Bus Line

At 3 PM on Mondays this semester, you can find LM & me at the university speech clinic.  The building is also the lab school. And the entrance to the speech clinic is also the entrance (& exit) to the preschool wing for kiddos with hearing &/or vision loss.  

The preschool serves over 30 school districts in 4+ counties.

As we arrive to enter the speech clinic parking lot, we have to pass the long line of moms in car line, as school is about to be dismissed.  I'm thankful for the little pink parking tag I have that gets me into a coveted parking spot on the university campus! 

We must have been a few minutes early one day, because the bus lane was full!  I saw four school districts represented on the buses that were there at that moment.  

My heart was full of emotion!! I remembered the day BK & I toured that preschool and realized it wouldn't meet his needs. I was overwhelmed (yet again) with thanksgiving that he was able to attend the private preschool for deaf & hard of hearing kiddos.  I prayed that the kiddos going there now will have their needs met.  I remembered sitting in car line at his preschool, and was filled with thankfulness again that my friend drove carpool most days. 

Side note: Whenever I get in our van, and push "Maps," the first option that comes up for me is the gas station 28 miles away where we met for carpool!!  And the second option that comes up is the school he attended 68 miles away starting at 3 1/2 years old!! All these years later, those are still my phone's top two default destinations!

Passing Out Info

Text from a friend:

Our neighbor is asking for some sort of extra curricular for a first grade boy who has special needs. He gets over stimulated easily but needs some socialization. Any thoughts or ideas?

A few clarifying questions & 18 recommendations later ... my friend texted back: 

You. Are. Amazing!!

You should have a job passing out info! 

My reply: 

I just had a conversation with the principal and she said the same thing and asked if she can give my number to parents. Absolutely! I’m happy to help. I know how hard parents want to help their children and yet it seems impossible to even know where to start looking.

And you've done so much leg work. You should be an advocate or liaison for kids!

Yes, it's no surprise that moms of special needs kiddos often become advocates. 

I think this might be part of my answer to the question, "What is my 'running?'"

Related to that link, what is your "running?" What is that thing, which when you do it, you feel His pleasure, and you know, "THIS is why God made me!"

I have a dream and a prayer ~

I have a dream and a prayer … of a Special Ed Christian school in Central Illinois. 

I don’t know how the Lord might answer that prayer, but I’m asking others to pray about what God’s desire is for Central Illinois.

Promise Christian Academy in St. Louis (https://www.promisestl.org/) is a state-of-the-art special ed Christian school that strives to provide an on-ramp for life for individuals with special needs.

Promise began with one person recognizing the need to make a difference for the "sake of our Jesus" and asking others to pray about what God's desire was for the St. Louis area.  This became the first board of Promise. It was seven years later that Promise opened its doors to two students in a half-day program, and the rest is His Story.

 
Will you join me in praying about what God’s desire is for Central Illinois? And/or in sharing this request with others who might want to pray? 

Christmas cards

Each of our first three years of marriage, we handled Christmas cards differently.  One year we sent a photo, one year a card, and one year a letter.  I'm not sure what happened after that.   

Every year we had good intentions.  And most years we purchased photo cards. (And some years we did send photo cards, with or without the letter I wrote, I am not sure - ha!)  And every year that we didn't get cards sent, I would think, "Oh, we'll send New Year's cards!" or "We'll send Valentine's cards this year!" or "This year we'll send Easter cards!" or "This year we'll be early and send Thanksgiving cards!" 

In December 2025, I went through the box of all those photo cards we ordered & did not send over the past decade.  I saved a few from each year of our collection of photo cards (& threw away the rest).  

In 2025, we sent both a photo card and a letter ... before Christmas!

In 2025 ... the photo cards arrived November 25, and I had the bulk of them addressed before Thanksgiving! 

But it wasn't until December 8 that we bought paper. On that day I did a massive assembly line and mailed most of the cards.  The rest were for friends & family whose address had changed since the last time we sent cards.  But, by 4 PM on December 10 they were in the mail ... along with 20 Christmas cards from my mom (sent by me) to various friends & relatives. :) 

We LOVE receiving Christmas cards! Hopefully we are on a new trajectory. And hopefully we won't keep losing addresses of people we hold dear!  If you would like a (belated) 2025 Christmas card & letter from us, & we somehow missed you (or had lost your address), just let me know.

