Recovering Noah

Over at Simple Homeschool they've been showcasing different families and what a typical homeschool day is like for each one. I didn't officially link up to showcase our family, but it did inspire me to sit down and write a major overdue post about what a typical homeschool day is like for Noah. In one word? Untypical. It changes all the time... especially because I'm a morning person and get jack-all done after 2.00pm. Partly because that's just how I am and partly because I have to entertain my "General Hospital" obsession... and it comes on at 2... and partly because after that then Eli & Nandi come home and absolutely nothing constructive whatsoever gets achieved for the rest of the day. It also changes a lot because we have a lot going on. We go to Dallas every Monday and Tyler every other Tuesday for therapy and our day is pretty much shot by the time we get home. But we do our best and it's better than doing nothing... at least that's what...

Last summer, Kelly (over at Kelly's Korner) did a "Show Us Your Singles" day where everyone could link onto her blog and post about their brother or daughter or friend or cousin or whomever they wanted and try to fix them up. And did you know that since then there have been two engagements and another couple still together? So when Kelly decided to do another " Show Us Your Singles ", I had to jump on it... because I have the perfect person that I've been dying to fix up for ages. Let me introduce you to Liza.... Isn't she gorgeous? We consider Liza (pronounced "Leeza" and short for Elizaveta) our "Russian Daughter" because she lived with us for three years while she was studying for her Bachelor's degree here in Texas. Now she's all grown up (just turned 28) and has a fantastic career in finance, her own place, a wonderful network of friends and family.... but for some reason she's still single. Guys, I just don't ...

I know that all it takes is just one simple search on the internet and suddenly you're flooded with stories about children in far away countries who urgently need to find a home. Most of the time, I say a quick prayer, lament the fact that we're not in a position to adopt right now, and hope they find a family. Every once in awhile, though, you come across a story that just rips your heart in two. That's how I'm feeling right now after reading Davids' story. I can't tell you why it's touched me so much... most likely because I can't imagine what's it like to be on the verge of aging out of the system. Knowing that in 12 days, you're going to be kicked out of the only home you know and forced to fend for yourself on the streets. No food. No money. No shelter. No job. No education. No prospects.... unless you consider suicide, prostitution, or drugs a good prospect. This sweet boy, Davids, is going to face those prospects on January 23rd. He was g...

My niece Alaina, Nandi, my little cousin Brittany, Noah, and Eli It's been quite around here for awhile. Things have been busy! With a capital B! I made just over 70 Delvin Dolls and that pretty much had me occupied for quite awhile. Delvin's family has really been helped this Christmas season and I want to give a big shout-out to everyone who bought a doll. I'll update the Delvin Doll blog soon with all the updates and pictures. Nandi finished her first semester of Kindergarten and Eli is now halfway to becoming a second grader! Nandi looooves school and Eli just tolerates it. Thankfully, though, he's made some friends and we're not having to pull him out kicking and screaming out of the van each morning. It's happened a few times.... but not everyday like like last year. They are both super excited for Christmas. Nandi is hoping for art supplies, legoes, and toy soliders so they "can kill each other". Honestly, I have no idea where she gets this stu...

Upon me giving Eli a kiss this morning.... "Wowzers! I've never had a lady kiss me that good before!" Upon seeing Sim give Nandi a cup of chai to drink.... "Dad, I really don't think that's appropriate for someone of her age." Upon watching Sim take out a pan of rice pudding from the oven.... "My, that rice pudding looks quite delectable!" I can't remember the rest, but he was full of them this weekend. He is a funny, zany, quirky, marches-to-the-beat-of-his-own-drum little 7 year old. One of the joys of being Eli's mom is that life is completely and utterly unpredictable with him around!

I'm thankful that I never have to worry about drinking clean water. I'm thankful that if I'm hot, I can walk inside my air-conditioned house. If I'm tired, I can climb into my bed. If I'm hungry, I can walk to my fridge or get into my car and drive 5 minutes to the store. I'm thankful that my children have opportunities in this country - a hope and a future. I'm thankful that I live in a country that allowed me to bring my children into this country. I'm thankful for teachers who care about my kids and I'm thankful I live in a state that gives me the freedom to choose how to school my children. I'm thankful I've never had to give up a child simply because he was born with a deformity. I'm thankful for living for where I live. I'm thankful for Scottish Rite Hospital and doctors and therapists who donate their time to helping children reach their potential. I'm thankful my parents live near me and that I still have both of my paren...

Delvin's Dolls finally has its own blogspot. Whew! Now I can go back to blogging about Noah and autism.... which was pretty infrequent to begin with and might be a bit slow while I'm making the dolls. I'm toying with the idea of giving Noah his own Recovering Noah Facebook page just so that I can post updates. I did do Twitter for awhile, but just couldn't get into it.... but Facebook...I'm a pro. =) Anyway, if you want to keep up with Delvin and the dolls I'm making, please feel free to stop by www.delvinsdolls.blogspot.com . It won't be updated very much, just when I get updates on Delvin from Mayan Families and whenever I have a new doll coming out and such. Thanks!

