The United States of Autism in Utah

A short time ago, I mentioned days that are unforgettable.  Days that will forever be etched in memory; days that provide you with hope, inspiration, and motivation.  Days that leave an imprint on your heart. 

The good Lord must be shining down on us, because my family had ANOTHER of those yesterday.

(photo courtesy)
We were blessed with the good company of the filming crew from the United States of Autism documentary. They are traveling over 10,000 miles and talking to 20 families to share with the world our stories, our hopes, and the dream that we all share...the idea of being able to create a better world for our family members and friends affected by Autism.  The cause is an amazing and beautiful one.  The sacrifices being made are great.  And when this movie is finished, you'll see why it was worth it.

So....yesterday my family was filmed.  What a day!!  Although I didn't know exactly what to expect, I had a basic idea of how things would work...

I had NO CLUE.

You know the moment you read about, when two people meet and there is an instant bond?  Love at first sight?  A feeling that you've known someone before?  Apparently something like that happened with my Buddy Boy.  (Keep in mind, he's 3 years old, Autistic, afraid of unfamiliar people, and terrible with transitions)  He seemed unsure when he first met the crew, but then in walked "Cas".  (I don't want to use her real name just in case of copyright issues....better safe than sorry, right?)  She walked in, and the walls came a tumblin' down!  Buddy Boy began doing things he's NEVER done before!  Playing games with a complete stranger.  Babbling more than most of my family has ever heard him do.  Dancing and showing off.  It was incredible.  He loved his Cas.....and not surprisingly, the first thing he said this morning upon waking:  "Where's Cas?"

As for my 7-year old Munchkin daughter, she became fast friends with "Rose".  Rose taught me how to do a fishtail braid (lame that I didn't know how, I know), and played with Munchkin's hair.  Anyone who knows Munchkin knows that hair stuff is a quick way to the girls' heart!  They talked about boys, hair, and other girl stuff and really had a great time!  After the crew left, Munchkin realized that Rose had left her hair piece in Munchkin's hair.  She cried and said "Dad, look, Rose left this for me to remember her by.  I miss her so much!"

The other two members of the crew amazing as well.  One of them reminded me of my Uncle Bob, with his quiet, kind, sweet, and yet SO SMART demeanor.  The guy is an absolute artist, with an eye for beauty like I haven't seen before.  They did a great job getting him involved in the film.  He not only knows his stuff, but he also has an obvious love for children, and made my kids feel so comfortable and such a part of things.  Seeing him watch my Buddy Boy really melted my heart.

The director of the film is astounding.  He has a very personal connection...and it shows.  It's such a fantastic thing when you can meet someone and feel an instant love, acceptance, and understanding radiating from them.  That's how it was with him!  I felt comfortable opening up (which is good, considering they're doing a DOCUMENTARY lol) and really just being ME with him.

I took a ton of pictures and they turned out SO great.  I really wish I could share them on here, but there are copyright issues there.  But you know what, I'll do the next best thing.  I'll steer you on over HERE to see the pictures that the crew took.  You can "meet" the crew, see their real names, and see the pictures they took of my beautiful family.  Be sure to also read up on the cause and more of what they're doing.

10 years later

Well, Clay and I recently celebrated our 10-year anniversary.  I was looking back, and had some random thoughts:

• 10 years ago, we were making a lot more money than we are now.
• 10 years ago, we had only 2 mouths to feed.
• 10 years ago, we were a combined 30 lbs skinnier.

I could only think of one thing for now:

• 10 years later, we are HAPPIER.

That really sums it up.

What have we learned and achieved in these 10 years?  The accomplishments may seem small, and many things that have happened are not unusual, but they really have added up to a more fulfilled life.

• We've learned to garden (46 tomato plants this year!!!)
• We've become more practical.  Don't believe me?  I got a food strainer for my anniversary gift and I LOVE IT!
• We've lost loved ones.

• We've gained loved ones.

•  We've bought a home for our family.
• We've FINALLY followed the prophet's counsel and built a food storage.
• We've been humbled....big time!
• We've learned how precious the simple things are...playdates at the park, baking fresh bread together, watching the kids eat from the garden, the sound of a baby laughing, the joy of watching our kids dance together, watching thunderstorms from the garage, and the days when Clay isn't working.

We've become a real-life, true FAMILY!!!!

The day of our anniversary was fabulous.  We started the day with pancakes and sausage.  I made them extra thin because Clay likes flat pancakes:-).  We exchanged gifts. Like I mentioned, Clay got me a strainer, and I got Clay a huge photo collage and a movie.
Later we took the kids to the playplace at Carl's Jr.  You know they loved that!  Clay surprised me by telling me he'd gotten the day off.  Oh yeah!!!
The kids drew us pictures as gifts, and they are oh, so sweet.  After lunch, we all took a nap.  Seriously, could it get any better than a nap???
That evening, we ate peas from the garden and hung out in the backyard.  We took some family pictures and played in sprinklers.  Munchkin had Clay help her set up a tarp.  She hung it up with rope so that it created an umbrella.  Then I helped her make a "Hawaii" sign, so that we could pretend we were at the beach.  We filled up the kiddie pool and the kids splashed away.

Here's to another amazing 10 years...

Summer Fun

Eve has never been on the Alpine slide before, and I have wanted to take her and Akaila for years, and now that Parker is old enough we finally went.  Akaila said it was the best day in her life; she screamed the entire way down the slide.  Parker seemed happy and enjoyed it.  It is crazy how expensive it is, but one of those things in life you have to experience at least once.  I knew Akaila would love it so I had to prep her many times that we could go down only once.  After the slide we played in the bounce house for 30 minutes, and both kids got out all their energy there.  Good times!

 

 

My Lil' Photographer

My girl LOVES taking pictures.  I love that she can make my crappy flower bed look halfway decent:

She can also take pictures of herself and look gorgeous, but honestly?  That's pretty easy to do:-)

Reminiscing...

I've been going through pictures...and I have to share some of these!!

Playground #4

We're doing okay on our playground progress...here's some pictures and video from playground #4.  This was actually kind of a crappy playground.  There was just the one slide, and that was about it!  The kids had a good time anyway:-)