autism, chris, colleen, college, residency, Ryan, transcription

Seems fitting to attend a great barbecue the week before school!

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Sometimes it’s challenging to get through the summer easily trying to keep two rambunctious boys happy and safe in the heat.  But all in all I think we all accomplished this this summer.  We have worked as a team – Chris stays at his paternal grandparents’ still (while we await, seek, and research the appropriate placement) and Roger stays over there a lot to watch him.  Chris is very astute and is trying his best to learn the ways of unlocking doors so he can get some freedom outside.  However, their safety (Ryan will escape and run off as well) is our highest concern so we do have some fancy key locks on the doors at both houses.  So it is up to us to get them out as much as we can for their activities and exercise.

 

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So all and all we were pleased with their summer programs – next year I would like to get Ryan to Chris’s camp even more days – we got a grant this year for him to go 6 days but if we can get three grants then next summer he can go 18.  Chris went all summer from June 22 or so until this coming Friday the 20th.  This is where they met for camp – we started taking Ryan there a bit a few days this summer:

 

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It was very nice and also had a wood path.  The boys would walk with their class in the morning on the wood path.  Then by afternoon they’d usually visited another place and ended up swimming in a big pool across the county.  Really nice program.

 

Colleen stayed busy with different friends, often attending anime events and swimming. 

colleen and friends

Rog and I worked, and went out of town for business in June.  We’re going again the first week after school starts.  I also made it through computer class and Algebra 850 – intro to algebra.  I just finished that about 2 week ago and was happy to have passed (it was hard!).  On a break now, working on some transcription but not tons and going to be trying to get the house in shape before work and school again (school starts week of August 30 for me – biology and intermediate Algebra).  0809101226 Speech therapy and certification in autism and deafness is still the goal, Kent State.

 

Working with Congress at this point with several liaisons to try to find away to get Chris into the program at NDA.  We sure hope and pray it works. 

(2020, as I said before, program was closed in 2014 for abuse.  Sad.)  Watch the video about NDA’s autism/deafness program.  (2020 no site)  I just feel so excited that this could be the right program for Chris.  (nope)

birthdays, chris, colleen, college, photos, Ryan

birthdays with business as usual.

16th birthday party is all done and in the books.  I think Colleen and her friends had a good time.  I worked on and off the whole time, and we had a busy weekend with also taking Chris to the park with Ryan and Rog too.  Rog is feeling a lot better. 

I actually still need to send the one blog post still on to the Congresspeople about how there really needs to be way more help in Ohio for individuals with disabilities needing medication adjusting.  More posts, prayers, calls, and arrangements are still needed.  But thankfully Chris is doing better at this point and we really enjoyed our time at the park with him this weekend!

 

Photo344 I have been excited to find Windows Live Photo Gallery and with it Live Space, and plan to gradually get all my photos on there.  So going to work on that on and off.  Also, long story about how financial aid was messed up for me this summer deleted but short story is that I should be back in my class by tomorrow and have lots of homework to do!  busy!

children, chris, colleen, reflections, Ryan

8 years old – thoughts

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As Ryan (here eating fries when we briefly stopped at the park a few weeks ago) was climbing on my lap today, I started thinking about how soon that may be getting harder for him to do.  He is a tall boy, still skinny, and can still fit upon my lap even though it’s a little poky in places :D.  I have to remember to appreciate that and cherish a little boy on my lap, as the years go so fast.

I remember when Chris (above, left) crawled into our laps and in our bed every night to sleep.  He loved to be held and would just laugh and laugh.  He loved to lay down with his dad and play tickle games and play with his toys. 

Colleen wasn’t so much a lap person but she loved to sit with us, especially her dad, and play her animal games.  She did that a lot at age eight, and had a game called the cows that she played with her dad about imaginary animals and their conversations.

Now Ryan is over eight years old, and where is the time going?  It just seems the childhood ages are going past me – Chris going to be 20, Colleen’s 16th birthday is in 11 days, and they’re growing up before my eyes.

 

life, Ryan, weight

progressing —


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Originally uploaded by criscollrj

Wow, June 18th already. AND one month, one day on Weigh Down/Thin Within. I WILL DO THIS.

And we’re almost done with Colleen’s summer school and about to start Chris’s. I’ll be transporting in the morning and Gayle in the afternoon, bless her.

The only time we won’t be transporting children one place or another is the 3rd week of August, I believe.

