LA FITNESS

Oh how I love thee.

LA Fitness that is.

I managed to talk Brent into joining the gym with me again this past week. Back in the day, he and I would leave Brennen at his Mom's or my Dad's and hit the gym together. We were definitely "into" working out back then. It was our date night together and we loved it. It became our hobby of fun together and we had a blast while doing it as a husband and wife "team." We trained with trainers at that gym until mine moved away. (Boo hoo Rachel!!!) She reads my blog from her new "home" state with her new "hubby" so I'm not afraid to continue begging for her to MOVE BACK TO INDY. Please, please, please come home-back to Indiana. We need you! I need you! Ha ha! Rachel went on to work for Beverly International. (fitness products) She was who kept me in line and taught me anything and everything that I've ever learned about proper nutrition. I can honestly say that she had me in the best shape of my life. As a fitness competitor herself, it was obvious that she knew very well what she was talking about. Not only did she talk it - but she lived it. She lived that lifestyle which therefore helped me to live it. Once Rachel left, I lost all motivation. Not only that but I got pregnant with Kenidi - did manage to lose all of the baby weight from that pregnancy - but have battled to get back to that tone-ness and size that I once was. I want sculpted shoulders again and lean leg muscles. I want our "fitness magazine" bodies back. Yes, Brent and I managed to loose a bunch of the baby weight and other weight back then which landed us a spot within Fitness magazine. The article is actually framed on our basement wall downstairs. It's what I like to call our 15 minutes of fame wall as well as our claim to shame now that we aren't in as good of shape as we once prided ourselves on. Ironically, Fitness magazine called again about 2 years ago and wanted to do a follow up story. Needless to say, we let them know that now was not a good time. Ha ha!

I have a tendency to eat like a cow when I'm pregnant - well I eat like a cow even when I'm not pregnant but that is beside the point. Anywho, I gain a plenty of weight anytime I've been preggo. With Brennen I gained 60 lbs. and with Kenidi I still managed to gain 40 lbs. I joke now and say that with our third child, maybe I'll shed another 20 and continue to go down by only gaining 20 lbs. this next time. HA! What a joke! Yeah - right! Either way, I know that I want to shed approximately another 15 lbs. before embarking on this third pregnancy sometime late this year. I don't want to go into it knowing how much weight I gain normally let alone the fact that I'm not where I want to be physically.

So...Brent joined LA Fitness with me this past week. We've committed to each other that we would go three days a week "together." I also plan to try out some of their classes when Brent is working during the day and the kids can use their awesome childcare facility. They have hip hop classes, Pilate's, yoga, kickboxing, spinning, cardio jam, etc. You name it - they've got it. Did I mention that they also house some beautiful cherry wood locker rooms too? The place looks like a custom home inside - not like the sweaty ol' gyms and locker rooms that I remember.

I tell you all of this because I want the accountability. We leave for Florida at the end of next month and I want to be hitting it hard in the gym before, during, and after our vacation. Lucky for us, they have a brand new LA Fitness that we can use there in Naples while we are away. So...should anyone else want to do a cyber - accountability plan with me, shoot me a line or two. Gosh knows I need all of the help I can get. In the meantime, I'm going to spend this last day shoving every peanut butter M&M, baskets of chips and salsa, mountain dews, and anything else I can consume as my last ha-rah! It's time to get serious again. The good thing about this though - is that I've got that handsome husband back in the gym with me again. We've had so much fun working out together each night this week. They are truly like our little doses of date nights. Just the two of us lifting weights or running on the treadmills side by side and discussing the day we've just had. He even manages to hit the panic button every now and again on my treadmill when I'm not looking so that it stops me on a dime and propels me forward. Yes, Brent thinks he is funny. Only because he is so darn good looking do I allow this type of behavior to continue. He'll get his though - don't you worry! Too fun! Too fun!

Much love,

MMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (a.k.a. the girl who eats like a cow-all the time)

BARGAIN ALERT

Bargain alert ~ bargain alert....

Tar-jay' (Target) has some of their note cards on clearence this week. I found a few of the ones featured above for $2.78 a pack. Yes, $2.78 a pack. Gotta love a good bargain when you stumble upon it, eh?

These cards & stationary that you see pictured above are the highlight to my day today. They arrived via the fed ex man this afternoon. I have a ton of thank you notes to write out on behalf of our family regarding the past weeks events and thus why I had been anxiously awaiting these spunky and oh so funky sets. These personalized cards came from http://www.swoozies.com.

Now...run to target and get you some of those thank you cards that are on clearence shown above before they are all gone. As I've said before, one can never invest in too many thank you notes. Especially when they are as fun and sassy as these! :)

Much love, Angie

I BELIEVE...

I Believe... That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you.

I Believe... That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe... That it is "taking" me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I Believe... That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe... That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe... That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe... That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe... That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe... That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe... That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up and the ones that you imagine to be by your side forever are gone and will jump ship in the blink of an eye.

I Believe... That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe... That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe... That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others. sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe... That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but, we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe... The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything.

WHO WILL IT BE?

David Cook (left) or David Archuletta (on right)?

One of these two "David's" will be blessed with the new American Idol title next week.

And in my opinion....it had better be this one:

DAVID COOK!

ANOTHER REASON WHY....

Another sweet, sweet, reason why I love being "The Room Mom."

And another reason to keep fighting....

FYI: If you haven't signed the online petition yet, it can be found & signed here: http://tinyurl.com/652zw9

If you haven't submitted your letter of support yet, details of how to do so can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/6ps8lg

THESE KIDS NEED YOUR SUPPORT!Thanks to each & every one of you who've stopped what you were doing and took 2 seconds out of your busy schedules to make it a priority thus far. There are no words to express how much your compassion and support means to our family. The fight goes on....

