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!

Casey's Dino Raptor Snack Shack

"Mom, I want to be in Boy Scouts!" This is what I've heard from Casey on a couple different occasions when he's brought information papers home. Up until now, I had put it off for a variety of different reasons; time, money, and the fact that I didn't really believe Casey would ultimately want to commit to something that required more socialization and outdoor activity time (even though it would be good for him). Casey's mild autism has always caused him to have difficulty with socialization (or even wanting to; he usually likes to be alone). He is also very sensitive to temperatures; particularly heat, so he doesn't always enjoy outdoor activities when it's warm outside. Therefore, I was REALLY surprised that he brought up joining the Boy Scouts again. He had let it go the last time when I explained what it all entailed; as well as a "maybe next year" and "wait until we get married and get settled at your new school." This time, he was NOT letting me forget about my "next time" response. "Next time" was now THIS TIME.

When I took Casey to the introductory meeting, all I could think about was how much he hated other things I tried to involve him in. When he was younger, he played special league t-ball. When he wasn't sitting down in the outfield or playing in the sand, he was covering his eyes and running to first base after hitting the ball. In Upwards basketball, he was flailing around the court (and doing his "raptor walk"). He looked unhappy and like he wished it would all be over (see video playlist lol). So, you can imagine how hesitant I was to give into Casey's insistence that he REALLY wanted to do Boy Scouts (especially when I saw how much a uniform and all that stuff costs). However, the scout leaders said that the $12.00 membership fee covered him from now until January; in other words, a perfect time frame for a trial run! I told Casey that we would give things a go and if he didn't like it, we would opt out when it was time to renew. If he still wanted to stick with it, we would invest in a uniform at that time. I don't know if he truly comprehends the whole concept, but he agreed lol.

Casey learned how to
make a duct tape wallet!

So far, Casey has been enjoying everything they've been doing in weekly meetings. Chris and I have observed him playing dodgeball and we were amazed that he was enjoying it and attempting to participate. Granted, he doesn't know how to throw the ball very well (or very far) but he did try. More often than not, he was just the last boy standing after everyone else has been hit because he just stands by the wall laughing, grinning, and avoiding being clobbered lol. It may not seem like a lot to anyone else, but watching him enjoy it was a pretty big deal to us. It showed a lot of personal growth and maturity and it's so good for him to step out of his box!

He also went on a nature hike where they were identifying plants and bugs. This is right up Casey's alley! He LOVES that stuff! I hope that he will impress the leaders and other scouts with his amazing encyclopedia-type explanations of the different species of spiders, bugs, and such. He reads up on those things all the time! They've met their match with Casey in this area! Everyone else might be able to cream him in dodgeball, but he can memorize nature facts like nobody's business! :)

The other thing that Casey and his troop are starting to do is sell their Boy Scout popcorn. This is something that Casey only vaguely understands. He knows that he needs to sell it (and that earning a certain amount will earn him a prize of a rocket kit that he wants) but he doesn't understand HOW to sell it or WHY it costs what it does. When telling his Mamaw about buying popcorn, he said that he was calling his popcorn selling "Casey's Dino Raptor Snack Shack" and that his popcorn was five dollars. "But this says twenty dollars," Mamaw said. Casey looked surprised and confused. He told her, "Um, no. That's too much money. I say just five dollars." We all had a good laugh about that lol. He doesn't realize that fundraising has preset prices and that no matter what you're raising money for, it's always "too much money" - but the money goes to a good cause!

We are so proud of Casey for trying something new; especially something that involves learning good skills, building character, and being part of an honorable and respected organization. Casey has always been a hero in my eyes because no matter what challenges he's had to overcome due to his hearing impairment and autism, he's always come out on top and shown everyone that he's just as smart (if not smarter) and as capable of participating in things just like anyone else!

Grace and peace to you, my friends! Thank you for reading about Casey's story! I will be sure to keep you updated as the fundraising progresses and give you a grand total as well! $600 is what they hope each individual scout will raise and $1600 is the amount they said one needs for free Scout Residence Camp (I'm a newbie, so I don't know what this is, but I'm sure I'll find out lol!). Right now, he has done around $70 in sales (obviously, he has a long ways to go!). Please, feel free to pass this blog post along if he has inspired you as much as he inspires us! Email it, post it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. and use the hash tag #caseysdinoraptorsnackshack . We appreciate your support! If you would like to purchase something from "Casey's Dino Raptor Snack Shack", just click on this link lol. No, Casey's five dollar pricing isn't applicable lol. However, it will go to support his troop as well as get him on his way to earning that rocket kit and purchasing items scouting related. Even if you don't like popcorn, you can buy some and have it sent to our military troops and their families instead! Everybody wins! Thank you for helping to make the dreams of a special needs child come true! God bless you!

