You've got a friend in me...

To some people, this image may not seem particularly miraculous. To us, it is nothing short of a gift from God. This is a picture of Wyatt with a friend from school. He has a real friend. A friend who likes him for who he is and wants to hang out with him. Wyatt was invited over to this friend's house to play. That would be his first invitation to a friend's house. Moreover, this friend spent the night at our house. Another first.

Mom called her best friend on the way home from dropping Wyatt off and cried. Sometimes people don't understand what it feels like for your child to be shunned, ignored, and basically treated like a thing. It costs millions of hidden tears. The only comfort is that I know God counts those tears. I talked with another mom who has a child on the spectrum about this recently. We tried to figure how to approach parents of neurotypical kids to invite kids on the spectrum to play with their kids. Our kids need the interaction and modeling of kids who are not on the spectrum to figure out how to act. Ironically, that would be the hardest thing to obtain...people willing to go out on a limb and have a kid who is an "oval" over to play. If you are a parent of neurotypical kids and want to give a really amazing gift this season, maybe you could consider having the oval you know in your child's class over to play. It is certainly a challenge, but one that might change a child's life.

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW!!!

Dashing through the snow
Goes Rexie Doodle Doo
Bounding up so high
Just like a kangaroo!

She loves the snow so much
She whines to go outside
Rexie brings his coat so Wyatt
can cover his hide.

"Go outside? Go outside?"
Dashing to the door
Running like the wind and then she'll go and run some mo-ore!
"Go outside? Go outside?
Wyatt take me out!
I'll run and slide and pounce and show what fun is all about!"

GUESS WHO IS THE NEWEST MEMBER AT WYATT'S SCHOOL?

I'll give you a hint. She is whiteish/beige, has soulful amber eyes, is well behaved and is Wyatt's best friend. Emily would be a really good guess, but this friend has much more hair!


Meet the newest member of fourth grade...our very own Rexie! She starts tomorrow during lunch recess to have all the kids familiarize themselves with our furry family member. She will be attending lunch recess for the first week, then the second week will include lunch recess and an hour of class. The third week, Rexie will find herself in class all afternoon, supporting her boy through his toughest part of the school day. There are a few people who were wonderful facilitators to the integration process. Both the principal and the paster were really good with the problem solving pieces. The classroom aide is the one person who has no vested interest in this, and yet she is the one who came forward and volunteered to help Wyatt "handle" Rexie while they are at school! God bless Amy! Rexie will follow Wyatt's commands without a problem. Wyatt has the issue of not using good judgement (big surprise -kind of goes with is impulsivity issues). As a result, Rexie may follow him down the path that "rocks" as opposed to the path of rightousness! Amy will help by acting as the Jiminy Cricket of the pair. The other people who helped us get this far were YOU!! All of the wonderful praying people who realize that our W is an amazing kid with some extra challenges! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

How we see our son...

You know, there are people out there who believe that our son was built "incorrectly" and there is something "wrong" with him. He is definitely fearfully and wonderfully made, however, we also realize that he is built differently. He does not see the world in the same grids and matrices that we categorize everything into.

When we started to discuss Halloween costumes for our kids, Wyatt initially said that we should all go as dogs, and Rexie should dress as a dog catcher. I think that is pretty darn clever! Eventually Wyatt came to the conclusion that he should dress as a scientist - since he is going to be one anyway! The picture above shows part of his costume for Halloween. Rexie will be dressed as his faithful assistant, complete with bow tie and lab coat!

We are still working at getting Rexie to attend school with Wyatt. It seems there is NOT ONE other service dog in the county, nor the surrounding counties, so the principal and school board are attempting to find some sort of "service dog protocol" to follow to integrate her into the classroom. She really hasn't been "denied" access, she has been "stalled" in her classroom integration at this point. We have another meeting on Tuesday. I am so thankful for the legion of praying people who are helping us out with this. We cannot thank you enough!

Family portraits

Another day, another pair of eyes opened....

