Bobby took Timo and Jared out sledding in the moonlight tonight and Jared is asleep so that gives me few minutes to write something here. Today was a cold day so the kids are bundled with snow pants and have several layers :)

Last few months have been quite crazy over here. My life has never has been a piece of cake, but again we have come over few more obstacles. So, I finally had Matthew tested for autism last fall, and the results came back that he has pdd.nos which I had never heard about myself, and the easiest way that I describe to people that he is mildly autistic. When we moved to Wisconsin Matthew had an IEP for school (individualized Education Plan) that he got from Michigan, but he had to be reevaluated when we moved here in May. Matthew fell in the normal range with all the tests they gave him (in the lower range in some areas but still within the average range) I knew that he did need extra help, but being June and school out like the following week I didn't feel like fighting, and I guess I thought..hmm maybe he is doing better and he won't need extra help when he starts kindergarten. Previously I had been hesitant of having him labeled and that's why I thought I could wait to have him tested for autism. Things were quite different in Wisconsin though, you needed to have a label in order to get any extra help. In our ward we had someone who had worked with some special therapy for autistic kids, so I contacted the organization and set up an appointment to have Matthew evaluated. Only thing was that the wait time was 3 months. I set the appointment, but thought I'd look for someone else so I can get things moving along faster. I found an other doctor that could see Matthew in 3 weeks. Interesting thought that every time I was going to go and see her some thing happened and I had to reschedule. The person was really nice and willing though to work with me. On my second attempt when I tried to see her, somehow I had the wrong address by one block and I asked around and no one was able to help me. For some reason I wasn't suppose to see that particular doctor, because things weren't working out. I finally realized that I should go ahead with the original one and I had a lot better feeling about that. Finally in September after Kindergarten had started Matthew got his diagnoses. The place I took him is called Wisconsin Early Autism Project and they are awesome. The best thing that I am aware of for kids on the autism spectrum is ABA therapy (in-home extensive therapy) I had a friend from Colorado that also had a son with autism and she had a very good experience with the therapy. As I was contemplating if this was good for Matthew since he was just "mildly autistic" after talking to her and she said that when her in-laws had seen her son after about 4 months of therapy they couldn't believe that the difference between her son was like a night and day. I decided that it would be a good idea, but it would mean about 20-25 hours of one on one therapy at our home. The whole process of getting things started took a while and finally beginning this January it started. I am finally getting used to having people here all the time. The good news is that it's going very well and that Matthew loves it. Matthew was having some hard time in kindergarten this fall, and they did some additional testings and he qualified for special stuff under autism and speech and language delay (this was a long and eventful experience, but it turned out ok). Matthew is very smart, and academically is where he is suppose to be and beyond but socially he is very delayed. I believe that this therapy is going to be life changing for him. In our school district they only have full day kindergarten, but I was able to have it just a half day for him since he was having such a hard time there, and then it works good that he has the therapy in the afternoon. He gets to do all kind of fun stuff and when he works for goals he gets lots of rewards.

I have definitely learned a lot in the last few months and keep learning. In Michigan seemed like there was nearly not that much support for autistic children, but here there is a lot more opportunities. The therapy is super expensive..like $40 000 /year or something, and there is a law in WI that therapy for autism must be covered by insurance. We don't have the best insurance (I didn't want to pay too much every month) and we first have to meet our family deductible which is $5000, but that is a lot better that 40 000, plus if anything else happens this year it will be covered 100 % after the deductible. There is medical waiver program for autism, but the waiting list is a year long, so hopefully we get it for next year. I can't really think of anything better that I can spent that 5000 dollars for.

OK, the boys are back so I better wrap this up. I will be excited to see the progress Matthew will be making. I am also glad that Matthew has a great teacher in school that works patiently with Matthew. Matthew is special little boy, and he will do great things.

I hardly ever post here, but today I have something to post. My neighbor wanted to take some pictures of our family and kids to build her portfolio. She is an amatour photographer, but when she showed her work I was very impressed, she clearly is very talented. She took some photos of us month or two ago outdoors and just two days ago she took some more pictures indoors (but I don't have them yet, they are just of Jared and Timo). Our kids were pretty impossible in the family shots, and they were looking at all over the place. We had like only a one photo that the boys were smiling and at least looking into same direction. I was actually pretty discouraged after the photos shoot, because I thought that none of the pictures had turned out, but when she came and showed me the photos I was pleasently surprised :)

FotoSafari

On Saturday night we took Matthew, Timo and Jared for a little photo safari. We got Matthew and Timo some little tikes digital cameras for Christmas and the yonly end up working like a month or two because of our tile floor in our last house and they got dropped just a little few many times. The cameras had a year warranty so finally few weeks ago I got around contacting little tikes and they sent us new cameras for the boys! :) The cameras were 19.99 each originally, and the kids really had great time talking pictures.

Timo's Photos

Matthew's Photos

Lot of the photos were just a blur because you have to keep the camera still for a while for the picture to turn out. The kids had a lot of fun though, and we should do it again one day.

