Today we "stormed" Hogansville. (That's Justin in a Stormtrooper costume. The helmet was his souvenier from Disney.) The only problem is I think the storm settled in my living room. Where does all the stuff come from when you get back from a vacation. I think it multipled while we were gone and I am wondering where we even had all this stuff before we left? What a mess to clean up too bad I won't be home tomorrow to help Gene clean it up. I have such a wonderful house husband!

Tomorrow things will return to normal only better I think. It has been three days without a meltdown. That doesn't happen very often. But, even more than no meltdowns it is surprising how calm the children have been. The trip home was MUCH more pleasant than the trip going down. They are trying really hard to practice the many things they learned while with the dolphins. Tonight Justin was repeatedly pushing a button on a toy to make the same sound over and over again...it was beginning to get to everyone. Prior to the trip Misty would have screamed and probably kicked the toy and she and Justin would have ended up in screaming match with Justin hitting her and then beating his head. Instead Misty was trying her best to ignore Justin. You could hear her telling herself I am just going to ignore him until she had reached her limit. Then she rather loudly said, "Justin you are getting on my mind. (I think she meant you are getting on my nerves.)" With a little redirection and a lot of snickering from us Justin choose to stop and there were no fireworks or explosions. That is an accomplishment.

We are amazed. Jesse has initated conversations on his own and is trying to make eye contact when he is talking. Misty was much more confident tonight, playing independently. Justin was using complete sentences when spoken too. He was expressing his thoughts with very little prompting. And when asked they each answered appropriately and changed behaviors as requested. We were even behaving ourselves doing our best to continue using the techniques we learned at Island Dolphin Care. Jessica came over for a visit and noticed the changes and pleasant the visit was.

It is our hope and desire that this will continue but I guess now is when the real work will begin. It is up to us to continue what we learned and make it all worthwhile. I am confident we can with each other helping. If you know someone who is struggling with a child who has physical or mental challenges I encourage them to visit with Island Dolpin Care. It is a GREAT program with great staff.

Well, I guess this will be my last blog so before I go I want to thank a few more people. Leslie Gaddy and girls, Tracy Smith, Jack and Johnnie Kent, Willow Heim, Lucille of St. James UMC, Community Bank and Trust, The Sinns Family, Marsha Calloway, Ric and Angela Chambers and Kati Wright and the Wright Family, Mountville UMC, Big Springs UMC, and the pastors of the LaGrange District of the UMC. And ALL THE STAFF OF ISLAND DOLPHIN CARE.

Thank you and good night!

Today I think we auditioned for America’s Funniest Home Video as Gene and I squeezed, pushed, sucked in and tucked ourselves into wet suits. They said they were supposed to be tight and fit like a glove. I have NEVER had a glove fit the way that fit. Moving in the suits was another story of comic proportions; but, the $10,000 video would have been of us trying to bend over and put our flippers on. Gene kept up a commentary throughout the whole thing that had everyone in stitches. Now that was entertainment…

Slipping into the water for the first time helped us to appreciate the fears and trust issues that the kids had to work on just to get into the water. We had floatation vests on but it is a little intimidating to think that a little piece of rubber is going to keep you a float. Despite the floor show of putting on the wet suits, the swim was quite enjoyable. The dolphins swam around us watching us, rubbing up against us, and kissing our legs. Squirt and Lotus stayed with Misty the entire time. They never swam with anyone else. Squirt would just stay right beside her and if other dolphins looked like they might collide with her or if we got close Squirt would protectively get between Misty and the potential hazard. The other six dolphins swam with the rest of us and the other therapy families from the week.

After our swim the kids got to visit the sea lion, Wono. She is quite a character showing off at every opportunity. She would bring them presents from the bottom of the lagoon and jump and twist at the sounds of their laughter and claps. Even Rosie got to give her a kiss. She said Wono’s skin was not as slippery as the dolphins’ and that her underbelly was very oily. In fact the skin was so oily that you could write on Wono’s fur by just touching it. Light pressure on her back acted like a squeegee squeezing the water out and leaving a dry area. Wono loved her back and belly being rubbed.

