Another adventure brought to you by Girl Scouts....

This week is spring break around here so most of the kids are out of school. One of the moms of a girl in our scout troop arranged for the girls to go to visit the nursing home where she works, today. Field trip for us, since we are wrapping our last week of school. So we piled up six girls from our troop and headed out early this morning. We had planned to work in their garden, planting flowers but the weather had turned cold and rainy so that was nixed. But one of the activity workers went to the store and got plastic cups, dirt and flower seeds that the residents could plant and put on the window sills. Faith came in holding hands with her partner in crime and best buddy and stole the show. She hugged the neck of every person who crossed her path and was instantly drawn to a sixty year old man named Alvin, who had cerebral palsy! She charmed her way through all the little old ladies and even suckered one out of a pocketful of peppermints! Interestingly enough, the mints were an old brand of mints that my grandmother was notorious for carrying in her own pocket, and I had been looking for about eight years but had been unable to get my hands on! We called them "I love you" mints because they had it inscribed on the wrapper. I was so excited! Faith got to take her turn helping several women fill their little cups with dirt and seeds. She really enjoyed digging in the dirt! Then she sat down with the girls, on the floor and listened to one lady tell about her days as a girl scout in the fourties. Of course, Faith had to show off her sign language skills to the crowd and impress them all. One lady gave her a little paper crown to wear and about three ladies in wheelchairs offered to hold her in their laps! When we got ready to leave we found out that one lady was celebrating her 100th birthday, today, so we had to go sing her happy birthday! On, our way out of town we stopped at McD's for some lunch for the kids. They all decided that they needed ice cream even though it was like 50 degrees outside! One of the moms offered to buy Faith an ice cream but I turned her down because I knew it would be a big mess, but our troop leader got her one anyway....in a cone! I shouldn't have denied her because it was the funniest thing ever! She got into that cone and had the time of her life! She stuck her whole face right into the ice cream! It was in her nose and on her cheeks and chin. She kept sticking her front teeth into it and making that terrible face that you make with an ice cream headache but then she would laugh and do it again. We must have used a tree worth of napkins and wipes. She had so much fun and even though it was a mess to clean up, I had a blast watching her and so did everyone else.

Dogs.....

We are finally wrapping up our first year of homeschooling this month, down to our last two weeks. One of my goals for Faith was for her to be able to recognize the letters A,B and C by the end of the year. We are now working well into letter D, right now! So check that off as a goal surpassed! Our current theme is Dogs. When I start a new letter I always try to begin with a familiar object and of course, Faith loves dogs. So this morning she wakes up and wants me to let our birdbrained dog, Gandy, up on the bed...so I oblige. She starts pointing to different parts of his body like his foot, ear, head, back and I say them out loud....she knows all these parts already. Then she starts pointing to those same parts on her own body....dog eye...Faith's eye.....dog hair...Faith's hair! She was showing me that she made that connection all by herself! I did not instigate it or even try to get her to work on dog body parts! We were just lying on the bed! I am amazed every day at the ways she manages to get her point across! It gives me so much hope and encouragement that I am doing the right thing. That WE are doing the right thing. Father, thank you for each little milestone that you give Faith, I pray that we will use it to glorify you!

Progress is progress....

For years I have heard therapists, parents and professionals declare the rapid development of children with special needs once they start walking. I heard it but I was less than convinced since I had never seen it with my own two eyes. But over the last few months....yes can you believe it's been almost two months since she took off?....I have witnessed remarkable progress! Faith is changing right before my own eyes, almost overnight! She is trying to talk more, feeding herself (albeit minute amounts), picking up things right and left in the education dept like colors,numbers and letters. Everyday I am astonished at the new things she has discovered! Today we worked on self feeding with some really thick grits (yes friends...we are southern girls....although kinda late in life!) she was scooping that stuff up with the spoon and getting it right to her mouth! Then she discovered that the plate had a ladybug on it that was partially covered up with the grits so she started pushing the food around with her hand to uncover the ladybug! It was soooo cool to see her GET it! Then in the bathtub, today, she was playing with a cup and I saw her trying to rinse her own hair with water! It was crazy! I asked her if she was washing her hair and she said YEAH, just like that! She was even scrubbing her head with her hand! I couldn't believe it! I am so proud of her, I wish there were words enough to describe my joy! I guess there is something to all that developmental milestone stuff they told me about......He he he.

