Level 3 here we come

What is level 3 - well at school his class has a level system they go through- Marcus applied to advanced to level 3 because he is choosing to make better choices- to keep his hands and feet to himslef and to be concerned of his choices and not others-

They have to apply to get to the next level and it is either approved or disapproved by the principal and behavior specialist- well Level 3 was approved today - however he will have to wait to advance to it until next week do to an incident in the very late afternoon in his basic education class- His teacher called me and I had to tell him- he handled it very very well-I am telling you this child is different - vey very different- I honestly believe in my heart God is working in him.

Oh he is still a kid- but when I told him he had to wait for next week to advanced he was like uhh why- I said because of your choice in Ms S's class this afternoon- Oh he said - I will do my best tomorrow and work on my behavior- I said great- so he took it well and I told him how proud I was for making Level 3 for next week and how proud I was on how he took the news that he had to wait.

We had a psychiatrist appointment and we spoke of how well he is doing- I did speak to her about a concern of mine and he did exactly what I was going to ask- he tends to regress in situations in his not familiar with or people he is not familiar with- he goes into baby talk mode and silly acting out mode- I asked her if that was normal - she said that this is how he may deal with anxiety- oh okay- so we got outside and it was like he was back to young man Marcus mode- amazing - I will have to look at this more when we have new situations arise that he may be unfamiliar with.

Survivor Tupperware Party

Went to a friend of mine's tupperware party last night- she only lives about a mile from my house so Marcus and I biked there- it was a great evening- Marcus played with Nick (which he played on soccer team) and it was a good chance to get us both out of the house and spend time with adults (for me) and kids (for him)


I also work with Beth - so it is an added plus- her husband is serving in Iraq and is due home at the end of May - so Pray for him while he is still there.

We left about 10 O clock biked back home with our flashlights - took all the sidewalks home and had no problems



Marcus slept in till about 9:30 ish- and is taking a nap as I type- I guess the late night and lonf week has caught up to him.

The party was fun and they have so many products - I love- well I got a couple of things- I do not have a lot of bowls and storage stuff - also got this great thing to make fresh salsa-it was yummyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

So if you need tupperware let me know I could hook you up!

Woke up not feeling too great this morning- but must press in and get the rest of the laundry done and grocery shopping done

We talked about Faith at church last night and sometimes I wonder how much faith a person can have? We often say a child like faith -What does this actually mean? For me it is simple-that you will believe no matter what. Often as adults (me) included we know God wants to do something but we doubt or do not believe- Why not go back to the days of believing for the impossible- We serve a mighty God - we have seen things even the littliest of things happen - he does perform miracles everyday- do we miss them in our busyness?
What miracle happened today in your life? For me:


I woke up- thank you Jesus that is a miracle I could have stopped breathing in my sleep
I made it to work safely- this is a miracle in itself living in Tampa
Marcus had a great day (2 days in a row) this is truly a miracle- Honestly I am believing for more days like this then not- I have been for a long while-
Marcus has come a long way-in weeks-in a month -I see him changing before my eyes- miraculously.
God has opened doors for me to speak about special needs children-adopted children
God opened my eyes for a need of educating those around myself and others about special needs children - they are smart and wonderfully made.
I have a home-
I have transportation-
Oh I hear you all yes Michele that is great- it is -
By the grace of God - I am a single mom thriving in this world- and I will not be defeated- not by people or things that may attack at my family- my son- God gives me his miraculous strength. HE provides my every need.

Faith - I believe miracles are happening in my son's life- I believe it-when will it happen - all in God's time- and the hardest part is not knowing when that time will be-
I want that child like faith - Marcus taught me something on the way to church last night.
I was asking him how he was and he said his head hurt - did you hit something or bang it I asked. He said he banged it at school- My reply was did you get ice- no mommy I did not need ice-Why Marcus - I do not need it.okay- Why ? Because God is going to take care of it-he said this - and I am like wow-I need more of what he has-so when he said that I did pray believing his head would stop hurting- and on the way home he said it did- Thank you God for showing me child like Faith.

