The Ranch, part 3

Okay, here is the last of the vacation pictures. Lets start with the swim cap, shall we? It was undoubtedly one of the highlights of our week.

It all started while we were watching Michael Phelps work his Olympic magic. I commented on the funny bathing suits that the men were wearing, which led to a discussion about how swim caps make you faster...and then Roger (my brother-in-law) put a swim cap on - to help him think faster or something. My niece, Nicole was kind enough to point out to her father that the swim cap made him look "special". From that point we launched into all kinds of politically incorrect jokes that included the short bus Roger drives around the ranch.

The swim caps kept reappearing all week long, on the heads of various people in the house. Now, some of you may not realize that Todd is something of a rock star at the ranch! Several years ago, he recorded an album ( Click here to get a listen, I suggest tracks 5 and 11), and that album has a hidden track. And, much to his mother's dismay... that hidden track is hilarious and catchy. Before they were on staff, Cathy and Roger had played the hidden track for some apprentices at the ranch. And then, every day for the entire year, that song would get stuck in someone's head.

While most of Todd's fans had graduated and moved on, a few stayed around for a second year. And of those remaining was the guy who announced the weather and told jokes (in character as Eustice the weatherman) to the whole camp each morning. He was beside himself with excitement when he realized he could sing the circus song with Todd accompanying him. And what did they wear for the performance? Swim caps! Someone took some video, but I haven't been able to get a hold of it yet.

Other than that, we experienced the confidence course and went to the beach. The first confidence course activity involved a whole bunch of tire swings, and the whole family was supposed to get across the swings without touching the ground. And you can't say anything negative to anyone else in the process. It is much harder than it sounds!!!

And, now for the picture Todd said I had to post - it really isn't as funny as he thought it would be...

The Ranch, part 2

A couple of different times we ventured away from the ranch - down the mountain and into civilization. We went into Erie by ourselves one day to visit the Maritime Museum and Presque Isle. We thought we would hike or walk the beaches at Presque Isle, but that morning I went for a run and had a little mishap with my ankle. I finished my run and thought I was fine, but by the time we got to the beaches, I was limping pretty bad and Todd kept saying "No, I don't need to ice my ankle, I'm fine".

Needless to say, we decided that a walk was a bad idea. So we rented a canoe! We've talked about canoeing before, but never actually done it with the kids out of fear (on my part). I couldn't possibly imagine my children sitting still in a canoe and not tipping it over. And then they would all be traumatized and never go in a boat again.... But Todd assured me that it would be fine. He took the boys in one boat, and us girls went in another.


Cadence was sure that we were going to get lost out in the water once the rental place was out of sight. But she sat on the floor next to me and didn't move, except when she was trying to paddle. The boys did great, too and we were out on the water for almost an hour without an incident. After canoeing we met Cathy and Roger in Erie (they had some ranch business in the city) and all went to PERKINS for dinner. We have discussed moving south just so we can eat at Perkins, we miss it so much!


On another day, we all went together to the Allegheny National Forest to go hiking and go to the beach. My pictures of the hike don't do it justice. Cathy had some great ones, but I forgot to get them from her before we left.


In this picture, Todd told us all to make muscles, and then Cadence busted into her Spider-Man routine and started shooting webs at me as Todd was taking the picture. There are a few more pictures I want to post, and one Todd told me I have to post, and of course the story of the swim cap, but blogger is uploading really slowly right now, and I have a house full of neighborhood kids, so I guess there will have to be a part 3.

Vacation at the Ranch

We had a great week at Miracle Mountain Ranch visiting my sister and her family. There were summer camps going on, which meant that we didn't see too much of Roger, but it also meant that there were lots of fun things going on at the ranch. The above picture is my three kids with Cathy's girls in the top of the hay barn. I would guess that the hay barn is at least three stories high and the kids loved climbing all the way up the hay stacks. (You can sort of see the ground outside the door in the picture of me, and I was almost at the top, but not quite) Gabe begged several times a day to go to the hay barn.

Critter Corral (the small animal barn) was another favorite spot. Nicole spent most of her summer helping with chores in the Corral, and several days Jacob got up early and went with Nicole to do barn chores. On Friday, he even got to milk a goat! He was surprised that the milk isn't cold when it comes out... My favorite part of Critter Corral was when the goat headbutted the dog and sent it across the barn. (And no, it wasn't my dog...)