And the Moral of the Story is.....

If ever there was an "I wanna punch Bob Barker" kind of day, this was one of them. I've blogged about that feeling before. Even the tamest of people have their Happy Gilmore type moments where they want to start swinging fists or golf clubs. Today wasn't the worst of the worst, but it definitely ranks up there among the "terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad," days. Now, it's time to do one of the constructive things I had blogged about doing in order to cope with this kind of day....blog about it (for my therapy as well as for your entertainment lol).

6:30 ish a.m. : I hear frantic turning of the bathroom doorknob. My husband is trying to talk through the door and is asking me to get a screwdriver. He manages to get the doorknob off and free himself in time to get to work and for me to shower and get ready for a busy day. Something inside tells me that this is only the beginning of a chain of events that are going to happen during the day, but we roll our eyes and laugh it off.

9:00 a.m.: The three children and I arrive at Paige's dental appointment in Elkhart after about an hour drive. Not being the biological parent puts me in a somewhat awkward position to where I can't really fill out any forms completely or sign anything. It bothers me, but in this case, legality counts more than the fact that she's my daughter in my heart. She gets treatment regardless and has to have a return visit for fillings.

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: We kill some time shopping before lunch and our next appointment. The kids are mostly behaving, but my diva can always be counted upon for some drama. My phone also decided to misbehave as well; all day it was running oddly and slowly. It also went dead a lot because I had to use it so much for GPS (since I was driving all over creation). The bright spot was, we were all getting to go eat at Panera Bread. Paige loved it; it was her first time there (if my phone hadn't been dead again, I would have taken a picture to commemorate it). We were sitting in a spot where we could see my car from the window and we noticed some young girls stopping to stare at it and look at it as if they were in a used car lot. I was confused but thought maybe they were just being nosy or admiring my Infusion 413.com bumper sticker (yes, very wishful thinking lol). I think Gianna pointed out that I had a paper underneath my wiper blade. I thought it had to be a solicitation because it couldn't be a ticket; I hadn't done anything wrong.

We had finished eating when one of the gawkers finally entered the eatery. I spoke up and asked if there was a reason why she was staring at my car. She looked stunned and embarrassed and then admitted that she had hit it. I jumped right up and we went outside to survey the damage. She had hit my already damaged driver's end from where a pole jumped out behind me when I was backing up about a month ago (true story). Hard to tell what her damage really was other than the obvious paint scrape (my Dad had gorilla glued my tail light back together as best as he could and pounded the small dent out lol). It was about that time that the girl's mom showed up to ask what should be done next. The girl had parked her car somewhere else so I told her to bring it back to where my car was so the police could see it because the best thing to do would be to call and file a report. The note under my wiper was from a good Samaritan who left me a license plate number of the car in case it turned out to be a hit and run (thankfully, it didn't have to come to that). We waited a while and the policeman finally got there, took our information, and we parted ways. I was still relatively ok by this point because I had just been laughing everything off and figuring that since the damage was cosmetic, insurance money would actually be a blessing and could be used for something else. No big deal. Oh yeah, and I discovered my favorite sunglasses were broken (they might be able to be superglued, though).

1:30 - 5:30 p.m. - Arrived at the dental clinic for the appointment for the other two. I had originally cancelled it because when we discovered that all three children had ironically been scheduled for appointments the same day, there obviously had to be a rescheduling. However, I found out that my kids' dental clinic had another location which was conveniently close to Paige's dentist as well. So, let's get it all done and over with right? I had rescheduled the appointments for 2:00 and went in to register. The lady said the appointments were somehow made for the 24th. I almost became unglued, but after explaining the day thus far to the receptionist, she assured me that non-appointments can be accommodated and that they could probably still be seen. So, after all the waiting and paperwork, it finally got done (Casey has two cavities and Gianna, the one who usually acts the most rotten, had none. Ironic, isn't it lol?). I also managed to call my insurance agent and fill him in on what happened before my phone died again. In the midst of it all, Paige's flip flops managed to fall apart. Awesome.

