Kendra Burdick's First Birthday Party

Today we went to Kendra's First Birthday Party a fun time was had by all.. Old and Young.. The younger ones and few who are not too young. (smile) even played Baseball.
Aaron enjoyed playing baseball too with everyone.
Kendra did really well this being her First Birthday she got tired but did not cry.. She is a good little girl.. Thanks for having us to your party Kendra. We love you..
Hugs.....

I had forgot to add this picture of Bro. Mark Minton in the slideshow of the Party he was having a little bit to much fun playing baseball...

Today at Bowling

Today started the Winter Bowling session for Bill's Special Kids. Aaron was very excited because Bowling is one of his favorite things to do that Bill's Special Kids does. He went to his Guitar lessons today too. Mike was able to go to the bowling today because of a mixup at work.
Here here a few pictures..
This is Uncle Aaron and Nathan...

Alot of people who do not know Aaron and Nathan very well think they are related they said they favor each other... Of course that makes Uncle Aaron proud...

This next picture was so cute... Nathan was calling Gramma Judy on the phone (That is me Gramma Judy) he says it so cute.. Juey.. what a doll he is and so so much fun..




This is Michael, Penny and Pam.. (they are two of Bill's daughter who help run the program of Bill's Special Kids) Pat is another daughter and she is Nathan's Grandma..

Good Day... Old Friends..

Aaron and I went to see a dear old friend today Lela she has not been feeling to well and she is staying at her daughters house right now (Kathy) who Aaron is also crazy about. So he got double hugs many times today. (smile) He has missed them both very much (I have missed them very much too)He said on the way there can we please go by a Florist mom I want to take her some flowers.. PLEASE...he said I will pay for them. He is just to sweet and has such a big heart....
We loved Kathy's new home it is beautiful and her view is awesome. I also took pictures of the view from her patio. So it was a wonderful day and I am so happy we got to go. GOD IS GOOD.....
Here are some pictures.
One is of Aaron with Lela with her flowers he took to her. Also another picture of Aaron with Lela...There is a picture of Aaron giving Kathy the bear hugs she loves to get from him.... And the last one is the beautiful view Kathy has WOW I love it....

















THANKS Kathy for having us over.. love ya....

Our Busy Weekend.. I am glad it is Monday.......

I usually am thankful when Friday rolls around but I am pooped. (smile) we had quite a busy weekend. I am to old for all of this.

Friday the day started off with getting Aaron off to school. Michael had the day off so we had some errands to do. We went to Redlands and took Bro. & Sis Wiggins (our Pastor and his wife) to lunch it was their 50th Wedding Anniversary on Friday. We told the waitress and they sang Happy Anniversary to them and brought them a Chocolate Dessert to share. Here is their picture.


Then Friday evening was the Youth rally it was a great rally I am so glad we went. Coachella church decided to get in the rotation of the rally's so sometime we will be going there for the rally too now. Matt, Trisha and Steven sang a beautiful song. I just love to hear Matt sing but of course I am a bit prejudice. Ha!
Steven Ridings is the new Pastor of Coachella and he gave the message on Friday evening and did a great job and there was a young lady saved too so that made it even more awesome. I am posting a few pictures from Friday night one is our Group from Redlands singing we won the banner for most in attendance too.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We didn't get home till past midnight on Friday after the rally. So it was a late night and we had to be up EARLY to get to Lake Perris for CAST for Kids.

Bill's Special Kids had been invited to join in again this year. We arrived out there about 6:45 a.m. CAST for Kids is an Organization that gives Disabled children a chance to go fishing for the day. They give the kids a fishing pole and tackle box, a t-shirt and hat and all kind of goodies. They take the kids out on boats and let them catch fish you should see some of the smiles on these kids faces. These people are AWESOME!!!! Here are some pictures of the Morning....

We had to leave the Lake before the outing was over because we had a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party to attend for our Pastor and his wife.
It was a very nice small party and they seemed to enjoy the afternoon very much here are some photos I took at the party.

