5th grade...

    Hunter is officially a Mason Eagle. Hunter has attended Summerfield Schools since preschool. Cliff graduated from there and I went there until 10th grade. It was a tough decision for us to change schools but it is for the best. Hunter was not actively participating in his former classroom and was spending alot of the time out of the classroom with an aide or in headphones most of the day. His very special aide Michelle Larrow who has been with Hunter since preschool suggested we see about getting him in the MOCI classroom. The MOCI classroom is adjusted curriculum per student versus teaching the entire classroom the same thing. The MOCI classroom was at Summerfield so Hunter did have some interaction with this classroom. Summerfield moved their middle school kids to the high school so it was changed to a elementary only school. The classroom is middle school aged kids so it had to be moved to a different school. The high school setting of this classroom is currently at Mason so they decided to move it there so the kids didn't have to transition again for their high school years.
    We all had so many emotions about the upcoming changes but hoped it would all work out. Hunter seemed open to going to a new school. We went to orientation and Hunter felt right at home. His new teacher Mrs. Miller seems amazing. We had a few bussing issues but I got them cleared up and we got to keep his current bus driver Peggy Brown to transport him home. That made us feel better knowing the school is about 20 minutes from home versus the 5 minutes from home. He has been doing great so far. He had a bad day when he knew I was coming to pick him up from school the second day.  I had and IEP meeting with his sending and receiving team. Once you tell Hunter something he expects it to happen and the meeting wasn't until the afternoon so he wanted to go home as soon as he got to school that day. Hunter is only 5th grade but they allowed him to go into the middle school class since it seemed what is best for him and we are very thankful for that. He doesn't have to stay in this setting of classroom until high school or even next year and can return to the regular special ed classroom but I don't see any reason as of yet to want to change. As of now this change is going smoothly...

Summer 2012

It has been awhile since I have posted so let me get things up to present day... Hunter has dealt well with the passing of his Pawpaw. He still asks occasionally where he is and he knows he is in heaven but he just thinks that is a place. He doesn't understand what it is. He spends Wednesday nights with my mother in law while we work and they tell Pawpaw good night and they love him before they go to bed. He will never for get his Pawpaw. We decided to take a trip up north for a few days. We rented a cabin on Lake Michigan. Hunter loved the water but not so much that we had to stay there. He had a portable dvd player that he used to watch movies. Hunter with no internet for youtube and no cable tv is pretty much unbearable. We had to occupy him every second. My family stopped for a visit because they live close and he went in the cabin and shut all the doors and windows just like home. It turned out to be a great trip and Hunter called it his beach house but he doesn't want to go back. Lol. Next year we will find one a little more Hunter equipped. We try to get him to do different things but sometimes it is easier to stay on his schedule and likes and insert other things into them or it will be a total failure for all of us. The summer has passed by fast. We have swam alot at the pool next door and for 95% of the summer my child has not worn a shirt or pants so school should be fun this year. He has lately decided he wants to stay up all night long. He tells us he has to go to the bathroom and then thinks he can stay up.He has always been a good sleeper but I found him watching a video on nocturnal animals so I think he thinks he should stay awake at night. Grrrr! School is rapidly approaching and Hunter will have a new adventure ahead of him he will be going to a new school and new classroom. It is a great move for him but its bittersweet because we are used to and love Summerfield Schools but it is what is best for him. There will be more to follow on that as it gets here. All in all it has been calm around here with him he has had a few weird things he has been doing as he reaches puberty and we are in for a interesting road to his teenage years. Pray for us! Hunter will be 11 next month. I can't believe how time flies.

Decisions...

