I will love him and squeeze him and rub his fur the wrong way and I will call him George.

So George, the dog grew on us. We decided to keep him, or Jason decided to keep him. He is really sweet and calm. The kids love him! Jacob has even taken part in his care. He takes him outside to do his business. I of course pick it up for now. I took him to the vet on Friday to have him treated for worms. The aren't really sure what he is but they think he will be a medium sized. Right now he is 5lbs at 7 weeks old. He will be around 30lbs when he is full grown. We think it is good news we wanted a smaller dog if we ever choose to get one. I have another appointment this Friday to have his full spectrum exam including heart worm prevention, flea treatment and and he will be fixed. Right now we have managed to keep the house flea free even with the cat, so now he is good and we plan to keep it that way.
He seems to be a pretty smart dog and catching on quickly. He has had very few accidents in the house and he even has started to go to the door when he needs to go out. The biggest problem we have is the chewing. Not unexpected but aggravating. We have had to puppy proof the house and make available lots of things he can have.
I am defiantly the dominate dog as well as being his rescuer. He seems to listen when I get on to him or call him. Jason has a harder time getting him to come when he calls him. We will work on us being more equal. We haven't put him on a leash so far and he hasn't needed it. He won't leave the yard so I am taking advantage of this and starting to train him on commands like heel, sit and stay. I am so surprised at how well he is doing! I don't expect perfection by no means but he is getting it for sure.
Our neighbors have a smaller dog, he is about 15lbs and we have been getting them together a lot. They both play well together. So socializing is going well also. He is a great dog in the making. I know I can do this with a little time and patience.

I found A dog!

I am not really sure what to do with him yet! He is as cute as a button. I was looking into getting one for Jacob, but This one looks like he may be bigger than we were looking at. I brought him home with me and fed him and gave him some water. He was in much need of some TLC, so I gave him a bath and he has been in my lap ever since. We may end up keeping him, I don't know yet. Here is a picture of him. It didn't turn out well because of the lighting in my bathroom and he is all black. But It will give you a glimpse of what he looks like. Any suggestions or offers to take him home let me know!.

Today's evaluation

Jacob had his final evaluation today at the Nelson building to see if he qualified for ESE (Exceptional Student Education). We were going to try to get him into the Asperger's/Autism class at Lucile Moore. After I gave them the report from Dr. Decker and observing him for them selves they decided that he probably wouldn't fit in that class although there has to be a meeting among the teachers and other ESE staff to determine that, it was their first recommendation to me. Again he is in between, to highly functioning to be in a special class, and to advanced and has other difficulties to be in a main stream class. So what they think they will do for us now is get him into a special class a step above the autism class and see how that goes for the remander of the year. And maybe a mainstream room for kindergarten. They have the same fear that I do that he is far to intelligent to be mainstream and it will be beneath him. Then we will be back where we started, Jacob being frustrated and, bored and not know how to deal. I had high hopes for today's visit and they really are going to try to help him and find a place that will be good for him. I may have to continue to home school him so he can be on the learning level he needs, but I know he will be devastated, he yearns to be with other kids. I guess we will see how the rest of this year goes at Cedar Grove if they choose to let him in. I now know that private school is out of the question because of his disability, but I did request him to be put into the lottery at Bay Haven next year. We will just have to trust in God that he will guide us in the right direction and open the doors that need to be opened. He has already opened so many for us.
Now for Julia, she went to her second speech therapy appointment this morning and I got the report from the therapist. She diagnosed Julia with Severe Phonological Processing Disorder/Articulation Impairment. She will need to see an ENT to see about why she has the speech problems that she has. So for now she will go to therapy 3 days a week for 30 minutes and we will be working with her a lot at home as well.
That's all for now, until tomorrow. Good day and God bless.

Today we went to Queenie's house to have lunch with my family for Julia's birthday. They are all so generous. She enjoyed opening the last of the presents and hearing the "Happy Birthday" song for one last time.
Jacob had a good time playing with the neighbor Ryan. The two boys played baseball outside with Uncle T while the rest of us just sat around and enjoyed each others company.
I love this picture of Jacob, The look on his face is priceless!








Jason took Jacob camping tonight in his grandpa's back yard while Julia gets to spend the night with Aunt Linda and Granny Jay inside. Jacob is pretty excited about a bon fire and sleeping outside in a tent. Julia is excited to play tea party and dress up with her new stuff with the ladies. So that's all for today. I will let you all know how things went tomorrow.
Good night and God bless.

I am no baker!

