KEEP

Mmmmmmm...... recently I have been pondering LIFE. The vastness, depth, and timing of it.

I have been heart broken recently by the amount of hurt and devastation a few of my friends and patients have been facing and walking through. I have also been doing a lot of strategic praying for my family--specifically my sweet, hard-working brothers, who have lost sight of the purpose of the LIFE. SO what have I been doing? PRAYING.... that's all I know to do, all I can do most of the time. I PRAY for them--pray for a covering of peace and an extra awakening of the Holy Spirit to just fill or burst in their lives.

As I was praying this morning, the Lord just laid a word on my heart----"KEEP." He HAS them. He is going to KEEP them. HE is KEEPING them. Wow..... what a faithful God we serve. sometimes if I stopped worrying about how the Lord is going to move in other's lives, and just placed my utmost HOPE in HIM, my prayers may change. My outlook would probably change. And my heart would definitely change. In the process, I NOW BELIEVE their circumstances will change. The Lord HAS this--I don't, however hard I try to control the situation through my prayer. MMM, thank you Jesus for that gentle reminder.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Phil. 4:6

The Journey to Fostering/Adoption

"You're REALLY going to foster? Have you thought about this? Why do you feel like you should foster?".........


These are just a few of the questions (and you can imagine the looks) I have received, since starting my journey towards pursuing foster/adoption back in December 2013. I am a single 25 year old, who lives an abundantly blessed life, that some days seems selfish.  I started to wrestle with an unsettled feeling that left me pondering if I was doing all I could for His kingdom. I currently am called to be an occupational therapist, lead a Bible study of women peers, serve with youth at church, and teach 5 year olds in Sunday school--this was my ministry, so why did I feel like the Lord was pushing me to delve deeper? As I prayed and really dug into Scripture, I struggled to fully see myself "laying my life down" on a daily basis. I was in a comfortable place in many ways, but the Lord would not quiet the stirring within me to take another step of faith--little did I know what I would end up learning about myself.

Over the past several months the Lord has continuously provided small nudges towards fostering--I initially resisted--until one Sunday I was fully struck by the power of the Holy Spirit, and just began to sob with an uncontrollable and heavy heart for foster children. I continued to ask Him for open doors, and guess what, He provided them.

At around the same time of my battle with my flesh, my eyes were led to rest on this scripture. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” The story of the Bible is one of sacrifice and redemption, and as Christians we are to proclaim that story in every facet of our lives.

I was are keenly aware that  this was going to be difficult (to say the least). However, I rested in the fact that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 promises us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I am simply to be obedient to Christ, and expect Him to do the work of equipping me and walking with me every step of the way.

3 weeks ago I started the foster course through the Cabinet of Kentucky, and my beautiful and godly mother has joined and supported me every step of the way. 

Along this same time, I began looking into buying a home, so that I would have a place to take in my foster kids one day. I was not pre-approved to buy a home, and other doors began to slowly close around me, along with overwhelming feelings of discontentment and insecurity in various facets of life. I struggled to resist the frustration with these closed-doors. Why would God bring me this far and not provide? Little did I know what He was doing behind the scenes (of course He was...)....

2 weeks ago I was dwelling in His presence and seeking His direction of my life. I clearly heard Him speak to my heart, "Bethany, how do you think you can take in children, in this current lifestyle you live, but you have not relinquished to me your full heart, your heart that I want to make ready for a spouse one day." For lack of a better word, I was shocked. I had always thought that I had given the Lord my whole heart, but what I have recently come to learn, is that I was holding onto the part of my heart He wants to prepare for my future husband. This terrifies me. More than fostering children and then having them taken away, this scares me more.
 
I had held on to this inner pride idol of independence and self-sufficiency, and was in the meantime depriving the Lord of heaping blessings upon me in this area of my life. The more I sought His will on this, the more I began to peel back layers of myself and gained further clarity that He was ready to prepare me for meeting my future husband. As I counseled with godly women of wisdom, I discovered that they had similar concerns for me during this time, and knew the Lord would reveal these things to me in His time. As you can see, I am still in this journey. My mom and I are continuing to attend the foster course, and plan on finishing it. However, I know that right now the Lord is strengthening me, peeling back more layers of my heart, and drawing me closer to Him to prepare me for the man I will serve alongside one day. I know that I am called to fostering and/or adoption one day, but I am also fully aware that He will more readily reveal to me the timing of these as I rest in His presence and develop patience.