Thank you all so much for the doll orders! We still have a ways to go, but I think Delvin and his family are going to get those beds! Whoo hoo! I've finally finished the India doll and Korea doll. I was meant to work on them over the weekend, but Nandi & Noah got sick. BTW, Nandi has her heel cord lengthening surgery tomorrow, so think of her will ya? We leave in a few hours so they can admit her this morning for all the pre-op stuff. Anyway, finally was able to work on the dolls yesterday. Whew! Ya'll know I can't sew, right? I was telling a friend... "What kind of person decides to sell dolls when they don't even know how to sew??" Uh, that would be me. Remember.... great intentions! Novice crafter. Glue dot lover. Here are the pictures of the two new dolls. I'll be working on a Liberian/West African doll this week, too. Pictures to come! Anyway, thanks again, everyone! I can't wait to post pictures of Delvin's family with their new beds. H...

This is Delvin . Isn't he cute!? He's the child we sponsor through Mayan Families . Last year, Eli decided to give $25 of his birthday money to Mayan Families and it just so happened that Delvin's family went to the Mayan Families office asking for food at the same time. When we found out that Delvin needed sponsorship to go to school - and that he's in the same grade as Eli and the same age (4 days apart!) we knew we had to sponsor him. Delvin is 7 and is in the first grade. He lives in Panajachel , Guatemala. He has three brothers and three sisters. A year ago, his dad died and this past May, his grandfather passed away. His grandfather was the main income earner in the family and they've been really struggling since then. Actually, they were struggling A LOT before then, so the situation now is pretty dire. One thing that's been on my heart for a long time is that Delvin and his older siblings sleep on the floor. And it rains a lot in Guatemala, so basical...

What do you do when two of your kids want to go trick-or-treating, but you know without a doubt that your third child will refuse to wear a costume? And doesn't like to walk in public? Well.... ya gotta get a little creative! Sim turned an old washing machine box into The Mystery Machine Van and we all went as the Scooby-Doo Gang. Nandi (aka "Little Diva") insisted on being Daphne because " Mommmmmy! You look just like Velma! " I refused to spend $24.99 on a red "Daphne" wig... but I think she looks really beautiful with her dark hair. The green scarf around her neck was fashioned out a pair of old green tights. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle! Shaggy... meet your father. Eli met up with a friend from school (aka Darth Vader) and I had to take a pic because "Hooray! Eli has friends!!". That's actually a big deal if you've been following our blog for awhile. And do you like the soul patch? Kudos to you, Mr. Sharpie Marker. The wig is one ...

I finally got around to charging my camera so you could all see the different equipment we use with Noah. Some of it we use everyday, and others we just use here and there (i.e. when we remember!) Where possible, I've written where you can get each piece and how much it cost. I hope these posts aren't coming across all showy or anything. I generally put the cost of each therapy so that others can see how much it might cost them should they decide to try the therapy with their child. Plus, I hate reading about a therapy and getting all excited only to find out that it's completely unattainable for us because it costs, like, $400 an hour or something. Been there done that. And even though we still spend a couple of hundred dollars a month, it's gone way way down from where it was when I felt like "I" had to cure Noah in 3 months time or else. First up, which you'll find in the picture above, are stability balls. I love these! They're my favorite. We use ...

Photo by liveandlearn.net.au Brain gym is something that I'd heard about off and on during the years we were doing biomedical treatment with Noah. It seemed interesting, but wasn't really our cup of tea at the time. Noah stopped talking and started having infantile spasms the day after he received his DpT shot... and all his urine and fecal tests were showing that he had heavy metals in his body... and since I couldn't understand how doing a few exercises would help him recover from autism and get all the metals out, I just filed all the Brain Gym info into the part of my mind that was reserved for all the stuff that seemed like a neat idea but would never work for Noah. Basically, it went into the same pile that included homeopathy, chiropractors, natural medicine, RPM, and cranial sacral therapy. Oh, hindsight. You certainly are 20/20! Actually, I didn't even consider Brain Gym for Noah until about 4 ...

Okay, this is the blog post that is officially going to label me as a quack. I just know it. (Oh and have you noticed that this is my second blog posts in 24 hours? I know. I know!) This is probably going to be one of the hardest posts to write. Actually, I think letting you all know what we're doing with Noah is hard in general. Because I don't want to look like a fool. I have this fear of people saying, "Oh my gosh, you're investing in hogwash. You are so wasting your money!" But this is what's working for Noah. It is. And it's hard because I'm a facts person. I'm one of those nerdy types who loves research and facts and figures. Five, six, seven years ago you could've asked me anything about autism and various treatments and I would've been able to rattle off tons of statistics off the tops of my heads. I could've told you who was who in the autism world. Where each doctor went to school. All the clinical trials that had been done...

This is Soma. She has a last name, but I can't pronounce it. But if I google it, I can tell you that her full name is Soma Mukhopadhyay. But we just call her Miss Soma... otherwise known in our house as "The Autism Whisperer". RPM stands for Rapid Prompting Method and it's Soma's baby. She developed it as a way to help her severely autistic son, Tito, and realized that it could be used with other children who have autism. To make a long story short, she now lives in Austin and RPM is done at her clinic - called HALO . You can go to HALO's website to find out all the info you need about RPM - what it is, what it does, how it can help your child. You can even see videos of children in RPM sessions. It'll blow you away! But here's what RPM has done for us and for Noah. It gave us hope and it gave Noah a voice. You can find my very first blog post about RPM (written three years ago) HERE . The second post I wrote about RPM was written a few months later an...