Time to Love

I read a blog post the other day on ADHD that has gotten me thinking. One thing she said was that because she choose to medicate her child, people didn't resent her or her son for his behavior. I started thinking back over the years of raising Jesse and people reactions to him.So many times he has been treated poorly by others because of his actions. This is by both adults and children. It hasn't been just when he was on his medication or off, it hasn't really matter. He has been treated the same. He has kids call him names, adults roll their eyes at him when he wants to sit by him, adults who refuse or resent working with him, children who make fun of his siblings because of him, adults and children talk bad about him to others, and the list goes on and on.

My son is not a bad child. He is not a kid who will act out just to make you mad. He does not ignore you just because. He is not rude to you because he doesn't like you. He IS a boy with disabilities! He IS a boy who is struggling to make it in a world where he is looked down upon. He IS a boy with a heart of gold if you are willing to take the time to see it. He IS an amazing person with a sweet testimony of life and the gospel.Jesse has ADHD and Aspergers Syndrome. This means that his brain is wired differently than yours and mine resulting in him processing information differently. For example he does not connect the fact that he can't just say whatever is on his mind, especially if it is a rude thought. To him it doesn't seem wrong. For him he struggles greatly with impulse control, understanding consequences, hyperactivity, knowing how to appropriately interact with others, and many other facets of daily life. So often because it is not a readily visible disability, people think he is just a bad kid. Would you tell a child with a physical handicap the same thing? Of course not. People sympathize with them and love them despite the disability. The same should be true with children with mental disabilities.

I know more than anyone what Jesse is like. 95% of the time Jesse is with me or another member of the family. Many times we are asked to be present where ever Jesse is to take care of him. This is a double edged sword for me. I love my son and will always be there for him. But it also bothers me that when people don't take the time it takes to get to know Jesse to the point that they know how to best deal with him. It seems easier to just look at his problems and resent him for it than to take the extra time to get to know him. I can guarantee you that no one has seen his worst or his best other than me and yes that includes Robert and the other kids.

I am so very grateful for those who have taken the time to love and care for my son. There are some great friends who without question willing let Jesse come play or stay at their house for a few hours. That time means more to him than you can ever know. He truly loves and cherishes these people who let him into their heart, even if he is unable to tell them. These bright rays of sunshine light my sons life as well as my own.

It is my ever present hope that people will take the time to get to know my son. Yes it will be a rocky road, full of unpleasant times. But in the end it will be a tremendous blessing to him and others. He is growing and improving constantly. Having him home from school has been one of the best things we have ever done for him. He works a couple of times a week with an amazing PSR worker is strives to help him survive socially. He continues with counseling monthly to help us all find what is best for him. He tries to incorporate all he learns to be better and has come a long way. However he will most likely always have problems anytime there are changes, struggle with controlling his impulses, and get overstimulated easily in social situations causing him to act out. Thank you to everyone who helps Jesse to become the best person he can. Thank you for the dedication you have shown our son and your patience and love toward him. It is a blessing to us to have the privilege to raise him, and we are grateful for all the help you give to us.

Some Things To Think About

I met a friend of my mothers this past weekend and in the course of a very interesting conversation, she brought up a point that I wanted to share. We were talking about our thoughts, how they impact us, and where negative thoughts come from.

She said how she pictured a certain number of Satan's warriors assigned to each of us and that they can call in reinforcements when needed. These warriors lined up to tempt us and try us. the first in line comes forward and prompts us with thoughts such as "You are dumb." If we give in to that then they stay and continue to torment our thoughts. However if we tell those thought to shut up and go away, that warrior loses his power over us and has to move to the end of the line. That puts a little more space between us and the next warrior. He, however, learns from his predecessor and will tweak the thoughts such as "You are dumb and lazy." We must also then tell those thoughts to shut up and go away without giving in to them. If we continually cast out these negative thoughts then we are able to overcome Satan's grasp on us.

We are not alone in this battle though. Heavenly Fathers angels are ready and waiting to come to our aid. This difference though is that we must ask for their help. If they automatically step in whenever we have trouble, then we have no agency and are following Satan's plan. We must ask for their guidance to maintain our agency and to overcome our trials.

