Spencer the Great

With the events of the last couple of weeks (www.caringbridge.org/visit/benjaminswapp)
I have gained a new appreciation for my oldest soccer playing, swim team splashing, lego and star wars loving child. I should have known he would have more than the normal gumption because heaven pulled out all the stops to get him here. (One of these days I will write that up and post it here)

Last Tuesday night as we were preparing for his younger brother's MRI the next day, Spencer decided to fast with Tom and I that all would go well during the testing process and in meeting with the Dr. He sat up in the kitchen late that night to eat a last bowl of cereal with his little brother before the fast began and he brought up an armful of his favorite stuffed animals so Ben could take one to the hospital to keep him company. This is huge, Spencer is not known for his ability to share his toys, especially the beloved stuffed menagerie he sleeps with nightly.

I'm sure Ben recognized this great act of love because the little stuffed alligator he chose stayed glued to his side throughout the day - it even got to go into the MRI since it didn't have any metal parts!

The next morning Spencer hopped out of bed without a fuss. On fast Sundays we usually endure much grumbling and moaning of hungry tummies and all, but not this day. He even had a smile on his face and helped me get out the door. He helped in Ben's classroom that morning even though Ben wasn't there and he rushed home from school to see him. He and September's first question when they rushed in the door was "Ben, how are you?" "Are you okay?" -

The next day, life was back to normal with the usual grumbling and moaning, which, to their credit is pretty cool too. It wasn't very long ago that we would pay for a day at the hospital with Ben for days afterward, but these kids are learning to roll with the punches, rise to the occassion, then get back in the game.

It took me a few days to see all this for what it was - like a lot of people, my perspective is enhanced while looking in the rear view mirror of life (it would be nice if it were that way when I was backing up the car as well - but we'll save that for a different day) and the last few days I have fine tuned my heart with a whole lot of gratitude that a loving Father in Heaven knew exactly which one of these kiddos needed to come to our family first.

Theodorable

Lately I have found myself really grateful for this cute little kiddo.

Maybe because it was about this time of year nearly 5 years ago I found myself crying at the drop of the hat every time I paused to think about the fact that before the summer was out I would have 4 kids 5 years and under.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we had just picked up and moved our 3 little kids all the way across the country to live with my parents while we tried to figure out why were supposed to be back in this place we now call home and hadn't factored in another baby only 18 months after the last one.

It could have been the hormones . . .

But now, when that cherub comes blowing into the kitchen or family room or laundry room shouting "mom, mom, mom . . . I love you" and throws his arms around me like he hasn't seen me in weeks -
or he spontaneously takes a break from his pals and latest "bad guy hunt" to say "Mom, I like you" - I can't help but thank my Heavenly Father for sending that little guy our way.

Tom loves it when Theo runs through the kitchen or office and yells "hey, Dad" just to get Tom to look over long enough for Theo to give him a big smile and head on his way. The older kids all fight for his attention, because he loves them just as much.

He is a giant part of the reason that Ben can speak and socialize and function at all. Theo hasn't ever let Ben's hang ups get in the way of playing together. He can go from Legos with Spencer to rainbows and ponies with September and on to blasters and airplanes with Ben inside of an afternoon several times - often playing with all of them at once. He's like super glue for our family.

None of us can imagine our little family without him - another reason I am glad I wasn't in charge of that decision - all I could see when I stared at that positive pregnancy test was stress when, in fact, it was a giant dose of God's love - The Adore.

Today

I consider myself quite patriotic. I love this country and have great faith in the amazing document we call our Constitution. I vote, I write letters (okay, emails) and make calls to my elected officials voicing my support and my concerns on many issues. I take my citizenship in this country seriously and gratefully.
With that being said, my current full-time position - motherhood has given me an entirely different perspective on today's events. My kids teachers have been a bit excited about the inauguration of President Elect Obama today which has extended itself into the homework arena. My Fourth-grader especially, as his most recent writing assignment was to explain the significance of MLK Day and the inauguration of Obama the following day. As he and I have spent the last few days struggling to write the paper I began to realize that the true significance of these events is that to our rising generation, they aren't significant at all. It is truly no big deal to my kids that the new President is African American - and why should it be? We spend an awful amount of energy trying to teach our children that they can be anything they want to be - and so can all of their friends, no matter the color.
It seems counterintuitive to make such a big deal about it now - to point out to this wonderful rising generation that the color of someone's skin is so important. . . . don't get me wrong, it's a pretty cool deal, but aren't there more important things going on?
I can't count on one hand the number of friends who are out of work, who are fighting terrible illnesses, who worry each day how they will get through tomorrow . . . somehow the color of Mr Obama's skin just isn't as important to me as what's inside that skin is - and how it will affect the future of all the people I know and love - hopefully in a few years we can celebrate that.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Would you believe after all those calls I finally found someone who would listen?!
I got several phone calls on Monday - the state PTA and UFAAN have come out in full support of our efforts to create a safer environment in the schools for kids with food allergies. Six other parents and myself met with our principal and the director for Upland Terrace Elementary and after an hour and a half we are finally getting many of the changes we need!
The teachers are going to be trained, we will have standard school-wide "practices" (not policy) for handling food allergies in the classroom and we have formed a committee of parents to help support the school in their efforts.
AND ... this coming Tuesday the Granite Board Meeting will be hearing from the State PTA president, UFAAN and Mr. Martin Bates as they will be considering removing nut products from their menus and creating a district-wide policies on handling food allergies like having ingredients lists of all products served for lunches available in the lunchroom, putting pictures on all Emergency Action Plans - which will be made available to all teachers, bus drivers and lunch room workers who work with kids with severe allergies and creating formal written guidelines for the entire district on how severe food allergies should be handled in the classroom, lunch room and on field trips!!
I am so excited and nervous - I will be praying for all those administrators this coming week and for those that will be presenting information to them. I am cautiously hopeful that this will be the begininng to the end of this long quest! What a relief it could be to not have to reinvent the wheel with each teacher every year!!
I just want to do a happy dance! (So does Spencer - he has carried a lot of anxiety over all this and hopefully, very soon he can rest easier!)