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Starbucks is now serving "chocolate" whip cream on their drinks now. (If you'd rather have it than traditional white whip cream). Guess I'll be adding an additional 20 minutes to my cardio routine from here on out just because of that one little blob of tan whip cream. HA! Whoever invented this brillant idea should have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Chocolate whip cream for Starbucks coffee's....LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

MOTHER'S DAY FUN

Awww....Mother's Day. We had a great one this year. I actually have three Moms that I get to celebrate the big day with. My own mom, shown with me & the kids in the photo above, then my Mother in law Debbie whom I adore like one of my own Moms, and then my other Mom I've had basically all my life-my step Mom Cathy who is like a real Mom to me as well. I've always been fortunate to have a Mom and a Step-Mom that always got along so it has been such a privilege to have "2 Moms" all of my life. Then, when I married Brent at age 18, I was blessed with Deb - my wonderful Mother in law. I always say that I have the BEST mother in law in the world and I truly mean that with every fiber of my being. I could tell Debbie anything that I could tell my real Moms. She is my friend and an incredible grandmother to my children. All of my Moms make ROCKIN' Grandma's. My kids are showered with love from all three of them and for that I am thankful. I never had a grandma growing up that I could hang out with, get by with murder with, be spoiled by, etc. Therefore...Brent and I are so glad that our kids have three of them that invest a ton of time into both of our kids.
After church yesterday, which was an awesome sermon by the way, that only reiterated and confirmed my will to continue the fight with Kenidi's school battle, we went to Brent's sister Jill's house for a lunch with his Mom and his siblings for Mother's Day. In the picture above, you can see Brent's Mom, Debbie opening her Mother's day gifts from us. We got her and my step-Mom Ipod's this year.
ABOVE: Grandma Debbie all excited about her Ipod that we gave her and giving my Father in law a great big ol' hug because of it.
ABOVE: Debbie and Jill (her daughter-my sis in law) with Kenidi in front of all of Debbie's new Mother's Day goodies.
ABOVE: Aunt Jill posing with Kenidi after she pulled her hair back in some piggy tails for her. Aunt Jill can do some "mean" piggy tails. Mommy can never get them even or aligned together. Aunt Jill has got it going on~! :) We loved them!
ABOVE: Here is Brennen with some of his cousins. Lots of soon to be estrogen around him in this picture. Ha ha! ABOVE: My sweet sweet niece, Allie. Aren't her eyes to die for? And those natural curls? Oh my!

ABOVE: Brent with his Mom, his brother Brad, and his sister Jill
ABOVE: Uncle Brad with Kenidi asleep in his arms. She adores her uncle Drew-Drew!

ABOVE: Grandma Sue's gift. (Angie's Mom) We took Grandma Sue her gift in a bucket full of sand yesterday. The deal was that she had to "dig" for her Mother's Day gift this year. As you can see in the photos below, she is digging and the kids are helping her make a huge mess while doing it.
She finally finds an envelope in the bottom of the bucket. Inside that envelope is a plane ticket to Florida. As many already know, we'll be in Florida come June/July and my Mom will now be able to fly down and stay with us for a bit while we are there.

She was so excited that she began to cry. Now you know where I get my emotional side from....

:) Love you Mom!
BELOW: Brent and Brennen wrestling and doing what Dads and sons do while at Grandma Sue's house.

After visiting with Grandma Debbie and then my own Mom, we went to my other Moms house. (and my Dad's house of course) Dad and Cathy had just come home from an afternoon at the track. Yes, the Indy 500. Cath gets the fun privilege of working the Rolls Royce suite each year there at the track and yesterday was no different. I guess that is one of the fun perks you get when you work for their corporate executive offices here in Indiana. Here is Grandma Cathy opening her Mothers day gift - an Ipod too.
BELOW: Kenidi posing with Grandma Cathy!

And ABOVE: Brent and the kids in my Dad's den last night. Brennen loves being in there and studying all of the cool books and gadgets that my Dad has. I must point out that Kenidi looks JUST LIKE I did at her age in this photo above. There is a picture of me at her age floating around somewhere and I have the exact same cheesy grin on my face with pig tails. The similarities are amazing. Normally I don't notice stuff like that with my own kids but in this picture I did. As you can see, we had a great day. Yesterday was a great day to be a Mom. I love all three of my Mother's dearly and thank them for helping shape, mold, and direct me into what and who I am today. I still have a ton of learning to do and I'm so blessed that they are by my side to help me along the way. I have been given three amazing women in my life that I'm able to call "my" Moms. I love you guys! Thanks for everything you do. Thanks for all that you are and all that you aren't.

For now, I'm off to go hit the gym with that handsome hubby of mine. We both need to go work off some steam and gear up for more. Ha ha!

XOXOXO, Brent, Angie, Brennen, & Kenidi

SCHOOL ISSUE UPDATE

Instead of sharing other Mother's Day photos & stories from today here on the blog just yet, I thought I would start with an update regarding the issue surrounding Kenidi's school and then get back with you tomorrow on the regular & normal blog postings. Thank you for the enormous and overwhelming amount of support, emails, blog posts, and letters from all of you this past week. The response has been jaw dropping. We've added an online petition to our fight. You can find and sign the petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/KenidiCG/petition.html

Please forward this online petition to as many people as you possibly can. Like the letters, the more signatures the better. Thanks to some dear friends, we've also started placing handwritten petitions in local businesses within our area that are available to sign as well. If you live near us, please keep an eye out for those and sign them too.

Brent and I are glad that this issue is at least getting attention now by the Superintendent who chose not to meet with us last Monday. Though we appreciate his now very belated involvement, his automatic generated letters of response to those who emailed him still do not address why this is the only program in this particular elementary school that is moving out to another school within the district and being replaced by the high abilities class. Please do not let the auto generated response from him mislead you into thinking that this is just one of multiple programs being shuffled around within the district for the 2008-09 school year. The fact still remains that the assistant superintendent, William Long, confirmed last Monday at our meeting that the only class moving out was essential skills and the only class moving in was the "high abilities" class for this particular elementary school. He confirmed the program directors quote which was "We are simply making space for the high ability classes that are being added to the 2008-09 curriculum. There is no argument from him to be made that this decision is in the best interest of the children involved whom which will be relocated to another school and disrupted from their current stable environment. I think the school superintendent underestimated the impact of such a decision. A good measuring tool to this is the nearly doubled traffic to this blog each day with nearly 1,000 new hits daily. This is obviously an issue that is important to the public and thus why it is being forwarded to friends and family of those in the community at such an extraordinary rate. We believe that our school district is still one of the best in the country and our fight is by no means in an effort to represent to the country that its not. In fact the opposite is the case. Our fight is to show the country and our community that we do have a great school system and one that is worth fighting for. With that said, the superintendent has STILL chosen to make NO contact with us, the parents, who were the main ones waiting to hear from him beings that he "no-showed" us on the meeting we had scheduled with him last week.

This week, we anticipate to get a better feel of our legal options and will share any new information regarding those options as it becomes available. In conclusion, we have had many people express their want to send in a letter of support but have stated that having a form letter would help make it easier on them by quickly being able to copy and paste it into an email that they can then submit to the state representative and the Superintendents office. Therefore, below you will find a letter reflecting just that. This particular form letter happened to be one of our favorites sent in by a supporter. Feel free to copy and paste this letter below and send it on to the email addresses I've re-listed here:

EMAIL TO: h93@in.gov, haddixb@centergrove.k12.in.us, longw@centergrove.k12.in.us, kstricker@ssjcs.k12.in.us, stephanoffs@centergrove.k12.in.us, theseamans@sbcglobal.net

PLACE IN SUBJECT LINE: In support of Kenidi Seaman

To: State Representative, David Frizzell

I would like to add my voice to the appeal for Kenidi Seaman and all of the special needs children at her "home" elementary school. As you inevitably know by now, the well established special needs program (essential skills) that 5 year old Kenidi Seaman expected to finally be able to attend as she entered Kindergarten at this, her neighborhood school, is being removed after several successful years there. It is now being moved to another elementary school in the district so that Kenidi's elementary school can "make space" for a new accelerated program for high ability students. This was confirmed and made a direct quote by Kathy Stricker, assistant director of Johnson County special services. The principal of the elementary school, Mr. Bruce Haddix, also confirmed quote end quote - that it's "no secret" that they are removing the essential skills class to make room for the high abilities classroom. In all fairness to Mr. Haddix, we realize that as the principal of the school, his hands are tied until the Superintendent gives him the OK to allow the program to stay. Mr. Haddix has expressed that he too is disheartened that the program is being moved from his elementary school to another.

We feel it is wrong to ask the special needs children, for whom familiarity and continuity of environment is such an important factor in their success, to be the ones to move. Their program was established and resident there. The high ability students, while certainly deserving of a program for their special needs as well, are more adaptable to change and could better handle a program that may be located elsewhere. Being able to attend the neighborhood school with one's siblings and neighborhood friends is more than just a right for children with special needs, it contributes greatly to their sense of self and security. Allowing families to channel their participation and support to one school for all their children builds family togetherness and school and community loyalty, as well as reduces a lot of unnecessary redundancy, complexity, and logistical stress. I also believe the handling of communications with the parents over this situation was deplorable. They were not told of these changes even as they sat and were introduced to teachers and facilities during a two hour IEP case conference just three days before receiving a letter in the mail notifying them of the recent change. Three days later that letter arrived telling them that the situation they had all just agreed to and signed off on, was no longer a possibility. Other than one unsatisfactory meeting for which the school superintendent did not show up, all attempts at additional discussions have been rebuked by school administrators. Interestingly enough, the school spoke quite glowingly of their special needs program in their 2008-2012 school improvement plan which appears on their website. I have attached the relevant section below. It is a shame they are no longer choosing to support it.

v. Special Education:
The Special Education population has been steadily growing over the past seven years. Additional personnel and services have been added to meet the needs of these awesome children. Currently, our school’s special education population includes children with Learning Disabilities, Mild and Moderate Essential Skills, emotional handicaps, and communications disorders. Our staff includes three certified teachers, one speech specialist and 10 assistants. These incredible staff members modify work, personalize student schedules, collaborate with regular education teachers, develop visual reminders, support adult parent volunteers, partner with other classrooms, set up and manage individual work stations for students, provide small group and individual remediation time, write and implement behavior plans, communicate regularly with parents, coordinate supportive computer software, provide peer tutoring with upper grade students, differentiate assignments, homework and grading, adjust goals for Accelerated Reading, partner with a Big Brother-Big Sister or Dad’s Club mentor, assess through ISTAR, provide instruction in resource rooms, adapt special class lessons for the physically challenged, and meet the needs of often complicated and extensive IEP’s. The results of this work with special education students can be seen in the chart below. A respectable percentage of our special education students do indeed pass ISTEP+ and some have even Pass+ed in some areas. We have a subgroup with more than 30 special education students for AYP, and we are proud to say that our students contribute to our making AYP each year by passing at a strong rate.

Respectfully, A concerned parent

MOTHER'S DAY FAIRIES

The Mother's Day Fairies came to visit me early this weekend. See...I'm married to a man that cannot stand to "wait out" surprises. Now he has created a son that is the same way. Brent and Brennen both have this need to give gifts wwwaaaayyyyyy earlier than the scheduled day because they are just busting with excitement. Christmas is a constant battle every year because if it were up to the two of them, we'd be opening all gifts starting back in November rather than the morning of December 25th. Therefore, last night after we stood in the pouring rain and 50 degree weather during one of Brennen's football games, and had some great Mexican food for dinner to warm us all back up after getting soaked, we headed home. Before my toosh even got out of the car, the two of them were already inside the house undoing my gifts for me. They proceeded to sing "Happy Mother's Day" to me and I loved it. They were both so incredibly excited. Kenidi sat there smiling from ear to ear with all of her excitement as well. Her and I got a good laugh at their singing skills. Hee hee! :)
Speaking of Kenidi, this was her homemade gift (shown in the picture above) to me that they made in school last week. It's on the counter in the kitchen now. LOVE IT!
This gorgeous heart pin above is what my handsome son made me in art class this week. I ssooooo love the craftiness of this. It reminds me of a cross necklace I already house in my jewelry box that has buttons glued to it just like this heart does. He's definitely my son. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
But I'd have to say the one of my most treasured gifts that the Mother's Day Fairy brought to me was this sentimental book that Brennen made me. I've read it over and over about 100 times now today already. The photo above shows a page within the book that reads....
~Magnificent
~Outstanding with me
~Terrific at doing things
~Helpful with my homework
~Everybody loves her
~Really nice
All of those letters in each of those first few words read like this:
= M.O.T.H.E.R
The next page in the book (shown above) is a family poem according to Brennen and it reads like this:
Angie,
Caring, moving, helpful,
loving to me,
pink clothes, and chocolate
loving,
kids,
love to are family,
a famous clothes model,
Seaman.
***I must say that I love the fact that he thinks I'm a "FAMOUS" clothes model. Ha ha! I wish! I think he meant to write "Famous" clothes designer. Either way, I sssooooo love that I am in "famous" in his eyes. Wink! ;) I also love that when he thinks of me he thinks of "pink clothes and chocolate." HA! That's me alright. That is definitely his Mom. Pink clothes and chocolate.
This page above reads:

I'd like to thank my Mother for: Everything

If I could, I've give my Mother: $100000000$$$$

The most important thing my Mother does for me: Gives me love & hugs XOXOXO

The most special times with my Mother are: After school

I can tell my Mother cares by the way: She loves me

The things I do that make my Mother happy are: Give her love

My Mother enjoys being a Mother most when she: happy with me

My Mother looks prettiest when: She's prettie all the time

I like being with my Mother most when: All the time

With love, Brennen Seaman

***By the time Brennen was finished reading this book out loud to me, I was balling. The final page (shown above) read like this:

Dear Mother,

Thank you for everything you have done for me. Thanks for being there for me all of the time. Thank you for all of the things you give to me. You are the best Mom ever. And Happy Mother's Day.

Your son, Brennen

***Needless to say, I should buy stock in Kleenex's after the week I've had and after I was finished crying following Brennen's book that he made and read to me out loud. That one thing in itself that he made me, confirmed my whole week and confirmed why I do what I do for my kids. His words confirm why any Mother does what she does for her kids. It is just who we are. Again, we are prepared for the fight of our lives. This Mother's Day just reinforced that fight. Lastly, the Mother's Day Fairy must have been listening-or reading rather-my blog when I hinted a few weeks back that I'd love to own a Nikon 70-300mm Zoom Telephoto lens. When Brent pulled this out of the camera bag and handed it to me....my heart skipped a beat. Razzi (my camera) and I, were beyond ecstatic. I can't wait to break this bad girl out and attach her to the front of my camera just to see what she is made of. The Mother's Day fairies spoiled me. Before I signed off, just wanted to also post a picture of Brennen and his artistic masterpiece that I found he had drawn on the driveway last week. I love this shot - I love the shadows that as a photographer, are normally a No-No. I love the grainy look of the picture itself which is also a No-No in the photography world. Mainly, I love the arm and leg of my adorable son as he is walking over top of his creation. It was a fluke thing and a total accident. He walked in front of my camera as I took the shot. When I went back through all of the pictures, I found that I like him in the picture with the drawing better than I what I did with the chalk writing just by itself. This photo reflects childhood, the importance of unconditional and genuine love, blessings of a healthy body-healthy legs, arms, etc. within a poignant picture - something most of us take for granted on a daily basis. It represents warmth, springtime, summer nights in the neighborhood, and lastly....it represents

"parenting and its finest moments."

Stay tuned - stay close by - thre are more of these fine moments as a parent and as child as well to come tomorrow. Happy Mother's Day to each and every one of you out there. Keep doing what you do best and keep relishing in all that God chose you for.

THE BAG EVENT

Well, in an effort to keep spirits alive and upbeat, I wanted to post a regular ol' blog post for today beings that the past few days posts have been consumed with school board issue's. Never fear though - those are still top priority and will continue to be as we launch petitions - online and in person - as well as discuss with the attorney any plans moving forward regarding the issue at hand. The letters of support are still rolling in and I pray that they keep overflowing the inbox of the superintendents email account there at his office. We are forever amazed by each person's support and compassion for this journey. The mission is to keep the essential skills class at the elementary school where it has always been housed at rather than move it to another school in the district as well as the mission to find a place for the high abilities classroom which is just as much of a necessary need as our wants for the special education children. So...continue to stay tuned in the coming days. We'll maintain up to date information here and will keep this fight "fired up" and raging on until we see a compromise or solution brought forth all while banding together to create stability for all of these children. Keep forwarding on the link to the blog post below to each and everyone of your friends and family members willing to listen. We truly appreciate it.

With that said, I wanted to share some photos from a charity luncheon I participated in downtown yesterday. The first photo above is of me with my sweet friend, Nicole, who is from Chicago. She got up at the crack of dawn and drove all the way to Indy (2.5 hours) yesterday morning so that she could be my guest at the "Bag Event" downtown at the Conrad hotel. The luncheon was created and formed as a way to bring awareness and knowledge to ovarian cancer. About a year and a half ago, I was introduced to Jen (shown in the photo below).

ABOVE: left to right - Nicole, Caroline, Me, Jen, & Sara

Jen or "The Watson's Girl" as most of us Hoosiers know her, became a sweet friend and a dear customer of mine after a trunk show that my other sweet, sweet friend, Sara Brauer, held for me. Long story short, Jen (the Watson's girl) asked if I'd be interested in donating a couple of my custom boutique handbag designs for the charity event this year. Jen is on the committee for the Bag event charity. I immediately told her yes. I was extremely appreciative and honored to be a part of the event. It was great to see Jen and Sara there too. We had a great time girls. Thanks for everything. Jen, by the way, is pregnant with her second little baby girl who is due in August. Isn't' she just the cutest pregnant Mommy ever?

In the photo below, you can ever so slightly see/read my name listed in the event brochure on the left side...

The bag event is a special charity auction where handbags are donated by the public as well as by celebrities and such. You then are allowed to go around and bid on the bags that are a part of the event. It was very humbling to see bids on my bags and know that one of them was snatched right up in a "buy it now" purchase at the very beginning of the auction. In fact, Nicole even talked me into going up to the women who purchased my first bag and asking them if I could get their photo for my blog with them holding their purchase. I believe they were totally confused and probably had no idea what I was saying or why I wanted their picture. I'm sure they might be second guessing their decision to give me the OK to take it now. No worries girls....we just wanted to share you here on the ol' AGD blog with our visitors. So....here they are with their AGD win...Once the auction ended, we were served a fantabulous lunch that included this delectable chocolate mousse dessert pictured below...

