Endings Lead to New Beginnings....

We've been doing a lot of reflecting the past few weeks.  This is a time of endings and new beginnings.  I harvested the last of our carrots from the garden in San Diego...and bought seed potatoes for our new garden in Fairmont.

Max & Larry giving Carolyn & Greg the last rent check

 

 

We got keys to our new place...Max does the honors!

We've been very happy in San Diego for the past 8 years, so it's really bitter sweet.  Our new place holds so much promise, that it makes our eminent departure a bit easier.

Yesterday Larry took Max's play structure apart and is taking it to the new house.  I think the more familiar things that Max has at our new house, the easier the transition will be for him.  The act of removing the structure has actually made things more real for some reason.

Max making a rainbow

I am so used to looking out the window and seeing this...now only the trampoline (far left outside the picture) is there.  Soon that too will come down and make its way to our new place.

The act of moving is overwhelming and exciting and cathartic.  I have been posting things in the FREE section of craigslist almost daily.  I love the win-win of getting rid of our excess stuff to someone that is genuinely thrilled to have it!  So far we have given away: a tent, outdoor furniture, wicker furniture, books, shipping pallets, a pallet of bricks, a gazebo, a weight bench with weights, gardening items, a weed whacker, and hundreds of shipping boxes....so far! 

We have had Am-Vets come to the house 5 times already and have given away so many clothes, dishes, books and toys!  The act of getting rid of things makes you feel lighter of heart. The other side of this is that we still have soooooo much stuff. 

So we're walking the thin line of excitement over our new place...making improvements and such...with the act of assessing, weeding out and boxing up our belongings for the move.

Stay tuned.....

Cheers~
Marti in San Diego

Family Camp in Big Bear



We just got back from Our Family Camp in Big Bear, California.  What an AMAZING experience!  There were families from Ventura County to San Diego and all places in between.  What was unique about this camp is that each family had a child with Down syndrome.  The kids ranged in age from 2 years old to teens....and there was fun stuff to do for all ages!  Marissa and her husband, Dave started the camp three years ago and it keeps growing every year!

(Look how dirty Max was after 5 minutes at camp!)

There were several sleeping options from tents to dorms.  Out of the 140 folks participating, most seemed to opt for the dorms.  Our family was one of 6 families that brought our own tent.  My son, Max, absolutely LOVES sleeping in the tent!  The camp also offers 3 sided cabins, which were not too popular with our group.  All food was included as well.

This was our campsite :-)

Brandon, Bella and Max (with hubby) had a lot of fun blowing bubbles!

Max loved riding on "Big Red" who spends half the year at Camp Oaks and the other half as a Polo Pony in Santa Barbara. 

Max also loved the boats...the life jacket had to go, though! 

Max testing out one of the ropes on the "Low Ropes" course.

Larry exploring the camp...he gives it a thumbs up!

We spent every afternoon in the pool.  Much to Max's disappointment, the pool was not open in the mornings.  It was pretty cold...even heated the water was in the mid-70's.

We liked the canoes so much we did them on both Saturday and Sunday!

Of all the activities, the piano in the lodge was one of the most popular...here are John, Sevilla and Max playing a number for the crowd!

Max with his pal Brandon (and Larry) on the way to the big campfire!

Family picture by the "lake."

There were all sorts of activities....we were just too busy having fun to take more pictures!  .We did a hay ride across the camp, swimming, hiking and participated in the camp fire.  The camp offered a climbing wall, archery and riffle range, but they were quite a walk for Max.  Although we were right next to the craft cabin, we never made it over there either.

We will most definitely be going back next year.  It was so great to meet  all of the kids and their parents.  It was more fun to participate in the activities as a family...with other families who have a shared experience.

Here are the 2011 campers!  Max is on Larry's shoulders in a lime green shirt.

Hope you enjoyed reading about Family Camp....we sure had fun participating!!

Cheers~

Marti

Special Surfers Day at The Beach-La Jolla, CA

Every year the WindanSea Surf Club puts on an amazing event--The Special Surfers Day at the Beach.  This year we took Max and we're so glad we did....it was an amazing experience!  Although it was our first year, we were greeted as old friends.  It is a very laid back atmosphere...what else would you expect from San Diego surfers..haha!

Max was so excited that he charged right into the water!  I went in (yes, fully clothed!) with him because he was on a mission.  Some experts soon took over.  They got Max on a board right away to get him acclimated to surfing.

Max's first ride...and he's off!

Wow...I'm doing it! 

Hold on!

Wipe out!

That was sooooo fun!

We tried to get a picture of Max and Tori surfing together.  This was as close as we could get.  The Williamsons were one of the first families we met when we moved to San Diego.  It's been a treat to see Tori grow over the years...and she's a natural on the surfboard!  That's mom Rachel with Tori and a nice volunteer with Max.

Another great volunteer took up with Max.  Max is always finding the good lookin' ladies to help him out!  He decided that he much preferred riding the waves while sitting indian style...so that's how he rolled for the rest of the day!

Mommy finally went and put on her suit so we could catch a few rides together!

