Grace Kylaa Elizabeth

Miss G is the cutest thing. She is spunk and personality plus. She can wrap you around her finger. She has the strongest will. Her favorite color is pink. Her second favorite color is pink. Her favorite princess is a toss up between Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. She is going to be 4 years old next month. We are truly thankful for her. She was the blessing that came a long when we weren't expecting one.

Busy Month

I have kind of been a slacker this month when it comes to my blog. Things have been so crazy busy. At the beginning of the month, I returned to mentoring through the department of children and family services. I was just recently assigned a case so I am anxious to get the case going and meeting with the family. Mark's schedule at work has been horrendous. So, I have had to pick up where he was doing things. The kiddos have done alright with his schedule, but at times I can tell they are very concerned where their daddy is. My work schedule has been nice. Three days on and four days off. Although, I must admit that I have to cram 5 days into 3 so it is a little busy. When I get to work I am "on" until I walk out the door. There is no down time even during lunch. I am almost at full capacity in both my classes. I have 12 in the morning now and 10 in the afternoon. So it is defiantly "busy" to say the least and exhausting. The kids are finally calling me by my name or "teacher Carissa" now instead of "mommy" or "teacher". It has only taken 6 months. I see a lot of progress being made and I am proud of my little brood. I have 7 moving on to kindergarten next year, so that will be sad to see them go at the end of the year, but it means I have to revise 7 more IEP's to account for the new time that they will have in "big school" as we refer to it.

I had the opportunity to help out in Luke's classroom this month. It was fun and "eye opening" to say the least. I wish I would have made it in there sooner, but my job would not afford me that luxury. You can learn so much by just watching. I could tell that he was in the lowest reading group. Which isn't much of a surprise. He also nagged the teacher for nearly constant attention. He is always looking for feedback and reassurance that he is doing a good job. I know that characteristic stems from the 3 moves he had in caregivers in his first year of life. He often becomes anxious or worried about many situations. He requires constant reinforcement from Mark and I. He is growing up too fast. He will be 6 years old next month. Don't blink because before you know it they are BIG!!!!

Children's Program

On Monday Luke is going to the Children's Program over in Portland for a full assessment and evaluation. I have waited a long time for this appointment. The assessment costs $1100.00. Thank goodness for health insurance.

They are going to look at him in the areas of ADD/ADHD, evaluate him for FAS/FAE and look at his microcephaly. I really have no expectations for this appointment and I am really unsure what to expect. I am hoping that they provide information that will be benifical to his educational placement next year. I guess I am just hoping to have a better understanding of him as a learner. We will see. It is another first for me. With Luke it is always a first.

30 Hour Famine

Our youth group is getting ready to participate in the 30 hour famine. This is an international event for young people to raise money to help hungry children. I can remember being in youth group and participating in this event. It is truly a wonderful thing. Do you know that everyday 26,000 children under the age of 5 die from preventable causes like hunger, poverty and disease? That is down 10,000 children from 10 years ago. When Mark and I started doing 30 hour famine for the first time it was 36,000 children dieing each day. World Vision is making a difference. If you want to make a difference you can make a donation to the cause. $1 can feed 1 child for a day. $30 dollars can feed 1 child for a month and $360 dollars can feed 1 child for a year. If you would like to learn more about this cause go to www.30hourfamine.org Check out the video below.

"Let us not love with words and tongue but with actions and truth."