Some of you with families may know that it is a BIT (haha) difficult to get a family portrait. Now, factor in a couple of children who cannot sit still and are rather non-compliant at any given time. Mix well with WHITE shirts and throw in a dog for good measure. I was pretty pleased with the result that was obtained. Keep in mind that the photographer was NOT going to photograph Rexie under any circumstances. Rexie couldn't be on the rug, she was not allowed in the picture, they do not photograph animals, she was too big, etc. etc. etc. There were numerous excuses. I was ready to report the company to the attorney general for non-compliance of ADA law, so I asked very politely for the name and number of the regional director. Amazingly, they kind of changed their tune. Steve suggested that we grab a rug that was in the store and set it on TOP of the rug that they normally photograph on. The photographer turned up her nose and sniffed, "It's filthy." I replied, "We're in jeans, it's really okay. We don't mind." She shot back, "Well I do." Yikes! Anyway, after the filthy rug was in place to protect their filthy rug, she was very nice. We talked about Rexie and her very important jobs she performs. We talked about tracking and behavior disruption along with the calming influence she provides. The photographer said she wouldn't have even known that Wyatt is an oval (my word.) I informed her that's because we have a furry angel who helps him out and an entire fleet of praying people! The end result of the photo session was beautiful. The photos turned out well and one more person is educated of the value of a service dog.

Summer days, driftin' away...

There is nothing like a good ice cream cone to celebrate summer. Of course. the bottom of the cone MUST be eaten first. It adds to the challenge of icecreamolympics. Although Rexie is not allowed to eat human food, she hovers nearby whenever someone eats. Once in a while, she does snarf something off the floor. She is really, really fast! Oh, and the kids who are about her height while eating are her favorites when they have food in their hands. Otherwise, she is Wyatt's girl.This is a picture of Rexie and Wyatt sleeping. Actually, Rexie was awakened by the flash of the first picture that I took and shifted to this position. Prior to this, she was on her back with all four paws in the air (funny!)
We are one of about six families in the US who do not have TV. We have a TV that is hooked up to a VCR/DVD player, but we do not get any network stations , cable, satellite, DTV or anything like that. We geographically could, but we choose not to. Anyway, our kids do not get a lot of screentime. When they do, it is an event. Well, Rexie does not want to be left out of any event, so here she is doing her cat impression again...
And again. Look at the glazed over expressions on my kids' faces and you see WHY we don't have television! Dazed and confused takes on new meaning...

Anyway, the dog days of summer are waning, and it will soon be time to begin a new school year. To say the Wyatt is less than thrilled is an understatement. Last week we had a meeting with Wyatt's principal to update him on this summer's activities and progress and to talk about Rexie. He mentioned that he would have to decide whether or not Rexie was going to be allowed in school. I replied (nicely) that lawmakers had already made that decision for him! Lucky him! He seems open and he has really polished his halo with all of the trials that our son has presented in the last four years. Really, we could not have asked fo better administration. Please pray that Wyatt's teacher has a change of heart concerning Rexie. She already showed concern last year when we mentioned Wyatt's SERVICE DOG attending school. She has lingering fear from a childhood dog bite. Sing a chorus of "Be Not Afraid" for her - will you?

I cannot imagine wonderful, Christian people denying a guide dog access, yet some people do not choose to see our son's disability as something he can't control, nor as something his service dog can help him mitigate. It is always interesting to notice how the people who are dyed-in-the-wool Christian folk react. A lady at a restaurant was really mean, made a rude comment and then said grace over her meal. CEOs are Christmas-Easter-Only people. How do we refer to the people who claim religion, yet don't live it? (I am not referring to the school personnel here, just people in this Bible-belt community in general.) Many, many people have been amazing and understanding and supportive. I just keep hoping those traits are contagious!

We believe in the power of prayer, and we are requesting your help - AGAIN!

Help us, through your prayers, gain access for Rexie and for the school to welcome Wyatt's service dog as a heavenly tool to heal one little boy who is fearfully and wonderfully made in his Creator's image.

Our dog thinks she is a cat...

Our dog is really funny sometimes. Like every time we get out the vacuum. She has a "thing" for the vacuum and LOVES to be vacuumed. She dances around and rubs up against it like a cat does to your legs. Then we hook it up and she does this...And this...

and this! She also thinks she is a cat as she tries to climb on your lap. Seriously, seventy-five pounds of puppy is some canine weight! She LOATHES the water and detests getting a bath. Rexie also enjoys a good lean. When someone pets her, she will LEAN into the person. She has leaned Levi and Alysse right to the ground (which is not surprising considering they are 32 and 21 pounds respectively!) Thankfully, she has never fallen on them, or else they would be flat! Maybe I should send the vacuuming pics to the corporate office as advertisements! We could recoup some of our losses that we spend on supplements - YIKES! Just invested another $160 this month. They seem to help. Speaking of helping, we begin AIT (auditory integration training) next week. The previous two treatments helped considerably, so pray that we have good gains again this round.

