Day 3

 If at all possible, Jim, Sam and I had a even worse night sleep than the previous night.  We thought Samuel would be exhausted and go to bed early and sleep well.  Boy, were we wrong!!!

Joshua, Courtney and Jessica all seemed to sleep well.  It was Sunday and we all started to get ready for church.  One Purdy took an extraordinary LOOONG amount of time  in the bathroom.  There was only one bathroom and 6 people needed to use it.  As a consequence, 4 members of the family were a little late for church and 2 decided to stay at the cottage for the morning.

 Samuel and I played some games, built a house out of legos and had a yummy snack.

Then we went out on the porch and sat in the rocking chairs.  Samuel ran around the yard exploring and having a wonderful time.

 There were the most beautiful butterflies flying around.  All kinds of colors.

Samuel and I sat very, very still and some of the butterflies came and landed on our hands.

It was just like a sharing time that I gave a few weeks before at church.  I told the children that if they wanted to catch a butterfly, they had to sit very, very still.  If they wanted to feel the spirit of the Lord they also had to sit very, very still and listen with their ears and their hearts.

 Samuel and I had a wonderful quiet moment with the butterflies.  Sam declared that it was, "Cool", and I had to agree.

Butterflies were much better than..........

THIS!!!!

Unfortunately, our peaceful time outside was interrupted by the return of the local dog pack, so we had to go back inside.

The pictures on my blog today aren't actually mine.  Remember?  My camera died and it had the rechargeable type of battery.  4 cameras in our house and the cords were/are missing for all of them!!!!
Jim and Jessica came back from church.  We had lunch, vegged out a little and then went for a drive. On our drive we stopped at a gift shop and Jim bought a disposable camera.......I then stopped whining about not having a camera.
Drove back to the cottage, had dinner.  Not a very exciting day today!
Joshua and Courtney stopped by on their way back to Asheville.  Their car was crammed full of stuff as Courtney had emptied her room at her parents house.

Sally-Ann

Day 2

 After an absolutely awful nights sleep night of not sleeping!  We had some breakfast and decided to do a little bit of sight-seeing, grab some lunch and then see if we were needed to help with anything for the wedding reception that evening.

Our first stop was The Historic Orchard at Altapass on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Historic Orchard

It is a 102-year-old apple orchard turned Appalachian Cultural Center celebrating the people, music, art, and natural beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina. Built by the Clinchfield Railroad in 1908, the Orchard sits right on the Parkway providing some of the most amazing scenery on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 We ended up staying at The Orchard a little longer than we intended.  They were getting ready for some musical entertainment that afternoon, and as time went by it got busier and busier.  We had lunch, explored the gift shop and people watched for a bit.  Sam and Jim played fetch with the farm dog and explored the apple orchards.

We climbed back in the car and headed down the parkway hoping to get some scenic shots.

Well.........we tried.......it was a little foggy that day!

We stopped at every scenic overlook, and this was our view.

Except, of course, when the view was blocked by trees.

Here we can see some of the mountains.

As we were driving along, I did notice the incredibly large spider webs.

Now, I am from Australia where everything that creeps and crawls tend to be big.

But, what kind of spiders do they breed here in North Carolina???

This is what I imagine when I look at those huge webs.

 Don't take your eyes off any small children or pets that you may hold dear......they could be snatched up.......just like that.........gone!

This is one shot that I did get of a nice, normal looking spider web.

There are waterfalls down there somewhere........behind the fog

We then received a call from Joshua saying that help was needed with sandwich making, so we headed back to Spruce Pines.

On our way back, we did notice a few things that made us go, "Mmmmmh??"

This truly is a porta potty.......I hope the wheels are immobilized

This sign just cracked me up.  Not a bad shot either, taken from a fast moving vehicle.

 Dropped Jim and Sam off at the cottage so Sam could chill out a little before the reception.

After getting lost a few times because we listened to the GPS, Jessica and I finally found our way to the Heaton's house.  Only to find that the sandwiches were done.

Went back to the cottage to get changed and collect the boys.

To my dismay, I found that in the trip to North Carolina in the car, strawberry milk had been accidentally spilled on my dress.  I dutifully sponged it off and went to iron out the creases.  Unfortunately, I hadn't gotten all the milk off.  Hot iron........sticky stain.......hole in dress.  After jumping up and down and muttering under my breath, I pulled option B out of the closet and discovered that it also had strawberry milk all down the back.  Sponged it, didn't iron it, stressed out because I wouldn't be wearing the wedding colors...........and off we went.

The reception area was done up very nicely

The sandwiches that I didn't help prepare

The cake

Cake topper

Flower arrangement

Bouquet

Display outside reception

Sign-in table

Sam stimming down the hallway

What Is Stimming?

Just in case some of you wanted to know. 

The reception was very difficult for Samuel.  I was going to keep everything pretty light-hearted, but I also want to use my blog to educate others about Autism.  Autism is our life 24/7, it is part of our family and our lives now.  It is part of Sam, therefore.......

Stimming is repetitive stereotypical behavior commonly found in autism, but also found in other

developmental disabilities. This behavior may involve any or all of the senses in various degrees

in different individuals. Several examples are listed below.  I highlighted some of the things Samuel does.  He also runs.....and runs.....and runs, screams, tantrums, sensitive to sounds (fans, air conditioners, people).  Sam also pushes and pulls hair when he doesn't know what is expected of him, doesn't know how to interact.  Sam was in a strange place, surrounded by people who he doesn't know and they don't know or understand him.  Tough, tough night for our little boy.