As the children began gathering up their things and saying goodbyes. Gene and I had the pleasure and the pain of a deep muscle massage. It truly was one of those “hurt so bad it was good!” I think I am going to send Gene to massage school.

Leaving was hard. Misty was particularly sad burying in face in my side as the therapy team, all 14 of them, gathered around us to say goodbye. They really were so helpful. They were constantly asking us questions and making suggestions and if they didn’t have one they would look for one. Several times we talked about something on one day and the next morning they would come to us with some ideas they had talked about or researched for us. As we were leaving, they reminded the children and us that this was not just a one week program that we would be in contact by phone and email and that they really hoped we could come back again. I hope so too.

As we began our journey home we detoured by Pahokee, Rosie’s birthplace. There was obvious excitement in her anticipation of the town. When we got there I was thankful I had looked up some pictures for her to see prior to our visit. It was a very small, poor and almost forgotten little place. On the edge of the city though was a beautiful scene as you crested over Main Street to a dike area. Before you, filling the horizon, was a picturesque tranquil lake. As we stood there on the shore looking across Rosie breathed a deep breath and said, “It’s time to go home.” Yes, for all of us there is a time to venture out and try new and exciting things. There is a time to travel back and visit our past. Then it is time to turn and go to where life is lived out in the trenches of home where the people, places and things you love rest and wait for you. Yes, it's time to go home!

He who laughs last, laughs loudest!

Rosie finally got to suit up today. She was the last to get in but she laughed so loud you could hear her all over the lagoon. It was a nervous laugh as she was pushed out into the lagoon by a Squirt who was anxious to get back to Misty. You could hear Rosie saying, "Oh my word, they go so fast." While Jesse was on the other side going, "Go faster Fiji! Go Faster!" Oh to be so young, carefree and fearless.

Justin on the other hand couldn't shake his fears. Today was his last chance to swim independently with the dolphins. He was courageous and did a beautiful belly swim with Squirt but couldn't do it without having the therapist hand on him. A belly swim is when the dolphin flips over on to its back and swims up under the child so that child is actually laying on the belly of the dolphin. The child grabs hold of the pectal fins and then together the dolphin propels them through the water. It is pretty to watch as the dolphin nestles the child in between their fins and holds them gently against their pink bellies. By the way, did you know that dolphins have belly buttons? They do! And they love to have them tickled.

Fiji continued his antics with Jesse taking him for a couple of "wild" rides. He even responded to Jesse giving him hand commands today. The trainers use sign language to instruct the dolphins. The dolphins will turn on their side to see the trainer and watch their hands and with a flip and a turn of the trainer wrist the dolphins will dive down, turn around and jump through the air returning afterwards for a reward of a a couple of dead fish and a little praise. If we could only get our kids to respond that way to a couple of fish!! The dolphins loved to be praised and clapped for. They will click, chatter and flip their heads around as you talk to them and tell them what a wonderful job they are doing. If you forget to praise them they will go off and sulk a little while like kids. Its a good reminder how much our kids need us to praise them!

Tomorrow will be our last day here. Gene and I will get to swim with the kids and the dolphins then. It is hard to believe it almost over; yet, we are exhausted. We have hardly a moments rest since getting here. They have tried to give us as much information as possible in such a short time. Right now Gene and I are a little in sensory overload we have been given so many resources and tools to help the kids. It is going to take us a week or two to process it all and then it will take time to experiment with the many different techniques and things that we have learned to figure out what is the best choice for our kids.

Today in particular we learned so many helpful things. Practical tools for everyday living with special needs children, like weighted vests and blankets to help retrain a child's brain so that they understand they are sitting, laying or standing in a place. They explained to us today that children on the Autism Spectrum struggle with sensory developmental issues. Their brains can not identify and categorize different sensory stimuli. For instance, when you and I sit down our brains register a certain amount of pressure in our little petunias as Misty calls our derrière. Children with Autism do not register the pressure in their brain so they struggle with the perception of sitting and understanding what sitting still means. So you have to retrain or reteach the brain. To do that they use a weighted vest and/or blanket. It puts extra pressure on the child's body hopefully allowing the child to experience the sensation of sitting still. It was unbelieveable to watch Justin. He was jumping to and fro unable to sit still for more than 20 or 30 seconds when they put on this weighted vest and blanket on him. Justin sat perfectly still for ten to fifteen minutes without fidgeting or getting up one single time. I can't wait to but one of those. There were a lot of other things too like therabands and swings, and pattern lights. It was way cool.

