Pumpkin a la mode

Sorry if you came to this post hoping it would lead you to the latest Pinterest-worthy recipe, but this is an entirely different type of post. Though, be it as you wish, you can pin this post for the pumpkins, I won't mind.

Anyway.

I started promoting the Fragile X Parade of Pumpkins in March of this year. From the beginning I had the whole thing in mind and how big I wanted it to be. It was hard to explain the concept to other people as putting pumpkins on display for auction to benefit families affected by Fragile X without it coming across like a family Halloween party.

Anyway, I am so grateful that I was able to, in some way, help some get the dream I had in mind.

It was so amazing that at the time we officially started our event there were actually people at the door. People I didn't even know! That was, in and of itself, awesome! I thought for sure I would most likely get friends and family there. But, it was awesome to meet people who had heard about it on Facebook, the Internet, The KUTV Pay it Forward TV spot, my blog, The Down Syndrome Association Newsletter, or by word of mouth.

I know this sounds bad, being my first event and all, but I have NO idea how many people came. We were so excited to see people coming and I was so anxious to meet them all that I completely forgot to keep a head count. But I do know we had just under 100 pumpkins!

There were a lot of friends and family there too. I felt so loved and so supported. It was a great feeling to have success our first time around. This was the first of many, and at least, now I'll know what I am doing for next time.

But, that's the way we learn, right?

Trial and error.

Trial and success.

Success and improvement.

I want to thank Chelsea of Gallery Image Photography for taking the photos for our event. I am so glad that we have so many images of the fun pumpkins we had.

And I want to thank my aunt Rosanne for making a great video of the fun stuff especially the high speed video of Aaron carving his pumpkin:


I have to show a couple of my favorite memories of the event.

Jessie painting a mustache on one of the kids who came.

And my Cosmo Pumpkin along side the soccer ball that Marc painted and Jessie's Dracula. Those were my 3 favorite. (Marc also painted the baseball, football, and basketball on this same table.)

There are already families talking about what they are going to do next year and bets being placed on who will win bragging rights for bringing in the highest bid on their pumpkin. The winning pumpkin display this year was actually a trio brought in the second day and went for $250!! They were the tiny ones too!

And I want to thank Aaron for being the inspiration for this entire thing.

I feel very blessed.

I am also VERY excited that we were able to find 3 other families affected by Fragile X Syndrome that only heard our Association existed because of all the publicity from all this. And that, my friends, is on of the the great reasons I keep doing this. To reach out to other families and to advocate for our children and families.

It was so much fun to teach people who were curious about Fragile X Syndrome. I think that is also one of the things I liked so much about this particular venue was the personal basis of it all. It gave me a chance to meet so many people and help them put a face and meaning to Fragile X.

Thank you to all who made this possible:
Aaron
Jessie
Amanda
Brittany
Judy and James
Chad and Jennifer
Lindsey
Aleesa and Todd
Michelle
Alexa
Brittany
Grace
Shauna and Mike
Lynne and Gary
Heather

and all the others who donated pumpkins, money, food and decorations!

Now that my pumpkins are done, I think I will go have some ice cream.

... pumpkin...  a la mode...

Success and a Hello Kitty Pumpkin

I am tired.

I am wired.

I am thrilled.

I am...

OK, so I don't do poems... but seriously, this Parade was a success!! Total success!

I am so excited to tell you about it, but I need to be done for the night.

But, hey, check out the pumpkin I got...

If you are wondering which one I bought for Sister the hint is in the title of this post.

Happy Weekend! I'll catch up later.

I am so happy about our success that it makes me tired... zzzzzzz

2 more...

...days until the big unveiling of the Parade of Pumpkins.

I am surrounded by pumpkins, pumpkin posters, pumpkin paint, pumpkin pins...

I am so ready for this Parade!

I hope you don't mind if I don't get back to blogging until Saturday sometime when the stress of putting this altogether dies down.

I am excited that this is all coming to fruition, that this dream I have had in my head for a few years now that all started with my brother, Aaron's creativity of how he "carves" pumpkins. I hope he realizes that he started something wonderful.

So until I get to my regular posts and catch up on so much I have neglected you will get to stare at this image and you can check out the link on my side bar or in the tab at the top of the page.

Paying it Forward

You know, I have so much to catch up on, but I am putting a zigzag in my chronological order to post something so exciting and, frankly, quite humbling.

I have been a parent leader in the Fragile X Association of Utah for about 4 or 5 years now and as of about 1 1/2 years ago I have been the sole leader of the Association. I have had helpers along the way and as of the last 6 months have had a couple of co-leaders.

But, even with help, this has been a daunting task.

I get overwhelmed by leadership and only ended up in this position by default and just couldn't bear to just drop it.

Well a few years ago I wanted to start some kind of fundraiser but nothing was coming to fruition. Then and idea finally came to me after seeing some of the amazing pumpkin carving my brother, Aaron could do. Why not have some kind of fundraiser for the Association where people could bring their pumpkins or just come to view some amazing ones. So with the help of my co-leader Jennifer and her husband Chad we were able to hatch the idea into an actual plan and now it is coming to light on October 19 and 20th of this year.

