Krull Family 5

Decisions, Decisions

2012-02-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

I remember wondering if Jared and Allison would be ready for K because of their hearing loss. Would they be ready for a typical K class, should we look into our local Hard of Hearing program? Bill and I felt very strongly at the start that they would be raised oral, they would be mainstreamed and they would succeed. We decided to home school Jared for K because of the fact that Allison was still in the auditory oral preschool, I just could not figure out how to be in two places at the same time, I'm good, but not that good. Once Allison finished with preschool, we sent them both to the Hearing Impaired program in our county. They were mainstreamed into typical classrooms with support from their SLP and HI teacher. They have done great! We just got their report cards and they are both reading at or above grade level( pretty good for a of HI boy and deaf girl).

Now we are faced with the decision on what to do with Jordan. He is not HI or deaf, in fact he has such good hearing that he can hear his father opening a Little Debbie wrapper from upstairs!
Jordan turns 5 on Sept 12th, in Ohio he is able to go to K because he turns 5 before Sept 30th, but does that mean that just because he can go, he should? I have been doing preschool with him here at home and he is doing great. He knows all his letters, can count to 100, knows all his shapes and colors. All those things that the checklists say he should know before K. I am just not sure if we should send him to school and have him be one of the youngest kids in his class. I guess we can take care of this problem by homeschooling, he would be still be the youngest in his class, but when it is a class of one, I guess it would be OK. Then there is the issue of his size, he is really small for a 4 year old. If we gave him another year, he would not be the youngest and he might even have a growth spurt. I guess I also have to face the fact that I may not be ready to let my baby go, he is our last. So comes the decision that needs to be made, send him or don't send him, home school or traditional school? If we send him to school we have to deal with his schedule not jelling with his brother and sisters, different start dates, different winter, spring breaks, different end dates. If I home school, I can put him on the same schedule and we might be able to get a family vacation in. I let you know what we decide, I guess we need to made a choice soon, it is about time to register for K.

I am so thankful that God have us this precious little boy. He fills our lives with such joy. Whatever the decisions is, we know that he will jump in with both feet. No fear that is the motto that Jordan lives by.

Seven Years

2012-01-05T06:17:00.000-08:00

Could it be really that long? Seven years ago we were preparing for the unknown.....Allison's 1st CI surgery. Were we making the right choice for her? Would it work? Would she hear well enough to talk?
It has been a long hard road that we have traveled. The trips to the hospital, ~~the~~ ~~weekly~~,the daily therapy sessions were all worth it. I will never forget the moment when Allison heard for the 1st time, she didn't cry like we had been warned she might, she just looked at us, buried her head in my shoulder and smiled. Or the moment when the 1st wonderful word escaped from her lips....."help" She wanted me to help her put her shoe on so she could go outside.
Life does not get any better than watching your deaf daughter reading to her little brother or listening to her talk to her grandparents on the phone.
Life is so normal now, so common that I sometimes forget that she is deaf, that is until she takes off her CI's for the night.

Oh, Allison, it was right choice for you, it really did work and you can hear well enough to talk. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of all your hard work, you are an inspiration to us all. You are a strong willed little girl who is growing into a determined young lady, nothing can stop you. Who knows what you will accomplished in your life, but know this, we will be there to cheer you on

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T07:45:00.000-08:00

Although we did not have a white Christmas this year, we still made memories. It has been nice to have the kids off school and to be able to enjoy some relaxing days. I am getting use to this sleeping in and am really not looking forward to the 6:00 am mornings that will come next week. We enjoyed going to the Columbus zoo to see the lights, my Dad and step-mom spending time with us, Christmas Eve service at our church, Christmas day with Bill's family and a family Christmas party last night with Bill's extended family.
We are looking forward to finally taking a family vacation in 2012, we are still working on the details, but needless to say, we are all pretty excited about it.
We wish you and yours a very blessed New Year!

Christmas Before

Christmas After

Our best gifts of all!

So much to be thankful for.

2011-11-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

At this time of year, I like to reflect on what I am thankful for. This year, I think I will just make a list.

1. My wonderful husband, Bill- We were married 12 years on Nov 20th. You are my rock and my best friend. I can always count on you. I love you, babe

2. Jared William- My wonderful 1st born. You are creative, funny and so loving. Even at 10 years of age, I can count on you to give me a hug goodnight. I hope you never get too old to hug your mom.

3. Allison Elizabeth- My precious little girl, although you are not so little anymore. You are a fighter in every sense of the word. You have overcome so much in your life, from being born 10 weeks early, spending 9 weeks in the hospital and 6 surgeries in your 9 years. Through it all you never lost your sweet spirit.

4. Jordan Matthew- My surprise child. Even though you were not planned by mommy and daddy, you were most defiantly planned by God. You are independent and oh so smart. You amaze me everyday with how your mind works. I look forward to watching you grow.

5. Technology- Hearing aid and Cochlear implants are a vital part of our lives. I enjoy watching Jared and Allison blossom because of their hearing aids and CI's. I took Allison to get her new Nucleus 5's this week, she did a booth test and is now hearing at 20 dcB in BOTH ears! AMAZING!!!!!! Both Jared and Allison will be singing in our church's Christmas program. They may never be professional singers and win a Grammy, but they can enjoy the sounds of the seasons because of modern technology

How Ironic

2011-11-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

How ironic is it that the child that we got cochlear implants for because we didn't want her to use sign language( we wanted her to be oral) is now wanting to learn sign language and in fact is already learning some sign language.
That is the wonder of cochlear implants.........Allison can learn sign language not because she has to, but because she wants to.

Fall 2011

2011-11-01T04:15:00.001-07:00

I apologize for my lack of blog entries, but this is the wonderful time in a CI family when there is nothing new to report. Life is so normal that you sometimes forget that your child has a hearing loss, although I am reminded every night when I see the hearing aides and CI's on the TV stand waiting for the next day.

The kids are doing great in school, just finished the 1st nine weeks and we are looking forward to getting their report cards.

Allison is anxiously waiting for her new Nucleus 5's to come in. We finally got the insurance issues taken care of, so she should be getting them soon. Her new FM is waiting for her at school, for once it is there before she needs it.

Jared is once again playing basketball for Upwards. We love the program, it is wonderful to allow him to play and have a positive spin on things. It is not all about winning and who can be a superstar, it is more about building character and sportsmanship while learning the game of basketball.

Jordan loves preschool and I love the fact that I am his teacher. We do about 15-20 min 3x's a week. which is enough to get him through the letter of the week, his numbers and a simple math page. I am going to do some theme weeks especially with the holidays coming up. We also do story time at the local library, I love the fact that they also do a craft, which allows him to get his art time in as well. He gets to get messy and I don't have to clean up-the best of both worlds. :-)

Allison's 9th and Jordan's 4th Birthday

2011-09-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

Jordan's Cake

Allison's cake

Allison's "big girl" duffle bag, she has out grown her princess one.