You know me and chocolate. What could be better than a chocolate dessert with a white chocolate eatable handbag disc on the top??? Especially when I was really "stress eating" after the past couple of days I had been privey to. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Some of the women at our table clearly thought I was nuts when I whipped out ol' "razzi" (my camera) to take a shot of my dessert. Little did they know that I was a "blogger" and just wanted to share my dessert with ya'all. Even if they had known about Mrs. Blogmeister here, they still probably would have agreed that I was a nutso. Never mind me - I just snap shots of anything and everything - any chance I can get. Remember what I told you guys early on about "getting uncomfortable" when shooting photography? Well, there is nothing more uncomfortable than being surrounded by a group of highly intelligent women at a charity event when you decide to whip out your big ol' camera just to take a picture of your dessert plate. One woman in particular even muttered the words...."Your going to take a picture of your dessert???" YEAP! Sure am! And I did. Hope ya'all liked it. The highlight to my day was this purple Charm & Luck handbag that I walked away with from the event. It retails in the stores for $250. However, I placed one bid of $50 and walked away with it for myself. I love any kind of shoes, purses, etc. with buckles. This one made my heart sing when I spotted it. It will be a great bag for the fall season. Not only that but I felt good knowing the proceeds went toward the fundraising for ovarian cancer. Lastly, this little kit from Saks 5th Avenue shown above was what all of us were given at our table settings when we sat down for the lunch. Great touch! Love that! Aside from the fact that it was once again pouring here in Indy when running in and out of this place (I swear it feels like it has been raining here for a year now), all was well with the day. I am growing accustomed to looking like a drenched rat for the past week. Either way, it was a neat experience and a great afternoon with girlfriends. A big thanks to Nicole again for driving all the way here and back today just so she could attend with me. Can't wait to head to Chicago next time for you girl.

Well, it is 2:35am on Friday morning. I really need to wrap this party up and get to bed. My adrenaline and emotions are so pumped up and ready to go considering the past four days events that I'm having trouble sleeping now. With each wonderful letter of support that comes in for the school system from you guys, I gleam from ear to ear and praise God for his wondrous ways and truly owe all of the glory to him for this fight we are gaining so much support so quickly for. As I look into Kenidi's eyes, I smile & imagine the day when I can eventually pull these letters out of her hope chest later in life and let her read what each one of you wrote about her and the children just like her. Your letters have just been incredibly amazing. Your passion and compassion is so heartfelt and so strong in each of them I've read. I imagine telling her all about the fight of our lives and the outcome of that fight for her and the others. Brent always reminds me that I need to "expect and receive" what I am praying for. He pointed out tonight that we needed to continue to believe and expect that God will battle this war for us and ultimately bring the school system to re-evaluate their decision and find an alternative measure or a simple compromise in regard to this issue.

Therefore, as I hit the pillow tonight - or this morning rather - I'm expecting and receiving the Good Lord's grace and promises as he wages on by our sides during this journey. I expect it and I receive it B-Ster! Thanks for always being there to help me stand firm in my faith.

And the fighters "fight on...."

HOW YOU CAN HELP

First off, we are speechless! The amount of support we are receiving regarding this issue just boggles my mind. Everyone has stepped up and come armed and ready to take on a battle for the needs of not only our child but in honor of all the other children being affected by this situation who have no voice in the matter. I believe that God has placed all of you here on this blog and in our lives, armed and willing to fight, for a reason. Each of us are prepared for the fight ahead and will push on until we get the attention of the leaders involved. As one commenter wrote in the post below, "A man who stands for nothing, will fall for anything!"

With that said, we'd like to update everyone and let you know that several forms of media outlets have been contacted in regard to this story. Not only did Brent and I make contact with the local news station that ran a feature story on Kenidi and my business a couple of years ago, but another commenter and local Hoosier took it upon herself to contact an additional television news crew as well as our local newspaper for us. To her, we are thankful! We pray that God will shine through no matter what platform or tool we use to get our concerns out there. We have also contacted two local attorney's in the area that deal with "school law" only. We are in talks with them on how we should proceed. Lastly, we have been graciously introduced to Indiana State Representative, Dave Frizzell, who is willing to help us in this fight. He has asked that we immediately begin sending all support emails to him directly. I've listed the information and instructions below on how and what to include within your email to him and the other school administrators. Please be sure to copy us, Brent and Angie, on the email you do send to each of them so that we can keep a copy on hand for our own legal file. We want hard copy documentation of just how many supporters we have in this matter.

Lastly, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE forward this on to anyone and everyone that you can think of. (even if they are out of state, out of the country, without special needs children, etc.) Forward it to anyone who will listen and take the time to write. The more letters we have, the better. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me. In the meantime, we thank you again for your support and are forever indebted to each of you for your voices and encouragement. I pray that God will use this situation for his glory and that he will use the rest of us in his plans along the way. Please see info below in regard to your "show of support" emails....

*****Attention*****
Please send an email offering your support for our efforts to keep the special education (essential skills) class in Kenidi’s school and prevent it from being replaced by the scheduled high ability class. Please do not think that everyone else will send an email and therefore you need not send yours. We need your support! Please take a second and send one on behalf of Kenidi and all of the other children out there right now without a voice in this matter. As one supporter said, we feel this is a “legal” argument and not just a “passionate mommy” one.

We have made communication with Indiana State Representative, David Frizzell. He is prepared to fight with us by contacting both local and state officials. He needs to be armed with as many emails as possible and is expecting them in his office over the next day or so. Please forward this letter to as many friends and/or family as you can and ask for their support as well. Taking 60 seconds to write an email could change the lives of children with special needs everywhere that are depending on us for a voice. Please copy us on all emails so we can confirm our total number of supporters and have your letters armed with us and on hand. Our email address is: theseamans@sbcglobal.net Please also include all of the other email addresses you see shown below. We ask that your emailed letter be polite and professional but firm! The following information should be within your email to ensure they all get to the correct person(s):

To: State Representative, David Frizzell
Email address: h93@in.gov, haddixb@centergrove.k12.in.us, longw@centergrove.k12.in.us, kstricker@ssjcs.k12.in.us, stephanoffs@centergrove.k12.in.us, theseamans@sbcglobal.net
Put in subject line: Support for Kenidi Seaman

FYI: You need not include the info below in your email but we wanted to present a bullet list of facts concerning our experience in this matter thus far. They are as follows….

THE FACTS:
1) A parent task force for high abilities children lobbied for new high ability curriculum to be added to 2008-09 programs.
2) School Superintendent is making room for 2 new high abilities class rooms and curriculum by moving the special needs children and their established program out of the school where it has been housed and successful for years.
3) No other new programs are moving in and no other current programs are being moved out of this particular elementary school.
4) Program is established and been in place for years. We are not asking for the creation of a new program but instead requesting the current one be allowed to stay at the elementary school where it has been located in the past.
5) Superintendent, Dr. Stephanoff, did not show up to his scheduled meeting with Brent & Angie Seaman to discuss concerns.
6) Assistant superintendent, William Long, attended the meeting and represented the fact that he was the final decision maker and after a short discussion concluded that the change was final.
7) The superintendent has not made himself accessible. Assistant Director of special services, Kathy Stricker, and assistant superintendent,William Long, have been difficult to communicate with and offered no compassion or spirit of compromise. Neither leader was willing to offer possibility of further discussions pertaining to compromise regarding this difficult situation.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO US:
1) It’s important to us that the school complies with the Federal IDEA act as it is required by law.
2) It will provide stable environment to students with special needs
3) It will allow Kenidi to attend her home school with siblings and neighbors of the community that offer familiarity.
4) Attending her home school will help develop her social and emotional skills with assistance from peers.
5) Establish boundaries to the school for future shifting/moving of students and prevent the lasting effects on children unable to adapt to change well.
6) Allow healthy typical peer school children to interact with special need children which in turn will teach and allow them to realize not all children are the same. Life is a big melting pot of people with all abilities.
7) Having all siblings in one elementary school will allow parent involvement (i.e., PTO, room Moms, field trip chaperone's, etc., etc., etc.) Parent required to travel back and forth to multiple elementary schools are limited to the amount of time they’d be able to devote to events where parent volunteers are needed

RIGHT & WRONG

As I begin this post, it is 4am Indiana time. I've laid in bed long enough-tossing and turning-wide awake after yesterdays events pertaining to Kenidi. I've fought the need to blog right now because I realize my emotions are raw at this moment and because of that-I'm fired up. However, after laying there trying to talk myself out of this therapeutic writing during such wee hours of the night, I finally quit fighting it and decided to sit down in the den and try to give you a small glimpse of what Brent and I are feeling right now as well as explain why we feel the way we do. I warn you up front - this will not be a quick version. For that, I am sorry. I encourage you to read all of the story once you begin reading this. The kicker to the story comes in later. In order to get all of the details and see what we are up against, you must follow along all the way to the bottom of this journey. I will preface this by saying that my ability to remain "Christ-like" has been tested in the past few days. I am doing my best to handle myself in a professional and adult fashion. However, I'll be the first to admit that I am not one to hold back during trying times. As many of you know from the past, I resort to writing as a therapeutic way of healing or as a way to help me get thru the moment. In some instances, this has been bad. In other instances, it has worked out for the good. I have no idea where these words will leave me this time but I'm willing to risk it. Over the past two years since Kenidi has attended a developmental preschool (which is away from Brennen's school but within the same district), I've longed for the day when her and Brennen would finally be in the same elementary school together. I knew that wouldn't be possible until she reached kindergarten though. Not only would it help me be able to devote more time to helping in her class beings that I'm there helping out in Brennen's so much but once kindergarten did roll around, she'd be moved to her "home" school (the school for our area) and she'd finally be with her brother and all of the neighbor kids that she knows and loves. She would be with familiar faces - with people that understand her and her condition. She'd be in her "home" school. What does the word "home" mean to you? For me it means security, safety, comfort, love, compassion, understanding, etc. The community your children and my children live and attend school in isn't just a word - "community." The Webster's online dictionary states that the word "community" means this: The district where people live-a group of people living in a particular local area-common ownership-a group having common interests-agreement as to goals-a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other-belonging to and maintained by and for the local community.

Now, as a special needs parent...you find some sort of comfort or solice in knowing that your child who can't speak or function for themselves, will one day go to school with her older brother-who can then become an extra pair of eyes and ears for us-the parents. Although we know Brennen can't physically be there 24/7 to oversee Kenidi and all of her daily activities at school, he'd at least just "be there." He might be there to protect her when someone got out of line or out of hand with the teasing. He might be able to ensure she got off the bus and to her class without issue. He'd be able to be in the halls of the same place she was-day in and day out. This same theory goes for the neighbor children that know Kenidi and her condition. There were several kids in our area that would have quite possibly ended up in Kenidi's general education kindergarten classroom. These were kids that knew-for the most part-that Kenidi was "special" and their parents even trained them and spoke of the fact that they'd need to look out for Kenidi next year and take care of her. As a special needs parent, this kind of support and compassion for your child is HUGE! We live in a world where unfortunately....kids are cruel now days. Brent and I have feared the day or days when we'd have to battle a child and/or their parents when it came to harsh words said or insinuated about Kenidi and her medical issue's. So far, this has never been an issue. We feel blessed in the fact that most kids up to this point have really treated Kenidi like she is some kind of local celebrity or something. Even kids in 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade adore her. Why? Because they know her. They know her personality, her needs, her smile, and they love her for all of it. As I walk through Brennen's school with her in tow, I've got teachers and therapists that somehow already know her even though she wasn't set to attend school there until this fall. She is comfortable there. We are comfortable there. Last Monday, Brent and I attended a two hour long case conference (IEP) meeting for Kenidi at Brennen's school which was also set to be Kenidi's school this fall. In attendance were approximately 8 other people that were part of the school staff, administration, school psychologist, etc. They spent that two hours convincing us of all the reasons why they felt Kenidi was ready for kindergarten-even though her disabilities would require her to attend a "special education or essential skills" classroom during part of her day. They introduced us to who would be Kenidi's kindergarten teacher next year and we immediately fell in love with this woman. They had us sit in on some of her class that afternoon so that we could watch how everything worked in a typical day. Before that, we peeked in on the essential skills classroom down the hall where Kenidi would be placed during part of her day. It is a special education classroom that houses children similar to her. Brent and I left the meeting on Monday feeling really good about our decision to move her on to kindergarten rather than hold her back another year in the developmental preschool. The staff and people present at that meeting played a huge role in helping us to get to that point.
Fast forward three days after that meeting. On Thursday of last week I received a letter in the mail from the assistant director of the special services program for our area. Unfortunately, I didn't open the letter until the next morning. On Friday. In the letter it stated that the essential skills program for Brennen and Kenidi's (soon to be school) was being moved to another school in the area and that Kenidi would now be attending that elementary school rather than her own "home school." Needless to say, I was furious. I immediately got on the phone and called Brent. By this time, I was balling. I felt emotions come out of me that I haven't felt in years. For a moment there, I didn't even recognize myself. A thousand things were rushing through my head.... Back to two different schools. Back to juggling two different room Mom jobs in two totally different schools. Back to having two different PTO's, two different principals, two different schedules for the kids. They want parent involvement in schools now days and preach how a child's educational success is based on parent involvement in the schools. Yet, they want to spread parents like me between two totally different schools and make us run back and forth like chickens with our heads cut off if we want to be a willing and involved parent to the both of our kids. Two totally different lives in two totally different schools most importantly meant that we were back to having Brennen separated from Kenidi. Only this time, it was a separation that was forever. They are wanting Kenidi to attend this other school - always - through all of her elementary school career or until the program is moved elsewhere in the future. This isn't just for kindergarten. Again, it was forever - or at least for the next 6 years of our lives anyhow. I was devastated. Brent was beyond angry.
Go back to the meeting three days earlier. We were stroked and handled with care. Told that everything would be great "here" for Kenidi. Told that the kids would "love" her there and that she would do great "there." Well "there" is now a whole new place. Basically for Kenidi, it will be like moving to a whole new city or state. She'll know no one. Neither will we. On the weekends she knows her friends in our area. On Mondays, after playing all weekend and all summer long with those faces she knows, she'll be confirmed once again that she is "different" when they ship her off to the bus stop to attend a school that she is unfamiliar with.

