For the Love of Ivey

Last night a group of 'Us' went to Atlanta to experience the exhibit Dialogue in the Dark . We had a great time and are grateful for everyone who went on the little adventure with us. I think we all walked away from the exhibit with a new found perspective of how fortunate we are to have our five senses in working order. However, I think some of us may realize that our hearing is not quite up to par like we thought. Matt and I want all of you who went to know how much we appreciate your time and how thankful we are to have you all in our lives. That also includes everyone who could not work the night out between sitters and other functions to go with us. For anyone interested here is a site about Dialogue in the Dark . And for anyone who can get away, this is definitely an 'experience' you do not want to miss.

I thought I would share one of our tricks for keeping Ivey entertained while in the car. It is pretty simple and one of those 'Why didn't I think of that?' ideas – if you have not thought of it. Life with Ivey has definitely taught us to think outside of the box. Notice the bar with toys hanging from it. It is a bar for hanging clothes in the car and can be found at Wal -Mart and it is inexpensive considering the price of 'modified' stuff for special needs children. Toys attach easily, can be exchanged easily and they are always at her finger tips and never lost. This is a simple solution to entertainment in the car, especially for a blind child. This came in handy yesterday when I locked her in my car along with my keys and cell phone in the State Patrol parking lot in a vain effort to renew my driver's licenses. Sincerely, Mother of the Year

We have discovered that Ivey loves ABBA. She gets it naturally from her daddy, he loves ABBA too. We have been dancing to the Mama Mia! soundtrack and she LOVES it! Of course it also entails the two of us dancing and bouncing around the kitchen together. Her favs so far are Super Trouper , Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and Take A Chance On Me . (and Mama Mia ) Unfortunately you will not see video of this considering it would have to include my singing and dancing too. I'll leave it to the imagination, but she gets the biggest grin and giggle. This is suprising to me considering that she loves HipHop. I am pretty sure that is because of the bass. Normally we are the minivan at the redlight that will make your car windows shake - now that is an image for you.

At the beginning of March I am to turn in an article for a newsletter about actions and interactions with Ivey that define our life with her. So for the past few days I have been contemplating exactly what all those things are, how to narrow them down, and how to keep it short and still make a point. As always I start by thinking about the ending and how to paint our life with her realistically , yet exemplify all of the rewards that we find in each day with Ivey. And since the article will address mainly professionals of the special needs community, trying to determine exactly how to explain a family's perspective is not that easy. The two of us, parents and professionals, merge from two different worlds and unite for one purpose. The purpose is to find what we all deem as critical and crucial skills and functions for a special needs child, our children, our flesh and blood, to find that child's unique abilities – capabilities – yet never losing sight of the child's...