Lung Power

Our beautiful 9 year old

Our handsome 4 year old

Here are just some of the pictures from this past weekends parties.

Kiddos to Allison for being willing to share her birthday party with Jordan. She has never complained once about not having her own party. Next year she will get her big one....10 years old is a big deal in our house.

9 Years

2011-09-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

9 years ago today our world was turn upside down when Allison decided that she didn't need to wait 10 more weeks to be born. What a roller coaster of emotions we were on, but God was faithful and after 9 weeks in the hospital, we brought home out beautiful little girl.

Happy Birthday, Allison! You are an amazing young lady.

4 Years

2011-09-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

4 years ago at this very minute, I was holding our new born son. It is amazing how fast these past 4 years have gone.

Oh the things he has learned and the things he has taught us.

Happy Birthday, Jordan. You are a gift from God.

Summertime in Pictures

2011-08-08T12:29:00.001-07:00

Summer Time, Sum, Sum, Summertime

2011-07-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

The kids have been out of school for over a month and are enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer. My cousin, Jeff gave us their old swimming pool( which they outgrew, but is a perfect size for us). The kids would live in it if we let them.

Our days have been filled with 2 weeks of Vacation Bible School, playing with friends, a trip to the zoo with Grandpa and Grandma Krull, and swimming. Bill and I get a vacation of our own when my Dad and Step-Mom take all 3 of the kids to NY for 7 days!

OH and the biggest news of all!!! Jordan is 100% potty trained!! Can I get a Woo, Hoo!?!? He finally figured it out, just in time for the NY trip.

Enjoy the last month of summer, before we know it the buses will hit the road again and it will be back to lunch boxes and backpacks.

Allison's Poem

2011-06-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

This is what Cochlear Implants have done for Allison!! I will not write anything else, I will let Allison speak for herself, because that is what she can do.

End of the Year

2011-06-01T04:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the 3 year reevaluation/IEP meetings for Jared and Allison. Wow! It is bad enough sitting through 1 of those, but I had the joy of sitting through 2. I know it is probably the law, but do they have to read all 44 pages to me word for word?
Both kids are doing great! We are really pleased with their progress. Of course they both have areas that they need to work on, but what kids doesn't? I am sure they would have the same areas if they where not HOH.
Here are the highlights:

Jared has made great progress in the area of reading. He is reading at a DRA level 34. He has mastered all of his reading goals on his IEP this year.
His phonemic awareness and word attack skills have improved a great deal.
He is reading 100% of the high frequency words on the UA district high frequency word list.
Jared enjoys writing and loves to express himself. He does need work on encoding unknown words and increasing his knowledge of affixes.
Like his mother, he struggles in math. It took me a long time to get those stinking multiplication facts down. I guess you know what we will be working on over the summer. :-)

Allison is reading at a DRA level of 28, which is at grade level. She can read 198/200 of the K-2nd grade sight words. She is a great reader. Allison has improved her attitude when writing. She still needs assistance to write with correct verb tense, spelling, transition words and to extend her opening and closings.
Allison can identify 21/21 consonant sounds, 5/5 short vowel sounds and 5/5 long vowel sounds.

This next part is a BIG improvement for Allison. This has to do with her newer ear, the one that has been giving me many sleepless nights worrying that she will never be able to use it, BUT..........Allison is 100% accurate with "ah,ee, oo,mm" She is 90-100% accurate with "s" verses "sh". She is identifying among closed sets of 6 to 7 words in length with 90-100% accuracy. She is also repeating these sentences verbatim with the same performance level. She has mastered all of her goals in this section of her IEP. YAY, Allison! All your hard work is finally paying off. Thank you for not giving up when it was hard, you did it!!!!!!

My Little Girl is Growing Up!

2011-05-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

I knew this day would come and I have been waiting for it......the day when Allison could advocate for herself, when she could explain to someone "what those funny things on your ears" are. It happened yesterday. There is a new girl in our neighborhood, she came over to play with Allison. While they were playing, Allison was having a hard time understanding her, so Allison spoke up, she said "I am deaf, I hear with Cochlear Implants and I can't understand you, would you speak up please." It flowed so easy, no embarrassment on Allison's part, just stating the facts.
I just sat on our deck and watched the whole thing, I didn't have to explain why Allison couldn't hear her, I did not have to explain what a Cochlear Implant was, my wonderful hearing, talking daughter did it herself. I couldn't have been prouder

How to have a Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the 1st line of the note Allison gave me for Mother's Day.........Dear Mom, I really love you. Thank you for buying my Cochlear implants so I can hear........Can you say tears of joy? :-)
I am so grateful that Allison sees the benefits of having CI's. That is what Bill and I have wanted, for her to appreciate the gift that she has been given, I think she does!

How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

2011-04-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

I had to add a video of our family "ham", Jordan. He got a doggie towel, so we taught him the famous song,now every time he takes a bath, he has to sing the song. He even wants me to hold him up to the mirror so he can see himself.

We are the Hawks! Jared's School Program 4-18-11

2011-04-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

, I figured it out, so enjoy Jared's version of We are the Hawks.....the school song of Windermere Elementary School!

Jared's school program

2011-04-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Monday was Jared's turn for the beloved school program. He did great considering he really does not like to get up in front of people.

I have been trying to upload a couple of videos, but so far no luck. I will keep work on it. Hopefully my computer will let me, until then, enjoy some pictures.

Spring Break

2011-04-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last week was Jared and Allison's spring break, I know kind of early, but what can you do?

We finally took the kids to the indoor waterpark that we have been trying to get to since last summer. One thing or another always got in our way. Last summer was all of Allison's surgeries and then when we tried to go in Oct( even had the reservations and everything) I ruined it by having surgery for kidney stones.

We prayed really hard that nothing would happen, loaded up the van and headed out for the weekend. It was really fun, well for the kids anyway, mom and dad not so much. It is times like this that the full extent of Jared and Allison's hearing loss comes to light. One of us had to be with them at all times, making sure that they knew what the lifeguard was trying to tell them even if they could not hear them. There was many times that we had to point out our children and tell the lifeguard...."see that boy in the brown swim trunk and the girl in the purple bathing suit? Well they can't hear, so make sure you are looking at them when you are talking to them." Most of the lifeguards shook their heads at us and said "ok" like they knew what we were talking about, but then went right on blowing their whistles and expecting Jared and Allison to understand. Then there was Jordan, who is 3 going on 13. He thought he could do anything that his older brother and sister could do. Boy was that hard to explain that he had to stay in the smaller pool. At least it had water slides for younger kids, he didn't feel so left out.

All in all, it was a great weekend of making great memories together!

Sorry about the double picture....anyone care to share how to delete a picture once it has been published?

A note from the teacher

2011-03-14T12:39:00.001-07:00

This is the kind of note that you want to get from your child's teacher. We are so pleased with how well Allison is finally doing with her new ear! :-)

Sorry about how the picture is, it is hard to copy green ink. If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you will be able to read the note.

