Raising Asher

worth 1000 words

MIA

I've been missing in action for quite awhile.  Sorry about that.  It's just gogogo around here.

Next week we pick up Asher's wheelchair at Vanderbilt.  I'm really excited!  It will be soooo awesome for him to be able to get where he wants to be on his own and explore the house in a totally new way.

Speaking of houses, that is all still on.  Ours is on the market (less than a week in), and we've already put in one offer on another.  It was rejected, but that's quite alright.  God has a plan.  We've looked at several others and just haven't found the right one yet.  There are four more on the list, three of which we haven't been inside of yet.  It's nice to not be in a hurry during this process.

As of next week, we're back down to four days a week of therapy.  The 5-day schedule, with everything else we have going on, was just grueling.  It will be nice to have that day "off" again.

let the good times roll!

Asher's wheelchair is in!

We won't be able to pick it up until mid-October because the clinic is so backed up, but I'm just excited to know that it's there waiting for us.

Watch out, world!

Asher's on the honor roll

For PT, that is!

Okay, so there's not really an Honor Roll.  I made that up.  But, Asher did receive the following progress report the other day:

Progress to date: Asher has made excellent progress with his physical therapy program.  He now sits independently for indefinite periods of time, pivots in sitting, reaches for and obtains a toy and plays with it in upright sitting for indefinite periods.  He can transition to standing from short sitting with hands at an anterior support surface.  He can stand with two hands held.  He will stand in parallel bars and has been observed to take two steps with minimal assistance.  He can transition from floor sitting to supine independently.

Look at all those things our boy can do!  We're very proud of him, and eternally grateful for his two wonderful physical therapists.

One step at a time...

Why not start today?  :)

where has August gone?

I can't believe it's the 17th already.  Eep.

On the update front:
-therapy continues on 5 days a week
-presently there is no OT because of BCBS paperwork issues... this should be all worked out soon
-Asher's wheelchair is not in yet, which is not uncommon
-on the other hand, he has made quite a bit of progress with his standing, so we're temporarily holding off on ordering the walker (woohoo!)
-temper tantrums now involve hurling things to the ground :/
-^he must get that from his daddy because I never had tantrums (okay, that might be is a lie)
-we're attempting to sell our house and upgrade to one with more bedrooms and a bonus room - oh my!

An Interesting Discovery

Transition

We had Asher's Transition meeting with the school system the other day.  The lady who typically runs it was out, so another person stepped in.  We went over our rights, which Chad and I are already both familiar with due to our teaching backgrounds.  Then we talked about specific questions related to Asher.

One of the main ones I've had is where he would be going to school.  We literally live right on a zoning line.  The school we're zoned to (St. B) doesn't have a special needs preschool classroom, so all kids zoned there go to Rossview.  I prefer for Asher to go to the elementary school that's right around the corner, Glenellen.  It's MUCH closer to us than Rossview is, and I'm going to be driving him anyway.  It's looking like it will be possible through Chad's contract, which states:

Teachers may enroll children for whom they are legal guardian in the school nearest to their respective schools of employment, subject to the following conditions: The teacher will submit a written plan for having the child dropped off and picked up at the appropriate times. This report will be submitted to the principal of the school where the child is enrolled at the time of enrollment for his or her approval. No child will be left unattended; and no school employee will assume responsibility for teacher's child either before or after school. The principal of the school in which the teacher wishes to enroll the child will be the approving authority for enrollment. Principals will be held responsible for enforcing the provision at their respective schools. Article XXVI, Memorandum of Agreement, section D (emphasis added)

The closest school to Chad's place of employment is Northeast, which doesn't have a special needs preschool.  The next closest is Hazelwood - also no SN preschool.  The NEXT closest is - you guessed it - Glenellen.

So we shall see.

p.s. a friend pointed out the other day that Glenellen's mascot is a Turtle... how perfect is that!?  Slow and steady wins the race!

Elmo... with a twist

First Bible Study

One thing that is important to us around here is our relationship with God.  Not only is it important... it's the most important aspect of our lives.  As Christian parents, one of our prime responsibilities to Asher is to nurture his own spiritual life.  I realize that it's not quite PC in the age of moral relativism and universal spirituality to take that approach, but it's our view nonetheless.  Asher will, of course, ultimately have to come into that relationship on his own, but we can help to lay the foundation.

I found this devotional Bible the other day and ordered it off of Amazon using some of our Coinstar gift card (did you know that a jar of spare change can add up to $130?  I didn't either!).

I really liked it because there are questions in the margin of each page to encourage active reading, which is so fundamental.  We live in the South - we know all about going to church and believing in God because... well... that's what you do.  We don't want that for Asher.  We want him to develop a genuine desire to learn about God and to grow in a relationship with Christ.  At the end of each story there's a section called Think Pray Live - the applicational part that asks kids to think about what they've read, pray about the topic/issue at hand, and practical ways to live out that principle in their lives.

Needless to say, I really fell in love with it, and I think it's a great choice for Asher's first "big boy" Bible.

Today when we were at Books-a-Million, I came across a companion book called The My First Message Bible Search: Discovering Answers in God's Word.

I almost didn't pick it up because I saw "Bible Search" and pictured a word search book with a Bible theme.  I'm glad I took a glance!  It's actually a Bible study that goes along with Asher's new Bible.  It addresses real life issues for young kids ("When I Don't Want to Go to Bed," "When I Always Want to Get My Way," etc) in a biblical context and breaks it down into little pieces.  It's a perfect resource for early Bible lessons.  Asher is still too young for it right now, but that's okay.  I'm happy to have it waiting in the wings.  To be honest, there are probably plenty of nuggets of truth that I could use for my own life!

Here's a sample of one of the studies if you're interested: