Michelle's Baptism Photos

This morning I took Miss Michelle down to the Temple to take a few photos of her in her baptism dress.  I cannot believe that she is almost old enough to be baptized!!  She is one beautiful girls who is simply growing up too fast.  

Family Pictures

So....we finally got around to getting our family pictures done and I am so glad that we did.  I cannot believe how big all of the children are getting.

Scripture Study

One of the things that I felt was important to do with our children prior to them being baptized is to read the Book of Mormon with them and discuss it.  Well, Miss Michelle is set to be baptized on November 3rd and we are well on our way.  We are a couple of chapters away from finishing 2 Nephi!  Poor Mason was so tired tonight that I think it's safe to say that he didn't quite make it through.  Oh well.  We'll keep pushing through it! :)

We Are Still Here

So it has been a little while since I have last posted. I'm a slacker what can I say. Things have been going really good for our family. All of the children have adjusted really well to church and school. Mason received student of the month his first month. Michelle earned a lunch with the Principal. Both Mason and Saige have started transitioning into a mainstream classroom. ALL children happily go to their classes on Sunday. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for things to go any more smoothly than they have. As far as the progress on the house goes that is moving along too. In fact we are set to close on the 15th of next month. We are so excited and can hardly believe that it's almost time. There will be a lot of changes once we move as far as decor goes and also living arrangements. The boys will be sharing a room as well as the girls. I don't think that they will mind, especially since they really don't spend all that much time in their rooms. I think that we will not see them for a while when we move as they will have so much space to play and have their toys back!  

Speaking of toys today I ordered a few products that will hopefully help little Miss Saige with her oral fixations as well as help with positive reinforcement for all of the children.  The first thing I ordered for her was a chew butterfly that I can make into a necklace for her.  You see she is constantly chewing on things and/or having her hands, hair, clothes, or whatever in her mouth.  This chew as well as the triangle shaped one should help her with this.  

Next up I ordered this awesome chips system for the children.  Each tube can hold up to 35 chips and on the outside of them you can set a goal for the child so that they have a visual for them to achieve.  I can't wait to hand out chips for helping, using manners, making good choices, etc.  I am really hoping that this system works!

A Sensory Room

We will have a room in our new house that we are thinking of dedicating to a sensory room for the children, especially Mason and Saige.  With Mason, we have a good idea of various types of equipment that would work well for him.  With Saige we have no idea.  Perhaps once she starts therapy services we can figure some things out.  Here are some things that I have found so far that I think might work!  First up a tent of some type that way they can have some sort of confinement in as well as bring in a flashlight, books, blanket, etc.  

Next up is some type of swing.  I'm not sure that this one will work because I want him to be able to sit on it and lay on it.  He utilizes this a lot in therapy.  He will have to lay on his tummy and use his muscles to "go fishing" for toys.  Not sure that this particular swing would provide all that he needs.
This next chair I think is cool.  Not only can he go inside it and fold down the canopy but it also swivels.  All of the children love to be pushed around on a desk type chair.
This little trampoline wannabe looks fun and has great reviews.  

I also want to make a stretchy blanket and need to make a weighted blanket.  Also a ball pit will be in the works as both Saige and Mason really benefit from these.  Thinking of doing a little reading corner as well.  I've seen a lot of sensory rooms with lava lamps...that could be relaxing and calming too.  There are so many options.  I know that it probably sounds crazy to be putting all of this into a house, but we really want to create a space that can be utilized by them to help them calm down and hopefully one day they will just go in there on their own and realize that these things help them to calm and regain control of their bodies.  Not to mention that we are looking to find therapy offices that will be closer to our new home and 95% of the OT's are home based.  I really don't want to do home-based because I know that Mason uses the larger equipment that is found in a clinical setting.  This may help in bridging that gap too.

Homeschool Curriculum for Sale

I am selling the following:
* Saxon Math Homeschool Manipulatives Kit (retails for $64 will sell for $30)
* Nancy Larson Science Kit 1 (retails for $225 will sell for $100)
* Math U See Primer Instructional Manual and DVD (retails for $30 will sell for $15)
* Math U See Manipulative Block Set (retails for $35 will sell for $20) {I have 2 sets of these.}

Time to Spill the Beans...

Well I figured that now was just as good as any to share some really big news! We are moving. Surprised? Probably not. Anyhow, here's the scoop. Mason and Saige have both been diagnosed with Autism and quite frankly what the school district out here where we live just was not going to cut it for us. Mason was going to be placed in a self-contained classroom with MR children and we felt like he really wouldn't be academically challenged, and therefore would become bored and get into trouble. Miss Saige, who mind you didn't speak to her teacher at all her first year of preschool, was going to be placed in a mainstream classroom and pulled out for speech therapy. Um, you are going to put a child that hasn't said two words to a teacher in two years in a classroom of 23+ children with 1 teacher and you expect her to be fine. Good luck with that! Anyhow, to say that we were not enthusiastic about these two "solutions" would be an understatement. So we got looking into what we could do. I know that these children are bright and can be taught anything. However, I also know that I cannot even come close to providing them with the social aspect that they would be receiving at a school. So we were determined to get them into the very best program possible. My sister in law works over in the Litchfield Elementary School District and has had nothing but good things to say. So, we checked into it and they have a wonderful program. Just as important to me is how enthusiastic and genuine the vice president of special education was. I was really impressed with her. Her excitement for the programs they offer and for the progress the students have made was undeniable. Now the problem was how to get them in. We tried a variance but no luck there. We found a home that we were going to rent for a year and thought we were good....until we found out that we can qualify for another home right now. There was a home that we had in mind and now that we were pre-qualified we jumped on it. So, we signed papers this past week and the home should be ready in about 4-5 months. This home has just about everything that was important to us. Large lot (1/3 of an acre), enough room for our family (4 bedrooms), had to be a single level, beautiful kitchen, and I am so stoked that my car will fit in the garage! It's the simple things in life! :) So there you go. Probably too much for one post but hey that's my life! :)