Today I cling to Psalm 46:5 where it says, "God is within her, she will not fall."  We have this promise for all of eternity. This makes me smile, this makes my heart swell, and this calms any doubts/fears I may have at the present. He is forever faithful. I am looking forward in anticipation to the rest of this journey.

I love you dear readers, and pray that He is constantly expanding your territories and overflowing your cup,
B

What if?

Psalm 116:1~2

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy. 
 Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The crazy thing is, sometimes my selfishness causes me to not talk to the Lord as I should, yet He knows me. He knows my heart. He knows my desire to sit and worship at His feet one day. The crazy thing is that He longs for us to call out to Him-to just say His name. So much power in that one Name. What would life look like if we were in that constant communication with Him? How would that communication change our life? What would our relationship look like? What  if we put the effort into our relationship with Jesus... the man that died for us, the Father that gave His Son for us. Just things I have been pondering. Things I am praying become a daily life change that is evidence by those around me. Oh how I love Him.

Song of the Heart

This song has recently been reaching deep into my soul, tugging at my heart strings....Thanks Hillsong. :)
 
"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
[x6]

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Utterly Unfathomable Love

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:12

Each day I am in awe of all the Lord has blessed me with, and a life that if ended tomorrow would be more than I ever could have asked for. I often ask, "Why me?" He has yet to answer that, except to tell me to keep giving, keep smiling, and keep praising Him. I want to be challenged, I want to be pushed, and I want to experience more of the abundance of His love each and every day.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Settling in to Life in the N.K.Y

 I refinished this old window pane for mom for Christmas 7 months ago....as you can see, I just now got around to finishing it with her help. I really like what she did with it!

 These beautiful young ladies and I attended our first Movie in the Park in Walton (Cars 2!). Fun night that was a success with no bug bites.

Cincinnati Reds! Rounding third and heading for home! Fun night with Pops!

Persuasion.

I have recently begun reading the book Persuasion by Jane Austen. In it is a beautiful quote concerning love-- "You need not tell me that you had a pleasant evening. I can see it in your eye. I perfectly see how the hours passed. Anne half smiled and said, 'Do you see that in my eye?' 'Yes, I do. Your countenance perfectly informs me that you were in company last night with the person whom you think the most agreeable in the world, the person who interests you more than all the rest of the world together.' A blush spread over Anne's cheeks. She could say nothing."

I am only writing this, so I can have it on file for when that person who interests me more than all the world together pursues me. Definitely, cliche', I know....However, knowing I have never felt this before intrigues me and excites me for when my 'most agreeable' man comes along. Ooh la la.

Even more inspiring though, are the words the Lord spoke through Jesus Calling this morning-- "The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you. The more closely you follow My leading, the more fully I can develop your gifts. To follow me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people. However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world.

Few words were never truer. Love me my Heavenly Father. :)

There's No Place Like Home

I am back home, although I have not unpacked or began studying for my certification exam which is creeping upon me. I was plagued with allergies last Saturday (my first day back in KY), and because I am opposed to medicating myself I developed severe bronchitis a few days ago. Silly, I know, especially being in a healthcare profession. I have definitely learned my lesson, and am now sleeping, building t-cells,  and taking my antibiotics consistently. Hopefully I will be back on my feet in the next few days--I cannot miss the birth of my best friends little man this Friday (so uber excited!).

I am also in the middle of really praying and seeking the Lord about my future career paths. I interviewed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. It is my dream job, I'm just not sure if it is my dream job right now. So, my really good friend Mary Alice, and her man Derek, and I have been talking about just moving someplace really fun to adventure and work for a year. Definitely a leap of faith, but something I want to make sure I should take a leap on. It is exciting, stressful, and causing me to truly be prayerful and not go on feelings. I am so emotion and feeling led, and really want to learn to discern my emotions versus the Holy Spirit's leading. So, please join me in this journey of prayer. I am so excited, and know wherever I land it will be right where I am supposed to be with a career that I dearly adore. It's good to be home. :)

Badda boom

My morning devotion today really hit home. I think this is a beautiful reminder that I should probably read daily. Not only am I quick to judge other people's callings and paths in life, but I am also quick to make my own decisions before consulting and being led by the One who has already ordained the steps before me.