Well my brain has been drained for today and I am beginning to experience fits of uncontrollable psychotic episodes of laughter as I think about swiming in the pool with the kids tomorrow so I think I better hit the hay and get some sleep.

Until tomorrow..and remember laughter is good medicene for whatever ills you!

It is amazing to watch the dolphins. They really seem to sense the personality and needs of the children. Misty's dolphin is a mother and she "mothers" Misty. She is so gentle with her. She is also Justin's dolphin and there is a definite difference in the way she interacts with each of them. Even when she jumps it is different. She makes a big splash with Justin and flip her tail but with Misty she gently glides into the water. She shakes hands with Justin but with Misty she wants hugs. She will work her tail harder and propel herself up out of the water without disturbing the water around Misty. It is amazing to watch and then she moves her body in closer to Misty until Misty wraps her arms around her and lays her head against her. Afterwards Squirt will click with delight and Misty just beams. Misty was doing an independent swim today with the surf board. Like the dolphin push Misty holds the surfboard in front of her keeps her knees locked and the dolphin comes up behind and pushes. Misty directs the swim with the surf board. Misty forgot to steer today and was head toward the rock wall Squirt just stopped until Misty got her board turned the right way and then she went back and began again without even being told.

Jesse's main dolphin is Fiji. Fiji is just four years old and they describe him as mischievous and energtic. He fits Jesse perfectly. Normally when they do a dorsal swim the child grabs the dorsal fin (the big fin on the back) and the dolphin goes straight toward the dock and drops the child off. When Jesse swims with Fiji we never know what to expect. Yesterday Fiji swayed him back and forth in an "s" pattern and Jesse loved it. Fiji seemed to know that Jesse is the adventerous one. Though he never puts Jesse at risk. He is very safe with him. Today when Fiji was suppose to take Jesse on a free swim in a circle. Fiji expanded the circle and took him almost all the way around the lagoon. Misty and Jesse worked together today each holding a pole out in the middle of the lagoon and Fiji and Squirt jumped it in unison. It was a beautiful and majestic sight.

Justin still has not made an independent swim. He latches onto his therapist with one hand the entire time;though today, he did let him turn him all the way around facing outward away from the therapist to reach out and play with the dolphins. We have talked with Justin about making a independent swim tomorrow. We hope he will be able to do it. We also visited the touch tank today. At first Justin wouldn't have anything to do with it. He didn't want to pick up anything. On the other hand with Jesse it was all we could do to keep him out of the tank. Misty was funny. She would pick things up out of the tank but she was careful to only pick up shells that she knew where empty. By the end of the session though Justin was venturing up to pick up things on his own like a Brittle Starfish, a sea urchin and a starfish.

This has been such a great experience. We can hardly believe that we are here. The staff at the center have been tremendous. We can not thank them enough for their hospitality, kindness and effort to work with us and find solutions. But then again there are so so many people to thank. All the people at HFUMC, Corinth, Mike and Susan Hollingsworth, Kathy Leadbeater and Dr. Phillips High School, Andy, Dianne and Quetine Anderson, Pat and Harold Hudson, Andy Kober, Sherry Brown, not mention Jessica and Jason Newsome and Chad and Sarah Crowe and a whole list of other people. I almost hate to even mention names because I know I will forget someone. Really we could list the whole town of Hogansville because of the whole community's support we received. But we would be remiss if we didn't say a special thank you to Leslie Purdy. She was the one who first brought us the information about the program and who really encouraged us to pursue it even when I was concerned with how we would ever pay for it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Of the three children, Misty Jesse and Justin, which one do you think would be the first to independently swim with the dolphins? If you guessed Jesse or Justin you were wrong. Misty surprised us all by being the first to swim without assistance with the dolphins several times. This has been a great confidence booster for her. She just grabs hold of the dorsal fin and off they go. She was also doing dolphin pushes today. A dolphin push is when you lay on your back and keep your legs straight with your feet out. The dolphin then will push the bottom of your feet with their nose propelling you through the water. Misty loves it. However, she says she doesn't like it when they jump because they splash her in the face. In class we worked on "r" sounds, fine motor skills and following direction. The therapist also gave me a web site called Handwriting without Tears to check into for Misty. As our day was winding down today Misty was concerned because Squirt loves her so much that on Friday when we leave Squirt and Lotus are going to be so sad and miss us. "What will they do without me here?" I think she means what will she do without them because she is going to be sad.