Thoughts

As the seasons begin to take their changing more seriously, the Swapp family also seems to be taking on a few more changes. With all the kids in school, at least part time, I seem to be finding much more to do with my time than I ever imagined.
We were invited to be a part of the MDA telethon over labor day weekend where we were interviewed by a sweet woman named Barb Smith from KTVX ch 4. She and I immediately connected and our conversations that began with the the struggles of creating accessibility in an old and rather stuck in it's ways elementary school, they quickly turned to the other challenges we face with children with food allergies. To her credit, Barb saw a story there and away we have gone.
She came to the kids elementary school and did a story on our Nut-free table. It has helped to bolster our stride as we are working to get a food allergy policy in place at the district. To our great disappointment (to say the least) the district has responded to our efforts of last year by serving pb&j sandwiches EVERYDAY as a hot lunch choice.
I have spent hours and hours on the phone working my way up the granite district ladder, to no avail. They all very calmly "pass the buck." Saying things like, well, we got permission (from who?) and "if there was a policy then we would definitely follow that policy, but for right now this is really cost effective for the district and lots of kids like it."
For all intents and purposes, the district is serving a loaded gun in our lunch rooms but no body cares because it's only deadly to 12-15 kids in the school. It's enough to make me run screaming from the room and home school my kids!
But instead, I have decided to continue my uphill climb to the top of the district and beyond. This week I am speaking with the health coordinator on the Utah State Board of Education. Congressman Cannon is also on my list. With a little tact and lots of tongue biting I have added person after person, Doctors, educators and other professionals to my arsenal of support.
Something has to change and I guess that is going to start with me.
since I can't figure out how to download this in such a way that I can embed it, here's the link. Spencer was so excited and sooo nervous. You know I am passionate about something when I agree to take a stab at art - I AM NOT AN ARTIST =)
http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=49D3C4D8-C09F-4615-A45F-84E2BC8B079C&gsa=true

Shazaaam

I can't believe its almost gone!
With only a week left of summer I find myself wanting to cry - I'm just not ready to send them all back.
Gratefully, Ben & Theo will only be half-day but it just seems like once school starts everything else comes to a screeching halt.
Oh well, we've had a nice summer and we are shoving as much as humanly possible into this final week. Since we didn't get much of a vacation this summer we are planning some get aways for the September and October school breaks.

We've had a different kind of summer, pretty laid back and lots of cousins (this is new for us). We've relished having Tom's cousins here from Texas, one is Spencer's age, one September's age and a 13 year old who plays really well with Ben & Theo =). They have been here cheering on the 9-year-old who has been battling cancer. The picture above is of our 3 boys after they shaved their heads in support of their cousin.
The lineup at the top is all the cousins on the Swapp family side at the 4th of July parade in Provo. G&G Wilkins (Tom's grandparents) live right on Center Street so we get front row seats to the Freedom Festival Parade every year.
The 2 healthy kids head out tomorrow and the 9-year-old and his mom will be here a few more weeks as he finally undergoes surgery to take the nasty tumor out and hopefully end his battle.
We are packing in a last round of swimming lessons, ice cream parties, swimming parties and adventures.
I never have enough time to do this right - and I gotta run again, more pics later.

Summer is in full swing in sunny (sometimes smokey) Salt Lake City. This summer has been a bit different, but I suppose they all are. At the last minute we decided to let Ben and Theo play in a 4 week soccer league but after only a few minutes of play in the first game Ben fell and broke his collarbone.
With that came a host of changes - more wheelchair time, postponing a family vacation and limiting swimming lessons. It also came with more free time and some creative local family experiences. We spent a day biking in Park City, we were so proud of the kids - even Theo pedaled his way to the overpass we stopped at and all the way back - with a few stops to throw rocks in the river. We ended the afternoon by biking up Main Street (a bit steep) for a quick lunch. We've also hit the planetarium and the children's museum.
Spencer ended the baseball season by heading to the baseball playoffs where his team came in 3rd overall. It was very exciting and Spencer got off a few good hits!
Most of his summer has been spent playing outside, enjoying scout camps and hanging out with his cousin from Texas when he is well enough to play (otherwise the two of them chat on the phone like teenage girls for hours on end!). We are all grateful they are such good pals.
Tember started the summer with a week at a local horse camp which solidified her love of all things horses and equestrian. She is currently taking gymnastics with her cousin from Texas and a cousin from Cottonwood Heights. It is the highlight of her weeks.
With Ben down for the count in soccer, Theo had his chance to shine. He made his first goal (he was so cute!) You would have thought he was named president - hugs and high 5's all around. We are hoping to get some swim lessons in with one of their aunts and they have been busy climbing all over their Uncle visiting from Maryland. All of Tom's siblings and their significant others were in town for the 4th for the first time in a very long time. It was a great day of parades, fireworks, food and laughter. We got a family photo for the first time since Spencer was a baby!
Summer goes way too fast - looking at the calendar there isn't much time to pack in a few more camping trips but we sure are going to try!!