Our Sweet, Feisty Little Girl

Adelia has been with us for 17 months now. It feels like yesterday but then at the same time she was always here. Funny, how love and time make it feel like a person belongs in your life.

God is so gracious and kind to give us this sweet and feisty girl. Adelia, or Addie as she is most often called, is so smart. She has learned English so quickly and loves to do school. She definitely has strong opinions about everything. She is a peace maker (well most of the time). She loves to worship God. She has a beautiful voice. She is strong. She is kind-hearted. She has the most amazing smile and sparkling eyes. She is a fighter, in the most positive ways, she stands up for what is right and she works hard at doing the things that are hard for her to do. I truly love this girl with all my heart.

I am so thankful to have her big hugs and sweet words. We have been "writing" notes in a journal to her foster parents. She has been grieving them something fierce. Yesterday she told me to write that she loved and missed them (which is typical) and she added that she has a new friend. I asked who was her friend and she said "mama, you are my new friend". Oh, I felt such love toward her and our God, for helping she and me to bond. I am attaching the video I finally completed of her adoption and days here with us these last months. The photo you see at the airport with me meeting her, for the first time she held onto me is monumental. From that moment forward, it has honestly been that way. I am so praising God for doing that and answering my prayers so abundantly in our relationship. I am not saying there hasn't been hard days. We have had some difficult ones for sure. I already worry about her teenage years ahead sometimes LOL. But she is My Daughter, through and through, and I give God all the glory.

Adelia Adoption Video

New Photos and Adoption Update

We have recently received some new photos of our little guy !!

I am so happy to see him smiling and all his cuteness.

He is still on the smaller side, and not crawling or walking. But he seems like he has grown a lot and turning more into a toddler.  From our update questions we are told his heart is holding okay. However, we were told the same before we brought Isaiah home and he was not doing well when we adopted him. So I just think sometimes they don't know. We also found out today that our dossier in China has moved out of translation and into Review. There is 4 stages of dossier processing. The first is Translation, the second is Review, third is Match, and fourth is Approval. The first is generally the longest and it took about a month. So I am so hoping we have our approval in about 30-45 days, which means we can very likely travel in February or March like I had been hoping for.. I know it will all be in God's perfect timing. However, we are anxious to get him home.

We are also doing some fundraising. I am going to post a separate post about that next. Please consider buying a personally designed tshirt we are asking for donations for. Or purchase some beautiful, unique butterfly jewelry that a sweet etsy, adoptive mom is helping us raise funds with.

Adoption..

It was with joy and great anticipation to announce that our family is back on the adoption journey to another little boy in China.

We will  name him Silas Christopher Yuan..

He just turned 1 year old, April 24th and we just completed our homestudy. A travel time about March or April 2016 is anticipated.

Our children are SO excited about him. Even Addie, who has been home with us one year is already asking when I am going to China to bring home baby Silas. I am not sure how excited she really will be once I leave for two weeks though LOL. but at least she is processing it early.

Anyway, here is his sweet little picture. We just heard he had heart surgery as well, but our cardiologist who reviewed the reports isn't sure if he will still need more upon coming home.

Adoption....

Finally, two years later, I have a video for our precious Elliana and Isaiah...Feeling so blessed and honored to be their Mommy.

They Are Almost Home

I am sorry I didn't give the expected update when Jay was travel to get Adelia. Life just got so far away from me. Here are some of the big reasons:

1.We have some medical issues we have been dealing with in some of my children.

2. We are selling a house (had one contract that fell through, got a 2nd one 48 hours later).

3 Packing to move into a temporary rental for 2 months in Aug and Sept at least, and then hopefully moving into our last, and completed new house in October.

4. We have been hosting our sweet, 12 year old boy from Latvia since the middle of June. Sadly he leaves August 8th. I wish he did not have to go back.

5. Then of course the biggest news of adopting Adelia.

Jay left on June 20th with my 11 year old Moriah. I literally packed their stuff beginning 48 hours before they left, which is not my typical scenario. I just am finding that sometimes I have to let things like that go more and just trust that God has given me bigger priorities. Plus, there are stores in China and credit cards and a guide to help shop if I forgot an essential.

