Madison's gift from God

I am not sure if I have told anyone about Madison's gift from God yet! As you all know we have prayed so hard for the Lord to put the correct people in our path on Madison's journey through the "spectrum"...well prayers are being answered.

Madison was officially begun working with her private teacher at the house. His name is Del...I will be totally honest - when I heard she was going to have a male teacher I was not really too pleased with the idea. I just kept thinking, what does a man in his 40's work with special ed kids for??? Well I found out...

Del was a gift from God! He is a married man with 9 children. He is a teacher in the public school system yet ALL of his children are home-schooled. (Finally someone who won't lecture me about my thoughts on home schooling). He just received his certification in Autism teaching. He is also - and this is where the gift comes in - A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN!!!

About 2 weeks ago he and I were talking about children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and he was telling me about some young men in his church that have autism and how they have grown to be very successful men. One even teaches in Japan (speaking fluent Japanese) about how to work with autistic children. I made a mental note at that time to ask him when we weren't in the classroom what church he went to...

The very first Friday he came to our house, he brought the same boys up again in conversation. We started on the subject of church and he told me that he was a Catholic Christian...I have heard of those but never really met one. He went on to tell me that he & his wife searched long and hard to find a Catholic Church that believes in a PERSONAL relationship with Christ...not just with the Pope. He said that he believes his relationship with the Lord helps him in his work with children. After that I looked him straight in the eye and said, "At first I was leery about Madison having a male teacher but now I know the Lord sent you here".

HOW AWESOME!!!!

The Lord is taking care of our family. He is providing exactly what we need and when we need it. I am so greatful for these things.

Madison has never been really comfortable with men, outside of Eric. We have a bunch of loud, big & tall men in our family...so I don't blame her. When she is with Del she seems very relaxed and very focused. He was over on Friday for her lesson and brought a pumpkin to carve. They read a story about Jack o' Lanterns and then carved their own...did you know that jack o'lanterns make great shaper sorters? Just keep the pieces inside the pumpkin & then the kids can put them back in the openings - it also is great sensory stimulation.

I digress...

Later that day Madison was at school & Del showed up. Madison's face just lit up! She seemed very happy to see him.

Here are some pics of Madison painting & carving a pumpkin with her teacher. Thanks so much for all of your continued prayers.

Love to all & God bless