Merry Christmas!
Sam's favorite toy this year was a baby stroller and baby bottle for his "baby", although as you can see (slideshow), he had to try it out for himself! LOL
We were fortunate this holiday season to have the opportunity to serve others through church and the Autism society which put things into perspective for us. We are very blessed and tried to remain focused on the reason for the season and not "things". Very difficult for teenagers. Rachel enjoyed helping at church and really got into the spirit once we were there.
We have had a difficult year, financially, and weren't sure we would be able to do for the kids the way we've done in the past. We got very creative and they did have a couple of "cool" items to open. Mostly clothes this year which they appreciated. Sam opened his underwear and pants package and was clearly not impressed.
Sam has been enjoying going to Pump It Up and Bounce U with his father. I took him last week and that was fun, too, though 20 minutes in, I was trying to bribe him with McDonald's so we could go!
I'm teaching Sam to read with the eReadingPro program and it's working! He's really catching onto the words and reads them to me before I can say them. He's doing well at speech therapy, too, putting 4 and 5 words together at once. He gets lazy at home and I have to remind him to ask in a sentence or just prompt with "I...", then he's start at the beginning and end with "PLEASE".
Rachel has been going through some personal issues that I think we have a handle on now. I just hope this is the worst of it. We are able to talk now, which helps a lot in letting me know where she is, emotionally.
Seth is doing well. He moved to the basement and has his own "apartment" which stays constantly trashed. He and his girlfriend, Katey, made Christmas cookies on Christmas eve and that was so much fun. They had flour and sprinkles EVERYWHERE, including all over each other. There was a lot of laughter, which was great. Nothing a little vaccum couldn't handle.
Had a great and busy week with family and looking forward to a quiet New Year's Eve at home in my jammies. Bob and I have been fighting a head cold and my throat is still sore. I think I just need a rest.
Well, off to work. I'm at a turning point in my life where I need income but can't work during the day because I need to be here for Sam. I was there for my older two and won't abandon the one who needs me the most. But his therapy and supplements cost SO much. So I'm trying to get creative and work from home, work at nights and weekends, or start my own business...maybe a special needs daycare/therapy center with a friend. Could be an interesting year.
Gearing up for our second annual Walk for Autism with the Autism Society already. Walk will be April 4th at the same location. Planning starts in January, so I've been working with website companies to create a walk website for registrations this year. Would love to take that pressure off myself. It was a lot of micro-managing last year with spreadsheets and everything created from scratch. Exhausting to think about. We will have more community support this year with our partnerships with the Dayton Mall and Channel 2, so hopefully we'll have a great turnout. Pray for good weather!!!
Off to work....if I don't post before then, have a very happy New Year. See you in 2009!
Nancy
Sam's favorite toy this year was a baby stroller and baby bottle for his "baby", although as you can see (slideshow), he had to try it out for himself! LOL
We were fortunate this holiday season to have the opportunity to serve others through church and the Autism society which put things into perspective for us. We are very blessed and tried to remain focused on the reason for the season and not "things". Very difficult for teenagers. Rachel enjoyed helping at church and really got into the spirit once we were there.
We have had a difficult year, financially, and weren't sure we would be able to do for the kids the way we've done in the past. We got very creative and they did have a couple of "cool" items to open. Mostly clothes this year which they appreciated. Sam opened his underwear and pants package and was clearly not impressed.
Sam has been enjoying going to Pump It Up and Bounce U with his father. I took him last week and that was fun, too, though 20 minutes in, I was trying to bribe him with McDonald's so we could go!
I'm teaching Sam to read with the eReadingPro program and it's working! He's really catching onto the words and reads them to me before I can say them. He's doing well at speech therapy, too, putting 4 and 5 words together at once. He gets lazy at home and I have to remind him to ask in a sentence or just prompt with "I...", then he's start at the beginning and end with "PLEASE".
Rachel has been going through some personal issues that I think we have a handle on now. I just hope this is the worst of it. We are able to talk now, which helps a lot in letting me know where she is, emotionally.
Seth is doing well. He moved to the basement and has his own "apartment" which stays constantly trashed. He and his girlfriend, Katey, made Christmas cookies on Christmas eve and that was so much fun. They had flour and sprinkles EVERYWHERE, including all over each other. There was a lot of laughter, which was great. Nothing a little vaccum couldn't handle.
Had a great and busy week with family and looking forward to a quiet New Year's Eve at home in my jammies. Bob and I have been fighting a head cold and my throat is still sore. I think I just need a rest.
Well, off to work. I'm at a turning point in my life where I need income but can't work during the day because I need to be here for Sam. I was there for my older two and won't abandon the one who needs me the most. But his therapy and supplements cost SO much. So I'm trying to get creative and work from home, work at nights and weekends, or start my own business...maybe a special needs daycare/therapy center with a friend. Could be an interesting year.
Gearing up for our second annual Walk for Autism with the Autism Society already. Walk will be April 4th at the same location. Planning starts in January, so I've been working with website companies to create a walk website for registrations this year. Would love to take that pressure off myself. It was a lot of micro-managing last year with spreadsheets and everything created from scratch. Exhausting to think about. We will have more community support this year with our partnerships with the Dayton Mall and Channel 2, so hopefully we'll have a great turnout. Pray for good weather!!!
Off to work....if I don't post before then, have a very happy New Year. See you in 2009!
Nancy
1 comment:
Hey Nancy, Happy New Year! Just read your blog and am so excited to hear Sam's success with eReadingPro! (although I'm not surprised, lol) Keep up the great work!
Denise MacDonald,Founder
eReadingPro
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