Parker was accepted to the National Honor Society

At Parker's school you have to apply to be in the National Honor Society.  Parker got accepted this year.  He had the grades at the beginning of last year, his junior year, but he did not have other things they were looking for. This year he had finished his Eagle Scout and had community service, he also had participated in clubs during his junior year.

Parker does not like to have his picture taken so I had to force him for this one.  He just kept making the silliest faces and making it difficult for me, but it was funny though.  This is the best I could do and you can still see a funny face in there!

Occupational Therapy for Conner

Conner is such a trooper! He works so hard during his Occupational therapy.  Because there was not much improvement in the last 6 months, we are now doing an additional half hour of therapy a week.  Now we are doing an hour and a half of therapy.  On Wednesdays the Speech therapist works with him at school for a half hour.  The Occupational therapist comes to our house one week and we go to her office the next. They are working on his Sensory Processing Disorder. Sensory processing is a "term that refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses.  Whether you are biting into a hamburger, riding a bicycle, or reading a book, your successful completion of the activity requires processing sensation or sensory integration.  Sensory Processing Disorder is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses, a neurological "traffic jam" that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly.  A child with SPD finds it difficult to process an act upon information received through the senses (sight, sound, taste, touch and smells) which creates challenges in performing countless everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively." Conner has difficulty with smells, taste and textures of foods. The Speech pathologist is working on that. The OT is working on his motor skills.  During his sessions the therapist guides Conner through fun but challenging activities. 

In this session she worked on his core strength, keeping his head up while she pulled him on the scooter.

Spinning around on the scooter and stopping when she told him to and doing some push ups.

When he was done he was so tired he just watched TV

Counting my blessings!!

I am so happy!!!! Today for the first time Conner has been in his room for over an hour playing with his Legos!!! He has never done that!! From the time he was born he would scream non stop until someone held him. He would never nap. I would put him in bed and he would scream for hours!! I am talking 3 to 4 hours screaming while I sat there and tried to calm him down.  He would do the same at night and also throw up all over the crib!! Which was really hard because eating was an issue and I did not want him to throw up the food that I worked so hard to feed him!!  He just did not know how to calm down and soothe himself to sleep.  He also did not know how to play with toys alone.  He would cry and just want me with him all the time.  It was so hard for him and for me because nothing would get done.  When he started walking he would follow me everywhere and was not interested in toys.  He would play for a few minutes and then was done. He was constantly bored.  Even now he tells me how bored he is all the time, he just can't find something to do that he likes.  What has worked for him is that he likes to draw and write stories and he would do that for hours. He also loves video games and could play them for hours which I don't like.  I always try to encourage him to play with all the toys he has and also has inherited from Parker.  He has a ton of Legos but has never been able to play alone with them.  He always tells me he doesn't know how to play alone, which is true and it makes me sad. So seeing him today playing non stop for so long has made me so happy!! Something that is so easy for other kids has not been for him.  Today he is learning something new, how to play alone!!  He never had that as a kid, because he refused to do it so now he is learning things that he did not learn when he was a baby. Another thing we are working is for him to feed himself and to like food. He never liked food so he never went through the stage of picking up food and eating it, we tried but he would not. So we are going back and teaching him how to do it.  This is a very slow process but it sure is awesome when I see these improvements!!!!

Picture of Alison I found

I found this picture of Alison on a sister missionary's Facebook who is serving with Alison in the Milan mission

Presidente and Sorella Dibb's testimony (Italy Milan Mission)

This testimony from Presidente and Sorella Dibb was written in the Italy Milan mission blog. It is written for the missionaries and their parents and so I felt I would share it here in my blog.

What a privilege it is to serve a mission here in Italy with your capable, spiritual, humble, helpful and patient family members and friends. We pray that each missionary knows of our love for them and that we are all children of our Heavenly Father who loves us.  Each day brings new challenges and opportunities for growth.  As we seek the guidance of our Father in Heaven, and spend our full-time and focus in His service to bring about His work in the Italy, Milan Mission, we know (and we hope that your missionaries know) that He wants us to succeed and He will continue to help us in our work and in our lives.  We strive to serve together to become disciples of Jesus Christ, to do our part to assist the Holy Spirit in teaching the Doctrine of Christ and to make available Heavenly Father's eternal ordinances to all of His children and especially to those of His children in our great mission of Milan, Italy.

With admiration and appreciation for you and your missionaries,

Presidente and Sorella Dibb

Conner's first tennis tournament and a baby shower

On Saturday Conner had his first tennis tournament.  The tournament took longer than we thought because it started to rain and they had to stop a few times. He is taking tennis lessons and his teacher suggested we take him to a tennis tournament.  Most of the kids had been taking tennis for a long time.  Conner was so brave to keep going even though it took him until his last match to win a game.  He was getting a little bit discouraged but he kept going and we kept encouraging him.  In the end he won two of the games.  We are proud of him!

My friend's daughter had a baby shower on Saturday.

Paola lives in Rexburg, Idaho.  

They borrowed my cupcake stand that we used for Ashley's wedding. 

Jackie is the happy grandmother of baby Zoe

Hispanic Heritage month! Let's celebrate!!!

Hispanic Heritage month is celebrated from September 15th (my birthday) until October 15th.  It is when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate the group's heritage and culture.  September 15th was chosen because it is the anniversary of independence of Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.  Mexico celebrates independence day on September 16th, and Chile on the 18th and Belize September 21st. Hispanic Heritage month celebrates the long and important presence of Hispanic and Latino Americans in North America, which started with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus on the morning of October 12, 1492.  A map of the late 18th century North America shows this presence, from the small outpost of San Francisco, founded on June 29th, 1776 (when Spanish colonist found a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission St. Francis of Assisi), through the Spanish province of Texas, to the fortress of St. Augustine, Florida, first discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon, in 1513 ( Spanish explorer and governor of Puerto Rico). St Augustine was founded by Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles in September 1565. St. Augustine is the first continuous European settlement in North America, founded decades before Jamestown, Virginia.

I am very proud of my Hispanic Heritage!

Puerto Rico

For more information and activities for children go to  scholastic.com