What's up with us!

I guess I have been a little busy, because I haven't posted since September. I am not sure what all to update you all on. I did get some money towards the rechargeable batteries from the insurance company.....a whole $147.00 towards $800 worth of batteries....YIKES right? At least I didn't have to battle them for it.

Jacob is still working at a local electronics store. He needs to take a certification test and then start applying again. We hope that the certification will help him with getting a job. Elijah is in 10th grade and doing well. He is having a very good year and still likes ROTC. I married my girlfriend back in June and we are doing well. We have been together for six years, but this will be our first married Christmas. I am not sure if that is a big deal or not, but I love Christmas anyway.

I decorated over Thanksgiving break. There are lots of presents under the tree, but I have been saving for a while. I had some medical issues back at the end of October and early November. I am going back in to see the gynecologist to see what can be done to help with that. It isn't anything too serious, but something that needs to be addressed.

I haven't watched the news since the election. As a parent of a special needs child, I was not a Trump supporter and I am still not a supporter of him. Enough of politics though. We are still waiting on gutters, insulation, a mailbox and for the fence to be repaired since the storm in APRIL! It has been almost 8 months! At least we have a roof and the majority of the damage is fixed.

Tiger was sick for several weeks and the vet finally figured out it was a severe allergy to fleas. He is off medication and wearing a flea collar. The other three cats are have flea collars too. We give him melatonin at night. He is finally growing back some hair and seems better. The other three cats are good too! They are a big part of our family.

Overall, Life is good. I am happy as are the boys and my wife. I love saying "my wife". I'll try to write more often, but we our lives are not that exciting!

It's Been a While

I just realized I have not posted in over two months! I guess you can say I have been busy. The summer went by quickly. Elijah had SEVERAL doctor's appointments that kept us busy for the first few weeks of the summer. I kept my niece and nephew two days a week, plus we had to deal with the house. We finally got the ceilings repaired and new wood floors at the end of July. We had to move out of the house for a week. Insurance paid for the hotel and our meals, but boy was it still a hassle. There was a lot to pack up and put away so the contractors could do their work.

We arrived home on a Tuesday morning to clean up before moving our things back from the hotel, only to find the AC was broken. The repairman came that afternoon and we ended up having to buy a whole new unit which was installed the next day. He was able to put in Freon so that we could survive the night. It gets hot here in TEXAS in JULY! The house looks great. We have a few minor things to still have taken care of in the house. We also need new insulation, the fence to be restained, the house to be painted and the gutters to be put up. The contractors are busy working on other people's home right now.

I went back to work on Aug. 8th and school started on Aug. 22nd. Jacob is still working at a larger retail electronics' store in the computer components section. He hopes to gain experience and is currently seeking employment with higher pay and better things to offer. Elijah started the tenth grade on Aug. 22nd and all is going well. All of the teachers say he seems to have matured over the summer.

Work is keeping me very busy. I am doing a lot of what I did before, but now I have the responsibility of scheduling the ARD (IEP) meetings, prepping the for the meetings, doing the assessments and writing reports. There is SO much more I do, but I can't even remember it all to list it all. The people I work with are great and I feel fortunate to be where I am.

My honey and I have now been married for three months. Life continues to go well for us. She is working hard and still doing most of the cooking. I am looking forward to many more months with her!

The holidays are just around the corner and I am looking forward to all of them! I'll try to be better and post more often!

Sxi Weeks Later

It has been six weeks since the hail storm and we are just NOW getting our roof fixed. They started two days ago on Saturday and I mean they JUST started. The removed the old shingles and planks from the back side of the house. They have replaced the planks and laid down some other roofing materials that goes under the shingles. They don't work on Sunday (don't blame them) and it rained today, so no work today. It is supposed to rain ALL week. This is ONE reason why it has taken so long for them to get to our roof. The holes in the back were the worst and at least there is new planking now.