Now...here is where the story changes even more. This is the kicker. As if this information we learned on Friday wasn't already a blow to the gut, then we have to go and find this out: I called the assistant director immediately once I read this letter. She confirmed the details I had just read but also made mention of the fact that the school needed to - now follow me here - these were her E-X-A-C-T words....

the school needed to "make space" for the "high abilities class" that was being introduced into the curriculum. What does this mean you ask? I'm sure you are thinking the same thing I was at that moment. In a nutshell, this means that because they didn't already have room for a "high abilities (a.k.a excelled honor kids classroom), that something needed to go. What has to go....Kenidi's essential skills class. Yes, you read that right. They are basically kicking out the slow kids class in order to make room for the excelled kids class. WOW! I could not believe that this woman just told me that. I'm thinking to myself....back up-back up. Repeat that again. And she did. Needless to say, when I heard her say that, my calm cool collected manner went way beyond rational. Irrational and down right irate is how I ended up to be frank. I went to the opposite end of the spectrum. I ended the call with telling her that this would make a great news headline when I needed to call the local media for help. Slow kids class removed to "make space" for the smart kids. That is a catchy headline, wouldn't you agree? I told her that I wanted a meeting with the superintendent of schools in our area and that I wanted it "now." I let her know that if I didn't get it ASAP that things were going to get very ugly real quick. This was Friday morning. On Saturday morning she called to tell me that she had a meeting set up with the superintendent for us at 4:15pm on Monday.

In the meantime, I called Brennen's principal at his school, I called Kenidi's teacher that she currently has in the developmental preschool and whom also sat in on that two hour long case conference meeting last Monday. I called and got school board names and phone #'s, etc. Brent and I immediately went into "fight mode." The other kicker to the story is that while on the phone with that assistant director, she also informed me that as we sat around that table last week for the case conference meeting, everyone in attendance there was aware of the change. So...that means that we all sat there and waisted our time for nothing. They coaxed us into thinking all was well and that Kenidi would do great attending school there-only to learn three days later that they knew all along was what getting ready to happen. I will say that Kenidi's current teacher pulled us aside at the meeting yesterday before it began and told us that she was not aware of the decision that had been made at that time. The director said they all knew about it. I don't care if even one of them knew about it...they should have told us. They should have been forthright in mentioning that there was a good possibility that things were getting ready to change and Kenidi "might not" attend her home school and that she could potentially get sent to another school within the district. They should have been honest and up front. They weren't!

Now...let me back up and reiterate the fact that I do not hold anything against the "high abilities kids" or their parents for wanting this class added to the curriculum. If I had an advanced student, I might want those classes for him or her too. I realize that they are doing and fighting for what they think is best for their child. I commend these kids and the amazing abilities they have. I only wish I had some of their intelligence. This is not the problem of the "high abilities" kids or their families. This is the problem of our school system. They need to find room for all of us. No one program needs to be singled out-shuffled around-moved-etc. in order to bring in another. One doesn't take precedent or priority over another. Well it shouldn't anyhow. In this case though, I can't seem to get anyone to explain to me why I shouldn't walk away feeling that the high abilities classroom pushed my daughters special education classroom out of the school.

We showed up to the meeting yesterday only to be told that the Superintendent "unfortunately" couldn't make it now and that the "assistant-superintendent" was there to fill in for him. When I expressed my disappointment in the fact that no one called me ahead of time to tell me this or to at least just reschedule the meeting to a day and time when the "super" could be there, they assured both Brent and I that we had the "decision makers" in the room with us. We gave our concerns and opinions only to be given 100 different excuses on why we should be OK with the school systems decision. They tried to avoid the "deleted the slow class to make space for the excelled class" issue like the plague. They told us we were over simplifying the issue at hand and that it could have easily been an English class replacing the special ed class instead of a high abilities class replacing special ed. Brent reminded them that this isn't the case - English kicking out special ed - but that instead we were there because it is the high abilities class ultimately kicking out special ed. We reiterated to them that we weren't asking for anything that we didn't deserve. It wasn't like we were in there asking for them to move the moon or change school lunches. We didn't want free services, we didn't want extra care or privileges for Kenidi. We just want what was existing all these years up until last week and we want want our property taxes pay for. They pay for Kenidi and Brennen to attend the school in our area - not a totally different school in the same district. We told them how hard it would be on some of those special needs kids that had already been at Brennen's school in the special ed classroom for several years leading up to this. Some of those kids are autistic or have disabilities that do not adapt well to change. Those kids know the environment and are comfortable there. However, with the swoop of a signature, they have forever altered and changed the future of these kids lives as well as their parents lives. To someone that hasn't been around a special needs child or doesn't have one of their own, this might not make much sense. But...you ask a parent battling a daily routine with a special needs child what happens when they alter that normal routine or that environment and they'll be the first to tell you that the outcome is not pretty.