Rexie goes to Day Camp!

Rexie and Wyatt are going to Day Camp together. Here is a photo with Mrs. Cindy, who is Wyatt's speech pathologist and Carlee who is his assistant (and helps to handle Rexie.) They attend therapeutic camp three days per week for three hours per day. Rexie has been a gem with the other campers, who have a variety of DIF-abilities. Wyatt is one of the older campers, and this has been a really good way for him to take more responsibility of Rexie's handling.
This is Wyatt in occupational therapy. Rexie has been doing pretty well staying in a "down" in the various therapies. We are learning many things regarding Rexie's and Wyatt's smooth transitions into the classroom setting and how to successfully facilitate that transition. We are preparing for the fall when they will attend school together. It seems that the best way for us to handle Rexie attending class will be to start small and build - so the two of them can both be successful!

Our baby turns one...

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, REXIE!!!!

Wyatt's forever friend turned one today. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that we brought her home....
Oh wait, it WAS just a couple of weeks ago!
In any case, we celebrated her "happy barkthday" in style. She played the tracking game lots of times, did amazing and earned BIG pieces of hot dogs (the only people food she is allowed and only presented as a treat for tracking!) We ate Blizzards in her honor. We vacuumed her. Okay, I know that probably sounds weird, but she really LOVES to be vacuumed. Really. We have this brush that hooks up to the hose thing and she is SO happy to be vacuumed she gets drooly. The drool is gross, but the fact that she rolls around like a big old 65 pound cat is hilarious.

Wyatt and she are spending more time together. This is a picture of homework time. She lays on him to help with the sensory overload factor. She wants to sleep with him, but we have to address the bed issue before she can get her wish. Wyatt sleeps in the lower trundle and has a single mattress. Rexie sleeps on the floor, as close as she can, to wherever Wyatt's head is. When we put him to bed, his head is toward the west, and so is Rexie. Upon awakening, he is NEVER west, and Rexie is wherever his head is. It is quite sweet. I think we are going to have to move he and Rexie on to a bigger mattress so they can continue their bonding process. We want Rexie to be attuned into Wyatt as closely as we can.

We just love this dog. Happy birthday, fuzzy girl. Here's to many more years together!

Graduation day!

Congratulations graduates! Here is Rexie and Wyatt in their caps. Rexie has assumed her usual pose in this picture. Can I just comment that it is VERY difficult to get 5 people and dog to look at the camera and not make goofy faces?

Wyatt, Rexie, Levi and Steve are all smiles because we graduated.

Alex and SD Treasure

Sarah and SD Wonder

More Graduates

Trey and SD Promise

Nick and Liese

Adam and SD Kita-BooAlexa and SD Joy

The crowds cheered on the graduates at the 4 Paws training center!

THE BIG DAY >>>THE BIG TEST!

Do I REALLY have to take that test today, Mom?

The funniest part about this picture is that WYATT took it! He said, "Rexie does not want to go to school today because she has to take the test, and if she flunks I can't be her boy." I reassured him that there was NO WAY this mommy and daddy would let anyone take our Rexie away from her boy and we had studied very hard and would do our VERY best!


This is Karen Shirk, Executive Director and Founder of 4 Paws for Ability. This is the lady who started out on a mission to improve the quality of lives of dogs and people who do not "fit the mold." 4 Paws is really amazing. Please take the time to read about it at www.4pawsforability.org Karen, Jeremy and the staff there love animals and ovals. Hurrah for 4 Paws!

This is Wyatt and Rexie posing sweetly for a picture. Can you see both of their smiles?
Many of the 4 Paws puppies are adopted from shelters. This little sweetie (the puppy - not the chickie) is part of their breeding program. Some of the dogs have temprements and talents that make them exceptional service dogs. So, 4 Paws does some selective breeding of these animals. All of the SDs that are put into public work are neutered. (Can't have those kind of distractions, can we now? giggle)
This is most of the graduating class right before the diplomas were handed out. Ummm... someone remind me to not wear red until I lose another 40 lbs. Dang, I look like Santa! Rexie is sniffing Joy's butt. Gross. Why do dogs do that? Am I the only person who thinks that is weird? Kind of makes me glad I am not a dog....