Allison's School Program 3/3/11

2011-03-04T05:29:00.000-08:00

Last night was Allison's school program/open house. She did an amazing job( of course you would expect me to say that, right?)
It is moments like last night that we are truly thankful for the wonderful gift of Cochlear Implants. She sang right along with her hearing peers. She may not have gotten all of the words correct, but she sang!! There were a few tears shed by this proud mommy! I will never get tired of watching my daughter shine in life!
Oh, in case you don't know, Allison is on the top, white shirt, glasses, next to the 2 boys.

Nothing new to report

2011-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

These are the moments as a parent of a child with a hearing loss that you dream about! When life is so normal that there is nothing new to write about, no appointments to the audiologist for new mappings of their CI, no weekly trips to the SLP or AV therapist because they are doing so well, of course with Jared and Allison being in school full time they get their therapy there. Even there, they are working on ordinary things, like writing sentences and putting thoughts on paper, not the 6 ling sounds. It is just an ordinary every day miracle of hearing kind of day and it is wonderful!
Allison's school program is on Thursday, I am sure there will be tears shed as I hear her sing her song with her classmates. I will post pictures and videos soon

IEP Report

2011-01-31T04:58:00.000-08:00

This year Allison's SLP is really focusing on working with her on hearing with just her right implant only. This is the implant that has been given me sleepless nights( should we have done it, will she ever hear as well with this one as she does with her left one?)
We got her IEP progress report last week. I must admit I was kind of dreading reading this, but Allison surprised us with how well she is doing. Here is a recap of her progress

Goal 1: Using her right implant only, Allison will identify all six Ling sounds(o, oo, ee, s sh, m) by repeating them with 90% accuracy during 4 out of 5 opportunities.
Progress: She is 100% acc, with ah, ee, oo, m and 60% acc. with s verses sh

Goal 2: Using her right implant only, Allison will identify differences in vocal length( sentences, phrases and single words when presented with 2 picture paired with print choices with 90% accuracy during 4 out of 5 opportunities.
Progress: She is 100% acc. with 3 choices during 2 out of 5 opportunities.

Goal 3: Using her right implant only, Allison will identify differences in number of syllables in words( 1, 2 and 3 syllables) when presented with 2 pictures paired with print choices with 90% accuracy during 4 out of 5 opportunities.
Progress: She 100% acc. identifying between 1 and 2 syllables during 4 out of 5 opportunities.

Goal 4: Using her right implant only, Allison will identify among 2 monosyllabic words with different distinct vowel when presented with 2 pictures paired with print choices with 90% accuracy during 4 out of 5 opportunities.
Progress: Strong progress. Initially she was 50% accurate. Currently she is 90% to 100% accurate during 2 out of 5 opportunities.

Goal 5: Using her right implant only, Allison will identify among 2 monosyllabic words with different distinct initial position consonants when presented with 2 pictures paired with print choices with 90 % accuracy during 4 out of 5 opportunities.
Progress: She is 100% accurate during 2 out of 5 opportunities. Hearing differences between similar consonant sounds is difficult.

Based on her progress so far, Allison should be able to exceed these objectives. She will be given more advanced objectives as she masters these.

Way to hear Allison! Keep up the great work. We are so proud of you!!! Love, Mommy and Daddy

CI Mapping 1/18/11

2011-01-19T04:32:00.000-08:00

I took Allison for a CI mapping of her right ear or as she likes to call it.....her "new" ear. This is the one that has been causing us so much frustration since she was implanted almost 3 years ago. This ear just never seemed to be doing as well as the 1st implant, at times we wondered if she would be able to get any noticeable gain with it or would she always have to rely on just her left CI. We mapped it, remapped it and still nothing worked. Maybe we just hit on the better ear the 1st time around and we would have to be happy with that. Allison was making wonderful progress with it, she was hearing at 15-20 dB across the frequency range and recognizing voices at 15 dB, she was reading above grade level and doing great in school. But there was that lingering question...what if the left CI failed at some point, she would be without sound until we could get if fixed. That was not acceptable, she had to start hearing with the right one. Finally, yesterday she heard the beeps in the sound booth at 15-20 dB and her voice recognition was at 45 dB. Now this is no where near where it needs to be for her to be able to make it with just her right CI, but by jolly it is progress. At least she is hearing and recognizing voices and not just beeps from a machine. They added new maps and we will keep bumping her up. Our goal is to get her as close to the left CI as possible......wish us luck.

Christmas Morning 2010

2010-12-27T07:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas......Before

Christmas........After

Christmas Card for next year????

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.........

Christmas 2010

2010-12-01T04:50:00.001-08:00

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas".

Fall Fun 2010

2010-11-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat!

Did anyone else notice?

2010-11-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

While Allison was flipping through the Toy-R-Us Big Book( pointing and saying...."I want that for Christmas") she noticed one boy wearing a hearing aid and another boy wearing a cochlear implant. She said, "Mom, look that boy has a hearing aid like Jared and that one is wearing a CI". There was also a boy or girl( I don't remember which) that had Down Syndrome. It is so great that our kids are seeing children just like them in magazines and advertisements.

Kudos to Toys R Us!!

IEP Meetings

2010-10-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, the annual IEP meeting. Last Wed, we had Jared and Allison's. Let me just say that I love the team that is working with our kids. Everyone is so great and really cares about what it is going to take to make sure that Jared and Allison are reaching their full potential.
Here are some of the highlights from the meeting.

Jared- His teacher reports that he is creative and has very good ideas. He is well liked by his peers and interacts with friends throughout the day.( yep, he is very social) He is a pleasure to have in school.( now what parent would not want to hear that?) Jared is currently reading at an Independent Developmental Reading Assessment Level 24, which is the end of second grade, so he is reading at grade level, seeing how he just started 3rd grade. On the Stanford Achievement Test, Jared scored a 571 in the area of reading vocabulary, this means that he scored the same or better than 75-80% of his hearing impaired peers. In the area of reading comprehension, he scored a 598, which means that he scored the same or better than 85-90% of his hearing impaired peers. We are pretty pleased with this. We are looking forward to getting Jared's new hearing aids, we are excited to see how they improve Jared's ability to focus and staying on task. He is struggling with hearing his peers in the classroom, so he tends to let his mind drift off when he should be paying attention.

Allison-Her teacher reports that she is a great reader. She is becoming more fluent when reading and also doing better at keeping up with her work. Allison is reading at an Independent Developmental Reading Assessment level 28, this is above grade level. Second grade students are expected to be reading at a DRA level 20 by the end of the 1st grading period.( you go, girl!!) Allison can also read 193/200 k-2 grade sight words. All I have to say about this is......pretty good for a deaf girl. ;-) and once again, THANK YOU COCHLEAR IMPLANTS!!!! There are no goals on her IEP for reading because she is doing so well.
Allison is going to be spending time working on her spelling and writing skills this year.

Happy Birthday Allison and Jordan

2010-09-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

So, I am a little behind on this post, but this weekend we celebrated Jordan's 3rd birthday( Sept 12th) and Allison's 8th birthday(Sept18th).

