White House

US Capitol in background. (we were too tired to walk there)

Part of the Vietnam wall with the name of a man my mom knew

WWII Memorial

Beautiful rainbow over a beautiful boy

We walked to the Vietnam Memorial in the rain. It stopped raining about the time we got there. A beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky, and Brighton told me that it is a sign from God to show He would not flood the entire earth again!

Brighton was really shocked at how many names were on the wall. After learning about the history of our wars, I hope he's getting a better picture of how important it is to honor the men and women who sacrificed so much so that we can be a free nation.

He knew what this monument was before we even got inside! Thank you Mrs. Walsh!

Can you tell what he's signing?

Reach out and touch the Washington Monument!

My sweet boy and I. Look how tall he's gotten!

We took the Metro into Washington DC on Monday. Riding the subway was an experience in itself. Brighton was fascinated by how fast it goes. It was raining in DC, so I was happy that I remembered to pack my umbrella. We walked to the Washington Monument, the WWII Monument, the Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Reflecting Pool, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Office Building, and the White House. We were way too tired to walk to the capitol.

I told Brighton to go knock on George's door and ask him if we could come in for supper, but he pointed to the police and said we would get arrested! He seems to have this fear of police that I think stems from the way we were treated in the subway (long story) and in China. I walked up to an officer and asked him if he thought it would be okay if we knocked on the presidents door to see if we could eat there. He laughed and talked with us a bit. Brighton seemed more at ease around them after that. He was more impressed with the people riding around on Segways than he was seeing the White House.

When our plane was taxiing to the runway at the airport the pilot slammed on the brakes, throwing us all into the seats in front of us. Everyone was looking at each other with shocked expressions. Brighton asked me what happened. The pilot then apologized and explained that a coyote ran across the runway and everyone starting laughing!

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Testing at the National Eye Institute and the National Institute on Deafness and other Communicative Disorders at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland

I bet you don't have contacts like mine!

Don't worry....his eyes were numb!

Dr. Zalewski putting on the goggles

Getting ready to spin really fast!

We are finally through with all of the eye and ear testing! It took two long days. Brighton was a trooper, but was really exhausted afterwards. I learned so much while I was there. Dr. Zalewski made it a point to detail everything he was doing and explained vestibular function so well that I feel like an expert now. This was the first time I've ever been to a doctor who was nice enough to explain what he was doing and why he was doing it.

Brighton has no vestibular function. He will never be able to balance with his eyes closed. He doesn't know when he's falling. He has learned to compensate by using his vision to be able to tell when things are moving around him. The doctor said to NEVER let him swim in the ocean! he must have a life vest on ay all times in a lake. When he's in a pool he can wear goggles to help him know which way is up by opening his eyes under water. When he loses his sight, he will no longer be able to balance himself.

The interpreters we had were very kind. The couple that interpreted for Brighton during the audiology testing were amazing! I am so thankful that they were there.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

JOAD Outdoor 2008 - Lakeside

(a visitor)

Look what Brighton made! He asked if he could make Chinese dumplings. He mixed the ingredients, rolled out the dough, filled them with chicken and pinched the dough together. They were fantastic!

First time at swim lessons!

Brighton and Tanner passed their class!

Brighton took swim lessons at Adamson Lagoon this summer for the first time. His friend Tanner, who is also deaf and is in his class at school, was also in the swim class! Tanner's mom made sure the parks department set up an interpretor for the kids. They always give her such a hard time about it. It's frustrasting to always have to fight for your rights or your child's rights. I've been told that you never really get used to it and that we'll be fighting for him until he's 18, and then he'll be fighting for his equal rights as a disabled adult for the rest of his life.

I called the public library and requested an interpretor for "Snakes Alive!" for the boys on Wednesday after swim lessons. They had no problem getting an interpretor and were very kind! The boys had a really good time and loved touching the snakes. EEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Psalm 150:6

Playing the recorder with the rest of the 4th grade class!

Getting his music award

Getting award from principal for being on the A Honor Roll all year!

School is out, and Brighton Sheng did fantastic! He received straight A's all year at school and only missed one day of school, and that was the day we went to Austin to finalize our adoption. He's also growing like a weed. When we arrived here in the US from China, he weighed 80lbs. and was only as tall as my shoulders. Now he weighs 120 and is as tall as me!

We're having a busy, busy, busy summer! Right now Brighton Sheng is taking swimming lessons and attending Vacation Bible School on the same week. Yesterday, we managed to squeeze in a trip to the library for Snakes Alive! He LOVED the snakes and even petted them...EEEKKKK!!

We leave for Maryland and Washington DC in two weeks for Brighton Sheng's appointments at the National Eye Institute. He is now a participant in their study on Usher Syndrome. I'm hoping to get a little bit of a better picture about his condition and what to expect for the future. We are going to go to see the White House while we are there. Maybe Sheng can run for president!!! : )