So I have been a single mom to 9 children for 13 days which is very hard, rewarding and focused work. But it is exhausting too. I am thankful and blessed to have the awesome help and support of my 3 teens. They cook, clean, babysit, hold crying kids, read stories for bed time, mow lawns, take out garbage, play games with littles, and then sit with me at the end of the day and share stories and dreams with me. I LOVE My kids. I am so blessed.

Well in about 15 minutes I head to the airport to pick up my handsome husband and amazing father, my sweet, selfless 11 year old and my new, spunky and confused 3 (almost 4 year old ) daughter from China.

She did Skype with me (well watching me and saying a few Chinese words to the computer screen). But she did say "bye bye Mama" one time with a big smile! She also watched a couple of short videos of me over and over and over again. Jay said she would get upset if it had to be turned off. So at least she will know my voice.

She seems to be doing well. I am a bit nervous how she is going to accept me after beginning to attach to her new Baba (Daddy). However, I know that God will give me patience, endurance, love and wisdom as I learn to parent her and understand her. I know he will help us bond forever. Your prayers are so appreciated.]

Here are a few photos I received from Jay while he was in China.

 The most nervous time for parent and child. "Gotcha Day" it is indescribable and so precious. She did cry for a bit, but not too long.

 She liked the toys I sent her, thankfully. Reluctantly going with her new "baba".

Adoption Day~ She is ours forever!!

Playing on the bed with some new toys. Her foster family told Jay that when she throws a fit to give her a new toy or buy her a dress. Apparently she was spoiled ! (he got to meet them and let her say goodbye, which was hard on her but we believe will help her too. We have video of them blessing her and telling her to go with her new Baba. She cried when she left but then was over it soon later)

Sitting with Daddy at breakfast time.

On the way to the airport from province.

Now she is an official US citizen!!

Happy Birthday My Sweet Ellie

One year ago today we were in Guangzhou, China waiting for our day to come to fly home. We had 2 more days to go. Elliana had been in my arms (literally, didn't leave them but clung to me) for 9 days already. She was very scared, malnourished, and angry. She also had her fun moments where we got little glimpses of smiles and laughs, especially when she was swung in the air. She slowly began to trust me, nesting in the Ergo, letting me hold her close and helping her to feel safe.

For three years, Ellie had little opportunity to succeed or be valued. She grew up in an orphanage with many crib mates and nannies (albeit loving nannies too) but never a Mama to love her unconditionally, tell her how beautiful she is and to meet all her needs. She could not speak therefore was frustrated with no one to hear her attempts at language and listen to her cries. She had no voice. She couldn't feed herself easily but was left with a bottle alone in a crib to receive most of her nourishment. She was hungry. She couldn't keep up with the other children due to her disabilities which made her frustrated and try even more, with minimal reward.

This is probably the youngest photo we have of her besides her newborn photo and she was 8 months old here.

Because of a strength given by God Elliana is a fighter. She is a survivor.
Today, she is learning to be gentle. A year ago I had bought her this adorable little Asian dolly which I had planned to give her at home for her birthday celebration with the family. However, I decided to hold off as right away it was obvious she didn't know what to do with a doll and was afraid of it. She did not know what to do with most toys. She did make a game with our suitcases though, she loved clothes from the start. A true girly girl.

Today, she is learning pretend play. So I gave her that same dolly for her birthday today and now she can hold it, cover it with a blanket, give it a spoon for food and ask for help in changing her clothes. Another thing she likes to pretend is playing "kitchen". She will even "make" meals and deliver it to you while she does her bunny hop on her knees to get around and pushing the food to her friend. It is such a joy to watch her flourish.

Today, she is learning to use her walker and peddle a trike. Yes, she can peddle a bike for short distances. She can't crawl yet but she can peddle a trike. She LOVES to play outside and do anything her brothers and sisters do. It actually can be quite a challenge to keep her safe and happy. She will do anything whether she gets hurt or not and will have tantrums that last an hour if she can't do something that everyone else does. Oh...the joys of parenting a child with special needs. I love this little girl.

Today, we celebrate her life, her joy for newness, her fight to live, and tenacity to overcome all odds. When I got her a year ago (May 27, 2013) it was obvious that there was a severe neurological issue going on that we were not aware, I did feel anxious at times. However, I knew without a doubt that she was my daughter and that God had brought her to me to be her Mama. I also knew God did not mistakes. Even though I felt so inadequate for the job ahead of me, I knew He alone would equip me. I still believe this way today, even more so , seeing the huge transformation in Elliana in just one short year. Even with a Mama who is very busy but loving, a bit forgetful but with intentions, and so inadequate but willing! I am willing Lord, I always will be.

Elliana is 4 years old today. Here are some photos as we celebrated her life.
I am more than blessed by this precious girl.

Elliana loves opening presents and this was no exception. She also happens to love clothes!

This is to give a perspective of our one year's time. This was Elliana on her 3rd birthday last year in China!

We were signing "Happy Birthday" to Ellie and she was smiling so big! Almost as big as I have ever seen her and laughing. She was so excited we were celebrating her!

Here Daddy held her arms back as she isn't trustworthy with lit candles. But she did attempt several times to blow out the candles. There was some movement which I call success. Next year, she will get them.

And this is the best for last, we started a tradition a little while back of everyone clapping for the birthday person to stand on their chair and take a bow. Ellie is very aware of us doing this. Daddy helped her to stand and she did her "bow". It was adorable and we all were so blessed by her elegance.

 

 

 

God has amazing plans for this little girl, Elliana Kate Jun!!

One Step Closer

"LOA" Letter of Acceptance from China!!!

After 99 days of waiting for this step..we onto the next one.  Now we are waiting for USCIS (immigration) to approve Adelia to become our daughter and a US citizen upon landing on US soil. This next 2 steps (sort of combined..USCIS approval and Article 5 being sent to Consulate in China) takes about 5-6 weeks. Then we wait for Travel Approval from China.

We are still praying mightily for the Lord to grant travel in mid May. It is possible, but it would only be His sovereignty to make it happen.

Photos Not For the Faint Of Heart

When innocent, helpless children are persecuted and treated in ways that animals don't even get treated, we all feel disgusted. Those of us that call ourselves "Christians" and who seek to be God's heart MUST do more for these precious ones.

If you have a few minutes look at these few heartrending photos of Russian orphans and say some prayers. It is Satan's scheme to keep Russia from allowing us to adopt from their country, but God is still King of Kings and He WILL win the war for these children. This is just one example of Satan's ploys against adoption and attacking innocent children. You will see that most of the photos are of disabled children. In Russia, disabled people are seen as scum and treated as such. Little children are put into hospitals for the mentally insane when they have certain diagnosis.

Russian Photos 

Grant Update

On February 1st, Jay and I went to a dinner for the Kids For Kyla grant that we received.

With a combination from the donations our friends sent in and the $1750 grant, we were given $3450 to be sent to our agency to use for Adelia's adoption! We feel so blessed and appreciative for this grant. Thank you so much to our friends who gave and for those who prayed for us and still are.

We know that the Lord will continue to provide for this adoption. Adoption is such a roller coaster of a journey. Because monies are not commonly sitting in the bank for a $33,000 adoption, it really is one thing that keeps many families from pursuing adoption.

If all of us would just consider giving up a little bit of financial comfort to help orphans in whatever way God leads us (adoption, sponsoring, hosting, supporting an adoptive family etc) think of the impact we could make in the Lord's name. He gives all we have financially, it is all His in the first place right?

Awesome Adoption Post by a Friend

I read an encouraging, informational and honest post written by my friend, Lisa.
Her heart is just like mine about adoption. In fact, she was one of the first ladies that inspired me to really consider adoption for my family. I am forever grateful to Lisa and her husband for forging the way and sharing her life with my family.

If you have every wondered why people adopt, if you could do it, or just need some encouragement because you did adopt please read this post.

Preparing For Adoption

Just Wanted to Share Some Amazing Smiles

Ellie and Isaiah are doing so well!! 

Some days Ellie has some melt downs, she is very insecure in her attachment to me some days and doesn't want me to leave her side. She also gets frustrated easily because communication is difficult. So add that to her disabilities and her age, and some hours are fitful. However, they are so much less than a few months ago. She is really thriving. She is strong and determined and so very smart. She is slowly sleeping better at night. I might get one or two nights a week now where she doesn't wake up at all.