I have been so overwhelmed with 3 children with FXS and all the challenges that come with that and then heading up this entire thing. I have had help but, even with help, it still is stressful having to decide who does what task and what tasks need to be done and when and where and who...

I had come to the decision that I was going to give up after this fundraiser was complete.

I had decided that I couldn't do this anymore and that is was just too much for me and my family to continue to take on.

Then I got a call from Marc's cousin, Heather.

She told me, in effect, that her son had somehow through connections from an internship had gotten us the opportunity to do an interview to promote our fundraiser, The Parade of Pumpkins.

Awesome!

I was so excited because I had been wanting to get to that task of getting our event on the news or the radio or something and here was my answer!

So today we cancelled all our plans (which wasn't too hard because it was raining all day) and got our house cleaned and the kids ready and ourselves ready.

My mom and Aaron came to show off their pumpkins for the interview so that people would know some of what they might see.

And away we went with the interview. It went really well even despite the children making noise and running in front of the camera randomly. It made me, and Steve Hertzke (the interviewer) chuckle quite a few times. He asked me a lot of questions about how the diagnosis of Fragile X affected us as parents, how it affected our family and why we were working to get this even going.

About 20 minutes into the interview he pulled Marc and I together in front of the camera and asked us if we ever had a quiet moment at home with the kids. We paused and looked at each other as Baby's rocking horse was squeaking in the background, Sister was Squealing and flipping over the couch and Brother was tapping away on the table next to us, and smiled as we responded, "Um, not really..."

Then the surprise came.

Steve said something about how KUTV has a Pay it Forward spotlight and that we were part of that. Then, this innocent bystander, who the whole time, I thought was some random producer or intern or something, stepped forward, gave us $500 cash in behalf of Mountain America Credit Union and told us that it is to go toward our cause that we have been working so hard for.

I was shocked and amazed! I teared up and hugged the Mountain America Credit Union guy, twice. Not just once, twice!

Marc's cousin, Heather had not just called in to get us an interview but, she, her sister and her mom had all been entering us in to be spotlighted for their Pay it Forward piece!

I felt so humbled that they felt we had made a difference.

It was an amazing feeling!

I cannot express enough thank you's to everyone who was involved in this.

I am also excited because it has given me the kickstart to keep going and not to give up after the event. That, in and of itself, is quite an accomplishment.

If any of you want to see the interview and spotlights on Aaron's pumpkins and other things then tune in to KUTV on Wednesday, October 17th at 10pm, Thursday, October 18th at 7am or Thursday, October 18th at 7pm on their sister station KMYU!! I am so excited to see how it goes!

And thanks again, Heather, Jadine and Brigette. We love you!

My brother Aaron's "sample" pumpkin he did specifically for the interview.
Thanks Aaron!

My mom's witch pumpkin and bench that actually go together at the auction with another shot of Aaron's.
Thanks mom!

And if you want to donate to the cause but can't attend please visit our fundraising site.

And if you want to see one of my favorite "Pay it Forward" spots click here.

So I guess I'm a Photographer now...

at least I am going to claim the title. I figure once you are getting paid to take peoples photos that makes you a Photographer... or something like that, I don't know.

Anyway, I want to be a photographer.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorites.

This won't be anything exciting for my friends on facebook...

but, I want to document the great and terrible things in my life and photographing is, in my mind, one of the great things.

I enjoy photographing families:

Couples:

And kids:

But I especially love to capture moments with my own children.

Here is one I captured today of JJ helping Sister button her shirt.

I love these moments.

I think because of my love of photography and my love of children with special needs I really want to be able to reach out to the families who have children with special needs. I want them to realize they can capture special moments regardless of ability of their children.

Some like to dance in the rain.

A lot of people think that since all three of my children have Fragile X Syndrome that they must all be exactly the same... now granted, they have MANY similarities, and most parents of children with Fragile X will tell you how uncanny it is to see some of the characteristics they see in their own kids manifest in others, BUT, as with any child or person on the face of this planet, they each have their own personality.

For instance, we had Brother's very first ever, official Junior High School Parent/Teacher conference...  actually waiting in long lines to meet with his mainstream education teachers. Brother has the opportunity to take Science, P.E. (Physical Education) and Choir with his "typically developing" peers. I didn't know quite what to expect because I know he has a lot of anxiety and wasn't sure if he was actually participating in his mainstream classes, but when we met with his Science teacher we were so happy to hear what a participant he is and how well he is doing. He really LOVES science. His P.E. teacher said it took him (and sometimes still takes him) a little bit to warm up to the idea of sports, but he is doing very well and is very respectful. Brother's Choir teacher couldn't say enough about him and even mentioned that, although he is VERY shy with his peers, he is the strong leader of his section in choir, and everyone loves him.

Insert smile... here.

Sister's teacher  brought up how social, bubbly and happy Sister is with her class and with her peers in the halls, at lunch, and at recess. She definitely doesn't play the shy card as often as Brother does when it comes to the peer social interaction.