The contractor stated that he wants to get everyone's roofs fixed and then start working on the inside. I am not sure where that leaves us as far as when they will start with the inside of our house, but I am hoping it is before the summer ends!

Jacob is busy looking for a job. He has had three interviews in three weeks and applied to a LOT of positions. One of the jobs looks promising, but he doesn't want to get his hopes up too high. Elijah and I will be finished with school next week. We are both so ready. My honey will still be working all summer and I plan on continuing to mystery shop. I will also be supervising repairs! We may have to move out for a few days while they replace the ceiling. We don't have any major plans this summer and I am glad of that!

Keep your fingers crossed we have a new roof by this weekend....it really depends on the rain! Also say some prayers for Jacob, he really wants one of the jobs he interviewed for!

Counting the Days

I am counting the days until Summer break. I have 5 1/2 more days with students and then 1 1/2 work days. It will be a busy summer. I am planning on doing some mystery shopping in June and my mom and I are taking Elijah to Alabama to visit the family. My grandmother turned 89 this month and I really want to see her. It has been two years since I have been back home. Jacob is down in Waco for his summer semester at TSTC. It is a full 15 week semester, not summer school which moves at a much faster rate and is only about four weeks. He has already texted me to tell me he needs some help with math when he comes home this weekend.

I got some good news this week! I received a $7,000 scholarship for graduate school. It will cover my summer class that I am taking that starts July 7th and my Fall semester classes. I am going to call Texas Tech and cancel my school loan! This will cover tuition, books, and any other supplies I need. I plan on quitting mystery shopping come July 1st and focus on school and the family. It will be hard to give it up, because I love the thrill of getting good shops and extra pay. Next Fall is my last semester in grad school and I will graduate in December. I will be completing my internship for my certification as an educational diagnostician, so it will be a tough semester, but I know I can focus on school now and still be able to focus on the boys, my honey and the rest of my family! It is really wonderful that this happened, and I feel blessed!

We really aren't doing much except for the trip to Alabama. I have one two day workshop in June and Jacob's girlfriend is going to watch Elijah for me. It is close enough that I will drive back and forth each day. I plan on taking a few days here and there to go to the movies, visit some museums and plan some other activities with Elijah. We are also planning on joining the rec center here in town. It is a good price and I like to go walking there. The library is right next door, so Elijah and I will go and walk and then go to the library. Once my class starts, it is a good place to work and let him hang out in the teen room. He also likes to check out books and read. I want to have him read to me this summer.  Hopefully, my honey will be able to join us on a few of these days when we go to a museum or go shopping!

Update on Us!

We have had a busy few weeks. My honey and I took Elijah down to the weekend Tourette Syndrome camp back in April. He had a wonderful weekend and we had a great time shopping in Brenham. He is so much more social when he is there and seems to get along with everyone just fine. He can't wait to go back again next year. We both have four more weeks of school left and then it is SUMMER TIME!!


Jacob has been home for the last week, but goes back to school tomorrow. He and his girlfriend are going to PROM tonight! I can't wait to see them all dressed up! He starts his summer semester on Monday. It is a full 15 week semester and he should be graduating in May of next year!!


I finished my semester of grad school on May 3rd, but I had already turned everything in by April 10th. I got an A in both classes and will take one class this summer starting July 7th. It will be 13 weeks of a class crammed into about four weeks, but it is doable.  I then have two classes next Fall and will graduate in December.


Elijah will be a freshman next year and wants to join the ROTC. I am going to let him join and see how it goes. Both Jacob and my brother Alex were in ROTC and really liked it. I think it will be good for Elijah and hopefully teach him a lot about responsibility and how to get organized. We shall see!! Changing schools is always a huge transition for any kid, but really seems to be huge for Elijah.


We don't have any big plans for the summer. My mom, Elijah and I are going to travel to Alabama in June. I have a two day workshop in June also. My niece is going to stay with us a few days in June and that will be fun. Jacob will visit during the summer and we will all enjoy the time off.