We also talked about trials. In school when you are given a test, you were first prepared for that test by being taught all you needed to know ahead of time. The same is true with our mortal existence. Heavenly Father prepared us for all things before we came to earth. He gave us every tool for every experience we will have. We were then sent us to earth with the veil lowered so we could have a true test of our knowledge. The knowledge to overcome every circumstance in our lives in within us, we just have to listen with our spiritual ears to remember what we were taught. That is why I could not have been a pioneer or handled someone elses trials, I was not prepared for them or given the tools to make it through their experiences. But I was given the one I needed for my life. What comfort that is to know that I can make it through all things given me because my Heavenly Father prepared me for them!

Promptings

So I wanted to get this story down before I forgot it. This past December I took Tyler and Britain to the temple to do some family baptisms. While we were waiting to get started Tyler said how she wanted to do this every year as a Christmas tradition and how she wanted to do the work for my biological fathers family. I was shocked because I didn't think I had ever told them I was adopted by my father and about my birth father. I put it out of my mind and went on with the day.

A few weeks later I was giving a lesson in Relief Society. I don't remember the lesson, but I was reading a part that said we needed to honor our parents even if they were not the best parents and have hurt us. They gave us life and for that reason alone we should honor them. As I was reading it I had the very distinct feeling that I needed to do the work for my birth father and to forgive him. I had a hard time putting it into words as it happened and dealing with what was happening at that moment. I have hated my birth father for so long. I have never wanted anything to do with him, even when he was married to my mother. Why was I suddenly getting this impression?

I went home feeling very unsettled in my heart. I called my mom and she was very upset by it all. I prayed that night asking if there was someone who was ready to accept the gospel in that line and waiting for their work to be done and was given that answer that there was. My biological father was not a member of the church nor was anyone in his family. Of my sisters who are his biological daughters one of the has made lifestyle choices that won't allow her to do the temple work needed, and one struggles more than I do with what he did. I guess that left me as the only person to do this work. It has not been easy though.

For the longest time I struggled with the idea of adding his name as a father in family search. I do not consider him a father to me and it took me quite a while to add him. I made sure that it still should my dad as my father and my biological father as an additional parent (my dad adopted us and we are sealed to him so in the eyes of the law and the church he is my father not my biological father. in fact our birth certificates were even changed to reflect that).

I then decided to try to do and Internet search for his parents so I didn't have to keep bothering my mother and digging up old ghosts for her. What I found came as another major shock. I found out that my birth father passed away about 16 months ago from being electrocuted in a work related accident. I was the one who had to inform my mother and sisters that he had passed. Finding this out brought on a whole new set of emotions that I struggled dealing with and I had a hard time getting him out of my mind. I put his death information into Family Search and it came up with his ordinances being ready to be done. It was so hard to see his name linked with those ordinances. I am still trying accept it and print the cards to begin his work. My children, who have not been tarnished with the past, are eager and willing to do the work for his family. I am struggling each step of the way. Britain in all his wisdom told me that maybe this was how I was going to be able to forgive him.

This next weekend I will be getting the genealogical records my mother has to try again to start some of this work. I am not sure if it is my birth father or one of his ancestors that is ready to receive this work. Tyler (the first to be prompted) and I (the second one to be prompted) received the promptings about a year and a month after his death. Maybe in that time he has changed and is anxiously awaiting for the ordinances of the gospel. Whoever is ready, I am sorry for my personal struggles and will try to overcome.

Mom and Dad

The last few months for my parents have been laced with medical problems and stress. My dad fell and broke both knee caps and after surgery was in a rehab facility for several weeks. During that time my mother ended up in the hospital with some heart problems. once my dad came home from rehab, he started having major problems with his blood sugar and ended up back in the hospital for a day.

Almost losing both of my parents in a month wasn't easy. I wanted to take the time to write down some of the things about my parents. First of all my dad. My dad may not have my biological father, but he chose to love my sisters and I and he has loved us as his one. He gave up so much to raise us after he had already raised his family. He lovingly took in and cared for us, giving us all he could. I got the opportunity to live alone with my dad for awhile while our family had to be geographically separated because of work while I was in elementary school. I remember laying on his bed with him watching tv at night and him playing his old country records like Patsy Cline. My dad has always loved what he calls "shoot 'em up westerns" and especially John Wayne. He did a great job caring for me (and for part of the time my sister) until our family could be reunited again. Most weekends we would drive the 4 hours to St. George where my mom and sister lived. Even then my dad liked to drive slow!

While we lived on the reservation I remember piling in the back of the pickup and driving around, sometimes with the camper shell on and sometimes without. My dad loved to take us out to a cafe (I think at 3rd Mesa) that served monstrous Navajo tacos that were amazing. Since he was a high school teacher, he would often get invited to some of the different celebrations on his students. I remember going to some of the different Navajo/Hopi villages so see the different dances.

My dad has such a love for science and would often take us out rock hunting through out Arizona. We would go look at petrified wood and go on picnics in the desert. My dad also built us several radios, in fact I think I was in high school before I had a radio that wasn't built by my dad. My dad loves to tease as well. He constantly has a joke to tell. My kids have come to rely on his suckers that he always has on hand to give them when we visit. My dad now loves to build things with rocks. He has his little rock shop in back of their house and he is always giving us little gifts he has made.

When Robert was in Korea and Colorado with the Army, we bought a house that was across the alley from my parents. My dad was always helping me out, fixing up the house and the yard when I needed it. If he couldn't physically handle the work, he would walk me through what I needed to do. He has always been there for us and I love you so much dad!!

My mom is an amazing woman. She divorced my birth father when I was very little and raised my sisters and I until she married my dad. She was never one to sit around, but was always working to better our lives. She went back to school a few years after marrying my dad to get a degree in accounting. At the time she worked for a law firm. We lived in a beautiful home my father built for us in St. George. After we all had reunited and were living in Arizona she again went back to school to finish her education. At that time she changed her major to education and had to work hard to get her degree as my dad's health was failing. We once again had to live apart while she went to school and my dad worked to support us. this time we were only and hour and a half away though and my dad came home each weekend. My mom graduated from college when I was a sophomore with a 4.0 GPA (this while raising 5 kids). She never gave up and went above and beyond what was necessary to get her degree. We then moved to where my mom got a teaching job which allowed my dad to retire. My mom continues to work hard teaching and supporting her family and has touching many hundreds of students lives.

My mom is also a wonderful musician. She plays the piano and organ. She tried to get us girls to play, although we didn't cooperate. There were many times when my mother accompanied me singing for different music festivals, in church, and for my auditions in college. She has also accompanied my sister in all her music. Even with all her skill, she decided a few years ago to go back to taking piano and organ lessons to improve her talents she was blessed with. In all she does she tries to be an example to her children of how to overcome trials and be better. She was the one who encouraged me to go back to school when Robert went overseas and to get my masters (she even found the program that was perfect for my situation)

One of the things that has been the most special for me has been the relationship we have had as adults. My mom is one of my very dear friends. We talk often on the phone and can share our deepest frustrations and successes. She has also raised a child with special needs and understands what I am going through. So many times we have comforted each other in our trials as mothers. I could not make it through all that I do with out my mother! I love you mom!!!

Excitement!!

We are trying an experiment with Jesse and church tomorrow. After a particularly stressful Sunday last week Robert and I asked out Bishop for a blessing this week to help feel less overwhelmed. We never did get around to the blessings, but had a good talk and he came up a possible solution to help Jesse feel more comfortable in church.

Most Sundays, Jesse hates going to church it is a fight each week to get him dressed and ready. Then Sacrament meeting is another battle of trying to keep him sitting quietly for 70 minutes. It ends up being a torture session for him and me. So bishop suggested having him go to sacrament meeting at Annabelle House (a care facility) and then coming to primary when it is time. This will make it so that he only has to sit quietly for about 20-30 minutes, there is less people to overwhelm him, and he can potentially help out as needed with the meeting (Bishop suggested having him pass the mic for testimony meetings). He will be able to take the sacrament like he needs to without having to sit so long when he isn't getting anything out of the meeting.