Now we had to decide whether or not to take Hunter to the funeral home. Cliff and I both thought we should at least just for a few minutes but it turns out we didn't take him. We were in fear of him having a meltdown because my father in law wouldn't wake up for him. Cliff was stressed out enough and Hunter can be a handful at times and compulsive so we chose not to take him. It may not be the right decision but it was the best for us and Cliff was able to relax and greet family and friends and not feel anymore stress. Its kinda ironic but the day Clifford Sr. passed Hunter drew a picture at school with crayon and it kinda looked like grass and the sky so we decided to put that in the casket with a picture of Hunter also. The next few days seemed calmer and I was worried about the next time Hunter would be alone for the first time with my mother in law. I knew he would ask where he was and I didn't want her to get upset with answering his repetitive questions. Yesterday was the day and Hunter asked her where he was and she told him just as I did and he then asked "if  pawpaw had a sore throat?" my mother in law thought quickly and said "no he just wasn't feeling good and he went to heaven but he is ok." Hunter continued to ask her and she kept telling him the same thing. She said to me"I didn't want him to think it was a sore throat because if he got one he would think he wasn't coming back." Her and I sat on the couch talking and he came in and Hunter came in asked again and we explained and then he asked "pawpaw doesn't like us anymore?" we looked at each other and our hearts sank and she said "yes he loved everybody. he loved mommy,daddy, you and me and he is ok." He seemed ok with that answer. I was in total shock that he said that and almost relieved because my boy did somewhat understand the changes in his life. Pawpaw was his buddy. They would sing together,tell stories and dance. He loved to lock all of us and in his playroom and make us all sing and dance wtih him. Hunter loves these moments and so did my father in law. He would try to sneak out sometimes if Hunter had us in there for to long. Hunter would go right out and get him and my father in law would come right back no matter how long it took he wouldn't let Hunter down and he would sing with him.Today he asked but seemed to be ok with the answer he got and I think and hope it will get easier for him.I can not even imagine not understanding but please believe we will do everything in our power to help him through this.

tough conversation

It was 345 and the bus was about to pull up and I was prepared to tell Hunter what had happened. Cliff went with his family to make arrangements at the funeral home. Hunter has a specific routine when he gets home. He takes his clothes off and puts them in the laundry room. He grabs his ten pages and flyswatter(his coping mechanisms) he asks for spaghetti, pop, and doritos and then goes in his room and turns on his computer. If his light and fan are not on he asks me to turn them on even though he knows how it is just his routine.I told Hunter I had something to tell him. I said "pawpaw got sick and went to heaven and when you go to mamaw's you wont see pawpaw anymore but he is in a safe place." Hunter said" spaghetti and pop." I said" Hunter look at me(he doesn't make much eye contact) I then repeated myself and he said "I want spaghetti and pop." I now know this is gonna be tougher than I thought because he has no idea what I am saying. The next day we sent Hunter to school and I asked his awesome bus driver Ms. Peggy Brown to drop him off at my mother in laws as she often does because my inlaws watch him for us on Wednesdays and Fridays. Hunter got off the bus and the first thing he asked my mother in law is "where is pawpaw?" my mother in law told him the same thing I did the day before and it seemed to suffice him for that day.

Last week...:(

Last week was a very sad week for us. My husband lost his dad, my son lost his pawpaw and I lost my father in law. It was a little before 9 am on Monday April 2nd. I was at work and I got a phone call. I just assumed it was another crazy vendor calling me with some crazy drama. I was in receiving when I picked up the call and on the other end was Cliff and he said"hey its me, Debbie(Cliff's oldest sister) came over and dad died in his sleep last night." I screamed" Oh my God I am on my way." I took off running from the back of the store to the front. I can hardly walk when I am at work because my feet usually hurt so bad but somehow I ran to my office. I passed a few team members and by their reactions the look on my face must have been sheer panic. I got to my desk and collapsed my STL and HR came to me and try to console me but all I could think about was how am I gonna tell Hunter. He will never understand. A normal child doesn't understand death let alone a child with autism.I pulled myself together and called my bff Laurie to let her know. I left work and called Cliff he was ok but not ok. He said he would meet me at his moms house. When I got to his moms Cliff's siblings and aunt and uncle were there and my father in law was still there. It was bittersweet to see him one last time at home before they took him away . He passed away somewhere between 330am and 730am after being up all night sick. He laid there peacefully on his side like he just went to sleep. My father in law battled diabetes and heart problems. We assume congestive heart failure is what caused him to die.He was 71 young years old. The hard part was yet to come. Hunter Ray would be home at 345 from school and we had to explain to him his pawpaw went to heaven.

