Fishing for Support

Yesterday, we had the privilege of having a tasty meal with the other Boy Scouts and their families. It was to eat and celebrate the boys who had earned badges and advancements in the last few months. We ate some of the most delicious fried chicken and fish we ever tasted (I don't know what the batter was, but it was FANTASTIC!). Everyone also carried in lots of side dishes and desserts; my dessert had no leftovers. ;) It was a wonderful time of fellowship!

Enjoying some tasty fish;
and dreaming about catching
and frying his own!

During that time, Casey asked one of his scout leaders the same question he asks every week, "Are we going to go outside?" He also asks about going fishing. I told him that the Boy Scouts do a lot of outdoor activities (fishing being one of them) so now, he's obsessed with the idea and won't stop talking about it lol. He was told that next week, they were going to make fishing lures. All he heard was "fishing" and he started getting super excited. I signed to him that they were going to be MAKING fishing stuff. He understood, but kept talking about how he needed a fishing pole.

Needless to say, Casey's growing excitement about all things Boy Scouts continues to build. I've never seen him so excited about something like this before! Any parent of a special needs child understands why this is such a big deal. Autism varies from person to person, but in most cases, those with autism don't enjoy a lot of social activity. Combine that with the fact that he's usually in a loud environment (the gym they play in at the church) and you have an ideal situation which would cause most autistic kids to freak out and have a meltdown. Not Casey! He's enjoyed every minute of it! We're amazed and grateful at how he's voluntarily breaking out of his box every day!

As he happily chowed down on his fish yesterday, I kept wondering about how he would do once Scouts got a little bit tougher. What would he do when he had to complete projects for badges and learn how to tie knots? It's challenging enough for the average person, so how would he be able to get through it? Then, I remembered just how committed he has been thus far; how eager and open he has been. I think he'll do just fine. I just hope that he can sell enough popcorn to get all he needs to not only afford a uniform, but to get to that big milestone of earning free Residence Camp. Chris asked if he would even be ready for that and suggested it might be too much for him. I told him that I believed Casey would want to go more than anything when the time comes and that it will be good for him. I'm just so proud of him and to see him maturing and breaking his own barriers!

Since my initial blog, I have had a couple more people buy popcorn from Casey's Dino Raptor Snack Shack. We are now almost to $150.00 in sales so far, but he is still so very short from the $600.00 goal (to get him the uniform and scouting stuff he needs) and the $1,600.00 DREAM of FREE Residence Camp. We have until about October 21st to make it to goal and we're hoping and praying that there are enough friends and family (and even perfect strangers that this blog might get passed along to or stumbled across) that will want to support the dream of a special child like Casey. If he inspires you, and you'd like to contribute to the memories that will help him grow in character and last a lifetime, please click here to purchase some popcorn; whether for yourself or as a gift to the military men and women of our armed forces. Also, share this blog via email and social media. Let's get #caseysdinoraptorsnackshack to trend on Facebook and Twitter! Wouldn't that be amazing?! :)

Grace and peace to you, my friends! Thank you so much for reading and for supporting Casey! It means the world to him, and to us! God bless you!