The special boy who is just "Crazy Normal'

 Today, as I open my eyes, relief sweeps over me like a flood. You see , it is the first weekend all term I am not getting up to tutor. Don't get me wrong, I love tutoring kids but it is also so good to lie in and not have to rush.  But then a strange excitement and anticipation hits me too!! It is our Thomas' 11th birthday today. 

 11..... Where on earth has all the time gone. I just can not really grasp it. The strange thing is he is not actually at home. Thomas is an extremely sociable kid and his friends mean a great deal to him. He just loves sleep overs and has missed having them in the term because quite frankly this has been a very, very busy term for us all. So when his good friend Matthew asked him if he could come and spend the night after a play and after a water slide night party of a friend, he did not hesitate and had packed his bags before we had even said ... yes!!

 So. in a while we will all go and fetch him and enjoy this day with him. :)

 we will open his presents  and hell choose his fav meal which is not hard to guess because he just loves pasta, white sauce, cheese and bacon.

 In every way Thomas is an extraordinary child. When I say this sentence I realise it is tinged with all sorts of messages but the one I would love to be the cover of his life is this. He has been given all his extraordinary stuff from our great God. he is who he is because of Jesus.

Thomas is a child who keeps us on our toes. he is busy beyond busy, verbal and chatty and engaging , beyond engaging , he is loud and noisy and fun , fun , fun. He loves art and sport and words, in fact his brain thrives on words. He has a memory like and elephant when things are quirky and fun but is bored beyond bored by the oddest things and some not so odd. Dont ask him to learn something he has already "got' - that is pure torture.

 Having Thomas as our son has been one of the greatest adventures of our lives. he is a delight to love and a challenge to parent. But he is who he is because God has formed and made him, saved and blessed him. he is ours for a time

 Happy birthday special, crazy, normal son. May God bless you and keep you and continue to make HIS face shine upon you, may he give you his peace.

The artist boy.

Grade one here I come.

Today I attended the official Grade One Welcome tea and ' meet the teacher' for the fourth and final time. This is a year for some final things. Like saying good bye to our fav Mrs G who has taught all our boys in grade R and who we just love , love, love. Saying goodbye to the little school that has been a home from home for us all as a family for 7 years is a very hard thing - a very sad thing. It is part of the ebb and flow of this life.  Starting formal education is also part of that and we rejoice and thank God for our great school and its good teachers. 

So, after I farmed the other 3 boys out to friends, Jethro and I set off to meet the teacher. After the meeting we went for a milkshake and 'cross aunt' as we call it in the Falconer home.  It was very special. Jethro was all smiles and giggles at the fun of it and he was relieved to 'Know" his teacher and that he has some friends in his class for next year. Thank you Lord.

2013 will be the one and only year we have all 4 boys in one school, ever!!

I look forward to the fun we will have and all we will learn , together.

Thank you Lord for your grace and kindness in giving us a great school.

May Jethro go from strength to strength as he goes to grade one. If this afternoon is anything to show , he is very excited!!

Punishing with boredom is torture

I love this badge.

I speaks of a real understanding of the ADHD child. 

another one could read

Please dont punish me with boredom

It is pure torture sending an ADHD child to an hour of detention where the child has to do nothing or write  the same sentence 20 x.

Please hear me. I am not saying DON'T punish the ADHD child but it would show enormous insight and kindness on the part of the teaching profession, if they were to design the punishment to fit the child. Keeping the ADHD child busy is a key  even in the punishment.

My son  had forgotten to get some tests signed for school and he was one stroke away from one of these detentions. He came sobbing to me, not because he was about to be punished, but because he knew that the punishment was going to be torture for him. Being bored is torture for the ADHD child. 

Boredom encourages distraction which is another one of those ADHD buzz words. 

The bottom line is that ADHD children function totally differently to other children. With all the research done on the brain and specifically on ADHD, there is a wealth of hot tips for parents, children and teachers which can transform the learning experience for the child and the classmates.

We have had a brilliant teacher this year who has been kind and personal with our son. She is not rigid. She has been a real gem for us as a family and we thank God for her but I know of parents who have not had this experience and so their child has really wilted and not flourished. Please that all teachers be re educated ( and I speak to myself here) on the up to date ways one can help a child with and ADHD brain to experience not only success but also grow in confidence and a healthy self perception

check out .........

.http://douglascootey.com/2007/06/adhd-six-ways-to-stop-boredom.html

a very helpful read 

My personal hope and prayer is that teachers in South African Schools continue to be informed and shaped in their knowledge and understanding of ADHD so that they can continue to impact ALL children's lives for their good.

To say
I love you

is quite easy
 really.

To mean
 I love you

is quite a different thing.

Love is an action

it is a way of giving of

oneself

to

another

so

that

they 

really, really

feeeeeeel 

it.

The knowledge of love 

is a comforting

thought.

It is the real act of love

that makes all the rest

blow away like fine sand on a windy day.

I love you

are precious words.

words so easily spoken 

sometimes not meant

not cemented by action

real love
 is to sacrifice something of myself

to another

for another.

This
 love I long for

I long to share

freely.

The child understands love

love is being there

doing that fun thing

playing that game

watching that jump

sharing that moment

when I least have time

or want to

or have capacity.

A child understands
the true meaning of
love

 have  we lost the  meaning of
love?
Somehow,
 have we misplaced it

love has a
length and a breadth ; 
it has depth.
It is full

and it fills  a person 

'I love you'
has been

stolen,

 replaced by something

fake,
 false

fast and shallow.

Reclaiming love

is the work that He

began and ended that day.

He showed his love and acted to share 

to save

he died to show love

and claim us

for himself

in love

to love

for love 

so that we in turn can
truly love others

<3 br="br">

God is in the business of healing

While searching for a picture for this post I was reminded again of the wealth of offers for emotional healing . There is help available from every philosophical point of view across the length and breadth of man's thinking. I am reminded again of the many emotionally broken people I know personally and I guess these offers reflect the state of mankind and our need and desire for healing.

I write often about brownness in people. It is to be expected that people are broken because we live in a broken and detached - sinful world where we have decided to rule ourselves in the rightful place of God. Every time  I read the news or hear some awful new happening I am reminded that we live in a world that has rejected God.  We have only ourselves to blame for the mess we are in. The brokenness of society and the twisted relationships we see playing out around us. The very real struggle to get along with each other is not only where it all ends. We ourselves are broken and for many of us our emotions are broken and damaged too.

We need healing and long for hope.

That is why the web is full of self help books and the book shops offer a wealth of information and ideas on how to heal on the inside. How to get emotional healing.

Jesus offers real hope and real healing for the wounded and broken hearted.   He is not just one amongst many but he is The One who can really change us inside and really help us move towards a healthier emotional reality.

It is Jesus who is able to provide for ALL our needs and indeed also our emotional needs. He loves us and cares for us beyond what we could ever imagine. He hears our prayers  of anguish
 and brings his answer an very real help at the right time. God's word helps us and teaches us to walk in his ways and trust him with our lives ; even our brokenness , because he knows us intimately and cares for us like a mother or a father with a child.

Healing for damaged emotions is a real longing for many and a real need. Jesus is willing and able to supply all our needs. So ask..... ask him and see what he has in store for you.