TWO MAJOR EVENTS HAPPENING IN MY PERSONAL LIFE.

8:18 PM

As many of you know, I have two boys, who will always be my babies.  I have been blessed with two young men who are the best.  I don't just say that because they are mine. I have had many people throughout the years telling me how wonderful my boys are.  They excelled in "Best Behaved, Good Citizenship...etc."  One teacher told me she wish she could clone them.  I told her, "life would not have challenges if all children were as well behaved as mine."

I really can't tell you, or pinpoint what my husband and I did right during the process of raising them. All I can say is, we didn't let them get away with disrespecting anyone, especially us, their parents. Besides both my husband and I coming from great families ourselves, who taught us to be respectful and good stewards, we disciplined our children according to their errors, but also, we praised them when they behaved, brought home good grades and did their chores.  If you are going to discipline your child, remember to also praise them when they do good.  Tell them how proud you are of them. When they come home from school and show you their work, try not to harp too much on the negativity. Look for the things they did right first, then address the part where they lacked.  Explain it to them without screaming and let them know you do expect them to do better next time.  Sit with your child while they are doing their homework.  Many times, they would sit at the kitchen table, while I cooked and asked me to help them.  I gladly sat down and helped in the things they didn't understand.  I wouldn't do the homework for them, but I would direct them in the right direction.  There was only two times where I had to take drastic measures because they were not putting enough effort into their school work or not behaving.  The punishment would be, taking away all their prized possessions; ie game cube, ps stations, toys they loved to play with...etc.  Basically, I would strip their room bare. The only thing I would leave was the books in their bookshelves.  Guess what, they learned a lesson.  They stopped being lazy and distracted, finished their school work and would bring their grades right back up.  Once they were in high school, there were few times where a grade or two went down and we had a "talk."  I am happy to say, they both graduated with honors and were inducted in the honor society.

We also showered our children with lots of love; hugs and kisses were abound in our home. We don't care what age they are now, (19 and 24), they still get hugs and kisses from us and also accolades for their awesome behavior.  I cannot take full credit. I fully believe God has a lot to do with it.  I always prayed that God would give me wisdom to raise my children right and in His ways. So, lots of prayers helped.

My eldest son, Andrew David, will be graduating from Central Connecticut State College, on May 16th, with an Art Major and a minor in Psychology.  Let me tell you, my husband nor I had to force him to get out of bed, force him to go to his classes or forced him to finish his studies.  He did that all by himself.  He would wake up, go to his classes everyday and finished all his credits without help from us.  He is very independent. Knows want he wants, sets his goals and meets them.  All we did through out his years in college was, encourage him and tell him ALL the time, how proud we are to be his parents and to see him taking his education into his own hands.  He has worked a part-time job since he was a Junior in high school and has proven to have great work ethics.  They love him and rely on him, because he is never absent, unless he is really sick.  We learn to decipher when he got sick....he truly was sick. He rarely missed his classes and work. 

To say how proud we are of him is an understatement. Recently, he participated in the yearly CAPSTONE Art Gallery at CCSU.  We knew since he was 2 that he had major drawing skills and that he would pursue his passion for Art.  As a mom, it is bittersweet, your baby is no longer a baby, he is grown man and will soon fly off to be on his own.  My heart beats faster as I think of not seeing him everyday or giving him a good night kiss every night.  Being a Mom is such a hard job, but also its rewarding to see you didn't mess up your child.

As for my youngest, (my baby), Jacob Simon, he will be graduating from Manchester Community College with an Associates in Multi-Media.  Just like his brother, he went to school everyday, unless he was really sick.  We didn't have to wake him up or force him to go.  He did it all on his own volition.  He didn't want to participate in the graduation because he thought, having an associates was nothing!  We sat down and explain to him, that an Associates in whatever you choose to study is a great accomplishment in itself!  We finally convinced him to participate in the Graduation, which will be May 28th.

We are please to announce that Jacob has been accepted at Eastern Connecticut State College where he will continue to study Multi-Media.  He really wants to work for a television station someday. Since, ECST is 30-40 minutes away, and he doesn't have his licence, he said he didn't want to bother us by bringing him and picking him up from school.  He has decided to do the dorm life.  Do not ask how mommy is feeling about this, because I think you all know the answer.  Not doing well.  My baby? Leaving to stay at school?  I'm crushed.  I went to my room and cried...yes I cried.  He knocked on my door and explained to me that he really didn't want to stay at the school.  "You know me mom, I don't like the thought of having a roommate. I have always had my own room and I like my solitude. It's going to be very hard on me to adapt.  It was a hard decision to make, but I don't want to make you or dad have to drive so much everyday!"  Jacob...always the considerate one. Thinking about us, instead of himself.  My husband and I tried to come up with a solution so he didn't have to stay in the dorms, but after writing down the cons versus the good, the good outweighed the cons. If we have the same Winter we had this year, commuting would be very hard.  (I'm still trying to figure out a plan...LOL! Holding out.)  Jacob is always kissing me, hugging me and telling me how much he loves me, EVERYDAY! Boy, am I going to miss that. It so hard to let go. I know, I know...its only a 40 minute drive.  But to me, it seems like it's a 5 hour drive and I don't get to see him everyday.

As parents, we thank God everyday for blessing us with such awesome young men. We could not be any more proud than what we are, right now.  I ask you all to please continue to keep them in your prayers. I want my eldest, Andrew, to get the job he really wants.  I want Jacob to do his best in his quest to get his bachelors and that no distraction or obstacle presents itself to deter him or distract him during his stay in campus. I'm praying he gets a good roommate and that they get along well.

Thank you everyone. Below are pictures from Andrew's Art Gallery and pictures of Jacob's acceptance letter to ECSU.


 In this picture, you can see the names of his paintings and what type of what type of paint and method he used. Each painting is a story. He loves illustration art.  
 


 "Green with Harmony"
 

                                                           
                                                               "Yellow Bellied Buddy"


"Orange Fear, Fiery Fury"


 "All is Red in Love and War"
(Me: "uh...did anyone break your heart, honey?  Drew: (gives mom a dirty look..."NO!")

 
  
"Violet Spirits" 
  

"In a Deep Blue"


             This one I called, "Mom's Self Portrait."  He captured my body pretty good. LOL!
 

                                                                                             Isn't he so handsome? I think so....:)

                                                                                                                 Proud and chunky mom.

                         Twins!                                                                                                                                               


Jacob's acceptance letter and paperwork for Eastern Connecticut State College. He was awarded an academic scholarship. (Not much, but every bit counts.)






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