Oscar's Odyssey/Stella's Story

I had the opportunity on Thursday and Friday this past week to do conferences with my students' parents. As I led these IEP meetings or spoke on behalf of my students I was reminded of how important my job truly is.  An advocate, is a person that publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy. As a Moderate/Intense teacher I am an advocate for my students. As a professional I need to grow in my ability to be more tactful and not so forceful, but I am passionate about what I do and who I do it for. I had 2 parents request for their children to repeat their 5th grade year, so they could stay in elementary for one more year. That says something to me about what I do in my class for my students and the staff at Stranahan Elementary. My students are loved, accepted, welcomed, and apart of these general ed rooms. Along with that in these students daily curriculum they are made to feel part of the school community through doing jobs like office deliveries, putting out co

One of Theodore’s favorite movies to watch is Finding Dory . Near the beginning of the film when Dory meets Hank, an octopus who can’t stand the thought of being released back to the ocean, he brings to light a very peculiar human interaction. Hank pokes fun of our response to the question “How are you?” He is flabbergasted at our human nature of simply saying “fine” or “good” when presented with this question. He cannot fathom why all humans seem to have the same fake answer. For the first time in my life, I truly have to pause when asked “How are you doing?” or “How is your day?” As a father and husband I have been confronted with the fact that I am in a situation that I cannot fix with my own strength. I am left feeling powerless and drifting at sea. The only fix I can provide is to turn the situation over to the Lord. It is His strength that has allowed me to keep going. Learning to trust in Him and in His plan is a struggle that I try to overcome on a daily basis. Recently at

   What Makes a Mother By Jennifer Wasik  Written with love for all the Mother's missing their babies   I thought of you and closed my eyes and prayed to God today I asked, “what makes a Mother”? And I know I heard Him say, A Mother has a baby, This we know is true. But, God, can you be a Mother when your baby's not with you? "Yes you can!", He replied with confidence in His voice, "I give many women babies, when they leave is not their choice. Some I send for a lifetime and other's for a day And some I send to feel your womb but there's no need to stay." I just don't understand this God, I want my baby here. He took a breath, and cleared His throat, and then I saw a tear. I wish I could show you what your child is doing here. If you could see your child smile with other children and say, "We go to earth to learn our lessons of love and life and fear, but My M

Oscar's favorite picture pose! "Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free" ~Psalm 118:5~ The Lord heard our cries and answered our prayers. Thank you to each of you that have prayed for our Oscar's life so far. Yesterday, Monday, October 9, Brian and I began our morning at Toledo Hospital MFM. Oscar's follow up ultrasound began around 9am. Through this ultrasound we found out nothing has really changed for our son which is a praise.   He continues to show the Dandy Walker Malformation, Bilateral Cleft Lip & Palate, Heart Defect, Ascites, Club Feet, and his left leg his shorter and bent funny. When reading that list of anomalies you may think my goodness that is a lot, but guess what yesterday there were no new malformations or defects. That is a huge praise! Along with that Oscar's heart was beating 153 bpm and he is weighing in around 2lbs, 11 oz and he is continuing to only be about 1.5 weeks behind what he should