Springtime and a new chapter begins

Around our house, there always seems to be a new chapter beginning either in the sense of reading a new book to the boys, or our lives have taken another turn in some way or another. Today I have done some reflecting on life in general and reviewing my writing on this blog. On a side note, my house is filled with the wonderful smell of fresh picked lilac's, and it has brought me much joy every time I walk by it. I started this blog before Josiah turned 2 yrs old. I feel like you have been on this wild journey with us since almost the beginning. It has turned our lives upside down and all around and tossed us every which way, but we always seem to find the path God has set before us.

Over the last several months of Kindergarten for Josiah, it has been a similar roller coaster ride. Thinking back I am wondering if he ever really liked his class, because it seems there have been so many incidents that I just simply lost count. I do realize that Josiah is not the easiest child, and that could be an understatement, but when you get through the hyper, loud, and boisterous exterior to see the tender-hearted boy that I know and love... you'll know that you've met someone really special. Well, I don't believe that his teacher has ever reached that far into Josiah's soul to the amazing little person he is. She has always been negative, and I have met with her countless times after school for various reasons. More recently though there have been more anger outbursts and I began digging deeper into what is really happening in class.

I have not liked one bit of what I have discovered. It starts with him being reprimanded in front of the class for doing every day 5 yr old things, to taking away my son's only drink for the whole day(can you say torture), then to making him sit on a rock and watch all the other kids play at recess because he was not able to finish the 3 pages she set before him. Seriously lady! He has an IEP for a reason and she even says so herself that she does not follow his individual plan because it doesn't fit into her class. No wonder the poor thing runs out of class every morning when I try to drop him off and curls into a ball in the hallway and refuses to be in class. I am his safety! I personally would cling to me too!

After several meetings after school and during school, and with the teacher, and Josiah's special helper, and even the Principal, it seems there is no resolution coming from the school. I only see things perpetuating, even though it is near the end of the year, we are talking about Josiah's well being, and currently his emotional state is a wreck. He needs to be safe, I need him to be safe, so that takes us to our next chapter... homeschooling. We feel that is where God has led us to at this point in his life. It is not indefinite. We would like to eventually get him back into school, but for now he will continue to stay home with me.

He will start some occupational therapy this week, and I plan to take the boys swimming once a week as well, plus we have church 2 times a week so that will encourage more healthy relationships. I have many fun units planned already for Josiah, one we have already started with a trip to the zoo to pick a favorite animal and have been doing studies and reading books about them since. Just in the 3 days I have had him home with me, we have noticed a considerable less amount of anger, he smiles more and seems more his happy-go-lucky self, and he's safe! One big thing I noticed is that he has complained significantly less of stomach aches, the complaints have not stopped all together though. We still occasionally get the night-time stomach ache after a stressful afternoon playing with the neighbor kids, but for the most part he is feeling better! This in itself is an awesome thing for him, as he has fought with GERD pretty much his entire life! (We also still have him on a no-milk diet, that helps alot!) Our hope is that he will soon not have to take medication to control the stomach issues. But... one thing at a time.

If anyone is wondering, Jacob is absolutely loving having Josiah back home with us as well. We sit down to read our simple reader books, and I always have one boy on each side of me as I point to the words in the book. I have realized what an amazingly fast learner my little Jacob is and it has blown me away. After just a few pages, Josiah was still struggling through the same words over and over, and Jacob had already memorized the words and would say them as I pointed to them, if Josiah didn't say them first! It was so incredibly awesome! My 3 yr old was reading/memorizing (whatever you'd like to believe) words! I love that little boy's drive to learn and his insane amounts of energy... well I'm still learning to love that part. :-)

Thanks for continuing on our journey and I hope you stick with me for this next chapter, the wild ride has not ended yet folks! Hold on tight... hear comes more twists and turns!
Blessings to you and yours!