Christopher had a date with Miss Utah tonight. Thank you Ciera for supporting the Oakridge School Fundraiser!
The Utah Daily Herald just published a story about Christopher's school. We are grateful for all the people that make Oakeidge School a great place of learning for our son. Check out the gallery for some pictures of Christopher. http://m.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/precollegiate/photos-oakridge-staff-sees-progress-for-special-needs-students/collection_8ca160d2-a9e7-11e3-ae37-001a4bcf887a.html?mobile_touch=true When you are blessed with a child with special needs, it is often necessary to adapt activities to their abilities. Most of the time, the adaptation is just as fun as the original game. With my older son Ben, and with my daughter Abbie, I would pitch a baseball to them, they would hit it, and I would chase it. It was fun. One adaptation of baseball with Christopher in our house is to tie a helium balloon to his chair. He hits the big ball, then it floats back up and he hits it again and again. As you can tell from his joyful sounds, he is not concerned with what he cannot do. He loves what he can do. Perhaps Alice didn't pick cool enough frames for Christopher's last pair of glasses. This weekend Christopher made a fashion statement when he grabbed Abbie's sun glasses off the table and demonstrated the "cool" way to wear them :) Christopher has been sick all week with the H1N1 strain of the flu. By the grace of God, he has recovered well so far. I think I caught him praying tonight (he's still sleeping in our room). Its Monday morning, and we are all starting a new work week. Sometimes as we begin a new project or even continue an old one, the task can seem overwhelming. Hopefully, a short example of Christopher's positive attitude and "can do" thinking will help. Yesterday, he was playing with a gun. I think instinctively, all boys like toy guns. When it quit making the laser noises he loves, Christopher brought it to the drawer in our kitchen that contains batteries, stood up, opened the drawer, and started looking for the right batteries. I don't know what he thought he would do with them when he chose the batteries, but I do know that Christopher is not afraid to do all that he can do to accomplish his goals, and I hope to always have as much determination as him! Christopher received a cool Christmas gift yesterday. Thanks to Joe Alisa and his brother Mike Alisa-- they gave him a football autographed by the BYU football team. Christopher looked at it really close, then hoisted it over his head, and passed it to me. I think Taysom Hill's quarterback job is safe, but it was a great pass :) We had a great opportunity today to attend a Christmas party sponsored by Alterra Pest Control and organized by Chris and Ashley Miles. It was an awesome event. Santa and Mrs. Claus and their elves were there, and bounce houses, face painting, balloons, games like "whack an elf", and others were set up. It was a great time. Thanks to all those involved in putting on this great party for the benefit of an awesome organization! Christopher loved being tickled in the bounce house, and Beautiful Abbie liked the face painting. Just a week ago our family enjoyed the warm weather (60 degrees) in St. George. Christopher and I rode the old Carousel, and he sang as we went around. Looking outside at my snow covered yard and watching the wind whip the snow around sure makes we long for another trip to someplace warm! Last night our family continued a favorite Christmas tradition and watched "The Forgotten Carols" at Utah Valley University. Christopher plays and sings the carols (in his own way) year round. As soon as he heard his favorite songs start during the production he would let out his typical squeal of excitement. I worried that the people in front of us would be bothered. After the show, I started to apologize for Christopher's exuberance, and they immediately cut me off and expressed their joy in feeling Christopher's excitement. We then waited in line to see Michael McLean, and told him about Christopher's love of his music. He was seated, and Christopher was standing next to him. Michael asked for a hug, and without hesitation, Christopher gave him a big KISS! Michael took it well, and I believe Christopher withheld the tongue. Whew. The carols may be forgotten, but I doubt the kiss will be. :) |