It's Official

Mason was officially diagnosed with "Classic Autism" on Monday by a child psychiatrist. We are now putting him on the wait list for the medicaid waiver which will release $25,000 in additional therapies (about 8 hours of the needed 24 hours per week). It's a start. It's one little battle won.


Oh, by the way. As if all the craziness with the design team for Scrap N' Art, the new puppy (oy vey!), and Mason wasn't enough. We've decided to sell our house and get a bigger one. I am flat EXHAUSTED from scrubbing, painting, fixing, running, scrapping, chasing puppies, being bitten everytime I flippin' BREATHE! But.. it'll be worth it when we get into a little bigger place! (I hope!)

This little chicky is going to bed now. G'nite

(errr G'morning/G'Day to YOU Helen!) LOL

Tails from the new mommy,

He ain't so cute at 2:30 in the morning.

There is one thing that apparently I did not think of when having a little immature puppy flown over from South Africa. In South Africa, it is11:30 am right now. It's PLAYTIME in South Africa... Well guess what my friends? It is also PLAYTIME in Aurora, Colorado if I don't want his pitiful cries of lonely torture to wake up my children.

So here we are (the NOT very amused Codi and I) at 2:41 a.m. while the little prince plays with a chewy toy. Oy Vey it's gonna be a long night!

Well guess who showed up today!!!!

YES!!!!!!! He's here! FINALLY! We went through HELL to get this little guy... but at last he's here. Sleeping in my lap (lets see him try THIS when he's 150+ pounds!) Today SUCKED. The suspense for his arrival was K-I-L-L-I-N-G Me! So of course, I left to the airport totally early. Got there right as his plane was landing, but had to wait until he was transported over to the Cargo area. bleh.

I was pacing... back and forth... with both my kiddies with me waiting.... waiting.... waiting... when the idiot behind the counter says.. "oh yeah.. he's here already" GROOOOOOOOOOOOWL~ He's lucky he was behind that wall! Anyway, they bring Matani's crate to JUUUUUUUUUUST where I can barely see that there IS in fact a crate back there and they proceed to tell me that Matani hasn't cleared customs and I can't have him, or even SEE him until he has. Uhm Helloooooooooo! Can you people say TORTURE? I was about 2 seconds from breaking into a full fledged PMS Rage, when I called out to Matani. I simply called out his name and the pup started HOWLING!!!! He KNEW his name! It was like magic. I grabbed the beurocratic BS paperwork and fled doing about 80 down to customs. I got there and the customs guy (who by the way does not have one single humorous cell in his body) proceeds to tell me that my dog is 1.5 years old. Uh no... he's three months old today. So, we argue over this for about five minutes before he accepts defeat and proceeds to tell me that I can't have my dog because he hasn't had a rabies shot yet. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!? If he didn't have a gun, I woulda lopped him upside his beurocratic too much paperwork HEAD! I tried explaining to him that puppies can't GET a rabbies shot until they are four months old and that I was not going to LEAVE my pup with these dorks for a month! So Mr. Paperwork Dork had to take the files back to the "behind the scenes dorks" and keep me waiting for another 45 minutes while they all figured out that once again.... I was right. Good grief people! STAMP THE FRIGGIN PAPER AND LET ME GET MY DOG! I swear he didn't swallow a bomb on his way over for cryin out loud! So, I went back to the airline, paperwork in hand... had to pay $25.00 for them to 'house' my dog for an hour and I picked him up and LEFT! Well, I got as far as the parking lot before he was OUT of that crate, on a leash and running like mad through the fields! And this little dude loved EVERY single second of it!

Now he's home. He's happy... he's pottied outside 5 or 6 times, he's eating like a champion HORSE, he's tormenting the kids and the cats, he's taken 3 naps and 1 bath (Lord does he smell better now!). I've discovered that STAIRS are a totally foreign concept to him and to watch him climb the porch step into our home is HILARIOUS! He's never had any experience with a sliding glass door either, as is evidenced by him continually walking/running into the damn thing! I've learned he growls in his sleep, he sleeps HARD. Not even the vacuum woke him up! He loves toys and loves to chew. EVERYTHING. He's chewed his "immigration papers", my couch pillows, my sun visor, my jeans, his toys, my cat, my son and my daughter. He likes to chew. A lot. I realized this was a match made in heaven when he passed up the water bowl and went straight for momma's Pepsi. Yep. This is MY BOY and he's stolen my heart! Here are the very first photos of Matani. I'll get some good ones tomorrow I hope when we're all rested a bit!