• Visual – staring at lights, blinking, gazing at fingers, lining up objects
• Auditory – tapping fingers, snapping fingers, grunting, humming
• Smell – smelling objects, sniffing people
• Taste – licking objects, placing objects in mouth
• Tactile – scratching, clapping, feeling objects, nail biting, hair twisting, toe-walking
• Vestibular – rocking, spinning, jumping, pacing
• Proprioception – teeth grinding, pacing, jumping

The happy couple about to make their grand entrance!!!

First dance, technically their 2nd :)

Mother and son dancing to the world's longest song!  Beautiful song, sung by someone with a very beautiful voice, but long!  Might not have seemed so long if we knew how to dance!!

Cutting the cake

Feeding the cake to each other.  Tried to get a better angle, but couldn't maneuver myself in there!

Joshua inspecting the cake

I raised him better than that!

Wearing their ears rather rakishly

Sam loves his big brother

 And this is where the battery in my camera died.  

Beautiful reception.  Joshua and Courtney are very loved by their families and friends.  It is exciting to see two young people start out their life together.

Joshua and Courtney exited their reception in a cloud of bubbles.

Purdy clan also exited shortly after. 

They were staying at the cottage with us that night!

Sally-Ann

PS.  Did you know that Floridians are known as Flor-idiots in North Carolina?  We've lived in Florida for 15 years now, do we qualify?

Sometimes......

Sometimes,
I just sit and cry. 

  
Sometimes, 
it is just one of those days.  

Why??

Sometimes,
it all just seems to much.

So, sometimes, I cry.

 
 A few months ago I cried, I cried because....
My little boy is now a grown man and he went and got married!  I cried because when your boy goes and gets married things change.  But, I also cried tears of  happiness.  Happiness because he found someone to love, someone to share his life with.  Happiness because he is happy.  I miss looking into the boy's room and seeing my little boy curled up in his bed and by big boy stretched out on his bed, feet hanging off the end.

A few weeks ago I cried, I cried because....

I said good-bye to my daughter as she headed off to college.  I love her and I miss her.  I know she is just a telephone call and a e-mail away, but I miss her physical presence.  I miss  trying to get her out of bed in the morning and trying to get her to go to bed at night. 

I miss her willingness to help out with her little brother.  I wonder if she misses his little voice in the morning?  "Jessica, get out of bed!  Jessica, get out of bed!  JESSICA!  GET....OUT....OF...BED!!!"

I  miss her random bits of information, her raised eyebrow and yes, I even miss the roll of her eyes......

The other day I cried, I cried because....
I sometimes feel like I am drowning.  I am drowning under the weight of life.  It is suffocating me.  The faster I try to swim to the surface, the further away it is.  
Family that is to far away across the ocean......to many missed weddings, births, and deaths.  Deaths, that is probably the hardest, the chance to say a final good-bye, a final hug, a final "I love you".  It isn't the same over the  phone.
Businesses to keep afloat, people that rely on us.
Church responsibilities, people relying on us.
Children, even though two are grown, you never stop worrying.
A little boy, relying on us, relying on us to be his voice.  Are we making the right choices?  Is there more that we can do?  Questions, questions, questions.
My own self doubt adding to the weight.  The expectations that I set for myself and can't quite attain.


But, then, I stop feeling sorry for myself.  I put on my big girl panties, isn't that the expression now days??  I remind myself of how blessed I am.  I remind myself of prayers that are answered.  I remind myself of support and strength I receive from God, family and friends.  I remind myself that I am made of sterner stuff, that I don't quit.

Tonight, I cried........
I cried in the new Seffner McDonalds!

Samuel loves fries.  Whenever we go past McDonalds, Sam says, "Fries".  Jim was out of town tonight, so I though I would take Sam to the new McDonalds here in Seffner for a treat.
It was busy......very, very busy.
This new McDonalds has a play area.
It was busy.....very, very busy.
It has probably been 6 months since I have taken Samuel to a play area at a fast food establishment.  It is always a mine field for a little boy with autism.  A little boy who pushes, pulls hair and screams when he doesn't know what is expected of him.  Crowds, noise and all that comes with it, just adds to it.
Sam was so excited to be going into McDonalds and when he saw the play area......
he started jumping.  Pulling on my arm as we ordered our food, Sam said to me, "Eat first, then play?"
We ate and then ventured into the danger play zone.
Did I mention before that it was busy.....very, very busy??
There was a trillion kids, standing room only for parents.
There was screaming.....lots and lots of screaming.
There was pushing.....lots and lots of pushing.
There was crying.....moderate amounts of crying.
There was blood.....small amounts of blood.

And?
None of it was caused by my little boy.
He waited his turn to go up and down steps.
I watched him put out his hands to push, but he stopped himself.
He didn't scream, he just laughed.
He had fun.
No body could tell that he was any different than any other child there.
But, he was different.
He is my little boy.
My little boy, who made me cry.  
I cried because Sam had a fun time. 
  I cried because I am so proud of his accomplishments, of how far he has come in such a short period of time.
It was a good cry.

I love being a mother, I love my kids.  Someone said once, that when your children walk into the room, they should see your face light-up.  I can't remember the exact quote.  But my children make my face light-up.  The 23-year old, the 18-year old, the one in heaven and the 5-year-old.

Sally-Ann

PS

DON'T google "big girl panties", what the heck was I thinking?????