This I Believe

You may be familiar with the 1950's radio program called This I Believe.   Perhaps you already know that NPR sponsors a national This I Believe project and you can read or listen to them by clicking here.  I'd encourage you to read some of the essays and maybe even consider submitting your own.  This week in my college class we were asked to write our own This I Believe essays.

This is the second one I've written.  This one was harder for me than I expected.  It was hard to decide what to write.  That's surprising, right?  Well, if you're interested ... this is one of the things I believe...

I believe in visiting with people, empty handed, but willing to work.  I suppose I can blame my parents for this predicament.  When I was a kid, we would spend hours visiting with people.  Sometimes we would just drop by and chat with them.  I don’t remember my parents ever asking, “What can we do to help you?”  More often than not, mom or dad would just notice something that needed to be done, and we’d get right to work.

As I grew up, I started to notice that other women always brought a little goodie when they’d stop to visit a friend.  One of my first visiting teaching companions showed up at an appointment with a cute, brown gift bag rustically tied with raffia.  As she apologized for having to “throw together something,” the escaping aromas gave away the secret of fresh baked peanut butter and chocolate goodies. 

This wasn’t an isolated incident. Over and over again, as I went to visit families, other women in the companionship would show up with little bundles of home baked goodies.  I started to wonder if I had missed the rule that required all sisters to present goodies when visiting another home.  My empty hands felt insufficient.  

Sure, I was capable of pulling together a meal for the homebound family, but I didn’t feel as confident about whipping up a batch of cookies every time I went to visit someone.  I settled on taking jars filled with small candies, flowers, and re-plated store bought goodies for special occasions.

During one early morning presidency meeting, the President had mentioned that a family in our ward was having a particularly hard time.  When the family didn’t show up at church, I thought about them all afternoon.  I wanted to do something to lift their spirits.  I wanted them to know they were loved!  It hadn’t been too long, since I had taken a jar of candy, I wasn’t prepared to make an entire meal, and since it was Sunday, I couldn’t go buy flowers.  What could I do to help?

I turned to every woman’s inspirational site:  Pinterest.  Like most other LDS woman, I had pinned lots of yummy things; however, for me, Pinterest was much like a library full of beautiful books, purchased but never opened.  This time, being desperate, I was motivated to actually try a recipe.  I decided on the sophisticated sounding Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies.  The blogsters all described them as “salty and sweet with smoky undertones.”  Who wouldn’t love that? 

Each mound of cookie dough baked to the perfect golden brown with chocolate chips peeking through in just the right ratios.  I gathered my family and we taste tested the cookies.  We each enjoyed a few, warm from the oven, plated a dozen, and proudly delivered the perfectly shaped cookies to the needy family.  I was so proud of my unusual triumph in the kitchen that I dropped off a couple of bundles around the neighborhood.

            The next morning my oldest son noticed an awful smell coming from the cookies.  I thought he was imagining things, but when I tasted one, the smell seemed to reflect the rancid taste.  Oh, my!  The cookies that looked Pinterest perfect yesterday were definitely disgusting today.   I immediately imagined the warning phone calls from one family to another: “Don’t eat the cookies!”  I could only hope my Pinterest failures were enjoyed immediately and not left to stink up their kitchens. 

            One day not long after that experience, I was thinking about a time that me and a friend stopped to visit a pregnant mom with three little children.  As I sat with the mom, my friend noticed the kitchen was in disarray and she started cleaning it as we visited.  We didn’t stay too long, but before we left we had cleaned the kitchen and the family room.  It felt good to leave the mom’s home knowing that she had been relieved of a couple of burdens.

            I realized that while I love the goodies that some women bring, what I do best is visit, empty handed, but willing to work.  

Reading Restaurant

Deborah's class did a "Reading Restaurant" tonight.  I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but it was really awesome!  When we arrived at the classroom, Deborah was whisked away into the classroom while all we waited outside with all the other parents.  After a few minutes of listening to busy, excited sounds escaping from the room, each of the parents were individually invited by the hostess (aka the teacher) to join their little chef.  

Our chef was darling!  It's amazing how big she's getting!

She had prepared a menu for us.  The "appetizer" was a sample of her story writing; the "salad" was another example of her story writing, the entree was a story that she wrote about EACH member of her family.  For dessert, we had a choice of three of her favorite books to choose from.

The video below is her reading one of her favorite books.  You have to turn up your volume pretty loud in order to hear her and there's a lot of background noise; however, if you listen pretty closely, you will hear that she's using a funny voice. It was a book about an Italian family and their pizza business.  It was really, really funny to listen to her talk. 