Becca and Nicole showed us a little bit of what they have learned on the vaulting barrels (they have done it on a real horse), and then the kids climbed up to give it a try. I'm pretty sure that Cadence was born to vault. She did her best to mimic some of the moves that the girls showed her, and then she started doing some freestyle.

With all of the fun "ranch" things to do, the kids still spent hours and hours playing "olden days" in Cathy's yard. It was great watching them all play so well together!

That is about half of our vacation, and it seems that this post is getting long...so stay tuned for part 2 of "Vacation at the Ranch" where I will discuss the significance of the swim cap.

Totally Random!???

I wrote the Superman Peanut Butter post about 2 weeks ago. I was mad that it wasn't showing up on my blog...but I was tired and I wasn't going to put too much effort into a post about Superman Peanut Butter. And then, randomly, it appeared. Weird, huh?

I have vacation stuff to post as we have recently returned from the Ranch. Maybe I will get to that tomorrow...maybe.

Superman Peanut butter

Do you remember this? I don't know what made me think of it, but last night I was thinking about Superman peanut butter (maybe because Todd was eating peanut butter out of the jar while we watched a movie...)

When I was a little girl I really liked Superman peanut butter. I was convinced that eating it gave me strong muscles like Superman (now picture me flexing my huge three year old biceps) In fact, it was the only brand I would eat - or so I thought. I guess the rest of the family liked Peter Pan, so my mom would refill the Superman jar with Peter Pan peanut butter. The cruelty! Who would do such a thing?

The Best Honey

Todd is attending the Willowcreek Leadership Summit (via satellite) this week. Last night I drove out to pick him up. I love that the Mission sends him to these conferences because he always comes home with great insights on being a better leader (at work and at home). I could tell he was in a really good mood when he jumped into the van. I figured it was just because he had such a great day... but Todd was up to something.



There was one particular speaker, Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission that Todd thought I would be interested in. He took a bunch of notes from his session, which is huge 'cause Todd doesn't usually take notes at all. But he didn't think that he could do it justice, so he bought me something...one of my favorite somethings...

a book! Just Courage God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian is about "engaging in the fight for justice". We might even read it together, after we finish Red Letters. He's the best!

Sensory Evaluation

A few weeks ago I took Jacob to ENABLE for a sensory evaluation. Let me explain - I have long suspected that he has "sensory issues", but have never been able to figure out what that means or what to do about it. But I came across some discussion on The Well Trained Mind boards about Sensory Input Disorder or SDI that exactly described Jacob. When I asked, several moms told me to go read The Out of Sync Child.

After reading the book, I didn't have any doubt that Jacob has some sensory seeking issues that need help. I was excited to find out that our insurance would cover an evaluation and some therapy through ENABLE. I feel relieved that we are finally getting a sensible answer to the "What is wrong with him?" question, but immensely frustrated that it has taken so many years to get the answer (he is 9 now).

Here are some things of interest from the evaluation:

Muscle Tone: Low
Strength: Large muscles, such as core and limbs are strong, but small muscles such as intrinsic hand muscles seem to be poor.
Reflex: The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) was tested, and Jacob appears to have positive TLR reflex. The rest were not formally assessed.

Jacob would benefit from having scheduled 5 minute proprioceptive experiences every 2 hours in order to increase body awareness, motor planning and to learn when the appropriate time is to apply these in his daily routine.
He tended to perform balance activities with awkwardness and would fall often. Jacob would usually leap, jump or tumble to enter and exit the ball bath and other equipment.
Jacobs inability to process verbal commands from others at times may be part related to periods of over-stimulation... Overstimulation typically looks like a child "on a sugar high" who can't pay attention or follow directions, extremely verbal, disorganized physically/mentally, and is going extremely fast during or between activities. When he is at a "just right" arousal level, it is not difficult for Jacob to follow directions as demonstrated at times during the evaluation.
PERCEPTUAL PROCESSING: MOTOR
Balance and coordination: Fair

Praxis: Good with gross motor, Fair with fine motor

Fine Motor Coordination/Dexterity: Fair

Visual Motor Integration: Poor

The summary is followed by recommendations that include weekly therapy, incorporating a sensory diet routine and vestibular activities, and a long list of expensive stuff we can/should buy. The one thing I would love to spring for is the swing that requires 10' ceilings, and ours are only 8'. He loved that swing, and the therapist said it makes sense with his vision problems that he would love the darkness of the cocoon.

Anyway, I am happy to have some answers. Jacob is excited about going to therapy. He loved the sensory room. I suppose it will start soon after we get back from vacation.