Carpool Daze

 My FB memory from Dec. 7, 2018:

Does anyone have a carseat your child or grandchild has outgrown? We are looking for another seat (5-point harness) to make carpool smoother. Doing the carseat shuffle back and forth between vans in 15* weather is one way to speed up my sanctification, but I think even with an extra car seat, I’ll still have opportunities for that.

 

Seven years is a long time ... almost long enough to forget those days of carpooling 42 miles one way on the interstate, so our boys could go to a private special ed school for deaf & hard of hearing kiddos. 

But it's good to look back and to remember the Lord's faithfulness, goodness, and presence.  He sustained us! 

IEP team

I had an IEP meeting this week.  Since attending my first one nine years ago, I estimate I have sat around the conference table at least a dozen times (and at least once on Google Meets), usually with quite a large number of professionals.  

Several meetings I have cried. At a couple meetings I have been on the receiving end of unkind and unprofessional comments. The first meeting was completely botched, and despite BK's diagnosis of hearing loss (which is an automatic IEP), the speech therapist was reticent to find him eligible. (She resorted to using his frequent drooling [as a 2 year old] as one of three supposed reasons she needed.) One meeting was handled very unprofessionally ("the worst one I've ever seen," according to an adjunct faculty member who teaches IEP prep at the university level & was my parent advocate at that meeting). For three meetings I have had parent advocates attend.  Very few meetings have been cut & dry. 

I try my best to look professional.  Well-groomed & well-dressed. Makeup & nails done. And jewelry. Those things don't affect the IEP, but they affect me, and I like to think it helps the team see me as competent. (This special ed advocate agrees.)

My Nozomi necklace (made from broken pottery from the Japanese tsunami). ♥️

The OT was on Google Meets and had another meeting at the same time, so she went first.  I was impressed that she had read the eye doctor's letter with suggested accommodations, and she deferred to the team, but said she agrees with the suggestion of using cursive writing (not just learning it, but incorporating it in schoolwork). Kudos to her!

The educational audiologist had another meeting to go to, so she went next. Her main concern had to do with behaviors in the past. Everyone sitting around the table was aware of them, and we all laughed (now) at the bad memories.  Thank the Lord things have changed, so it's a go for her recommendations. 

Then we got into the nitty-gritty. The team appreciated the fact that I had read all 31 pages of evaluations & suggestions which they had emailed me in advance. I assured them they did not need to read every word out loud in our meeting! 

The rest of the meeting was perfunctory.  And thankfully I was in agreement, and only had a few clarifying questions to ask.  The evaluations in all these areas show x, the suggested goals are y, the recommended accommodations are z, the new primary eligibility is abc, everyone please sign on these three lines.  The ELA teacher left for lunch. 

And then, as we were signing in triplicate, we had conversation.  I see these people more than I go to family reunions! So we chatted. :)

I asked about a different accommodation which we don't currently need but is on my radar. It turns out there is a simple solution which doesn't even involve an IEP. I enjoyed hearing the principal's report of daily interactions with our child. I told of my recent participation in a research project for parents of a child with an IEP. The team was impressed by the research & proposed project. We talked about how every parent is different. Some come in begging for an IEP for their child who does not need one. Others refuse an IEP for their child who needs one.  

I expressed my appreciation for all they do, and mentioned that I feel like I ask a lot. They assured me that I am advocating for my children, and that's my job. Amen! Jim and I are not young, and our children, who face extra challenges, need to be equipped to live in the real world.  May the Lord be pleased to use their FAPE (Free & Appropriate Public Education) to help them thrive to the best of their God-given ability in this life.

How our children learned to swim

How did you learn to swim?  I took lessons at summer camp one week. End of story. Then I played in the water every opportunity I had.  In high school, we had to take 3 weeks of swimming, but I placed in the advanced group, and don't remember learning anything new.  (Of course, neither do I remember knowing any of the strokes.) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In March 2018, BK took a series of weekly swim lessons at a local indoor pool.  He wasn't ready to put his head under water, so we didn't sign up for the next session. 

In October & November of 2019 he took two sessions of Nervous Beginner Lessons (2-3 lessons per weekend times two) at a swim school in the city, and was approved to start in a Level 1 weekly class. 

