Time got away from me this week. It's been almost two weeks since my last post. I am thinking about closing out my blog soon. However, have not decided yet. I have enjoyed this blog. It's been a place to write down my feelings and document Morgans happenings. It's also been a way to inform those of you I don't see often on how our lives are going. But, I have found that the few free moments that I have, when I could blog, I spend in prayer over Morgan and in research for anything here on earth to help her. God is guiding us on what is best for her. He has healed her, and as her brain is restoring, God is guiding us to all that can help her. I see how much the ABA therapy helps. She responds so well to someone working with her one on one. She catches on quick. However, her behaviors kick in and it takes consistency and intensive work to keep her on track. Something I can't do on my own with another child, a husband, a job and well, just life. In other words, I see her potential but it's a full time job to work with her to help her make progress. I know God will give us the answers as to what is best for our little girl. I do not lean on my own understanding but am seeking Him in all I do and I know He will direct our path. Thank you all for your prayers.

This week in therapy, Morgan worked on feeding hersel using a fork, stacking blocks, recognizing pictures, and playing appropriately with toys. She did not resist much and sat and participated. We are also teaching consequences for bad behavior, like the hitting. She does not like to pick up her toys, so this is her consequence. I see Morgans potential for learning when she works hard with the therapist, one on one. I just wish she had more one one one in the school. It really takes consistency to channel the behaviors and promote learning. We are working on it at home, but it is hard. Our nurse has been awesome, as always, and is coming to the therapy sessions so she can learn how to help Morgan when she is with her. So thankful for her. She is such a blessing! We are focusing on the positive even though it has been a hard week. Morgans behavior was difficult over the weekend. Praising God through it all and rejoicing in All things ( even when I don't feel like it).

Progress!

Morgan had her second behavioral therapy session yesterday. The therapist is already seeing great progress in Morgan! Morgan sat for about 10 minutes and did table work with assisance. She did not get upset, cry, or throw a tantrum once this time. She also demonstrated much less of the injurious behavior. She was actually havin fun. She would give high fives and try to clap. We have been workin with her at home, and they have also been working at the school. Yesterday, they reported that Morgan had a great day! She participated with speech and only had to wear her helmet for about 20 minutes. All the hard work is paying off! We are excited about her learning. However, her learning how to open doors has been a challenge. Now she can open the door knobs even if they have the safety latches. She can also open the outside door, if not locked and head to the great outdoors! So, we have new challenges, but are grateful she is learning how the world works. Thank you, Lord for your blessings!

Steps in right direction

Good happenings this week: Morgan is having less of the "jerking". Praise God! The nurse reported maybe seeing it just one time over the weekend. So thankful and what I had been praying for. I was gone over the weekend and everyone seemed to do ok. Having our nurse there was a huge help but Billy did a great job too. We have been working on implementing the behavior techniques learned in therapy. We have Morgan sit at the table and assist her with a puzzle, then reward her with her favorite snack or water spray. Also, the special ed director, whom I met with last week, said they would be having a behavioral therapist attend Morgans class weekly. These are all steps in the right direction!

More therapy

Morgan had a good therapy session yesterday. She worked at the table on activities and sat for two minutes the first time. She got rewarded with her favorite snack: bananas! Then after the initial sitting period, she didn't like it so much and put up a fight. The therapist is so energetic and patient! Morgan was a little more upset this week because her platform swing in her room broke. She was swinging on it and the bolt came off. She was scared more than anything. However, she sure wanted her swing to be able to get away from us. She went in her room and started throwing her toys. Well this gave the therapist something to work on with her: picking up! And Morgan could do it with help. She picked up all the toys and put them on the shelf. She is learning consequences for her behavior. It was really neat to see her already responding to the therapy. It will be a challenge to keep implementing this consistently at home, but will be so worth it.

Behavioral therapy

We started Morgans ABA therapy last week. I really like the therapist! She is fun, energetic, and very informative. Morgan liked her right away. She is teaching us how to best manage her behaviors. We also will be reinforcing and rewarding the positive behaviors. I am praying this works. We have had some real challenging behaviors lately. I observed her in the classroom after the ARD meeting on Monday, and it was hard to watch the temper tantrums. However, her daily report yesterday was that they started implementing some of the strategies already and she had a much better day! I give God the glory. He has carried us through this. I humanly could not get through it or know what to do without the Lords strength. I pray for all her teachers and everyone involved in her care. They are all doing their best and doing a great job with her. Also this week. I found a wonderful attendent to help us out on weekends. She will be a back up for our nurse. God has always provided. So thankful.