We had a wonderful time with the family. Allison's theme was butterflies and Jordan's was Thomas. It is so hard trying to find a theme to fit a boy and a girl, so they each get their own.

Happy Birthday, Allison and Jordan!! You both are special gifts from God.

Enjoy the video of Allison and her very special birthday gift.......I just love her reaction. Once again it is these moments that make us realize what a wonderful gift CI's are, when she can express in words her excitement over a birthday gift.

3rd and Final

2010-09-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Allison had what we hope will be her final surgery. This time it was her right ear. Once again the doctor cleaned out the cholesteotoma and removed her ear drum( which was paper thin and not really doing her any good, due to her hearing loss).
She was in surgery about 2 1/2 hours, not nearly as long as the surgery on her left ear( 3 1/3 hours). Her doctor said she did great. After about 1 hour in recovery we were able to see her. Allison was in some pain, but was given some pain medicine and was able to get up and go to the bathroom. We were able to leave around 12:45 and home by 1:30.
Allison is very cranky, a sure sign that she is not feeling the best, she is usually a really happy girl.
She is happy that everything is done and is now looking forward to our mini vacation in Oct.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

2010-08-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we need a little reminder that what we did for Allison was all worth it. Well, we got that reminder on Sunday. On the way home from church, we always ask Jared and Allison what they learned or did at church. Allison showed me the picture that she made. Look closely at the verse and then what she wrote in one of the boxes, I think you will know what I mean.

The verse is a little hard to read, it is...Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Needless to say, I was crying tears of joy when I looked at her paper.

Thank you Allison for this precious gift, it will be added to our memories to cherish.

Big News!

2010-08-07T04:12:00.000-07:00

No....we are not having a baby:-)

We are 1 step closer to joining a diaper free world. Jordan is potty training. Yesterday he had his light bulb moment( when it clicked, he knew that feeling meant something was about to happen) in Target of all places. We were school shopping for Allison when I heard these wonderful words...."mommy, I have to go pee". We raced to the front of the store, found the bathrooms, went inside, found the kiddy potty and he did his business. He was so proud of himself. He was rewarded with a bag of popcorn( which he was kind enough to share with his mommy and sister).

Everyone sing with me..........."Mommy, wow, I'm a big boy now".

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do with all the extra money we will be saving........"take a vacation", you say, what a great idea!

A Summer full of Surgery

2010-07-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is what the Summer of 2010 is turning out to be. It started with what we thought was going to be a simple tonsilectomy and turned into not 1 but 2 ear surgeries.

Allison had surgery today on her left ear. She has cholesteatoms in both ears. Today the doc cleaned out the scar tissure from the repeated breaking of the sac behind the eardrum, removed the eardrum and 2 of the 3 bones in the middle ear. He shortened her ear canal, so no yuck can get in. He was careful to leave enough of an ear canal that Allison will still be able to wear her ear molds with her Cochlear Implant. She was in a fair amount of pain when I saw her in recovery, but right now she is happy on pain med and playing with play-doh in the family room where there is carpet, any othertime, she would be at the kitchen table, yes the joys of having surgery.

We are waiting for her to heal from this surgery before we schedule the right ear, oh am I not looking forward to telling her that she not done yet.

Update on Allison

2010-07-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

Allison's surgery is next Friday, July 23rd. The doctor wants it done sooner rather then later, which means no family reunion for us on the 24th. :-(
The plan is to move the wire of the CI back into place and take out both of her eardrums and shorten the ear canal, so no bacteria can get into the cavity where the eardrum was.
We are hoping that this is the all the surgeries Allison will need and that she will be able to enjoy her last few weeks of summer before school starts again.

A Bit of Good News

2010-07-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Allison to her audiologist to check the electrode that is in her left ear drum, we wanted to make sure that it was not causing her problems.
After running the necessary tests, it was determined that it was not an actually electrode but the lead wire that was in her ear drum.
This means that right now all the electrodes are still in place and working as they should be. It still means that it will need a surgical fix, but there is no risk of the implant failing.

We still don't know when they will do the surgery, we are hoping in the next 2 weeks or so. We would really like to enjoy the last few weeks of summer without this hanging over our heads.

Thank you for the prayers, keep them coming.

Allison's surgery

2010-07-05T15:36:00.001-07:00

All went well on Friday in regards to Allison's tonsil and adenoid surgery. The doctor came to see us and told us all went well with that part of the surgery. Then he shared the bad news, while cleaning the mounds of wax out of her ears( I have never meet such a waxy kid) he found that both ear drums are retracted and paper thin, possibly from repeat ear infections( though she never complained about her ear hurting or never ran a fever) or it could be the Eustachian tubes not working. The left ear drum is so thin that an electrode from her CI has broken through. Needless to say we were shocked and a bit scared at the thought of the electrode being exposed to the outside. This needs to be corrected in the next few weeks. Allison is at risk for infection and failure of her CI if we let it go much longer.

Allison is looking at an additional surgery where they will fix the electrode and then most likely take both of her ear drums out( being deaf she does not use them anyway).

What an awful way to spend the summer, but at least we found this out before any serious damage was done.

I will give updates soon.

Please keep Allison in your thoughts and prayers. This is going to be rough on her.

Summer Time

2010-06-28T09:40:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that a new month is starting this week. Summer always seems to go by so fast.

We have been busy enjoying the relaxed mode and not feeling the pressure of having to get school work done and getting to bed at 8:00 each night. Jared and Allison spent a week with their grandparents in Cleveland 2 week ago and last week was our church's VBS.

This Friday Allison goes in to get her tonsil and adenoids taken out.......I know, what a way to spend your summer vacation, but I would rather get it done now and not have her miss 2 weeks of school in the fall. She is not thrilled about having another surgery, but the unlimited ice cream and Popsicles is making up for it. Because of her implants they will need to take them out the "old fashion" way instead of zapping them out. The doctor does not want a stray electrical current to short out the implants. This might make for a little longer recovery.

Allison's Mapping 5-10-10

2010-05-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Allison had another mapping for her CI on Monday.
I picked her up from school and while she was taking off her FM boot, I was able to talk with her SLP. She shared that Allison will do therapy with just her right CI for 20-30 min at a time. This is such an improvement from when she was first implanted, she hated having just her right one on and fought us tooth and nail to do any therapy with just that one. I was thrilled and told Allison so.
On to Children's for her mapping. After sharing the news with her audiologist, we went to the soundbooth.
We were able to get 30-45dB's across the board, once again this is an improvement over the last test. In the mapping room, Allison showed improved consistency in her responses in the right ear. I truly think she heard in the soundbooth, but was hesitant to respond, she kept looking back at me to see if she really heard what she thought she heard. I so wanted to tell her "yes, you heard that beep", but I also didn't want to sway the test results.
Her audiologist showed me the new Nucleus 5, pretty cool! After talking with Bill, we decided to wait until both processors are out of warranty before going to our insurance company which will be next year. Hopefully, they will have the rechargeable batteries for the Nucleus 5 by then.

