Medical Update

Well...it has certainly been a while since I have been able to post. Life is so busy, especially with 2 special-needs children...but all 3 of the boys are incredibly special! To summarize our summer...all 3 boys, once again, made the All-Star Baseball Teams. Aaron, however, was pulled from his team after their 1st tourney game by his father. It seems that the words he & Aaron's coach had were not kind, and although the coach acknowledged that Aaron was the best Catcher, he still would be playing the other child instead (even though he stank & was injured!)...we personally feel that the coach was intimidated by the other boy's daddy...he was scary. It broke my heart to see Aaron, just sit there waiting to play the game he had so faithfully been practicing for, not to mention, I was missing Matthew's games. Please let this be a lesson to all...don't "baby" or treat special needs children different because of their diagnosis, but treat them fair, because of their uniqueness & awesome talents they have! The boys' tourneys went well....then to Fall Baseball. Aaron had one of the 2 BEST coaches in the world! And get this...the boys on the team actually learned some fundamental basics! Yippee!! Chris was Matthew's coach, after being done very dirty by a "friend", but it ended up being the most amazing Fall season we have ever had! Super team, parents, coaches & players!!! (Especially the Scorekeeper...me! LOL) Zack found out this Fall that he can PITCH & CATCH! So now, he truly is a "Utility Player"...and is able to play any position his coach needs him to...although he prefers to NOT play 'sitting on the bench'. Almost forgot...Zack & Aaron went to Camp @ The WILDS in Brevard, NC...and had a wonderful time. Aaron went this year un-medicated! We tried to give him & Matthew's bodies a break from meds this summer. Their EOG test results were by far the most impressive yet, so this homeschool thing must be making some progress! LOL...Zack & Matthew both scored well, in the 90%s, and Aaron made the highest possible score the IOWA Standardized Test can issue! Thank God for their intelligence! Moving right along to the present... It is now November. For the past 6-8 weeks, Aaron has become more and more reclusive, yet more aggressive, violent, & volcanic, to say the least. The sad thing is, he no longer cares to whom he lashes out at. His violent tendencies are becoming not only more increasing, but sometimes seem to be constant some days. He calls us names & curses, using words that I was an adult before I even knew what they meant. He throws objects, hits, punches, kicks, pinches...and would make the Tasmanian Devil look like Tinkerbell! His obsession with weapons is at an all-time high, thus leaving us with no other choice, but to remove them from the house, until we can afford a sizable safe with a combo lock. Weekly, we have to stop him from trying to jump out of the 2nd story window, or climbing onto the roof. We have to search under his mattress and remove razors, knives, matches, lighters, & anything else he turns into a weapon of mass destruction, as we refer to them. We have had to remove the baseballs & bats from inside, so he doesn't bash anyone's head in...it is a daily struggle that has taken it's toll the past couple of months. And school?! No such luck! I work about once a week with him, usually one-on-one, to get him caught up, but he is just not interested...even in the fun things! I know he is bored & I try to skip things that he truly knows, but can't skip 5th Grade, until I know he has what he needs to advance. Matthew, too, is struggling with school, but mainly because of distractions within the harmony of our home. He is super smart & really is more independent with his studies than I give him credit for. I just love teaching him new things...what can I say? However, nothing ever strikes him as "new"...he just somehow already knows what I am talking about. Great student! Zack's school is going well...9th Grade homeschool is not as intimidating as it sounds! He is an excellent, independent learner, as well. A little lazy, but aren't we all, from time to time?! He adores Marine Biology & Oceanic Studies...and I am fostering that...just in case the MLB makes an unwise decision by not signing him as soon as they can! Back to Aaron--yesterday, we went to his psychiatric counselor, who is like one of our family now. She is as deeply concerned about him as we are, in fact, she reminded him that she prays for him every night...but Aaron didn't seem to find any comfort in that, at least not outwardly. She is leaning toward him having Schizophrenia, by the recent decline in his mental health. There is only 1 person in Pitt Co. that does these kinds of health assessments, and it is extremely costly...but my God shall supply all my needs, according to what my Bible says. We are also fortunate that she was able to get Aaron in with the other doctor @ her practice on Monday! Talk about a miracle! She got out "insurance issues" straightened out as well! Needless to say...she not only on the Christmas card list...but on our Gift list, too! LOL So...that is where we are...idle until Monday afternoon @ 4pm...Lord willing, Aaron will not do anyone any bodily harm until then. He did shut himself in the dryer this morning...but we have a smart appliance that will not start with an unusually heavy load inside. Thank God for another blessing! So...will try to update as quickly as I can, once we return from the doctor Monday...and more often, as we venture into a new realm of psychiatric adventures. Please keep our family in your prayers, that we might be used of God, to be witnesses for Him in all we do, for His glory, not our own.

