Another year of CHIP!

Hello, all!

So, this post is long overdue. Sorry! We have been so busy...even more so than usual.

We had Stephanie's (my niece) graduation party at our house last weekend. It was a lot of fun and we counted about 80 people that made an appearance. Lots of work before and after, but well worth it!

On Father's Day, the men went golfing and my mom and I hung out and finished cleaning up after the party. Afterward, everyone came here for leftovers and Father's Day gifts. It was again a lot of fun. Ben did well through it all. He especially enjoyed running around outside on Saturday.

Ben started summer camp last week at Rehab Dynamics. I was a nervous wreck because he started on the day I was volunteering for the "Give Autism the Boot" fundraiser, so Aunt Jen had to pick him up. He screamed when I dropped him off. Not fun. But, I called a short time later and they said he was doing great. He was fine when Jen picked him up, until he realized she had my car, not the mustang. He freaked a bit but was fine once she got him in the car. He hasn't cried at all since!! They play outside on the playground equipment, make crafts, do water play, etc. He loves it and they said he is doing very well. Woo hoo!

In other news...we are preparing for Ben to attend ANOTHER YEAR AT CHIP!! Yes, that is right, they invited Ben and one of the other younger kiddos to stay another year. After much consideration of our options, we eagerly accepted their offer! There is just no other place for Ben right now. He needs this and I have faith that we will find a way to make it happen financially.

Currently, we are gathering information in an attempt to get CHIP covered through our insurance as an "intensive outpatient program." This is being processed through the mental health services (have I mentioned this before?) so it's been interesting. They work more with outpatient rehab and substance abuse...not autism. I won't say that we are overly hopeful, but we've got to try. We'll be having another golf outing in September and have some other fundraising ideas in mind.

Also, Jeremy will be going back to school in the fall! Big news there. He is doing it mostly to get the GI Bill $$, but also for a chance to further his career in the fire department. Time is running out on the GI Bill, so it's now or never and the extra money will help with Ben's therapy. He will be able to do most of the coursework through online classes which we are hoping he will be able to do while at work. He got a coll new laptop, so at least the added responsibility comes with a neat toy. :o)

I am thinking about taking some extra shifts at an assisted living/rehab facility. One of the OTRs at summer camp told me they are always looking for COTAs to work PRN and they pay well. So, I may try to do that to supplement my sometimes pathetic caseload (it is actually pretty good right now.) We talked once again about me going full time, but it just isn't worth it. We would need to hire a nanny to drive Ben to and from therapies (he'll be doing supplemental speech in the fall as well as CHIP.) And, with Jeremy's schedule, I just really think Ben needs me here. He needs one-on-one interaction as much as possible and that is hard enough sometimes with me working part-time! Poor kid...but, we have learned to turn household chores like laundry into floortime fun! :o)

So, that is the gist of what is going on with us right now. I better go see what the boys are up to. Ben and I are babysitting Noah tonight while the rest of the Halls attend a wedding. We are hoping to convince him to spend the night with us, but we'll see...

Hope all is well with everyone. I'm sorry for being non-communicado lately...I'll try to be better!

Love,
Julie