Thankfulness Days 15-26

I have not been on here in a while, so here are more days of Thankfulness:

Day 15 I am thankful for Music . . . all the songs, which travel with me through this life. Songs which remind me of people, places, events, emotions. They comfort me and lift me up. Music can embrace you like a good old friend.

Day 16 Today I am thankful that things like junior high only come once in a lifetime. Junior High was a such a necessary time for me to learn about the type of person I was and who I wanted wanted to be - but man, with all it’s awkwardness and self-important drama, I’m so thankful that you only have to go through those years once.

Day 17 I am thankful for wise counsel & kind friends who listen patiently, I’m surrounded by the best folks.

Day 18 I am thankful for my dad. This is the anniversary of the day he went to heaven. I miss him a lot.

Day 19 I’m grateful for time spent with little ones. Their fresh perspective and honesty keeps me humble.

Day 20 I am thankful for family shows like, Parenthood. So sad this is the final season.

Day 21 I’m thankful for my family history. For my relatives who got on the boat, crossed the ocean and started a new life in America. I’m also incredibly thankful that they continue to share the stories from their past and remind our family where we came from.

Day 22 I am thankful for libraries. Especially online ability to search for a book and place it on hold. Then receive an email that it is ready for me to pick up in a day or so.

Day 23 Today I am thankful for patience & forgiveness.

Day 24 Today I am thankful for Surprises. The ones that catch you off guard in the best kind of way. The times when expectations were exceeded and imagination was surpassed. The days that start by seeming too long and end with wishing for more. The months that are so full they are both frozen in time and hard to remember. The fleeting moments that turn into remarkable stories. The instances when failure seemed inevitable but hope prevailed…all because of generosity, kindness, grace, humility, and love.

Day 25 Today I am thankful for thankful for the overwhelming beauty of nature that is consistent and abundant.

Day 26 Today I am thankful for days without meetings or plans.

Thankfulnes Days 8-14

Day 8 -- I am thankful for my boss. She is an awesome lady. Working in retail can be hard. She cares about her employees. My husband had a health scare. She has been caring and attentive to our family's needs. Not all bosses are deserving of a hug, however, she is! :)

Day 9 -- I am thankful for my family. Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Day 10 -- I am thankful to The Lord that I can be made new everyday. Today’s mistakes can be left behind. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

Day 11 -- I am thankful for veterans. Active duty, reserve, guard, retired and all branches of the military. I am thankful for your service to our country. I an thankful to all the service men and women who have sacrificed there lives for OUR FREEDOM! “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13.

Day 12 -- Today I am thankful for all the opportunities that present themselves. God knows when to close one door and Open another.

Day 13 -- Today I am thankful for my friends, neighbors and acquaintances whom have helped me at a moments notice.

Day 14 -- I am thankful for Fridays. After a long week, it is good to sit back and relax.

November Thanksgiving Week One November 1-7

I decided to put my November Thanksgiving on my blog instead of facebook posts this year. I will make a weekly post of Thanksgiving.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

November 1 -- I am thankful for God and all that he has seen me through in my life so far. I have seen a lot of storms. I have to remember to be still and listen to his still, small voice. So many times I find myself stressed and wanting to take care of everything. I Kings 18:20-40 and 19:12

November 2 -- I am thankful for my husband of ten years. We have been through a lot this last decade. Several deployments, too many TDYs to count. Retirement from the Air Force. Our son being born preterm. Several moves over the years. He loves his kids and me very much. Life has not been easy the last few years as chronic pain has taken a strong hold over him. He really tries to do things with us. He does what he can and I have to remember to be patient. He cannot do some things he used to do. He has several health problems that cause chronic pain. May my husband trust in You with all his heart, and not lean on his own understanding; may he acknowledge You in all his ways, and may You make his paths straight. (Prov. 3:5-6)

November 3 -- I am thankful for my son's school. The staff there are amazing. My son has been blessed with ladies and gentlemen that truly care about him and the other students. Our first experience at the school was at the preschool. Miss Melanie was his preschool teacher. He still loves her and we stop by to visit from time to time. His kindergarten teacher was very loving and helped him learn more things. This year he is in first grade. He absolutely loves Ms. Bossi. She loves her job and it shows. He is now practicing higher level math skills like adding three digits, starting some word problems and he is proud that he knows 10 x 10 = 100. He is also in the top reading group. He is getting closer to reading chapter books. He really wants to, but the print is small. I continue to find titles that interest him for his reading. Lately that has been the Frog and Toad books. Proverbs 4:13 “Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.”

