vacation pix-- a tad bit late

We vacation in Michigan now that we don't live in Michigan. I find that humorous. We lived there for 7+ years and rarely travelled the state. I think we were just a bit too busy with ministry, and when we had time to vacation, we wanted to get AWAY-- closer to family and friends. We did another Michigan tour this summer and had great family time.

My kids, like most, love staying in hotels. If they had a hotel available, they'd think we were on vacation regardless of where it was located. We spent some time hanging out in hotels, but had a stop with our friends. That's where I had fun taking pictures!




When Mike referenced Isaiah as Lydia's "buddy" at dinner last week, she told Mike that "she thinks she's going to marry him." They certainly make a cute couple now :)


Kilwins has dairy free ice cream!!! Yeah for Jonah!


It was the 4th of July. We had a show with some of Noah's fireworks.


That fire bomb was very dangerous :)


The real thing.

We love our friends. They're such gracious hosts (Thanks, guys!)

After Charlevoix we headed to Mackinac. Our kids love this adventure.

Thankfulness

"Stand right here, Bud, while I take your picture."

"How about if you just stand with your hands in your pockets."

"You're excited, aren't you? Show me some excitement!"

I'm so relieved. It seems like the school year is off to a great start. All summer long I planned to write a blog post about the decisions we made regarding school for Jonah, but a busy summer stopped me from sitting down to write.

I'm sure some of you remember my dilemma. The whole school day was too much for Jonah. In May I sat down with the principal and commended her for everything the school did to accommodate Jonah. "But it still wasn't enough," she said. She was right.

So I was looking to homeschool and was excited about the possibility. I think my excitement came in the form of relief. No one would be keeping a record of Jonah's wrongs. I would be around to meet his sensory needs. We could RELAX a bit with everything.

The problem was that if I removed him from school, I felt like he'd never learn to function in that environment.

A friend made a suggestion to me. Could he attend school for some of the day and homeschool for the rest? I remember my exact words to her, "That's profound."

After meetings with numerous people at the end of the year, it was official. His IEP reads that he'll attend school part-time. We determined the exact schedule a few weeks ago. He arrives at school at 8:15 after students are settled in their classroom (to avoid the chaos of the morning) and leaves at 12:15. He has reading, writing, grammar, and math at school along with recess and lunch. He comes home for history/geography and science.

After two days, I think this may be the answer to our prayers. It's going very well. We've been riding bikes to/from school which is great therapy for him. And homeschool hasn't been overwhelming at all. It's nice to know if things start to go sour at school, I can just add another subject to our home repertoire.

He has his same aide from last year. I like her. My goal is that, other than his aide, he won't be "different" from the other kids. Maybe that's asking too much. He needed to play with therapy putty during class today, and the other students wondered why they couldn't play with some too. We'll see.

For now, I'm feeling good.

And that's a really good thing.

Fishing

Jonah's been asking Mike to take him fishing. Mike's dad was a true fisherman, but the fishing genes skipped Mike and were given to Uncle Al.

We spent the day with Uncle Al, Aunt Tricia, Davy, and Jacob. Look how the boys spent their afternoon:

T

Our Lives

I get a e-newsletter every month from the S.I. Focus Magazine. Every time I read it I have one of those "Are you serious? I could have attached my name to that article" moments. Jonah is such a classic case. It just amazes me. I thought this one was worth sharing...

Is it Sensory or is it Behavior?
By Amy Bornhoft

Just when I think I have Madison figured out….Kaboom…..she changes. It is like I have read many times, you need to be a detective to understand and correctly parent a child with Sensory Processing Disorder. I had hoped that once we got through the first year or two, I would have a working knowledge of Madison and her Sensory Issues. Little did I know that not only can they change daily, but at developmental milestones, new events, new experiences, etc…..

I find myself asking, “Is this a sensory issue or just her personality/age?” When she acts out, over responds to something, or has a fit, how do I respond? For the most part I know how to react with my other children and they know what response to expect from me. Madison and I confuse each other. Sometimes when she is over reacting I know it is a sensory issue. I think back to our day and what she has experienced, what we have done, how much sleep/food she’s had. Then I look at the current situation and “Aha”, she is done…she needs a break. I then respond with understanding and empathy knowing she is just as frustrated with her response as I am. We have both recently learned when we are upset to take a deep breath and blow it out of our mouth. It often ends up in a game of who can blow the others hair the most. But it works; we both calm down and begin again. In other situations, I just don’t get it. Why is she screaming…having a breakdown…acting like this? It is morning, she slept well, she just ate, we have had little activity, everyone else is behaving, etc. So, is it sensory or behavioral? In these scenarios I mostly go with behavioral and respond as I would with the other children. At some point, soon after my reaction I ask myself, “Am I doing the right thing, Is this just typical?” It can be so exhausting!

For example, today, Madison touched a burner on the stove. Thank God it was just warming up so the wound was minor. Her reaction on the other hand was mind blowing. She screamed and cried for a good hour. I cared for her wound and then held her until she was calm. We did our breathing and bear hugs and tried diversions. She had moments where she could be consoled but they were few and far between. The moment bedtime was mentioned it began all over again, even though she had been calm at least thirty minutes. I looked at her burn and could barely see it but there was some redness so I treated it. I was sure to her it was awful and intense and she was “feeling” it more than, say I would. So, it was a sensory response, and I reacted correctly? Then why did she return to panic when bed time was mentioned? Had I fallen for it and she just milked it for all she could get? Either way, I questioned myself, but in the end, she was fine. I responded as a mom and helped my child who was hurting, no matter what.