Yesterday I talked with Jesse about it and he was so excited. He was talking about it today even. This is the first time ever that I have seen him excited to go to church. Brother Lowder (he is in charge of the meetings there) even told him he could help pass out hymn books if he was there a few minutes early which thrilled Jesse. It is so wonderful to see Jesse excited to go to church and hopefully it will be a great solution for this sweet boy!

Heavenly Fathers Blessings

So it is no secret that life around our house can be a struggle, financially, emotionally,etc. Robert works two jobs just so we can stay mostly afloat and I do what I can to supplement while still being home with the children. This year for the preschool has been rough. At the beginning of the year I had a lot of interested and registered students and things look good. I ordered my curriculum to cover all the students and then all but a few pulled out for various reasons. I was left with a lot of expense with not a lot of money coming in to cover it. A few months ago we were blessed with a few opportunities that came to us that have helped to make up the difference and set us more ahead of where we would be with just the preschool.

I am so grateful for the promise I felt when we made the decision 3 1/2 years ago when I quit teaching that if we went to the temple each week we would be ok financially. That has truly happened for us. With each major financial situation since then, we have been blessed to come through it relatively quickly and with help from above.

The Ups and Downs of Life

So this last week has been very challenging with Jesse. In many ways it isn't unexpected because he always struggled with school around the middle of the year, but it makes for some challenging days dealing with it all day, every day.

For example our day on Monday was horrid school wise. It took him 3 hours in the morning to do math, his best subject. He just was so unfocused and distracted. After that I got him through a few short lessons like spelling before lunch. He then left for a few hours with his PSR worker. When he came back it took him 7 hours to complete a reading test mainly because it had several short answer questions and a short essay and he HATES writing. We finally finished the test around 10 at night. I had had it and was very frustrated, but the rule is if he is being defiant he has to finish his school work that day no matter how late. We finally finished all his work at 11:45 at night, close to 15 hours after we first started in the morning. The good part about it was that in the past he would usually be belligerent in his defiance with school work, while that he he just sat and didn't work. I guess you take the good however small.

Several others days have been like that this week, just not the that extreme. Last week however, he did amazing every day in school. I guess so many days we could just find and even playing field so that I could know what to expect. I hate guessing what kind of a day it will be. I know this will never happen, but it is nice to dream I guess.

Teaching Life Lessons

In our home education is very important (as you probably guessed with me being a teacher and having teachers as parents). The expectation in our home has always been A's or B's as acceptable grades. C's are very rarely allowed (when the child is working their but off but is just struggling with content). D's and F's are completely unacceptable!

So with that as background you can imagine the uproar in our home when one of our children came home days before Christmas break with the report of 3 D's!!! I was furious! This child is extremely smart but can be dare I say lazy at times. He wasn't turning in his work. So he got a list of all missing assignments from his teachers and spent all of Christmas break doing the work, regardless of whether it would be accepted or not. He has also been grounded until I have written proof that grades are acceptable again. Has my little angel been happy with mom. No not at all. Especially when additional consequences are added for breaking the grounding rules. However he needs to learn now to be responsible for his work and understand that things are to be completed in the best manner possible (yeah he wasn't happy when I made him redo some work at 10:00 at night so it was done right).

This is new territory for this child as he usually passes all classes without even trying. I guess he just had to test the waters to find out what he could get away with and found out he couldn't. So now the real trial for him will be that if the grades aren't OK at report card time he will lose spring sports (track which he loves). Education will always come ahead of sports. I hope my son has learned his lesson this past month and chooses to work hard to excel instead of fail.

Way To Long!!

So I have not written in a really long time. Mainly because the time I used to blog during is now spent teaching Jesse so it easier to spend two seconds updating Facebook then the time needed to blog. I don't remember if I have written on here yet but we decided to teach Jesse at home through the Idaho Virtual Academy this year. He is doing great with it and we are seeing some great progress with many of his behaviors as a result.