For the last two years we have been letting the kids bake cakes for each others birthdays. I am no baker but If I must say so my self when I do bake it is pretty tasty! Every bite is full of love!
So today Queenie picked up Julia from school and I had Jacob all to myself today. Since we are getting together with family tomorrow for her big birthday celebration he asked if we could bake a cake today. We went to the store and I let him pick it all out himself. He wanted a pink cake, cream cheese icing, lots of colored sprinkles, flowers and tiny hearts.
We get home and started the process.
After we baked it it was time to decorate. The best part! He always has an idea of what the cake should look like for his sister. He may not get along with her but when it comes to doing something nice for her, he is all about. He wants to go all out.
He put a lot of thought into the placement of each little heart and told me where to put the flowers.

Then he kinda went crazy with the sprinkles!
But he was happy with the results.
And he said "Julia is going to just love her cake, I made it just for her!"
I know she will love it too. He is so sweet and has so much love in his heart, even though it doesn't always come out. I love my sweet little man. God has blessed us with two wonderful children.

It's been a while

I know I haven't posted in a few days but there hasn't been anything going on.
Julia's 3rd birthday was Monday and we made some cupcakes for her and had them for dessert. She loved it! She doesn't mind being the center of attention. She is so different from Jacob.
One of her presents was a FurReal Pet. An orange kitten. I really thought she would like it, not so much. Jacob saw it and went nuts! He loves it so much. When Julia noticed that Jacob liked it she saw her opportunity to torment him. She asked him "Do you want to play with my kitty Jacob?".
When he said yes she tossed it across the room and told him to go get it. When he got it she snatched it from him and said "That's my kitty! Give it back to me!" He was crushed but he did it every time! So after I saw that happen five or six times I went on a hunt to find another kitten. I started my serch at Target thinking surley they will have lots! WRONG! They had none. Then next door to Toys R Us. No kittens! Then to 23rd street Wal-Mart, not a single one. Finally to Super Wal-Mart ONE LEFT! So I grabbed it and went home only to find Jacob in bed heart broken because He did not have a kitten and Julia didn't even like hers. I really wanted to cry with him. SO I went into his room with him and gave him the kitten that I found for him. He was so happy I really thought that he was going to cry! He held back the tears as he cuddled his kitten. About an hour after that I found him in bed sleeping cuddled up to the kitten.

I am not usually one to cater to my kids every whim but in this instance I couldn't help it. He is so seldom so happy about things. I am glad I did it. He has had that kitten with him everywhere he goes for four days! He hasn't let it out of his sight.

Tuesday Julia had her 3 year check up and everything went well except Dr. Kenawy suggested we take her to speach therapy. So we did that yesterday morning. I was suprised at how quick you can get in with a referal from the doctor! Turns out that she has a pretty bad speach problem and needs to go a minimum of 3 days a week. She will have to have her hearing checked also and possibly have her adnoids out. The type of speach she has indicates that she has a hearing problem. On a better note, her vocabulary comprihention and usage is on a 5 year level. I have no idea where my kids got their intellagence from but both of them are pretty smart.
So that's all for now. I am about to get us ready to go to The Junior Musuem. I will let you know more whein I find out more.
God bless!

2009 is here and we have a chance for a new beginning.

Wow 2009! It's a chance for us all to start off fresh. The past year was so full of trials and triumphs for our family. I am looking forward to what God has in store for us this year. He has made me a stronger person with every obstacle in my way and given me a chance to see through them all and see Him.
I am so very thankful for the friends I have made in 2008 and excited about the prospect of new ones in 2009. Without them I don't know if I would be able to see God's plan. They helped me to see that He was there and a reason for what I was going through.
As for Jacob I see hope for his future. He has an appointment January 12 for an evaluation to see if he can attend Lucile Moore's Asperger's class this year. And he will also start going to a support group with kids like him. He is such an amazing boy and I want the best for him and the ability for him to thrive! I have been praying for a school that was right for him and then God just gave me the answer. In just the past few months it seems like we have been on a roller coaster full of ups and downs. We got so much "bad news" then all good news. I just know that this year will be great!
With God on my side how can I go wrong? With that asked I have to remember to remain faithful. After all when I look back at the years past, it was when I was not faithful was when life was off track and as soon as I looked to Him for the answers he guided me home.

For those of you who don't know I attend a woman's bible study group on Wednesday mornings. We have studied many different subjects and I have always enjoyed each one. The next one will be on Philippians. I read it today and was in awe of the faithfulness that Paul had even in prison he praised God. I cane across one verse that struck me and I intend on keeping it near to me throughout all of my hard times. "for I know that through all your prayers and with all the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance." Philippians 1:19. Truer words have never been spoken.
My goal for 2009 is to be more like Paul full of Christ.
Until tomorrow, God bless.