After looking for some important binders and papers for 2 + weeks I finally found all our important financial papers and social security cards and passports. I seriously thought that they had gone to garbage in our crazy moving adventure. I looked everywhere several times, but yes I did find them. They were on a top shelf of one of the closests in a box. being short I ten to miss stuff out of my reach ;) I am so relieved that stuff was found, mainly for the passports. Now I don't need to replace our passports for a Finland trip ;)

An other nice thing was that we got a garage. I have been able to get some of our stuff there, and it's starting to feel more organized and less crowded. I have been looking for houses online a little bit, but at this point I don't think buying a house is such a smart idea until we now we are staying here for good and save some money for a down payment. I like to look at houses online a bit though. Of course the prices are at least double here compared to Michigan and the taxes are high too on properties, but it's fun to see what's available.

The boys were very good today when I took them to the library. I hadn't gone for two weeks because I was sick and then other time I just didn't have the energy. The boys enjoyed the story time. It's nice to have a second car though so I can get places when I need to. Tomorrow Matthew snf Timo have their dance class.

Lately I have started to use coupons. With more stores around here, it's more exciting to use coupons (and actually receiving them in the mail). I hope my efforts will help us save some money. My thoughts are that planning can help us save some money (last minute plans, restaurant trips, etc). Cost of living is higher here compared to Michigan and Bobby is not really getting paid more here (at least not yet). Those lovely student loans take so much of our income, and I look forward for that day when they will be gone..like 8 years I think..2018..that seems like forever, but that will be a happy day. I do feel grateful that we have a job and money to pay the bills, insurance, food, pretty much what we really need, but wish this...and that... patience...!!!

Life is moving along here in Wisconsin. I still get frustrated of trying to organize our apartment and try to fit everything in here, and find stuff that have been lost due to our move (which is so frustrating..can't find our passports..so they better show up somewhere before our Finland trip next summer). However, I have made some progress, and got some bookshelves organized today, and some kitchen cupboards. If there is ever a show that gives an organization makeover I would be a perfect canditate for it. With all the moving we have done, I always find it hard to find a right place for everything.

So, the other day Bobby came home with a candy thermometer, and he made some carmer popcorn balls. We are developing a new hobby of making candy together, which is fun. Last night we made some yummy carmels together, and gave some to our neigbors for Family Home Evening tonight.

An other random thing is that I found an international store just few miles from our house that has Finnish rye crackers that I've missed and salt licorice (salmiakki) that I have missed too. Now I can get them when ever I want and not get too deprived :)

A week ago we found out that Timo is allergic to mosquitos. A week ago at church he had a huge pulge on his forehead and it looked like he had hit his head pretty hard about 1.5 inch wide bump. Later we found that it was a mosquito bite, and he got an other huge one on his cheek. We have quite a bit of mosquites where we live (not like the woods, but we have a large grassy area behind our house with trees and a river). Now I need to make sure Timo has mosquite repellent on when we go to the park etc.

In case you didn't know WE HAVE MOVED once again. What about the house..I know..amazingly we were able to sell it. Our new destination is Hales Corners, WI which is a little over hour from Chicago and 20 min from Milwaukee, WI. Things are still in transition...we still have unpacking and organizing to do. We are renting again, so trying to fit in an apartment is an adjustment again after renting a house for a year and then owing a house for a while. We know that we are here for a purpose and it was time to leave Michigan behind. I had good memories from Michigan. Our branch there was wonderful, and I was sad to leave. However, it was time for us to move on, so I try to survive with all the unpacking, and trying not to get lost in the new area. So many things are involved when moving...cleaning, packing,changing driver's licences, insurance for car and family, trying to find grocery stores (there are plenty of options here, luckily)....etc. I am gradually adjusting. Matthew and Timo started a gymnastics/dance class and the library has some good programs too. It's nice to be in a more populated area and have more opportunities for the kids to be involved in different activities. Last week Bobby and I gave talks at Church and I also taught a lesson in Church. Our new calling is primary workers and we team teach the 11 year olds in Sunday school. We were warned that it was a very challenging class, but so far it has been going pretty well. We also bought a second car on Saturday, which will be really nice to have. I won't be walking as much, which is probably going to hurt me in the long run. We also went and picked strawberries on Saturday. I miss the strawberries from Oregon, they were so sweet, and inexpensive. I was a bit disappointed on the ones we picked on Saturday. They tasted watery, and a lot were going bad, and they were very over priced. Maybe there are some good strawberries somewhere around here, I just need to find them! Also it has been raining a ton, so maybe that has an affect on things.

Some other exciting things are that we were close to a tornado last Monday. The sky was going crazy..non stop lighting for at least an hour and strong winds and rain. Just 3 miles from us there were winds of 100 miles/hour and the post office was hit by a tornado and a dozen of mail trucks were lifted up and upside down. While this was all happening Bobby and I were in our balcony admiring the sky, like wow that is awesome. We kept hearing sirens going, but didn't really know what they were for (tornado sirens ...we heard 2 days later). So we had know clue that there were tornadoes out there. Next time we won't make the same mistake..you are suppose to go to a basement when those sirens are going and we were in the 3rd floor balcony!

So that is all in nutshell...oh yeah, Bobby has a new job with Herslof Optical and it's going well. He is seeing plenty of patients and likes working with the new company. The office he worked at in Michigan was really suffering and he even had to make phone calls to find more patients...that will be his highest paying telemarketing job ever ;)

I haven't posted much here..busy..busy...

Here are few photos from 2 weeks ago. The kids love swimming and ice cream!

Fixed it!