Grandma

My Grandpa Mattson passed away in February. He had a long and fulfilling life, punctuated by a beautiful memorial service. Because he served during World War II, he received military honors at his grave site service. I'll never forget watching the two military men ceremoniously wrapping up an American flag, handing it to my grandmother, and thanking her for his service.

I've been thinking about my Grandma Mattson a lot, so I sat down to write her a note today. I've had four wonderful grandparents, all active in my life, and I always had to address each grandparent by multiple names to distinguish each from the other. I remember writing my grandparents letters in college and always having to double check that the letters and addressed envelopes matched. I was teary-eyed today when I realized that I no longer needed to worry about mixing up letters. I just have one 'Grandma' to write now. I'm thankful for her and love her, but I sure miss the others.

In the Blink of an Eye: From Thomas the Train to Cell Phone Contracts

Asher's Phone Contract

Dated: April 3, 2017

Parents have purchased his first phone.  If anything happens to this phone (it is stolen, lost, broken), even if is not Asher's fault, he is still responsible for replacing the phone.

Parents must know Asher's phone password and have the right to access his phone at all times. Parents must also have "friends privileges" to all of Asher's social media accounts. There is no privacy when it comes to a cell phone. If you want privacy, write in a journal, and we will respect your privacy there.

Parents have the right to take away phone at any time for poor behavior or poor grades. If your grades go down, you will lose your phone. If you do not do your assigned chores, you will lose your phone. If you show poor attitude or misbehavior at home or school, you will lose your phone.

Asher must charge his phone at the family "charging station" each night and never take the phone to bed.

Asher must promise to keep all social media interactions appropriate and report any bullying.

Asher must compensate his parents for the additional cost of his phone through six hours of additional chores, big brother sitting, or helping mom with her LEGO business each month.

Asher is responsible for any additional charges associated with going over his allotted data plan.

Signed,

______________________   

Mom                                          

______________________

Dad

______________________

Asher

My Favorite Kid With Autism - April is Autism Awareness month

Witnessing Noé's journey has been rewarding and sometimes painful. It is always so interesting to see what catches his attention. The other day we were out for *yet another* rainy hike and when we took off our shoes to go back inside the house I told Noé, "I think there's moss growing between your toes!" For the rest of the day, I caught him staring down at his toes. 

I love him!