November 4 -- Today I am thankful for FREEDOM! If you have not already, go out and vote! Make your voice heard. “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13 (NLT)

November 5 -- I am thankful for hugs and kisses. One thing I experienced in my childhood was bear hugs from my parents, especially dad. He would hug you in greeting and hug again when saying good bye. Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.

November 6 -- I am thankful for all those near and far who have made me the person I am. Every time I think of you, I thank my God. Philippians 1:3

November 7 -- I am thankful for all the blessings that God has given me throughout my life and continues to provide. God’s blessings are like a river. They fill the city of God with joy. That city is the holy place where the Most High God lives. (Psalm 46:4 NIRV)

Tablets and Other Electronic Devices, Along With a Little Christmas Cheer!

How did we survive as children of the 1970s and 1980s? We did not have all the tablets and electronic devices. I remember when we received an Atari game. It was so awesome to be able to play a video game at home. Before we had to go to Putt-Putt to play games like Galaga, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man.

My son is six years old. He loves his little nook. I also let him play with the kindle fire. He has games on them for school and games for fun, internet access, books that read to him. Books that record him reading and then he plays back his recording. The other day I was making dinner. I went to my son's room to tell him that it is almost ready. Time to find a stopping point on his game. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find him reading along with "Twas the Night Before Christmas". He was whispering, "Santa Claus!"

Yes, my boy still believes in Santa Claus. Some families choose not to do Santa, some do. We keep the magic alive and also let him know that we are Santa's helpers. He receives a letter from Santa each Christmas Eve. Last year it talked about how we are Santa's helpers.

This is the letter he received last year.

My Sweet Boy Aiden,

I received your letter and saw that you wanted the following: A trampoline An easel A shark vacuum cleaner A Roomba vacuum cleaner A steering wheel that comes with a car and the steering wheel is a remote control.

I searched high and low. Your parents did too. They were able to find the easel and the trampoline. I found most of the other items on your list. You are such a very sweet, kind-hearted boy. Children like you make delivering toys at Christmas a joy. Remember the real reason for the season. Jesus was born in a manger. He died on the cross and rose again from the dead so that we all can have everlasting life. The toys I bring will only last a short time. The gift of Jesus Christ is eternal salvation.

Merry Christmas and Love Always, Mr. C

When Parents Pass Away, How Do We Continue?

This post is in honor of my mother, Arbie Etherton. The anniversary of the day God called her home is January 11, 1987. In a lot of ways it hard to believe it happened 27 years ago. I still remember that cold Sunday in January.

We never got to say goodbye. We said, "see you later. We will be back soon." All these years later and it still gets to me that I never got to say good-bye to my parents. I stop and wonder what life would be like had cancer not robbed her from me. I wonder if I would be the person I am today if my mother were still alive. How would I be different?

During the middle of 8th grade, my mother passed away. At first everything seemed like an impossible dream. A really bad dream. That one day I would wake up and things would be back like they were before the cancer. But that never happened.

I have always been a quiet person. Don't rock the boat so to speak. I did my best to please my teachers. Many years later I returned to my hometown for my high school 20 year reunion. Some things remain the same. Popular kids are still popular and most people said nice things to me. One thing changed forever though. My parents are no longer on earth. I can't see them when I go back to my hometown. The church in my small town is still there. Lots of memories there and still, different now... my parents are no longer on this earth.