(I have vivid memories of his teachers at the school for children with hearing loss telling me never to let him stop because it was such good sensory input for him.)

Of course, in March the pandemic put an end to that...

Until the end of August 2020, when they resumed with protocols in place.  He continued weekly lessons until May 2023. (I think we took summers off, excerpt for one year.)  Thank you to my friend R for carpooling!!

He was FINISHED with lessons, so I suggested that he do swim team in the summer of 2023.  And that was the ticket!! He FLOURISHED!  He loves the water, has built muscles, and is proud of how much he has accomplished that he didn't know he could do!

In the summers of 2021 & 2022 LM took lessons (3-6 each summer) in someone's backyard pool. It was nerve-wracking, because she just wanted to play, not listen. And the high school instructors, although great swimmers & teachers, had no training in special needs.  

In the summer of 2023, she took 2 weeks (eight 30 minute lessons) at a nearby town's pool. She passed Level 2.  Then she took 2 weeks of Level 3.  Didn't pass. We waited 2 weeks, and then she took another 2 weeks of Level 3.  Didn't pass. She would swim 2-3 strokes, and then stand up, whether she was in 3 feet of water or 10 feet of water.  

But learning to swim was ESSENTIAL for her safety.  In January 2024, she began weekly lessons at the swim school where BK took.  Jim and I made it very clear to the director that we would try it for a few weeks, but we were not going to waste our money or their time, if it were obvious she wasn't ready.  

She FLOURISHED!! Last week she swam the length of the pool.  She is strong, has good form, and is determined!

Stay tuned to find out if she qualifies for summer swim team in 2024! (That's her goal. :) )

Certificate Binder

What to do with all the papers your children bring home?! 

I have to ask myself, "Do I wish my parents had saved any of my kindergarten papers for me?" No.  So, into the trash they go. :)

Each child does have a small keepsake box with some special baby gifts, Awana vest with badges, etc. 

And on the top of our tall bookcase in the living room lives the Certificate Binder.  It's just a 1.5" 3-ring binder filled with sheet protectors.  

It started out when BK's teacher would send home a page of photos from special events at school or field trips.  We have pages with dozens of photos from bowling, a field trip to the University greenhouse, making apple muffins, visiting the apple orchard, and tractor day (both 2018 & 2019 tractor days!).  Attending a Listening & Spoken Language school, each photo page allowed the parents to ask appropriate questions after school so the child could practice using spoken language & new vocabulary. 

We started saving them in sheet protectors in a binder.  

Over time, we added random certificates that came home from school.  And then he started swim lessons and was given a paper to keep each coveted sticker on until he reaches level 10.  

BK graduated from his first school, but the Certificate Binder continues to keep awards from school, the class photo each year, the group photo that comes home from day camp at a local Bible camp, LM's swim certificates each summer, Awana certificates, LM's 1000 Books Before Kindergarten pages, etc. 

Both children delight in looking through the Certificate Binder, whenever I get it down off the tall shelf.  

What do you save for your children? Where do you save it?

Full cast of characters

::from October 28, 2016 FB memories::

Too good not to record & share!

I have a hard time keeping track of all the people who live in our house ~ as well as who is who (and who I am) at any given time. In addition to Daddy, Mommy, and Little Guy, we have pigs in multiple pig pens around the house, porcupines living in the vents, Uncle S, Aunt C, and the farm dog. Each one leads a very active life, and at any moment, I might be cast in the role of any of those and expected to perform their actions. :)

Little-isms

Ran across these quotes from the children last year.  Smile.

Little Guy saw a bunch of Wall Street Journals stacked up for recycling and was aghast.  He wondered if a president had died.  Closer investigation revealed it was Ruth Ginsburg's casket.  He's concerned for our country.

Little Miss wants to wear hearing aids so badly, just like LG. So she’s always trying to convince me. “I not hear.” And I remind her that yes, she can hear. She is undaunted. “I not hear God.” I guess she won that argument. ;)

When I grow up

.... I'm going to be a doctor, a princess, and a referee.  

