Catch Up

Sorry It has been so long since I last posted. As my friend Nichole said "I have fallen off the blogging wagon!" Life with 3 kids is never stress free but I need to learn to take some time to reflect and this will be a great way to do that. This will just be a catch up of what's been going on. I have been subbing still and loving it. The downside is I have not been doing it very often. The system is overloaded with subs because of the layoffs of Dallas teachers. I guess now the district has too many subs. I still have "regulars" that call me but I need more work. My hope was to get an aide position in the fall to get my foot in the door but those are getting cut too. Scary time.

The kids are doing great. I am room mom for Curt's 4th grade class so I was in charge of his valentine party. Crazy but fun! I mentioned Heath (Curt's friend who has autism) in my previous post. This is a picture of the two of them. The other one is Curt and his teacher--notice how Curt is almost as tall as she is!!

This weekend we went to Pizza Planet and celebrated Emma's end of the season for basketball. The kids had a blast. There were roller coasters, pirate ships, bumper cars and games! The season for both Curt and Emma will start up again in a couple weeks so we are enjoying the break :)

Because of Ted...

Today's entry may be a little deep.. so I apologize up front. For those who know I lost my brother on February 9, 2002. Because the anniversary is coming up this time of year is always hard. I have learned so much about life between then and now. The only thing Ted wanted is for people just to treat him like everyone else. He always told me that when people didn't it was because "they were just afraid of what they didn't know". He always believed people just needed to be educated. I think Ted still speaks to us. Which leads me to Emma's best friend..you see Emma's best friend is Rachel who happens to have down syndrome. The two of them are inseparable. Rachel's mom has told me some very mean things that other girls have said and done to Rachel. Emma is always defending her friend. Not because she has down syndrome but just because she is her friend. I love Emma's heart so much. Did she just happen to be this way? Of course I taught her at a very early age to be accepting of everyone but there is something deeper there. Curt has it too. A certain spirit in them. Teachers have commented to me how unusual it is for kids their age to help so many special needs kids so often. There is a boy name Heath in Curt's class that has autism. He will not talk to anyone and does not like to be touched. Well, his aide told me that all year Curt has been working with Heath; reading with him, sitting with him at lunch, including him in games at PE. Just on Friday Heath actually hugged Curt before he left for the day. His aide told me this was a real breakthrough. Did Curt just happen to be this way? No, I think Ted speaks to Curt and Emma and Colin; educates them, whispers to them that we are the same in God's eyes. We are all beautiful...we all need the chance to be part of the world without the stares. Thank you, Ted. They are listening.