Spaghetti

I have made spaghetti at least 50 or more times since January. That is alot of hamburger, sauce and noodles. I could probably make it in my sleep or with my eyes closed. Hunter will not eat anything else. I will be so glad when this phase is over although it has been a few years already.My mother in law makes it for him twice a week also for when he is at her house. She accidentally got angel hair noodles at the store and he looked at it for a long time. She didn't think he would eat it because it looked different but he smelled it and was fine. Thank goodness.He is one funny kid that is for sure. My spaghetti kid makes me smile.

Spring Fever...

I have not posted in awhile because things have been pretty much going the same around here. Hunter is doing better in school. He is still having social issues and shuts down when certain things happen in the classroom such as crying and yelling. In these pictures in this post we went to our friends house the Russell's for a cookout and Hunter did real good. He got out of the car and interacted most of the day he loved their bunnies and flying his kite with his dad and Kayla. We have found that if we tell him we are going places in advance he does better absorbing it for a few days before it happens rather than springing it on him. He still tells us no he doesn't wanna go anywhere but he doesn't fight us as much. He was invited to a swimming  birthday party by one of his classmates and we went to that. He was hesitant when we got there but he did eventually get in the pool. He is not quite there yet when it comes to sitting with friends and eating cake and ice cream. He would rather wander off by himself so we will be working on that more. He is excited that the Easter bunny is coming and he wants another Bugs Life dvd. He only has probably 6 copies. Lol!

Christmas 2011

We celebrate Christmas each year with several parties... The first is usually with my dad at his house in Maybee the week before Christmas. Hunter likes going to see his Grandpa and Grandma Bobich and this year he was excited to see his Aunt Ashley's dog Diesel even though he would tell you he wasn't. Hunter wanted to ride the 4 wheeler so my dad took him for a ride to his tree stand and they decided to climb up in it which was easy however getting Hunter down wasn't so easy lets just say he lost his shoe and my dad had to help him climb down the ladder and if you have seen Hunter lately he is a big boy but all was ok and they made it back to the house safely. Hunter enjoyed playing with Diesel he even got in his dog bed and was covered in dog hair and drool which is completely gross(sorry Ashley I know you like it) but we enjoyed seeing him play with him since he usually shuts down around dogs in fear they will bark and he doesn't like the noise.We all had a good time at Grandma and Grandpa Bobich's this year.

Our next party is at Cliff's family on Christmas Eve. Hunter usually stays in his room while everyone is celebrating but this year he was down stairs with us singing and playing his guitar for us. We all had to sing where is Thumbkin he really enjoys when everybody sings it puts a huge smile on his face. It was so nice to see him interact this year with the family.There are a lot of nieces and nephews that Hunter tends to hide from but this year he didn't seem to mind.It was a very Merry Christmas at the in laws this year.

On Christmas Day this year Hunter woke up around 7 am to check to see what Santa brought it was almost like he knew every package even though it was wrapped because he saved the ones he really wanted til the end. Once he opened all of his gifts he took them all in his room and shut his door and played for hours. We usually go to Grandma Dennis's on Christmas afternoon but she wasn't up to it this year so I cooked a meal for my Stepdad Byron, my brother and his girlfriend. Hunter calls them Uncle Bro and Uncle Chelsea it is pretty funny he has always called her that she doesn't find it as funny as we do. lol! Christmas 2011 was very Merry and I hope 2012 brings us all much happiness.