Teaching classes, being a parent, & more

Where have I been, well I have been very busy with lots of things. I promise to start posting more of my scrapbooking work. I will do a post soon that shows all the work I have finished lately. I am going to be teaching a Christmas mini album class at Scrap Happy Sisters http://www.scraphappysisters.com in October. I missed teaching scrapbook classes so I jumped back in. (Again I promise photos will be posted soon.) I took a very long break from teaching classes because I needed to focus my energy on taking care of my children during the summer and deal with some things that related to the business that I closed. In a way, I needed to grieve for what I had lost. I was burnt out creatively and I needed to get back to reality, which unfortunately is often harsh so its doesn't leave much time for scrapping.

I am also helping out with my church's crafting day in October as well. I am supervising some projects and teaching a canvas class (photo to follow.) This is something I am doing for fun because I love the ladies at my church and love all the crafty stuff that we make each year; its kind of our "get-ready-for-the-holidays" crafting day.

What else I have been up to, well being a parent. What that means is dealing with with my daughters and each one is very different. My oldest daughter is struggling to adjust the rigors of 5th grade. She has two folders to keep track of, a daily planner to write in, she has to change classes two times a day, and she is also in band this year in addition to the usual- P.E., Art, Music, Library, & Computers. She has always done well in school but this year she has been struggling to be organized. Its hard to watch your children fail and know that you cannot fix it for them, you can only help them by giving them support and helping them deal with the consequences of their actions. This is the year things get serious for her, she has to learn that from now on this is they way life is going to be. She is going to have to grow up some and take on responsibilities that she doesn't enjoy. While this is a difficult time for her she still maintains her sense of humor, enjoys her favorite activity horse back riding, and is coming along with her flute lessons.

My middle daughter is struggling with reading, but was lucky enough to be put into a special reading program at school that will help her. We are also going to have her eyes checked to make sure her vision isn't giving her trouble. We will be reading, reading, & reading with her at home. Other than her reading troubles she enjoys school and is making new friends and is just a very happy girl. She joined the Shine Your Light Singers this month, we wanted to give her a chance to do several things at once. This group does singing, acting, and dancing; we are very excited to see how she does with it.

My youngest daughter continues to improve in her second year of preschool; her therapists tell me she is making good progress. I have to say how thankful I am that the state and school district I live in provides my daughter with so much assistance. I have not talked about my youngest daughters diagnosis on my blog a lot but I think it's important. Just in case you are new to my blog I will explain what I am talking about. Our youngest daughter was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2006. Most people know what Autism is but not what Austism Spectrum Disorders are and to be honest I cannot describe what they are in a short sentence other than to say that our daughter's particular disorder gives her trouble with sensory input and she has a moderate speech delay. If you want the full story e-mail me and I will share.

Back to my point. Our daughter has 5 therapists that work with her. She has an Occupational Therapist, a Speech Therapist, and Music Therapist that work with her at home 1 hour each week (that's 3 hours of therapy a week if y'all are counting.) At Preschool, she has a Speech Therapist and an Occupational Therapist that work with her and her classmates. Let me tell you how often I thank God for these therapists. I don't think I can say how much they mean to me and our family. These women (her therapists) are a very dedicated people who love children and give all they can to help their students succeed.

I am complimented all the time on how well my daughter is doing and always respond they same way- I don't do the work my daughter does. I review with her and put in place the work that her therapists have given me. I like to think that the best thing I have done for my daughter is to love her just as she is and try to have her live up to the same expectations that I have for her sisters. We also believe in helping others so we decided to join the Austism Society of the America this year. We are trying to raise money for Autism Society of America so if you are feeling generous go to our donation page today: http://www.autism-society.org/site/TR/Events/newsite-norightcolumn?px=2179173&pg=fund&fr_id=1040

Wow are you exhausted from reading this post, sorry if you are but thanks for listening!