"I have called each of My children to a different path, distinctly designed for that one. Do not let anyone convince you that his path is the only right way. And be careful not to extol your path as superior to another's way. What I require of you is to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Me (Micah 6:8)--wherever I lead."

I think it is important to remember that the only person whose opinion matters in life is His. Seems simple enough right?? I tell myself this everyday, but yet it is always a struggle to fight my selfish needs. I am going to focus on scriptures, such as these over the next several weeks, and see if the results are as impacting as I am quite sure they will be.

I'm Going to Miss Them Tons! :(

The roommies (Ellen and Dana) and I at the company picnic (windy day).

This week was my last week at Orange-Ridge Bullock Elementary. :( The following and LAST two weeks, I will be at the office with Ellen, running a summer camp and treating our little munchkins. We planned the camp yesterday and I am pretty stoked about Angry Birds Day, Dr. Seuss Day, and Campout Day (we're building a fort!). I'll give you a synopsis next week of how everything goes. :)

On a side note: Last night El and I want to watch What to Expect When You're Expecting, and pretty much cried during this Ethiopian adoption scene--yep, can't wait to adopt one day!

I am praying for everyone and cannot wait to see you all VERY SOON!

Love, love, love,
B

"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generation."
Psalm 100:5

A Week 9 Wrap-Up

The past few weeks have included designing obstacle courses for the kids, completing lots of end-of-the-year evaluations, and formulating fun treatment interventions. My confidence and knowledge seems to increase with every passing week. I am able to grade activities and adapt tasks to accommodate a variety of diagnoses and meet many needs. 

 The boys pictured below are triplets and the one in the middle was the one recently diagnosed with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy. :(

I have been working with this young 20-year old girl, at the clinic, who sustained a gunshot wound to the head, resulting in a TBI one year ago. She presents as a quadriplegic and has minimal use in her right arm. I have had the opportunity to work with her and her mother (who has recently hurt her back from transferring her daughter) a couple hours each week, addressing proper body mechanics when transferring, increasing leisure activities, visual perceptual deficits, as well as inattention to tasks. Through this opportunity, I have really had the experience of addressing her holistically through taking into account all psychosocial factors. This has challenged me to become more creative when treatment planning—including the family in the treatment process, as well as challenging her to increase her engagement in leisure activities. I have to continually remind her the importance of challenging herself to help with grooming or donning her shirt when her mom dresses her every morning. I have also encouraged and advocated for her to go to school a full day instead of a half day. I am looking forward to continuing this treatment with this family and observing the gains that they will make together.

This weekend, the roomies (Ellen and Dana) and I will be going to our company picnic tomorrow at a marina and possibly taking a ride on our boss' sailboat (eek!). We are really excited and getting sad that we have to leave our jobs and FL in 3 weeks. However, we are excited to get to see you guys soon!

A Day in My Life

Fortunately for you, I decided to do a brief photo tour this week, instead of writing a lengthy blog describing the details of the week. I finally took a few pictures of the wonderful students I get to work with each week in the hope that they exemplify just a glimmer of their "awesomness."

This group below (kindergarten) is one of my favorites (shhh...). The little boy in the gait trainer was just diagnosed with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, a condition that is a highly degenerative muscle disease and will most likely take his life before he turns 25. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

 

They loved making cupcakes and had no idea the social and behavioral skills we were addressing--gotta love my job. :)

They were loving the oobleck...hopefully their parents did not get too upset when we sent them home with their clothes covered in it. :/

This beautiful sunset was taken about a week ago, while El and I ate our ice cream cones and dangled our legs over a pier at Coquina beach.

Another week that has come and gone in Bradenton, FL. 4 weeks until I head back to the Bluegrass State, that I call home. :)

Week 7

Summertime has officially hit. It was in the 90s this weekend and sweltering hot. Fortunately, we have this beautiful beach to relax and get away. However, be careful--the breeze and water can deceive the heat and strength of the sun. My skin always hates me by the end of the weekend. This gorgeous sunset was taken outside of the Beachhouse--it was one of the best dinners we have yet. El and I split this huge seafood dinner with delicious mango salads and cheesecake for dessert.