Enjoy!

Questionable Reading Materials

Today I was having a conversation with Dwight & David about some questionable material assigned for an English class. As we discussed my opposing arguments, Johnathon said, "Would you read that if the Savior were in the room?" and then Deborah, quoting lyrics, said, "If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do? Would I think of His commandments, and try harder to be true? Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?" 

Seems to be a great standard to live by ....

Slacking?

I'm sorry if it seems to all of you I have been slacking.  I'm sure you've noticed my sparse postings over the past few months and my lack of any postings since Ryan came home from the hospital. 

This semester I thought it would be a good idea to take 8 credit hours in school.  Oh was I wrong!  With all the unexpected emergencies, Jessica graduating and getting her ready and sent off to college, and the beginning of summer, it has been tough to keep up with 8 college credit hours.  I am still managing 2 A's and struggling to pull the B back up to an A.  That B will be why I won't be doing anything fun for the next week -- except math.

I've always loved math until this class.  My family thinks it's great that now I can relate to their feelings about math classes.  Perhaps.

I promise I've been taking lots of pictures and mental notes.  As soon as I get through the end of July, I will update you all on everything that's been happening and give you lots of pictures.

Till then, send me good Math thoughts... ;)

Crazy Squirrel Lady?

My children have started calling me the "Crazy Squirrel Lady."  There's a whole history about this new title. 

This past week I had to write a personal narrative for my college class. I felt a bit stuck as I tried to figure out what to write about. I really had no idea what to write about; I just didn't want my narrative to be a traumatic story.  When I asked my family what I should write about, they all said, "The squirrel!"

So, here's the starting of the squirrel story.  We were only allowed 450 words, so you'll have to wait till another time to hear how it ends.  (I'll just tell you ... I do win!)  I hope you enjoy!

The Porch Swing

I had always wanted a porch swing.  It seems idyllic, the perfect place to read to my children on a cool day with a gentle breeze and the trees swaying back and forth rhythmically.  It was the beginning of fall, and the summer sun was starting to cool down.  The porch swing had been placed on the back deck in the perfect position.  Johnathon, Deborah and I could sit together and swing as we read book after book.  Some nights we would read until I was squinting to see the words in the last hint of sunlight. 

We had just started to love our swing when one afternoon we noticed that something had started to steal the stuffing from our cushions.  What animal could be so unkind?  I examined the wounded cushion looking for clues.  I could see that the woven fabric had been carefully pulled apart, but just enough to pull the white fluffy stuffing through the top of the cushion.  Whatever animal took my belongings left no trace, but came again the next day for more. 

On the third day, the thief returned for more stuffing.  This time he left a trail.  My eyes followed the scant white trail of cotton as it dotted across the yard and up into the two story tall elm tree.  At the very top, I was surprised to see a mansion of a nest, shaped like an egg.  It must have been at least two feet tall and eighteen inches wide.  The bandit was really living large!

I took up a constant surveillance of the porch swing, hoping to catch the critter in action.  For days, I saw nothing.  I thought perhaps the unknown thug had taken all they were going to take.  Then one day, while standing by the back porch door, a beautiful squirrel caught my eye.  He held my gaze with his deep dark eyes.  Then he quickly made his way to my porch swing and mockingly stuck his claws right into my cushions and grabbed some of my stuffing!  How dare he!  I swung open the porch door and yelled at the squirrel as he ran off my deck, “No! Don’t you take my stuffing!”

That’s when it happened. The squirrel stopped.  He put up his paws, turned and fixed his beady eyes on mine, and screeched at me with a high pitched almost-human sounding slur.  He looked like a demonic cartoon squirrel shaking his fists at me.  Without even thinking, I yelled back.  He continued to insult me as he scurried off, stopping just long enough to turn, lifting his feathery tail and mooning me, before disappearing into his well padded mansion in the trees.

Wrinkles

Remember last week's love letter to my laptop?  Well, this week we were asked to write an essay on something or someone that is beautiful, but not commonly considered or described as beautiful.  This is my rough draft.  Let me know what you think.