When we drove up today Justin said, "I don't want to go swimming with the dolphins." We encouraged him to go up and see Eli, his therapist, and see what he said. Eli saw Justin and said, "Alright buddy today we are going to get in the water and stay in the water okay." Justin looked up at him hugged him and said okay. He still wouldn't let go of Eli but he stayed in the water and played with the dolphins the entire time. They practiced going out deeper and deeper into the pool. Justin did well and even swam with the dolphins while holding onto Eli. Eli is very patient with Justin and in a very quiet way makes Justin stretch his boundaries.

Jesse was ready to get in but still wanted to hold on to Jack, his therapist. By the end of the session though Jesse took his first independent swim for just a short distance. And he smiled frequently during the session today. The smiles came easier and more willingly. When he is in the water he is better at making eye contact as well. It is interesting to watch him before hand with the interns and therapist. He rarely makes eye contact with them and his body is often turned away from them though he seems to be listening to them. But, as soon as he is in the water his eyes become focused on Jack and he is attentive with both his mind and body on the dolphins. Jesse got kisses from both of his dolphins at the same time today. He thought it was so funny he wanted Mommy to get two also. He laughed and laughed and said, "Ha Ha Ha...we got salty lips again today." You know what, I am starting to like these dolphin kisses something about them just makes me feel good...maybe it is the sound of the children's laughter that seems to accompany them?

We also participated in Music Therapy led by Jack. He showed us several techniques to help the children with focus including using a keyboard and songs. He suggested we make up some songs of our own for our family. Gene has several suggestions like...Born to be Wild or the theme to Hitchcock's Birds. I don't think that is exactly what they team had in mind. The therapy team is also looking for ways to help us with making meal time less stressful for us with Justin.

Deana, the owner, and I met for a little while as well. She suggested we contact the college to see if there is a special ed student or psychology student or two that might be able to come to our house a couple days a week to work with and be with the kids to give us some breaks and assistance. She shared several other ideas as well. They are trying so hard to help us. It is nice to know they understand.

One last thing before I go tonight, I was trying to get Justin and Jesse to settle down and get ready for bed. Justin was not following directions and was jumping around. I got stern with him and he immediately came over and began kissing on me (this is his modus operadi these days). I stopped him and said that didn't help I was upset with him and it didn't make me feel good for him to just come over and start kissing me when I was frustrated and upset. Jesse stopped and looked at me with a quizzical look and said, "Isn't that what you do when we feel bad you kiss on us and make us feel better." He is right and Justin was right, it does make me feel better. Hugs and kisses are good for the mind, body and soul. Give somebody you love an extra kiss and hug today! It will make both of you feel better!

Today was our first day of therapy. It was a great day! It exceeded our expectations and washed away our fears. It was amazing the things that they got Justin to do today, in fact, what they got all of them to do. Each child has four adults assigned to them. One therapist, one dolphin trainer, and two interns--one to take pictures and one to take therapy notes. The interns are from all over the world, two are from Germany, one from Australia and one from Italy. The rest are from all over the United States. They say that their intership is quite coveted and heavily competed for. I can see why, it truly is an amazing program. The staff are exceptional, kind, personable and really seem to want to work with and help the children.

