#31 - Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

Hello Everyone!

What a fun day today.  I knew as a parent, there would be a time when my kids would come up to me and say, "Mom, can I buy a car?"  Well, I kind of expected that to happen when they are about 16 or 17....but low and behold, about a week ago, Austin came to me with that very question.  He wanted to buy a Ford truck.  An F-150 to be exact.  We're pretty fortunate though, because the car he wanted to buy was built by Fisher Price, uses a rechargeable battery (no gas!), doesn't require insurance, and only cost $300!  Well, we made a deal with him...if he paid half, we would cover the other half as an early birthday present.  He was so excited!  So day before yesterday, Ken, the wonderful Dad he is, went to Walmart to make the purchase. 

It wasn't long before we realized we had several major problems...One...it came in a huge box with many, many parts!   The other problem...How could four, non-union cripple people build a car with no assembly line and only a power screwdriver?  Well, never under estimate blue collar disabled people...they can do anything!  Everyone was assigned a job...Austin managed the wheel inventory, Michaela was the official photographer, Ken was chief power screwdriver operator, and I was in charge of holding the shaking man's hands still while he operated the power tool.  What a team!  Within just a few hours, we had a beautiful mini-sized F-150, complete with racing stripes!  He couldn't drive it right away, because we needed to charge the battery.  So, Austin and I just decided to sit in it, play the radio, and look "cool" for the rest of the day. (See attached photo).

Another problem...we realized that Austin's legs were about 7 inches too short to reach the gas pedal...so we called his friend, Super Dave.  Dave is a genius...he can figure out anything, and he is a mechanical whiz...just the kinda guy we needed for a job like this.  So, today, we loaded the truck into the back of my van, and drove it to the airport hanger where Dave keeps all his handy dandy tools.  Dave took one look at it and knew just what to do.  While he was crafting away, fabricating the special part for his car, I thought it would be a great idea to let Austin try out the car to make sure he could steer it.  Well, someone needed to operate the gas for him, and since I was the only person brave enough who could fit in the car with him, that job belonged to me.  I guess there are advantages to being a mini mom!

Well, anyway...we both got in the vehicle, braced ourselves, and put the pedal to the metal.  I hit the gas, we were tossed back in our seats and we took off with about 10 g's of force!  This car has the knobbiest tires I've ever seen...what a rough bumpy ride!!!  As we are zooming down the taxiway, it reminded me of when my Dad taught me how to drive.  What a special...but scary...moment!  I was putting my safety in the hands of an 11-year old.  But, this was no 11-year-old...this kid can fly a plane.  So that thought put me at ease as we booked all over the airport and baha'd through the grass.  What a great place to learn how to drive...nothing to bump into, except an occasional plane that would pass us by.  I never saw my kids giggle so hard.  Michaela was giggling because she thought we looked so funny, and Austin was giggling because he was having so much fun. 

Dave needed some extra time to finish the part, so we brought the car home.  Austin wanted to drive some more...so tonight we hopped back in and zoomed down the street...giggling and waving at all the neighbors.  We must have been quite a sight, because they were all laughing too!  What fun!  The part for his pedal is suppose to be done on Sunday, and he can't wait to take off on his own.  My only concern is he wants to buy a GPS for it and extra batteries...Should I be concerned that he's planning some kind of cross-country trip?  Well, if you see him giggling and waving past your house...please send him home, will you?

Love,
Missy

   

#23 - One Scary Joy Ride

Hello Everyone!

A few weeks ago, we cleaned out our garage.  Under all the rubble, low and behold, I found my old bike!  I hadn't ridden it in years.  It was covered in bird poop and cobwebs, but I've been on this fitness kick lately, so I thought, gee, since we have a paved driveway now, this would be a good time to start riding it.  So, I pulled it out from under the pile.  Now remember, I have this brittle bone condition...so, training wheels are a must for me...well, it's a little embarrassing calling them training wheels...so I think I'll call them my safety gear.  As I inspected my bike, I noticed that one of the "safety gears" was missing.  So, I went to the local bike shop to get a new set.  I brought them home the other day, and struggled and struggled to get them on...but tonight, I finally had success.  Ah, I can finally ride my bike.  I use to ride a bike all the time as a kid...but I forgot...I'm not a kid anymore.  I went to get on the bike and instantly remembered...my Dad use to pick me up and PUT me on the bike.  Hum...what was I to do now?  Well, I wiggled and waddled and tried to get up on that bike.  All the while, shaking like a leaf, because I remembered the last time I fell off a bike, I broke my arm...So, I did the only thing I knew to do...I called Ken for help.  What a sweet man.  Another new challenge...I forgot Ken has cerebral palsy...Well, have you ever seen a shaky guy try to load his wife on a bike with training wheels? …I thought not.  Well, you should have seen us, because it was hilarious.  It didn't help that I was laughing so hard I was practically crying.

