I'm in awe daily...

I wanted to talk about our oldest Brayden a little bit today. You may remember the last time I talked about just him we were living in Houston and he was having a rough time at school and was being bullied. I've also spoke about him being diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. If you are new around here the please take a moment and read the back story here and here.

After the whole bullying post we decided to take Brayden out of the Houston school a few days earlier than we had originally planned. Y'all I am not being a drama queen here but it was bad it was so so bad. He would cry every night, it was hard to get him to go to school, he became extremely defensive, I was a hot mess while he was at school. As a mom I wanted to put him in a bubble and protect him while he was at school.

Once we moved to Oklahoma and got him in school here he had some outburst which was to be expected. Luckily he has kick ass teachers that have helped to show him his new school is a safe place. He needed not only for us to tell him but also to start to feel comfortable in his new school with the teachers, staff, and other students. Once he first started he would talk about the Houston experience a lot but everyone just told him he would never have to go back there again. Once meeting his teachers and some of the staff I knew he would be okay plus we are in a much smaller school than the other one.  What really hit me and has stuck with me was when his teacher teacher Mrs. C. told me about him loved him and she was going to keep him safe and he wouldn't have to worry anymore about being bullied (we had only been at the school for approx two weeks when all this was said). At that moment when she was telling me this my eyes were swelling with tears of joy and I could tell she really meant it. At that moment I knew she was a special person and I've been correct in which we have developed a wonderful friendship in and out of school. I also knew that God had a plan for us and we had to hit a little bit of rough pavement before getting where we needed to go. In the end it has made all of us as a family stronger and bonded us even closer than we were.

I am happy to report that Brayden brought home a fantastic report card last week. His report card was the best it has ever been. He is excelling in school and really trying hard. On Tuesday his homeroom teacher sent home a note that he was selected as "Student of the Week", we had a blast filling out his "All About Me Board" together. I really enjoyed listening to his answers that he had to fill in. As of right now when he grows up he wants to be in the military and be a pilot. We had fun picking out what pictures were going to go on his board and why he was choosing them. Of course the pictures always came with a story that he would tell us asking us if we remembered when. The kid has a crazy memory, he will remember things from who got what for a particular birthday when he was two or something crazy like that. 

With him having the ADHD sometimes the concentration is hard and he will have to work harder than others at some things. What I really don't like is that he needs to be on medicine to concentrate. We tried this summer with no medicine but that was horrible not only for us but for him too. He never could just "relax". I hate that we have to test different medicines to see if they will work for him and different combinations. What keeps it in perspective for me is that we need to do this so he can be successful in school and any other activities that he wants to participate in.

He makes me so proud because he does try when we ask him to. He is so stinking smart if he would just get the mental block out of the way. He knows things that most 8 year old wouldn't know and half  the time I am not for sure and I have to either ask Todd or look it up! HA HA I love that he has such a huge heart and is so caring and puts others first. He is an excellent big brother and is always making sure Gannon is okay and protected. He will bring a surprise home from school for Gannon sometimes and he makes sure that he always tells him goodnight with a kiss and a "I Love You". It melts me when I see them love on each other. I am so thankful everyday that I was chosen to be his mom and I love him to the moon and back a zillion times over! :)