Here is the video of the "Modern Math" skit that Chance was in at his school's Renaissance Fair last week.

Chance graduates from elementary school

Chance is officially  no longer an elementary school child.  He has moved into the realm of junior high school.

Wow.

Chance has transitioned before of course, like when he graduated from the School for the Deaf  and was fully integrated into a neighborhood school. 

Now, he will transition to junior high.  It is a little weird.  I think each time any of your children reach these milestones it is a time of reflection for the parents.

I don't worry too much about Chance in junior high.  He has done really well in school thus far and he is confident and secure in himself leading into this new phase.  One of the boys during the last week of school could not fulfill his role as a mathematician in the Renaissance festivities so Chance learned the lines of the joke and beautifully played Sir Issac Newton working out a math problem.  In about 10 minutes he memorized the part and then went on to perform the skit with his brother for the different grades in the school all day long.  He has confidence to go out there and try things.

Any concerns I have about Chance in junior high can be summed up as follows:  junior high school is not the most pleasant of years for most people.  Not many people I have encountered in life would go back to those junior high years given the opportunity.  Even though those years find you fully supported by your parents financially as you can't yet qualify for a job, living at home, hanging out with friends and still on the cusp of childhood.  Junior high is when many people start to get a complex about themselves because of their weight, height, clothes, and any difference they perceive.

From the first, it occurred to my husband and me that Chance's implants would always be highly visible.  Girls can kind of hide theirs with their hair if they feel the need.

Chance has never expressed any negative thoughts about wearing  implants.  In fact a few weeks ago, I tried to feel him out a little bit about how he felt about being deaf.  I just said something like,"Chance, how do you feel about being deaf?"

He paused, and I thought maybe something was going to be revealed that I had not realized before. Instead, Chance said with conviction,"It's awesome!  I can hear if I want to, and I can take my implants off if I don't."
It's awesome.  We want to keep that thought.

I have a meeting with the school Chance will be attending next year  to get a feel for things and make the school aware of Chance.  He is on an IEP (individualized education plan) and we will discuss any accommodations he may need.  Chance does not require much anymore.  He has speech, he has it written into his IEP that he can request to be tested in a quiet environment or make other modifications if needed.  He has been working with the special ed teacher at his old school on vocabulary and expression. This was at my request to try and correct some minor glitches that I wanted to try and take care of before Chance hit junior high.  She worked on just what I wanted her to and we are grateful.

With his new school, Chance will be required to read.  A lot.  This should not be hard for Chance as he loves to read, but reading what you want and reading assigned books that have hard words and that make you have to really think is another thing.

The school uses mostly classic books which I love.  It also means that some of those books have different vocabulary and are not written the same way books are today.  The wording and the expression are not familiar in our society.  Once the books are read, Chance will have a class where they discuss the books, flesh them out and really think about them.  I love this aspect too.  This all just means that Chance will have to read fast and comprehend deeply so that he can discuss and debate what he has read with his peers.

I want to give Chance a leg up on this so I have acquired the book list for next year from Chance's assigned counselor at school and I will read them over the summer.  Some of the books I am already familiar with, some I am not.  I figure if I read them and can discuss them with Chance too, it can only help.

I am thinking of having Chance read the books this summer and get a feel for them so he will already be familiar with the material and can dig deeper when he is assigned the books in school next year.  Some of the books will be easier to read than others so I may not have him  read the easier ones during the summer. The boy should have some fun this summer and have time to read whatever pleases him or catches his eye.  I envision long summer days and good books as part of our summer plan.

This is the list of books that I know of so far:

"The Hiding Place":, by Corrie Ten Boom(one of my favorite books)
"The Home Ranch,:by Ralph Moody(another favorite)
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
"The Bronze Bow"
"Greek Gods and Goddesses"
"Children's Homer"
"Tales from Shakespeare"

I am excited to begin my summer reading list. 

Here is Chance's skit from the Renaissance Fair at school. Quite cleaver I thought.  Kudos to the Drama teacher who made this fair highly entertaining and gave the kids some great memories.

Chance turns 12

Chance and his Mom blow out the candle at his birthday dinner date with his Mom and Dad

It is hard to believe, but Chance has just turned 12.  TWELVE!  People tell you all the time that your children grow up so fast and to enjoy the moments you have with them.  Why just yesterday Chance was born and now he is 12 years old!  Thankfully, we don't have to worry about him empty nesting yet, but it is still hard to believe that we are looking at 12.... and junior high next year.

Chance at Two - Before we knew he was deaf

Chance at his 5-year-old birthday party

Some birthdays are milestones.  When you turn 5, you start kindergarten.   In our church you get baptized at the age of 8.  At 12, you usually graduate from elementary school and enter the wider world of junior high school.  In our church at age 12, a boy also receives the Priesthood and becomes a deacon.  As a deacon the boys have certain responsibilities to perform.  Setting up chairs in the morning before the congregation arrives for Sacrament Meeting.  Passing the sacrament to the congregation during the meeting and collecting fast offerings once a month.  Fast offerings are collected on fast Sunday which is usually the first Sunday of the month.  Members of our church fast for two meals which accomplishes two things:  One, members have the opportunity to focus on spiritual things, perhaps praying for a certain blessing or for others.  Two, the money that would have been spent on the two meals is given to the church to use for those in need.  The deacons collect this money and give it to the bishop.

Chance shows off a present at 7!

Chance has been looking forward to becoming a deacon for a while.  His older brother is a deacon and today the boys were able to pass the sacrament to the congregation together for the first time.  Chance did a great job and caught on quickly to the simple system the boys use to ensure that everyone receives the sacrament in a reverent and timely manner.  You have to have a system when you have over 300 people to get to:)

Photo from Chance's birthday invite at 6 - can you guess the theme?

Chance being silly at school on his 8th birthday

Chance when he was 9

As far as junior high goes, I don't know that Chance has an opinion on that topic yet.  He will be starting a new school in the fall that serves grades 7-12, so if everything works out well, he won't have to transfer schools again until he graduates from high school and moves onto college.  His brother will be attending the same school.

Picking raspberries at 11

Excited to receive a book from his grandparents for his 12th birthday.

I don't know that Chance sees entering junior high as a big deal right now.  Maybe I should pick his brain a bit to see how he is feeling about things, but for now,  he is just counting down the days (there are now 5) until his summer vacation begins.  His 12 year old summer, full of adventure, free time, his first week-long scout camp, and oh so many great plans!  Chance has fish to catch, camping to do, friends to play with and bunnies to catch.  He just caught a presumably wild bunny tonight, which looks remarkably like the pet a family the next street over lost.   I hear the chase to get the bunny was quite the adventure  and Chance and his cousin had a great time outsmarting that bunny to snag him. Even if it turns out the bunny is not a wild jack rabbit as Chance and his cousin trumphantly announced to us all upon returning from their catch, the experience was thrilling judging by the boys heavy breathing and glowing faces. Chance's 12 year old summer of adventure has already begun.






old summer full of adventures has already begun.

Time Capsule

Nestled at the very back of a desk drawer, in an index file box, I discovered a forgotten treasure from when Chance was first diagnosed.

At first, the index cards that fell out and drifted to the floor puzzled me.  Card after card full of names of neighborhood children,  Disney characters and movies, and the names of various family members plus some of Chance's favorite foods.


Then the light went on in my brain and I realized, these were the cards I had made to use with Chance when he was diagnosed as being deaf.

This box represents Chance's world at the time of diagnosis. Kids he interacted with in the neighborhood, Disney characters since we were planning a trip to Disneyland, foods he liked, and the names of aunts, uncles and cousins that Chance would be interacting with.

Chance gets fitted with his very first hearing aids

Each card was a piece of vocabulary that would make Chance's life easier and more enjoyable if he could give names to the things he was interested in and the people he saw.

Chance and I would go through that box of words representing Chance's world to familiarize him with his surroundings. 

Our neighborhood is full of children and it was not uncommon for us to have six to ten extra kids playing over here at our house.

It  occurred to me that Chance did not know the name of these kids and we needed to give him names to help him feel more apart of the group.

Then there was the day Chance started requesting to see the movie,"Putta Putta," Chance was not really into movies at all, so it was surprising that he was so insistent that I put one on for him.  I had absolutely no idea what that movie could be.  Chance was insistent and started getting quite upset when I could not understand what he wanted. In fact, on that day, Chance had been running from one appointment to another and he was just tuckered out.  He needed someone to understand what he was saying and to let him relax. So he started to sob when I could not get the movie he was telling me to get.

Waiting for the earmolds to dry.

I ended up pulling out each movie case one by one and holding it up so Chance could give input.
It turned out the movie he wanted was "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."  To be fair to me, who could have guessed that would be the movie with the information given?  I was reminded of this incident when the index card marked Chitty Chitty Bang Bang  drifted to the floor when I opened the drawer.

It was like opening a box full of memories.  Chance's own time capsule.

It is now a precious little box to me full of memories and feelings I felt at the time.