How to be happy when you are fighting a battle alone....

Loneliness...
Something I struggle with daily, now. There is no one to share all the things that happen in Faith's life that can only be shared between her parents and understood. I can tell people about those things but no one really understands. My soul aches to be able to share all her accomplishments but it just isn't possible anymore. At night, when Faith goes to bed, that's the hardest time. I try to keep busy but it's hard. I keep trying to understand things, but I don't think there is any sense to make out of this mess.
But during the days, when Faith and I are together, that is the time when I am happy. We fill our days with lots of work but a tremendous amount of quality time together and THAT is what gets me through. Sometimes we sit on the swing and blow bubbles or take a trip to the dollar store to push the shopping cart around. Some days we will read the same book ten times and other days we will wander around the petsmart to explore all the animals. Filling our lives with good memories and simple pleasures like a walk down the dirt road is how I have been able to survive. Like today, a two dollar goldfish named Spot and a bowl....seeing her explore this new part of her world...helping to make up his bowl....sitting at the counter and watching the fish swim while we talked about it....that's a good day. Seeing her GET the color Red...as in Clifford, the big red dog, while she was working on coloring her own paper...making that connection....that's a good day for me! That is when I feel filled up and fulfilled...when I can see her developing and grasping concepts that people take for granted and said she never would get. I know that God uses these moments to teach me to be grateful and hopeful and to encourage me in the midst of overwhelming grief.
One of my favorite verses when I was pregnant with Faith keeps me going even now...
"Every good and perfect gift is from Above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows." James 1:17
And now also...
"In Him we were also chosen, having been PREDESTINED according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will...". Ephesians 1:11

Library day...

Every week we go up to the library at least once. In our town, everything is all in one place. The town hall, police station, water dept and library are all in one little building. The library is one of Faith's favorite places on Earth. When we start heading down the street past the fire dept. she starts laughing and screaming and pointing towards the building! When we get there she makes her grand entrance, calling out to all her friends who work there. Our librarians know it's her before she even rounds the corner and they always are there to greet her with hugs and handshakes. Today, we went in to print out some dog work pages for school. She sat in one of the wing chairs and played with her iPad until she wore out the battery then she was off to investigate. Her usual routine involves sneaking around the front desk to see the librarians and be nosey. Mrs. Diane always has some stickers for her and Mr. Tony is always busy putting away books, a perfect opportunity to play hide and seek by following him up and down the aisles, all three of them! When we get done she has to go over to the town hall side and see all her friends ther, most of whom have kids in Faith's girl scout troop. They come out and hug her and fawn over her and make her feel special. She hugs everyone and loves to pat the mayor's little dog, when he is there. It has become one of my favorite parts of our week too, seeing how people have not only welcomed Faith but drawn her into the community. She is almost a superstar, people who I don't even know by name, all know her and speak to her and say what a miracle she is. Sometimes after someone stops to talk to her, I am left wondering who that was, who knows my daughter so well! It holds a very special place in both our hearts.

Good times are STILL available...

Today was a beautiful day...warm, sunny with a little breeze. We went to church at the new church...Blue Grass Sunday..yes! After church, I decided to spoil myself with a treat that I never had...a manicure and pedicure! I got a sassy coral color but I have come to the conclusion that....believe it or not....I have a very hard time relaxing! Surely not! When we got back home Faith and I went out in the yard and laid in the hammock for like a whole hour! Just doing nothing! I took my phone and sunglasses and we just laid there and Faith played with my glasses and pretended to call Grandma on the phone. I looked up at the beautiful trees and listened to the wind...trying to keep my head above the sadness and loneliness. Then my dad came over for a while...we sat outside and told stories about when I was a kid or he was a kid or funny stories about my grandmother. I started laughing about this funny story involving me and my grandmother and could not stop! It felt so good to laugh and have some good memories for a change. Faith sat between us in the swing and listened and would laugh like she knew exactly what we were talking about..sometimes slapping her knees like it was the funniest thing ever! Then we took her walking around the yard and played a game of find grandpa and tickle him. She was trying so hard to run and catch him, chasing him around the van. It was so cute! It felt good for us to be happy......at least for a little while.

Perspectives....