Justin was up first. We only got a few pictures today. Rosie was suppose to be taking them but she got so fascinated by the dolphins and the activities that she forgot to take pictures. Justin met with his therapist, Eli, before getting in the water. They are working on fears and following directions. Justin responded well to him and even put on a wet suit without even fussing about the tags or the texture of the suit. That in itself is a major accomplishment. Then he slowly worked with Justin and the dolphin. The dolphin would swim by and rub Justin's feet and wave at Justin. Finally Justin got in the water. You could see the fear begin to flood over him but Eli would gently reasurre him and redirect him to Squirt, the dolphin. Justin wasn't interacting very well with Squirt so Eli suggested I pet Squirt. That made Justin laugh. Then Eli told Justin to tell me to kiss the Squirt. Thanks Eli...but that was all it took to get Justin started. They played with a duck, a hoola hoop, shook hands, ventured out deeper into the water, swam holding onto the fins, snuggled, and rubbed bellies. Justin had to take several breaks but after a couple of minutes Eli would be back encouraging and coaxing him back into the water where they practiced following directions and talked about fears.

Misty and Jesse watched Justin so when it was their time they were ready to go. Misty was working on following directions, maintaining control, and fine motor skills. She did superb. She had the same dolphin as Justin, Squirt. Squirt has a baby who tried to do everything Squirt did. Squirt really liked Misty and would on her own come up to Misty to snuggle or to take Misty on a ride. Very quickly Misty let go of the therapist hands and began to "swim" with a vest on all by herself. Again a major accomplishment even it was with the vest on. She was so proud of herself. Squirt even let Misty have a belly ride, something apparently she doesn't let many people do.

Jesse also did really well. He actually had two dolphins, Fiji and Bella. They would each get a hand and spin Jesse around and around. They had to really work at it but they got Jesse to smile several times. Jesse doesn't smile a lot or very easily so that was a joy to see. He got to swim in between the two dolphins by holding on to their dorsal fins and he played basketball with them. The dolphins would just laugh and click at him. They would nudge and cuddle his feet. Then after class the therapist suggested to us that we have Jesse evaluated by a facial doctor. The therapist thought it might be possible that Jesse has a muscular or facial structure issue with his lower jaw that is keeping him from opening up his mouth when talking or from smiling very much. We had never even considered that as a possibility. We will have to have it checked out.

To top the day off we ate our big meal out tonight. It was spectacular. The restuarant was right on the ocean. The ocean is so calm here. It just laps at the island. No big crashing waves or anything. We sat outide and ate our meal while we watched the sun set. It was breathtaking. The colors and quietness of that majestic moment was so calming and reassuring. God is truly an artist beyond the talents of Van Gogh or any other earth person. Not just in nature but in people too and we saw some of that beauty in people today. Thank you God for truly being the master artist!!

It was a long trip to Key Largo today. Justin is experiencing a great deal of anxiety not to mention he is just plain tired. The therapy program starts tomorrow and his nerves are getting the best of him. He is irritable and quick to hit his frustration point. He has begun pulling out his eyebrows and eyelashes again. We keep trying to reassure him. I asked him what he was worried about and he said about the dolphin kissing him. I told him the dolphin wouldn't kiss him if he didn't want him too. That seemed to help a little. It is just the unknown that creates stress for him, like the rest of us. We drove over to the Island Dolphin Care and showed all of them where we would be tomorrow. Our swim time is in the afternoon. Jesse and Misty will actually get to go first. That way Justin will have a little more time with the therapist to build trust before they go in the water.

I will head over in the morning at 8 AM to begin the paperwork and registration. The therapy team suggested we let the kids sleep in while I meet with the team and work with them to finish getting everything ready. Aughh! 8 AM...when do I get to sleep in. Last night I feel asleep while Gene was getting ready for bed and I slept good until 1AM when some kids decided to do a few "prank" phone calls. We got two before we called the front desk. It was hard to go to sleep after that. Oh well, sleep is over rated!

Oh I forgot to tell you about Rosie being called Mom at Disney. She was on the Buzz Lightyear Ride with Misty and was trying to get off. She hit her knee and kind of stumbled the male attendant grabbed for her and said, "You okay there Mom." She was flabbergasted. "Mom, mom, do I look like a mom." "I may look like her but I am not her mother. I am not old enough to be her mother." It was hilarious. She couldn't get over it. She kept asking me do I look that old. Later that afternoon we were looking at dresses for her to buy. She had one picked out and I looked at it and said with a smile. Older women wear darker colors, young women wear bright vibrant colors. Rosie bought a bright orange dress!!

Well, this Mom is ready for bed. So until tomorrow...keep us in your prayers it will be a day of challenges.