Sorry for the bad photo, but it is a quick naptime post so I saved this from FB. 

Anyway, Emma had her 100th day of school last week.  This is her by her project we worked on for two days.  As you can tell, she was very very proud of it.  That is 100 crayons on a wooden wreath frame.  We painted the wood then after it dried we glued and counted 100 crayons.  We just laughed and laughed the whole time.  Then, we worked on the little 100 days sign, which she wrote on and everything.  Lastly we added the stickers ontop of the crayons.  It turned out so cute and Emma told me over and over again how fun it was. 

Her teachers all loved it and Emma had a great day at school celebrating the 100th day!

After, 100 days of school, things are finally starting to go better.  Her teachers are finally communicating with me more and more and her new IEP plan seems to be helping.  She got her new set of school ears last week and with the aids turned to the mic the teachers wear it is really helping.  One therapist and one of her teachers let me know she is communicating better with friends and answering them much better as well.  I think it helps that the hearing specialist who meet with the team in November really layed out how deaf Emma really is and finally got it through to them that she is struggling to understand and hear what they mean.

I am so thankful that things are going better and hope that the next 100 days of school goes much better!

Beyond Ordinary

"Time+ unintentionality= ordinary marriage"  that is such a true statement spoken by the Davis's. I am guilty of letting my marriage be on the back burner.  I am so intent on being a good parent and taking care of the needs of my children, that to be honest I really don't have much left for my spouse.  I am intentional at my role as a mother and unintentional at my role as a wife.  As a member of the special needs parenting community, I realize that my marriage is at an even higher risk for ending in divorce.  Why?  Because the constant stress of having a child who is chronically sick or needs constant care is exhausting and taxing.  Marriages are hard work and when you have nothing left at the end of the day well..........

 

Which is why I am so happy to have been picked to receive and review the following book by Tyndale House. 



 

 

 Beyond Ordinary by Justin and Trisha Davis is all about making your marriage more. (click that link and watch the amazing video about the book)  I am honored to say I attend church were Justin is one of the pastors and Trisha leads worship many Sundays.  I have heard parts of their story in sermons in the past and been able to watch them interact with each other for years.  However reading their book, was like walking the rocky path their marriage took with them. 

 

The way they wrote the book in a he said, she said format really makes it read more fiction like then nonfiction.  However, you are very aware that the story they are sharing is real and is their story.  I was so drawn into the story from the first word on page one till the last period on page 219! The amazing way they were able to integrate the teaching parts into each chapter really keeps the flow going and really helped one tie their story into your own journey to make your marriage better. 

 

I admit I do not really like many marriage books, they normally only share one side of the story or have only one view point.  I normal finish the book and think to myself I wonder what a woman would say or do, or I wonder what a male would do?  However, Beyond Ordinary has both the male and female view point in one location.  You are given both sides of the story, and that makes this the best marriage book I have ever read!  No marriage is just one person, there are always two and having both parts of the story written together make so much more sense. 

 

Their story is not a perfect fairytale, but it does have a fairytale type ending.  God used their pain to bring about healing and rejuvenation.When they came out of the ashes of healing through God, they were lead to seek married couples and help them to no longer have an ordinary marriage.  God does not want us to be ordinary!  They now spend a majority of their time with their marriage ministry refineus .  "God doesn't want to improve your marriage; he wants to transform it"

 

So download or pick up a copy of Beyond Ordinary and visit refineus.  I pray that you allow God to use both as tools to lead you into the marriage He visioned for us long before we were even born.  Thank you Justin and Trisha for sharing your journey and sharing the truth of God's word  you learned along the way.  My marriage also thanks you! 

What a Report Card does not say....

I will say that this special needs mommy, hates report card day!  Why?  Because it does not show a complete picture of my child.  I feel it is like an IEP meeting where all the therapist take time telling me what my child does not know!  I just want to scream "But what about all she has learned?"!!!  Report Cards are like that too me, they just tell me that she does not know this, this, this, this, and this!  Like I did not know she was behind.  My eyes are not blind, I know she is not with her friends in her class, but....

What it does not say is how hard she works daily to hear and understand all the sounds and words thrown at her.  It does not tell me the hours a week she spends in some form of therapy.  It does not tell me incredible amount of passion she has for school, for learning, for her friends and for life in general!  Report cards do not tell about the many afternoons she spends at the kitchen table working on writing her letters, sight words and numbers.  That piece of paper does not tell you about how incredibly hard it is for her to walk down the long hallway to her room, to the gym or the lunchroom.  It leaves out that last year she barely spoke and now she speaks in small sentences and can repeat most words and sounds she hears when she is able to focus and hear clearly.  I really wish that piece of paper told of her laughter and creative spirit that leads to many dance shows in my livingroom in costumes of all crazy types.

I know in my head report cards are important to see growth in a unified way, but my heart hurts everytime I pull it out of her folder.  But tonight as I sit and wonder if the ice storm will really hit my area, I will remind myself that paper is not who my child is....she is so much more.

Sorry for the ramblings tonight but sometimes words just have to be expressed. 

Baby It Is Cold

Last week we played outside in no coats for three days, today it is sleeting and below 30.  Wow what a crazy few days of weather!  I also forgot we flooded in a few areas yesterday!  Emma really wants snow and all the fun that brings but so far it is just ice and slush.  Hoping by the end of winter we do get at least one snow day of fun.  Till then, we are busy jumping on our mini trampoline we got for Christmas and dancing around the living room in our flannel PJ's.  Snuggle socks and hot chocolate call our names daily and we snuggle up tight at night.

Emma is doing pretty well right now.  She just started a new semester of school and we redid her IEP right before the holidays and she hopefully will be doing much better with the new changes.  Things are pretty up in the air with her schooling right now, as we see her hearing becoming a bigger hurdle then we originally thought.  She is still struggling with her vocabulary and her understanding and the pace of the class is hard.  However, we hope the changes will help her to not be so behind, and we will meet again in two months to see how it is going.  It is so hard to know what to do, as we are still learning about her hearing loss.  Praying it all helps and we do not have to move her to a new school, which is the only real other option.

So, we are working hard and praying harder!

Life is never dull
Rachel

Never Boring

Life is never boring around here!  I am sitting in the other room listening to squeals as the kiddos play dont break the ice with daddy.  There are toys everywhere and a pile of laundry to do.  Oh well!  It will all wait they will only be little for awhile......