T-R-A-N-S-P-O-R-T-A-T-I-O-N

Our prayers were answered today with a phone call we can start as early as tomorrow to pick him up- wow okay- thank you God for answered prayer- We start Wednesday. Yipee-

Just got to work out the details but - this is a big relief-

I told Marcus and his reaction was so rewarding- I said Marcus Wednesday you go to the the other Kids r Kids- WOO HOO!!! and through his arms up in victory- wow wow-

So we get to sleep in 20 extra minutes-I will be getting home an extra 20 minutes earlier-

They will work with him there. Marcus has a friend there from soccer so yeah

The bus will pick him up and drop him off there - so happy - see I am smiling :)

Energy Zap

Okay I know I am not alone out there- but by 2 pm today my energy was on low-
For those of you who are blessed that your children go to school in your neighborhood or close by - be very thankful.
I drove to get Marcus from after care 20 minutes from work- then we drove home another 20 minutes. Most days I do not mind the drive - it is my get a lone time with God- crank up the praise and worship on the way to and from work and pray- 40 minutes alone in my world with GOd- it is great and we have wonderful conversations-
But today I just wanted to come home a plop on the couch - never mind getting dinner ready- laundry needed to be done- dishes cleaned- dog fed- and walked-porch cleaned out-things do not get done with me plopped on the couch- but I am energy zapped even now-not sure just a long week- not a bad week just a long week-
I guess the 445 mornings get to me by Thursday - I so look forward to sleeping in on Saturdays til 630 (it is the internal alarm clock ) so if they get to me imagine how Marcus was at the end of today- tired too- he went to bed early and usually does Thursday just because church is Wednesday night and last night we were there a little later then normal - he was playing the drums- I need to get the boy in lessons.
Anyway I am up at 445 every morning- through the week- leave the house by 540 and have him at before care by 6- then me off to work and start at 6:30 work all day get off at 3 drive to pick him up and be home about 4 ish- oh it does not stop there. make sure he gets all his things away- get him set up to do his homework- make dinner- throw in a load of clothes- feed the dog and cats- wash the dishes - get his shower ready- pay bills- sort through the mail- get him tucked in- finish laundry work on some veterinary stuff- look up things- read for Sunday School- red my books- take the dog out- and....... then usually I settle in around 11 or so.
Whew I am tired just writing no wonder I have my energy zapped right now.

I am amazed..

Well we as a church have been on the Daniel Fast- or 1 4 50 Fast or Fasting something since Easter. The first week or so- was a little difficult- but I have learned a lot about myself over the course of these days- we are almost half there to May 11 and I am sure I will learn so much more.As far as the food goes- it is not bad- I have tried new things and some of which are pretty good-

Previously if I had not eaten for an extended length of time I would get a headache or just feel weak.Well- since doing the fast there have been several incidences where I have had extended length of time before eating and the headaches or weaknesses have diminished greatly- there maybe have been 1 or 2 incidences where this has occured out of the course of time being on the fast and to me that is amazing.

In the evenings- I would look for the ice cream to eat or the sweet thing to eat (cookies ectera) now I read my books on conversation peace- praying for your children- pray more- read the word of God more-I am reading Acts- doing a study on that- I am also spending more time on my Sunday School lessons- I usually work on it daily - I still do but there are ideas and illustrations that I work on to help the youth get a better understanding of what I am talking about-oh I still crave that sweet thing every now and then but that is when I grab some fruit-

In fact I changed up my classroom and it seems to be working a little bit better-

Marcus' behavior seems to be improving - many have reasons for going on the fast- mine is for my son- I am believing for a miracle- decrease in aggression and impulsive behavior increase in kindness, gentleness, and self control. I was blessed to be able to spend a week of taking him into school and picking him up from school at first I thought this was a major obstacle- cutting into my work time losing hours- but I quickly learned that it was an opportunity for us to spend some additional time together where I can help him make better choices-It was beneficial maybe more for me then him- it showed me something I knew that he can behave and make good choices-

We also in this past week- began biking together- just making time for him and not worrying at those moments how tired I am or how long my day was.

In these days I want more of God in my life- more opportunities to stretch and grow- more opportunities to share how God has guided and strengthen me since becoming a mom -Just more of Him- more of Him to be a teacher to my son- to show him how much he is loved through God and myself-

I started something new with Marcus over this past week. I ask him who he is and he usually says Marcus John- I said that is your name who are you?

This is who he is - a child of God- person created in his image- a kind, gentle, caring, a self-controlling person- one that is loved no matter what.

My Furry Friends and Me

Libby Lu (aka Lipless)- or what you see of her- she is not the friendliests of kitties- she has been with me the longest- over 10 + years. I found her by our chicken coup at my mom and dad's - she was about the size of my palm when I found her and scared to death- she was injured- we had to do a skin graph to put her lower lip back together- you can not tell except if youopen her mouth or raise her chin up-

This is Felix- he was left at the animal hospital I use to work for- he was a troubled kitty and now is so sweet




Crossed Eyed Clarence- he is so lovable and talkative- he was also left at the animal hospital I use to work for with a note - please take care of Snowball- we are unable to-

My fuzz head Isaac- he was about 8 weeks old when he was brought to the clinic- picked on at his house by the other puppies in the litter and had injured leg- He is protective but a chicken at heart.

Thanks for looking at my furry family- they give off so much unconditional love- they are there no matter what- (too bad they can not drive when I am sick).