Spring Wind Up

Well, Aaron & Matthew's Spring (regular) baseball season is over...now we await the announcements for the All-Star teams...I pray they make it this year. Poor guys were handed a lemon of a coach, whom I suppose I will assume the responsibility of firing. He was and remains such a loud-mouthed, "know-it-all" jerk, whom is easily manipulated by every breeze of desention that whips his way...don't you just LOVE people like that? God handled that situation, though, thankfully... School is almost over...working on our last 6weeks, then EOGs in July... Aaron still struggles daily & Matthew fights against his Asperger's, as well, however, by God's grace, we are still managing to excel...and I say this because of the observations that I make with other homeschoolers, both near and far. Sometimes, I believe I may "expect" too much from them, but can a good, Godly education really hurt? Seriously, can one truly know too much? All I can do is be willing to listen & follow God's path for our education & not base our standards upon others. Our pharmaceudical journey continues, with what seems to be a change every month now, but to no avail...Chris & I are stuck in the deep abyss of "do we or don't we medicate our kids"... We are praying that God will interveine & heal our lands, so to speak. We believe that God will touch our little boys & heal their little minds one day, but until then, we can only ask him for wisdom & discernment to get through our days. We are currently in search of a new homestead, somewhere we can settle down in & plant our roots... We're no longer going to be relocationg, unless God directs us to. The bad thing about trying to find properties... #1: There are homes that we can afford. #2: There are homes that we adore. Now if we can only combine those 2, we'll have a perfect match! Will post as soon as I know about our All-Stars & if/when we find a house to buy...until then, just keep praying for us.

Spring Fever!

Well, Spring is here & our baseball season is in full swing, if you'll excuse the pun. We are busier than ever this spring because of We LUV Marriage... This is a grass roots conservative group that I am Co-Executive Director of & we are hosting a rally Sat. May 9, so super busy planning & preparing for it! School is well...meds are changed...and we still want a calm life without any scripts! Will update with some pictures from our Easter & Spring Break & Baseball soon. You can check out We LUV Marriage's website at www.weluvmarriage.com

Last Day of our Break...

Just sitting around enjoying our last day of our "block break" before we begin our 5th 6 weeks tomorrow. Been raining for so many days in a row now! Still dreary & cold, but let the boys play outside anyway. They were getting cabin fever! I suppose we have a few "sick days" built up, just in case! They can't wait for Spring...and for school to be out for a while! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

New Heltsley Christian Academy Website

We now have a HCA website that you can go to and see what's going on in our school. For the boys' pretection, the site is private, so if you want to get in, just email me & I will gladly give you the ID & Password. Zachary's 2nd Semester project is to be the official Webmaster for this site, thus forward all complaints to him! (ha,ha) To see our site, visit www.scholastic.com/classhomepage

School Days

Life is sweet when mathematical concepts are welcomed by a child's mind. Our 2nd semester at HCA began with a dreaded lesson in cross-multiplication, but to my surprise, Aaron has grasped the concepts better than anyone could've imagined...in fact, he's not only "got" that, but is doing amazingly well with Long Division! Thank God for small miracles! And you know the best part? The fact that he learned it from me... he would've never had the success he has had, if he were still in public school! It's also amazing to see how Matthew is picking up the Multiplication tables, simply by osmosis. Matthew has such a ststistical mind though, so we never really worry about him. School is coming along as best as it can go. Everyone seems to be doing well and adjusting after our long Christmas break. We are gearing up in our next 6 weeks to begin our preparations for our EOG tests. Pray for us!

Busy Lives!

How the time does get away from us! It hardly seems like yesterday since I posted & now it's months later...sorry about that...will work on it. Anyway, Thanksgiving was great. We went to Mema & Granddaddy's house. Everyone was on their best behavior and no one got hurt. It was a scuccessful day! Christmas, too, came and went like a tidal wave. So much preparation and yet it's over so quickly. Mema & Granddaddy came to stay with us and then we had some friends over for Christmas Dinner. It seemed like our Christmas this year was going to be quiet and subdued, but ended up being a wonderful day filled with many visitors and lots of happy memories. Our New Year's was quiet, as usual. (That's the way we like it.) We like to think that the peace and tranquility we reserve for the midnight moment will transend into the next year. So far, it's just wishful thinking, though. Our Valentine's Day was filled with love for one another & lots of hugs & kisses...we don't really do the whole commercial candy thing...mainly because sending salutaions of love in the form of sugary substances and goofy charactures of stupid cupids seems so superficial. I'd much rather my boys know that I love them from my heart, than from a candy heart with a U R Nice sentiment branded on. So, that leads us up to St. Patrick's Day...which I'll update on next week.