Splish Splash

Samuel has been sick the past few days.  When Samuel lays lethargically on the couch, keeps asking for the doctor so the doctor can make him feel better, and won't eat french fries........

you know he is definitely not well!!!

The one benefit of Samuel not feeling well is that he wants me to hold him and snuggle.  It is wonderful for me to sit and hold my little boy.  He is such a ball of energy usually and this just doesn't happen very often!

One of my favorite things to do is to swim. 

 Always has been.

Thankfully, my children like to swim as well.

Samuel absolutely loves the water.

That has presented a few scary moments in our lives, because along with his love for water, Samuel also has no fear of water.

We have had Samuel in swimming lessons and he just passed Level 2 Seal.

I also try to take Sam swimming every day during the week if possible.  After school Sam asks if we can go to the Clayson's pool and I just hope that it doesn't start raining on the drive home to get changed into swimsuits. 

 We will be forever grateful for their generosity!

 Next to the hot tub is a decorative feature known in our family.....and perhaps everyone else as well.....as the

BIG ROCK.

 Here is Samuel heading towards the

BIG ROCK

 5...4...3...2...

 1...0...

 BLAST OFF!!!

 KER-SPLASH!!!

Off to do it all over again.....

This is a wonderful time for me as Sam's mother.

We spend a couple of care free hours just swimming, playing, singing, talking and just having fun.

For those few hours Samuel is just like every other 5-year-old.

No therapies to worry about.

No behavior issues to worry about.

No worries about if we are doing enough.

No worries about the future.

Just the present.

Just the joy in his face........

as he jumps off the big rock.

Sally-Ann

First Day of Kindergarten

 When your child goes off to school on that very first day.

It is nerve wracking for a parent.

Well, it is for me.

Doesn't matter how old they are.

I just worry about them and for them on that very first day.

Even my big boy Joshua......

He is 24 and in college.

I worried about him this year.

I don't have a photo of him going off to class on his first day of college.

But, I want him to have a great year never the less.......

 I do have photos of Sam on his first day of kindergarten this year.

 Walking into his school.

Sam was very happy to have a desk with his name on it.

No matter what age your child is on that first day of the school year, as a parent you still have hopes, dreams and wishes for them.  With each child they may be a bit different, but you still have them.

For my big boy Joshua.......he graduates this year, I want him to be successful so he can make his way along the career path he chooses.

For my little boy Samuel......I want him to make great strides like he did last year.

When your child is autistic, your goals may be a little different than the ones you have for your other children.

But, ultimately, they are the same.

You want your children to be happy.

You want them to succeed in the things they set out to do.

You want them to have friends.

You want them to grow and flourish.

Not really sure about that last line......

Not sure what the heck in means.....

Will leave it there.....

I think you understand.

Sam has a tough time with change and the beginning of this school year has been a little rocky.  Sometimes he doesn't want to go, he tells me, "It is so different."  Some old issues have crept back and it is hard as a parent to deal with that.  But, deal we will.

This year I want Sam to continue to find his voice and use his words.  This time last year he couldn't tell me that it bothered him that "it is so different."

This year Samuel gives me a kiss and tells me that he loves me as he heads off to school.

Last year that was a seldom heard phrase and when we asked Sam for a kiss, he would bow his head so you could plant a kiss on top.

There is so much I want this year..........



Cocoa Beach

The week before school started, we decided to do one last week at the beach.  We don't get to do things "spur of the moment" very often.  This worked out great and we had a wonderful time.

To quote Sam, "I love the beach!"

The Pier at Cocoa Beach - right by our condo



Looking out from our patio



Master Bedroom



Kid's bedroom



Living room



Jim and Sam



Sam and Jim



Sam just loved all the waves.....



Our condo



When Samuel wasn't swimming, he was digging!!!



Do you see Jessica in any of these photos????

Nope.....

Me either........

Where was Jessica???

She emerged on occasion to swim in the pool and also when we went to....

The Ron Jon Surf Shop.

A great place to browse for a surf board, t shirt and other over priced souvenirs.

Also part of the Purdy exercise plan.....

chasing Sam up and down the stairs and through all the displays.

It was a great week of swimming, reading, walking along the beach and......

doing absolutely nothing!!!

Sally-Ann



September 11th

Badge from fire helmet discovered in the debris post 9/11/01

 I was looking for something to post on this day, and when I read this article, I knew that this was it.

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild

By Thomas S. Monson

 

The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001.

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.

The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.

It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.

Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.