It is also a reminder of how far we have come from those early days of diagnosis.

I could not have wished for a better outcome.  Chance now knows the name of more kids in the neighborhood than I do.  He can easily tell us what movies or foods he likes and as far as the relatives go,  besides the name Robert, which comes up 7 times in my husband's immediate family,  Chance has things pretty much covered.

Ignorance is bliss

Chance is constantly discovering new words to add to his ever-expanding vocabulary.  He loves to read which opens up a wondrous treasure of words to discover.  I love to see him expand his horizons and come to me with a conspirital air to share with me what is happening in the latest Harry Potter book he is reading.  He has passed the spot where his brother is reading and his brother does NOT want any of the plot to be given away so Chance and I have "secret discussions", whispering to each other about the latest happenings in the book.

Chance can often be found at night, a book propped up covering his face,  reading in blissful silence as his implants have been set aside creating his own silent oasis.  He will sometimes read for a few hours before bed. Who needs sleep when there are books to be delved into?

I love it. Except the going to bed really late part.

This past week, Chance came to me as I was doing laundry to ask some questions about some words he wasn't sure about.

The first words were "cock and bull", taken right out of his Harry Potter book.  I told him what it meant and Chance nodded and said, " That is what I thought it meant. I shouldn't say that though, right?"

We discussed how this was not a phrase that Chance should incorporate into his vocabulary but he now knew what it meant and this helped him verify that he got the meaning in the book.

The next word was PO'd.  Chance explained that he had been outside playing with friends, when one of the boys started to ride Chance's younger brothers bike.  'You better not ride that or my brother will be PO'd," Chance had said.

"What does PO'd mean mom?"  Chance asked me.

I found it cute that Chance had used a word, then cared enough to realize that he didn't know exactly what the word meant,  and wanted to find out.

"PO'd means pissed off, which is like saying ticked off.  It is not a nice way of saying it though, so you don't want to use that word."

Chance nodded and then started walking away.

"Chance", I called out to him,"Piss means pee."

Chance's face screwed up into an expression of disgust and unbelief.

"I AM SO NOT USING THAT WORD!"  Chance said.  He sounded like he meant it too.

A.G. Bell Speech Fair and MY heros

The annual Alexander Graham Bell Association chapter's speech fair was held a few weeks ago.  What this means is some parents of deaf and hard of hearing children and some of the professionals that work with them spent countless hours preparing for a night to let our kids shine.  I am so grateful to all of those who put in the time and effort to make these events possible.  There is no pay.  Along with long night of burning the midnight oil to bring events to fruition, but it is worth it.

We have seen Chance grow from a cute preschooler, hard to understand yet giving everything he's got to his performance, to a confident 11 year old who sings and plays the guitar in front of the assembled audience with a clear voice.

The theme of the event this year was Heroes.  Our youngest child broke out his superman costume for the event.  Chance dressed up as a sports hero that took our town, and in fact the nation, by storm and made for many memorable games watched at our house.  If you know who Jimmer is, you know the devotion he elicited.

My heroes though, were not really known as such to anyone but me.  My heroes were my two sons...Chance and his older brother.

Chance for all of his hard work through the years, the fact that he never gave up and overcame huge obstacles to talk and hear.  And he does them both well.

Chance introduces himself, his brother, and their song.

His older brother is my hero because he is his brother's keeper.  His devotion to his younger brother has brought tears to my eyes as well as to others through the years.

The speech fair this year was another example of selfless giving.

Chance and his brother take guitar lessons together.  They are also in choir in school together.

Chance is doing really well with his music.  As he sings and plays the guitar at the same time, he sometimes struggles to stay on key with both things together.  Usually he can correct himself and come back, but you don't want to get off when you are performing for a group.

So Chance asked his brother yet again if he would perform with him.

This is not a time when Chance's brother shines.  On the contrary,  it is a time for Chance to shine.
Chance's brother is quiet in his role deferring to Chance.  It is Chance's time to shine and his brother is for support.

This year, Chance's brother just sat next to Chance softly strumming the quitar and singing ever so softly to help keep Chance on track.

What is of note this year, is that all of Chance's brother's friends from school were having a party the same night as the speech fair.  They all asked over and over again if he would be attending the party.  At first, he was excited about the party and spending time with his friends.  As soon as he realized that the party was on the same night as the speech fair, he simply stated that he could not go because he was singing with his brother that night.

No complaining,  No lamenting that the two things fell on the same night.  Just matter of fact support for his brother Chance.

We took two cars to the event and told our son that if they got done soon enough, we would drive him home for at least part of the party.

The boys didn't perform until towards the end of the program however and so when all was said and done, there was only time to make it for the last 30 minutes of the party.

Chance's brother shrugged when I apologized that it was so late and offered to drive him home if he wanted.  It was ok he said.

Then he asked if he could have some of these friends over for night games after we got home.  We thought that was fair and Chance enjoyed the night games in the cul-de-sac as well.


Yes, I have heroes.  Chance for all of his efforts, and his brother for his great love and devotion to his brother.  Never expecting to be noticed and never leaving his brothers side if he is needed.

(Editor's note:  Due to fussy toddler, we didn't capture a decent-enough video - but they sang "This Land is Your Land")

Chance is a leader..even.when he can't hear

I had a very interesting conversation with a women in our church group who is a friend of mine.  She helped take Chance's scout group swimming.

It all started because I was relaying a conversation I had with Chance after he got home.  He was telling me what a great conversation he had with this woman on the way home from scouts.  Then he said that he would like to talk with her more often.

She had really made an impression on my boy.

While I was telling her about her effect on my son,  she told me what a great kid Chance was and how he was a leader in scouts.

I jokingly said,'Especially when he is swimming and can't hear anything?"

She said,"Actually, yes."

She told me that Chance would help to round up the other boys when the leaders were calling them to line up.

Chance can't hear anything in the pool because his implants are off so that was interesting for me to hear.

I mentioned that I wondered if Chance felt a part of things when he was at a scout swimming activity and my friend said that he got along just fine.  He was involved and played around like all of the other scouts.
She noted that the leaders actually had to call many of the other boys several times to line up etc. but not Chance.

Chance has learned to watch signals and pay attention to what is going on in his silent world during swim team activities.  Plus, when you are deaf, I am sure you just have to learn to read the subtle signals around you since you can't take for granted that you'll just hear what is going on as you do something else.

There was only one time that Chance's deafness came into play and that was when there was a false start.  The leaders called all of the boys back to start again.   Chance however, simply continued his course down the swimming lane.  He didn't notice anyone waving him back or that everyone else had stopped.

She said we just figured,'Oh well!  And let him swim to the end of the pool and then motioned him to come back and start again with the other boys.

Chance may have been a bit more tuckered out than the others seeing as how he had already swam the length of the pool and all, but he didn't seem to mind.  He just swam again.

That's my boy!

Together anything is possible

My husband and I teach Chance's age group in church.  A bunch of cute 11 year old boys who will all turn 12 sometime this year.

One of the boys is on the autistic spectrum and I just love him.  He doesn't say much at all, and it is hard sometimes to know how much he is getting out of class.

I want him to be able to do anything and everything that he is capable of doing and not feel left out.

This is personal for me because when Chance was first diagnosed,  his church class was a challenge for him sometimes.  When we informed people that Chance was deaf at age 3,  most people were naturally completely unfamiliar with the situation.

Some people were uncomfortable and didn't know quite what to do.  Should they try to include Chance or just leave him alone and not call any attention to him in case he didn't hear what was said? So there were no expectations and Chance sat not participating in any of the activities sometimes.

Then there were other people who seemed to naturally know how to relate beyond the words and talking.  There were people that still bring tears to my eyes when I think of them because of how they were able to relate to Chance.  It was usually simple gestures like the man in our ward whose last name is Bird and he took the time to pull Chance aside and show him the sign for bird so Chance would know his name.  Chance would run to this man for years and hug him when he saw him at church.

There were people in the hallways who would gently touch Chance and say hi with a smile just to make sure that a connection was made.  It made Chance feel so welcome.  It made me feel so welcome.

I am not passing judgement here, as I honestly don't know how I would have reacted had I been introduced to  a deaf child before I had Chance.  I don't know if I would have been one who instinctively knew to reach out or not.

I have learned on this journey though, that little gestures can mean a lot and to reach out even if I don't know exactly how to do that.

As part of our church services, the kids go to their own classes while their parents attend other meetings.

Songs are learned and principles taught each week through games and lessons while the kids gather in a room for what is called Sharing Time.

Most of the kids are practically bouncing out of their seats to be chosen to come up and "fish" or put up a picture etc.

Our little autistic class member can not participate most of the time due to various reasons.

Well I could see him watching the happenings at the front of the room with great interest and I thought how great it would be if he could participate.  The activity involved picking a topic out of  a brown bag and drawing it out on the chalk board.  This would not be something that he could do alone.

Then I thought that he COULD do it though if he had a little help.  And I knew Chance would be able to provide just the right amount.

