Our 6th Blessing Abigail was born early May by emergency C-section. There was not enough fluid for her in my womb, so it was safer to bring her out early! Pregnancy was complicated by Pre-eclampsia and Gestational Diabetes. She weighed 4 pounds 11 oz. Of course this last year has been busy! Abigail will be a year old next month! She now weighs about 17 pounds! Brynnonn’s journey with his medication for Epilepsy has improved in some ways and others worsened. The Epilepsy seems well controlled by the medication, however he still has myoclonic activity while sleeping. The Danny Did Foundation was wonderful, and provided us with a Seizure Monitor free! This made it possible for Brynnon to sleep in his own bed! I spent three months on the sofa bed with Brynnon and Abigail as he was having Grand Mal’s at night while sleeping. Some nights he would not have one and some nights he would have 1-3. Brynnon has a page on my facebook to raise awareness of SUDEP, which without Danny Did we would have not known about. He also wants to raise money for Danny Did to help others get an EMFIT alarm that cannot afford it. His goal is $2,000 by Oct. 19th, the date of his last known Long Grand Mal that sent him the the ER by ambulance. They lost their little Danny to SUDEP at the tender age of 4. They created The Danny Did Foundation to create awareness for SUDEP which doctors do not talk about.

Here we are… Expecting “surprise” our Sixth Child! Whew, at 38 this is sure harder than I expected! We have been through some drama, these past few months. Here is a summery:
Last year I had breast cancer symptoms in Jan, Hubby was laid off in Feb., we moved back to LA in March, had a clear mammogram in April, Positive Pregnancy test in late August, Stressful financial disaster looming all year… I went to the breast surgeon for a followup on the Dec. 21st. She said that since the mammogram was clear & since the symptoms had stopped, that it was fine to wait to followup until after the baby is born. I went to my OB Doc on the 25th and mentioned that I had felt a lump. Back to the breast surgeon Jan. 4th. She could feel the lump (I still think it is a clogged milk duct). She insisted, so I had to have a repeat mammogram and ultrasound. The mammogram and ultrasound do show a mass, but it is unclear as to whether it could a be residual from an infection or a cancerous growth. They decided to re-evaluate it on Feb 2nd, and decide then whether to biopsy or not. I got a call to go back to the OB office Thursday. My Quad test came back showing 1 in 10 for Down Syndrome. They did an ultrasound to check for signs of down syndrome, and said “She” has no signs of DS. The Dr. then realized that somehow the lab had my due date wrong by 6 weeks, which had offset the results. He said it will be a lot less when it comes back correctly calculated. So, if we can just get a clear mammogram/ultrasound all will be well. It has been a stressful and trying time, to say the least! We are all excited about her being a girl, as our oldest child who was our only girl will be 20, followed by the four boys 18, 14, 10 & 5 when she is born. I can see why our Abba Father would give us a baby now, I believe she will bring healing and much joy to our family. We have endured so much the past two years. The death of our first Grandchild, Kaylynn (May her memory always be for a blessing), the layoff, move and gee nothing seems to have gone right! I remember having hard times before, but this is different. I suppose it was easier when our family was smaller and certainly when we had closer family and friends. My extended family has just fallen apart over the 18 years after Momma’s murder. Perhaps, it is this way in all families, but I sure do miss the love & closeness I once felt with them all.
So… Here we go, onward into 2010, with great anticipation for what our Father has in store. Much faith has gotten us this far. We know that when our Father began a good work in us many years ago, He will be faithful to complete it!

~Denise

The educational goal for every child is Learning, whether this be through the public school or home school. To loose focus on the primary goal with the worries of being behind or staying on schedule is the greatest distraction from the goal.
Praise, Praise, Praise… Not enough can be said about the wonderful effects of praise. Zigler made a profound discovery in handicapped students. They have to be allowed to feel success! This process of praise will not just make the child feel good, it also helps the child to depend on cues based on self-reliance, motivate them to success and also produce the desire to do better than expected.
Time… Simply put, more time has to be allowed for a Learning Disabled child to not only perform but also test and retain information taught.
Rules… Most handicapped children perform best when they know the rules, what will and will not be tolerated.
Mills suggested an informal procedure to find the teaching method that works best for the child. Basically in this model you teach the child ten words three different ways. Using the Kinesthetic, Phonic & Auditory and Visual Methods. This is effective in finding the best method in which to teach any child. It makes sense that since Brynnon scored well in verbal comprehension that he is best taught using the Phonic & Auditory method. He is doing well using this method along with the AVKO Sequential Spelling program, which is actually used with Dyslexics. Linguistics is also working with Brynnon. From the start I found that the old 1960’s Merrill Linguistic Readers worked with Brynnon. I had no idea why, until I found that the new Merrill Reading Program, also linguistic is highly recommended for Learning Disabled children. We will be starting the Dig In book next week and I am excited about the skills book!
After all the lost sleep, worry, stress, searching and begging for answers… I found the answer was in me all along. To meet Brynnon where he is, being intellectually behind, that means to meet Brynnon at his level, in hopes to bring him forward. To bring out the best in him and encourage confidence in his own ability so that he can begin to rely on himself or the clues around him to get the answers he seeks. I am his Mom, and he is a wonderful gift on loan to me by the Father. It is after all the greatest gift I could ever be given, a child in which the Father has blessed me with that will require me to think outside the norm, which is what I do best!