Day 9 of Training

Celebrate good times, c'mon!

The May-naics decided to have a little pre-graduation celebration this evening. All of the families came (except one whose mommy had a migraine - ouch!) and ate, drank and were merry. The room looked fabulous thanks to Tammy's (Trey and SD Promise) wonderful touch! She had decorations, gift bags filled with thoughtful gifts including the best of all...
a scrapbook with everyone's name and home address so we can keep in touch!
This is Tammy and Dell. They had their sons, Trey and Jake at training. They are really wonderful people!
This is Sue and Don with Grandpa Lavern and Grandma Bevy. The cute little guy in front is Nick and he received SD Liese.
Kristin was the kid magnet! It seemed that wherever Kristin alighted, the children flocked! Her little girl, Alexa received SD Joy and her other daughter, Ciarra, came for a weekend durin training. All three are amazing women.
On the right is Alex, Angela and Billy's mom Beth. Her hubby, Bill, is probably playing with the kids. They are a really nice family. They received SD Treasure. On the left is Angela and her daughter, Sarah, is sitting at the table with them. She is just about the cutest thing on two legs. Katherine, her sister, stayed at home and dad had to leave a week into training. They received SD Wonder.


Prior to the celebration, we took a trip to K Mart and did some tracking practice with Wyatt and Rexie. Rexie's rate of success was 90%. The one time she did not find him right away was when he moved! She went to the spot he was, and then the little bugger doubled back and tricked her! The rest of the time Rexie was spot-on! Tomorrow are the access tests and graduation (if we pass!)

Day 8 of Training

HOUDINI!!

One of our biggest challenges with Wyatt is his tendency to vanish into thin air. Today, at the mall, Jeremy showed us how to further train Rexie to track Wyatt in tight places like stores. This is not the same as open air tracking that some dogs are contracted to do. This is when Rexie has a starting point of reference and is able to locate Wyatt based on scent that lingers in his wake. Wyatt and Jeremy made three or four turns in a store and "disappeared" into clothes racks. Steve and Rexie "found him" 4 out of 5 times! Woo Hoo! The last time that she did not locate him, Wyatt did not start from a point of reference for Rexie. It was a "cold trail" track and she is not ready for that yet. We will continue her training at home so she is able to find Wyatt when he disappears. The store is our greatest nemesis for this. Wyatt does not take off from home and become lost, but this is a VERY real concern for many parents with non-verbal children.
Do you see Wyatt in this picture? Rexie saw him with her nose! Locating Wyatt in stores is just another way this wonder dog is going to make our lives so much more secure!
The chillin' children. Rexie and her human siblings bonding on the hide-a-bed. The place we are staying is very nice ans VERY accommodating. A complimentary breakfast is enjoyed with our 4 Paws families who are staying here and they also serve complimentary dinners on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The staff are very nice when it comes to the dogs. Actually, the staff in general are extremely nice! It costs a bit more (about $20 per night) than the other hotels, but having a two room suite with a full kitchen, breakfasts every morning, evening popcorn, and dinners covered for six days of our stay has MORE than made up for the initial investment.
Wyatt had a hairy-mother kicking, screaming, crying, snotty tears fest meltdown last night. It lasted over an hour. Rexie was really good about staying in an "over" and then a "lap" and then a "down" next to her boy the entire time. Eventually Wyatt recovered his bearings and for Rexie's unconditional love and support what did she get?
She got decorated like the Pharaoh Queen of Egypt. Wyatt brushed her, and then he decided she needed a little accessorizing. Funny. It seemed to calm him down, and Rexie did not seem to mind too much.
This is a picture of some of our 4 Paws friends and families (enjoying the dinner I mentioned). The little girl in the wheelchair is Alexa, and Levi has taken to her like crazy. They bug each other non-stop.


We are starting to get a little sad that the end of our 4 Paws time is drawing near. We have met some really great people who are really amazing, patient parents of ovals. I am continually amazed by our 4 Paws experience and the families who are a part of it. We are blessed.

Day 7 of Training

Sweet Dreams....

