Waterfront Park

Thursday, 7 July 2011

What a busy, exhausting, but fun 4th of July weekend we had! On Sunday we went to Waterfront Park in downtown Charleston. There are 2 fountains that kids enjoy playing in. We met with another family for a day of fountain-splashing fun!

I met Valerie in January at a special-needs support group on base. She and her husband had just adopted a boy and girl from Ukraine. They both have Down syndrome and were both listed on Reece's Rainbow. They're already doing so much since 6 months ago when I first met them! Valerie also has a son who is Kayla's age, so it's been fun getting together with them.

The Pineapple Fountain

 

Flat Stanley came with us, but he wasn't dressed to get wet :)

Lucas and Hunter

Asher

Emma

RUN!

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Dear Kayla ...

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

At the end of the school year Kayla came home with a hand-made booklet from her general ed classroom. On each page there was a drawing and a sentence, or two, about Kayla, from each of her classmates. (Which was very similar to the goodbye book she received in Kindergarten when we moved from NM. These books are such great mementos of her youth!) Oh how I loved reading through the pages and seeing what each child wrote! Each page left me with a smile on my face.

Dear Kayla ... (I left the spelling as it was)

- You are my best friend. -K
- I like you. -D
- You are nice! Your my best friend! - K
- I like how you are nice you are my best friend I ever had in the world. Love you Kayla. Love -S
- Yuo rok! Lvoe -P
-Your nice, your fast, your funny. Your friend, -J (Maybe Kayla is faster than I thought!)
- I have fun times with you Kayla eset the time you hoped on my chest. You are nice to me. And you sweet like pie. Your friend -R
- I will set by you at luch. Love -A
- You are nise. You can dance good. Your heart is all on me. And my heart is on you. Love -L
- I love walking you to class. You rock. Love -H
- Kayla you rock. I like you. Love -S
-You are sooo funny. You need more help but I act like you don't. -L (I wonder if L meant she knew Kayla could do things by herself and didn't really need her help.)
- You are sweet and kind. You are my friend. I like when you play with me. You are so cool with your pink ribing in your hair. I like when you hug me. Your friend, Love, -N
- Kayla the friend to have. Your the best. Love -S
- Four a cool small and fun. -K

I can only wonder what things Kayla came up with to say about each of her classmates!

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"Air Conditioning (Fair Weather)"

Monday, 4 July 2011

"Air Conditioning (Fair Weather)"


It's okay. I get it:
The weather is fair.


Temporary fans and critics are numerous
Like the braids in my hair.
Sometimes, they point and laugh.
Other times, they sit and stare;
But they all hate the fact
That I really don't care.
I may not fuel the fire;
But I'm still very aware.
One can say the right words
And a multitude will follow
Until similar verses are deemed absurd.
That's when the halls become hollow.
I'll spill no skills for you to wallow.
I'm not a pill that you can swallow.
I've been called a class act;
But never asked for you to follow.


It's okay. I get it:
The weather is fair.


Then why do "enlightened fellas"
Fight over the umbrellas?
Why are the "good girls"
Still protecting their curls?
Go ahead. Cover your head.
Don't let it seep through those pores.
The truth is hovering overhead.
That's all that I have in store.
You claim to love that "Real Talk;"
Say that it's needed more
Until it's outlined in chalk;
Killed because you've grown bored.
Noble things that were once admired
You now seem to abhor.
You fashioned and fawned desire;
But now, you just blatantly ignore.


But it's okay. I get it.
The weather is still fair.


Listless knaves of twisted perception;
Enslaved by what you think is free will.
You blindly subscribe to transgression;
Thinking progression yet standing still.
You leeching slew of selective fans
Reaching out for my hands
While pretending to understand
If it will help bolster your plans!
You're full of shit!
You make me sick!
Find some consistency,
You pathetic band of hypocrites!
You're like the preacher in the pulpit
Denouncing divorce among the few:
a congregation of empty minds
Where ex wives line most of the pews.


But it's okay. I get it.
The weather is so very fair.


Unwise to think I'm unaware
Of the not so subtle way
That you will cosign my content
Contingent upon what others say.
All one has to do is comment
On how it made them "feel that way"
And you'll race in hopes to find it
When I posted it a week from yesterday.
No need to repeat
If you saved it.
Too late to retweet.
Can't find it in your favorites.
I likely will never boast.
My confidence need not be spiked
By those who don't read the wall post
But jump at the chance to like.
If it's not something controversial
Or words to make the panties wetter,
You'll adhere to role reversal
And become a skillful forgetter.


But it's okay. I get it.
The weather is ever so fair.


So fair.
This fair weather...
Bathing you in your ignorance
like a pedophile's love letter.
Look at those storm clouds.
Watch them scream loud with thunder
As the lightning smacks the ground;
Leaving aimless minds asunder.
You don't recognize your plight.
You can't identify your blunder.
You just stare up at the light
While your lives are swiftly plundered.
I subscribe to better sight;
But you just say I run and hide
When I don't choose to fight
Instead of staying where I reside.
It's not a matter of pride.
I just stick to what I decide.
I'm too old for ridiculous rides.
I've something much better inside.


It's okay. Go on.
Enjoy that fair weather.