As soon as the Party was over we went to Loma Linda Hospital we had received a call earlier about Eveyln being taken to ER there she was vomiting up blood. Evelyn is Bill's wife (from Bill's Special Kids) they are like family to us. We got to the ER and they said only family could go in so I told her you want me to be truthful or lie. The lady smiled I said I am like a daughter to her. So she called back to the ER and they let me in. I told Evelyn and Bill when I got in and they said next time just tell them YES I AM a Daughter.. They were waiting for results back from the CT Scan they had done earlier. Penny was there also. (one of Bill and Evelyn's daughters) we tried to make Evelyn smile and keep her mind off of things until results came back so we talked about the adorable DRs in the ER. I think they do not hire UGLY or OLD Drs at Loma Linda. (Smile) The nurse (who was also a MALE) and was cute came over and told Evelyn there were not results back yet. So I told them I would go out with Mike and Aaron in the Lobby. Bill came out a few minutes later and to talk with us for a bit and then Penny came out and got Bill said the Dr was there. We did not get good news from the DR. They immediately called in a team of DRs to see what they are going to do. Today she is to have a Biopsy done. Please keep this family in your prayers..They are VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE and we have come to LOVE THEM ALL very much. Aaron has minimum days all this week at school so when he gets home today we will go to Loma Linda and check on her and see if they have any more news. But after we found out the awful news Saturday evening, Michael, Aaron and I went to the Yearsley's home to stay with Pam (another daughter) who was home taking care of her Special Needs Son, William and Nathan a Great-Grandson of Bill and Evelyn's. He is the toddler that Aaron is Uncle Aaron to. We stayed with Pam until Penny and Bill got home from the hospital that night it was about 11:30. I had rocked Nathan to sleep we had wore him out playing with him. And he learned to say my name Saturday Night.. we were playing peek a boo around a corner and I said say Peek a boo.. gramma Judy... and from then on it was Juey... Juey.. Juey.. it was so cute. And he said it again yesterday too so he did not forget..(SMILE)
So we got home about Midnight on Saturday night and we had to be up EARLY AGAIN.. it was our Annual Pancake Breakfast for Bill's Special Kids on Sunday.. So we got there a little after 6 am.. And yes of course I have some pictures of the day. hehehe

So you can see we had a VERY BUSY weekend.... and this week looks like it will be busy as well.
This week is Michael's standby week at work. He will leave at 4 am tomorrow morning and not come home till 6 pm next Tuesday.
So this will be a LONG WEEK....
So that is the update of our Busy life... PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR EVELYN.....

Patriot Day 2007

We had a service at our church in Redlands for Patriot Day. Tony Farrar Sr. brought the flag that flew over the Pentagon in honor of his son Tony Jr. who was killed in Iraq in May of this year. He put the flag up to be flown this year at our church.

On that awful day in 2001 a member of our church lost her daughter, Melissa who was in the Navy she was in the Pentagon when it was attacked. Our church was deeply affected by 9-11 and has been ever since. We have had many of our young men and women serving their country to help protect and defend. God Bless all our Military and bless all the families who have lost loved ones because of this tragedy of our Nation.








Our Pastor, Brother Lonnie Wiggins did a wonderful service before the raising of the new flag. We sang God Bless America. There were many people from our congregation there for the flag raising and memorial service. Pastor Wiggins wrote the following for the flag raising ceremony:

Psalm 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." As we come to the sixth annual Patriot's Day, brought into out lives by the horrendous attack on our country on September 11, 2001 by terrorists who would destroy this nation, we are reminded of the fact that out nation is great because it has had a strong center -- GOD. Just as our earth must have the sun at its center to keep it from flying off in space, so every nation and every individual must have a center. The earth revolves continuously around the sun and our nation must adhere to God in the same manner. Before our forefathers landed at Plymouth Rock, they had a business meeting in the cabin of their ship and drew up a document by which to live together, the Mayflower Compact. The compact put God at the center of their lives and the life of the nation they were destined to establish. When the forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, they had a great hope for the little nation called the United States of America., for they knew that it was being founded upon a solid rock -- belief in the guiding and protecting hand of Almighty God. We became a great nation under God, a nation full of freedom and hope. Happiness itself cannot be guaranteed, only the right and assistance to the pursuit of happiness. Our founding fathers recognized this as fact. They could guarantee the right to life and liberty but not happiness -- only the right to pursue it. Happiness can only be guaranteed through dedication to God through Christ. He also read I AM THE AMERICAN FLAG! which was written by General Matthew B. Ridgeway a very moving story of the flag. Flag of the United States of America, with your proud Stars and Stripes, we salute you.......