~ Little Miss, age 4

<3

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #36

351.  the Lord's sustaining grace ... and how mercifully He has taken care of Little Miss

352.  she *only* had a broken bone from her playground accident (Interesting that she was the 4th little girl that week at ER with a similar break)

353.  it was *not* a compound fracture

354.  I could drop LG off with Jim on our way to Prompt Care

355.  Prompt Care treated her so gently and calmly, got good x-rays, sent them on to ER, and called ahead to ER to let them know we were on our way (although ER was still confused because of the other similar injuries in similarly aged girls)

356. The Lord led me to go to the Prompt Care that was in the direction of Children's Hospital, so it was only 12 minutes from there to Pediatric ER

357.  The words "sensory processing" were like magic, with every staff we encountered

358.  The pediatric orthopedic surgeon "won" and was able to do surgery at 12.30 AM even though OR wanted her to schedule it for 3.30 PM (The surgeon said afterward that she would have needed emergency surgery before 3.30 PM)

359.  We were home 28 hours after her injury.

360.  She has had zero pain, and no signs of infection or swelling.

Summer Reading List

Back in our commuting days, LG binge-listened to The Sugar Creek Gang books on Audible.  This morning, for the first time in months, he listened to one of them again.  When we heard the preface mentions that there are 36 books in the series, we remembered that only 18 are available as audio books. So... books 19-36 are now on our summer reading list. :) 

Sonlight Curriculum just released their summer book lists (see here).  Last year on a whim, I purchased the 2020 Elementary Boys' Summer Reading Package. It was a bigger win than I expected!  Bayberrry Island is on the shelf to be picked up again at some point in the future, but the other three have been read multiple times. And more importantly, they have been picked up by LG at random times to read on his own!

The website & catalog state: "The boy books tend to have male main characters, with plots that emphasize adventure and danger, with pranks, humor and hijinks for good measure."  "Four books with less text per page, but dramatic and exciting plots for early readers." Last year's titles were:

• Bayberry Island
• Mac B., Kid Spy 1: Mac Undercover
• Freddie Mole Lion Tamer
• The Bad Guys

(Note that although "The Bad Guys" was a big hit, future books in that series are not ones I would recommend.) 

LM and I have just started reading "Little Pilgrim's Big Journey." It's definitely more than I normally pay for books, much less children's books, but it is LOVELY! And it's on her level (and mine, I must admit).  I have never read Pilgrim's Progress, but am thoroughly enjoying this!

What books or series or authors are on your summer reading list? 

Summer hopes & dreams

What are you looking forward to these days?

With less than five weeks of school left, I'm looking forward to:

summer hikes,

family trips to Wisconsin, 

summer reading program :) :) :) 

bike rides, 

meals outside,

garage sale season, 

lazy mornings, and

fresh berries!

While I do not know the author & do not agree 100% with this quote, summers are different and are a great opportunity to make new & different memories.  They are also a milestone to mark time and notice growth. I'm hoping part of our growth includes, "Last summer we could only hike for one hour; now we can hike for x amount of time."

“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer” ~Jenny Han

 

Our church does not have a traditional VBS. Instead Sunday school teachers are given the summer off, and a different group of volunteers puts on the equivalent of two VBS programs over the summer Sunday school hours.  One day it would be nice for our children to enjoy VBS at a friend's church, but probably not at this point in the pandemic. 

We thought this would be the first year that LG experienced summer camp. I was sooooo happy for him to have a half-week of Discovery Camp at a CEF camp. Alas, after receiving state health department guidance, they had to make some changes to their summer schedule. Maximizing camp opportunities for all meant cancelling half-week camps and also day camps. :( 

Thankfully a local nature center is having day camps (1 and 3-day day camps) and LG is signed up for 4-5 days.  And another Bible camp that friends recommend is having some 1-day day camps, so LG is registered for one of those.  The local community college is having several, but I don't think they fit his interests.  I missed the deadline to sign up for the children's golf clinic in a nearby city.  This is the second year that Circus Camp is cancelled, so we'll have to hold off on that one.  I'm still scouring the internet for opportunities.

One summer highlight that our children and I already share is our love of Summer Reading Program! I love discovering new authors and seeing them getting lost in a new series and having time to keep reading, thanks to a more relaxed outside-the-home schedule. 

One thing I hope to incorporate this summer is my version of Morning Time.  I also hope to have weekly play dates set up, e.g., Tuesday we play with X, Thursday we play with Y.  Things will come up, and we won't do it every week, but we'll have something built in, rather than trying to create something from nothing every time we want to play with friends.  (Streamlining helps this tired mom!)