As {my} luck would have it....

Matani (see post below) will NOT be coming to America any time soon, if at all. It's my luck. Matani's momma stepped on his elbow, tearing the ligaments and leaving him swollen, unable to walk and in extreme pain. Matani is on medication and he WILL heal, though it may take a few months... My heart is broken for this angel puppy, and also for us. We had grown to love him dearly already. Please keep this little guy in your thoughts... and we hope hope hope.... that he will be ours... SOMEDAY.

The Newest Member of our Family!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Mosbarger family. This is Matani. (I HOPE his name will be Matani. We are currently arguing over this but I do love it so, and it's so very fitting!)

Matani is our little South African Boerboel puppy! He will be 10 weeks old on Tuesday, February 5th. He is a BIG boy already for SURE. I know this isn't a good photo at all, but it is the ONLY photo I have of our new baby. You see, Matani (which is Swahili for strength and power), is still living with his mommy in Heilbron, South Africa. Yep.. he's half a world away and he has stolen my heart! We are hoping that Matani will be making the very long 24 hour flight to Denver sometime in the next week! At that point, you just KNOW my blog will be flooded with fantastic photos of my little prince!

Why in the WORLD would we buy a dog sight unseen, from a different continent you ask? To make a VERY long story short, South African Boerboel dogs are very well known for the way they bond to the children in the family. This particular breed above any other that we've researched will be the most perfect companion/therapy dog for Mason who is on the Autism Spectrum. The breeder we have chosen, is among the top 3 Boerboel breeders in the world. He is a geneticist who breeds specifically for temperament above all else. No, the man does NOT take very good photos, but he breeds good, sound dogs!

Here is baby Matani -

Mmmmmmm New Lens!

Thank-you to my super sweet friend Heather for giving me first dibs on the 70-300mm Macro lens she was selling to make room for her new Rig! I took it out today to play a bit (and also for the February Photography Challenge at The Little Scrap Shop) We were to focus on Pink & Red in our photos... And of course because I am ME, there had to be chocolate involved!

Air Force 1

Hey, guess who flew over my place today? Whenever the president comes to town, his flight path always takes him right outside my front window. Today, I managed to catch a few shots of him coming in! If you click on the photo to blow it up, you can see a little better detail, though I had to crop them down pretty good.

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!

MASON SAID, "BYE-BYE" TODAY!!!!!!!

Oh how wonderful it was to hear!!!! He had been waving bye-bye for the past couple of days when prompted to do so by Gregg or myself. (This is a huge milestone in itself, as he does not wave or point). So Gregg and I were waving at him today and repeating, "bye-bye" when out of those precious lips came the words "Ba-bye!" Gregg and I just stared at each other in stunned silence as if to ask one another, "Did you just hear what I heard?"

He didn't say it again... only that once. He probably didn't realize or MEAN what he said... but he said it and I'll TAKE IT!

Later this evening... he pointed at the light and made some grunting noises... WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO SO SO huge! Thank you for letting a proud momma ramble!!

A few treasured shots & an update on the boy...

Mason started Occupational therapy this month, for Sensory Integration Dysfunction. He is doing remarkably well using the sensory diet activities that we have begun using with him. He is seemingly more attentive, easier to 'reach', and he's letting me brush his top teeth! This is SO huge! He has begun to play 'chase' with me, even looking back to make sure I am still behind him. All wonderful wonderful signs! He is still getting behavioral therapy multiple times a month, in addition to the OT which we will be doing 3 times a month for now.

Tonight, I began a three month class at The Children's Hospital where I will be learning the Hanen Method of breaking down speech pathology and giving Mason the Speech Therapy he needs at home! It's undoubtedly a LOT of work, but if it helps my son and I to understand each other on a more meaningful level, it will be SO worth it! We are starting from essentially a blank slate. Mason has VERY little receptive language (his understanding of words and commands) and he has ZERO expressive language... I hope to be able to work on this very hard in the next few months and the Children's Hospital is giving us that opportunity, thanks to a Grant from the Scottish Rite Foundation! THANK-YOU!

We have FINALLY (no thanks to CIGNA HMO) gotten Mason's second opinion scheduled for Feb. 25th. *fingers crossed*

Here are a few shots I got of my special 'Valentine' a couple of weeks ago!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO in LOVE with those amazing eyes!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!