Wrinkly

"Mom, you haven’t changed at all, except now you're wrinkly,” my teenage daughter boldly claimed as she admiringly gazed at her young self in pictures.  I'm well aware of my wrinkles, I had just never thought of myself as wrinkly. Instantly, I was transported back to the side of Julia, a dear friend from my childhood.  She was an 89 year old woman, who if she stood on her tiptoes would not have been 4’6”.  Now, Julia was wrinkly!  She was so wrinkly that it looked like her skin was being magnified.  Every line was exaggerated, and the skin was paper thin.  But, oh, how I loved her wrinkles!

 Wrinkles tell a story of a life well lived.  While my daughter thinks I’m wrinkly, I don’t have half the wrinkles that Julia had and probably only half the stories to tell.  I am working on developing more each day.  I currently only have six forehead wrinkles, several tummy wrinkles, and lots of knee wrinkles.

When I was a relatively new mother, I was warned about the forehead wrinkles by my Aunt Elsie.  She didn’t like wrinkles.  She said I should be careful with the way I look at my kids when they do something wrong because it can cause wrinkles.  She was right.  The six wrinkles on my forehead represent the lessons taught to each of my children.  Each line has been dutifully earned as I have lifted my eyebrows quietly but firmly reminding a child to be reverent during Sacrament meeting.  The lines have been carved deeper while giving a testing child the tilted head, eyebrows raised, “this-is-your-last-chance” look.

The wrinkles on my forehead aren’t the only place my children have caused skin challenges. While I managed to escape six pregnancies without any stretch marks, I now have tummy wrinkles.  No one warned me this could happen!  In fact, it didn’t happen until the sixth bladder hopping child had made their way out and started to grow up. Then one day I noticed my once taut tummy had become creased, and yes, wrinkled.

More than half of my children are now bigger than me, but the once tiny children have led me to my knees many times where I have noticed that I also have many wrinkles!  I have earned these wrinkles through prayer, both in pleading with the Lord for counsel and direction, and in offering many prayers of gratitude for all the blessings and tender mercies.

Where others may see old age, saggy skin, and loss of collagen, I see a life that has been well lived.  While I may not be as wrinkly as Julia, I am thankful for my forehead, tummy, and knee wrinkles.

THEY SAID YES!!!!!!

THEY SAID "YES!" Thank you for your prayers! They said, "yes!" Ryan will be staying in Preschool. So, thank you for your prayers. Now, please be sure to say a prayer of thanks! Thank you all! I'm so appreciative to all of those at the school: at the administration level, at the district level, and of course the teachers and therapists who work with Ryan. I'm most appreciative of the prayers. I really believe that the prayers are what made the difference. I don't think they would have changed their minds without all of your prayers and without the divine intervention. I'm so thankful! The best *is* yet to come!

It's working!

Our prayers are having an impact! A representative from the District is coming to meet Ryan today. Please pray their hearts will be softened, their minds will be opened, and those who work with Ryan will be inspired to know the best things to say and do. We will then meet again on Thursday to get the decision as to whether he can stay in Preschool (PPCD) or if they say he has to move into Kindergarten next year. Thanks for your continued prayers!

A Love Letter

Perhaps some of you know that last September I started taking college classes through Brigham Young University-Idaho.  Did you know that the three most common reasons that prevent people from going back to college are finances, fear of math, or fear of writing?  I fall into the latter category.  I worry that I will not be able to do all the writing assignments.

Well,  I am now taking a writing class and our first assignment was to write a love letter to an object.  Yes, you read that correctly.  We had to write the love letter to an object, not a person.

The night before I wrote my love letter I had a horrible experience with getting a virus on my laptop. Like most families today, we are not a one laptop family.  We have an impressive array of desktops, servers, and laptops that would rival any small business office's network. But, it was mine.

The combination of the assignment and the virus resulted in the following love letter.  Jessica thought you all might enjoy it also.  I hope you find it entertaining.

Dearest Laptop,

     I am sorry that I did not do a better job of protecting you from this pernicious virus. My heart ached tonight as I watched the last glimmer of light fade from your screen. You have always been so faithful to me. It was careless of me not to notice that the antivirus software was not running every night.  Now I can only hope that the rumors of fatality are not true. You must know that you cannot be replaced by just any laptop.  It is you, and only you, that I want.

     I love your camera and the way it blinks when I first turn you on each day.  I know I told you it was creepy in the beginning of our relationship, but I find it endearing now.  Tonight as I ponder how much longer I will have you, I long to see your blue light wink at me.  I love that with your camera you take me to places all over the world to find my husband.  You never seem too tired to adjust to my needs.