It is also hard around others to explain or not explain why you are not responding or reacting the “accepted way” – whatever that means. Reactions to children’s behaviors vary from person to person and child to child, but everyone has an opinion even if they don’t express it. That is why it is so much easier and relaxing to be with others who know some of the issues Madison has, and have an idea why we are responding the way we are.

Sensory response or behavior, she needs me! It is my job and privilege to take are of her and teach her the best I can. She has taught me so much about so many things. She is brave, outgoing, resilient and amazing. I love who she is and who she helps me to be. She would not be the same beautiful, wonderful girl if she didn’t have Sensory Processing Disorder.

I love you Maddie, be patient with me.

AMY BORNHOFT lives in Virginia with her husband, son, and twins (boy and girl). She works for Soulcial Solutions, developing new business and Child Development Resource Center, raising awareness and funds. She also facilitates a support/resource group through Parent Connections at the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation. She would like for readers to identify with her families experiences and realize they are not alone. She also hopes parents will open up about the positive and negative impact Sensory Processing Disorder has on their lives.

***

I'm glad I'm not alone!

Couples Retreat 2010

A few weeks ago we spent some time vacationing with our small group. These people have become our family. We're very thankful for them!

I had to include the first picture. It was taken moments before a bad crash which resulted in
Mike: a bruised rib
Heath: a punctured eardrum
Me: a stiff neck


How fun to just be carefree!

Friends

I had a great time today seeing great friends at Paula's baby shower.

There will be more pictures to come on my photography blog..

She looks way too cute!

tonight

Eric and Brittany stopped by the house tonight. Lydia had just asked Mike to remove her training wheels. Eric took this video a few minutes later.

I'm not sure it's going to "stick." She's timid and still wants someone to hold the seat the whole time. We'll see what she does tomorrow!

picture of the week

or maybe it's the picture of the YEAR...
or picture of the CENTURY...
or picture of this LIFETIME....

Here it is.

My kids.

Loving each other.

Don't blink.

lake rats

Yep. That's what we are.

it just makes me smile

Today

It was a big day for my boys. They had their first tournament.

Getting a pep talk before his first competition, breaking.

In practice earlier, he broke a board after four tries. Today, he broke three boards in a row on the first try every time!!! (We have a video; I'll post it later)

He received first place for his age group!!!! He was beaming!

And his teachers were so proud of him!

We're so thankful for the Conn family. His teachers are a family of four-- dad, mom, son, and daughter. They're all second and third degree black belts. They're so good with him.

I'm bummed that I didn't get the focus right on this picture, but you can still see Mike's face. Tough! He broke through four boards.

They're in class with our friend and his son. Todd is not that far away from his black belt. I love this picture of these two.

Mike competing on his "form."

Okay, so this wasn't too fun for me. Jonah didn't get to spar today since we didn't have all the protective gear for him. It was a big deal. I think he cried, "I want to spar!" for 15 minutes. I could have watched Jonah with pride; the young kids aren't that aggressive yet. But seriously, why would I ever want to see my husband "fight" a 20-something year old? He lost one match and won the other one, 5-0.



Jonah received two first place trophies. He received a first place for his form as well, but we didn't want to make a big deal of it. He needs to practice his forms more, and it was actually a little frustrating that he was rewarded for something that he could have done better!

Guess who's ready to start Tae-Kwon-Do next summer?

Gi-Yup

Someone broke his first board tonight at Tae-Kwon-Do!

And someone's dad broke through three adult size boards!

I live with two strong men :)

glad THAT's over

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

It's over. I did it.

I had my first wedding yesterday. I wasn't nervous once I got there, but I'm thankful that I don't have to anticipate it anymore. It was in Bloomington so I wasn't able to visualize the venue before I arrived. Once there, it was fun!

My friend Molly with Molly Bea Photography came to help at the last minute. I'm second shooting for her next weekend in Michigan so she thought she'd return the favor. Molly had referred the bride to me so it was a natural connnction for her to be involved. I'm glad she was there. It was enjoyable to spend the day with a friend, and she has a gift of posing! She stood back while I did the majority of the shooting and then came forward with some rock star idea when I was finished! We made a good team!

I learned a few lessons-- specifically, I learned better ways that I could coach my brides so that they can get the best pictures, and now that I've done a wedding, I think I can be more assertive in telling them my opinion!

The bride was stunning. I can't wait to post pictures.

our weekend

We've hardly had time to blink!

Garage Sale. Six hundred dollars. Check.
Time with Pop and Grammy. Check.
Visit from Washington D.C. friends. Check.
Catching up on work. Check.


Lydia with Baby Finola. You'll see more pix of her soon on my photography site!

my little green thumb

Look at that concentration!

We're going to have a fun summer taking care of our plants together!

family fun!

Our friends all pitched-in to rent a roller rink for a few hours last night.

Jonah's first try on his skates:)

Lydia loved it!

She especially loved dancing on her skates...

Jonah spent a lot of time on the floor-- always with a smile on his face!


Taking a family picture is always difficult but taking a family pictures on roller skates is quite the feat!

A few fun pictures of friends. We're so blessed.

one proud mama

We celebrated Jonah today at his Kindergarten Completion Program. He was one of two kids from his class chosen to read in front of the crowded cafeteria. Disclaimer: I was using the video option on my camera and clearly had no idea how to work it!

We were so proud of him.





His favorite friend at school, Brody:

i love this town

many moms + many kids = much fun