Overall, we had a fantastic day!  Thank you so much to the folks at the Windansea Surf club!

Cheers~

Marti

Teachable Moments--Blast From the Past

As the day approaches, I've been thinking about Mother's Day and what it means to be a mother.  This morning I was outside watering in the top gardens.  Max was out there with me, and walked up to me and said, "My turn."   He wanted to use the hose.  I quickly finished up and handed him the hose.  It reminded me of a story I wrote in the Spring of 2008 and what a difference three years can make.  Here is your blast from the past.....3 year old Max and my teachable "mom"ment.  Happy Mother's Day!

Max, age 3, watering the Square Foot garden beds.  Notice the door ajar in the background.

Teachable Moments by Marti Lindsey

Teachable moments...you have got to love them!  My son Max and I have had many teachable moments in his three short years with me.  The first one I can recall is, “Don’t throw chicken at the policeman.”  This occurred shortly after he  turned one and we were eating at Pick Up Stix.  He simply wanted their attention.

Because it's never come up before, we've never had a dialogue about not bringing the hose into the house.  One day in May I was working in my terraced beds and Max was watering the square foot boxes.  These boxes are located near our back door,   He was doing such a great job...a little water in each square...I was so proud.  The thing with kids is that when they become quiet, some thing's up.  Alerted by the quiet, I looked over to where Max was only to see him watering...in my BEDROOM! 

I shouted., “NO, MAX, NO!  NO HOSE IN THE HOUSE!”  I don't raise my voice often, so Max was frozen with the hose...WATERING MY BED!

I had to weave through my squash and pumpkins, past my tomatoes to get to the stairs to get across the patio to get into the house to take the hose out of his hand and say again, “NO HOSE IN THE HOUSE! “   My neighbor, Cheryl Kelly, was in her backyard laughing at our predicament.  Her nephew, Erik, has Down syndrome and she is a special friend to Max and our family.

The carpet was soaked!  You know, that WHOCK WHOCK sound when you're squishing through the room.  The brunt of the watering seemed to be taken by the box springs.  I was toweling off the carpet only to find a Cole Hahn loafer...full of water.  All things considered, the damage wasn’t too bad...a laundry basket, the floor and part of the bed.  I got the fans out and the windows open.  As most wet things do, the bedroom dried out.

As only our children can remind us, teachable moments are around every corner.  Until the situation comes up, they don’t know about no hoses in the house!

Max's Award

Max won an award at school today!!! 

I realize that those of you who know our family personally are used to my Max stories, but I've come to realize that some folks might not know how awesome he is...so I'll give a little background.  Max was born in December of 2004 with a severe heart condition and Down syndrome, both of which were diagnosed before he was born.  The difference between that medically fragile (and blue hued) little baby and the jokster that lives with us today are tremendous!

Pretty much every day Max has us laughing in stitches!  Max attends a regular Kindergarten class in our neighborhood school.  Today Larry and I attended their morning assembly to see Max receive his award for Academic Achievement and Citizenship.

It was hard to get  picture of Max with the award, because he had had a long day at school.  He was just home from school, it was HOT (89 degrees) and he had stuff to do!!

Here is part of what the award says: 

Max has a smile that is contagious and brings smiles to all of our faces.  Our class has learned sign language and we use it every day in our classroom.  Max's hard work has caused our class to become more unified and has created a very supportive environment.  Thank you Max, you are our best friend.  We appreciate your loving heart and personality.

Wow...this is amazing!  When you have a child with special needs, you really question their placement.  Will he fit in?  Will he disrupt the class?  Will he fall behind?  Will he like school?  Will the other kids be adversely affected by having our child in the class?  Seeing this award and reading the words really verify that we made the right decision.  This is the right placement for Max...and for the other kids in his class.  Contrary to my fears that Max would hold the class back, it seems that Max is pulling the class together and enriching their experience.

It's not just Max's class, it's the whole school.  Max is known by all of the kids.  They all say hello and good-bye to Max....the older kids give him high fives and the younger kids give him a hug!  Max has a special relationship with the principal, the lunch staff, the librarian, the office staff and the school nurse (even though he doesn't visit for health reasons...he just likes Mr. King!). 

Max is different from the other kids at Cabrillo, and it's embraced.  When he was waiting to get his award this morning, he was sitting on the stage with the other award winners and his aide, Ms. Alma.  All seemed to be going well until we started saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  Max bolted from the stage, so Ms. Alma bolted after him.  He didn't go far....he was looking for his teacher, Mr. C.  You see, Max always says the Pledge of Allegiance with Mr. C!  Why would today be any different?

Another thing about Max is he really doesn't like to wear clothing unless it's absolutely necessary.  We have one main rule:  We need to wear clothes in public and in the front yard.  Our back yard is pretty secluded and we don't have close neighbors, so it's ok to be naked back there and in the house, unless we have guests.

So one of the first things Max did when he got home from school was strip down and blow some bubbles.  Max LOVES bubbles.....and being naked.  What a perfect way to spend a hot San Diego afternoon!

I hope you enjoyed this little slice of Max's life.  Every day I feel lucky to be part of it!

Cheers~
Marti