Living Shoes

This week I have been reading my book, Living Shoes, to my students.  I always love talking about shoes and the stories behind them.

On Monday the kids brought in the shoes of someone that works hard.  Most of them brought in their daddy's shoes and told me how hard their dad works to take care of them.  Yesterday they brought in shoes of someone they see as brave or courageous.  They shared some great stories and some of them even brought in their own shoes and shared a story about when they have been brave.

Today the children brought in the shoes of someone that makes them feel happy and loved.  One little girl proudly shared her mother's wedding shoes with us.  I was impressed by how many kids brought in the shoes of one of their siblings.  They were very sentimental as they shared how their siblings make them happy. 

I brought in a little wooden shoe I carved in one of my Occupational Therapy classes over 30 years ago.  I also brought in a large wooden shoe that is over 50 years old.  I shared with them that I would walk around the house wearing the shoe when I was a little girl.  Later my daughters walked around in that same shoe and now my grandchildren do.

Tomorrow we will talk about children that do not have shoes to wear and the children will bring some in to donate.  I love to buy Toms because for every pair I purchase they donate a pair of shoes to someone that needs them.

I encourage you to take your child to the shoe department the next time you are at the mall.  Pick out a pair of shoes and see who they remind them of.  It can bring back a lot of fun memories!

P.S. You can visit my blog at:  http://deana-livingshoes.blogspot.com

Two Special Blessings

In the last two weeks I have had two wonderful blessings.   A little over a week ago I was able to meet with Eric Jones, the Joni and Friends Director for Texas.  This week I had the added blessing of meeting with Stacy Hodge, the Church Relations Manager for Joni and Friends for Texas.  Both of them were so gracious and encouraging in helping me figure out my next steps in ministry.  More importantly, however, they were such a testimony of God's love and compassion, especially in regard to the special needs community.

The Joni and Friends ministry has been a blessing in my life for 30 years.  It is exciting to see how they have been in and out of my life in different ways over the years.

If you are not familiar with their ministry, I highly encourage you to take a look at their website.  I could tell you about the ministry but would not be able to do it justice.  They can communicate so much better than I can.  http://www.joniandfriends.org

Joni and Friends serves the special needs community in a variety of different ways through Joni's books and art work, family retreats, wounded warrior retreats, and their "Wheels For the World" program to name a few.  They also provide training for special needs ministry in churches.

Take a minute to visit with them.  I know you will be blessed.

The Big Celebration!

It was a wonderful day today!  The kids and I were excited all day and couldn't wait until the big celebration!

I shared a special story about a butterfly of course.  I wish I knew who the author is because this story has meant a great deal to me over the years.

The Cocoon

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.

One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress.  It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go not farther.  then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.  The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened!  In fact, the butterfly spend the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.  If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us.  We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

And we could never fly.

I am so proud of all of my student's parents.  They let their children struggle a little bit.  They let them empty their piggy banks, give up their tooth fairy month, sweep driveways and all kinds of other chores, and create a market to raise money for children that need wheelchairs.  The students wings are so much stronger now and they will be able to fly to higher heights!

The kids each shared what they had done to raise money and then Steffani, the Director of First Foundations, thanked the kids for all they had done.  She held up a check revealing to the children how much money they had raised, 

$3,000!

Enough for 20 wheelchairs!

I introduced the children to Eric who is the Area Director for Joni and Friends.  I think he was surprised by how much the kids knew about Joni and her ministry.  He gave them special gifts and one of Joni's beautiful paintings for our classroom.  He was such an encouragement and even had tears in his eyes as he thanked the kids.  

It was a special day and I feel so honored and blessed to be able to watch it happen!

I love my students so much and I hope as they head off to "Big kids" school they will remember the things they have learned.  They have met a number of powerful people over the last month.  I hope the children they encounter next year will become dear friends, no matter what their abilities are.

She Made Us All Happy

On our last day of learning about intellectual and emotional challenges, we had a special treat.  One of my students brought in her dog that is taking classes on how to be a therapy dog.  She is a beautiful dog and will be used to comfort and encourage people living in nursing homes, people suffering from emotional trauma, and even our veterans who have suffered all kinds of loss and need encouragement.  It was sweet to be with her because she made all of us happy during the time she spent with us.

The children learned the difference between service dogs and therapy dogs.  I know I learned a variety of things I didn't know before.  Thank you, sweet girl, for visiting us and adding joy to all of our days!

Days 19 and 20: Kids Helping Kids

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week we held our "Market Days" in the lunchroom.  The kids were so excited to sell what they had brought to raise money.  We had a great variety of items this year:  headbands, hair clips, bracelets, necklaces, shark tooth necklaces, gently used books, decorative paper clips, fruit snacks, refrigerator magnets, homemade cookies and treats, popsicles, scripture memory books, a raffle, artwork, and doggie treats.  It was great to see the kids so excited but I also enjoyed seeing how other parents and the staff supported the kids.  I had several teachers make a point to stop by and thank the kids for what they were doing to support children with disabilities.  I loved seeing the kids bring in bags full of money with their names and the amount of money written on a bag.  The bag that especially got to me said, "Love Money" on the front.

We were also blessed to have a family come in and share with our class last week.  I love the momma of the family.  She hosts a blog that I always enjoy reading.  She shared with my students about her son that has difficulty walking and eating.  Her son is feed through a feeding tube and she demonstrated how this works by having a feeding tube in a teddy bear.  The kids were curious but no longer surprised. The kids have grown so much over the last several weeks.  They respond to every new situation with compassion.

Several of my students shared through the week about friends they have with disabilities.  They spoke openly about the challenges their friends face, but were also quick to share about their friends talents and gifts.

We are coming to a close on our unit about, "How To Be A Friend To Someone With a Disability."  It is always bittersweet for me.  I am anxious to finish counting the money and letting the children know they difference they have made but I will miss introducing them to such amazing people.