getting caught up on my posts...

Last week, we went round and round with the YMCA. Through all of the emails/phone calls we were able to work out a plan so that Jonathan can return to the Y's childcare program. The agreement is that we will bring Jonathan to the Y in a wheelchair and he MUST be strapped into the wheelchair, so that he can not get out. This may sound a little strange, but the Y's main complaint is that Jonathan will not cooperate with the childcare workers. He waits until I leave the room and then he tries to do everything that he has been told NOT to do. The director of the Y feels that if Jonathan is strapped into a wheelchair then he will not be able to get out and do the things that he is not suppose to do. This will lessen the load of the caregiver(s) in that room. And because Jonathan is probably NOT going to be able to walk on his own for many months, I could really use a wheelchair to cart him around. I called our Insurance Company on Friday to see if we could get a wheelchair. I jumped through every hoop they gave me, filled out a ton of paperwork, faxed everything right back to them... and I am happy to report that they are delivering his new wheelchair TOMORROW! YEAH!!! Now the issues I have with the way we were treated at the Y... My first reaction was to NEVER set foot in that place again AND I wanted to file a lawsuit against them for discrimination, but after thinking/praying about it, I came to the conclusion that the best thing for everyone involved was to teach them how they could have handled the situation differently. I do not think that the people involved realized that they were discriminating against Jonathan because of his disabilities. They kept saying that his disabilities had nothing to do with it, it was because he was being so difficult. But I brought to their attention the fact that they have MANY difficult children in that room and as long as the children are walking on 2 feet they can deal with it... the problem was Jonathan needed to be in a stroller, wagon, or walker and there lies the problem. I am fully aware that Jonathan can be extremely difficult to deal with... I live with him so I KNOW better than anyone!... BUT that is also part of his disability. He suffers from OCD and other neurological issues (some left over from life in the orphanage, some were probably caused by his brain bleed shortly after birth). All of these issues make Jonathan who he is... sweet, intelligent, sassy, determined, strong-willed, precious, obsessive, amazing.... JON-JON! Once the big wheels at the Y realized that they were at fault, they apologized, then we moved on to how we could work together. The wheelchair is a simple solution, so that I can workout and trust that Jonathan will be safe during the 30-45 mins he is in the childcare room. I also offered to come and speak to the staff at the Y regarding people with special needs. I'm hoping that God can use this situation to help other families... maybe even open some new doors for SN kids in our area.

Ok, on to other things...
Saturday we spent the day out at the Olympic Rowing Center. We are so blessed to have this venue in our small town. The 1996 Olympic rowing events were held here and we are still reaping the benefits! This is where Jackson takes paddling/rowing lessons. His love and passion for this sport came about 2 summers ago when he was at Camp Highlander. They had 2 Olympic paddlers teach the kids how to Kayak. Jack came home saying that was one of his favorite things, so we looked into the group here in our town. He had to wait until he turned 10, so he started this past fall. This weekend was the big race of the season. The weather was... AWFUL! It rained on and off most of the day, but thankfully we were able to finish all of the races. Jackson competed in several heats, one of which he was racing against boys 2 age brackets older than him and his partner... and he got second place! It turned out that his coach should NOT have sent him out for that race so they disqualified them... BUMMER. But he did earn a Silver metal in another race... it was a K1 mini-trainer (if your like me, I have no idea which boat that is, but I can tell you it is a small kayak and he is alone in the boat). I tell ya, as a mom, seeing your child racing is one of the most exciting things! When he wins it is even more exciting! Winning isn't everything, but it sure is fun! Seeing him get his Silver metal... oh Lord, I just wanted to cry! Exciting stuff! I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a child in the Olympics!!!!Jackson in the front of the boat and his teammate in the back.No, that's not a smurf and a lemon drop... it's me and my faithful companion, Jon-Jon.

Jackson with 2 of his 3 Grandpa's.

Doesn't Josh look dainty holding the umbrella? We really needed a tent!

Jackson after his 2nd place victory!

Me, in the lovely blue rain poncho and Josh's step-mom, Rhonda (aka Ro-Ro) waiting for Jackson's canoe race to begin. Jackson is in the front of the middle boat.

Jonathan sitting without his rain Pancho during one of the breaks in the rain. Notice his shirt, it says it all... "My parents are exhausted!"

Jackson receiving his silver metal during the awards ceremony.


Sunday was Alexis' piano recital. Both Jackson and Alexis take piano lessons, but Jackson prefers not to do the recital. It's a little too Girly according to him. I'm more lenient than some of the Grandmothers... they want me to push him and ride his back to get him to do the recital, but I leave it up to him. THEY think that he needs to learn to get up in front of people, but what they don't realize is that HE DOES get up in front of people! There were MANY more people at the rowing event than the piano recital! Sometimes I think kids should be allowed to choose, not always, but in this case I think it is ok. I'm stepping off my soapbox now! :)
Back to Alexis, she played a beautiful piece of music, "Bugle Boy." We sat through 2+ hours of piano, cello, violin, and voice. Jonathan kept quite for most of it. He even fell asleep at one point, but every time the audience would clap he would clap right along as he was sleeping. It was so funny. I have a video clip of it, but for some reason blogger will not let me upload videos right now. I'll try again later. Towards the end of the recital Jonathan woke up just in time to hear a young man who was playing a very loooooong piece of music. At the end everyone was clapping and Jonathan Yelled out "YOU ROCK! Whoot Whoot!" He cracks me up!! Once all of the student finished, the music teachers presented awards. Alexis received awards for: earning superior at the guild district competition, special gold star achievement award, memory achievement award, an award for learning 120 music pieces, and an award for memorizing 10 music pieces. I'm so proud of her!

Alexis with her piano instructor. He is the director of music at a local college.

Alexis receiving her awards.

Now to brag on Jonathan... He had PT this morning and he did so awesome!!! His therapist let him ride on a special tricycles to begin with, then we moved on to the therapy room where he did all of his exercises with very few complaints. I think his therapist has learned how to work with him and not allow him to run all over her. They are working well together - thank goodness!Jonathan on the adaptive tricycle.

Jonathan sitting up during therapy. He has never been able to comfortably sit in this position until now! YEAH!!!

I do have one other BIG praise...
A friend of mine, who hosted a little girl this past December, is in Russia now (their 2nd trip) completing the adoption process. Her and her husband had court this morning. They were fully expecting to have to make one more trip because the judge NEVER grants immediate execution, but by the grace of God the Judge is allowing them to take their daughter home asap!!! Little Anastasia has CP just like Jon-Jon. I had to privilege to meet Anastasia several times during the time she was here on the hosting program. She is a spunky princess that will fit right in with her two brothers! I can't wait for her to come home and be with her family. She is going to blossom!
Prayers, hugs, and lots of love to the Suttles family!