This is the image I woke up to this morning! How sweet is that? Wyatt has been sleeping without the aid of his melatonin this trip (forgot to pack), so we were quite worried that sleep was going to be an issue. We have been pleasantly surprised that it has not been. Rexie is a champion sleeper! She tries to sleep in class. She tries to sleep in the car. She tries to sleep at the hotel. She SNORES at night - ha ha! We refer to her as our Zen doggie. Really, she is laid back like a dead fly. She likes to play ball for about three tosses. She like to run around outside for about five minutes. What she REALLY likes to do is hold down the carpeting to make sure it does not float away! This is Sarah and Alysse on tricycles at 4 Paws. They were having a good time racing around. Sarah is five, so she is a bit older than Alysse, but still a lot of fun! Sarah received Wonder as her dog. He is an awesome dog :)
Billy and Wyatt are playing together on the computer. Billy is 6 and his brother and sister, Alex and Angela are at 4 Paws as well. It is great for the kids to have someone to play with.
This is Jeremy, the head trainer. Alysse was acting as his personal assistant today. It was really funny. Kids and dogs are very much alike it seems, as she followed every command Jeremy gave her. Jeremy told her to stand on a square and she stood there FOR-EVER just happy as a clam. Then Jeremy had her moving boxes for the seizure game so the dogs couldn't alert from remembering where the box was. Looks like we know who to turn Rexie's training over to.... maybe in a few years.
I thought you might want to see our Rexie's snazzy outfit. She looks very professional - don't you think? Tomorrow we go back to the mall to practice some more. Our public access test is on Thursday, so Jeremy wants us all to get more practice in. I really don't think he wants any of us to fail!
Here are all the commands that we have learned to use so far (that I can think can think of at this time) ...
sit, down, under, place, stand, heel, over, drop it, leave it, come, play dead, shake, high five, lap, touch, kisses, speak, find him, and no. I am sure there are others, but my brain is fuzzy right now!

Day 6 of Training

Happy Mother's Day!This is that one day a year when moms everywhere are recognized for the work they do, and thanked for it. We get plenty of thanks in sloppy kisses, squishy hugs and "nuggles" throughout the year, but it is kind of nice to get the royal treatment every now and again. I hope everyone remembered to thank their mommies for the love and encouragement they show! I like Mother's Day because I get to think about my super kids and my awesome husband who have made my life an amazing journey! For my Mother's day feast, we journeyed to ...Uh-huh. Apparently, I get to be a royal on some tropical Italian island. I am treated to Pizza Hut for my Mother's Day feast! The nice part is that EVERYONE behaved amazingly well! There were no fights at the table, Rexie stayed in her "down under" the table and we enjoyed a pleasant meal. When the kids got antsy, we allowed them to treat Rexie (with her regular food) and praise her with a "good down!" bit of praise. She is truly an affection hound. The edible reinforcers are just icing on the cake for her. She follows commands very well with just verbal praise coupled with a good petting. Today, class consisted of HOURS of work for the seizure dogs, and Rexie kind of had an easy day doing basic command work and snuggling/bonding with her boy.

We learned about dog toys and accessibility laws. The toys discussion was actually pretty interesting. I have learned so much in the last 6 days! There are no laws governing dog toys, and no recalls. Many dogs have died from cheap toys, rawhide, bones, and balls that are not appropriate. Cheap toys and plastic bowls often have lead in the plastic. If there is one thing I DO NOT need it is a service dog that becomes cognitively impaired from its chewy toys! Rawhide is indigestible and will slip down a dog's throat. Rawhide is a major culprit of intestinal blockage. Intestinal blockage means expensive surgery (if you are quick enough) or death. YIKES! Real animal bones will splinter and embed themselves into the dog's stomach or intestines. Again - YIKES! Raquetballs and other small balls will jam themselves into the dog's trachea when they go to catch/fetch them. Like I said, I am learning a bunch of new information. I know that some people will say, "Well, I never had a dog die from______." True, but we really don't want to take a chance with this amazing dog. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure!
This is where Rexie rides in the VanGogh. :) Usually, her head is on Wyatt's lap, but he picked it up for the picture. She is really patient and tolerant. Rexie is a really great "fit" for our family. Jeremy, the head trainer, did an amazing job matching her to our family and one special litle boy...
This is what puppy love looks like. Yea Rexie and Wyatt! Thank you 4 Paws and all the people who made this possible!