Isaiah is talking more and more. He has lots of energy and using less oxygen.He has even begun to trot a little bit. He will be having his 3rd catheterization next month, February 12th. He is not sleeping so great. Interestingly, after his open heart surgery in October he has slept worse, not from heart issues but from what appears to be sleep apnea. He tosses and turns at night, snoring half the night through and obviously gasping for air because his airway is blocked. Some nights I don't sleep well listening and worrying about him. Then there are some nights he sleeps better. We have an ENT appointment and Sleep appointment in the schedule as well for him.

I just wanted to share these precious photos of the two of them, that my budding photographer (Moriah) took a week ago. I was so excited to see the joy and love in both of their eyes and smiles. They love each other so much, most of the time.

Adoption Updates

We found out right before Christmas that our dossier in China was finished with the Translation phase of the process and went onto Review. Review is the 3rd of 4th steps for us get our approval to adopt Adelia. So all that means is that it could come within the next couple weeks or months still. LOL

But at least we know it is not sitting on someone's desk not processing at all, which can happen sometimes.

We also got a little update of Adelia with some questions we had asked, sadly no photos this time. Our questions are in black and reply is in red.

1. Weight, Height, Head and Foot measurements? 87cm, 12.5kg, 48cm head, 52cm chest, 14cm foot, 20 teeth 

(She would would be 34 1/2 inches and 27 lbs with about a size 7 shoe size, which means all and all she is a tiny bit bigger than Isaiah, but not by much. So I am thinking a size 2T or 3 T will fit her this summer)

2. Does she live in Foster Family or Institution? She is in foster home. 

(We are very thankful for this, Asher was in foster home and his transition was wonderful and he was far greater ahead in most areas than Ellie and Isaiah were.)

3. Does she speak well and about how many words does she know? She can talk with people well. She can answer most of the questions when you ask her.

4. What name do her caretakers call her? Her nickname is Fu Can.

  ("Fu" means Lotus Flower and "Can" means blooming. We will be using part of all of this for part of her middle name. I am working on finding out the meaning.)

5. What is her personality like? She is outgoing and active. She has strong personality too. If she is mad or upset, she will show to you for sure.

(I think we will have lots of fun getting to know her. We already have 2 other 3 year olds like this, so not surprised by this answer!)

6. What upsets and scares her? She hates to stay alone in the house by self.

(This is good, as we have not future plans to leave her alone by herself for a very long time)

7. Does she still drink milk from a bottle, what foods does she eat? She still uses bottle to drink. She likes to eat pretty much everything and she is not picky.

(We like this answer too as we again use bottles for bonding the first months home together and we are glad she enjoys food too.)

8. Has she or will she have any surgery help for her spine or hip? Not yet.

(We have no idea what her future will hold for legs and spine, but we trust her Creator and Healer. He has a plan for her life, and we are not phased by this.)

9. What makes her happy? Putting beautiful dress, giving her toys, or tell her how pretty she is.

(She sounds like a perfect "Girly Girl" for our house. I can't wait to put her in a dress and tell how her pretty she is!)

10. Does she still have therapy help if so how often? She hasn't got any therapy recently

(Well, she will get plenty of that round here, we seem to live at therapy!)

The other very exciting news is that with the grant we applied for we were chosen to receive a matching grant!!!

Kids for Kyla has graciously offered a matching grant of $750. However, we only have 19 days to match the grant. If you feel inclined to help us in our bringing home Adelia please send your tax deductible donations to the following address: 

Kids For Kyla, Inc

PO Box 336904

Greeley, CO 80633

                                      

A Few Updates

We picked up "A" from the airport last Saturday. Onto the way to the airport we all agreed that we were going to be sad 4 weeks later when we were making the return trip to take him back.
He is one amazing and adorable boy!! I have to say that he is just so precious. Please, please pray that the right family meets him while he is here. He is kind, respectful, obedient, loving, understands-speaks- even reads lots of English, gentle with the littles, smart, fun, eats whatever we have given him (although he really likes green apples and crackers)...I could go on. I know God will have wonderful plans for this boy.

