This was taken at Faces Of Hope Trunk or Treat, at the city square, in Gallatin. They blocked off the street and Dylan thought it was lots of fun to walk around in the street without mama scooping him up. In fact if she got any closer to him than the bottom picture shows he would scream and run. The top picture was taken through 2 panes of glass at a corner store where I'm sure all the people loved having Dylan's face and finger prints on their store windows. The bottom picture shows Coach, from FOH, trying to dance with Dylan but Dylan kept turning away and doing his own thing. Yes, that's Carrie on the left, about to pop with Layla and she'd kill me if she knew I posted this picture. I cut her head off so I guess that shows who our main focus is now. Sorry Carrie. Dylan had a blast and especially loved "The Monster Mash" song. He kept taking his shoes off so Carrie was lucky to keep socks on him. I told her she needs to buy black socks because Dylan hates shoes to the point of complete meltdowns. We couldn't get his Spiderman costume on (he didn't like the feel of the fabric) so he just wore the Trunk or Treat t-shirt.

This is Dylan at a gym next to Faces Of Hope. The gym donates their facility once a month for the FOH families and Dylan loves it. He jumped into the pit of foam blocks and didn't want to come out. Leslie Face, founder of Faces of Hope, really does a great job at getting people to donate facilities for these kids.

My first attempt at crocheting in a long time. These are for Carrie's little Layla (due Dec. 15th). Carrie loved them and now she keeps buying me different colors of yarn so I can make more. It's fun but I'm really slow at it.

These fountains are in the center of a new shopping center in Hendersonville and the kids love it. Carrie tries to take Dylan there at least 3 times a week. He has so much fun and gives Carrie a little bit of a break, even though she has to be close by to try to explain to other little kids why he doesn't play with them. He'll be disappointed when summer is over.

Before I Was a Mom

Thank you Gail, for sending this to me!

Awesome Mom 

 

Before I was a Mom, 
I never tripped over toys 
or forgot words to a lullaby. 
I didn't worry whether or not 
my plants were poisonous. 
I never thought about immunizations.



Before I was a Mom, 
I had never been puked on. 
Pooped on. 
Chewed on. 
Peed on. 
I had complete control of my mind 
and my thoughts. 
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held down a screaming child 
so doctors could do tests. 
Or give shots. 
I never looked into teary eyes and cried. 
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. 
I never sat up late hours at night 
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held a sleeping baby just because 
I didn't want to put her down. 
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces 
when I couldn't stop the hurt. 
I never knew that something so small 
could affect my life so much. 
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, 
I didn't know the feeling of 
having my heart outside my body.. 
I didn't know how special it could feel 
to feed a hungry baby.. 
I didn't know that bond 
between a mother and her child. 
I didn't know that something so small 
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, 
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night 
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. 
I had never known the warmth, 
the joy, 
the love, 
the heartache, 
the wonderment 
or the satisfaction of being a Mom. 
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, 
before I was a Mom ...

May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life.

Brad & I participated in a craft show in Franklin, TN this past weekend. It's a historical area and there were over 100,000 people in attendance. We did really well selling pens, cutting boards and crochet hooks but the second best part was people watching ~ I didn't get bored at all! The best part was the lady in the booth next to us. She was in the information center booth and her office building was right behind us and in exchange for us watching her booth while she stepped away, she let us use her restroom instead of the dreaded port-a-potty. If we do this show again next year, we'll definately request the same booth. It was sunny and in the high 80's but thankfully there was a breeze both days.

Beyond The Limits

This was a great morning! Beyond the Limits had a walk for autism and we had 13 people show up for Team Dylan (I made buttons like the image above). I didn't think to take a camera but thanks to Brad, Steve, Erin & Eggroll, Carrie, Dennis, Dena, Mallory, Kendall, Marissa, Larissa, Jessica and Joan for registering under Team Dylan. We appreciate all the support!

Easter fun

We had a great weekend. Thanks to Erin, we got tickets to The Grand Ole Opry (as secret shoppers) and saw a great show on Saturday. Then Erin and Steve had us and Carrie's family over for Easter Dinner on Sunday. It was delicious and we all had a great time eating and playing Corn Hole. Steve and Erin have really made their house and yard look great and their little Eggroll (puppy) was so sweet to Dylan that Carrie actually got to finish a family dinner without him getting upset. The only thing that would have made it better is if Mike would have been there.

Storms

We just had severe thunder storms & tornado warning sirens and this is how Dylan chose to deal with it. Isn't he precious! For all of you with young kids, this is what you do when they grow up, relive your maternal yearnings through grandkids if your lucky enough to have them close by. Storms have passed and we're alright.

Dylan's Last Day at Work

This is one of Dylan's favorite things to do. His grandpa put a swing up in the doorway so he can swing while he watches TV (there's one in the back room and one up front so he switches to view whichever one is in site). That's a little bag of cereal in front of him.



This is one of his play areas. All my customers love him so they don't mind that there are dried beans all over the floor. I'm really going to miss having him around all day. Even though he doesn't talk we still communicate and I pretend he agrees with me :-)

Changes....

This is Dylan, running my store (at least he thinks he's the one who runs it).

Well, our lives have certainly gotten more interesting lately. Carrie, Dennis, Dylan and Dharma (the cat) moved in last weekend. Dylan is now seeing a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor and between the visits, supplements, and the time Carrie has to take off work, they just can't afford to live on their own anymore. They're trying to sell their house but haven't even owned it for 2 years so they'll be lucky to get what they owe out of it. Dylan will start a Developmental Preschool next week and will go 3 hours a day so Carrie will have to be available to take him and they will come to the house two afternoons a week so Friday is her last day of work. That gives me three days left with Dylan at the store with me. He's been my constant companion for 3 years so this will definately be a change, but a good one for Dylan and Carrie. Combining our two households hasn't been easy and we're still sorting things out but we'll get there.

So, I've just started trying to do something with my blog site and stole this from Jana's site. It was the easiest way to get started.

What have you done?

Rules: Anything you have done has to be in colored, bold, and/or underlined. (Mine are in purple)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (several in Montana)
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched an amazing lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (crocheting, knitting, gingerbread house & yard (I'm sure my mom taught me but I forgot so I had to relearn)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (don't tell my parents. I don't care how old you are there are some things you don't want them to know.
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I used to know sign language, but I've forgotten a lot of it. Same with French)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (a long time ago)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (does a caricature count)
48. Gone deep sea diving
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood
65. Gone sky diving NO but I still hope to some day!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (we lived in a small town in Illinois and I was on some committies)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (met Robert Conrad at Park City Ski Resort and he was a jerk)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (mom wouldn't let me :(
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy