Janet's Blog

Over the years, I've taught kids with many different abilities and challenges. I know lots of parents with kids who have special needs of one kind or another. I understand, first hand, what it's like to be such a parent, because Bill and I have been raising two such kids of our own. It isn't always easy, but none of us want your pity. To tell the truth, we don't really want to accept your praise, either, because we are all too aware of our own shortcomings. Even the best parents struggle at times, and parents of kids with high needs often struggle-- often ! Even though we don't want your pity or your praise, most of us covet your prayers, because we are very much aware that we can't begin to give our children what they need without a lot of help and guidance from God. We also long for understanding. So, today I'm asking you to cut us some slack! Disclaimer: Although some of the following examples involve my children and me, I've witnessed or he

An outtake is a scene filmed for a movie that, for one reason or another, is not included in the finished version. Sometimes, funny outtakes are shown later and billed as "bloopers." As I was compiling photos to include in my previous blog about the eclipse, I discovered several interesting pictures that seemed a bit off-topic. They didn't really fit that blog and, unfortunately, they aren't really bloopers, either, but as I looked at those pictures, I realized that they provided a good depiction of the morning, as seen through the eyes of the children. The kids, Meagan and Andy's children, along with Levi, and two more that Meagan was babysitting, enjoyed watching the eclipse, but it didn't keep their undivided attention throughout the morning. In between episodes of looking through their eclipse glasses, they had a great time doing other, more kid-like things because, as we all know, kids just have to keep busy. So, for better or worse, here are my eclip

We awoke to fog today, but as soon as it dissipated, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, with no clouds in sight. It was a bit different from the forecast of 20-40% clouds, but no one was complaining. We didn't complain, either, about the lack of wind, or the temperatures in the upper seventies. After all the hype, the big day had finally arrived. It promised to be a perfect day for an eclipse. Getting ready I remember, years ago, when I was still in grade school, viewing a partial eclipse through a pinhole in a shoe box. I was not impressed. I couldn't help but wonder if our new eclipse glasses would be any better.     Let me just say that the eclipse glasses were wonderful! After taking the first look through his eclipse glasses, Levi declared that the sun looked just like a cookie with a bite taken out of it. Our view of each stage of the eclipse was crisp and clear. Even the little ones could see what was happening, although they probably didn't completely