Group hug. Band together.
Get that sporadic clothing wetter.
Only the foolish vacate the shelter
In earnest chase of the trendsetter.
I won't live up to your claims.
I am not in need of fame.
I'm not wild; but can't be tamed.
I will not forsake my name.
I am so much more
Than you could ever proclaim.
We are not one in the same
Because I don't delight in shame;


So I don't want your groundless praise.
Please spare me the accolades.
If your words aren't from the heart,
Then lose yourself in that maze
Of the foolishly unrelenting
Who can strategically remember forgetting
About the message that I'm sending;
Scrambling to start from their ending.
Quite sad that artificial air
Can seamlessly ebb and flow
To serve me beyond compare
That which you should long to know;
But you swear that you were listening.
You tell me that I'm glistening
Only to then say that I'm sickening.
I'll just stick to air conditioning.


It's okay. I get it.
The weather is fair.
That fair weather gets you wetter;
But I believe this air is better.


Written By: Devin Joseph Metz

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Future Firefighters?

Sunday, 3 July 2011

A few months ago we attended the annual Bike Rodeo and Safety Fair sponsored by the North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum.

They gave out free bike helmets to all the kids and there were several other activities and events for the kids to participate in.

We checked out an emergency medical helicopter and saw the firefighters use the jaws of life on a vehicle. Being at the fire museum the kids were also able to participate in a couple fire-related excercises.

 

 

 

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"Drive And Devotion"

Friday, 1 July 2011

"Drive And Devotion"


My determination
Involves distinct dissertation
Lined with astute articulation
To help liberate whole nations.
I'm not here to enslave
Or chastise those who misbehave.
Their minds are trapped in caves;
So I'm merely here to save.
They will call us knaves
And say that we're untrue;
But if you're willing to stand still,
We can give them all their due.


I try to manipulate the nation
by facilitating the people.
That's the route of my destination.
Surviving in this world 
requires some adaptation 
with these problems that we're facing.
It's time for some change
if we really want to make it.
I'm determined for better days 
liberation.
No matter what you've been through, 
we can still progress.
So my mission is to empower 
so we wont regress
and we wont regret
the future is tomorrow.
No time to rest.


Indeed there is a dire need.
So many minds to feed.
My heart profusely bleeds 
To see true potential slowly recede.
We've lost the will to know.
We stopped asking why
And as the tension grows,
Ambition towards knowledge slowly dies.
The worst of it all?
We are strong enough to endure.
We have the wherewithal;
But choose to remain obscure.
We rile in ignorant illness;
Forgetting that we are the cure.
Progress falters into stillness
After trudging through the impure.


With knowledge comes success;
even for the oppressed.
Rejection is progression
as our actions become erect.
The reflection in the mirror
is who we hope to become next.
Sleep is human nature;
so dreams are in effect.
Politicians are corrupted.
Who do we elect?
In a materialistic world, 
only money gets respect.
Put some knowledge in the mental. 
Watch our brains resurrect.
a better brain is better thoughts;
so we think with intellect.
Achieving is succeeding.
Ambition is believing.
A leader in our pathway 
is what the nation's needing.


I see exactly what you mean.
You seem to have planned well; but we need a bigger scene.
Let's think on a grand scale.
We should aim for international
Instead of just what is preset.
They act as if it's magical.
They don't know: there is no reset.
Salvage the true and factual
Before they deem each other rejects.
All forms of change are taxable.
They don't know they're paying fees yet.
It's quite common amongst our plains:
We choose lifestyles that we can't tame,
Adhere to what we can't maintain,
And have the nerve to still proclaim.
We long and thirst for fame;
So we get knee deep in these games
And find no reason to complain
Until our shirts are blotched and stained.
Reckless life is such a strain.
It just leaves room for disdain
Over that which we can't contain
As we rile in self induced pain.
This is why we must work.
Show the world it's true worth.
Give the hollow something to follow
So they can acquire necessary girth.


We take advantage of life's options:
Act without caution.
We can find many souls 
being sold off at auctions.
It surely is a shame 
what people falsely proclaim;
constantly asking for change. 
No action. Just complain.
Would rather hustle on the street; 
getting paid in blood stains.
The same remains until change...




Life is in the form of movies; 
so let's switch up the scene.
A college degree comes second fiddle 
to being a rapper or to sing.
There are such things 
as unrealistic dreams
when you reject opportunities
that success tries to bring
Excuse these words that 
are perceived as cynical;
but effort and success 
eventually becomes identical.
If only generations can manage priorities,
we wont be labeled 
as the majority or minority
but as people that want 
to see everyone succeed.
Now thats a grand scale thought. 
Now let the vision proceed.


Yes.....


Let's grab the seeds,
till the ground,
fill those mounds,
pull those weeds, 
gather them around,
wake up the world!
Let them hear the sound
of willing hands tearing down
despicably low class,
crude and crass,
half-assed closed minds.
Make them leave it all behind.
We cannot control the damage
caused to what we hold dear
unless we first learn how to manage
that which filters through our ears.


Ideas shouldn't remain as such;
even if very few care as much.
The potential to be profound
is not inclined to who is around.
The thoughts that churn within me
are not predicated on who befriends me.
One's ability to act and be
shouldn't be affected by who will see;
but thank God that there are some
who share this lush, bright vision.
There's very little to be done
for those who cling to indecision.
The indifferent are just twisted;
No dominion for them to claim.
The complacent are surely insipid;
too dull and bland to light the flame;
But you truly understand
that to reach one's destiny,
a plan cannot remain a plan.
The silent screams are deafening.


There's so much more to see.
We have yet to scratch the surface.
Everyone deserves to be.
We are here to serve a purpose.
Together we can bring them out;
these stagnant lives in need of motion;
but we can't force what isn't wanted.
We can only offer our devotion.


Written By: Courtney "Metaphysical Poet" and Devin Joseph Metz "EndlessInkPen"

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