In the days that passed since that cold January day in 1987 when God called my mom home, I was living on auto-pilot so to speak. I remember going day by day with a terrible mood in school. I walked with my head down, and never to rarely said a word. I tried to hide behind my long hair. It worked a lot. Most people left me alone. I was a "good kid". Did not get in trouble. Buried my sorrow in my school work.

I remember dreaming of leaving my hometown to go to college. Start over where people didn't know me, didn't pity me. That I could pretend that I am normal, but I am not. It helped a little bit to be away when I studied at college. However, I had a very hard time growing up. I couldn't decide what I wanted to be when I grow up. I changed my major from accounting to music therapy to finally special education. In the process I accumulated over 200 undergraduate hours. By the time I finally earned a bachelor's degree I didn't feel like it was something to celebrate.

After several years I made this realization. It was a process to reach this point.

You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all she's left. Your heart can be empty because you can't see her, or you can be full of the love you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember her only that she is gone, or you can cherish her memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back. Or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

End of Year 2013

2013 Has been a year from H-E-double hockey sticks. There were some good things that happened in the last 12 months, mostly it has been a year of endurance. The bad stuff has included natural disasters in our backyard. Wildfires followed by flash flooding in and near our city. Luckily our home has not suffered damage from either of these. Our city and surrounding areas have been effected by the natural disasters. In turn the local economy has taken a hit because of the disasters. Several restaurants and stores have closed their doors. My husband has tried several times to be self-employed and it has not resulted in a positive outcome. In July of this year he was terminated from his job. He has since applied and interviewed at numerous places around the city. Only to be told that he is either way over-qualified or under-qualified. He recently accepted a job with Aflac insurane. However, it is commission only and he has not received any commissions yet.

I continue to work two part time jobs and a majority of my time is with my son. He has showed tremendous gains in the last 12 months. He has been discharged out of physical therapy, graduated out of occupational therapy and also graduated out of applied behavior analysis therapy. The only therapy he receives now is speech. He will likely always have some areas that are a struggle for him. For now we continue to implement the strategies learned through the various therapies to help him deal with his sensory challenges. He has learned how to self-regulate to a point that most of his helps are not needed in the classroom (i.e. weighted blanket). At the same time he is very easily distracted. He is nearly six years old, most six year old boys are highly distracted. If he is on task for 5-10 minutes, we are doing very good. He is one of the top performers in his class. He enjoys sharing his ideas with anyone that will listen. Most of his ideas are quirky, especially for a nearly six year old. His favorite gift from Christmas was a Shark rechargeable cordless vacuum cleaner. Most mornings he can be found pushing the vacuum around the house and using his new electric pencil sharpener. He wants to help clean the house, he just doesn't know exactly how to do that. Most recently he sprayed a lot of oven cleaner in the oven, but didn't realize that we would have to wipe out the oven before we could cook with it again. He has written several little books about his ideas (mainly cars, time machines, vacuum cleaners).

2013 also brought with it a milestone in birthdays for me -- the big 4-0. Reaching that birthday has me feeling nostalgic. I find myself looking back on my life so far. I was a career student in my 20s. By the time I finally earned my bachelor's degree I had completed over 200 hours. My thirties were spent meeting Dean and starting our marriage. Now that I am in my forties I am considering continuing my education again. Even though I have a bachelor's degree in special education, I have had very little luck landing a job even as a paraprofessional with a special education program at a public school or private school. I have applied with both public school districts and the school for the deaf and blind. I have counted my applications, it is over 200. There comes a point when I need to look into another possibility of employment.

All this is leading me to look seriously at nursing. The easiest way to start would be to get a CNA and then most likely start working at a long term care facility. The program takes about six weeks to complete and then pass the test. Then the next step is getting hired.

I am concerned that if I am away from my son for hours at a time, that he will regress. That me working will have a negative effect on all the progress he has made. I also look at it from a financial standpoint and really don't see much other choice. I wish it were an easy thing to do.