On another note, it looks like Allison will have to have her tonsils out this summer. We have an appointment with an ENT on June 7th. I know, what a way to spend the summer, but I would rather get it done and not have her miss 2 weeks of school in the fall. She is not a happy camper.

Jared's 9th Birthday.

2010-05-03T08:18:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Jared.

Time for Bunk Beds

2010-05-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

The time has come to move Jordan from the crib to his big boy bed. We held off doing this until we moved and he was adjusted to the new house.

He has been in his big boy bed for about a month and is doing great. He feels so grown up. Now if we could just get the potty training down life would be good.

Allison's Hulla-Hoop

2010-04-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of Allison Hulla-Hooping( is that even a word?)

Man I wish I could move my hips like that.

Please ignore the background voices, moms that have more then 1 child will understand having to discipline one while taping the amazing things another can do.

Spring 2010

2010-04-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some update pictures of the kiddos. They enjoyed coloring Easter eggs at Grandpa and Grandma K's house.

Video of J and A's school program

2010-03-31T06:39:00.001-07:00

Sorry this is late getting on here, we have had a very busy month. We moved into a new home a few days ago and up until that point, my days were filled with packing, moving and spring break for Jared and Allison.

I finally feel like I am somewhat settled in the new house, so I can take the time to upload these videos.

Enjoy a trip to South American through song.

Allison is in the top video, she is in the 2nd row behind the boy in the striped shirt, although you can't see her very well.

Jared is in the 2nd video, he is the last boy on the 2nd row.

School Program 2010

2010-03-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

Last night was Jared and Allison's school program and open house. Bill and I split duties along with the grandparents, the women saw the program and the men were in the classrooms. It was a great night. It is on nights like these, that I am truly amazed at how far my hearing impaired son and deaf daughter have come.

I will try and upload some videos soon, but for now enjoy the pictures.

Jared's appointment

2010-02-25T18:04:00.000-08:00

Today I took Jared to the ENT to check on this recent hearing drop. After the doctor poked and picked at Jared's ears, he told us that he was not all that concerned about the recent drop in his hearing. He did have Jared do another booth test, this time with his hearing aides on to see what his voice discrimination was, it was about 77%. The doctor said that he thought what we are seeing may be because of his recent illness.

We will take him back in 6 months for a recheck and we will see what happens.

When routine becomes not so routine

2010-02-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

I took Jared to his audiologist yesterday for what I thought was a routine hearing aide check. Well, I have learned that nothing is routine when you are dealing with a kid's hearing loss.
After telling the audiologist that Jared had been sick with walking pneumonia about a month ago, she decided that he should do a booth test. She check his ears and cleaned out the wax-YUCK and then did the test. He had a major drop in his hearing, going from 78 dB's to 87 dB's in his right ear and from 72 dB's to 85 dB's in his left. I am wondering if he was just tired from a full day at school, but nonetheless, a call to his ENT is in order for today.

So, just when we get Allison heading in the right direction it is time for Jared to throw a wrench in the plan.

Such is life.

Thank goodness for a wonderful audiologist!!! I call our ENT and the earliest appointment they could give us was March 18th. I called the our audiologist and told her, well that was just not acceptable to her. She called and got us appointment next Thursday.

A Sweet Moment

2010-02-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I had to run to Giant Eagle to pick mini-marshmallows for Allison. Tomorrow is the 100th day of school and she needed 100 of a food item. Of course I did not know about this until about 6:45 pm when I looked in her folder and saw the note. I took Allison with me, so I could make sure that I got the right ones. While I was checking out at the self-checkout line, Allison was at the end making sure that the marshmallows did not get smashed. The manager came over to help bag the items and saw the marshmallows and asked Allison about them. Allison explained what they were for and that she had to go home and count 100 of them for school. It was a moment that will never get old for me, my deaf little girl was talking and answering questions. I did not have to explain to the manager that she was deaf and could not hear her, I did not have to interpret for her, I could just stand there and listen to my little girl talk. The amazing thing is, I don't think the manager even knew, Allison's hair was down and covering her ears.

Oh the Joys.........

2010-01-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

of having Cochlear implants break. Allison came home yesterday and showed me that her left CI was being held together with tape. After looking at it, doing some investigation about what happened, it was determined that she broke it while trying to get her FM boots off. What were those teachers thinking? I know we want her to be pro-active and start taking responsibility for her CI, but pulling a FM boot off of the bottom of her CI is going a bit far for a 7 year old. She is able to put the battery in, turn it on and put it on, I think that is all the responsibility she can handle right now.
I had to put a call into Cochlear to see about getting a new one, only to find out that it is out of warranty, which means we now have to wait for our insurance company to approve the replacement.
I guess I better stock up on tape.

On a happier note.......I got a email from Allison's SLP today. She wanted to let us know that Allison is starting to be able to identify words with her newer implant!!!! She is also not fighting wearing only that one for her therapy sessions. Amazing news!!
Keep it up Allison, we are going to get that right ear working yet.

Allison's Mapping

2010-01-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

I can finally say we are on the right track. Allison had a mapping today for her newer implant, the one that was causing her so many problems a few months ago. I knew that we were making progress here at home, but it was nice to get the official word from the sound booth. Allison is hearing at 20-25 dB's across the board with the tones and at about 30-35 dB's voice recognition. That is an amazing gain from where she was about 3 months ago. We might even be well on our way to have the right ear match the left ear. What a novel idea, hearing out of both ears.

So Precious

2010-01-05T05:27:00.001-08:00

While Allison was home sick today(I think she could have gone to school, but the school has a strict policy that they must be puke free for 24 hours) I caught this very precious moment between Allison and Jordan.

I never thought that when we found out Allison was deaf( I did not even know what Cochlear Implants were or how amazing they were) that I would capture her reading a story to her brother.

Thank you, Cochlear Implants for giving my daughter the gift of hearing.

Christmas Round 3

2009-12-26T08:19:00.001-08:00

In the afternoon, Bill's family came for Christmas dinner. We had a great time together. There is just something about the excitement in children that make Christmas really special.

We hope you had a blessed day and we wish you a very Happy New Year!!

Christmas Morning

2009-12-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

Don't Allison and Jordan just look thrilled?

I think we have the only kids in the world that had to be woken up on Christmas morning. The postive part of that is that I was able to take my shower, dry my hair and put on my make-up before they woke up. It made for some better Christmas pictures. :-)

Christmas Round 1 2009

2009-12-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

We got the kids a Wii this year!! They were so excited.

Grandpa and Grandma L opending up their gifts.

You look very comfy, Jared

Look at all those gifts

Oh, what did I get?

With my Dad and Step-Mom being in Cleveland, they always come down a few days before Christmas to share the holidays with us. This year we were able to celebrate with them on Dec 23rd and 24th.