I am truly counting down these last few weeks of school. I have enjoyed my year teaching at the elementary level, but am ready for the change that is coming next year. I will fill y'all in on that later! It isn't a huge change, but it is a change! The next few weeks will be hectic with a few field trips, a field day (I hope I survive that), and some high school students visiting us at the  elementary school. I am sure it will all move too fast and summer will be here before I know it, at least I hope that is what happens!!

NBC Dateline Episode 4/12/15

Tonight's episode of Dateline covered young me with autism who were "aging out" of school when they turned 21. The episode highlighted two families' struggles with finding services for the sons after they turned 21. All parents of special needs students should be watch this episode of Dateline. This affects young people with intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, and other developmental disabilities.

We had a transition meeting at Elijah's last ARD meeting (IEP meeting) back in February. Elijah attended the ARD and I asked that a representative from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to attend his ARD. The DARS representative works only with students who are deaf and hard of hearing. I signed consent for her to meet with Elijah at the high school next year and in the years to follow. I am hoping that we can come up with a plan for him for after graduation. Elijah can stay in school until the age of 21 since he is under special education. I don't know if he will need to stay in school until he is 21 or graduate when he completes four years of high school and passes his classes. He will be 19 at that time. He repeated second grade back in elementary school.

Like the moms in the Dateline episode I have educated myself on Elijah's rights and am his strongest advocate. I also have my experience as a teacher in special education to assist me. I am not sure how parents who don't have this background navigate the system. I don't usually write about work, but I do worry about my own students. All I can do is try to educate the parents as best I can.

Snow Days!

Elijah, my hone and I have all been home for the last two days due to the ice. School was cancelled for both Elijah and I. My honey cancelled her classes, because she didn't want to drive out in the ice and I don't blame her! I just found out that my school district has a two hour delay tomorrow morning. Now, being home has been nice. We have slept in and made a nice dessert today. I even got a nap and also got ahead on several grad school assignments.

However, being stuck home with a child who has OCD and tics can be a challenge. Elijah was determined he was going to play outside yesterday. First of all, it was ICE not snow and secondly HE has a nasty cough. He got breathing treatments every three hours yesterday and today. He would NOT drop it yesterday and kept trying to sneak out. He just had it stuck in his head that HE HAD to go outside and play. The tics have not been too bad, but there were a few times I had to ask him to go to his room to watch TV. I could only take the noise for so long and my computer is in the den where I do my grad school work. This only happened once yesterday and once today, so overall it wasn't too bad. I also limit his time with electronics (iPad, Nintendo DS and Wii-U) so he was BORED quite a bit. I played with him some, but there is only so much we could do!

Of course, now Elijah is determined that there will be NO school tomorrow. He is even arguing with me about it. I have remained calm and reminded him that the decision has not been made and we will get up in the morning and see what the news has to say. The school district will call me if there is a late start or cancellation. I am hoping he just doesn't argue with me in the morning and then have his bad attitude carry over into school. At least there are only three days left this week.

And So it Begins.......

Elijah and I started back to school last week on January 5th. Jacob was home for a few more days and then returned to Waco to get ready for his classes that started today. Grad school starts for me on Wednesday, and hence the title of my blog AND SO IT BEGINS! Unfortunately, I may only get to PEEK at my classes come Wednesday, since I will be teaching my students, but hopefully I will have some time during my lunch.


Elijah has had a good start back to school. I have an ARD (IEP) meeting for him at the beginning of February and we will be talking about him going to HIGH SCHOOL next year. Where hast he time gone. So far there have been no issues and he seems happy. Work for me has been crazy, but by next week it should calm down some. I love the people I work with and that makes it worth it. I love the kids too and they are working so HARD!


Keep your fingers crossed that I don't get too overwhelmed with it all! My OCD can be a real hindrance at times, but it does motivate me to get ahead in my classes! Now, if it would just warm up a bit. I am really tired of the cold!

