New and improved GIZMO!!!

Well, It's been a little while I know, but I've finally found the pictures that we took of Sammie after braces! Isn't she cute? I also love this picture of Gizmo- it's my screen saver. :) He's at the groomer today so he'll probably get an "after" post as well in about a month!

We've been pretty busy the last few months. Spencer is still having some troubles, but over all things are a little better. We moved his room downstairs and that has helped a lot. We are all sleeping better with the boys separated! His 11th b-day is on the 16th of March. I know parents say this all of the time, but I can not believe he's that old! He'll start middle school next year and his summer school program is at the high school this year because they alternate. Talk about feeling old!

Sammie got a 100 % on her science test meaning she will get an A in science for the semester. She is super excited and we had a doughnut party with Uncle David on Saturday morning as a celebration! Her parent teacher meeting is tomorrow and I think it will be a good report.

Tyler is going to go to Pre-K in the fall at a lutheran school in Hazelwood- about 15 minutes away. It's 9-12 M,W,F and it's a co op so I get to go in and help out with the class on a rotation with the other moms. I'm excited about this because it will keep the costs lower as well as give me a chance to be in his classroom- something I was not able to do with the older kids because I always had a baby or toddler to look after. I guess there are perks to being the baby of the family!

I'm still on my quest to loose weight. I've gained back some of what I lost last year and am frustrated so I'm upping my game so to speak. I'm spending more time in the gym and trying to watch the food intake.

Well, I guess that's a good enough post for a catch up!

Sammie Before...

Sammie is getting her braces put on tomorrow!!!!! Here's her before smile. We'll post the after later in the week!

Spencer Update

Just a quick update about Spencer. I've decided that Heavenly Father does give us the desire of our hearts even when we don't pray for them. Once we start acting toward a goal I think he puts certain people in our path or prompts us with possible solutions to our problems- even when we didn't think to ask. I'm using this post to organize my thoughts about what has been happening and also share it with all of my family and friends.

We of course, pray for Spencer daily as a family, but I hadn't prayed for this specific thing- I had only set a goal on Saturday to research options. Here's what happened:

Monday I started researching options for respite care (in home care) to give me a break and help with Spencer when I'm here alone. I'm trying to find someone now so that when school goes on spring break or summer break begins we have this person on hand. As most of you know Spencer has been dealing with some added issues lately making our day to day routines more difficult.

Tuesday was kind of a blah day for me... won't go into details, but it was a feeling down for no apparent reason kind of day. However, a friend from Frontenac ward called who I haven't heard from in ages and gave me a referral to a massage therapist who is starting to work with kids who have autism and is offering 3 free sessions to see if it works out. How cool is that!?

Wednesday (today) a bunch of things have lined up. This is exciting!

1. I called a friend to ask how old her home schooled son was and found out he's turning 16 over the summer! Very cool since our funding through DMH is payable to 16 or older. He's looking for income and it may work out. All because I felt prompted to ask his age when I was talking with his mom.

2. Our case worker called from DMH and told me about a program where kids who have autism can sometimes qualify for free therapy! They include sensory integration therapy, speech and occupational therapy plus more. Very cool. She also recommended we use our DMH funds for this coming year for behavioral therapy- something I had started researching on Monday.

3. All of this prompted me to remember I had a referral from last week for a developmental psychologist who works with pre teen and teens who have autism and other developmental disabilities and I called her to talk about what her treatment sessions look like and see if it's a good fit for Spencer.

All in all I feel like this week has been very productive in regards to Spencer. Imagine what might happen if I actually prayed for this specifically? (Which we are doing by the way now! :)

Super Dog

So, Gizmo was only on day 2 with our family and we almost broke him. He did a super dog impression right off the deck onto the shed that is right next to the deck and then promptly fell down 5 or 6 feet between said deck and shed. How's that for beginner's luck? First dog ever for all of us and he has an accident of this size the 2nd day! Poor guy. He's doing well now, but oi was that scary! He didn't even have a name yet. again Oi!

I'm sure this is the first of many adventures of doggie ownership.

GIZMO!

New Family Member

We got a puppy friend today! Well, he's about 18 months old so he's not really a puppy. He's a Lhasa Apso and so far so good. He's a sweet little boy who is very tolerant and happy. We've yet to hear him bark and he's not too weary of strangers. We'll see how tonight goes! I'll post a picture soon!