9th Grade Service Project

Since our 9th graders are too young to vote, we used election day 2025 to focus on other civic responsibilities by assembling care bags for unhoused members of our community. We will be able to give away some of them every Saturday on our way to ballet class as we encounter and engage with unhoused persons with some frequency on this route.

This project was part of our home school social studies curriculum and allowed us to practice specific skills - individualized to each student - such as reading and reading comprehension, following written or spoken instructions, fine motor skills, and perseverance.

MOJ Bulgaria Referral Results Sessions 636 to 648

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 636 which was held on April 11, 2025:

1) US dossier from February 2025 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 637 which was held on April 17, 2025:

1) Spanish dossier from July 2021 referred a male child aged 1 year and 5 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from February 2022 referred a female child aged 11

3) US dossier from January 2025 referred an identified waiting child

4) US dossier from February 2025 referred a female child aged 12 years and 4 months

5) US dossier from April 2025 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 638 which was held on April 25, 2025:

1) Italian dossier from November 2018 referred sisters aged 6 years and 7 months & 4 years and 9 months

2) Italian dossier from November 2022 referred sisters aged  5 years and 3 months & 7 years and 8 months

3) US dossier from December 2023 referred a male child aged 2 years with features in health and developmental status

4) US dossier from April 2025 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 639 which was held on May 16, 2025:

1) Dutch dossier from October 2021 referred a female child aged 1 year and 9 months with features in health status

2) Dutch dossier from October 2021 referred a male child aged 4 years and 2 months with features in health and developmental status

3) US dossier from May 2025 referred an identified waiting child

4) US dossier from May 2025 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 640 which was held on May 23, 2025:

1) Spanish dossier from May 2018 referred a male child aged 2 years and 2 months with features in developmental status

2) Italian dossier from January 2023 referred a female child aged 3 years and 4 months with features in developmental status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from August 2023 referred a male child aged 10 years

4) US dossier from October 2023 referred a female child aged 9 years and 3 months

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 641 which was held on May 30, 2025:

1) Italian dossier from November 2022 referred a female child aged 8 years and 8 months with features in developmental status

2) Italian dossier from April 2023 referred a male child aged 11 years and 11 months

3) Maltese dossier from April 2023 referred a brother and sister aged 4 years and 8 months & 6 years and 4 months with a family history

4) US dossier from September 2023 referred a male child aged 1 year and 7 months with features in health status

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 642 which was held on June 13, 2025:

1) Italian dossier from March 2024 referred a male child aged 3 years and 1 month with features in health and developmental status and a family history

2) US dossier from June 2025 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 643 which was held on June 20, 2025:

1) Canadian dossier from February 2022 referred brothers aged 7 years and 9 months & 6 years and 7 months

2) US dossier from November 2022 referred an identified waiting child

3) Italian dossier from January 2025 referred a female child aged 11 years and 2 months

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 644 which was held on June 27, 2025:

1) Italian dossier from November 2019 referred a female child aged 12 years and 9 months

2) French dossier from July 2022 referred a female child aged 1 year and 9 months with features in health status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from February 2023 referred a female child aged 2 years and 5 months with features in health and developmental status

4) US dossier from July 2024 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 645 which was held on July 16, 2025:

1) US dossier from June 2023 referred a female child aged 2 years and 1 months with features in health status and a family history

2) US dossier from November 2024 referred an identified waiting child

3) US dossier from December 2024 referred an identified waiting child

4) Italian dossier from April 2025 referred a female child aged 12 years and 7 months with a family history

5) US dossier from June 2025 referred an identified waiting child

6) US dossier from June 2025 referred an identified waiting child

7) Canadian dossier from July 2025 referred an identified waiting child

8) US dossier from July 2025 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 646 which was held on July 31, 2025:

1) Spanish dossier from October 2020 referred a male child aged 2 years and 4 months with features in health status

2) Canadian dossier from February 2023 referred a female child aged 10 years and 3 months with features in health status and a family history

3) US dossier from May 2025 referred a female child aged 2 years and 4 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from July 2025 referred an identified waiting child

5) US dossier from July 2025 referred an identified waiting child

6) US dossier from July 2025 referred an identified waiting child

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 647 which was held on August 14, 2025:

1) Italian dossier from October 2020 referred a female child aged 12 years

2) US dossier from March 2024 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status and a family history

3) US dossier from March 2025 referred a female child aged 11 years and 8 months with features in health and developmental status and a family history

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 648 which was held on August 22, 2025:

1) Italian dossier from April 2023 referred a brother and sister aged 7 years and 5 months &  9 years and 8 months with features in health and developmental status and a family history

2) Italian dossier from August 2025 referred an identified waiting child

Annual Fall Getaway 2025

Another great weekend with our friends in the beautiful Deep Creek Lake area of Western Maryland is on the books.  Here are the highlights.

Waking up to this view:

Leisurely breakfasts:

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Hikes in autumnal woods:

Friendship:

Also golfing, standing up for what we value and love, a Ginny and Georgia binge-a-thon, hot tubbing, and campfires.  Remember, it's s'more o'clock somewhere!

September Blur

September always seems packed with activities and it still takes me by surprise every year.  Aside from regular therapy appointments, we had so much going on:

1) Arrival of Oma for a long visit

2) Fall Farm Party with our Indiana family

3) Annual Kings Island Day

4) Annual family photo shoot

5) Visit to the zoo

6) A few days of illness for all

7) Haircuts

8) Community outdoor movie night

9) The start of a new season of ballet for Little One

10) A birthday party

11) ETR meeting

12) IEP meeting

Whew!

A New Chapter

This week begins a new chapter for our Middle Kiddo.  After 13 years of participating daily in a specific method of intervention, he made it abundantly clear this summer that he is no longer willing or interested in having this intervention as part of his life.  We have decided to respect his wish and to honor his self-advocacy, leading to a new chapter that includes with a staggered roll in...

1) Trauma-informed in-home OT twice a week for a total of three hours

2) Limited targeted in-home academic intervention with a teacher that prefers to work with a personal/learning profile like Middle Kiddo's for about four hours a week

3) Companion care for about 20 hours per week via qualified providers selected by us specifically for Middle Kiddo.  These providers understand that they work FOR Middle Kiddo (ie he's the boss) and that rather than meeting other people's demands, Middle Kiddo will largely self-determine how these hours are utilized, including community outings and volunteering.

Even though this new chapter is coming sooner than we had planned, we are excited to see what impact these changes will have on our child and family.

Summer Break Week 14

The last week!  And it was a busy one.  Reentry from vacation went as expected amid several planning meetings with teachers and therapists.  Yard work needed to be done as well and we continued with the basement room refresh project.  Add some family walks and swims, peach cobbler and a couple of movies and I'd say summer break finished on a high note.

Summer Break Week 13

 Beach vacation!