Sometimes life can seem so cruel. Things happen and we can't change, control or fix them. I personally REALLY struggle with this! I am and always have been a take charge, fix it all kinda girl. A natural first born, type A personality. So this reality has been hard to swallow. God has really brought me to my knees during the last 10 months. I have had to learn to accept things I cannot change...and that feels SO wrong. But HE has also given me encouragement through fellow Christians, strangers and of course....my daughter! Just in case no one had heard....she is walking! SHE is walking, through GOD'S grace. But since she started walking, she is developing at an amazing rate! She is processing things quicker and absorbing things like crazy. Tonight, for example, we were sitting together looking at the newspaper and came across a split picture of a girl with curly hair on one side and straight hair on the other. I was pointing out the differences to Faith, curly hair like hers and straight hair like mine. Really my point was to show her the same girl had two different hairstyles. But she picked right up and pointed to my hair then to the picture of the girl with straight hair, then to her hair and then the picture of the curly haired girl! I almost fell off my chair! I couldn't believe that she connected it....so quickly...without me drilling her!
I choose to believe that God gives us signs if we chose to open our hearts to HIM.
Today, I saw God showing me another piece of the puzzle that is Faith. To remind me that His hands are still on me and on Faith. She is unfolding like a rare flower, more and more each day and I see a testimony emerging that will be like no other. Every time I see her GET something that I didn't think she would get....I am reminded of Gods perspective FOR me and Faith. That HE wants to refine us for HIS glory and as a witness to HIS greatness. I need to remember this even on days like today when it feels like the whole world is against me and I just might drown.

Grandpa and Faith...

One of the good things that have happened to us, even in this tradgedy, is a renewed relationship with my dad. For the last 20 years, my dad and I have had a somewhat rocky relationship. Part of that time, we were not in much contact. Then, this aweful thing happened and one day, my dad was on my doorstep.

Ever since, we talk every day and he has been there in ways that he never was in my life, growing up. A big point of contention for me, was that he was always standoff-ish with Faith. I never knew why, but it always irratated me and I held it against him for a long time. But in the last 8 months, I have seen my dad get wrapped around Faith's little finger. She gets so excited when we head over to Grandpa's house and when she gets to his house, she rushes over to his recliner and begs him to put her in it, with a pillow and a blankie and rock her. It is SO stinkin' cute! He has learned a lot about her conditions and helps me out whenever he goes with us.

Evertime she gets out of the car, Faith reaches for Grandpa's hand, it is so sweet. So we took a trip out to Charles town Landing and Grandpa took Faith down into the ship. It was so nice because I have a hard time climbing stairs, especially steep ones and I could never have gotten her down there. Now that Faith is walking, her world is opening up in ways she has never experienced and getting her up close and hands on is wonderful!

It surely warms my heart to see Faith have a relationship with my dad and to see his heart soften to her. He even joked the other day that Faith was a babe magnet!

Take the Shackles off MY feet...

I know I have posted about the song by Mary Mary called "Shackles" and how I always think of Faith when I hear that song. When they sing...."Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance, I just want to praise YOU"...well, it REALLY has meaning now, if it didn't before! I caught this song on my computer and Faith was just dancing her head off! Like she knows what it means and she is gonna dance for GOD! It also reminds me that God can take MY shackles off! Every day, I am inspired by Faith...
(you'll have to pause my music at the bottom of the page.)
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Walking requires Faith...

I finally got a short video of Faith walking while I didn't have to hold onto her or keep her from falling. This is our beloved PT, Erin, who will be leaving us in the next week. Very sad to see her go, but we are close outside of therapy, so it will be ok. Forgive the sideways view, I couldn't get it turned.Faith is making so much progress, so quickly. In just the last week she has had dramatic improvements in her balance. Her PT was shocked to see how much better she had gotten since last Monday. And just look at her good posture!

Tonight, we sit in Charleston, down for an epilepsy appointment. I am actually VERY excited to come to this appointment. I can't wait to see her doctor's face when she comes walking into his office! He will be soooo surprised! I have several other things to discuss with him as far as her medicine regimen goes. In the next few weeks, Faith will be one year seizure free, a HUGE deal to say the least. There have been discussions on trying to wean her off her Tegretol, if the Keppra worked well, and clearly it has. I think the combination seems to work well, but Tegretol does affect the liver and if we could get good control and off the Tegretol, that sure would be nice.

