Sweet Evening....

Today turned out to be very nice. Even though Elliot (my husband) was at the Giants game tonite (Bonds last home game as a Giant-I'm told), it turned out to be a very nice evening. Clayton went with his Dad tonite, so it was Anika & Me. We had Calida (my oldest daughter-25), Jesse (my son in law) and the girls (Luna & Athena-twin granddaughters) over for dinner. I didn't make TACOS this time..but, we had a nice pasta dinner. It was just plain nice-had a nice dinner. Then just sat and talked. After Calida & Jesse started homework with the girls. They take turns with each daughter while the other reads. SO, Anika had a great time going between her big sister Calida & Jesse...listening to them read. I could her the chatter as I was cleaning the dinner dishes in the kitchen. It was like music to my ears. No chaos....no drama..just sweet music to my ears. Reading, laughing and playing ......it was awesome. It was one of those ...THANK YOU LORD moments. Moments like this that I really need to thank the LORD for blessing me with a lovely family. It would have been even better if Elli was here. But, I'm sure he's having a blast with Dad at the game.

They're all gone....Anika is here with me. Time for bed...for her and for me. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Yeah, it's not even 8 p.m.

Very Special Clayton

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Today was a sad day for me. Clayton tried to hurt his teacher today and I had to pick him up. You'd think after all these years -I wouldn't take these "incidents" so hard. But, even after all these years...it's still difficult for me. Clayton is an 18 year old kid...he's blind and mentally challenged (aka. retarded). He was doing so good this year (so far). Then, within 2 weeks-Two outbursts. Yeah, he tried to hurt his teacher. Grab him....or something to that affect. I'm thankful that Mike (teacher) and the principal seem to be very set on trying to help Clayton succeed in this new program (post H.S). But, I'm still concerned. I know that God has always taken care of Clayton and his needs. I know that it's in God's hands. I do my part...beleive me. But, there is only so much I can do from home...when the incidents occur at school. They're trying to come up with a motivational / behaviorial plan for Clayton. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get him on track. While the med's have made a tremendous change in his behavior...a tremendous help with his anxiety issues...now, Clayton needs to work on his behavior himself. He needs to control himself and act appropriately. Yeah, easier said then done.

So, how much does Clayton really undertand??? Well, he can't remember what he had for lunch. He can't tell me what he did at school. Then there are times when he can hear music and tell me who is singing...The Doors, Nirvana, etc. and there are times when he'll sing a phrase before we can even tell what song is on...."Welcome to the jungle, baby" he'll blurt out.
The truth is.,..that Clayton comprehension level is unable to be measured. His communication level is very low.

The other day, I was listening to Clayton play in the room with Anika (his 2 year old sister). They were both laughing....playing in the toy box....cracking up. My heart was feeling very overjoyed by this scenen. I poked in the room and there they were...just playing. Little Anika was laying on the floor with her little feet on her big brother...her big 175 lbs brother. Anika was tickling Clayton with her feet....he had a huge smile on his face, head down as usual and this funny almost hysterical laugh....on and on. I enjoyed this nice little scene and thank God for this blessing. Then it hit me...I was watching Anika ..a two year old and Clayton ...a four year old in a 18 year old body. What a revelation.

Spanish Class

After our missions trip to Mexico this past summer, I had this deep desire to learn spanish. So, I've taken a class at the community college. I attended two classes so far and feeling quite LOST. It is suppose to be a beginning spanish class however, everyone seems to already know spanish. For them, that's great. For me, it sucks. Anyway, I've been really trying to expose myself to SPANISH.....via television, radio and of course, the class textbook and workbook (which btw, cost $166.00...I guess that's not too bad, since tuition was only $79). well, it funny because Anika and Clayton (two of my kids) are practicing the spanish vocabulary words with me. Cute....maybe they'll learn spanish, too. Looks like even after this class I may need to take the next few classes..if I'm serious about learning the language. We'll see how it goes after this semester.

Oh, yeah, it was kinda trippy to be in a classroom again. My group consists of one man who is about 55 yrs old and a girl who is probably 17 yrs old (she told me she is a Jr. in High School) ....anyway...looking forward to my next class.

:)

Like I have nothing better to do.....

ok. I decided to start a BLOG. Well, I've been journaling since I was 15 (a few years lapse in between) years old and now I'm 45. Boy, that's a heck of alot of paper. So, I thought I try this BLOG stuff. Sounds cool. Amazed by our technology.

Ok. I just got a total flashback to when I was in my early twenties. Yeah, working at a bank in downtown San Jose- we were told of the future in banking. How there would be a card that would allow you to pay for your groceries and go shopping etc, taking the $$ from your checking account. At the time, it sounded unbeleiveable. And here we are totally living it out with DEBIT CARDS. Dang, I am old. Whew. Funny thing is ...aside from knowing so much more (life stuff) due to living and making so many mistakes...I don't feel like 45. Ok. So, I have a 25 year old daughter, and an 18 year old son.....ok...yeah, but I also have a 2 year old baby girl. And to be honest...I don't feel much different than the other Moms at her gym class. Ok. Maybe that's because some of the Moms are as old as me. (Or atleast they look it).

So, back to the debit card and technology. Well, here I am Bloggin'...is that what you would say? Whatever. I'm sharing stuff on the internet that other people just wouldn't care about. COOL.

Humm, I wonder if this does a spell check, too.....