Having fun at camp last weekend!!

Camp at Jill's House

Morgan had a busy weekend. She went to camp again, the Jill's house camp that she went to last June. She had a good time again, but a little more struggle the first day because of the rain. The bus was late to pick them up and she was stuck to wait inside the building while it was raining. Her frustration mounted an she banged her head, causing a nose bleed. However, the rest of the weekend was ok because she was able to go outside with her own child care specialist who was with her the whole time. They went on walks, played chase, and went on the swing. There was also some painting involved. While she was a camp, we all went to Horseshoe Bay for some lake activities. It was fun, but we all agreed, we weren't complete because Morgan wasn't with us. We are praying for her behavior to get under control where we can take her places without the major melt downs. She has been banging her head a lot at school. She is adjusting to the new place, new schedule, and new teachers. The behavioral therapist will start with us next week. She will come to our home on Mondays for a two hour session. I spoke with the therapist on the phone last week. She was very encouraging. She said we were already on the right track with a lot of what we have been doing with Morgan. We will be working on finding rewards that motivate her to do good behavior and then making consequences for the bad behavior. I am looking forward to our session next week.

Fun at Four Winds Horse Farm! A couple of weeks ago, Morgan was invited by our neighbors to come ride in the horse carts. She loved it! They have a horse specialist that helps with special needs children. So blessed to have such wonderful neighbors!

School Days

Morgan had a good first week back to school. It was an adjustment the first couple of days. However, by the end of the week, Morgan had smiley faces and a "great day" report. We had to get the times worked out for meeting the bus in the mornings. Today went a lot smoother. Morgan has been doing great riding the bus. The driver said "she's doing awesome!" So proud of her. We had a good weekend, but am worn out from chasing Morgan. We went to my parents, and right now, she tends to be a little more hyper and gets in trouble more when not at home. However, she does understand, but is just in the "testing phase". She did do great in the car which is huge progress! So I am very thankful for that. And still very thankful for the good nights sleep every night. I do not take this for granted at all because I remember the many sleepless nights. So I am very thankful she sleeps through the night now, even when we are out of town.

Back to school again!

Morgan and Will started back to school yesterday. Morgan attended her new school at Bertram Elementary. I took her yesterday morning, but she rode the bus today. She did well. Everyone at the school was looking forward to her coming and greeted us. They were all very excited to have her. I was able to meet with the director of special needs and discuss goals for Morgan this year. She was very encouraging and positive. She kept saying how wonderful Morgan did over the summer and how far she has come since surgery. So thankful for all the wonderful staff past and present that have cared for Morgan. They are all instrumental in her learning and development. God is so good!

Going out and about, little at a time

So part of Morgans therapy will be taking her out places to help socialization. We had made the mistake of just telling ourselves we couldn't take her out places right now, that it was too difficult. It was just easier to stay at home. Therefore, our family always split up. Usually Will going with Billy and me staying with Morgan. However, it was revealed to me, that it is time to get her out, so that she can learn how to act in public. How will she learn if we never take her? But the outings can be very short at first. However, on Monday, I prayed about it and then went for it. I took her to the lake for five hours! We weren't actually in the lake, but at a nice cabin with a pool and a swingset. Only one big meltdown for a few minutes, and the rest of the day was great. Ask me if I would have even attempted going for one hour a few months ago! Also, this past weekend we went to Elgin to see Billy's parents. It was a two hour drive. She did great in the car both ways!! This is a huge step. Car rides use to be a big problem. So thankful and praising God for all His goodness as He shows us how to enjoy each other as a family!

Encouraging and working toward goals!

On Friday, I met with Morgans summer school teacher to discuss Morgans strengths, interests, and goals for the new year. She was very positive and encouraging. She focused on what Morgan is able to do, her strengths, and then set goals to reach the next level. It was so good to see her strengths on paper. I definitely must focus on this and how far she has come since the surgery. It's hard to believe it's only been a year and a half since her surgery, because she has come so far and done so much since then. So I continue to focus on this. I have connected with another mom with a child similar to Morgan. We were matched through Texas Parent to Parent, an organization that provides information and guidance for families with special needs children. It is run by volunteers who themselves have special needs children. Great organization! Through visiting with this mom, I have been able to discuss how to find dependable attendant care. Basically, the attendant would be able to assist with whatever I needed, and I would be the manager. The agency would just be there for the financial aspect. So thankful for all the resources out there. Morgan qualified for this through her MDCP, which is the medically dependent children's program.

Happy at home

Last week, Morgan got to stay at home with Billy's parents and some with her nurse while Billy and I went on vacation. It was a good set up because Morgan does better with being in her home, in familiar territory. Everyone reported she did good, slept good at night, and behaved well. She was glad to see us when we got back. She finished up her last week of summer school last week. She did so good riding the bus to and from our house last week. For the next three weeks, until school starts, we will just have our nurse during the time that I am at work. Our nursing hours got reduced because she isn't having seizures anymore. Therefore, I won't have extra help on weekends or evenings. However, when school starts, our nurse can just do evenings again since Morgan will be at school during the day. This really helps me in the evenings, before Billy gets home so I can help Will with his homework. We are looking at getting an attendant or home health caregiver to assist us. Eventhough she may not qualify for as much nursing care, she will still qualify for assistance with daily activities. However, finding the right person is the hard part. God has provided every step of the way. I continue to give it all over to Him and have peace about it.

Daddy and Me

A good week!

Morgan had a good week last week, at school and at home. The teacher said Morgan sat for 10 minutes to work on learning activities! This is huge coming from a girl that has always been on the move. They have been working on recognizing her name. The teacher says that Morgan chooses her name by looking at it and that she gets it right EVERY time! The OT said she had such a great session this week. They worked on signing "more". The OT helped her do it in order to keep going on the swing. Morgan would push some and then the OT would stop it. Morgan got the hang of it quickly and signed by herself 7 times in a row. At home, we have been working on helping her be more independent. She can feed herself finger foods, so we started putting it on a plastic plate and have her sit and do it by herself. She is getting better about it. Also, the other morning, she did something so cute, that just shows she is really expressing herself and has a cute personality. In the mornings she comes to the gate at the kitchen and wants something to eat. My husband Billy tries to give her kisses, but you can tell this really annoys her cause she keeps looking at me for food, trying to ignore him. He keeps doing it for fun, and sometimes she will just give him a quick kiss to get rid of him. Well, this one morning, she had enough. She took him by the hand and we thought she was leading him to the door to take her outside. However, she led him to the middle of the living room, and let go of his hand, to leave him there, then she walked back to the gate at the kithen. So hilarious that she was leading him away so he wouldn't bother her anymore. We all got a big laugh out of that. Thank You, Lord for laughter.

Learning!

Yesterday, Morgan learned something new! She figured out how to turn the door knob and open the door. This is exciting because she has watched us do it and figured it out. She did it because she really wanted to get in the bedroom where her brother was hiding. We were so proud of her and closed the door several more times to watch her do it again. It was really neat to see how proud Will was of her. It is the little things that are such big things to us. It just shows that her brain is healing and she is developing and learning now. My specific prayer has been: "thank you Lord that her brain is restored and repaired". God is so good! To Him all the glory!

Goals to work on

Morgan is on her two week break from summer school. However, we have things to work on over the break. We are working on Morgan trying to be more independent. It starts with basic, simple tasks. I didn't realize how much I always do for her, when I should try and get her to help. We lowered down her swing and now she can help push with her legs. We make her do at least two or three pushes by herself and then her reward is for us to push her high. Also we have her feed herself finger foods and put it in a bowl to have her reach in and get it. This we also do at dinner time to keep her occupied and give her something to so so she won't hit. These are some tips we learned from a student studying special education and behavior analysis who came to observe Morgan. It is nice to have some pointers and some goals to work on until school starts and until we get our ABA therapist. Morgans teacher this summer has been so encouraging. She said "I really see her potential". We are so thankful for all our blessings. God is so good.

Weekend fun

Summer school fun!

Morgan had been enjoying summer school. She has been getting good reports. She got "great day" and "compliant" and "playing well with others". She also has been enjoying the bus rides. They say she sits so well. She has this week and then she gets a two week break. We had a busy weekend, and Morgan got to tag along. I have decided that she will go with us ( if our nurse isn't available) rather than me just stayig home with her. We took her to Wills baseball tournament. It was tiring to keep up with her, but so worth it. And looking back on the day, she really did better than she has before. She wasn't as agitated and was actually pretty happy as long as we kept her moving. It was so nice to be able to go and do something as a family. God is good!!