Hope you all enjoy seeing my miracle walking, FINALLY!

More "crazy"happenings....

I tell you now.... One day I am going to write a book about all the miracles and wonders God has let me see and be a part of in my life.
I know I tend to wax poetically a LOT about amazing things that have happened to me and Faith but everywhere we go crazy things happen.
Today started out bad for me, I was depressed and lonely and basically feeling miserable. I cried my way to therapy, all the way there. I decided when I got there that I needed to do something to pull myself out of the quagmire, and my hair REALLY needed a cut. So I decided to try to find a place to get a haircut. Unfortunately, the girl who last cut my hair was not working and my prospects weren't looking too good. Finally, I crossed town and found a little salon that took walk-ins. I stuck my head in the door and asked if they had time for me and a young lady came out and said she sure did, so I went out and got Faith. I was praying for someone who would be able to look at my hair and see something that she could do with it, as I am VERY plain Jane and never know what to do with my hair. I said I needed a new style to go with my new figure and was hoping for something fun and cute. Well, she starts cutting and says she has some good ideas for it. I just prayed she was good and let her have at it. We talked a lot and of course the topic naturally fell to Faith. I told her a little about her and that she just started walking. Turns out this girl had been home schooled herself, and her father was a preacher, too! Eventually, I told her a little about what we had been going through. Well, this girl was just snipping away and listening to me and turns out she was a Christian, too. So she decided that she was going to curl my hair....and before you know it....she had given me this fantastic, super cute, flirty haircut with swirly, wavy ringlets! I was so surprised! She says that she wanted to do something special for me! So I get ready to leave and this girl writes her name and phone number down and tells me that I should call her and if I wanted to come to town and have someone just wash and style my hair she would love to do it for me, whenever! And that she was giving me my haircut as a gift to me! She said that our story had been an inspiration to her and encouraged her in her faith! I cried...of course...and insisted on paying her but she refused and hugged me and told me she loved me and hugged Faith and told me to keep in touch with her!

A perfect stranger, at the perfect time...when I needed it the most...GOD put this girl in my life!

I feel like a new woman....like I need to go put on a fancy dress or something! I NEVER had a fancy haircut before......

Thank you, Father, for Racheal at Salon 81!

Spring is here...finally

Every year, I take Faith out the the botanical gardens and make her pictures in the daffodils...

We are a few days late but the flowers are still pretty for the most part. This year I can tell such a difference in her, a more mature girl. She looks so grown up!

It's bittersweet because this is where I had my bridal portraits made, and it was a tradition to take her out on the week of our anniversary. So, I had a hard time with it but I was determined to make it a day for us to enjoy.

Proof Positive...

I finally got some half decent pictures of Faith walking, today.

I love how proud she is of herself!

She walked the entire museum today, well over an hour and a half!
I know these are blurry but they are good action shots of her actually doing it!

And of course, I have a wonderful story of yet another perfect stranger who was smitten with Faith, tonight.

Eating dinner at a seafood restaurant with my dad and Faith. A family comes in behind us and sits right near us. After a while I hear the mom talking about Faith (nicely) to her husband and two kids. When we get up to leave the woman gets up from her chair and gets my attention and asks how old Faith is. I say seven and she says "she is just beautiful, can I give her a hug?". So in a matter of minutes we are fast friends with a wonderful woman who was clearly a woman of great faith...as she knelt on her knees in the middle of the restaurant and prayed over my daughter for strength and healing and HIS hand on her and protection over her. Faith fell in love with her...smothering her with drooly kisses and hugs as the woman teared up as she heard a little of Faith's story. She was trying to adopt the two kids with her, who came from an abusive home but she clearly had some experience with people with disabilities b/c she knew some sign language and also asked about Faith having a G tube, even though she never saw it. And the weird thing is, they were from the next town over from where I was born!

She asked for my email address to keep in touch. She was also a survivor of ovarian cancer. Once again, God placed this woman in our path. I love to meet the people who come out of the woodwork when Faith is around. It's uncanny! All I can say is it must be God's handiwork! Proof positive...my daughter walking!

Happy July 4th...What this "country" means to me...