Christmas Break is Finally Here

Christmas break is finally here. Jacob arrived home on Dec. 12th and it has been good to have him home. He went out to help my mom at her house today! Elijah's last few weeks at school were uneventful, which is a good thing. It has been crazy at work. One of the other deaf ed. teachers broke her arm and a new student moved into our area. Staff had to be shifted, but we all work well together and we made it to TODAY! We were all so ready for today to get here and my students were also ready.

I have been busy making pralines and snowball cookies. I made cookies with my students at school and we decorated them too. It was a lot of fun and a good learning experience for them! I gave away a lot of goodie bags and had fun doing it. I have a few more Christmas gifts to get, but not too much. I have MORE baking to do! I have pralines and snowball cookies to make for family and sugar cookies to make with Elijah, my niece and my nephew!

I will be working on school stuff here and there to get ahead for when we go back. Grad school starts back on January 14th and life will get busy again! I want to enjoy the next two weeks. Jacob and I have some yard work to do and I am going to have him help me steam clean the carpets. I need his strength! My poor shoulder just can't take it!

I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Middle and Quirky Kids

The Middle is one of my favorite TV shows to watch, but I haven't had a chance to catch up on some of the episodes. Today I watched an episode about the youngest son Brick who wants to be like everyone else and have friends. Brick has always been a little different than everyone else. He is very solitary, has vocal tics and repeats the last word he says in a whisper sometimes. He is even in a class to teach social skills. I am not sure what grade he is in, but in this episode he wants to go to a school dance. The parents are hesitant because they know he doesn't really fit in. Brick asks for advice on how to make friends. The parents suggest looking people in the eye, actually talking to people and to maybe put down the books more. As they are talking, he stands up and walks away with as he states an idea he has. Of course, there he is not behaving in a social way.

Brick actually makes it into the dance, and the parents sit outside in the car worrying about how it will go. They aren't even sure if they should leave. The dad even says he is a quirky kid. The parents arrive home only to receive a text to come and pick him up. The parents arrive and Brick texts he is fine, but then he soon comes out and doesn't want to talk about the experience. Brick has also lost a shoe in the process. The show ends with a girl coming over to bring Brick back his shoe. She looks like she has some social issues too, but she invites him to go get ice cream. Brick thanks her, declines and then slams the door. Of course, mom intervenes and tells him that she just asked him out. Brick grabs his jacket and runs to the door to get her. The show ends with the parents sitting outside the ice cream parlor receiving texts from Brick and wondering how he is doing.

As a parent of a quirky kid, I so appreciated this episode. Elijah is the quirky kid. He doesn't always say "HI" back when another student or adult says "HI" to him. He doesn't always fit in and I am not sure if he really has any friends at school. He doesn't care what other people think of him, at least other kids anyway. He is just out there doing his own thing. As a parent I just want to fix this for him, but I can't. All I can do is try to find ways for him to be around other kids and see what happens. We went to the library yesterday and he hung out in the Teen Room while I worked on grad school stuff. He played some Wii games with some other teens. I am going to start taking him every week so he has a chance to work on his social skills. It just isn't easy knowing he is the quirky kid and knowing all I can do is provide him with opportunities and practice with him as much as I can so he knows what to do when around others.

ARD Meeting

We had an ARD meeting for Elijah yesterday afternoon. I feel blessed to have such a great group of people working with and advocating for Elijah. The behavior specialist is going to come in and observe him to give the teachers some ideas on how to handle him. The LSSP is going to complete an evaluation on Elijah to determine if he is eligible for counseling. We discussed his medications and changes we have made in dosages and in the times he takes the medicine. We also discussed the STAAR test! We have a new test this year....the STAAR Accommodated, which will be on the computer. Elijah will take this test, but we are still waiting on guidance from the state on how it will really work. The staff at the school all agree that Elijah is a great kid, but that he is having a rough time right now. Hopefully we will figure out a way to support him better.