Schools and Staff and No Patience or Understanding..

Okay first off why work at a school for Special Kids if you have a very short fuse?
That is my first question I plan on asking the IEP meeting tomorrow morning.
Last Thursday Aaron was at school was near the end of the day...
School had been in 9 days STILL NO ONE ON ONE was in place as of yet. Which I had been to the school 3 times in those 9 days to let them know I wanted his IEP plan put into place TODAY.. not tomorrow..!!!!!! They had all summer to see it was done. NOT!!!!!

Anyway...
Last Thursday here is a bit of what happened....

They told him to do a writing assignment they gave him a pencil and paper they did no give him his alpha smart keyboard he told them he needed his keyboard they said NO he needed the pencil. He said NO I need my alpha smart. This is in his IEP that he goes nuts about using a pencil many times especially if not in the mood it was the end of the day and tired.. So he told them again no I need my Alpha Smart to do this..
He got angry tore his paper up they took him to the refocus room and he got even madder..he hit the walls in the room and was yelling at them he wanted his alpha smart not a pencil....
They restrained him on the floor and he said one guy whose name I shall not use that every time he raised his head ****** would shove it back on the floor..
This man is a big guy so is Aaron of course. There were 3 others restraining him as well but just this one guy kept shoving his head on the floor.
I was called as Aaron was about to leave for home on the van I was told there was not an IR (Incident Report) today but they would have one tomorrow they said he had a small bruise like on his forehead. I just love how they word things... Here is what Aaron looked like when he came home..



Now if this were your child would you consider this a small bruise????

They did not say anything about the other side of his face..

You can see on his ear there are marks his cheek has a bruise and his eye is a bit swollen and turning black..

So needless to say Michael and I did not send him to school on Friday.... however Michael and I did go to the school we had scheduled an emergency IEP already for Wednesday of this week. So I wrote a letter stating I was taping the meeting you have to give a 24 hour notice in order to do this and I gave 96 hours notice so there would be no problem whatsoever. I told them also that I wanted to see copies of the certificates of the 4 ADULTS who restrained Aaron that I wanted to be assured they do indeed have PART which is a restraint traing method used for special kids etc. I stated if they do have certificates I believe it is time they take a refresher course then.... so we shall see what they come up with tomorrow as far as certificates..

I also found out the school had been sold last year to a new company which is in Pennsylvania so I went online and found the company and the corporate offices. I contacted them and placed a complaint. The Director called me later in the day and asked me to email the pictures to her. I did she was appalled this had happened to any child but especially at one of her schools.. She said there would be a representative for the company at the IEP meeting on Wednesday that they would fly in from Pennsylvania on Tuesday in order to be here for Wednesday.

I sent the pictures to his Worker at the Regional Center too after he got them she called and said she is coming to the meeting on Wednesday and that if needed we would contact the Regional Center Attorney. So this was good....

This picture was taken on Monday 4 days after the incident...




Aaron has still not returned to school he will go with me for meeting tomorrow.
Today the Speech person called and said she could not be at the school tomorrow for the meeting she only works 2 days at the school and tomorrow she is at a different school. She went over on the phone what I expected as far as Speech therapy goals are. They were giving him 25 lessons at 20 minutes each. It shall be changed to like 50 times at 30 minutes each which is still less than requested but the specialist at UCLA Aaron saw but ALOT more than he has been receiving.

Tomorrow I have a LONG LIST typed out to make sure gets put on the IEP.