Anyways, in the last few months we had a great but crazy Thanksgiving. The week prior Robert was in a car accident that totalled his car and sent the world upside down with doctors appointment, insurance companies, searching for a cheap car, etc. Well my mom finally found us a car in Pocatello just before Thanksgiving. So we decided to meet in Twin Falls to pick it up from them, sign all the paper work, pay for it etc. So as soon as our Thanksgiving meal was over we got in the car and headed to Twin. We sat in the Subway in Walmart to fill out everything, spent a little time together, grabbed a bite to eat, and headed back home. So as Jesse puts it we spent Thanksgiving driving a long time to go to a store. He wasn't happy about it!

Robert has been recovering and is now down to one chiropractic visit a week. In the beginning it was 3 a week and that really impacted us financially (all the loss of pay to go). I just look forward to getting reimbursed for it in the end.

Christmas was great as well. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with our traditional Shepherd's dinner. This is such a wonderful way to focus on the real meaning of Christmas and brings such a sweet spirit into our home. After all the activities centered around that we headed out looking at lights, put cookies out for Santa and headed to bed. Christmas day was a nice relaxed day spent opening presents and hanging out with our family.

The shepherds making their way to Bethlehem.Faith giving Jesse the family's gifts for him.

Writing the letter to Santa.The search for the green ornament to see who gets to open the first gift.Opening stockings. We are all back in school again now. Tyler is preparing for finals next week and just selected her songs for festival in the spring. Britain, who has been heavily into sports all year, is finally done with sports for a little while and is focusing on his school work. Jesse and Faith keep mom busy each day with school and play for them. Robert is busy as ever always striving to provide for the family. Hopefully it won't take me this long to write again. I will try to be more vigilant!

Faith's New Love!

We found this pink unicorn stick horse and the dollar store and Faith is in love! Her passion for unicorns at full height with this.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Yesterday I took the preschoolers and Jesse to the pumpkin patch. A couple of kids couldn't make it, so there was only a few of us but it was still a lot of fun. We started out with the kids going through the hay bale maze. After the initial traffic jam from the kids on all the groups, they all raced through and had a lot of fun. Then we went and picked pumpkins. I think Jesse and Faith both felt they could only get a pumpkin from the very back of the patch because they both just kept walking without getting a pumpkin. Faith was very choosy about hers as well. Every one I suggested just wasn't quite right. Finally we had to just pick one or go with out so we could head back to where everyone else was.
We ended the adventure with a hay ride around the pumpkin patch. Jesse enjoyed taking pictures on the different colored pumpkins on the way. We had a great time finished the morning with a little shopping before heading home for school.

Gratitude

I am so thankful for the life I have been blessed to lead. It is by no means easy, but it is very fulfilling. I love my wonderful family with all there differences and quirks. It is amazing to watch them grow and become such amazing people.

I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is such a blessing to be able to know my Heavenly Fathers plan for us and to be able to have an eternal family. I love the joy I find in the gospel. I am so grateful for the temple and the opportunity I have to go weekly to partake of the peace and joy there. It truly sustains me through the week.

I am so grateful for the wonderful friends I have. It is such a wonderful thing to be able to turn to them when needed, laugh with them, cry with them, or just hang out instead of working out.

We have been very blessed to find the employment that allows our family to grow and develop through difficult times. It is far from glamorous, but it pays the bills and allows for all our needs.

I am grateful to have the medical assistance that is helping Jesse and Faith with their different medical needs. It is such a joy to see Jesse begin to improve lately and hope that it continues. While I don't know if they will ever be "cured" it is amazing to have only had one ER trip with Faith in the last 2 years instead of 3-4 times a year and to see Jesse improve from hour long (+) meltdowns that were extremely violent to ones lasting minutes instead.

I am so very blessed to have a husband that works so hard and does so much for our family. I love him so much. He is always concerned about taking care of us and is an amazing person.

I am so thankful for the many things I have in my life and for all that the Lord has blessed us with.