He finally got me up on the bike, and then we realized the tires were flat.  So, my wonderful husband went to get the tire pump.  I decided, since it took about an hour to get me on the bike, I'd better just sit there and wait.  He filled the tires, and stepped back.  Oh wow...I couldn't believe I was up on a bike!  I couldn't get my feet on the peddles...so Ken lovingly placed my feet upon them.  "You are ready to go," he said.  "No I'm not" I'm thinking...But after all that work, I figured I might as well give it a try...So, off I went...out the garage and down the new driveway...what a feeling of freedom....wind blowing in my hair...it was glorious...and so easy because the driveway goes downhill.  Everything was going wonderfully, when all of a sudden the kids and Ken started screaming...."Your wheel, your wheel!!!"  Ohhhhhhh gosh...I threw on the breaks and stood there as I froze with fear...."My wheel fell off????????"  I don't know how to balance a bike!!!!!!!!!!!!  The kids were laughing so hard, they were screaming...I never heard them laugh so hard....I started screaming, help, help!  This wasn't fun anymore!!!!!!!!  My guardian angels held me on that bike until Ken came running out to grab me.  I don't even remember how he tried to grab me, but I knew it wasn't gonna work....he started laughin, I was practically cryin, the kids are still laughing hysterically, and the neighbors are driving by waving hello!  Oh, gosh, what a calamity!  Ken finally found a gentle way to gently set me on the ground...the lovely ground...Actually, my family overreacted a bit, because my wheel hadn't fallen off, but it was just about to.  That was enough exercise for one night...Do you think I should try this again?

Love,
Missy

#22 - Give me that flippin fish!

Hello Everyone!

We'll it’s been an interesting day. Last night, Michaela found out that Justin Bieber will be performing at the Palace in August.  Who is Justin Bieber you might ask?  Well, he's kinda the Elvis Presley of the new millennium.  Michaela discovered that tickets had already gone on sale, and she decided she wanted to make Justin's concert one of her summer activities.  So, she begged and pleaded for us to try to get tickets for her.  This would be no easy task, because usually if you do not stay in line overnight to get tickets for these concerts, you ain't gonna get any tickets....  But, what the heck, I thought I would give it a try.  I called the Palace today and asked if there were any seats available.  "We are all sold out of that concert, ma'am" he said.  "Oh, no...No tickets, not a one?"  I said in dismay!  "No ma'am."  He replied.  "What about handicapped seating?  Do you have any seats open in handicapped seating?" I pleaded.  "Well, let me check into that" he said.  "Why yes, I have just two tickets left in that section!  You have the LAST two tickets available!"  Wow!  How exciting!  If I was the scalpin type, sitting on the right street corner, I could probably pay for her college education with these tickets!  But, I think she would rather skip college than miss this concert!  Baby, baby, baby OH!

On a different subject, we learned a valuable lesson tonight...never pick a restaurant that has no cars in the parking lot during dinner rush hour...there is a reason for that...We went to a local restaurant...a nice family-style restaurant...It took me about 15 minutes to decide what to have.  But I finally settled on the pasta with alfredo sauce...yum...I love pasta!  Sometime later, our waitress came by and exclaimed "Ma'am, we're out of that"  Oooooh, I just hate when that happens!  It takes me so long to decide what to have and then I get my taste buds all set for this wonderful pasta...and then I find out they are out of stock!!!! How can that be?  She handed me a menu and said, “Would you like to order something else?”  So, I grabbed the menu and began the grueling task of trying to change my craving.  As I am sitting there with the menu, the waitress brought Ken's and the kids' food out to them.  Oh, now I was really cranky.  "Just forget it", I said.  The waitress was quite insistent that I order something else...so I finally asked for a bowl of broccoli soup.  After all, how could they get that wrong?  Well, they could.  It wasn't really soup...it was more like broccoli pudding.  Yuck.  But I chomped it down and tried to be grateful for what I had. 

Just then, to make the meal more interesting...Ken had a tremendous cerebral palsy induced shake attack...he accidentally flipped one of his fish fillets in the air and it landed on his booth seat.  Looking down at the fish...we all wondered what his next move would be...will he pick up the fish and toss it aside?....Will he pick it up, scrape off any and all germs that might have fallen off the dairy air of the person who sat there last?.... Or, will he just eat it?