WHERE IS HIS ONE ON ONE AIDE the district pays for?????
Transportation issues.. Why are the kids arriving an hour or more into the school day in the morning and missing their Math classes. Which is one of Aaron's favorite classes I might add and he hates to miss it.
So some of the issues to discuss are

Earobics Program
Was it found? And what number is it?
They have one called Step 2 for developmental ages 7-10

In prior papers stated that he should use
Fast For Word has this been being used or bought for him?

SLP stated in prior IEP
30 minutes x 2 times a week want a monthly report from her…

His ONE ON ONE Aide
I used to receive a log book daily from his one on one way back
when things were being done correctly. That way I knew it was his ONE ON ONE helping him and she would report any behavior issues or work issues. She also would write in his book when he was taken from classroom for his speech or his psychologist visits etc.

Make sure using Alpha Smart as needed and that it has batteries

When was his last I Q test and has
he ever been tested for Dyslexia?

Do all the teachers here have their credentials?

Also again ask about STAFF being properly trained..

Do you have any kind of Arts Class?
Drawing, music, acting etc?
Is there any kind of classes for this?

Transportation issues..
Needs to make sure they arrive to school on time.
He lost approximately 3 hours math time due to
late van first 4 mornings of school.
Last one on in morning on the van
First one off in afternoon..

These are just a few things we shall address but I wanted to make sure I had these written down..

I know I sound like a mean mom.. but seriously if I am not an Advocate for Aaron's education who will be?

He is a smart young man and deserves to have the best education he can comprehend.
I am not going to allow him to be harmed again by an adult who has to patience or understanding.

Wish me luck.. Hugs

Pavarotti died today

I did not know he was 71 years old.. wow what a voice this man had. This is very sad news he will be greatly missed by many I am sure.

He was the son of a singing baker and became the king of the high C’s.

Luciano Pavarotti, opera’s biggest superstar of the late 20th century, died Thursday.

Pavarotti, had been diagnosed last year with pancreatic cancer and underwent treatment last month, he died at his home in his native Modena at 5 a.m.

Guitar Lessons.. Working.. Health and IEP...