I bribed, begged, threatened and ultimately FORCED my hubby to get in front of my camera tonight. Usually, my sticking a camera in his face prompts one of three reactions. My favorite (and most popular by far) is the middle finger salute. But lets not forget the finger up the nose (which I do believe runs in his family) or the flat out SPRINT out of the immediate vicinity! Pisses me off!

So, I told him that the 7 foot spruce tree that has taken over our living room will NOT be going anywhere until he gets in front of it to take some pictures with me!
Let's face it, I know DAMN well HE isn't going to take down the tree!

So, with literal TEARS IN HIS EYES (he's such a drama king!) and while he was repeating over and over (AND OVER) that I was 'Sucking out his will to live', we got a couple of photos taken!
It's a huge deal, as we've been married almost FIVE years and have NOT had a decent photo taken together since the day we were married~ So here they are. I really hope it doesn't take another 5 years to get some more... though it PROBABLY will!
Thanks for looking!

A little bit of Christmas...

Here are some photos I took last night of our Christmas tree. I took some close-ups of ornaments after seeing it done SO beautifully by some fellow scrap-bookers.

A boy and his lights...

This was the first Christmas that Mason was able to 'help' decorate (and subsequently UN-decorate) our Christmas tree. After I spent some good 'quality' time untangling the lights, Mason promptly jumped right into them and tied them all back up again!Lucky for me, I had my camera and tripod standing close by and I was able to work on my LOW light / fast child photography. That's a tricky little buggar!

I am just in love with the above photo.

What can I buy with a Lollipop?

Me - Ashli, we need to take some pictures for your Grandma.
Ashli - No.
Me - Ashli, Grandma NEEDS some cute pics of you in your NEW Santa hat!!!
Ashli - Oh. Okayyyyyyyy.
Me- Can you make a sad face? Grandma wants a pic with a SAD face.
Ashli - Smiles.
Me - No, honey. A sad face, like Thomas can you do a sad face?
Ashli - No.
Me (fed up, after 30 minutes of this) - What If I give you a lollipop?
Ashli - (suddenly excited and feeling cooperative) OKAY!!!!!
Me - Okay, before you get a lollipop you have to show me a sad face Okay?
Ashli - Gives me THESE faces... for the NEXT 20 minutes while demanding her 'payment'.

I give up. She just doesn't 'DO' sad faces Grandma! LOL!!

Ashli goes to school... *tears*

Today was the day I have been dreading for 3.5 years. The first day of school! We knew it was time... she's been begging us to go to school since she could talk. We've always put it off. "She's too young." We'd tell ourselves. *sigh* Well, with Mason having to under-go so much therapy, and Ashli being pushed to the back on those days, we figured we owe it to her to get her into something that is JUST for ASHLI! So, on Tues. and Thurs. our precious girl will be attending pre-school, and on those days while she is away, Mason will have his therapies.

We woke up early today, had breakfast and got ourselves ready for Ashli's big day. She was SO excited to finally be 'big enough' to go to school! Ashli grabbed her brand new Thomas The Tank Engine (of course) pack-pack, and we were out the door. Of course, we had to pause in the front yard for 10 minutes while mommy took a bunch of pics... and Ashli did NOT cooperate at all. (of course). Then, we all packed into the car and off we went! Daddy walked Ashli into school as mommy trailed behind taking more photos. (Of course). We came to her room, signed her in and introduced her to her teachers and the other kids in her class. She melted right into the room like she'd been there all her life! Not so much as a single glance backward.... it was quite sad for me! She walked away, with no tears, no doubts, no fear. I (of course) walked away with all of the above. I missed her so while she was in school. But when I arrived to pick her up, the smile on her face was worth every tear I had shed. She had a BLAST at school today! She made artwork, she played, she made TWO new best friends! And, she is rehearsing for the Christmas Show, which she will have a part in, in two weeks! WOW! My little angel is growing up. *sniffle* I'm just SO not ready!

Totally SPOILED!

Okay. It's been said that Gregg spoils me rotten. I haven't really agreed with that until today! My sweetie pie left this morning and said he was going 'shopping' for me. He said he wanted to go and pick up something he knew I had my eye on for a while. Well, guess what my sweetie brought home!?!?!? Yep Yep... a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW 2008 Hummer H3! Lovvvvvvvvvve it! Good-bye little death-trap sardine can, HELLOOOOOOOOO Brute FORCE! *Sigh* he really is SO good to me!!!