Briatin's Birthday or WHAT ANOTHER TEENAGER!!!!!!

Ok so there is nothing that makes you feel old like having multiple teenagers in the house!! On September 3rd Britain turned 13. That evening was crazy with his cross country meet, a baby shower for a friend, and a pack meeting that thankfully was cancelled shortly before it was supposed to start, so we decided to have his birthday celebration the following Saturday. We enjoyed Britain's birthday meal picks that included pancakes, pizza, and shepherds pie. For his activity he decided to go shooting, so we all headed to the shooting range and Robert helped everyone shoot for a few hours before heading back for presents, cake, and ice cream.

Britain was ecstatic to get an mp3 player and some wii games that he played the rest of the evening with Jesse. It was a great day celebrating a wonderful kid. I am amazed how hast they grow up. We love you Brit!!

Pictures will come in the future if I can ever get them off my phone! =P

Time, What's That?!

I have gotten so bad about blogging lately, since summer started and I can't use my camera, I am at a loss. School so far is going good for all the kids. Tyler is loving high school and really enjoys her French class. Britain has had some struggles again so far socially, but is excelling academically like always. Jesse is enjoying the virtual academy, but for mom it depends on the minute how her feelings are about it. Faith is loving preschool still and can never get enough of learning. She most likely will start reading soon as she is ready for it, mom just has to find the time to teach her.

Robert continues to remain busy with work and is working on adding some fun time in as well (it is so hard when you work the amount of hours he does). I am busy with preschool, teaching Jesse, and life. I love my exercise group as they help me maintain my sanity right now in life. Some days I feel like I am hanging off the edge. I am glad I have the knowledge that Heavenly Father know what I can handle, because I think we may differ some days on that issue but knowing he is there gives me some much needed comfort.

Summers End

So the end of summer is here and the older kids are all back to school today. Jesse and Faith will start on Monday. It has been a long and busy summer. We started off with scout day camp, girls camp, and later scout camp. We had a great 4th of July weekend with my family being here. It was a great weekend to remember our great nation. We also kept busy with summer camp for preschool which lasted all but the first week and last week and a half of summer break.

We enjoyed a fun weekend camping with friends. The kids enjoyed riding the four wheelers which was a new experience for them. Britain and Tyler also enjoyed going out on a bunny hunt at night and watching all the guys having fun. Robert was able to join us about 1 in the morning and then went out on a hunt with a few of our friends to end the night.

Lately we have been busy sewing and canning. Tyler made seven dresses for humanitarian aid as a value project and I made four for Faith. We have also been canning alot lately. We canned 26 quarts of apricots, 51 quarts of green beans, 77 quarts of peaches, 8 quarts of tomatoes, and about 40 bags each of frozen corn and zucchini.

It has been a great summer and we are glad to be back at school.

Women's Fitness Celebration

The past few years Tyler and I have participated in the Women's Fitness Celebration. It is so much fun and such a great way to bond as family and friends. Our Healthy Living Enrichment Group has set up a team for the event this year and would like everyone to join us! If you are interested visit www.celebrateall.org to learn more about it and to register. Out team is the CIII Divas. I can't wait to have a great time this year!

15 Years Down, Eternity To Go!

So this past weekend was Roberts and my 15th wedding anniversary. And how did we celebrate it? At the hospital with Faith and home with sick kids. Isn't real life wonderful. What a better way to spend an anniversary though doing the things you do all throughout your marriage! So with all the sleep deprivation and sickness we totally forgot to even celebrate it at all! This was the first time in 15 years that has happened and I have been thinking for months of things to do for this day. How pathetic! I plan to take him out tonight to make up for it though.

So in order to celebrate here are 15 things I love about Robert:
1. He is always very loving to me.
2. He works extremely hard to provide for our family.
3. He is always willing to help anyone out that needs it.
4. He is always willing to help out with the cleaning or anything I need at home.
5. He is always concerned about how I am feeling.
6. He loves being with me.
7. He listens to all my complains.
8. He likes to have fun.
9. He is very tuned into my feelings.
10. He puts up with all my moods.
11. He gives up his plans to go along with what I want.
12. He wants to teach our children strong values.
13. He supports me in my goals and aspirations.
14. He always knows when I just need to have an ice cream break.
15. He loves me and isn't afraid to show it.