We will meet again after January! The school gets 45 school days to complete the assessment and then so many days to have the next ARD meeting. We can also discuss the STAAR-A some more and discuss plans for high school. OH MY DID I JUST TYPE HIGH SCHOOL. Oh what does the future hold for Elijah. I really don't know. He is such a smart kid, he just has to mature more and learn to think before he acts. Hopefully we will get a good plan for him and also a good plan for his future!

Doctor's Visit

It seems to never fail, that Elijah has a psychiatrist visit and then the next day has an AWFUL day at school. Yesterday, we visited the PRN for the psychiatrist Elijah sees and discuss his behavior. It has been off and on for a few weeks, but the PRN didn't want to change any of the dosages on his medication. I was not happy, but she is the expert. He just always seems to be "ON THE EDGE". He  tries so hard to make the right choice, but his body and brain won't let him at times.


I got a phone call from his principal today while I was at work, that he was having a ROUGH DAY. He was in the office having a meltdown. I finally got him on the phone and talked him down. I then made a call to the PRN and waited for a call back. When she called she stated that she thinks it is all behavioral, that he can control himself if he will calm down for me. Well, he used to calm down for the principal and teacher. Now it is a phone call to me. She increased one of his morning meds by 0.5 mg and we will go and see her in a month. I have also asked the school to pull the behavior specialist in to do some observation. I also asked for an ARD to discuss counseling and the STAAR-A exam. For those outside of Texas the STAAR is our state assessment and there is a new version...A is for accommodated. It will be on the computer. I want to discuss that with the school as well. Now I'll just have to wait for the diagnostician to give me a call.


I'll let you know how it all goes. Hoping for a better day tomorrow. I just hate to see him struggle with these behaviors.

School Year 2014-15

The last three weeks have been a little hectic and crazy. Elijah started the 8th grade back on Aug. 25th and so far things are going well. He has settled in nicely with only a few emails needed to keep me informed of behavior. I started back in the classroom on Aug. 25 with grades 3-5! I have five students who keep me very busy and I am happy to say that my sign skills are as good as they were five years ago! I am really loving being in the classroom!

I also started graduate school on Aug. 25th.  Thankfully, the first week of assignments consisted of "introduce yourself" activities and no real work was required. I am happy to say that all of my assignments that are due by this weekend (Sept. 14th) are done and I am working on next weeks assignments! I am liking the material and as always learning a lot.

Jacob started college this year at a state technical school that is two hours away. Elijah and I helped him move on Aug. 30th. Lets just say, IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE! The major issue that day was getting him a key for HIS room in the apartment he shares with three other guys. Once that got sorted out, we got him moved in quickly. It was an all day event though with getting his wireless services set up and waiting in a LOT of lines! I was exhausted when we left, but had two days to recover before heading back to work.

Jacob seems to have settled in nicely. He texts at least once a day, per my request, so that I can make sure he is still alive. He likes his classes, from what he tells me and doesn't seem homesick. I have talked to him a few times on the phone, but I am trying to let him spread his wings! I think he will come home the weekend of the 20th.

I do miss him, but I am happy for him. Elijah has done well with the transition and as always my honey is very supportive! The cats seemed to have adjusted as well. I am curious to see what happens when Jacob comes home for a visit. If it weren't for the cats, I don't think we would see him until Christmas!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well this year for all of us. It is a big year of change. This time next year, Elijah will be a FRESHMAN in HIGH SCHOOL and I will be in my last semester of grad school! YIKES!

Elijah and his iPhone!