Simply Breathtaking...

The sunsets this week have been unbelievable! I managed to actually be home and have access to my camera on two of these days! I set up the tripod on my back patio and started firing.

If you click on these photos to blow them up, you can REALLY see the detail of this amazing sunset. And down toward the bottom, are the rugged peaks of the Rocky Mountains. *sigh* I DO love my view!

A special visit from an old friend...

What a WONDERFUL surprise I got last week when the people we sold our Eclectus to called to say they were in town for a bird show, and wanted to know if we wanted to keep Dobby for the weekend! YES! YES! YES! Of COURSE we want Dobby for the weekend! YEEEEEEESSSSS!

You see, I ordered Dobby (yes, we named him after the little green house elf on Harry Potter) as an egg from Florida about 5 years ago. He came to me with no feathers. Gregg and I bottle fed him from day one. He was our little angel.

Sadly, we had to sell Dobby last November when Gregg began working nights. It was just too noisy for Gregg to sleep during the day with a bird in the house. I know , I know. Should have sold my husband instead! Anyway, after being gone an entire year, my angel came home for the weekend. I was worried that he wouldn't remember us. That we would just be some strangers that he gets to go visit with. I brought him in and familiarized him with the layout of the house. Then, to my AMAZEMENT, he called out for Gregg! Then he called out for Borris, my cat! HE REMEMBERS US!!!!! OH HAPPY DAY! He called for Ashli and even called for another bird we used to have named Gus~ AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

Dobby always has been the sweetest little bird I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Since the day I brought him home, he has NEVER and I mean NEVER bit one person. Never even THOUGHT to apply pressure with his beak. I know Dobby VERY well, and I am 100% OVERLY confident in his temperament. (Not to mention that he is a therapy bird too). This is why I'm posting these OH SO SWEET photos that I took while he was here. Never in a million years would I EVER advocate putting a parrot anywhere near a young child, let alone ON that child. But, as I said before. I know MY bird. I know his tollerance and how to read his mood. I also know my daughter's abilities when it comes to handling this particular bird.

Long warning short - Don't EVER let any child hold, or get too close to any bird. Birds can be very very dangerous.

*Stepping off my soapbox*

Oh how I miss him, but I know he has gone to the most WONDERFUL home! They love him, like 'I' love him and that is all that matters. Not to mention, they will bring him home to me whenever I want him. Since they live about 5 hours away, they've also insisted that I can keep Dobbs with me whenever and for however long i'd like! AND, They are writing us into their will! Should something happen to them, Dobby will come home to us. God blessed us, and Dobby when he sent these people our way~ Man, I love this amazing bird.

BTW - Dobby is a Male 5 year old Soloman Island Eclectus.

Thanks for looking~

Can I get a re-do?

Why YES I can! After our little cemetery outing (see post below), I've been thinking A LOT about a few shots that I just KNOW I could have done better had I brought my tripod with me. (I always leave SOMETHING behind you know!) Anyway, I moped about it for almost a week thinking that I could have done better, and contemplating WHAT I could have done differently. I went over certain shots in my head and recounted what I would do different next time. So today Gregg got home from work and I sprinted out the door to try to catch the sunset at the cemetery. (Sans kids--- YAY ME!) Yep... Karin turned me into a graveyard junkie. Yeeesh. Now I'M the creepy one! I have to say though, when you are at this beautiful cemetery, and there are no crazy kids running through the graveyard SCREAMING and scaling tombstones, it's a very peaceful and quiet place! Mental note for next time - No Kids. =o) Anyway, long story short. Re-shot some photos that had been haunting me *pun was SO intended*, and got another dose of utter tranquility. If they could just throw a few massage chairs and a pedicurist out there, I'd go weekly! *sigh*

This angel seems to have been calling me this past week. If you read my post below you will see how this beautiful piece of art affected me. This was the MAIN reason I returned to the cemetery. I had to photograph this stunning piece again!
I saw this scene as I was driving through. I hopped out of the car, set up the tripe and started firing. Not until I got home did I realize there is a statue on top of a tombstone of what appears to be a person sitting and mourning? Guess I'm going to have to go back and photograph the front side of that one... maybe next week? heehee

This is another of the photos that I felt I could do so much better on. I really wanted to get a good shot of the soldiers cemetery. How very grateful I am to each one of them, and also to their families. They gave their lives, so that my children can live free. How do you thank someone for that precious gift???