I know I have said this before but I feel compelled, tonight, to wax poetically about our tiny town we live in. Our town is small...well...small isn't really the word. We don't have a stop light and only a couple of stop signs in the town limits. Let's just say, you could miss it if you blinked, it is also very rural. But our town has a host of "mis" conceptions attached to it. It is not "known" outside of the community as an accepting place but it is really a "mis" conception.

Tonight was our town's Independence Day Celebration. All the churches get out and set up tents and provide games, inflatables, food, drinks, snow cones, face painting...all for free! The street fills up around 5 or 6 with children, pets, families, strollers and everyone brings chairs to watch the fireworks at dark.

This year we took Faith, my sister and her oldest boy. The community is so close knit, everyone knows everyone. Even people I don't know...know me! Now this is the part that brings tears of joy down my face tonight, as I remember this magical evening. We decided to be brave and surprise everyone by bringing Faith's walker and let her walk the street. It was her first coming out party "walking" ever. Most of the people she knows have never seen her walk. She came tramping down the street and in moments we had a host of fans, followers and admirers trailing behind us...photographing, cheering her on, clapping for her!

Perfect strangers came up to talk to her and encourage her. This is a friend of ours who is mostly deaf who adores Faith and was kind enough to decorate Faith's cheek with...
"THE BEST TEAM IN THE COUNTRY'S" logo!
( Gamecocks Rule...that's for you, Carl!)
It is hard to explain to people who aren't from here or people who don't have special needs kids how isolated it can make you feel when you have a sick child. But this community.....
has welcomed her into it's fold.

This little girl is not a girl scout but she does know Faith through girl scouts. Ever since she met Faith she has gone out of her way to reach out to Faith. She is a rec cheerleader and every time I see her she comes running up to me and asks if I have decided to let Faith be a cheerleader this fall. She never misses a chance to ask me! She came running up to us and the first thing out of her mouth...."Can Faith be a cheerleader this fall? Have you decided?"
SO CUTE! She made Faith two bead bracelets and decorated her wheelchair with carefully chosen stickers.

This is my favorite shot of the evening. These girls LOVE her...really LOVE is not the word! When they saw her walking they were yelling and cheering and telling everyone! We saw lots of people we knew who had never seen her walk who were awestruck. We met about 15 new people from surrounding communities who had to come meet Faith and she charmed them all, blowing kisses, calling out to them as they passed by. When she got overheated and we needed a place to let her rest and get cooled down...women from the Methodist church gave up their spots in front of a fan to let her recover.
Her stamina was INCREDIBLE ....the longest she had ever walked. I would say maybe an hour! Up and down the street...up and down...waiving at her fans and marching along watching all the people. When she saw someone she knew she would say..."Awwwww" and point and head straight that way. Men, women, children, dogs all were fair game.
See what I mean...this lady we did not even know brought her puppy for Faith to see and the first thing she did was reach out and hug and kiss the puppy.

She was so happy and I could never begin to describe how my heart was swollen with PRIDE!


She didn't make it to the fireworks, Carl had to take her home but I got a mom's night out and stayed with my sister to watch them. They were beautiful but as I watched the evening grow dark and the lights grow dim...fireworks starting.... I turned to look at all the people lying in the grass, on the street....all gazing at the sky...I was thinking...MAN, forget the fireworks! Look at these amazing people! Look how they have accepted my daughter! What an amazing community we are so lucky to live in! Although it is TINY...it is full of heart and kindness! I have never been one to have attention drawn towards me but I tell you I walked straight down the middle of the street like the Queen of England, proud! It's so hard to explain without being here, being there to witness this tiny girl "OWNING" her community! I just don't have the words to describe it. Tears of happiness to know that she has a HOME in our town, she belongs, she is accepted, she is LOVED, she is encouraged, she is cherished. "
That is the what INDEPENDENCE means to me!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, Y'ALL!

First month down...