I'll let you just wonder which of the three options he selected!

Have a great day!

Love,
Missy

#20 - Random Acts of Kindness

Hello Everyone!

I am so thankful for these blogs, because some days are too amazing just to keep to ourselves!  Let me tell you a little about our Saturday...

I woke up early this morning...still basking in the delight that I won a ribbon for my quilt at the quilt show yesterday.  After stretching a few times, I had to jump out of bed right away...because we had lots of plans.

                                                                                                                               

First, we traveled to the Airport, because our buddy Dave was hosting a bi-plane fly-in event.  Due to the weather, there weren't very many people "flying" in today, but we had a great time.  Dave made homemade donuts and homemade pizza for everyone...yum yum! 

Then, it was back home for some rest and relaxation before taking off for a "live" interview at the Covenant Hospital Telethon at the TV-5 studio.  That was a lot of fun...the kids did a great job, and everyone made them feel like real stars.  Lots of fun times today...

Then something incredible happened...On the way home from the telethon, we decided to stop at Bob Evans for dinner.  There was a long line of people waiting to be seated, but we were hungry and didn't feel like cookin, so we decided to wait it out.  While in line, a very sweet lady came in with her grandson who appeared to be 7 or 8 years old.  What a sweet boy he was, and I could tell his grandma loved him to pieces.  The grandma asked the boy to sit down on the bench and wait, but he wanted to stand up right next to me.  Overhearing their conversation, I could tell that he had some type of disability.  I smiled at him and asked him how he was doing and what his name was.  He looked at me IN THE EYES and said "My name is Cameron."  "That is a nice name," I said.  "I really like the name Cameron."  He smiled back at me, and so did his grandma.  "He never looks people in the eyes when he talks to them," said his grandma in amazement.  Wow, at that moment, I felt a real connection with him...and it made me feel good that he felt comfortable talking to me.  What a special moment.  Then we were called to be seated, and we said goodbye. 

We sat down at our table and proceeded to eat an incredibly delicious meal.  Everything was going great, until a nasty fruit fly was buzzing around my face.  It was a pesty ol thing...and it wouldn't go away...until...zoop... the darn thing flew right up my nose!  No lie!  Augh...I guess it thought I needed some extra protein with my dinner...When we were so full that we couldn't fit another bite into our bellies, we asked for takeout boxes.  When the waitress brought the boxes to us, she dropped a handwritten note on the table.  The note was from the grandma we met in line.  It said, "My grandson, Cameron, just started talking not too long ago.  He has autism.  He called you the "Bob Evans lady!  Thank you for your kindness..."  And then another amazing thing happened.  We found out she paid our dinner bill.  Wow.  All I said basically said to him was "hello."  You know...you never know how a little gesture of kindness can affect someones life. 

Before I read her note, I thought it was ME who benefited from our little conversation...How cool is that?

Love,
The Bob Evans Lady!

#9 - The Davert Parade

Hello Everyone!

Ken and I decided to take the kids to the mall today.  It is always interesting to see the reactions of people as we zoom by them in our sporty chairs, and it is especially interesting when Ken is using one too!  We are like a parade wherever we go.  I still can't figure out what makes people stop what they are doing and stare at us...maybe they like my haircut or something...not sure. 

Today, one lady decided to give her grandson a disability sensitivity training and brought him over to meet Michaela.  She said to her grandson, "See, she is just like you!"  Michaela gave the lady a confused glare.  I guess the grandma didn't notice that Michaela was a FEMALE, 11 years old, with curly hair, driving a pink power chair, but other than that, yes, they were exactly alike!  Oh, people are so funny.

And, Sammie, lovely Sammie.  The other day, Ken said to me, “What is that noise?”  Whatever it was…it couldn't be good.  He got up, searched around the house, and discovered that Sammie, our 51 pound beagle, climbed up onto the kids' bathroom sink again...but this time, he turned the water on!!!  No lie.  How can a beagle do that?  Thank goodness we were home, or he would have been a 51 pound beagle swimming in a flooded house. 

Oh, and later today when I was in the craft room, I heard a tremendous crash.  I went running to the kitchen.  My legs were going so fast you would have thought I was an Irish folk dancer.  When I arrived in the kitchen, what did I see?  About 550 plastic forks, spoons, and knives spread across the floor, and in the middle of the pile was a 51 pound beagle with a guilty look on his face!  He pulled them off my kitchen counter.

  

Oh Sammie, you keep us very busy!  But, you are so lovable, we really don’t mind!

Love,
Missy