     Your keyboard is the only one that feels right to me.  I love the warmth that radiates from the keys as I place my hands into position to type.  The tiny bars on your F and J guide my pointer fingers to their home positions.  The memory of your keys clicking under my fingertips as I quickly glide across makes me long to have you back again.  With each stroke so quickly recorded and categorized, you bring deep relaxation to my mind and body.

     Because of you, I am able to keep in touch with all of my friends daily.  I can see every piece of their news and every pixel they post. I can hardly pull myself away from you. Like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith breathlessly sings, “I don’t want to close my eyes.  I don’t want to fall asleep…. I don’t want to miss a thing.”

     You will consume my every waking moment until I have restored you to your full vigor. I will search out the best programs for our recovery efforts and the best people to work on your firm body as I cannot part with your sleekness.  I will do all in my power to heal you of this virus. I love you, my dear laptop!

Your One and Only,

Tina

Guys Today

What do you call guys today?  You know the ones that we might have called cute or handsome in my day? (That'd be the 80's, in case you're wondering.)  They're too old to call adorable and I don't think "sharp" is how I would describe them ... at least not this time.  I'm not their age so I'm pretty sure it'd be REALLY CREEPY if I called them "smokin'" or "hot."  In fact, I feel weird even typing that. 

I'm not sure what to call these boys. I don't want to insult these guys.  So, I'll just say they have IT.  They have what Moms liked in the guys they dated a gazillion years ago.  Good looking, great sense of humor, fun, polite, dress well, and just plain cool.... Oh, and a really important one ... really good with parents.  (That's big!)

So, Tuesday night three of these guys with IT showed up at our house and one was carrying a door.  To understand why they brought a door to our house, you have to know that the theme to the local high school prom is Titanic.  (Still not understanding why the door?  Near the end of the movie, Titanic, Jack and Rose were floating on a door.)  Long story short, one of these guys with IT asked Jessica to prom by bringing over a door.  Cool, right?

Animals

Ryan's class has been learning about animals at school.

Ryan did not seem to enjoy being an elephant.

Go, Ryan!

Look what Ryan did today!

Do you see that smile?

This stuff is exhausting!

Ryan

Ryan's nurse caught Ryan working hard at school.  This is super awesome!  You might notice in this that his teacher, Mrs. V, is just barely supporting him at the lower back.  If you watch really closely, you can also see that he's engaging his arms to support himself and he's really using his right arm especially on the floor. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Hmmm... Is there a way to turn a video?  I don't know.  Well, I guess you'll just have to lie down to watch it.  ;)

A Journal Post

Life has been crazy busy recently and I feel like I've been neglecting to do updates.  So, I thought I'd do a journal style post.  You know the journal entry where you try to catch up on the last 10 months all in one page?  Or, am I the only one who kept a journal that way?  :)

Many of you know that I put all the kids into public school this year, and some of you have been asking how it's going.  Thanks to some great advice the school year started very smoothly.  If I had to pick just one tip as the most helpful, I'd probably say it was when one of our new friends recommended laying out an entire week's worth of outfits for the younger ones.  Since public school requires the little ones to be up more than 2 hours earlier than before, it helps when they can just drag their sleepy selves into their closets and choose from pre-selected outfits.  Deborah adores her teacher, is "getting used to" classmates, but has made quite a few friends, really dislikes music time, loves art, and is very invested in getting her daily smiley faces from the teacher.  Johnathon is enjoying the academic side of things and is making great grades. I worried a lot about his handwriting skills, but they have improved significantly since starting school. He has struggled a little with figuring out the playground system and seems to be getting a handle on it now.  David found his lunch table immediately and is really enjoying latin club.  He is also in the high school's first play of the season.  So, he's busy and very happy.  Jessica is a senior this year and just anxious to be done.  Ryan is back in Mrs. V's class again and loves it.  He has a new Physical Therapist at the school who seems to be trying some new equipment with him. The same Vision, Occupational, and Hearing Therapists as last year continue to work with him.  They are all really fantastic!  So, we're very lucky that way!

Overall, I'm very pleased with how things are going.  I think the schools have a nice balance on how much homework they are sending.  I think the extracurricular activities at the high school level are WAY too time consuming, but other than that, I'm content.

BUT.... if I could traditionally home school, it would still be my preference.  Why?  For all the same reasons that I did it before.  I'm thankful that we live in a good school district where I feel comfortable sending my kids to school and I'm especially thankful that they have good teachers and good people in their lives. I feel comfortable ... well, only because I know I have done what is best for them at this time.  It was tough, and is still tough to have them gone all day.  I enjoy having my children around.  I enjoy learning with them. I enjoy their company.  I like them. 