Here is a couple of photos of him.

On Sunday, our Jacob graduated from the Basic Ellerslie Leadership program that Makenna graduated from in June of 2012. We are so excited to see what God has in store for his life. He has definitely grown a lot through the 9 week program spiritually, emotionally and socially. Today he says he plans to be a missionary one day and is going to work hard at school to he can graduate early.

It thrills me to see his love for the Lord. Here is some baptism photos from a couple of weeks ago. He decided to be baptized again (he was 2 years ago). He felt the first time was more because others were doing it and not so led by the Lord. He stood in a freezing cold lake (the day before our subzero temperatures hit), with wind and with bronchitis and proclaimed that he was giving his body to the Lord. AMEN...thank you Jesus.

 

Here are a few photos of Jacob and his friends, mentors and pastors from the Leadership Program and from church.

We are so thankful for our church and the Godly men that are there to encourage our boys in doing the hard things for the Lord.

We Will Have a Very Special Guest This Week

This year, God put it on our hearts to host a child from another country for Christmas! We are working with an organization called Project 143. 

Our boy is from Latvia and is 11 years old. He also happens to be adoptable. We do not have intentions to adopt him, instead we are going to advocate for him to be adopted. It might be a bit challenging as we are not to speak about "Adoption" with the hosted child. But we can talk to others who might be interested in adopting him. So we will need to be discreet.

Here is a wonderful explanation directly from the Project 143 website as to why families should host:

Without hosting, most of these children will eventually ‘age out’ of the system and never experience the life giving, life changing love that family provides. Hosting can also serve as a connection between an orphan and his or her ‘forever family’.  However, you absolutely do not have to be interested in adoption to participate in hosting a child.  The focus of the host program is cultural exchange and exposing the children to life outside an orphanage.  Adoption is sometimes the by-product of the program, but not the only goal. 

We are told from his previous host family that he is a very sweet and loving boy, who loves God, and loves other children. 
It is going to be exciting to see how God moves in this boy's life through our family. We anticipate amazing blessings from his 4 week visit with us. 

He arrives this Saturday evening. This last couple weeks we have been buying Christmas gifts and clothes for him. We are told they often come with only the clothes they are wearing. It has been a blessing already to think about this child and what his needs are, praying for God to take care of him emotionally, physically and mostly spiritually. 

I hope to share some insights about this child, whom I will call "A", in the coming days. Please pray that he adjusts to our family easily, that he is comfortable here and feels loved by God, through us. If you would also please pray that the right family would meet him and know he is to be there son.

Sensory Processing.. What Is It and Some Things We Do Things in Our Family To Help It

It is said by Dr. Kayrn Purvis (a must look into for adoptive families) that most, if not all adoptive children have Sensory Processing problems. What this means is that they did not have an opportunity to develop all their senses in way which their bodies can use them properly or with regulation. Just a small sampling of how babies sensory system is developed healthy is by a rich environment of holding, eye contact, feeding, rocking, singing, bathing, etc. Adoptive children are not the only people that have sensory disregulation. Adoptees just happen to always have a traumatic beginning (adoption starts with trauma for every child, even in the best of the best adoptive situations. Just losing bio-Mommy is traumatic for a baby.) Often sometimes it is even worse with: abandonment, neglect, abuse, starvation, medical issues causing emotional and physical pain, lack of touch and stimulation, which makes it inevitable for these precious children to have sensory disorder. When you add a "hard beginning" or imbalanced brain chemistry (even biological children in the best situations can have) than the sensory system is jeopardized.

I believe every parent, especially adoptive parents, should give their children some special measures of grace and mercy, knowing that their bodies just don't work the way ours do and haven't matured yet to be able to be regulated. Then we should help them regulate and eventually learn to regulate themselves, so they can get along well with others as they grow up. I happen to be a Mama to 3 adoptive children with sensory disregulation, along with several of my birth children having issues with certain sensory categories, some of them all of the senses. So for the last 4 years I have begun really studying this interesting diagnosis, trying to understand it, and seeking help for my children. 

