Our Inspired Journey

I have always rooted for the underdog...even while watching a Football game between two teams I know nothing about, the inevitable always seems to happen. I end up becoming the "lesser" team's greatest fan and cheerleader, even though I'm thousands of miles from the real game, and there's nothing in it for them or me except for an afternoon experience pretending I understand the game of Football, and actually have something invested in the team no one thinks can win it! I know it seems silly, but it just usually seems to go this way.

Since finding out Cole was born deaf, my love and passion for the underdog has grown. Now it's personal. Now I'm not just cheering from the sideline, or a thousand miles away, but I'm walking alongside my little underdog, every waking moment of the day. From the time he wakes up...through the fun, crazy and patience-testing moments of the day...to the time his clean, freshly bathed little body finally relaxes enough to fall asleep...he's my underdog, the one I've been called to raise and in "raise" I mean...laugh, cry and wrestle with until we're both blue in the face so that he learns to overcome the odds stacked against him...the statistics we believe he can live beyond as he navigates a life of deafness. Yes...he wears cochlear implants to hear, but even with his CI's there are mountains to climb and claim victory over in the life of my boy...and we believe because GOD is GOOD...he can! When we found out Cole was deaf, the most shocking statistic I read was that children who were deaf had a difficult time reading past a 3rd grade level. Having taught 3rd grade for a couple of years before Ryder was born, I realized where that would leave him, and all that he would miss out on if that statistic held true for our boy. I realize this statistic doesn't necessarily take into account kids who are learning to listen, speak and read with cochlear implants or hearing aids, but I will say...after being on this hearing journey with Cole for 10 months now, I now realize that progress of any kind comes by the grace of God and through great effort on behalf of his therapists, parents, siblings and of course...HIMSELF!!!

We played games, ate yummy treats, made pumpkin crafts and mostly had a great time connecting with one another while the kids ran around in their costumes! We're excited for this to be the first of many gatherings together as a school community.

Our first Fundraiser supports our desire to encourage literacy amongst all the students at CAOS...those with hearing impairments as well as those with typical hearing...all our kids need to be shown how important and FUN reading can be!!! The name of this reading campaign/fundraiser is "REACH FOR THE STARS!!" Very appropriate, I think! What a great opportunity to spend two weeks with an increased focus on literacy in our homes.

Here's how is works....

• We gather pledges from friends, family or ANYONE who wants to support us as we read to Cole for 300 minutes or more over the next two weeks. Of course we try and read as much as we can anyway in our home, but with this reading campaign, it's renewed our focus! You really have to be intentional to read to a two year old with a varying attention span!
• 50% of all money raised goes back to Cole in the form of books of his choice!


• 20% goes to his teacher at school, for BOOKS for her classroom


• 30% goes to our newly forming PTO so we can afford to purchase our students some instruments to use during music time (with John!)


• If you add it up...100% goes to the students and our school!!!

This is a really an awesome fundraiser from Usborne Books, getting more books into the homes of our students, our classrooms, supporting our PTO and increasing our focus on LITERACY! I've always been passionate about literacy and giving children the tools they need to learn to read and showing them they can do it...even when there seem to be mountains in the way in the form of a learning disability or in this case, a hearing impairment!

Regardless of whether or not you'd like to pledge, please pray for God to open the minds, eyes and ears or our students as they read and are read to more in these next 2 weeks! Hopefully, a love for reading is initiated in these two weeks that will continue throughout the rest of their lives! What a blessing it would be for Cole to not only learn to love reading, but to come alongside another child in the future and help open their eyes to a love for reading as well. Dreams of college and any career beyond that all begin with being able to read. Join me in praying for the lives of deaf children these next two weeks, as we believe and pray that they too can become ANYTHING they want become, and that God's plan for them is not limited by any disability...they too can learn to read!

Thank you for your prayers as we teach Cole and his peers that when it comes to reading...REACH FOR THE STARS!! Or as American author Les Brown said..."Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll still land among the stars." I couldn't agree more!!!