mid-May

I can hardly believe there are 4 more weeks left of school. This past weekend was crazy! On Saturday, I graduated with my Masters of Science in Education degree from UW-Whitewater. My parents and Chris & Josh joined me for the ceremony, and then we had dinner in Madison to celebrate. 2 years of hard work is done...no more research, at least for a while!

Then of course, Mother's Day yesterday - I did not cook or do dishes, but did put away a ton of laundry.

Today, we had Joshua's IEP meeting. (See last post). It turns out he does qualify for services, and as hard as that is, we want him to get the help he needs sooner rather than later. He will receive some speech and language services for receptive language, as well as some fine motor and pre-readiness skills, along with working on attention and focus. He will do 2 half-days of regular 4K, and then 2 half-days of Early Childhood program in our district. He will continue to be at his daycare with his friends for most of his time, and teachers will come to daycare to work with him as well. For 6 hours a week, he will be in the Early Childhood class, receiving more individualized help to prepare for kindergarten.

All in all, it's a good thing for him. We are so proud of him, and I know that God has the perfect plan for his life.

This Sunday is Joshua's adoption day - the 3rd anniversary of him becoming a Bohlman. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude at the privilege of being allowed to raise him. I pray that I can do it well.

Ready or not, here he comes!

So Josh went in for 4K screening last week. (I can't believe he's going to be 4!) As I filled out paperwork, a person took him over behind a screen to work with him for about 15 minutes. I could see shadows behind the screen and hear him and could tell that he was not exactly cooperating. When she finished, she walked him to the playroom and I had to wait to talk to the person who was doing the final step before we were finished. The lady called me over and introduced herself as the Early Childhood teacher and explained that Josh had scored 31 out of 100 possible points, well below the cutoff for his age, which was 71 points. The screener, who is a Speech and Language pathologist, wasn't sure if he couldn't do some of the things, or just didn't.

I already knew that he didn't know his colors well, as well as some other things. I didn't want to prep him for the screener - I wanted him to be himself and give them a good picture. But of course, sitting there hearing it, I got teary-eyed. I don't want school to always be a huge struggle and have Josh hate it. Some of the things he "missed" I think depend on the point of view of the screener. For example, he called scissors "cutters". Because he didn't use the correct vocabulary, he was docked a point, even though he obviously knew what they were and what their purpose was. She marked that he didn't know his last name, even though he introduced himself to the registration lady as "Josh Michael Bohlman".

SO - the teacher part of me has to remind the mommy part of me that it's just one test - one snapshot of my kid. I met with the Early Childhood teacher again on Wednesday to sign consent for further evaluation and to go over some things about Josh. Lots of history and what he can/can't do. Today, she visited him at daycare. She spent some time observing him, and worked with him a bit, as well as talked to his teachers. She told them that he has quite a personality.

I'm so proud of him - he is so outgoing and friendly to everyone he meets. I hope that if he needs help, we can figure out how to do it now and get him on the right track so school isn't a terrible place for him. I'll know more in a few weeks - the speech teacher also needs to do some more evaluation on him and then we'll have a meeting to go over results and next steps.

Easter season

I love watching Joshua react to the things about Easter he is able to understand. Of course, he loves hunting eggs, and coloring eggs, and visiting the Easter bunny. We also went to our church's Easter production. He was very curious if that man was really Jesus, and why the other man had the same name as our dog (Simon). Afterward, he was wide-eyed going up to shake Jesus's hand. On the way home, he prayed, "Dear Jesus, please be my best friend. Amen."

Today, we were watching an animated version of the crucifixion and resurrection. It was age appropriate, but when the soldiers were whipping Jesus (off-screen - you could only see the soldiers), I was telling him that the men were hurting Jesus. His eyes got teary and he said, "That's enough, momma. They should stop." After Jesus died, he prayed, "Dear Jesus, please don't stay dead." I get tears in my eyes just writing it. Of course, we cheered and danced when the stone rolled away, and Jesus was alive again. He also wanted to know if Jesus was God and where He was going when he ascended into the sky. He thought it might be scary to do that himself.

His understanding develops more every year, and it's precious to see a heart of love for Jesus growing in my little boy. There are so many things to teach him; but most of all, I want him to know and understand Christ's overwhelming love for him.

