Smarter than she seems

We have the great blessing of caring for a developmentally disabled woman in our home (24-7). Occassionaly I have to remind my self that it is a blessing :) She has very limited verbal skills. Her testing IQ is that of a 2-3 yr old but she's been on Earth more than twice as long as I have. Those who don't know her might recognize (ma, da, baby, now) Those who do know her can recognize about 12 words. She knows 50 or so signs and we communicate that way. It's easy to be fooled by her and think that not very much is going on up stairs, however I don't think that's the case at all. Today I had 2 examples that she's a thinker and knows exactly what's going on.

I teach a class of 12-13 yr old girls at church. Today I got to teach all of the young women 12-18 and Conny chose to stay in with me instead of going to her own class. I said it would be fine but she needed to be quiet and sit in the second row with the baby (that's why she wanted to be with me anyway, because Jordan was there). She was really quiet and really well behaved. Our lesson was about Abraham and the House of Israel. Half way through my lesson I was asking the girls to name the different Priesthood blessing they have been and will be part of and different ways the Priesthood Power blesses our lives. They had answered really well but I continued t probe because they were missing one. When no one answered, Conny raised her hand. I said "yes Conny?" She pointed to my sleeping baby and said "ba-beeee" I said "baby blessing?" With a proud smile on her face she said "uh huh" and did a little victory jig" I said "you're right Conny baby blessing is another priesthood blessing we've enjoyed. Good job" The girls were quite impressed as was I.

Earlier while Conny, Jade and I were making dinner, Jadelyn had found a magnet and was scouring the kitchen and dining room to find out what was magnetic and what wasn't. When she had exhausted all of the options either of us could find, conny said "dah" and pointed to the dog's metal looking water dish. It ended up not being magnetic but it sure looked like it could be. I was happy that she understood the concept and participated with us.

She does try my patience (especially with a new baby around) but I do love that girl and she really is amazing. She is also really emotionally perceptive. She'll ask to give me a hug when I look like I really need on (which is of course the time I really don't want one) it does soften my heart though. She'll also wipe my tears if she sees them and give me a Conny like kiss on the cheek. She's also the first one to notice if I'm not feeling well. She is one of my biggest teachers.

By the way, I did ask her if it was ok to write about her and put her picture on here...she said "yeah."