These kids go through enough. Let's face it. Special needs children didn't pick their life. They didn't come into this world asking to be that way. They are singled out and "made different" enough in life. As parents, we are constantly battling insurance companies, schools, etc. to prove that they deserve care. Bottom line, these kids should be the last kids to go, the last kids to be moved, the last kids to be shuffled around from school to school, etc. As an angry Mom with an opinion, I feel that if any child could handle changes and new environments, it would be the excelled kids. The honor students. You know...the students that have parents who WANT to single them out and MAKE them different on purpose because they are so smart. Surely these parents would agree that their child could adapt better to a different school or environment more so than our special needs children. Wouldn't you think? In the end though, it all goes back to the school system. Brent and I feel that the school should come up with a way to provide both. Again, no one class should be singled out. It all comes down to money, politics, and priority though. It's called life and unfortunately my daughter is now a casualty of "life" at its finest.

We left the meeting yesterday even more mad than we were when we went in. The end result was not a successful one. The choice to appoint the assistant superintendent to stand in for that meeting was not a good one. How this man even holds that title, I have no idea. Talk about having zero people skills. He was there for a power trip and that was about the jest of it. As I studied his demeanor and his personality, it was very apparent that he was just meeting with us to "pacify" us and that he had no intentions of truly listening to our concerns or considering the possibility of further discussions down the road. When Brent challenged him being the "decision maker," he immediately shut down and the rest was history. He told us that the answer was NO and that they were not changing any of the decisions that they had made. We let him know that his decisions had made our decisions. At that moment, Brent and I stood up and walked out.

I left there - made a few phone calls from the truck - as well as when we got back home - and prayed some more. I have no idea what the outcome will be from the phone calls I made but in a nutshell, we are calling in the troops. We are lining up the army of people that we feel will best convey our story, our concerns, and our mission. As I told the assistant superintendent when I stood up to leave, "its fixing to get really noisy around here."

I've laid in bed praying all night long. I've prayed for peace, for wisdom, for discernment, maturity, etc. concerning this situation. The "Angie" in me wants to get MAD! The "Angie" in me wants to throw myself down on the ground and throw an utter and all out complete fit. The Brent in Brent wants to send cannon bombs from our house over to their office. The "parents" in us want to cry - and we have.

We fight and fight to make Kenidi feel "normal." We fight to make her feel at home. We fight to prove she can stand with the best of them. We fight to find her the best care we can possibly provide. We fight to keep on fighting! It hurts to the core when your hands are tied and someone else is making the decisions for your child - for you. We want what is in the best interest of our daughter. Their decision is not in her best interest. We are prepared to go to great lengths to show that. As we assemble the troops and line up our defense in the coming days and weeks, I ask that you keep praying for us and for Kenidi as well as for those other parents involved. As I said yesterday, Kenidi is not the only child being affected by this decision. If you should feel lead to want to help us in the crusade, to be a voice in this matter, please email me. We can send you the email addresses of the director and the superintendents office so that you can email them with your opinions on behalf of us. You do not need to be an Indiana resident. In fact, the more voices we have from all over, the better. If you know someone that is affected by special needs or disabilities, forward this blog post on to them. Give them my email address (Angie@AngelicaGraceDesigns.com) and tell them to contact me for ways that they can help voice their opinions too. The more we can spread the word and get this issue out there, the better off all of us and our children will be in the future. As I told Brent last night, if we lay down and give in to this decision, what will we be forced to lay down for next? He and I aren't willing to stand by and allow these administrators to make such unrealistic decisions that make no common sense whatsoever. The only sense they make to the school system is this kind of CENTS $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, thank you to all of you who commented or emailed me directly yesterday. At one point on the way home, I was reading my emails out loud to Brent in the car from my cell phone. I burst into tears during reading one of those emails because I just couldn't get over the overwhelming response we got from that short little post I made yesterday. You guys came pouring out of the wood work and I thank you for that. We thank you! There are no words to describe the amount of gratitude and appreciation we have for you guys right now. We truly thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

In his grip, always....Brent, Angie, Brennen, & Kenidi

GOTTA' RUN...

Can't chat for long...

Brent and I are meeting with the superintendent of schools in our area today at 4:15pm. It's in regards to some disappointing news and a very big blow to our hearts pertaining to Kenidi and her kindergarten year next Fall.

At this moment in time, many people are praying for the administrators to have favor with us when we speak with them to voice our concerns and opinions. My Mom reminded me this weekend that the good Lord above is there to always fight my battles for me.

This time is no different!

I'm praying he can soften the hearts of the school staff and change some minds when it comes to a decision they recently made. It affects not only Kenidi's future but many other "special needs" children as well. I've been told time and time again - ever since Kenidi's diagnosis back in 2004 - that there would come a day when we would "HAVE" to "F-I-G-H-T" for her and for her rights when it comes to the system. That day has now reared its ugly head. It's here and we are prepared - with God by our side - to fight for what we believe in. As her parents, we are her only advocates.

As 4:15pm rolls around today, (it's now 3:10pm Indy time), I ask that you pray for us or send some ginormous positive vibes our way for Kenidi, and for the numerous other children and families involved. Pray that the schools see the clear picture after our meeting with them and that God's will shall be done. I plan to go in with Christ in my heart and hold onto my integrity as I strongly voice my opinion. I plan to be heard but do not plan to be stupid and irate. Although my emotions want to kick, scream, yell, cry, and shout at the top of my lungs to these people, I realize that will get us no where. I will remain an adult while in there and will hold my head high as we walk out - no matter what the outcome. We will praise him in this storm.

I'm too emotionally charged to explain the details as of this moment. I feel as though my insides are being ripped to shreds and that there is quite possibly nothing I can do for my child other than pray for a better outcome - even though the decisions being made for her are "wrong." Just wrong! For the first time, I look at her and realize she is "different" and people are now "treating her different." I just never expected it would play out in this manner or begin this early. Brent and I are fighting for that which we believe in today. If the situation doesn't change after the meeting this afternoon, I fear that it is going to get really noisy around our community. Here is to fighting for Kenidi and for all of the other kids that can't fight for themselves either.....

In his grip, Angie