Well, we are officially into our second month of homeschooling. I am not going to go into great detail because....well...we would be here all night! Faith has 21 days in so we are on track (we have to log 180 days by June 1, 2011). My goal is to have at least 40 by the time regular school starts which is Aug 16, so I think we are good. I have been doing a lot of trial and error things, trying to figure out the best way to present things to her. Of course, the simpler the better with her. I have been kind of making unit studies on the letter A with different A letter words each week...Apple, Alligator, Ants...you get the point. We will spend the week reading books about each object, watching some educational movies and working with the real things doing counting or exploration (except the alligator, you know!) We have been playing a game with each object where I cut out a paper version of the object with the letter A on it and color it then go around the house and hide it. Then I ask Faith to find it. She has so much fun with this game and has become pretty darn good at finding it even when I try to hide it well. When she finds it I say the objects name and the sound A makes, then ask her to say the sound. We often play it for an hour or more!
I figure if I can get her to be able to identify (by pointing) the first three letters of the alphabet by Christmas that's a reasonable goal. I have been learning a lot myself about time management. I have always been pretty good at it, actually prided myself on it as a manager for years! But this is a different ballgame...therapy, doctors, driving, researching and preparing lessons, caring for her, getting her fed, dressed and medicated, cleaning, making dinner, record keeping. Shew...is that all? I have learned that we will not be able to do our school year following a typical school year schedule there are just too many commitments (for Faith) that we can't give up. So I have learned to get up early and spend an hour or two first thing, then off to therapy then book it home and spend as much time as we can before dinner. The majority of Faith's education is still daily living and self help so we get to count therapy and also when we work on standing, eating and dressing...all that counts for parts of our school day.
So this is really just a recap of things we have both been learning in the last month. My real big issue is in SC we have to teach writing. Now Faith is just barely where she can hold a large crayon and scribble some marks on a page, so that is giving me a real fit. I know we have to start with the basics like lines and circles but she isn't even near that. I feel very unprepared...wait unsure how to do this right. I need to talk to our Association leader about what counts to see if working on her Ipad may count or what I need to do.
Faith seems to be enjoying most everything we do, mostly I think she thrives on focused attention by me...always has. She has passed 160 books in our first month and we are working on compiling a review of our A words in a "A book" with pages she colors of each of her topics.

I NEVER thought I would see this day...

Well, OK I lie. I did think that I would see this day but it has been MANY years since I believed it would REALLY happen!

Today, Faith stood up on her own for the first time with ABSOLUTELY NO assistance! It really is a miracle after all these years it's so hard to hope for things that seem so unattainable! Since her first "getting to stand" with just a tiny bit of assistance she has had spurts of attempts again and again but them slacking off and not trying for days ( I think from fear after a few falls). After that day I felt sure it really WAS going to happen. This week she has been trying everyday after finally figuring out that she could hold on to the couch. She can consistently get her right leg into kneel now with very little effort.

Today, she was working for almost an hour, trying so hard over and over again. I was providing a little support on her left (weaker) side when she got up to keep her from losing her balance. I reached out and took my hands away just for a second to grab the camera and before I knew it....

She was UP! She wobbled and pitched and then leaned forward over the edge of the couch to catch her balance and stayed up! I couldn't believe it!
She only did it once but she kept trying....she just kept losing her balance and falling backwards. Once she fell backwards and missed the coffee table by about an inch and after a few tears she was right back up trying again. As of about 2pm today she can now get to kneel about 50% of the time without holding on!
My GIRL, I am so proud of you. Words are not enough to explain how much joy and surprise you bring to my heart! I love you the way you are but I love you more for your determination and persistence!

My new finds....

Took a trip to the Education Shack today, they were open all week with several new shipments.
I know this doesn't do it for everyone, but I was so excited! This place is a wonderland of boxes of all kinds of therapy and educational equipment and materials. Really they don't even know what they have or what it's for. I had two HUGE deals I found today...

We have been using these recorders in therapy with Faith for a while. They are little handheld recordable switches that fit perfectly in a child's hand. Our therapist suggested investing in one or two to use at home. At around $13 a piece, not bad for a primitive AAC device but I hadn't forked over the money for one. So while scrounging around in random boxes, today, I found one lying right in the bottom of the box! I was on cloud nine, so I asked a few employees if they had seen anymore and they said they had seen a few boxes of them but couldn't remember where. So we dug around and came up with 7! SCORE! I asked how much and the cashier says "I'll give them to you for $1 each." SOLD! Faith has been hauling them around all afternoon, I programmed one to say "Hi" and whenever someone would come thru the door at therapy she would press that button! She was so proud of herself.