The Voice

So, 'THIS' post is decidedly VOID of photos. Why? well, because I'm an idiot. Truly.

A long time ago, after a remarkable life altering experience with a pack of wild mustangs I promised myself to NEVER be caught without a camera again.

That lasted all of 4 months.

Fast forward to last week when I had a sudden insatiable craving for Schlotzky's (WHO came up with THAT name?) I grabbed my keys and that little annoying voice in the back of my head says "Hey, grab your camera." I say, "Voice? I'm not taking my big heavy expensive camera to Schlotzky's. I just want a sandwich." The voice pipes in again, "I SAID - Grab your camera!" I roll my eyes, ignore that annoying voice and leave.

WHY don't I listen to that thing? It's ALWAYS right!!!!!!!!

I pull up to a stop light and my head rolls to the left and what do I see on the 'STREET CORNER' eating grass? A herd of DEER. Seriously. DEER! On the flippin' street corner! I'm talking PRIZE antlers here folks, and I would NOT have had to hike to get em, they were right flippin' there!!!!!! I bang my hands on the steering wheel and VOW to NEVER ignore that voice again!

Meanwhile, I hear the voice --- "Toldja so."

TODAY - I was leaving to go to Linen's and Things (which by the way is in the same shopping center as Schlotzky's) and after packing a diaper bag, changing Mason and ushering my urchins out the door I hear it. Uh huh... that damn voice. "Hey, go grab your camera." Seriously? "You want me to go BACK into the house just to get my camera so I can take it to buy a shower curtain?"

Voice - "yes. I said get your camera."

Me - "Uh, no. Made too many trips already, I'm leaving."

Voice - "You said you were going to listen to me remember? I'm always right."

Me - "You're annoying, I'm in a hurry, I'm leaving... please shut-up."

Voice - "oooooooooooooookaaaaaaay."

On my way home ---

What is sitting on a fence literally 3 feet from the road?

A Golden Eagle.

Voice - "Dumbass."

You want to go WHERE?

Yeah, so Karin calls this afternoon and asks, "Hey, do ya wanna go to the cemetery today?"

I of course, choke on my lunch and say, "Do I want to go WHERE?"

Yes, I heard her right. After she repeated herself for I don't know, the twenty seventh time, I finally grasped the idea that she was trying to get me to pack up my children and go with her and HER children to the cemetery. No, not just 'A' cemetery, rather, THE cemetery. The oldest in Denver I believe. And not just this 'AFTERNOON', rather, at dusk.

***creepy right?***

So yeah, sure I'll go. I have no other weird, creepy plans. And I would love to help her teach her daughter about cemeteries not being... eh.. creepy.

As it would turn out, and who knew... this was a GREAT idea. Not only did the kids see a real cemetery. But IN that cemetery they saw beauty, nature, peace and art. Sure they didn't grasp the concept or the depth of what this sacred place was really FOR but I think in some way, it actually may have helped my neice Lexi get over her uneasiness about what REALLY goes on in a cemetery. Now, Karin going at DUSK... That was pure genius! Well, as far as the lighting for photography was concerned. The landscape, the sunset, the beauty. It all just worked. So Karin,while I did at first think you were, well... creepy. Turns out, it was a good experience. The cemetery may just be the new Saturday night hang-out with the kids.

Not!

Okay, only in the fall. =o)

Peaceful Tranquility

I think this beauty speaks for itself.

Ashli and her cousin Jessi, together. Beautiful.

An amazing sunset shot of Ashli. It looks as if she's so deep in thought. So peaceful.

I saw this beautiful statue in the children's garden today. What a peaceful, yet awful place it was. I have had so many not-so-subtle reminders in the past two days that have truly shown me... that no matter WHAT I am facing with my children, it could be so much worse. I could 'NOT' have them. A HEAVY dose of perspective has been thrust into my face, and I 'get it!'

This statue is beautiful in so many ways. It instantly made me think of the 6 precious baby boys that I have in heaven, playing with the angels, waiting for their mom

to come home.

So I say, go all of you and visit your local cemetery. You may be surprised at what you learn not only about yourself, but also about those who live there.