I have some great news about Brian!!
At home, Brian is outgoing and funny and talkative and talkative and talkative and opinionated and engaging. At home.
At school, he's a little more (okay, a lot more) reserved. One of the things they've been working on is trying to get him to come out of his shell. Slowly, he's emerging and I get reports here and there that he's talking more or asking for things or answering questions when asked - with his teachers. It's so wonderful to hear! He is still needing some prompting, though, when interacting with his peers.
But the other day when I dropped Brian off I stood at the car chatting with his teacher, Miss Laura. For the first time, Brian ran off away from both of us to join his classmates who were playing outside the door to the school. Later, I learned that he approached one of his friends and asked him if he wanted to play. All by himself - with no prompting!! Miss Laura and Miss Morgan said they made a big fuss over Brian and made sure that he knew that they had noticed. And when I brought it up at home and told him how proud I was, he stood there and beamed. Clearly he was proud, too, and loved being acknowledged for it!!
Gavin continues to do SO well in school. He has been participating in craft activities with help, loving the music portion of the morning and handling all that is asked of him with minimal fussing.
He's been making friends, too! Sara told me the other day that Gavin was sitting next to one of his classmates the other day and she was crying. He reached over and started stroking her shoulder. My sweet little guy - he's so sensitive.
Every morning when we wait for the bus, he's smiling.
It's all so much easier knowing that he leaves on that bus with his best buddy, Sara. She's doing such a great job with him at school. I get *insider information* that they love having her there. And not just because she helps with Gavin.
Gavin loves getting on the bus! The time it takes to get him on and get his chair strapped down is less and less - they're really getting into a groove. Bruce and Marie, the bus driver and bus aide, are so kind and such a friendly face in the morning. It makes it a little easier for me to walk away down our long driveway without Gavin knowing he's in such good hands!
The past few days have been very busy getting ready for the big Just Between Friend's Sale! On Monday, I volunteered as an "Inspector" for four hours. Because I was volunteering that day, I was able to drop off all of my sale items too. When I got there, the place looked like this...
For the next four hours as I inspected every inch of the clothing items people brought in (they are VERY strict about stains, rips, wear and tear and will reject items from the sale!) and making a few people pretty mad at me as I tied together their rejected clothes...
...I watched the room fill up. Quickly.
As if my day hadn't been exciting enough, I got to meet Justin Bieber! It's a little known fact (even to me) that I totally have the Bieber Fever.
Today at noon, I will be able to shop at the pre-sale. I've eyed up a few things that the boys would like for Christmas and birthdays...and a few things I want to get for Brian's classroom. But mostly, I'm hoping that I sell everything to add to Gavin's equipment fund. I've been scouring the internet for anyone selling a foldable special needs stroller. No luck yet. I've also been writing to professional sports organizations to see if they would be interested in purchasing our Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber. If any of you hear of someone in the market for a chamber, let me know! (I know the chances of that are small...but stranger things have happened, right??)
This sale is beyond incredible. If you are in the market for anything baby/toddler or even older kids - this is the place to go. Check out some of these pictures I snapped with my phone last night...
I love being involved with this sale twice a year - and I adore the two women who run it. Tracy and Beth work so hard for all of us. Last year they allowed me to take as many shoes marked for donation as I could fit in my car at the end of the sale. My niece, Hannah, was collecting shoes to bring to Haiti on a mission trip. This year, I will be pulling donations of toys and books for DuPont Hospital's Child Life Center. They have a HUGE playroom for patients at the hospital that we've used when Gavin was inpatient. And if the kids can't leave their room - Child Life comes to them. When Gavin was in the ICU, they came to our door. They gave Gavin a singing teddy bear to bring home...and also lent us some DVDs to help pass the time.
There are some nice, nice people in this world.
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