I had this recent conviction of my gluttonous/unhealthy lifestyle. There is so much delicious food to eat here and we always have tons of dessert at work. Subsequently, I am in need of starting to live a healthier lifestyle. I must alter my mindset in order to do this because I feel as though I am on vacation here all the time--not good. Here begins my journey to a healthier overall well-being.

Au revoir,
B

A whimsical weekend

 

Pictured above is our view from a Tiki hut off the bay of Sarasota at sunset (last night). There was a perfect breeze, not a care in the world, with some wonderful friends. Little did I know that the Lord would rock my world this morning. I was sitting in church listening to Christine Caine speak at Bayside Community Church, where I go during my stay here in Bradenton. Christine is the founder of A21 Campaign, a campaign focused on abolitioning and fighting human trafficking. She attends Hillsong Church in Australia, and is having a powerful impact on people around the world through her passion and drive to serve the Lord. As she was talking about human trafficking, and urging us to step up and embrace the calling the Lord has placed on our lives, the Holy Spirit hit me with the reality of my own resistance to His calling lately. Last semester the Lord really placed human trafficking victims on my heart. I resisted the urge I felt to contact an organization and attempt to get involved because I was scared. Scared that I may be called to serve these victims--how shameful of me. Today, I felt this urge again....in a more powerful way than I can begin to describe, except to paint you a picture of me with tears pouring down my face as we were praying and my heart yearning to know what this spark ignited in me today will turn into. I don't know where the tears came from because I was trying to control them and I couldn't--that's called the Holy Spirit. The opportunity for me to be in Bradenton, FL, at this exact church, listening to Christine Caine, when I was just researching her organization 6 months ago is called divine appointment. What a beautiful encounter today was. I have no idea what the Lord will use me and my OT education for in the future, but I am more excited than ever.

After church, El, Kayla and I visited Norma Rae's, a delicious brunch/cafe in Palmetto. I had a summer salad and chicken salad sandwich, which was very hearty. I am beginning to keep a tally and blog about the haunts and local restaurants we visit over our next few weeks to enlighten those who ever may visit Bradenton, FL in their future. Enjoy!

Oh, and for those of you who read my Friday post....our bday plans for Dana got disrupted, so we may have to find an alternate avenue to utilize our SWEET costumes. :)

Week 6

Today finished up my 6th week in Florida...that sadly means only 6 more weeks in this beautiful place with these wonderful hoodlums. With regrets, I must report that I had to assist in a restraint of one of the 4th grade boys I work with.  He can become very disrespectful and aggressive when he doesn't get his way, which was what happened. I explained to him that we have to learn to accommodate the changes in life and be flexible, but he already too worked up to reason with. I dearly love him and wish I could take him home to love on. I wish I could take home all of these children. So many need a stable environment with love and nurturing. Without these things it scares me to think what may become of them.
Earlier this week at the clinic I got to start working with this 20 year old young lady who suffered from a gunshot wound resulting in spinal cord injury (tetraplegia). She is a beautiful girl who loves to dance and listen to music. I got to know her family and I am really excited to get to work more with them in order to increase her independence and develop strategies to help ease her mom's burden. Boy oh boy, I really do have the best job in the world!

Last weekend the roommies and I went to Naples to visit Vonda, a classmate and friend of ours. We had so much fun, drove by some of the biggest houses I will probably see. Literally, they all looked like resorts on the beach. On Sunday, we enjoyed a great church service, as always. Then, Ellen, Kayla, and I found a hidden gem of a cafe called Charisma Cafe. I had the most delicious chicken salad on croissant. It was cute and hippy-ish, with local artists' work featured on their walls. We also walked through a local art studio, which was very fascinating, but entirely out of our budget.

This weekend Ellen and I are going to work a disabilities baseball game, we are celebrating Dana's birthday with a fun surprise for her bright and early tomorrow (I'll share details next week, but let's just say the pics  below are part of it...), as well as eating a delicious cheesecake I picked up from Mr. Cheesecake. Yep, we love the weekends. :)

Last night we had a late-night excursion to Goodwill to pick up some children's puzzles/games for our kiddos. We ended up finding a few gems along the way (pictured below).  :)

 Yes, these are pant suits....

