LuLu has taken an increased interest in drawing these days. She goes through artistic spurts. I don't know if it's the effect of The Listening Program or something else, but every morning she gets up and draws. The improvement now is that she rarely gets frustrated as she's drawing, rarely rips up the picture in disgust. For whatever reason, she is showing more patience with herself.

The topic of her artwork is always the same -- hospitals, specifically babies in hospitals. Sometimes she identifies the person (baby) as herself, sometimes it is others. Sometimes she... more

LuLu and I attended Vacation Bible School last week. I led her group of children (6 of them; all different ages) from station to station to learn the daily Bible story through crafts, drama, games and music. It was fun, exhausting and on a couple of days -- eye opening.

One day the lesson was about salvation (obviously; that's what Protestant VBS is about) and the discussion turned to reasons we needed to be saved, ways in which we have sinned. The discussion leader had us all huddled in our crews, sitting on the floor close together. She then announced that if any... more

Out of the mouths of babes...or at least 9 year-olds (a very interesting 9 year-old at that). There is a wisdom that exudes from LuLu that belies both her age and the severity of her disabilities. It always catches me off guard. And ALWAYS profoundly touches me.

Today was the first day of Vacation Bible School. VBS, just like everything else in LuLu's life, is a challenge. We have usually participated. But, it hasn't always been easy. I have to be her "crew leader" - meaning that I chauffeur a group of kids from station to station throughout the morning. It might be fun, except that it doesn't afford me a break from LuLu. And, depending on who else is in the group, it can... more

One thing evaluators keep pointing out to us, each in their own way...is how bright they think LuLu is underneath the disabilities. I have to concur. Take these examples from this weekend.

She was drawing a picture of herself having surgery. This is a recurring theme of her artwork - hospitals, prisons, orphanages - they all show up often. But her artwork is VERY detailed - this time complete with a heart monitor. As she was telling me the story that accompanied this picture she said, "You see that heart monitor?" And then she draws a straight line. "That's when... more

Life with LuLu is unlike any other. Maintaining your sense of humor is mandatory, because otherwise you lose all perspective and start to sink into hopelessness. That's because,despite coming a long way, LuLu still faces more challenges than she's conquered. So, we keep it as "light" as possible around here. This week, the following truly bizarre things have tickled our warped senses of humor:

1. The picture here shows a rubber lizard I "accidently" found when searching through a laundry basket of LuLu's clothes. We're painting her room and had asked her to empty her... more

Sunday after church, we rushed to Red Lobster for lunch and then on to the theatre to drop our actress off for her matinee show. In the midst of all that, my loving brood presented me with their Mother's Day cards and gifts. LuLu's is pictured here.

LuLu is definitely a part of our family, by virtue of her developing sense of humor. I think she was drawn to this card, not because of its appropriate humor, but because smoking and drinking beer are behaviors she's strangely drawn to, obsesses about, and professes she will never do. (FYI, the inside says "The great ones... more

One of the most fascinating things about LuLu are the themes in her play. While painfully redundant at times, they are very different from most children's play, yet are full of learning experiences.

LuLu is obsessed with all things medical. So that is what she plays. While other children play school or house, her toys are always being hospitalized. Her stuffed animals, and to a lesser extent, baby dolls are always sick, always battling cancer, always needing emergency intervention. And she is always the doctor, nurse or therapist.

Today, because she was... more

Several of my friends (and even acquaintances) are always commenting on how "funny" LuLu is. Whether intentional or not (I think it is NOT intentional), she does have an interesting perspective on life. As I've started to unravel who she is, I'm coming to understand this perspective is probably greatly shaped by the fact that she has very, VERY poor processing skills (visual and auditory) and likely a VERY high IQ (it's high now, but if the deficits weren't so severe, I've been told it would be much higher.)

Couple those issues with some of her unique obsessions, trauma... more