What are your hacks for a smooth summer with 4 & 7 year olds?

 

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #34

331.  beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds & low humidity

332.  a new 40-acre park in our tiny town ...

333.  with a 1-mile loop trail

334.  LG's first time to ride his bike solo around the loop

335.  listening ear when I needed one this week

336.  and getting to serve someone else by praying when I received a text telling of a prayer need

337.  ENT, prednisone, and a plan (for LM)

338.  all the assessments and reports and communication leading up to LG's IEP meeting in a few weeks

339.  improvement in our meals lately (it works better when I stick to meat, potatoes, and vegetables) :)

340.  a new series for read-alouds (The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls)

Crazy Days (updated to add Days 1-16)

Days 1-7 - drive 600 miles, spend 5 days at my parents', drive 600 miles

Day 8 - recover, unpack, egg hunt

Day 9 - cook in the afternoon; spend 4.30-7 celebrating Grandpa's birthday

Day 10 - Back to School! & receive my first dose of the vaccine

Days 11 - 13 - FATIGUED! wanted to do nothing but sleep

Day 14 - day off school; play date

Day 15 - my IVIG

Day 16 - Easter

Day 17 - (4th day of a 4-day weekend) -  wake up unusually at 2 AM without being able to fall back asleep, hike at a forest preserve, play at a playground, go for ice cream, play at another playground, go to soccer practice

Day 18 -

7 AM - wake both children up; have LG get dressed

7.15 AM - drop LM (& school backpack, clothes, socks & shoes, comb & detangling spray, etc.) off at her aunt's [to be fed, dressed, have her hair braided, and taken to preschool]

7.20 AM - leave with our niece, who kindly sat in the back of the van with LG, who kindly offered her bits of his breakfast

8.35 AM - after listening to an hour of Paddington, drop our niece off at her dorm

8.50 AM - arrive at the hearing clinic's waiting room with LG, his water bottle, and his FM system

9-9.05 AM - chat with speech therapist 

9.05-9.15 AM - complete parent forms

9.05-11.05 AM - LG complete his annual speech & language evaluations

9.15 AM - leave hearing clinic

9.30 AM - fill up with gas from Sam's ($2.77/gallon)

9.45 -10 AM - wait in parking lot for children's consignment store to open

10.15 AM - check out with several games & learning activities and size 7 clothes for LG! (& be amazed & thankful I was able to use the $12 credit that I had before the shutdown last March)

10.25 AM - go through CFA drive-thru to purchase LG's lunch (CFA breakfast for the win!)

10.30 AM - quick run into Goodwill to purchase books

10.55 AM - arrive back at hearing clinic

11 - 11.30 AM - lunch & brain break with LG at a nearby park

11.35 AM - 12.45 PM - LG complete academic evaluation

12.35 PM - 12.50 PM - visit outdoors with a former professional in our life (and ongoing friend)

1 -1.15 PM - enjoy Japanese cherry blossoms

1.25 - 1.45 PM - enjoy another playground (& portapotty!)

1.50 PM - stop for a milkshake for LG

3 PM - arrive home; pickup swim bag

3.10 PM - go & vote; teach LG about the democratic process

3.45 PM - pick up second cousins at after-care

3.50 PM - pick up LM from Grandma's; 3 boys change into swim trunks

4.10 PM - leave for swim lessons

5 PM - deposit 3 boys into care of the second cousins' mom

5.05 PM - go through drive-thru at Jimmy John's

5.45 PM - arrive home with LM

6.30 PM - put her to bed

7.15 - 8.15 PM - Moms in Prayer on Zoom 

C-O-L-L-A-P-S-E 

Days 19 & 20 - LG did not want to go to school

I feel like I have jet lag. :)

Monday morning

Monday morning is my reset. I'm looking at 5 days in a row of 2 free hours each morning.  Actually 2 1/2 hours, but 15 minutes on either end is spent in the car driving home from & back to preschool.  On a recent Monday morning, I thought I would be going to a nearby town with a long list:

• Jewelers to get my rings cleaned before he retires. 
• Farm tax lady to drop off the last documentation she needs. 
• Dry cleaners to finally have my wedding dress cleaned & preserved. 
• Verizon to tackle a tricky problem I was planning to do a year ago pre-pandemic (obviously it's not urgent, but it would be nice to do it!). 
• Pharmacy to pick up a prescription.
  