We're still trying to decide what this one is exactly...it's suede, which makes it tens times more hilarious. And yes, we both had to try it on, and it was amazingly one of the most comfortable things I've ever worn. Our plans include donning this on a blind-folded Dana.

Week 5

This week was great as usual. Exhausting, but fun. I definitely had more opportunity to consider addressing psychosocial factors that influence engagement in occupation for my students.  Many of my students, specifically the ones with Autism, had aversions or combative behavior that influenced the treatment session I had originally planned. I took these moments and circumstances to think on my feet and practice grading activities or being flexible in my approach. I had to utilize preferred activities several times in order to engage and motivate them. This is beneficial to understand when working with children with disabilities. I address feeding with a young boy in the medical fragile unit, and he is able to hold the spoon and place in his mouth if it something that he likes to eat. However, if it is not something he likes he refuses to eat. Everyone gets frustrated by this, but I feel as though this is crucial towards supporting his interests and therapeutic use of self. He is non-responsive, so he is unable to do a lot on his own, and I am a firm believer that if he has control over one area of his life (feeding) than so be it. It is my role to support that as long as he is getting adequate nutrition.

Now heading South to Naples to celebrate Vonda's (another classmate) birthday, the Derby, and Cinco de Mayo! More updates to come later this weekend. :)

Blessings,
B

Week 4

Week 4 has been another week of growth and great learning experiences. I learned a little about the Floortime model, a model used for children with ASD to assess their level of development and social engagement to determine what treatment approach to take. I also led my first treatment group with 6 children with Down's Syndrome who have difficulty with behavioral management and visual perception. It was chaotic and difficult to grade the activity according to each of the children's individuals needs and abilities, but it encouraged me to utilize task analysis and problem solving in the future.

Yesterday (Saturday), the ladies and I went to the beach and ended up getting pretty crispy. I walked the beach for a while, studied a few pages of my cert prep book, and then read Divergent  (my new book). Later that night we went to dinner at a restaurant on the bay with a live band and the best goat cheese, artichoke, and pesto pizza EVER! No kidding. We also saw 2 dolphins (one had a chipped fin) and a manatee. ::)  Following dinner, we went to this huge parade in town and collected TONS of mardi gras beads. Don't worry--no flashing involved.We went back to the restaurant later that night for a glass of wine and dessert by the water. Very tranquil and romantic ladies night.

Today, the ladies and I went to church, grabbed a bite to eat, and visited the Ringling Museum.  It may be my favorite place yet. Below are three pictures of various places on the Ringling museum property.

 The perfect wedding venue....the Ringling Mansion, situated with a perfect view and steps going to the bay.  We saw a dolphin while out on this veranda. :)

 The Banyan trees are so whimsical and skirt the property.

 The courtyard of the Ringling Art Museum.

This next week I will be planning and implementing intervention sessions for around 35 kids at the school, and 10 kids at the clinic. I am really looking forward towards it, and advancing my ability to grade activities in the process. I am falling more and more in love with these phenomenal kids, and constantly look forward to loving on them--something most of them don't get at home.

Week 3_Loving My Kiddos

This week has been delightfully fun and eventful with the kids. Every day I left with boogers and drool coating my clothes. Needless to say, every laugh, every tickle, and every interaction I received from a kid was well worth all the germs. I am beginning to become more and more attached as you can see (or read). I had about 4-5 kids on my caseload at school and led all the treatment session for the kids at the clinic, all with varying disabilities (CP, Autism, missing radial bones, EBD). It was challenging and fun to be innovative and creative when taking into account psychosocial factors affecting this kids and their academic performance deficits during intervention planning.  For example, I implemented intervention with a little girl, missing radial bones since birth.  I took into account her interest in imaginative play and dress-up into our treatment session when addressing FM skills and gross motor play. I also integrated a little boy's interest in music into his session to motivate and encourage functional reaching with his affected arm, due to CP. I was able to demonstrate a vast array of knowledge as related to cerebral palsy and treatment ideas, such as weight bearing and using a variety of positions to facilitate movement. I had the opportunity to complete a few evaluations and will continue to have opportunities to assess many children at different developmental levels. I look forward to the weeks of growth ahead!

