Gavin's progress

I met with Gavin's teacher and some of the school staff this week for his annual IEP (Individualized Educational Program.) I was so impressed to see how much progress he has made since his IEP last January. Since that IEP last January, Gavin has attended 3 different schools. I was so worried that he would fall behind in all the moving and adjusting to the new school environment. I am so proud of my little man. He never ceases to amaze me. Because I am with him 24/7, I don't always see those academic achievements, great or small. As I think back to when we first got him in the Early Childhood Program at age 3, he could barely talk and was classified as "developmentally delayed." Because Gavin is our first child, Lucas and I always expected so much out of Gavin and got frustrated with him many times, without realizing that he needed some developmental intervention. I feel so guilty about this at times, but I am also so grateful to have gotten him into the program and his academic achievements are proof that the program works. I know that the Clark County School District has their flaws, but I am so grateful for this program and what it has done for Gavin. Academically, Gavin is pretty much on the same level as his peers. He struggles paying attention in class, which is also a problem at home. This is something we are working on. I may have to talk to his pediatrician about this. I feel like Gavin has made the most improvement in his speech. The Speech/Language Pathologist at his new school was amazed at how far he has come in his speech since a year ago. According to her observation Gavin is meeting the speech expectations for his age.
Gavin is getting so grown up. He loves to ask questions and is obsessed with skeletons and bones. We had KFC one night for dinner and after eating a chicken leg he insisted that we wash the chicken bone and carried it around for the rest of the night. I hope this means he'll be an Orthopedic Surgeon or maybe a Paleontologist :o)

Donations Information

For those of you who have inquired about a donation fund, we have an account set up at Wells Fargo in the name of "The Garth Abbott Cancer Fund." The account #5918001214 This is a 503c Charitable association. You can just call or go into any Wells Fargo Bank. There will also be a link on the auction blog(www.thedailyabbott.blogspot.com) in the near future, that will bring you directly from that blog site to the account so that any donations can be made there as well.
Thank you so much!!!

A Time Of Need

I mentioned in my last post that my father-in-law, Garth Abbott was diagnosed with IBC (inflammatory breast cancer.) He has been told that this type of aggressive breast cancer is automatically at a stage 3 or 4. Time is of the essence and he needs to start chemotherapy right away. Unfortunately he doesn't have health insurance. Chemotherapy for 4 or 5 months is about $105,000. My sister-in-law Rachelle has started an online auction on her blog. There are lots of wonderful items up for auction. If any of you would like to bid on the auction, you can go to www.thedailyabbott.blogspot.com or if you would like to offer up something for auction you can contact Rachelle Abbott at helpgarth@yahoo.com. No donation is too small.
Thank you!

A New Beginning

We had a really special Christmas. Santa was very good and brought everything that we put on our Christmas lists. This Christmas was a little different for us. We tried not to get caught up in the commercial side of Christmas so much. We wanted to teach our kids that giving is much more rewarding that receiving. We were able to do some fun secret santa things for people we know. I was reminded of how good people were to my family and I when my mam struggled to provide Christmas for my siblings and me when I was younger. This Christmas was also very emotional for us. My father-in-law found out, on Christmas Eve that he has inflammatory breast cancer (IBC.) Anyone who knows my father-in-law, Garth Abbott, knows that he is a fighter and stubborn as all get out :) I know that he will conquer this terrible disease. It has been so touching to see how many people love and admire this man. People are so good and it gives me hope. I was reminded of how important family is and that the family bond and love is more powerful than anything in this world.

Lucas and I spoke in church on the last Sunday of 2009. Our topic was about goal setting. It was a fun topic to talk about and it got me really motivated to set goals and more importantly achieve goals this year. Elder M. Russell Ballard said "I believe you can train yourself to become a positive thinker, but you must cultivate a desire to develop the skill of setting personal worthy and realistic goals. I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When you learn to master the principle of setting a goal, you will then be able to make a great difference in the results you attain in this life.”

The first step to setting goals is to write them down, which I haven't yet done. I have lots of ideas swirling in my mind. In the last few days I have become very aware of how important it is to teach your children gratitude, hard work and unselfishness. I've tried to make sure my children have everything they want and then some and I've realized that maybe I'm doing more damage than good. I don't know how my mam raised 5 of us kids by herself. I know she did without many times. I am so blessed to have a husband to support me and provide for our family. I'm grateful that I can stay home and raise my children. This year, I plan to have more teaching moments with my children. I want to teach them that they don't always get what they want right away. That you have to work hard for what you want. Now, I know that my kids are only 5, 3, and 1, but sometimes I feel like I'm wasting so much time not doing my part in raising them to be grateful and well-mannered children. I found this fun website www.goalforit.com and I have put some chore charts together for Gavin and Tyrone. I believe that if you give kids responsibilty and teach work ethic from an early age that they will grow up to become strong, independant, exceptional people.

I'm so excited for this coming year. There are so many things to accomplish. I am turning 30 in July and I thought I would be depressed but I'm actually very excited about it. I feel like I have accomplished a lot in my life so far, but I'm excited to broaden my horizons and I feel like there really are so many things I have yet to achieve.

One True Christmas

"It is small wonder that angels sang at His birth and Wise Men traveled far to pay Him homage. He was the one perfect man to walk the earth. He fulfilled the law of Moses and brought a new canon of love to the world. His mother was mortal, and from her came an inheritance of the flesh. His Father was immortal, the Great God of the Universe, through whom came His divine nature."
~Gordon B. Hinckley

Tis the season to be jolly

It's about time for an update. I haven't had much to blog about. We are all settled in with Lucas' parents. I am amazed how my kids always adjust so well to new situations. We moved twice this year and I think Lucas and I took it harder than our kids. They really are so resilient. They just want a routine and once you give it to them, they get right on track. I am very thankful for this. We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. My sister Kim hosted dinner for us. Everything was perfect. We were missing some family members but it was still a great day. Lucas and I really love this time of year. We both have such fond memories of Christmas time from our childhood. We decorated the tree this past weekend. There is nothing better than Christmas music playing, the Christmas tree & lights and holiday cooking. I love it!

Gavin is settling into school pretty well. I was a little worried when he started his new school, because he seemed to be having a hard time adjusting. I think he really missed his teacher and friends from his last school. It just takes time and now I think he is finally getting used to this new school.

Tyrone and I spend time together when Gavin is at school and Niamh is napping. I've been trying to do preschool stuff with him and art projects. He loves this time together and likes when I am his "teacher."

Niamh has started to climb everything. She no longer wants to eat in her high chair but wants to climb up on a kitchen chair to eat her food. Lucas caught her on top of the piano today. She has no fear. She loves to wave and say "hi" to anyone we passby at the store. She is so friendly and loves to show off to anyone who is watching.

We are enjoying our new ward. Lucas was called as Ward Mission Leader this past Sunday. This is probably the biggest calling he has had thus far. He is very excited to work with the missionaries and fulfill his calling.

I have not received a calling as of yet, but I was asked to sing in church on December 13 and Lucas and I were asked to speak in church on December 27. So I guess if the members of the ward don't know us by now, they'll know us by the end of the year :)

A Worthy Cause

If you're looking for a way to GIVE this Christmas season, check this out. It's amazing how much we take water for granted when there are hundreds of thousands of people dying in the world for the lack of clean water. Please check out this charity. Click on the picture below.