Me? I made him and I will decide what he will become." With great humility I ended my prayer reminded that God is indeed bigger than our circumstances.

I have to say, that this week I was again reminded of that conversation with God so many years ago. I am so thankful that God has been right and not the very qualified specialty Pediatrician we had taken him to. I want to be sure to tell you that Seth still has many deficits and areas that need a lot of improvement. But, I see God's faithfulness and I know that if He has brought our boy this far, that He is more than able to take Seth as far as He wills for him to go. I am thankful this week for the promises of God and I want to encourage all of you to remember that He does keep them!

Mommy's Little Helper

Tonight while I was loading the dishwasher after dinner, I turned around to see this site ... a baby in the dishwasher. She was attempting to pull out the bottom rack and unload the dishes that I had just loaded. With this crew of 4, it is always difficult to get tasks completed. Thankfully, I know that I am not alone in this. Those of you that have had small children around know that this is true. Whenever you start something they try to 'help' you. I had forgotten what it is like to have a one year old in the house getting into everything. It is moments like this that are reminding me to work smart and fast!! :-)

The Biker Chick

Not too long ago, my parents went to a family wedding in Upstate New York. While there, they went to Orange County Choppers. My dad loves TLC and watches just about every show on that channel. So, he couldn't resist stopping by the shop and checking out the bikes. I'm sure that he wouldn't have minded meeting Mikey, Vinnie, Paul Sr. or Paul Jr. either for that matter. Anyways, being grandparents, they couldn't resist picking up something from the shop for each of the kids.

Here's Spencer in her OCC onesie. She looks so cute. She has finally decided that she likes to have her picture taken and now smiles every time the camera comes out. :-)

Happy Birthday Duncan Seth Tannahill

Well, Happy Birthday to our son Seth. He turned 8 today! I can't believe where the time has gone. It seems like yesterday that he was born. Seth has Autism and that makes life for both he and us quite challenging. Despite all of the challenges that Seth has, he has a zest for life that is contagious. Seth loves to have fun. He loves to experience new things, and go new places. Out of all of our kids, Seth is the one that is always up for an adventure.

Well, my son, I pray that this year will be a wonderful one filled with lots of growth and new adventures.

We love you!

Here's the Cars birthday cake that Seth asked for. I think that it came out beautifully. I picked it up at Wal-Mart and the Lightning McQueen on top of the cake is a toy that he has been playing with ever since we stopped singing 'Happy Birthday'.

Seth loves balloons so Rob took him to the store and he picked out 8 balloons for his birthday.

Here's the older kids sharing a birthday hug.

Here's the birthday boy with the Bald Eagle that Grandma and Grandpa Kozsukan sent him. Seth has an obsession with Bald Eagles and he is so thrilled to own his very own eagle. He is a beautiful puppet with stiff wings that flap. Seth named him 'Edgar', and as you can see by the smile on his face, he loves him!

The Little Farmer

Hoorah!! The computer has finally decided to co-operate and has uploaded the pictures that we have been trying for days to upload. Well, since it was such a hot, sunny, wonderful weekend, we decided to head off to a local farm to pick pumpkins and apples. The farm is called The Little Farmer and it is a wonderful place with activities for the whole family. They really make pumpkins, apples and other produce into a very family friendly experience. We had a lot of fun as you can see, however, the day ended with Seth being missing for 20 minutes and once found he refused to share his soda with a wasp and was stung. It sure was eventful!! But we were happy that we all arrived home safe and sound after a fabulous day out in the country.

Here's Lauren on one of their tire swings. You're seeing that right - it is shaped to look like a horse. Boy, the tire swing has come a long way since I was a kid!

The older kids liked this huge chair and immediately climbed up on it for a picture.

The older kids loved this 'fort' made out of hay bales. It had tunnels and passage ways. They spent a long time here.

Here's the gang walking through the corn maze. Rob and Jonah thought that it should have been more challenging. Are they Tannahills or what?!

I really like this picture of the baby in the corn maze. She had a lot of fun.

Happy Thanksgiving My Fellow Canadians

Well, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!! As most of our family is up there in 'The Great White North', I decided that I would send you all some Thanksgiving wishes. We are again having technical difficulties in uploading pictures to the hard drive [*sigh*], so I looked back into the archives and found these little beauties. These are pictures of Lauren from last year when she was in Kindergarten. They had made Native American headdresses and necklaces and then Pilgrim hats and collars to celebrate American Thanksgiving. She was so proud of her design skills! :-) I think she looks adorable and I can't believe what a difference a year makes. She looks so little in these pictures in comparison to how she looks today. Well, I hope that you like these.

Happy Thanksgiving to you. We love you!!

Here she is as a Native American. I love the necklace made out of Fruit Loops and noodles.

Here's the little Pilgrim. Doesn't she look like she just stepped off of the Mayflower?

Starting Early

The other night the baby brought out this book,

opened it and began to "read" it out loud to us. She would look down at the pages, tell us what it said in her little baby talk and then look at us to make sure we were paying attention to her. As you can see, she was very happy that we were in fact, paying attention to her. Her choice of reading material, you ask??? A book entitled, Plundering Pirates. :-) [Not exactly age appropriate, I know.]

We love to read in this family. Both sides of our family are strong readers who love to read for pleasure. It is something we are making a very conscious effort to teach our kids. I'm glad to see that our baby is already having 'fun' with reading! :-)

A Star Is Born

Well, here she is....our little star! :-) Lauren got these star sunglasses in a gift bag at a recent birthday party. Spencer loves them and is always trying to put them on. Well, she succeeded. :-) I for one, think she looks adorable.

The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

On Saturday we took the day and went to the Schiltz Audubon Nature Center just north of Milwaukee. It was such a beautiful day and we learned so much. We started out in their Learning Center which is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in America. It has many special features. We sat through an hour long presentation on Birds of Prey. We got to see a Bald Eagle, a Red-Tailed Hawk, an American Kestrel, and several owls.

We hiked along beautiful nature trails.

We climbed all the way to the top of the Observation Tower.

The climb was absolutely worth it. Look at that view of Lake Michigan!

The kids really liked this teepee that had been constructed on the beach out of drift wood.

The kids are trying to skip stones.

Rob caught this little guy to show the kids and Jonah really liked him. He stayed with Jonah for quite awhile.