Elijah has taken his iPhone to school each day this week with no problems, that is until today. I got a call from one of his teachers about his behavior. He had to be asked twice to put away his phone and he disrupted the class quite a bit. He ended up in the principal's office. I told my honey this story and so she went on the hunt for an app that I could use to control his phone....and she found one. It is called ParentKit and I installed it tonight. I am going to take advantage of their one month free trial. Here is a link http://www.parentkit.co/

I installed the app on my phone and then added Elijah as one of my kids. The app then gave me a website to go to on his iPhone. I went to the website and entered a code that I got from MY iphone when I was registering him as a user. Once I did that, I then had control of his iPhone. I went to the app on my iPhone and set up his account. I turned off Safari and the ability to install apps or make in app purchases. I then went into the scheduling part of the account and set up very specific times he could have access to the apps on his iPhone. He now can't get to his games during the day at school. I set up his lunch time as a time for when he can access his apps. I then turned them off again and set it for him to have access after school. I am going to let him know that I can take away the lunch time access if he doesn't start behaving, especially since his behavior today occurred after lunch.

I showed him his iPhone with the game app not there. I then turned them back on and let's just say he wasn't too happy. I am sure he won't like me too much after all of this, but parenting is not an easy job and I don't have to be popular.

Rite of Passage

"A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's transition from one status to another" as quoted from Wikipedia. Jacob has been experiencing many of these and has many more to come. My brother took him to buy his first real suit two weeks ago. Jacob will pick it up next week. Today I met him at Al's Formal Wear to reserve a tuxedo for prom. Prom will be a HUGE rite of passage for Jacob. I am excited that he is going! Graduation will be another rite of passage and then starting college.

 

I can't wait to see Jacob in his tuxedo. He choose a Zootux, which is similar to a zoot suit. It should go well with the 1920's theme for the prom. I can't wait to post pictures. This is a picture of similar to what he will be wearing, but he will also have a vest. The vest and the tie will be navy blue.

 

 

TV Show--Parenthood IEPs

I watched last nights Parenthood episode tonight on my DVR. The subject of IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meetings was the story line for the family with Max, who has Aspergers. The writers did a decent job of portraying an IEP meeting and how overwhelming it can be for a family. I really wanted to jump in there and advocate for the two families involved. Max's mom went to an IEP meeting to assist another mom, and felt that she could have done more to help. Max's mom then finds out that Max is being sent to the library to do independent work because his teacher can't teach when Max is in the room. Max's parents are frustrated and don't know what to do or how to advocate for him. I think this part was something the writer's got correct.

Parents do have to educate themselves on the law and what the school needs to provide under IDEA (Individual's with Disabilities Education Act). I am a deaf education teacher I was used to being in an IEP meetings(ARD meeting here in Texas) in that role. As a parent, I find it difficult to know how to handle all of the situations I find myself in with him. I have learned to use the acronym FAPE(Free and Appropriate Education) as well as LRE (Least Restrictive Environment) to my advantage. I have also learned to say things like, "You are making my son fit into a program instead of making the program fit him." This phrase been a good one.

Elijah's next ARD meeting is in April! He is being re-evaluated this year and we will discuss those scores as well as the plan for next year. He has had a good year so far, but has just recently been having some issues. Of course, we just went to the doctor on Monday and NOW he is having problems with touching others. ARGH....I know this is probably a tic, but how to handle it. I am going to email his teacher again and ask for the behavior specialist to come in and see what is going on.

I am glad to see a TV program take on real life issues of families of children with special needs.

TV Show--Parenthood

I just finished watching the Parenthood episode that aired last night (1/9/2014) on NBC. I have been watching those show since it first aired. One of the characters, Max, has Asperger's Syndrome. It has been interesting to see how the writers have handled his character. I believe they have done a very good job portraying him and his family. The parents who first must deal with the diagnosis, working with teachers and administrators and figuring out how to deal with Max and his Asperger's.

Last nights episode was difficult to watch. Max doesn't have any friends in high school and doesn't really fit in with the anyone at school. I sometimes wonder how Elijah REALLY does at school with friends and such. He has been in classes to work on his social skills. He says he sits with his friends at lunch. However, I really wonder HOW does he do in school in the social arena. Elijah is hearing impaired and has Tourette Syndrome, and even with ONLY one of these disabilities he would have social issues, but Elijah has them BOTH.