 

This weekend will be spent finishing up my last research presentation, for my online class, at Panera (yummy)! I must keep myself motivated with food. I, also, am volunteering at this fundraiser track meet our clinic is hosting tomorrow. And, of course, the remainder will spent at the beach and with our new adopted parents.... I can't wait to see what new and exciting things God sends our way this weekend!

Weeks 1 & 2 in Bradenton, FL

My lovely roommates, Ellen and Dana (friends and fellow OT peers), and I are all settled into our humble abode. I shall have to remember to capture pictures of our little dwelling and post them in a later blog. Ellen and I are sharing a bedroom, which has been quite fun, and also very stuffy and hot at nights. The picture below is us out on the town last night, capturing a picture with the Woodford Reserve napkin holder--a tribute to our KY home, which we miss oh so much.
The following two pictures are of the Sunrise Service we attended at the beach on Easter morning. Kayla (another OT peer) is a friend of ours who has her current rotation in Tampa. She has been coming to hangout with us on the weekends, which has been a blast.

Ellen and I attended the Sailor Circus (Mary Poppins-themed btw), and, oh yes, it was FUN! It is a circus put on by students (4th-12th grades). These kids are extremely talented and I was amazed by their skill and athletic abilities. I also learned that Ringling Bros. originated in Sarasota, and that is why the circus is a huge deal around this area.
My parents came to FL to visit me the first week I was here. We did a lot of sight-seeing and beach-combing, which was so fun. We also were able to meet up with my friend Kelly (a wonderful OT intern and friend I met at my last rotation in GA) and her boyfriend, Ben. Ben was finishing his rotation up in FL and Kelly came down to see him. I just love this couple and am so happy I got to see Kelly one last time in FL!
Yes, today I learned how to surf on a long board. We met this couple at church today, and after talking for a while found out that they lived on the EXACT street in Anna Marie Island that someone had recommended we visit. The husband is retired from the Army and they have a son in high school and a daughter in college. The husband, Dave, taught Kayla and I how to surf--checking that off my bucklist! :) The wife, Deb, was amazing and so hospitable. They lent us their beach chairs, let us shower at their house, and invited us to hangout in the future. She also gave us Hawaiian flowers for our hair (R ear means you are single and L ear means you are taken). Needless to say, they were truly a blessing, and all of the details of the day were so clearly orchestrated by the Lord. I have a feeling we are going to get really close to them while we are here on the island.

Now, here is a brief synopsis about my second Level II placement at Children's Therapy Solutions in Bradenton, Florida. Monday through Friday I am at Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary school, and on Mondays and Wednesdays I go over to the outpatient clinic after school. So far I have really enjoyed my placement. The school that I am at is not a typical school setting, in that it has a whole sector of the school which they call exceptional students (ESE or special education). We also have two medically fragile classrooms, which is the largest in the county. A majority of these students are on feeding tubes, non-communicative, and dependent for all ADL's. Children in these classrooms have a variety of diagnoses which include West Syndrome, TBI, seizure disorders, CP, and others.

I work with children from both general education and ESE classrooms. The majority of our children have Autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, CP, seizure disorders, and Downs syndrome.

I absolutely adore the kids I have met thus far, and I am REALLY looking forward to the rest of my time here. I think this rotation will really help me identify whether or not Schools is my niche or not. Regardless, I can't wait to see where the Lord leads me over this next year. I am so abundantly blessed and would have never imagined I would have the opportunity to have such a wonderful career that does not feel like a job.....and be living in "paradise" all at the same time!

Week 10 has come and gone...

Phew, working 7 more days and then my time is finished in Warm Springs. This week I had the wonderful experience of evaluating a woman who speaks very little English and is from Pakistan. I have learned how to say "very good," "great job," "pain," and "good day" in Muslim. It has been fun to communicate and rely on her children to bridge the language barrier. Observing their family dynamics and watching the way they are so vigilant and attentive to her and her treatment sessions is something that is rare to find in families nowadays. I have enjoyed building rapport with the family and I think they are enjoying my enthusiasm to learn their language.

I am not going to write anymore because I am tired of looking at a computer screen after just writing documentation all day.

Love, love, more love,
B