Thank You Boys!

Just wanted to thank all my boys for all of their patience and love. Just to make sure everyone understands, the norm around our house is the boys shooting each other with rubber band guns, locking themselves in the bathrooms to get away from each other and then breaking out the screens in the windows to escape a wound from either an airsoft gun or a rubber band gun. They also have choice words that they call each other that I'm not repeating on here, (you can ask them, I'm sure they will have no problem sharing them. They leave insulting, mean comments on each others computers (when I get upset about it, they tell me its all in fun). They leave each other messages in their books for school so when they open them up in class they have sometimes nice surprises but on many occasions nasty ones. We have a bull horn(Yes, a bull horn) that is used to wake up each other when they sleep to late or even sometimes when Joe gets up really early and he wants everyone else to wake-up. Oh Yea, let's not forget the occasional mooning of each other and the wedgies. Well, last night I couldn't sleep so I was lying in bed trying to think of all the wonderful things these boys do for each other. This is what I've come up with. Let's start with Bobby:First, Bobby was Joe's first babysitter, he was changing diapers at 12 years old. Bobby and Sarah will be celebrating their 2 year anniversary this Sat. Sarah visits us on some weekends and they really don't get a lot of time alone. But, at any given time, I will look over and see Joe right in the middle between Sarah and Bobby. No one complains, he just sits there and watch the movie with them. Sarah is an angel, she's so patient and wonderful with Joe. Bobby and Sarah have taken Joe and the other boys to numerous movies so that Bob and I can have a few hours to ourselves. Trips to the ice store, Mcdonalds, wherever. I know it's not always convenient or easy but he's always there to help out. Michael: Wow! When Bobby started college and started spending more time in Ohio, Mike just picked up where his older brother left off. Mike has taken Joe to his last three haircuts, he takes him to "Paradise Park". He will drop everything to help Joe with either a computer game or anything that he needs help with. Just yesterday, he took Chris to his Ortho appointment for me so that I could get ready for Joe's open house. I can't believe that this is the kid that I use to have to lock myself in the bathroom just to get away from him. I did lock him out of the house once too! Chris: Well, my middle child, I guess that's your title: You shared a room with Joe from the time he was two and would throw himself out of his crib and then climb in bed with you totally naked and wet.(sorry Chris) You've taught Joe all the dirty nasty words he knows, you taught him to pinch people on the butt when he was 3 years old and say "squishy", which he almost got kicked out of pre-school for.You nicknamed him "fuller" because of his love of Pepsi. You patiently taught him how to play all the "violent" video games that he loves. You've been my never say no babysitter when I say I'll only be gone an hour and we come back three hours later. You've sat patiently with him when we are trying to work on his words for speech and he makes you say them before he will. Most recently, "Dang Homie" & :AK47" are sounding great coming out of Joe's mouth. Now, could we work on some words that are a little more elementary school appropriate. Billy: You were my baby for 5 years before Joe invaded and took over your rank. The day he was born you were so excited and thrilled. Five years old and the only thing you wanted to bring to kindergarten was your new little brother. You put up with the hair pulling and the biting and the scratches and the all the annoying questions he asks you over and over again. Joe loves to hold Billy's hand in the car and when he's tired. Thanks Billy for not punching him everytime he goes to grab your hand. Billy takes Joe over to the high school to ride bikes and skateboard. He's taken him to soccer games at the school and taken him to the tennis courts to "borrow" lost tennis balls. A lot of these things that the boys do with Joe are normal brother interactions. The difference here is that with a brother with a disability, it makes it so much more difficult. Trying to explain to friends or even strangers what he's trying to say or being somewhere and Joe has a meltdown could really deter a kid from wanting to even go anywhere with him. Not my boys, they keep their heads up and proudly say "That's just Joe". Thanks guys for being so wonderful and caring. Now, if you could put your plates in the sink and clean your room once in awhile that would be great too!