Christmas Time

2009-12-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, Jared and Allison were able to be a part of our church's Christmas program.
While they probably will never be on American Idol or have a record contract, they are able(thanks to hearing aids and Cochlear Implants) to do as the Bible says....."make a joyful noise to the Lord".

Our family wishes each of you a very Merry Christmas and Happiest of New Years.

Allison's Play

2009-11-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

We got to see Allison be Narrator # 4 in the Windermere Elementary 1st grade class production of Rooster Off to See the World.

She did a great job and spoke very clearly. We were able to understand ever word.

Here is her part of the play. Enjoy the show.

Trick or Treat

2009-10-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Love this example of brotherly love.

Our own little "Bob the Builder"

Another year of trick or treat. This year was extra fun because Jordan was able to participate. He was such a trooper, walked most of the way. He was afraid that if he rode in the stroller he would not get the candy. It was so cute to hear him say..."and treat" when he went up to a house and we did get many "thank yous" from him. Overall it was a fun night and the kids got way too much candy, they will be on quite the sugar high for awhile.

Progress has been made!!

2009-10-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

Today after I put Allison's snugfit on her right CI( the one that has been giving us so many problems) I was putting it back on her ear and she knew that it was not on!!! I know that does not seem like a big thing, but it is to us. It has taken many many months to get to this point. For a while there, I was questioning whether we should have even implanted this ear, so I am thrilled that she knows that it was not on. She did this without her left CI on, so I know she knew.
On Monday, during the booth test, she scored at 40-50 dB's across the board(wearing just the right ear). This is a slip from where she was, but she was very consistent in her responses. In the past she would not be sure she really heard the sound, but on Monday she dropped those blocks in the bucket with confidence. YAY Allison.

Sigh of Relief

2009-10-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Allison's appointment went really well today. Her audilogist was able to correct the problem and no surgery will be needed. All of the electrodes are working, YAY!!
I guess what happened was her coil was starting to fail and it was sending strange signals to the processor. When I changed to the new coil, the processor was getting a different message and it did not know what to do, so it started making the buzzing noise. The processor was reconfigured and her programs where adjusted. We will have to start adding programs like we did when she was 1st implanted, but at least it is working there are no more bees in her ear.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

2009-10-16T05:27:00.001-07:00

That is my feeling right at this moment. I could scream!!!!

We are having major problems with Allison's right Cochlear Implant. It all started 2 weeks ago when I changed her coil, I thought I was doing a good thing, being proactive, getting it changed before it totally went out and she was left without hearing in that ear. I put the new coil on, put the magnet back on( I did have a little trouble getting the magnet out of the old coil). I gave the CI back to Allison to put back on. About a week later, she tells me that there is a buzzing noise in her ear. So began the phone calls to her audiologist, a phone call to Cochlear to get a new processor, new coils and such. I have changed every external part on her implant and the bee is still buzzing in her ear.

We have an appointment on Monday with her audiologist. My fear is that the implant is failing and we are looking at more surgery. I guess the good thing is that it is her newer ear and she is still hearing out of her older implant. So that is something.

I will keep everyone updated. I would appreciate any good thoughts and prayers.

Jared's trip to the Apple Farm

2009-10-08T15:31:00.001-07:00

Today, Jared and his class enjoyed a field trip to the apple farm. It was a fun filled morning, learning about apples, enjoying apple cider, picking apples and eating apples.

Allison and Jordan's birthday party.

2009-09-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Allison and Jordan's birthdays on Friday night with a bonfire/cookout. It was our 1st one ever.....we had a blast. Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Birthday, Allison!!!

2009-09-18T03:51:00.000-07:00

7 years ago, I was 30 weeks pregnant, I thought I had at least 8 weeks before I would have my 2nd child. Little did I know that it would not be weeks, but hours before I gave birth. Allison Elizabeth was in a bit of a hurry to enter this world and was born at about 5:10 pm( at home mind you, I did not know I was in labor). She spent 9 weeks in the hospital.

Since that day, Allison has amazed us with her spirit and determination. She truly is an answer to many, many prayers.

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY, ALLISON!! We Love you.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jordan!!

2009-09-12T05:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my baby is 2. These years have been filled with a lot of joy. Jordan is such a blessing and we thank God each day for him.

Happy Birthday Jordan!!!

Random pictures of the kids

2009-09-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

Jordan's statement to me...."I pool Mommy, I pool"

Jordan is secure in his boyhood, not every boy can pull off the pink hat and sparkly purse.

Our Happy Boy

Jared took this picture of himself

Our pretty girl.....Jared took this picture, not bad.

1st day of school!

2009-08-25T04:24:00.000-07:00

Another school year started today!! Is it really possible that my babies are in 1st and 2nd grade, I guess it is, because they are

Jared and Allison did a great job getting up really really early(6:15 A.M.) They get on the bus at around 7:10. I hope this excitement continues. Jared said that he was happy to go back to school, he really missed his friends. Allison loves school and learning, but is more excited about her new lunch box and eating at school.

Once again, I have to say how thankful I am for the wonderful program that Jared and Allison are in. The school staff is so supportive and will do whatever it takes to make sure that my children have great success at school. I know that many parents of children with disabilities have to fight tooth and nail for just the simple things, so we do not take this program for granted.

Summer Time Fun

2009-08-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at our church community picnic. The kids had a blast even though it was really really hot, at least there was a breeze. This was the last hurrah before the kids go back to school next week.

Finally

2009-07-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

We are getting somewhere with Allison's newly implanted ear. After 15 months, Allison is finally hearing and understanding the sounds around her. It was so frustrating at times, she was just not hearing like she did with the other ear. There were times when I questioned if we should have even implanted the ear. It was hard to hear her say "I can't hear" while wearing just the one.
On Monday, Allison had a mapping done and it was wonderful to see her respond not only to the peeps of the machine, but also to the voices of the audiologists. Maybe it will be worth it after all.
This morning while doing her therapy with the one CI alone, she was actually able to answer my questions.
Finally.........

Can you see the smile on my face?

2009-07-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Last night we got the greatest endorsement for a CI a parent could get. An adult at our church carried on a conversation with Allison and did not find out until I told her that Allison was deaf and wore a CI. We started talking about having to go to the audiologist on Monday, she wanted to know what the appointment was for, I shared with her that Allison was deaf, but heard with a CI. Her comment to me was"she is deaf, wow that is amazing, she speaks so clearly. I would have never guessed that she was deaf."

Once again, I say"Yay for Cochlear Implants".

Fun in the Sun!!

2009-07-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is Jordan's 1st time in the pool....HE LOVED IT!!!!

There is nothing like a nice cool pool on a hot summer day!!

Talking on the Phone

2009-06-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

This week Jared and Allison were in Cleveland with the grandparents. Each night we would call them or they would call us to share the events of the day and to say good night.

It was truly amazing to hear them talk on the phone, not just talk but understand what we were saying to them. This was really the 1st time that we had the chance to be on the other end of the conversation. They spoke so clear and we understood everything that they were saying.