Sunday night I saw on the weather forecast that the morning commute might by icy, so I was willing to push my errand day to Tuesday or Wednesday. Monday morning Jim didn't quite have all the papers ready for the tax lady. And so that decided it. No errand day that Monday.

So I faced an unexpected morning at home. :) 

Probably my only one for that week.  One morning would be my errand day.  One morning he & I would have an exciting date at the bank to get some papers notarized. One morning I would have a zoom appointment. And the fifth morning I would have a "play date for moms," aka adult visit & conversation. 

So how would I spend the 2 hours?? Making a few phone calls.  Washing dishes (always). Doing laundry. (It wasn't Laundry Day, but I had a load of delicates. Plus we were running low on clean masks.  And I wanted to do sheets & blankets.) 

But first I took time to sit down, put my feet up, turn on some instrumental music, drink tea, and have a treat ... while writing.  My happy hour! :)

Rodent extermination system

Christmas was a full day, and probably cold, and when I had a full garbage bag, I just opened the door to the garage, and set the bag on the other side of the laundry door, closed & locked it and went to bed.

But ... the next day I noticed that SOMEONE!!  (ahem!  Mr. Mouse) had chewed a hole in the bag and had shredded a lot of wrapping paper. 

I set a couple sticky traps on the steps from the garage to the laundry room entrance to the house.  One trap was missing the next day.

That story repeated itself with a new trap also.

Fast forward to a snow day when I was in the back of the garage trying to get the shovel, and a gray thing scurried out from the corner. EEEEEKKKK!!!

The garage in general was in need of some major help.  One warm springish day in March [Yes, I know that's almost 3 months after Christmas, and, yes, I have read how exponentially a mouse family can grow], I was feeling motivated, so I backed the van out of the garage, and then started pulling children's ride-on and outdoor toys out one by one, lining them up in my parking spot... until I unearthed one bike, and EEEEEKKKKK!!!! I saw Mr. Mouse go scurrying. Bleh!!

As fast as I could I set two more sticky traps.  (Note to self: add spring traps to my Walmart order.)

 

Within 48 hours: 

• the garage was clean & swept really well! 
• the children's outdoor toys were organized and easily accessible,
• I had listed 8 outgrown toys for sale (& sold 4),
• we had junked about that many more broken toys, and
• we had successfully rid the earth (but more excitedly, our garage!) of four mice!!!

Also, Little Guy had watched multiple youtube videos of mouse traps. He is particularly fond of the bucket system. ;)  In my googling, I ran across the phrase, "create a complete rodent extermination system," and so I am adding that to my resume! :)

IEP Season

IEP season is approaching. (An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan, basically a legal document outlining why a child is eligible for special education services, what those services will look like, and what the goals are in each area.) Not only will we have an annual review this spring, but it is also time for LG's triennial reevaluation. 

The school nurse has emailed me to see if I have a recent audiogram. (LG's medical diagnosis sort of automatically qualifies him, so I assume she has been asked to provide that documentation to the IEP team.) 

The school psychologist (who basically leads up the IEP team) was waiting for me in carpool line one afternoon with LG. As LG climbed in the van, Mr. S handed a clipboard and pen through the front passenger window, asking if I could sign consents for various academic & auditory screenings. 

I had to cancel LG's early March annual speech & language testing at his previous school (due to a cold which would have skewed results).  Rescheduling would have been in May (since it is IEP season and everyone else also needs data in advance of their IEP meeting also), but because we also need data for ours, the school worked with us to work it in to their schedule before May, so we too can have data before our IEP meeting. 

There is no comparison between public & private, so the public school will pretty much rely on the private school's data.  In addition, the private school has been tracking data on LG since he was 18 months old, so by using their data, we can compare apples with apples.  Basically, he's part of a longitudinal study on the effects of LSL (listening & spoken language) early intervention in children who are deaf or hard of hearing.   

The outreach coordinator at his former school is our unofficial IEP advisor, and has given her input, and also reached out to two members of the public school's IEP team to coordinate testing, etc.

The school social worker is aware of things that need to be pre-taught & coached if recess returns in the 2021-2022 school year.  She assured me that most children will need that same help!