The first book I read that explains it all so well is the The Out of Sync Child. The first website that I found with a huge amount of helpful information, including an awesome checklist that I used to take into our pediatrician for support, is Sensory Processing Disorder. I recommend if after reading my post you want more information to start with those two resources. Even if your child doesn't have a diagnosis of SPD there is valuable information for all parents.

So what are our senses and how do they affect every day life in the way we live, interacting with others and our environments? Any, several, or all of our senses can be disregulated, causing disorder to our nervous system. They can either be "under responsive", "over responsive", or a combination, which is often a pendulum swinging from one extreme to another, and what I find is the most difficult to deal with as you never know what to expect. It becomes especially challenging as well when you have multiple senses that are disregulated.

Under-responsive means that the the sense is not getting enough feedback. So for a child with under-responsiveness to Touch they will be the one who touches everything they come across, seeks messy play like mud, crash and bumps into things attempting to give their bodies more touch and meet that lack of feeling of it, this child will often not feel pain either. Sometimes I have heard of these children getting burned easily, as they just don't feel the injury that occurs instantly like most of us do. The child with the over-responsive nervous system to Touch will be the one who can't stand being kissed, is easily tickled, doesn't like to walk on grass, might walk on tip toes, doesn't like tags on clothing, has a hard time with hair and fingernails being cut etc. And for a child with a combination of these two it might be one hour they don't feel their clothes are all twisted up and maybe even falling off them, but then later that day they are frustrated as their shoes are "too tight" and they must take them off at church. 

Under-responsive to Sound would be a child who likes loud music, might speak loudly, doesn't seem to 'hear' others, and makes vocal noises often. The opposite to that for over-responsive to Sound would be a child that hears sounds in other rooms (like flourscent light bulbs or a barely audible buzzing), covers ears a lot, asking others to 'be quiet', fearful of sounds like a fire truck driving by or grossed out by a siblings chewing sounds (just attempted to deal with this issue tonight). That is where there can also be challenges if  you have two children who are opposites in that sense; one who doesn't hear their chewing loudly and one who hears the slightest crunch from another, ready to gag from it. It can be very frustrating as a parent some times. However, no excuse will be made for anger, dealing with it ungraciously or ignoring it. I have been guilty of doing all those things before and still do sometimes, unfortunately. I am thankful to have a loving God who continues to teach me how to be a better, more patient Mommy and children who forgive me so sweetly.

We all are familiar with the 5 Senses: Touch, Sound, Oral, Smell and Sight. All of those senses can be out of order or regulation at times, for each of us. We all deal with some issue, or have in our lives. For instance, I still can't handle the sound of certain touches on a black board (finger nails for one) it just "kills" my ears and sends vibes up my spine that are literally painful. I also prefer a really dark room to go to sleep or I don't sleep well. Pitch dark would be 'heaven' to me, but I have learned to adjust with what darkness I can get, because I share a room with little ones and have the lights from the alarm clock and computer. I also can not eat certain foods like mushrooms as it just gags me to where I could vomit, but I do enjoy the flavor of mushroom soup without the actual chunks of mushroom in it. So it is definitely an Oral issue for me. I am sure most of us can think of at least some things that we struggle with or did as a child but with maturity and growth we have overcome or adapted to it. I know for me while I still can not handle the chalk board thing, I have overcome the cracking of knuckles that used to do the same thing to me as child and teen. It would send me over the edge if others did that around me. Today, not so much. However, that is just the issue, people with Sensory Processing Disorder have so many things disorganized/disregulated/under or over responsive that they can NOT adapt well and they have a lot of pain and discomfort every single day as it is all just so much to deal with. All of that makes it difficult to function in many situations.

Besides the well known five, there are also 3 other senses that most of us are not familiar with that I want to share. These too are what the SPD child are needing help with and very important to all of our nervous systems and bodies: Proprioceptive, Vestibular and Interoceptive.

Proprioceptive is the sensory input and feedback that tells us about movement and body position. The location for this sense is in our muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues. A person with this sense in dysfunction is often "clumsy", they might push too hard, fall off of things "purposely" as they don't feel it, play too rough, like tight clothing, have a hard time climbing or riding a bike, have poor posture, bite their nails or chew on things, balance is off (can't stand on one foot) and be the "loud" kids.