Yay for hearing aids and cochlear implants!!!!

Over the River and Through the Woods......

2009-06-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

well, it is more like over the bridges and through the construction zones to grandmother's house we go. This week Jared and Allison are blessed to be able to spend the week with Grandpa and Grandma Lemponen in Cleveland. It will be a very special memory making week for them.

Ready to Go.

And they are off.

Pancake Thief

2009-06-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

Allison learned the hard way, don't leave your pancakes in the reach of Jordan. She came back to find this........

Last Day of School!!

2009-06-04T13:21:00.001-07:00

Jared with his 1st grade teachers

Allison with her teacher

Waiting for the bus. Jared is wearing the same shirt he wore the 1st day of school.

Waiting for school to start

Today was Jared and Allison's last day of school. They each had a great year of learning and growth.

Jared completed 1st grade, reading and writing at grade level. He made many friends and enjoyed many fun activities. He learned how to count money, tell time and started learning basic addition and subtraction facts. He studied fairy tales and wrote his own story. He also did a research project on the chicken, who knew there was so much to learn about that animal. As a way of finishing up the unit on animals, they went to the Columbus Zoo. He enjoyed a day at the park playing with his friends. Today, his class enjoyed snow cones, popcorn and cupcakes. We are so pleased with how Jared worked hard and always did his best. Now it is onto 2nd grade, where we are sure Jared will continue to shine.

Allison completed K, reading and writing at grade level. She enjoyed her class and especially her teacher. Allison enjoyed being the Superstar once a month, where she was able to share with her class items she brought from home. In May, she was able to study how baby chicks hatch and was even able to watch some in her class. Today, she had a beach party complete with beach balls, hula hoops and ice cream. Her teacher told me today, that Allison should do very well in 1st grade.

We just got Allison's IEP report today(6-5-09) and I thought I would post a couple of the comments that her SLP and HI teacher made.

Allison does great answering basic wh questions after a story.

Allsion continues to learn new words quickly and retains what she learns. She retains vocabulary with 80-100% accuracy.

During classroom observations, Allison is often more attentive than her hearing peers and is often the first to follow complex oral directions.( That's my girl, always has to be first)

Allison is consistently in an ideal position for viewing in her classroom observations.

When we get comments like these, we know all the driving to mappings, speech therapy and such was worth it.

Way to Go, Jared and Allison!!

This and That

2009-05-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

This post is more for me, so I can have a written account of the cute things my kids do and say. Some day when I have some time(ummmm, Jordan will graduate when?) I will write it down in their memory books. But, I hope you enjoy it also.

Allison was riding in the car with my friend's daughter, Abbi,who had a hole in her sock, Allison looked at it and wanted to know why her socks were broken.

Here are some of the attempts Jordan has made in saying words

mymote=remote. Now we don't know if he is saying that it belongs to him or if this is what he calls the remote.

sissy= his sister, Allison

bro bro= his brother, Jared

illow=pillow

oudside=outside

no night night= well, no explanation needed

dog, go woof woof, right there( pretty good for a 20 month old, don't you think)

Jordan's newest phrase: packpack=backpack

Graduation Day

2009-05-08T16:02:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it is not "the graduation day" for Jared, but it is pretty special. Today Jared graduated from the Reading Recovery program at his school.

We are so pleased with how far Jared has come this year with his reading and writing. At the start of school he was a bit behind in both areas. As of today, he is at grade level in both reading and writing.

Last night, Jared read a 328 word book and is writing sentences such as: He has a Dad and a Mom and a sister, Allison and a brother Jordan.

He got a book and a certificate to mark the occasion. WAY TO GO, Jared!!

Jared turns 8

2009-04-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jared!! You are a blessing in our lives and we can't imagine life without you.

Allison's Mapping

2009-04-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, we had another mapping today at Children's. I spoke to her audiologist about the fact that Bill and I were not very pleased with the progress she has been making since her implant surgery. It has been a year since she got her 2nd implant and it is almost like she never got it. She willingly wears both, but if we take out the old one, she is not able to hear with her new one, not even a little bit. After talking and sharing what has been happening, Allison got down to work listening to some beeps in the room. Her audiologist made some major adjustments to her map and that really seemed to help. Off to the booth Allison went to check out the new programs. She was able to hear the beeps at 25 dB and the Ling Sounds at 30-35dB, that is a great improvement over her last audiogram where she was hearing at 45-50dB.
Allison has some homework to do, she is suppose to wear her new implant alone for 30-45 min a day. We really need to wake up this ear. Let's hope this is a start to Allison really hearing in both ears. We will keep you posted on her progress.

Allison Reading!!!

2009-04-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of Allison reading. We think she is doing an amazing job(but of course we would think so, we are a bit prejudice) :-)

Pardon the noise in the background-that is just Jordan trying to get my attention.

Easter Eggs and Hunt

2009-04-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

Jared, Allison and Jordan had a great day at Grandpa and Grandma Krull's coloring Easter eggs and having an Easter egg hunt. Our kids are so blessed to have 2 sets of wonderful grandparents.

Fun at Grandpa and Grandma's House

2009-04-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

Jared and Allison had fun playing Wii. They both have a future in PWiiBA(pro-wii bowlers association) They beat both Dad and Mom.

Future Piano Player?

Can I come in too?

Jordan's 1st Haircut

2009-03-18T04:54:00.001-07:00

Before

During

After

Video of Jared's school program

2009-03-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the video.

Jared's school progam

2009-03-06T03:52:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year

Kaeru no uta (The Frog Song) Japanese Children's Song

Russian Folksong

Last night, it was Jared's turn to shine. He had his open house and school program. We were able to check out his room and see all the exciting thing he has been working on. This year they studied Asia. He wrote a story, worked on a map and was part of the Asian Adventure Music Program.

He did an awesome job. He sang along with all of the songs, which I must tell you were in Chinese, Japanese and Russian. Not bad for a kid who has a hearing impairment.

We are so pleased with how far he has come!! Way to Go Jared!!!!

Is there a seal in the house

2009-02-25T05:33:00.000-08:00

At night, I swear you would think there were seals in my kid's bedroom. It started with Jared on Saturday night, I ended up taking him to urgent care on Sunday afternoon and found out that not only does he have croup, but he has strep throat as well. After one day of having the cool mist humidifier in his room, Allison started, so the humidifier has been moved. You would think that the 1 year old would have gotten the croup, but no,it is my almost 8 year old and 6 year old( go figure). Hopefully Spring is fast approaching and we will be over this stuff soon, one can only hope.

Update on the Krull Kids

2009-02-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I posted something, not because nothing has been happening but because life is getting in the way. So I will try to give you a short summary of life with the Krull kids.

Jared is doing great!! He has made fantastic progress in reading. It is so great to hear him read. He just got his report card and we are so pleased. It was great to hear that he has a positive attitude towards learning(let's see if that is the way he feels in a few years)

Allison is also doing great. She loves school and works hard. It was great to read on her report card that she is at grade level. She recognized 52/52 letters. She knew 24/31 sounds(I think this is pretty good for a kid who is deaf). She was also able to recognize 25/32 sight words.