The school speech therapist has reached out to me to explain a spelling program linked with phonemic awareness which she will be using to evaluate LG. 

The school OT, after months of taking a wait and see approach, has asked for permission to do 15 minutes of pull-out services every other week. (Sounds minimal, but they have lots of constraints, and hey! I'll take it!)

The private OT is drafting her own letter of recommendation to be shared with the IEP team. 

I think that about wraps it up.  :)

Hopefully & prayerfully the IEP meeting (on Google Meet, of course) will go well and all the pieces of the puzzle will come together both to create a good document and also to put into place for next year all the things that will help LG continue on the path to thriving to the best of his God-given abilities.  

And in August, well, in August, we will start IEP meetings for LM. :)  Round two!

Christmas Letter 2020 ~ Another Year of Mercies

Dear family & friends, 

 

I love this hymn (what hymn don’t I love?!), especially the line, “Another year of mercies.” 

 

Another year is dawning!                           Another year of mercies,                           Another year of service,

Dear father, let it be,                                   Of faithfulness and grace;                         Of witness for thy love;

In working or in waiting,                             Another year of gladness                           Another year of training

Another year with thee;                              In the shining of thy face;                          For holier work above.

Another year of leaning                              Another year of progress,                          Another year is dawning!

Upon Thy loving breast,                             Another year of praise,                               Dear Father, let it be

Another year of trusting,                           Another year of proving                             On earth, or else in heaven,

Of quiet, happy rest.                                   Thy presence all the days.                          Another year for thee.

                                      ~ Frances Ridley Havergal

 

Despite the struggles and grief along the way, 2020 was still a year of mercies from the Lord.

 

Jim & I "just so happened" to go on our annual pre-planting getaway a month early (in late February)! 40-some hours child-free was a real treat!

 

After 5 years, LG got a new set of hearing aids that are rechargeable and Bluetooth compatible, which is super handy for his hobby of listening to audio books.

 

Jim’s 48-hour ER stay for a kidney stone did not have to include surgery!

 

Our van turned over 100,000 miles (in less than 3 years)! A true Deuteronomy 29:5 provision of the Lord, and a real blessing, giving us the opportunity to serve other families on the days I drove carpool.

 

Suddenly stopping everything in March was a real boon to LM’s development, after spending almost 3 years in the van.  Her favorite part of staying home was the Gettys’ Family Hymn Sings. She calls the Getty girls “my girls,” and frequently asks to “watch my girls sing.” Her favorite of theirs is “His Mercy is More.”

 

LG graduated (in a socially-distanced way) from kindergarten at his private special ed schooll!!!! Graduation was a very emotional day for me, listening to his and his (mostly deaf & hard of hearing) classmates’ speeches. It is an amazing school, and we are incredibly fortunate that he was able to attend, and that the Lord sustained us for almost 3 years of commuting 65 miles one-way.

 

At 90 years old, Jim’s father remarried a longtime family friend.  Our children LOVE stopping in for cookies and hugs.

 

We made some wonderful memories as a family on 16 hikes this year.  LG discovered that he prefers running the trails. :)

 

Frequent summer getaways a few hours away were a real balm for our family. We spent many happy afternoons playing at the beach.

 

Both children currently attend in-person school 5 days a week. Mainstreaming into public school for 1^st grade could not have been a smoother process for LG!  LM absolutely loves morning preschool and her sweet class of 6 children at a nearby Christian school.

 

Seeing our church family at outdoor church in the parking lot this summer and early fall was a joy! We also enjoyed a few months of other in-person activities – Trail Life USA, Awana, Sunday School, swim lessons, and an amazing sensory gym.

 

The crops did well this year, and harvest went well with great weather and minimal machinery breakdowns.

 

Even though our church’s annual 15-day missions conference was mostly on livestream, our heart for the world grew. 

 

Our pastor’s weekday morning Facebook live devotional & prayer time continues to strengthen our faith and point us to our Savior!

 

Whatever joys & sorrows your 2020 held, we trust you have experienced the Lord’s mercies throughout.  His mercies truly are new every morning! We are so thankful for a Savior who was born in the likeness of men, knows what it is like to be human, is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, wept at the results of sin & death in this world, and died so we can be reconciled with God.

 

Love,

J-, for us four