Vestibular  is the sense of movement which comes from the inner ear: equilibrium, gravitational changes, movement experiences and position in space are all affected by it. This person loses balance easily or can spin for an hour without getting dizzy, avoids playground equipment or things with height or craves jumping off of high places and swinging high. This person may not even like their feet to leave the ground without stress if they are over-responsive, seeming like they are in a lot of constant fear and anxiety. But the under-responsive child is more the "thrill-seeker", always moving and causing fear and anxiety in their parents.

Interoceptive is the internal self-regulation. So this person may get hot easily or cold easily, or seem to be hot or cold at the "wrong" times. They are not able to regulate thirst or hunger well, either never thirsty or hungry or all the time, or back and forth to extremes. Heart rates can be extreme, same with perspiration.

The wonderful news is that the sooner you can get a doctor to listen to your concerns for your child and prescribe the helpful therapies for them, the sooner you as a parent can learn to help your child, learn to help themselves. We have been doing our different types of therapies for almost 4 years now. We sometimes take a few months off as needed. It is always a fun and exciting time for my children. They all really LOVE it. It is hard work though, their bodies are being challenged in ways they aren't comfortable with and when we do some of the activities at home we do get resistance. I usually do not take "no" for an answer though. When it is time for us to enrich our sensory system, it is often done with multiple children at the same time and we try to just have fun, playing games.

One book I can't recommend enough is by the same author for The Out of Sync Child, is called The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. There are other books out there I have borrowed from the library that are good with a wealth of ideas to incorporate into your play time with your kids.

So with all our different types of therapies we have used in the parenting of our amazing children (Occupational, Physical, Speech, Neuro-feedback, Listening Therapy, Vision Therapy etc...), I am going to share some photos of just a few of the ones we have been doing the last couple of weeks. No family can do it all, at the same time. Pick and choose a few things to work on. Then try something new another week, month or year. It has been especially challenging with darkness coming at about 4:45 in the afternoon for our children along with the much colder temperatures this time of year. They seem to have more bickering, whining and just plain grumpiness about them when inside. We do allow some extra movie time, but that isn't so good, especially for the sensory system either, so we just do more indoor active things like mini trampoline and some of the things I will show below. 

By the way, our Occupational Therapist believes the mini trampoline is a great way to help children transition things in life: before school, after school, before dinner, before bed. It is a great deep pressure activity that helps the proprioceptive part of us regulate. It helps with left/right brain body awareness, vision and vestibular; not to mention muscle tone, endurance, lymph system and over all health. Even if the child can only do 1-2 minutes (we set the timer, or practice ABCs or math facts), it is helpful and useful, but it needs to be a part of every day life. Another tip, is that the large outdoor trampolines do NOT give the same affect and feedback as the mini trampolines. They are good for some of the same things: balance, muscle tone, endurance, hand eye coordination and more. However, I have found that for a lot of my children they can jump and jump and JUMP on the large trampoline and still be hyper when they come inside. It does not seem to give them the deep pressure that they need in their joints for the proprioceptive that is lacking in their day. 

One last thing, before you look at some fun things our family does through our days lately, please keep in my mind, we have days where I am just worn out or the kids resist too much, leaving us with not much done for "therapeutic activities", because I am dealing with tantrums too much.  A therapist says and Dr. Purvis says that we should be doing some sensory activity about every 2 hours. If we do that and feed our kids healthy snacks every couple hours it will save us a lot of battles. Well, some days that just can't happen, okay a lot of days! Ha...But even little bits helps most of the time. With some kids though, it is challenging even on our best days. Some kids do well on some days and bad on lots of other days even when we do a "diet" rich in sensory activities. We do have consequences for continued bad behaviors and we do not tolerate it, always correction going on in our home with all of our kids. I have though a greater understanding of what my children "feel" when their bodies aren't telling them what is what, telling them that their feet are even on the ground, or if they truly physically feel pain when another person gently bumps into them. It is my hearts desire to always think "Is this truly being done on purpose or just a reaction to a body that isn't giving them the proper instructions or help just to function in simple tasks?" That has got to be a difficult thing to deal with every hour of the day. My kids are my heroes, because really they put up with so much!!