We are a bit concern that she is still not progressing with her new implant. We may have to take her for another CT Scan in the summer to see if there is a problem with the placement of the implant. She will see her audiologist in April, so we will have more information then.

Jordan is such a happy little boy. He is learning something new each day. His latest accomplishment is being able to point to his nose, belly, eye and head. He is high energy and I go to bed exhausted each night, but would not change it for the world.

More Holiday Pictures 2008

2009-01-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning 2008 was so much fun. It was so fun to see the excitment on the kid's faces.

Holidays 2008

2008-12-21T12:23:00.000-08:00

Grandpa and Grandma L could have saved a whole lot of money this year and just given Jordan wrapping paper, bows and boxes.

Our Christmas Tree

Our children are blessed to have 2 sets of wonderful grandparents. Here they are with Grandpa and Grandma Lemponen

Our best gifts of all-Jared, Allison and Jordan

10 Things that I am Thankful For

2008-11-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Here are the top 10 things that I am thankful for. There are so many more, but I stopped at 10

1. My salvation.
2. My wonderful husband, Bill
3. Jared William
4. Allison Elizabeth
5. Jordan Matthew
6. America-even with all the problems, we still live in the greatest country in the world.
7. Friends-you know who you are.
8. Modern technology-digital hearing aids and cochlear implants
9. Family
10. Bill's Job- when so many places are laying people off, Bill has a stable job that has even given him some overtime.

During this Thanksgiving season, let's take the time to thank God for the blessing He has given to each one of us.

Allison's school program

2008-11-21T05:28:00.000-08:00

Our cute little Indian

Sing out Allison, so the whole room can hear you!!

Last night, we went to see Allison's 1st K program!! It was a celebration of the 1st Thanksgiving. We are so proud of Allison, she stood up on the risers and sang with gusto. I must admit, there were a few times when I had tears of joy in my eyes. Who would of thought 6 years ago when we were told that our precious little girl was deaf, that we would be sitting in the multipurpose room of her school listening to her sing. How great is it that because of her CI, she can listen and participate in the wonderful gift of music.

For My Husband

2008-11-20T05:19:00.000-08:00

Nine years ago today, my dad walked me down the aisle to you. We joined hands, said our vows and started our new life together.

Since that day, there have been unexpected turns in the road, but you have always been there, righting the course and keeping us steady. You are my rock, my support and my best friend. I cannot imagine traveling this journey called life without you.

God has blessed us with three wonderful children who have enriched our lives beyond anything that we could have imagined. You are an amazing father who is adored by our children. You are teaching Jared and Jordan how to be men of God and Allison what a Godly husband should be.

Of all the decisions I have made in my life, the best by far was saying yes when you asked me to marry you. I love you and always will.

Happy Anniversary, Bill

Fall Fun

2008-11-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

Look at the determination on Bill's face and the size of the knife in his hand-the pumpkin never stood a chance. :-)

There is nothing like sticking your hand inside a pumpkin-notice that it was Jared and Allison that got that job.

Even Mom got into the carving act

Allison's pumpkin

Jared's pumpkin

Jared and Allison had a costume parade at their school and then a party. What a fun day!

Trick or Treat!!

I am sorry that I did not get any pictures of Jordan- he would not wear his costume, every time I went to take a picture he would pull the costume off :-( Maybe next year.

Why is it.....

2008-10-23T06:52:00.001-07:00

that they have thousands of dollars worth of toys, but they play

with the pots, pans and cookie racks?

What would you do?

2008-10-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

So, I need some advice. Even though I have been at this mother of hearing impaired/deaf children awhile now, last night I ran into something that I have not experienced before. While standing in line at the grocery store, a little girl(maybe 5-6 years old) was staring at Jared's hearing aids and was making comments to her grandmother about them. Jared did not noticed, but I did. Now what would you do? Would you explain to the child what those "things" are in his ears or not do anything at all?
Most of the time, people come right out and ask about Allison's implants. I guess it is because most people know more about hearing aids than implants.
I don't want Jared to feel that he is "not normal", but it is a fact of life, he is different and we are going to have to deal with stares and comments. I want to empower him while he is still young.

Mommies don't get sick.

2008-10-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is what everyone tells you, but don't you believe it. I have come down with a flu bug that is making me feel like I have been hit by a truck. What makes it worse is that I can't crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head like I want to, Jared, Allison and Jordan still need me. I am just praying that this will be over soon. I am just waiting for that wonderful sound of Bill's truck pulling into the driveway.

Who would have thought it?

2008-10-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that Allison(in just 3 short years after her CI) would be asking to turn up the TV just a little bit because she cannot hear it.
This is just another moment when I am reminded that we made the right choice for Allison in getting her CI. Every day there are moments like this, that most parents take for granted.
Allison has been a constant reminder to make every day special and be thankful for the gifts that God has given us.
Not once has Allison complained that she has to put on her CI, but joyful puts on "her ears" so she can hear the wonderful sounds around her.
Thank you Allison, for the lessons you have taught Mommy! You are a special blessing in my life and I look forward to what you are going to teach me next.

Allison's trip to the pumpkin farm

2008-10-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is that time of year-the annual school outing to the pumpkin farm, every kid does it and they have so much fun.

Notice that there is no picture with her pumpkin, that is because it was too big for her to hold

(she had to get the biggest one) and mom ended up carrying it around the farm :-)

Pictures of the Kids

2008-10-02T04:59:00.001-07:00

Our Pretty Girl

How Big is Jordan.....So Big
Self Feeding is so much fun!!
Baby from the Hood
Such a helper
Toothless Grin

Hearing Child

2008-09-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

I must say it is a big adjustment having a child that can hear after having 2 that can't. It is also so much fun to watch Jordan turn to new sounds with that look on his face "what was that". I have to change when I do the vacuuming, with Jared and Allison I could clean house when they were sleeping and they would never hear a thing. Jordan on the other hand wakes up at the slightest sound. How great is it that I have to tell Jared and Allison to not be so loud because Jordan is sleeping. While I would not change Jared and Allison for anything(God made them the way they are for a special purpose) maybe just maybe Jordan will be our piano player or famous singer.
He is starting to really try to communicate with us. His new word is "dat" as in "what is that"? or "want that". It is so cute. I just love hearing him "talk"
Thank you God for Jordan's hearing.

Happy 6th Birthday, Allison!!

2008-09-18T04:25:00.000-07:00

10 weeks early!!
No oxygen or tubes!!
Sleeping soundly

Does she really need to be washed?
Allison's 1st Birthday

Sitting pretty in her Easter dress.

"Reading" a story to her baby (this is about 2 weeks or so after her CI activation)

Enjoying the outdoors

That pumkin is almost as big as you are

1st picture with your glasses.

You are such a good big sister

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!! Look how far you have come in 6 years.