Finally got our new checking account open – one of those open this and you get $100 free!! accounts – and I’m so relieved! Now everyone can say FINALLY Dorene will stop talking about how we have to get that DANGED CHECKING ACCOUNT open lol!!!!! It’s done. Now I have to get the new direct deposit form faxed in which I’m going to do right now.

And my thanks again to a certain angel to made it possible to do this today, on my husband’s only day available to do it, before the coupon expired for the account 😀

Ryan’s having a good time on his break – making sleep forts like this, playing with his Leapster, running around. His aide has also been taking him outside to play while I’m working.

 

chris, colleen, life, organizing, Ryan

Graciously accepting help

childrenautism
I was just thinking this morning that this is one of the lessons I’ve had to learn. I’ve been thinking about, what are the things I’ve had to learn in this walk we’ve been on in life? Graciously accepting help, though I’ve not yet gotten very good as ASKING for help; accepting my limitations; and not being a perfectionist. There’s probably more, but that’s a start.

Years ago I made this web site: https://criscollrj.com/cleaning.html . Beth D. if you’re reading, I’m sure you remember helping me with this way back on Geocities in ’97!!! All the tables and everything for HTML coding. But I felt so guilty that I could not follow it. And I did not want to ask for help.
Continue reading “Graciously accepting help”

chris, dogs and cats, residency, Ryan

Where’s Chris? At the blue house…


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Originally uploaded by

criscollrj

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Chris has been at his new home over a month now. It’s going very well! It’s odd though to have him gone. I know he’s getting a lot of outings, is on a very good routine, and with the low-fat diet he’s on he’s lost 11 pounds!

Ryan has been asking about him and should be seeing him tonight (we’re going to take him to the chiropractor with us – his first car ride with us!) Ryan says, “Where’s Chris? At the Blue house.” Then he said, “Where’s Doreen? No Doreen.”

We are very busy still – the dog didn’t work out – we had to take him back to a home last Saturday. He was too rough with Ryan. If you look at that one picture of Ryan with the towel on his head, he was afraid of the dog.

I’ve been typing a lot again, and trying to clean house.

I need to update here more!

 

autism, chris, colleen, organizing, residency, Ryan

Almost time for my fall background change!


Ryan, my photographer.

Wow, it’s been a really long time since I updated. I’m not even sure what I wrote about exactly last (and don’t really feel like looking right now)

First, after taking tons of pics like this with my camera phone, Which he really wasn’t supposed to to do but got away with it as much as possible anyway , Ryan lost the battery to my camera phone. This explains why I’ve had no August pictures.

Continue reading “Almost time for my fall background change!”

Ryan

Ryan’s roster


Ryan’s roster

Originally uploaded by

criscollrj

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Ryan’s list of his class friends – he did this on his own and put on his wall (notice other artwork beneath – the chalkboard paint can’t come soon enough!)

Ryan H, Colin, Ryan R, Gryphen (i think?), Jack, and the last one I can’t make out….

He’s 6 and I think this is adorable writing! I’m so pleased.

I want us to start writing hand-over-hand with Chris too and see what he can do.

As always Colleen is making beautiful artwork – I’ll have to post more of her pics here too—

Just waiting on her homeschooling and have a ton more papers to do for the boys too and summer camps, etc…

Christmas, NaBloPoMo, Ryan

Spirit of Christmas

Ryan style 🙂

I was doing dishes yesterday but Ryan decided THEN was the time to start unpacking all the Christmas boxes I had hidden behind the couch. He also did some of this in the morning yesterday before school —

Let’s get all these boxes dumped!




Decorating Ryan Style 1

Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

What a bunch of tangled beautiful garland!




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

Garland still on bottom, and 2 strands of lights (continued even now) out.




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

This tin looks like a drum!




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

Putting all the garlands on the bottom …




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

Pulling all the garland out. He eventually got it all tangled and we had to get it all untangled last night 🙂




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

Last night:

The breakables, up high enough??




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

Love those lights…




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

Colleen’s room.




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Office wall




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Santas (not breakable, on lower shelf 🙂 )




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And half our stuff is still in the attic!




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Originally uploaded by criscollrj.

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children, chris, colleen, Ryan

Busy times!


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Originally uploaded by

criscollrj

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Ryan went to a baseball game and did great! He went with Papa and Dad. We also visited his new school, and went to an outing with Chris’s school mates. And Ryan went to a birthday party, and so did Colleen. I tried to put some of these pictures in sets to make it less confusing and more organized – lots of work to do!!

Today was Chris’s last day of school. Unbelievable. He is now a 10th grader!

More soon —