5:30 - 7:00 ish p.m.: Determined to get our last item of business done before finally making it home, we proceeded to drive to Warsaw so I could get to the BMV before they close and get my new license done. That's what you do when you move and get married, right? You get your name and address changed with Social Security, the BMV, and all that stuff. I had already gotten my Social Security card, so this was the next step and I had everything I believed (and was told) I needed. I got to the BMV at 6:10; after we had made a stop at Dollar General for some cheap flip flops for Paige and a light snack to tide them over until dinner at home. We waited 20 minutes and I presented my request and information to the BMV worker to get my new license. Apparently, it wasn't good enough. Despite presenting my marriage license and USPS change of address papers to them, I guess I was a little short on my "proof".

Yep, this is the part where everything stopped being funny.....

I was thinking about the announcer in Happy Gilmore saying: "Here comes the putter throw!!!" I was trying really hard not to be the kind of BMV customer that everyone dreads and makes fun of; the one that screams, cries, or goes ballistic (or a mixture of it all). I listened as the BMV guy explained that he doesn't make the rules, just enforces them. I heard it, but I still couldn't believe it and scrambled through my bottomless purse (and even went out to my car) to find something, ANYTHING that he could possibly use as "proof" that I live at my new address. Alas, I had nothing that had my name and new address printed on a piece of mail that was good enough for them to accept. He asked me why I even needed to do it now and that I had 60 days. What a stupid question! I got a little annoyed and was like, 'um, because that's what you do when your name and address changes...' Good gosh, I just wanna "get r done" and over with so my identity information is correct! DUH! However, I had to leave the BMV frustrated and agitated....but who doesn't?

I was trying to refocus and maintain composure. Angry tears were boiling up, but I tried hard not to let them give way as I started up the car. Yeah, the tank is nearly empty too; I can't imagine how I've used so much gas today. Looks like I need to take care of that....THEN I can go home. That was easy enough, until I left the gas station to head home and was met by "road closed" signs. I tried to circumvent them in order to still go the way I had planned, but ran into endless one ways and dead ends. I finally just had to backtrack and go a completely different way.

7:30 ish p.m. - now: We finally get home. I'm tired and agitated and my stomach hurts....AND I had to endure that annoying and overplayed "Happy" song on the way home because I found it while channel surfing and the kids love that song (which is the last song anyone wants to hear; especially when they are NOT happy). *Clap, clap, clap...."because I'm happy.".... as I pull into the garage.* Ugh. I opted to take a shower and relax as Chris willingly took the reins and followed through on taking the kids swimming at the neighbor's (even though it was late in the evening and the idea was almost ditched, but the kids had been waiting to go all day....and they'd earned it!).

I am now deep in thought about "the moral of the story" as I wind up this blog. Chris, Ben, and the kids returned from the pool, got their showers, and we read our devotion and prayed before they went to bed. I prayed with a heart of relief and thanks; because no matter how "bad" things may seem, God is still good and just (and there are others going through FAR worse). Each day is a day He has made and I can still rejoice and be glad in it. There are always silver linings.This day was just one of the many ridiculously catastrophic and screwy days we have had since we got married just over two weeks ago. I can't even begin to list and describe the physical, verbal, emotional, mental, and financial attacks we have been assaulted with. However, as Christians, we aren't ignorant of the fact that in this world, we will have trouble (John 16:33). Chris and I fully expected that our marriage vows would be tested quickly and we are happy to find that no matter what stresses we have had, our love and faith have grown even more. We are holding tight to our vows as well as our belief in the second part of the previously mentioned verse in which Jesus assures us that HE has overcome the world! As long as our promises and His promises endure, we WILL continue to persevere. Romans 8:28 assures us that ALL THINGS will work together for GOOD for us because we love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.

Grace and peace to you, my friends! We all have bad days. I know that there has to be someone out there who is reading, nodding, and even laughing along with me/us today. We got to find the humor and purpose in things. After all, this day really wasn't all bad. There were plenty of funny moments and good times today. I enjoyed spending the day with all three of the kids and am happy as pie to finally be home! I am now going to enjoy some "comic relief" TV time with Ben and my husband. Soon, my knight in shinning armor will be going with me to the BMV to provide "proof" that I dwell in his castle so that the fire-breathing government will be satisfied and will granteth me my new title lol. It's all going to be ok. I don't always know how, but it will because God always makes it possible! Amen! God bless you all!