Sensory Diet: An Emphasis on Heavy Work

Aiden recently "graduated" out of occupational therapy. One of the most beneficial tools I learned was the use of a sensory diet. These ideas can be used for neuro-typical children as well as children with special needs. He has been having a lot of good days at school. Before we leave the school on most days I let him play at the school playground or park for at least 30 minutes. As the weather gets colder that will be more difficult to do. I have noticed on days that I have not let him play right after school have been more difficult evenings. He is less likely to listen to requests and sit during dinner.

I hope this list of ideas can be beneficial for other parents.

Wilbarger Protocol (brushing and compressions). We mainly do this in the evenings to help him relax to go to sleep. Have also used this before doctor's visits to help him relax. Other times I have used this technique have been when he is listless and needs help to focus. It really does help him relax and focus.

Trampoline. We don't have one, but he gets similar input from bouncing houses. He loves bouncy houses, as do most five year olds.

Swinging. He really enjoys swinging. I remember there was a time when he freaked out when I tried to have him swing. He likes both the regular swings and the tire swing. Lots of opportunities to swing at the school playground and parks. Our backyard has a rather steep downhill slope. No swing set for us.

Heavy blankets/pillow. His grandmother has made both neck wraps and lap pads for him. The important thing with weighted blankets is to use them for limited amounts of time. The neck wrap weight is two pounds. The lap pad weight is three pounds. He has used these items in the classroom, doctor visits and sometimes at home for a calming effect.

Push Me/Pull You (with partner), seated. This is a fun game to play with him. We also play eye contact games while doing these.

Squeeze Toys/Balls. His most recent fidget toy is a tangle toy I got for him. It has several different sensory features to it, ridges, bumps, smooth, clear, colors. He likes little baggies filled with hair gel and glitter, taped closed. He enjoys squishing them.

Push laundry basket on carpet, filled with enough weight that it can't be pushed by a foot. Be sure basket is strong enough that it won't collapse (plastic storage bin). Make this a game: Change items in bin frequently; Make it purposeful by moving groceries from front door to pantry, counting items moved or put away, find as many items as you can that start with the letter "C", etc.; Move items in yard, over grass. With the laundry basket he especially enjoys being my helper to take clothes out of the dryer. He carries the laundry basket back upstairs. Then we continue on making it purposeful. He also helps carry groceries. Outside he helps move big toys outside, pushes and pulls play golf clubs.

Vacuum floors or furniture. He loves this. Putting on the different attachments to vacuum furniture is something he really enjoys and he has to think about how to put the attachment on and connect the pieces together.

Shooting baskets/goals.

These are fun things to do inside when cannot go outside: "Sandwich" between sofa cushions on floor and apply mild pressure or pillows inside a laundry basket all around him to "squeeze".

Roll up self in blanket, then unroll. Roll across room.

Oral Processing/Heavy Work -- can be very calming: Crunchy, chewy food Gum Hard candy Sour flavors Drink through straws Thick fluids through straw (i.e. applesauce, pudding, milkshake) Blow through straw

Clay/Playdough Pull, roll, press, or pinch Shape into letters, numbers Pick beads out Hide small items in clay/playdough and then find them.

Bean bin: He absolutely loved the sensory table at preschool. Kindergarten does not have a sensory table. We have a water table at home. Here are some ideas for a bean bin: Combing for items, digging, shoveling, pouring

Sandbox: We have a sandbox. Ideas include: Digging, pushing, pouring, pushing cars or trucks.

Paint a wall with only a roller. Can do outside with water on roller.

Push a wall: with hands, hips, shoulder, back or with feet.

Swimming: He absolutely loves to swim. Can't get enough of the water. Needs to work on learning how to breathe as he swims under the water, but it will come.

Crab walk, Elephant walk, Bear walk, any animal walk.

Push large toy truck/car on hands/knees.

Shovel sand, move rocks, building with blocks, snow play

Coloring and cutting activities.

Most important of all is to have consistent routines for daily activities including the following: wake-up, dressing, mealtimes, bathing, and bedtime.

I hope this list is beneficial for you and your family.