Elijah wants to be in ROTC when he goes to high school in the Fall of 2015. I know that is 18 months away, but it will be here sooner than I know. I have no doubt that he can join ROTC, but can he really handle the discipline of being in the ROTC. Jacob was in the ROTC for three years in high school. ROTC could be great for Elijah or it could be disastrous, but I will have to let him try.

I am glad that there are shows on TV like Parenthood, so that others can get a glimpse into a family with a child with special needs.

Update on Tics!

Elijah's new tic is still around! He seems to be experiencing a LOT of tics lately, both vocal and motor. He has also been more argumentative with me at home and teachers at school. He has had more issues at school too! We had already increased one of his medications by 0.5 mg in the morning, but I went ahead and called the doctor after another phone call from the school. He is now taking 1.5 mg of this same medication three times a day. Overall, this is an increase of only 1 mg per day. Overall this seems to have helped with his behavior and with tics.

We go back to see this doctor around the middle of January. I am hoping things stay stable between then and now. It is amazing to me how his behavior is tied to his tics, but I know his tics get on his nerves and drive him a little crazy. I know when I have the hiccups for a long period of time, that I am a little snappy with people, so imagine having tics constantly. I also think his tics tend to increase around the holidays, because he is excited about them. He is also out of his routine, which is  never good.

I took him to the movies today and he had several loud tics during the movie. Thankfully, they were spread apart and didn't all happen at once. He does pretty good and I tap his leg so he knows he is being a little loud. Here's hoping these tics calm down for him when we get back into our routine after the holidays!

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I got up this morning and made the Schwan's apple pie that we bought a few weeks ago. We will go off to my mother's house later to eat. I am thankful for my family this morning! Jacob has to work today at the grocery store, but he doesn't seem to mind. He gets Holiday pay and we will bring him home some food.

I am especially thankful for all the doctor's who have helped Elijah through the years. Since birth he has seen his pediatrician, developmental pediatrician, pulmonologist, audiologist, endocrinologist, neurologist and psychiatrist. He still all of them except the developmental pediatrician and endocrinologist. I am also thankful for his cochlear implants, his Auditory Verbal Therapist, audiologist, and the medication he takes. All of these things have helped him to be a productive student and citizen. I am also thankful to all of his teachers through the years. He has had some great deaf education teachers, special ed. teachers, regular ed. teachers, principals, and behavior teachers.

We still take it day by day, but overall we have more good days over bad. I am also thankful for Jacob! He has grown into such a fine young man. I am also thankful for my honey, who supports me and helps me be a better mom.

I hope everyone has a great day today!

Time for an Update

Wow, I just looked at my last post and it was done several weeks ago! I have been so busy with work and grad school! I am happy to say that grad school is going well. I am ahead in both of my classes with my assignments. I have five projects that need to be completed in the next few weeks, but I think I have a handle on them. I really only have ONE more assignment that needs to be done!

Jacob continues to work at a grocery store each weekend. He still likes his computer maintenance class. He will be applying to Texas State Technical College next month! We then need to decide about housing! WOW! His senior year seems to be flying by already.

Elijah is still doing well. He has had a few minor issues at school, but when you compare them to what has happened in the past they are really minor! He is really into Pokémon books and loves to read! It is cute to see him with his nose in a book all excited about what he is reading. He and I went to Tourette Support Group meeting this past weekend and he had an awesome time. He call them the "tic meetings"! Next month we are going to the Perot Museum with the group!

Work keeps me busy, but thing seem to be slowing a down a little. I'll take whatever I can get. The weather has turned cooler and we are all enjoying that. My honey is working a LOT of late nights, and I wish I saw her more. We have plans to go out to dinner with a friend on Sunday afternoon, so that will be nice!

I'll try to post more often, but really there isn't much going on but work and school for all of us!