 I might miss them, if I had time to miss them.  I have been asked several times what I'm doing with "all my free time."  Well, folks, the reason I put my kids in school was because I was severely over-scheduled and even with them in school, I have only managed to squeak out a few hours of free time in the past month. During that time, the first time, I cleaned my house for 4 hours.  The second time I went to the pool by myself and floated on the water for an hour in total peace.  And, the third time, I went to a friend's house and visited with her a few hours.  All three times it was really wonderful! 

So, you might ask what's keeping me so busy?  Most of you can probably guess.  Ryan's appointments, my appointments, the stacks of neglected paperwork, and my school work.

Ryan is mostly stable right now, thankfully.  He has not been seizing lately. I've been asked why. We haven't changed his medicine since that awful spell in November of last year, except to add a mid-day dose of the Lamictal.  Maybe it's the right medicine combination.  Maybe he's growing out of the seizures.  Maybe it's the blenderized whole foods diet.  Maybe it's a combination of all three.  Or, maybe it's just a tender mercy of the Lord.  I would prefer to attribute it to the latter.  Maybe due to His tender mercy He provided all that we needed in the way of medicines, the Doctors, the Doctors' intelligences, the knowledge for the diet, etc in order to help right.  However, we look at it, I can see God's hand in this miracle.  I'm sure you can, too.

After the most recent hospital visit for Ryan, which was due to low oxygen levels, we received new equipment at home for Ryan.  A few days after it was delivered it occurred to me that having oxygen delivered to our house, an oxygen concentrator, and a pulse oximeter really didn't even seem strange to me and that it probably should at least seem a little odd, or something.  It just seemed normal.  That is until I had to use it on Ryan. 

The Oxygen Concentrator

 There's really nothing normal about having a pulse oximeter attached to your 4 year old at home, and there's definitely nothing normal about being startled out of bed several times during the night to a loud noise that means his oxygen level is too low.  And, it really isn't normal to attach a nasal cannula to your child in middle of the night so that they can get their oxygen level back into the 90's.  But, it sure beats the heck out of rushing to the hospital, being stuck their for a minimum of 24 hours, and having Ryan pocked several times for mandatory blood work "just to be safe."  I'm thankful it's an option to have it in our home, as odd as it might be to have to use it.

The plan when I put the kids in school was to use the time to get caught up on stuff, take care of Ryan's medical stuff, my medical stuff, and do my school work.  One of the challenges I'm running into is that I'm spending far too much time doing my kids' chores.  They are gone for the majority of the day and the older kids have so much homework that I have struggled to figure out how much responsibility is fair.  I think I've leaned too far in the direction of leniency and now no one is even helping with chores.  So, those of you with kids in school, how do you do it?  Especially high school kids?  Are you the only one who cleans your house?  I've had someone suggest hiring someone to come in once a week, but right now we just have too many medical bills and besides it doesn't teach our children the responsibility. I really love the idea of serving my family, but I don't think I should be their servant.  I think there is a difference. 

As for college, I am loving it and this week I have at times wondered if I should have waited a little while longer to go back.  I am only take two classes -- just six credit hours.  I love the people I attend class with on Thursday night.  I love the subjects we are studying.  I am anxious to continue.  On the other hand, this week it has felt overwhelming to fit it into the schedule.  It has been hard to focus and to do my very best.  It has caused me to wonder if I was being selfish in going back right now.  

BUT ...
Here's what I know ... I know Heavenly Father asked me to go back and finish my degree. I know He led me to this specific path, and thus I know He can prepare a path for me to do it.  So, I will work hard to cheerfully do all the good that is required of me so that I can see the miracles that He will work in my life.

Have you had times like that in your life?  Times when you have had to just act in faith knowing that if you pushed through He would work miracles.  I know it works because I have seen it in my life before.  So, I'm counting on it again.

Day 1: Whew... Success.

We made it through the first day of school! And, the best part ... everyone, me included, had a GREAT day! Whew! Jessica wasn't thrilled to take pictures this morning, but she at least let me snap one quick picture before school.

David worked hard to give me a "mildly interested" look, until he had to sneeze. The sneeze made for a really funny picture, but I decided to stick with the approved pose.

Johnathon was so excited for today! His first words to me when he got off the bus today were "Best Day Ever!"

Deborah ... Well, Deborah was given the assignment to decorate this face. The teacher called it a happy face. Deborah calls it a baby face. Even after I explained that it might be a representation of her, she would just giggle and call it "Baby Face."

Tonight when I was tucking her into bed, she said, "Mom, I'm a Kindergartener, and I have the BEST teacher."

Ryan seemed anxious to return to school today. Thankfully, Ms. Nelda is still able to go with him.

Overall, it's been a great day, with only one small hiccup. Hopefully, tomorrow will be even more smoooooth. :)

One More Week

It's hard to believe we're down to just one more week.  Are you surprised that I made the decision?  I am.  Then I remember that every time I prayed about it I felt confident in the decision and I feel peaceful again.

We now know Johnathon's and Deborah's teachers.  I've heard great things about each of them.  I'm told Deborah has THE very best Kinder teacher:  THE teacher that everyone wants for their child.  And, Johnathon's teacher was selected just for him taking his personality and my personality into consideration.  So, hopefully, they will be great matches. 

Just one more week. 

Wonder

I am currently reading a book to the children called, "Wonder" to the children. 

This book was recommended to me by a room full of Moms that I consider to be the best of the best when it comes to good literature.   It had been recommended to them by Ms O, who we all consider to be the Queen of Great Literature, our Go To Person when we need a good book for our children.

I couldn't wait to finish our last book to start this book!  I looked forward to my children seeing into the life of another family with a special child.  I wasn't however prepared for the roller coaster of emotions this book would take me on in one evening.

I knew my children would be affected by the book but I was completely unprepared for the effects this book would have on me.  Last night as I reading aloud to the children the Via section, I could barely keep reading as I fought back the tears knowing that my children have at times experienced the same things that the main character's sister expressed.  I kept closing the book at the end of the chapter only to have the children say, "One more chapter, please!"

It is that Wonder-ful!

Back To School

You probably know that I've home schooled for the past 13 years.  Last year we did Texas Connections Academy for Johnathon and David, which technically is not home schooling, but I still had 3 children home with me all the time (except on Tuesdays when they spend most of the day with other homeschooling friends). 

Well, are you ready for this?  This year everyone is going to school!  Are you super surprised??? 

Ryan is going back to the same PPCD class, which we loved.

Deborah is going to Kindergarten at the same school, which she is SO excited about.

Johnathon is going to attend 4th grade also at the same school. He's happy about it now that he learned one of his friends is also in 4th grade at the same school.

David is going to be a Freshman at the High School.

Of course, Jacob and Jessica will continue going to High School.  Jacob is a Sophomore and Jessica will be a Senior.

AND, I'll be going back to college, too.  With everyone else back in school, I've decided it's time for me to finish my degree as well. 

So... it'll be a HUGE change around our house.  I've NEVER had all the kids in school before.  I'm not even sure how to manage it.  I'm sure I'll be asking some of you pro-Mom's how you handle different things that come up during the school year.  It'll be interesting.

It was a hard decision to make, but I feel it's the best for each of the children right now.  So, let's just hope I can handle it.  ;)

Last Day of School

Today was Ryan's last day of school for this year.  I took him and Nelda to school since he went early for their water games.  The kids were each asked to bring their favorite water toy to play with outside.  Everyone was prepared to get wet.  They were all covered in sunscreen and dressed in their swimsuits, Ryan included.  His kind, thoughtful teachers had prepared a "hot tub" for Ryan.  Several of his friends spent a lot of their time circled about Ryan making sure that he stayed wet, carefully pouring the "hot" water over Ryan's legs and arms in his "hot tub."

After they finished playing in the water, they had Popsicles. You know the kind that come in the bag?  Ryan's was a strawberry-kiwi, and he LOVED it!  So, as it melted, Nelda just pulled a little into a syringe at a time and gave him some.  You probably remember that we don't feed him by mouth due to the risk of aspiration (choking), but we do let him taste foods.  Well, he was doing so well with it, that we chose to let him do the whole Popsicle this way.   He really enjoyed it and he did a great job with it!

I wasn't actually planning to stay, but it was so fun to watch them all interact that the time passed quickly.  Before I knew it, there was only 15 more minutes before it was time to pick him up.  So, I stayed.

When Ryan was saying good bye to his friends, one of my favorite little boys in the class, Sutton said, "Ryan doesn't want to leave yet."

I think he might have been right.  I know Ryan will miss his friends and his teachers.  It has been such a good experience this year.

Ryan enjoyed the Bouncy House during Field Day at school on 5.18.2012.

A new picture by Jessica