Robert I love you so much and am so glad I get to spend my life and eternity with you. Thank you for all you do dor us!
Robert and I while we were dating (1993) Robert and I on our wedding day (1994)

Robert and I in 2006

Robert and I 2009

What a Weekend

So what a weekend we have had. Britain went on Thursday to a three day backpacking/campout with his scout troop. We had several full days in a row where it was nothing but running from one thing to the next. Then the big problems started on Friday afternoon. Robert and I went to the orchard to pick some apricots. Shortly after we got home my throat started to hurt and Jesse and Faith were complaining of the same thing and coughing.

The kids went to bed early, but Faith started having a hard time with her asthma. I started her on her inhaler but as the night went on she was still struggling and couldn't sleep. She climbed in bed with us and could just toss and turn and moan all night. Around 3:30 we decided to take her into the ER since we couldn't get her breathing under control. As we were getting ready she threw up (this is common when Jesse and Faith are really struggling with their asthma) so we hurried and got her a bath before leaving.

Tyler got up before we left and soon after that Jesse was up having a hard time with coughing. Neither of them went back to sleep that night. We ended up being in the ER until about 6:30. Faith received a couple of breathing treatments, had some chest x-rays done, and had a lot of observation time to make sure her oxygen levels were up and stabilized. After her second breathing treatment the respiratory therapist and I were getting nervous as her heart rate jumped to 199. Albuterol raised the heart rate but that is higher than any of us would have liked. After awhile it went back down and she stabilized.

The chest x-rays showed that she had pneumonia which would have caused this asthma attack. Around 6:30 we were released and after no sleep all night we were ready to go home and crash. Robert had church cleaning to go do (he was going to call and say he couldn't make it but when he found out Brother Pack was called in to work he ended up going) so he picked up Tyler and left while I stayed home with Faith and Jesse. We took it easy for most of the day trying to allow the kids to rest.

Tyler went with two of her nonmember friends to the ward party and the stake dance. I was worried about getting her there and since she had invited her friends I didn't think we should cancel. Luckily one of her friends mom volunteered to take the girls to both events.

When Britain got home I found out that he got sick while he was camping also so now we have four of us home sick while Robert and Tyler are still doing fine. Hopefully we can kick this soon and be back to health.

IDVA for Jesse

Well after much thought and struggling I have decided to enroll Jesse in the Idaho Virtual Academy. There are so many pros and cons to this decision, that it has been hard to make. My main reasons for making the change are for social. As he gets older the teasing that he faces will become more aggressive and mean spirited. This teasing them sends him into tantrums where he becomes violent to those around him. Having him at home for school will eliminate the majority of this teasing and help us to control his social situations.

Also Jesse struggles so much with change. By having him home he will no longer have to feel out of control when there is a substitute, a class party, etc. We will be able to structure his day so that his work is broken up throughout the day and interspersed with down time to help motivate him in his work. This has worked well this summer and we plan to continue a similar schedule for the school year.

When I asked Jesse about it he first said it sounded silly, but as I explained it he became excited and said it would be perfect. I am hoping that I will be able to handle this change and that things will go well with it. I figure if it doesn't work out we can also put him back at Wilson. In the very least I will not have to be called to school to help with him, since he will be with me already. That alone will relieve some stress since those calls and subsequent trips to the school are very emotionally draining. However, they will be replaced other stresses of working with Jesse at home.

Jesse has also finally qualified for a PSR (psycho-social rehab) worker who is starting this week with him. She will spend five hours a week helping Jesse to deal with social situations. I am hoping that we will begin to see some great results for him!

Healthy Living Blog

The Healthy Living Enrichment Group has started a blog to keep members undated on workout schedules, announcements, and motivation. Any members please stop by often and any other ward members we would love to have you join us and have a lot of fun with us!

http://caldwell3healthyliving.blogspot.com/