Saturday afternoon we attended our special needs Christmas party. It is put on by a couple at their *beautiful* ranch and is an outreach from another church. There was a flying elephant ride, a spinning dragon ride, two bounce houses, a petting zoo, pony rides, and lots and lots of people. It was SO fun! This party is definitely one of my favorite events of the season. It is specifically for families and friends of children with special needs and everyone there either has a loved one with a disability, or works/volunteers in a program for people with disabilities.
The first year I was invited, I was a nervous wreck trying to keep up with my boys and apologizing for their condition. That has changed!
After being asked and then flat out told to not worry about the boys and allow the people there to help me and allow myself to relax, I finally listened! There is a petite blonde lady who Topher just adores. Since his thing is running (think Forrest Gump - from then on, if there was someplace to go, I was running! That's my Topher) she just kept running right along with him and after him. Watching her made me realize that it is no wonder I am so tired all of the time! lol
We did have one small incident where a volunteer dad had a conniption by the bounce house. He started saying very loudly, "Whoever this kid belongs to, he needs to get out of here because he is hitting and spitting!!" I, of course, was mortified to learn that I was the one the kid belonged to. It was Joshua. He was blowing raspberries at all of the kids. I did not see all that transpired, but I asked him what he did, and he said he made nice, nice to the little boy's face. To Josh, "nice, nice" is smooshing another person's face between his hands and getting so close to them that he can smell their skin. It is one of his "things." Admittedly, taken out of context, it could appear threatening. I made him apologize, took him from the bounce thing, and went for a walk. The whole time he was saying, "No! My friend and my Christmas party!" I felt guilty for falling prey to another parent. I am not sure if I handled it correctly or not. I did take Josh back to the house thingy and made him apologize and tell the little boy that he wouldn't smoosh him anymore. Then he went back in to play. The dad had a look on his face that I am sure would have hurt me if looks had actions behind them. The funny part is that just 20 minutes before this, both the boy and Josh were on one of the rides together because his son was afraid to ride alone. I really think this whole thing was blown out of proportion and was a case of not seeing the disability, just a brat. You see what you want to see.
On a more positive note, here are some highlights:
*There was a petting zoo there with ducks, chickens, a goat, rabbits, guinea pigs, and a pot belly pig. The last time we were there, Josh wanted NOTHING to do with the animals. He was afraid. This time, he jumped right into the fence and sat there until he had the chance to hold *every* single animal. At one point, he told the lady that he wanted to hold "that one." She thought he meant the guinea pig, so she asked him, "You want the guinea pig this time?" And he said, "No! I don't wanna skinny pig! I want the big fat pig!" Priceless! He wanted, and made the woman, pick up the pot bellied pig and put it on his lap. The poor thing was grunting and squealing, but he got up there. Josh thought it was the best thing in the world!
*There was also horse and pony rides. Topher took his ride while I was in the bathroom with Josh. So I missed this, but EVERYONE told me about it afterwards. Evidently, my little one got on the horse and was a bit uneasy at first. Then he realized what he was doing, grinned from ear to ear and said "Yee haw!" while throwing his arm in the air like he was gonna lasso a cow! The kid is such a nut!
*At the end of the night, we were going to take pictures - on a side note, as soon as I figure this out, I will have pics on here! There was a huge birthday cake for Jesus on the stage in the barn where we had dinner. I rally the boys together and asked Elizabeth to take our picture. Topher, without missing a beat, gets on the stage and looks out to the crowd and says, "Ladies and gentlemen!" Needless to say, he stole the show at that point.
So that wraps up another adventure for the Fraser boys. We have errands to run today and a few appointments and then we are baking this evening. I cannot wait to see what gifts we will share throughout this day. Blessings and laughter to you all!! Love, Reese
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