 

Here is Elliana riding her little car. You should see her on this thing. She is amazing and I do believe gets faster and faster and more agile on it each day she uses it. She still can't walk on her own yet, but when she uses this little car (which is beginning to break after only 3 months of usage already) she can do just about anything.

All three of the 3 year olds have "cars" They often share, but Ellie is quite possessive of hers. Here they are making a little train, Asher is the leader of this bunch, as he pushes them all around from the back.

These little "Pop Tubes" are pulled out and pushed in and make a funny, popping sound when you use them. They are fun for the helping kids to hear things easier, deal with sounds better that they typically might not like and help with muscle issues along with fine motor skills as well.

We sometimes have scooter "Races" around the island in the kitchen. Bigger kids using their strength to push littler ones around and around, good fun for everyone.

Lenea can do it herself here on this "saucer".

Asher is one of our sensitive to sound guys, so we are trying out the headphones to lessen the noise. However, we haven't figured out how to teach him to be quieter when he wears them. He can't hear us well or hear himself speaking so he yells more when he wears them. Not sure if he got hurt in this photo or mad he didn't get his way. This often happens in these games, just part of growing up.

This is a favorite. We have a swing set up in the basement that the older kids can easily access on their own. This is a "sock" swing that we just bought 4 yards of Lycra and had our OT tie some tight knots in it and attach it to a hook. The kids are helped into it and there is a lot of deep pressure and muscles being used in this thing, plus vestibular.

Here is Lenea swinging in it, which is another excellent way to use it.

This is another one of our swings. It is a rectangular board that can be used side ways or back and forth. It fits these three monkeys just right. I am sitting close to Ellie to insure she doesn't fall off.

We have a "Sensory Bag" that I pull out a few times a week. All the children sit around in a circle. The ball that Toby is using is actually quite hard and makes a lot of tactile feed back. We called it the "Spiky Ball" and each child gets to take turns saying what body park to put it on. The top of the head and inside of the hands are my two favorites. It hurts, sort of, but feels good at the same time.

Here is Ellie doing "Under the Chin, No Hands" This ball she is using is not as poky as the red one above. We don't own enough for everyone so we take turns. She LOVES copying us and does really well at it.

These are sound sticks that you rub together for music. This put on the joints and top of the head or the chin or cheeks, gives a vibrating sensation that feels neat and goes into the joints, just rub them together..(please ignore the laundry in the background..never ending here..the "Sensory Bag is the striped blue pillow case on the ground).

We have these rubber type Vehicles that are in different colors. I am having Asher pick them up with this grabber toy. It takes a lot of coordination to pick it up, hold it in the clasp and then drop it in the correct colored bowl. He got frustrated at first as he couldn't do it and his perfectionism almost put him in a melt down. After I showed him how to use both hands to do it, he was able to accomplish about 20 of them, then Toby finished up the game. This helps a lot with hand and wrist strength which is great for school tasks. Kids with Sensory issues often struggle with low muscle tone in that area, which makes school even more challenging.

Asher is listening to our "Listening Therapy" . We had one of our older OTs show us this. You must only purchase it through an OT helping you. The website gives a good explanation. Asher is listening for 20-30 minutes, again timer set, and doing activities that work on various things.

The Balance Board.. Even Daddy is enjoying the therapy we do sometimes.

This is Ellie at her physical therapy, and her very sweet therapist. Anyway, she gets her walker next week. This one is a tad too big for her, but oh how she lights up with delight when she is on this. She is really strong on it, but her endurance is very low. We can usually get about 5-8 minutes of her using her before she starts saying "All Done".. 

She is concentrating hard at this and you can see us in the mirror cheering her on. I stand on one end so she is motivated to walk to me. I just LOVE seeing her move this way.

Here are a few resources I wanted to share. Please let me know if you have some to share or any questions. I love talking about "Therapy". My friend and I joke about all the different types of therapy our kids "need" and we figure when we are all done parenting them, we just might need our own therapy.

Neat Blog With LOTS of Good Information and Ideas

99 Sensory Activities

Speech Therapy Activities

Eye Exercises

Great Post for ALL Adults to Read on Why Our Kids Can't Sit Still