Howdee all been a busy time since I last posted. Last weekend on Saturday, Aaron had his first Bass Guitar Lesson. He really seemed to like it so we shall see how this goes. It would be a nice outlet for him if he does enjoy it.
After his lesson we went back over to the Pastor's new house to try and get some more things finished before they returned. We still had one more ceiling fan to get up but could not do that until the ceiling was textured from the fall through the ceiling. (smile) so Collin, John and Mike did that on Saturday. When they finished that Mike and John cut out the cabinet in the kitchen in order for Sis. Wiggins to have a dishwasher. There had never been one in this house so they had to make a place for it. Darla and I worked on cleaning the floor in the guest room once they had finished the texture ceiling what a mess men make when they work. Ha! Have to say though the finished results were very pretty. After they had the cabinet cut. Mike and John decided that since Monday was Labor Day and they had it off they would come over and put in the dishwasher then and Mike could do the fan first thing Monday morning could not do it on Saturday cause ceiling was still very wet.
Sunday of course was church and we went to lunch with John and Michelle and their son Michael, they were celebrating Michael's Birthday so we went to the Olive Garden. YUM I just love their Salad.
Monday we went to work again... Mike and I finally got the ceiling fan up but not without some problems. The other 3 went up with no problems. Darla and I agreed there was for sure some kind of bad carma in that bedroom. Ha! Almost anything that had went wrong the past 3 weeks it had been in that room. hehehe
But it finally got put up.. and the bedroom furniture all moved in it. Woo hoo.
Mark Minton had came by to work on the sprinklers a bit and he started to put in some of the plumbing of the dishwasher while we were finishing up the fan. Then Michael and John went to work on wiring the dishwasher. Michael was on the floor under the sink and all of a sudden we here this ZAP....POOF! they thought they had all the breakers off for that part of the house but OOPS they missed one. Michael just sat up not saying a word I kept saying are you alright finally he said YEAH! a couple of his fingers were black and later when he showed me the pliers he had been using they had burned and had like little cuts or holes in them from the ZAP.... WOOOOOOO very scary..After all that they also realized things were wired backwards in the kitchen ooh fun.. after quite some time with Collin, John and Mike trying to figure it all out. Collin went home. I told Michael call Bro. Rider he knows about this kind of stuff. So they did and he came over and figured it out, yes it was all wired wrong and a mess... and from the ZAP it had also messed up the electrical box that had the garbage disposal on it. So John and Bro. Rider went to Home Depot to get a new one. By this time it was 9 p.m. But when he came back and they put that in it all seemed to be fine. Mike went back under the sink to finish installing the drain for the dishwasher I said let's run it through a rinse cycle to make sure it does not leak. John and Mike looked at me like it better not leak. hahahaha.. they were so tired.
And woo hoo.. it worked fine.
I told them in this weeks church bulletin and I putting as the weekly tidbit..
How many Missionary Baptist Men does it take to get a Dishwasher in ?
Answer is 5....
Mike, John, Collin, Mark and Carl. hahahahaha...
On Tuesday after Aaron got picked up from school, Mike had taken that day off because we needed to go rent a car so I could drop my van off to get the door and fender painted from the mess up a few months ago..so we went and did all that. We rented and HHR.. Aaron has always liked them so I knew he would love it. It is a nice little car drives really nice and lots of leg room to drive more than even my van. It would sure be a cute car for Mike to use for commuting.
After Aaron came home from school back to Redlands we went to finish up some things at the Pastor's house. Mike wanted to check the rest of the wiring in the kitchen since the one side had been bad. And Collin, Mike and John went back to the Mobile Home where they had lived to finish getting everything out of their shed and over to the new house. I tore down all the boxes on the patio and swept and cleaned it up. It is a nice patio has misters too so make it cooler out there. They also have a built in spa.
Darla and I went to buy some extensions for the curtin rods the windows were a bit bigger at the new house. So when we came back we got the valances all put up. It sure looked nice and more like home with pictures on the walls now and the curtins up.
Darla and Cheryl were planning on yesterday doing last minute cleaning and touches before the Wiggin's got back from vacation last night.
Wouldn't it be nice to go on long vacation and be moved into a new place while you were gone. That is the way I want to move. Ha!
We had a lot of fun actually doing it. Who thinks Christians cannot have fun? (smile)
And you get John and Mike together watch out.. what a pair them two are together..

Now update on health issues..
On Thursday after returning from getting that machine for the sleep apnea etc.. The specialist I had seen called and said they had called in a prescription for MEGA vitamin D get tabs they are to only be taken once a week for 12 weeks. .they are like potent ones.. And then they called back and said my B-1 was also very low. I have been getting Vitamin B-12 injections for a few months now. But now I have to get the B-1 injection too. So on Friday when I went to my Doctors office I told the nurse I also need the B-1 she said ooooohhh you won't like that one. I said why? She said that one burns and hurts.. I said Nah.. it will be fine I had been taking the B-12 ones could barely even feel the prick of the needle. I don't mind shots. WEEEEELLLLLLLLLL she was right.. Man.. did it burn I felt like I had been stung by a bee WOW.. I said umn.. I don't want to come back for more of these. Ha! But I have to go back in tomorrow morning for another one. OH FUN... It actually left a bruise on my arm too.

Last night was my 17th week of the class I am taking I have 7 more to go. It has really went by very fast.

Next Wednesday is Aaron's IEP at his school and I have a long list of things to discuss. I do not think they will like me very well when I leave there. Ha!
Oh well I don't care as long as Aaron is getting what is needed and what he deserves to have. I am not there to win a personality and friend contest. (smile)
When I went to his school last week and met the new principal I told him I am not like most of the parents are probably at this Special School. I said many parents send their kids here to get them out of their hair and for you to babysit their kids basically all day. NOT Aaron I said I want him to have the best education that he is able to learn and I will see that he gets it. Since I am not working I told him I can come to the school everyday until I see his IEP is in place. I think I got my point across. So we shall see how things go next week.
Well I think that about catches you up and you can see why I have not had time to post this week.

Here is a picture of the cute car I am driving this week..