Vacation Time!

Warning: Long Post:)

We just returned to this wonderful AZ heat from a great vacation in San Diego. We had such a good time. We stayed in a house on Coronado, so we were able to go to the beach, and do a few other things. Check out the pics!

We toured the USS Midway Naval Ship. Here are Luke and Mike looking out from the ship.

Pap and Luke getting some ocean therapy.

Mike and Luke checking out a deer at the zoo.

Luke rockin' his aviators.

Luke with his shell collection.

Feeding the ducks that came to the house from the golf course across the street.Luke loves playing (and sometimes throwing) the sand.

Now onto some other Luke news...he has been showing off lately. Sunday night we had a Father's Day dinner at my grandparents house. Luke was showing off his standing up skills. Everyone was clapping for it so I told him to bow. He thought that was funny:)

Here is what we caught him doing the other night. This is the first time he has reached up like this. Now he thinks it is funny to go over the turn off the TV. Notice how lefty is helping out.

We are gearing up for a busy week of birthdays around here. Luke turns 11 on the 27th, and Lynsey will be a teenager on the 13th!! Where has time gone? Look for some bday pics next week. Thanks for continuing to check on Luke:) God Bless!

Summertime!!

Summertime is here! We made the decision earlier this year to let Luke have a break from the intense therapies we had been doing ever summer, and hopefully let him have more fun this break! So, we have two girls that are each helping out with Luke's therapies/lessons 6 hours per week. I am hoping he will show just as much progress. It sure beats driving an hour to and from therapies in the AZ heat, and also worrying about shuffling the girls out somewhere. He is also getting 2 hours of PT a week, and will be starting a karate class this Friday that I am excited about. So, at least we don't have to get up early and go somewhere, but the days are still pretty busy for him! Pray we see only improvement this summer and no regression:) Here are some recent pics of our hero at his end of the year school performance:



Here are some words Lynsey wrote about her little brother:

when i look at him, i see hero. i see never giving up. i see love. i see what i cant describe into words. i see strength. i see inspiration to all. i see little brother.

Here's to a great summer filled with progress and great times!! Thanks for continuing to follow our journey:)

Our Rockstar!

I had Luke's annual IEP (individualized education plan) meeting last week, and let's just say that kid is a ROCKSTAR!!!! I have been following a lot of blogs of families who dread these meetings every year because of the fight that usually results with the school district regarding the results, etc. I have said all along, we could not be more pleased with Luke's transition back into school, and I think his IEP shows the direct results of that. Luke, for the most part, met almost every single goal that was set for him this year!! To take it back a few steps, when Luke was originally evaluated to go back to school, which I believe was in 2008, some of the things they did to evaluate him were have him throw a ball, try to sit up, blow bubbles, stick is tongue out, my how far he has come since that original evaluation. Note: We did not send him back to school after that original eval, we waited two years, to concentrate on therapy. Here is a breakdown of what/how Luke is doing:

Occupational Therapy- He has been busy drawing shapes, learning how to use scissors again (with his left hand). Some of the main goals he met here were drawing various shapes, and integrating lefty into more tasks, which he continues to do great on!

Physical Therapy-He has been working on standing balance and walking with minimum assistance. I am pleased that next year, we will be working with Luke using his walker more at school during the school day to get around the classroom instead of his wheelchair.

Speech-The therapist was very pleased with how Luke is doing. She said he is ready, willing, and able to communicate his needs. Some of the future goals for Luke include, saying more than just yes/no, using a communication device which will speak in sentences for him, and sequencing more sounds. We are going to start working on really having Luke say hi/bye for the next words he will hopefully say by mouth, along with yes/no.

In Class goals-Luke is able to read some basic sight words when they are presented to him. He is also matching words with pictures, and beginning to learn to even spell some simple words using letter cards. He is doing great in math using a ten frame to count up to 12, and even scored 100% on the addition problems that were presented to him. Next year he will begin to work on word problems involving real life situations (money,) subtraction, spelling and using more words, writing his first name.

So, I am very excited with how Luke has progressed this year. A HUGE thing for next year, is he will be going all day every day, instead of this year only go for a full day on Monday and Friday. Way to go Luke! We are so proud of you and so thankful for your amazing teacher, aides, and the wonderful team that works with you everyday at QCMS!!!

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." -Christopher Reeve

He is Risen!

He is Risen...He is Risen Indeed!!!! Happy Easter everyone!

This morning as Luke was going thru his Easter basket using both hands, I thought to myself there is no way he was doing that last Easter. So, I went thru the pics from last year, and look at the difference:

Last year, not using his left hand at all, in fact it is contracted up against his body.

This year, using lefty to help rip open the package. In fact, we call him shredder in our house because he loves to rip and tear up stuff.

Using both hands to open up his eggs.