(Forgot to mention - the other night, he dumped an entire bowl full of water out of the bathtub on to the floor. When asked why, he said because he wanted me to come in there. He also was in the back seat the other day saying "mama??" When I responded, he said, "wasn't talking to you - was talking to my truck." (Who was evidently the mom in his game.) The next time he said mama, I naturally didn't respond - but now he persisted in saying it, and finally said "Rachel!" to get me to answer him. Sigh....he's getting too smart for me!)

Someone to watch over me

Josh had a bad dream the other night - something about talking cars and being scared. (No, we weren't watching Cars). My mom was here, and he was calling for mama and grandma. So we went up to help him get back to sleep. He was laying in his bed and crying a bit, and I was rubbing his back. Grandma and I offered to pray for him to help him go back to sleep, and we reminded him that he can always pray to Jesus when he's scared. He was still a little sniffly, and we said we would pray "in our minds" to help him get to sleep. I continued rubbing his back, and a sweet smile came over his face and he started nodding. He said, "It's ok, mom, the angels are coming now to help me."

He went back to sleep with not another peep the whole night.

I love my Jesus - how amazing to send that comfort to a little one.

3 and a half

Josh is 3 1/2. I can't believe it. Here are some memorable quotes from the last few weeks.

"You're beautiful, mom. But daddies aren't beautiful, just ladies."
"I'm too old for peanut butter. I want jelly instead."
"I don't want to grow up, cause then I have to go away from you and I always miss you mom."
"Ok, mom, I'm gonna be the daddy, and you can be the Josh."
"I love you more."
"Grandpa, you teach me to pee standin' up?"
"Go away mom, I need my privacy."
"My mommy's name is Rachel."
"When you go to work mom I miss you. But then you come back and I'm happy."

Fleeting moments and days...and he grows up before my eyes.

Tradition

This was my article from the Nov/Dec MOPS newsletter.

Those of you who know me, may not know that I’m a fan of musicals. One of my favorites is “Fiddler On the Roof”. If you’ve never seen it, it’s about a Jewish family in Russia who is dealing with the changes in their family and community. The father sings this great song called “Tradition” . He doesn’t know why things have to change—after all, they’ve always been done that way.

Musicals aside—I’m sure most of us have traditions, especially around this holiday season. Baking something special, decorating the tree, going to grandmas, a favorite restaurant. When I was young, our tradition was cutting our own tree (well, my dad and brother did the cutting!) and then going to Pedro’s afterward for lunch.

Traditions are good—they cement our family relationships and give us something to look forward to. Hopefully, as you’ve become a mom, you’ve thought about some traditions you want to keep, or start with your own children.

One tradition that I hope all of us choose is teaching our children about the true meaning of Christmas— God, in a manger, born to save us all.

It’s easy to focus on all the fun of Christmas—snow, cookies, ringing bells, giving presents, stringing up lights both inside and outside, visiting Santa at the mall, watching old Christmas movies, caroling.

Let’s not lose sight of the real tradition—the tradition that God shares with us each year of remembering how very much He loves us. There’s no better gift you can give your children this year then teaching them about Jesus. There’s no better way to celebrate the season then to take some time to focus our attention on the story of Christmas. If you don’t already, why not start a new tradition?

Chosen

Here's the article I wrote for the October MOPS newsletter...

I got hooked on this TV show recently called “Switched at Birth”. I watched the whole first season, thanks to Netflix instant streaming. Basically, two teenage girls discover they were switched in the hospital. They spend most of the episodes trying to decide where they fit—exploring the family they might have been a part of if things had been different.

It made me think about our children. It’s no accident that your children are in your family. Whether you became a mom by childbirth, marriage, or adoption—you were chosen by God to parent your children. You are uniquely designed to meet their needs. You are the one God has asked to guide, nurture, and direct their steps into adulthood. It’s a major responsibility, isn’t it?

I wish that children came with manuals—but that would take some of the fun out of the adventure of discovering who they are and how they are perfectly fitted into your family. Our families are all different—some crazy, some more serious, some have been established for a long time, and others are new.

Wherever you’re at in parenting—a first time mom to an infant, or seeing your youngest go off to school, or maybe even a mentor mom facing an empty nest—we all have things to learn as moms. We all have needs and desires, challenges and opportunities.

Aren’t you glad for other moms? Aren’t you glad for their wisdom and experience? On those days when you wonder if you really are a good mom, remember, you were chosen for a reason. Your child is in your family for a reason. Decide to be a better mom, whatever that looks like. Decide to learn something new. Decide to pass on something you’ve learned to someone else.

After all, you and your child have a unique bond that you won’t share with anyone else—take advantage of it!