Chance walked up to the front of the room with this boy and without any prompting, stood back and took only a supporting roll when it was needed.  He seemed to naturally know when to help and when to stand back and let the boy have his independence.

I often wonder if Chance's experiences on his road back to hearing gives him a special understanding and insight into what the needs of others might be.

A friend of the heart

This past Saturday, we had our annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and brunch.  It is an occasion that the kids look forward to all year long.  It is hosted by our neighbors, a retired couple that my kids lovingly refer to as grandma and grandpa.  It is a time to gather, share food, hunt for eggs and mingle with the neighbors in a relaxed setting.

Chance looks for more treats

In our conversation with our hosts,  they mentioned how they could not believe how big Chance had gotten.  They were recalling the days when he was quite young and was learning to hear and speak.

I will forever be grateful for the love they showed when Chance was diagnosed as being deaf.  Seeing as he was  only two going on three I went to each of the neighbors in our cul-de-sac to talk to them about Chance's condition.

I explained that he had been diagnosed as being deaf and so if he did not respond to them, he was not being rude or defiant.  He simply could not hear them.  I also wanted them all to understand that Chance could not hear cars, so just to be aware that he would not hear them approach or honk.

Our neighbor looked over to where Chance was playing in their yard while he waited for me and replied,"We'll just have to love him more."  What wonderful people.

This past weekend they were marveling  back when Chance was first diagnosed, (and I'd dare say for a few years afterwards), when he was hard to understand sometimes when he talked to you.  This did not faze Chance, who had talked to us in the family during his whole two years of hearing nothing.  I think he figured we were the ones who had issues when we did not know what he was saying.

Chance shows off his new Easter tie.

We in the family could of course understand Chance more than other people just like a mother can usually understand many things her toddler says that other people just don't understand.

There was another person who understood Chance though.  In fact, he acted as a sort of translator.  His name was Cade and he is still one of Chance's best friends.

Our neighbors marveled at how Chance would say something to them, and they would try their darnedest to understand what he said, but many times they just did not get it.

Cade would then translate for them what Chance had just said.  He did this a lot.

"Cade always seemed to understand just what he was saying and would tell us and then help Chance understand what we said in return.  It was phenomenal!"  Our neighbor said chuckling.

It was indeed phenomenal.  I truly believe that Cade was a gift of God to our little son.  A peer who was not phased that his little friend could not hear or talk like other kids.  The two could always be found together riding bikes, playing cops and robbers or just conspiring while they ate popsicles.

Just this last week in church, I smiled as I saw Chance and Cade sitting side by side in their class just like always.  And just like from the beginning of their relationship, if Chance misses something that is said or needs clarification, he turns to Cade and Cade clarifies what has been said.

Best Friends - the early years

Chance has also been dedicated to Cade.  Cade has a milk allergy that sifts out many foods as an option for consumption.  Chance ensures at each of his birthday parties, that something is served that Cade can eat.  He has been known to regularly go through our cupboards looking for something that Cade enjoys too eat when all of the other kids are slurping down fudgesicles or eating chocolate chip cookies.

Chance has also earnestly studied several wrappings that our food is packaged in to check for hidden dairy products or come to me and asked,"Can Cade have this?"

Cade is truly a blessing in Chance's life and I believe that Chance is a blessing in Cade's life. They are truly friends of the heart.

April Fool's Day

Notice the orange sign:  "Ear Protection Required!"

As you may know, today is April Fool's Day, a day to trick your family and friends and add a little zest to their lives.

For instance, Chance's dad and I filled the Fruit Loops Box with popped popcorn to give the kids a little jolt this morning when they poured their cereal.  We only let them eat sugar cereal on Sundays so we knew they would  the pick Fruit Loops:)

As it turned out, everyone got up before Chance this morning and delighted in the reminder that it was April Fool's Day. 


Chance eventually wandered out this morning and looked at the popcorn filled box with confusion and a slight smile.  Then he just moved onto the cereal cupboard to pick something besides popcorn to pour his milk on.

A few other tricks were played during the morning and then about noonish, someone mentioned that April Fool's Day is a great day but kind of a rip off when it falls on a Sunday and you don't have contact with as many people(i.e. friends you can have wild fun tricking).

Chance got a surprised look on his face and said,"It's April Fools Day today?!  No wonder all of that weird stuff was happening!  I didn't even get to trick anybody yet!"

Chance did not have his implants on during the initial start to the day when the fact that it was April Fool's Day was established.

Turns out, we got Chance even better than we could have planned for:)