Thank You!

I am still in shock and awe from the events of today.  We got the amazing opportunity to meet some truly fantastic individuals and are so utterly and thoroughly thankful!  Our fence is up!  Not only that but they built the kids a swing set, repaired our deck, sprayed our yard for bugs and so much more. There is far too much to be thankful for today! =)

I would first and foremost I would like the thank God, I know so cliche...right?!  Seriously though, with Him nothing is impossible and anything is possible!  His master plan orchestrated all of this!  So...Thank you very much for holding Ashton in your hand and for always placing your strongest and quickest angels around him. Thank you for touching hearts and allowing all of this to work out perfectly.  Thank you for giving all those who helped today the strength to do so!  Thank you for loving Ashton even more than I do (which is more than I could even express).  Thank you for everything!

Next up would have to be Jessica Toney!  From the time we initially spoke on the phone I felt like we had a special connection.  You truly are an amazing woman whose compassion, sacrifice, hard-work, dedication and pure awesomeness set you apart.  You surprised me at nearly every turn through this process, exceeding my hopes and dreams for this project.  I am still in complete awe.  You have taught me so much!  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart....THANK YOU!  PS. I am so glad that Ashton gave you a hug!  If anyone deserved that, it was YOU!

To the Home Depot team leaders and volunteers, you guys are utterly and truly amazing!  To take time out of your busy schedules to come and help do all that you did today means so much to me and my family! Your skill and hard-work made all the difference today!  Dan, thank you for your GREAT idea to install the fence panels the way we did!  That was perfect!  Lionel, Thank you for the swing set idea!  I know you put your heart into it, we appreciate that so much!  As you saw, the kids LOVE it!  I could go on and on about each and every single one of you.  Thank you so much for everything.  You have really touched our hearts and have created memories that will be with us forever!  Today we laughed and had a great time and hope that you did too, you are truly an amazing group of people.  I can honestly say that it was an absolute pleasure to meet each and every single one of you.  Ashland Home Depot is lucky to have such an amazing leader and team!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Rachel Reynolds, thank you so much for all you did to help with the grant application and paperwork.  You were a very important part of making this happen and we really truly appreciate all you did in this entire arduous process. You have done an amazing job with the school since you took over and this just goes to show that you are more than willing to go above and beyond and that means more to me than you will ever know!  Thank you, Rachel!

To the family and friends that came and helped today, Thank you!  Your support and help means so much!  We are really lucky to have such amazing family and friends.  I know you each love Ashton (and Kayleigh) and it warms my heart to see that love in the hard work that you did today.  We love you each so much, THANK YOU!

Thank you to those who were unable to be there but have been there through prayer and support during the last several months, you know who you are!  A special thank you to Sheri, I could tell that this was something close to your heart.  Thank you for that, it really means a lot!

Please stay tuned for pictures! Here is a teaser...

Friendship is Magic!

On Friday we said goodbye to Ashton's preschool teachers.  These six ladies are amazingly wonderful and have built such great rapport with Ashton that he has personally named each teacher after one of his very favorite cartoon characters.  

I think Jon may kill me for this, but Ashton adores My Little Ponies.  It is neat for me, as a mother, to watch my kids take the same joy in something that I did when I was their age.  Albeit, they look quite a bit more awesome now!

What is more age appropriate, then using your imagination to name your teachers your favorite cartoon characters?  This makes me so happy on so many levels!  He basically began calling his teachers by their new My Little Pony names and at first they were not sure what he was referring to until one of them made the connection.  On a side note, I do think they are all happy with the names that were chosen for them.  On his farewell poster, each teacher put their corresponding My Little Pony sticker on their picture.  It was a really cute gesture.  I am so grateful that Ashton got to work with such amazing ladies, we are really going to miss them (except Ms. Emily - we will see you in two weeks!). =)

 

 

What Ashton CAN do.

It’s easy to focus on what your child can’t do when you are faced with the day to day challenges of Autism.  Today I want to celebrate what Ashton CAN do and how far he has come since he started school last January.

Ashton can sit during meals with minimal supervision.  He eats with a fork and spoon successfully.   He can pull up his pants with a verbal prompt and assist with parts of his dressing routine.  He brushes his teeth with minimal assistance.  He gives “high fives”.  He will walk while holding your hand with minimal resistance, which has helped tremendously with his darting and running.  He can follow simple one step routine directions; such as throwing things in the trash and hanging up his book bag.   He can throw, kick and catch a ball.  He imitates actions/movements to songs.  He is matching the names of his classmates to their pictures.   He participates and takes turns in circle time with minimal support.  He is starting to say some spontaneous words and will echoic a few.  Every night before bed he will say “night, night”   as a cue for me to open his bedroom door for bedtime.  He is playing with his toys in a more appropriate way and has even acquired some pretend play skills.  He will actually let me read to him now.  He is interested in the pictures in books and is beginning to understand that the words on the page have meaning.  He will give hugs and kisses with a verbal prompt.  He also now enjoys coloring and drawing.  He can rote count from 1-20 and can identify some numbers.  He can say his alphabet and can identify some letters and letter sounds.  He knows some shapes and colors. 

It’s really difficult to establish a baseline for all Ashton knows and has learned because once he masters something he gets bored with it.  I am extremely proud of my little guy and how much he has learned, overcome, grown and matured in these last 12 months.  I am excited to see what this next year brings; with God all things are possible.