Baby has her very first ever IEP coming up next week and it will be interesting to see how she interacts with the team. I kind of think she'll dive right in and show her true colors right off the bat. She doesn't seem to have much hinderance when it comes to some things.

Why do I think this?

Because of my 3 children's 3 different interactions with the rain...

Yep, children and rain.

A new philosophy by Rachael at Our Life.

Observe:

...

Wait.

First the back story:
It was sunshine all over a couple of weeks ago and then right in the middle of the after noon

BAAAMMM!!!!

Down the came the rain.

In buckets.

Sister and her friends, JJ and Juju were not afraid of it and didn't cower back into their houses... soon, Brother and Sister were deciding on whether or not to participate.

OK. Now Observe:

Sister is in the pink warming her hands after playing basketball in the rain.

Baby is contemplating the rain while Brother knows right away "No thank you!"

Once the rain drops slowed Baby was in the nearest puddle.

It wasn't long before this little Baby was splayed out in the puddly drinking the water from the puddle she had been standing in... not sipping, but guzzling the water with her face fully planted in the cold new puddle... wish I had a picture of that (sigh)

Brother had hidden away in the warmth of this comfort zone (in front of the TV).

Baby had fully immersed herself in the rains' puddle.

And Sister was shortly back with her friends (after warming up) to see what sidewalk chalk can do when it is wet.

In more ways than one, it was beautiful.

Some people like to watch the rain from the window.

Some people like to play in the downpour.

Some people like to feel the light drops on their face as they look up.

Some people like to look for the puddles to splash in.

Some like to drink the rain.

Some like to sing in the rain.

Some like to dance in the rain.

No matter how you enjoy the rain,
we are all beautiful just the same.

(Oh and we would like to thank Amanda and Travis
for allowing us to use their driveway for the beautiful sidewalk chalk artwork)

The Importance of Being Earnest...

No, I am not talking about the play by Oscar Wilde later turned into one of my favorite movies starring Colin Firth.

I am talking about the kind of earnest that shows devotion, commitment and sincere intention to a certain thing.

So in this post I am talking about the importance of being earnest in our marriage.

Marc and I really have to be earnest in keeping our marriage strong and thriving because of all the stress of raising children with Fragile X. We lose each other, sometimes, among all the needs of the children. But, we cannot be strong and loving parents if we as individuals and a couple are suffering.

So, that brings me to the importance of being earnest grandparents and sisters.

Three weeks ago I fell apart.

Really fell apart.

Bad.

Because my mom was the person that I called to cry to, she and my sister, Jessie, worked out taking all 3 kids from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. My mom had them the first part of the night. Then they slept over at Jessie's and then they came back to my mom's for the day.

We went to a movie and even slept in the next day.

Marc and I were able to start getting back on our feet and feeling like we could face the day again.

But, the cloud was still hanging heavy over me.

I think that the whole Baby-being-on-the-austism-spectrum thing was still sitting with us.

So 2 weeks ago we asked Marc's parents to take our kids overnight.

We were able to recuperate spiritually by going to the temple with his sister, Amy and her husband. It was such a great night and I was starting to feel our burden lifted.

After we said goodbye to Amy and Frank we went and got some Frozen Yogurt and ate it outside on the bench and listened to the music playing outside and we even sang along. We had smiles on our faces and Marc even got a little goofy...

Tee hee! Check out the guy in the background.

Then that next night we had respite so we were able to go out again.

This time we went with some friends to dinner and then to "Chalk The Block" down in the Provo Riverwoods. That was SO MUCH FUN!!!! They had live music and booths and people everywhere. It was awesome! Then to see all the art that people had drawn with chalk in the parking lot was unreal! Truly amazing art! I can't believe people are willing to go to all that work and then just have it washed away. WOW! And it held a special place in our heart because it actually helps raise funds for autism programs in our area. Aw...

We danced with the band--it was an all girl band and they rocked!

This 3D was so cool!

This was done by the Orem High School Art students... what? Amazing talent!

Hey! Is that Lindsey I see here? Yes. She's the one in front. She was not the artist of this piece but, the helper so I made her get in the picture (smile).

Loved this one!

I took this one for a few reasons: 1) it was one of my favorites, 2) it had a mermaid in it so I had to take a picture of it for Brother, and 3) it was drawn by our band's bass player, Steve Keele's son! How cool is that?!

just pretty

I know, it's sideways, but it is still cool and I am too lazy to rotate it...

You know, I think it was after I saw all this chalk art that my life was put into perspective. It may seem like so much of the work I have put into raising children gets washed away by the hard times and trials and that is when I get discouraged. But then I earnestly put effort into my relationship with my husband and it seems like the lines I have drawn start coming back into focus and I realize that nothing was actually washed away, there was just a dark cloud covering all the lovely colors left on my life's pattern. And then I look at my life in a new light and perspective and understand that the trials and heartache only made my efforts brighter because I have learned to paint on a new canvas in different hues.

I hope that the "artwork" we build into our children's lives will forever influence someone for the better and in turn help them to understand the importance of being earnest...

even if the path is not easy.