Since the Middles came 8 and 6 years ago, then JJ 4 years ago, my husband and I have felt like we were drowning most of the time and treading water some of the time. We stepped back from almost all "extras" as we tried to adjust to having 3 toddlers the same age along with their needs due to their...prior lives. Teaching Sunday School was one of the things we stopped doing. We have also stopped being able to grow most of our friendships due to time constraints. It has been isolating but necessary - even though various misunderstandings have arisen. Over the past 1 -2 years we have felt that we are actually doing a little "swimming." Of course, last year's situation with not being able to adopt Superman and Faith's sister took me back a long way into a dark pit, but we are almost a year out of that now. When we got asked to teach Sunday School again I initially thought, "no way! I am so stretched with just work and family that I can't do anything extra." But, as my husband pointed out, JJ is of the age to be in this Sunday School class and he REFUSES to go anywhere without us. Thus he has never been to Sunday School except when my husband sits in there with him. We decided that we would teach so that he could hopefully acclimate a bit to being in a teaching environment, get used to other same age kids, and maybe accept some structure.
Today was the first day. It went surprisingly well. I loved getting back into the teaching mode. I love teaching! The problem is usually an unmotivated audience;) My husband is the best "helper" and ummm disciplinarian lol! He keeps things moving smoothly so I can just get the teaching done. I love how we work together as a team and he anticipates the needs. Anyway, this isn't a post about how awesome my husband is (although he is definitely awesome!!) There were about 13 kids in there with 3 of them boys. My husband had to take JJ out once for his behavior and I could see the other kids stare at him quizzically. He did fine after that though;) Teaching 4 and 5 year olds (there is 1 6 year old) is so much fun. In past classes I have taught them all of the books of the Bible, the "walk through" of the Bible, the 10 Commandments, and the placement of all of the objects in the Tabernacle. I am excited to see what this group of kids will be willing to learn:)
There are a bunch of awesome kids in there. I am so excited to get to know them. They are a bunch of eager kids:) Especially the 10 girls...who...like to...talk;)
But...a bit unexpected, what I really took away from today was just how delayed JJ is. Granted, JJ is the youngest child in the class having only turned 4 three weeks ago. However, all of the other kids can spell their names at least aloud. Some couldn't do all of the letters but at least knew some of them. JJ can't even SAY his name (much less have any clue of any of the letters of the alphabet). His speech delays were way so much more poignant to me today. We have planned to have him tested by a speech/language pathologist next month. She saw him in the Spring and said to wait for this Fall to see if he caught up at all. He certainly talks more now, but not better. I had thought that perhaps we might get told that he is still within normal limits. However, my thoughts on that are significantly altered today. He loves to speak, but very few people have any idea what he is saying. In fact, those of us in the family still have to use context to figure it out. His full bio sister also has the same problems...so we will navigate this new issue... He hardly ever speaks in public (being so afraid of strangers) so I don't know how many other's have even noticed. In fact, I am worried that he won't speak to the Evaluator so that she can assess him!
He still holds his hand in his fist and just scribbles. He had no clue how to use the scissors even with me there helping him (part of that is my fault. If you were me would YOU allow my kids access to scissors??? Nuff said;). However, the kid is a pro at playing with little legos and Wii games;) He has good gross motor skills and some good fine motor skills. However, I have always noticed that when he moves one hand the other hand does the same action. We had an adult friend once who neurologically was "wired" backward so if one hand did it, the other hand did it. He neurologically could not separate one hand's action from the other. JJ's isn't as pronounced as his was, but I have noticed that it is present. Perhaps we will have to deal with other sensory issues as well.
He is finally sleeping through the night most night. He is also eating more consistently. He is at the 25% for weight which is the highest he has ever been. We are so thrilled he is on the growth chart! We have noticed that food is still a major major problem for him. He still gets car sick if he rides in the car early in the morning. He won't eat right away when he wakes up. He will say "my belly hurts" but it doesn't seem to be something that food makes better. So, who what knows that the digestive issues are. He seems to have a lot of symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder with issues with food, sound, touch, texture, etc. Because he is never "himself" around others it is hard to know how any attempted interventions may work.
So anyway...over all I am excited about teaching Sunday School. It is fun to see the world through 4 and 5 year old eyes. I am excited to be back into formal ministry (other than the ministry via my job). Right at the beginning of the class God totally confirmed for us that we were supposed to be doing this. The lesson was on John 3, with the story of Nicodemus and God showing His love for us. However, before we could even get started one of the kids started talking about how JJ was a different color from my husband and I. She went on to say how her mom had told her that JJ had a different mommy than me before. It was such an awesome opening to discuss being "born again" and being adopted by God - just like John 3. I had to smile right there and thank God for confirming that this was the right decision for us to teach again at this season of life, and for the opening a sweet 4 year old made into the lesson. Gotta love when He shows up like that;)
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