My other cool find was this adapted walking sheep! We use adapted electronic toys with switches a lot with Faith and over the last few weeks her therapist loaned us a bubble machine with a small switch and a delayed response device. Got this little sheep that was already rigged to be plugged into a switch for $5! I had just brought home two books about sheep so we worked them together this evening while we read.
Found a few other steals...a bunch of Crayola washable markers in different color combinations for a $1 a pack, a 25# box of white sand for her sensory table- $5, a little plain apron to decorate while we work on letter A stuff-$1 and a decorate yourself pencil box-$1. I also saw a platform swing for $40, which I am told is a pretty sweet deal (soooo tempted) and they said they had a bunch of those canopy/bag swings at their other store for practically nothing!

I get a BIG rush finding good deals, so I walked around all day with a big smile on my face. I am so tempted to go back later this week when their new truck comes in. I think Carl would strangle me, though!

Beeeeeeees....

Last Thursday, Faith got to go to the library presentation on bees. A husband and wife who keep bees spoke to the children. There were only about 7 kids, this time, so it was not so distracting for Faith. They started off having the kids pretend to be bees. They sprinkled dried chick peas on the floor and the kids were supposed to pick them up (like pollen) and work the bee hive to make honey. Faith had a lot of fun, I picked them up but let her carry them to the bowl, then she got to stir the bowl. Finally the kids got to taste some of the honey on spoons. Faith had never tasted honey and she really liked it!

The couple showed the various equipment and tools used in bee keeping and had some of the kids model the protective gear. They also brought a small hive to show, Faith was particularly interested in the bees, themselves. She liked the buzzing noise they made and sat very still listening. While we were there we met a little boy who was in self contained class at the local elementary school. He was very shy but eventually warmed up to Faith because she kept trying to get his attention going...."Heh....Heh...Heh!" and waving her hand at him. It was so cute! My little social butterfly!

One really cool new thing she did was when the man asked some questions for the kids to answer...they all raised their hands and after a few times Faith did it too! She was doing just like the kids....leaning forward with her hand outstretched like..."Pick me, Pick me!"

On our way out we checked out some more books...she's now up to 140 books for the month of June! Pretty proud of her....(even if I do all the reading! LOL!) Really I am just kidding...I love reading to her and she is so interested in all books!

Parent perspective....

As a stay at home mom of a EXTRA special little girl, I know that my perspective of things is a lot different than my hubby's. He has a job that he goes to everyday, friends he works with, people he deals with. Much like "normal" people. I, on the other hand, spend 99.9% of my life with a six year old little girl who can barely talk and understands only simple things in life. My concerns are...is she safe, is she happy, am I setting a good example for her, am I leading her on the right path, am I providing her with the right stimulation/learning experiences, did I spend enough time stretching her. Not the things that most people worry about.
My life is consumed...but I am NOT complaining. It's my responsibility! I am OK with it.
But for Carl it's different. He sees himself as other things besides the dad of a special needs child. He still wants to go do things that we used to do before she was born. Hiking, camping, overnights at the beach, swimming at the lake until late at night.
It's hard for him to NOT be able to go do those things. He is a GOOD sport, believe me, but sometimes I can see him wearing down under the monotony of our days.

I do miss those things, but I don't ache to do them like he does. So this weekend, he has gone camping with his best friend from school and his little boy. They are planning to do some fishing, something that Carl really misses.

I am happy that he is getting out and having carefree fun...but I miss him and worry about all kinds of potential problems. I hope this gives him a little boost and gets him refreshed to come back to life.

Tie Dye Fun...

Last Thursday, our local library had Tie Dye Day. The kids were invited to bring a t shirt or something white that they could dye....er....destroy!
Faith took a pillow case to color. First they made book marks out of foam stickers and glue...Faith was all about the glue and made a BIG mess all over her wheelchair and lap! I purposely dressed her in clothes that wouldn't be destroyed by dye but wasn't prepared for a glue war. She chose pink and teal to use and we were very conservative with the colors. Some of the other kids made a HUGE mess that dripped down onto the floor where the plastic had been moved under the table by all the kid feet. I felt so bad for the poor librarian. When we got home I put out the pillow case on the back porch to dry and it was totally dry in one hour! That's how hot it is here! Faith dragged her artwork all over the house for the rest of the night, she was so proud of it. This Thursday a bee keeper is bringing some of his bees and doing a presentation. Hey, I can't complain about the library doing some of my homeschooling work for me, can I?

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