Steve Jobs has passed away........

The Einstein of our time, the Henry Ford of our time, a true genius of our time ....

Steve Jobs will be missed, and I can only hope that his legacy will forever be etched into our lives and our children's lives and so on....


Have a nice day!

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning......

(all videos on this site are not playable directly here .. you will be directed to YouTube to view them. But, they are too important and poignant not to share .... enjoy)
(no images on this site are my own, they are from various news sites, websites and other sources)







Don't forget the 4 legged heroes of September 11, 2001 ..... four-legged heroes remembered.



September 11, 2001 ..... The day that would forever change the skyline of New York City. The day that brought our country together as one. A day that will not and cannot be forgotten.

Where was I when the world stopped turning? 

I was approx 7 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. I believe that morning was also the first time I experienced morning sickness in that pregnancy. My friend Kristy was coming to my house so we could go to Tyson's Corner. Her husband called me around 8:55am to ask if she'd arrived, and to tell me to turn the news on. I watched in horror as I watched the 2nd plane crash into the WTC South Tower. My friend and I decided it was best to not go on our shopping trip and we just watched the news. Horrified, we watched as the towers fell, as the Pentagon was hit, and as a plane crashed into Shanksville, PA. We obviously cancelled our shopping trip and watched the TV as the horror of that day was portrayed across the TV. Her husband came from work and her and him left to go home, while I sat glued to the television. My husband was at work and they were finally allowed to leave around 3pm, though it took him quite some time to get out of the parking garage at work and then on home. 

I hope people will remember how we felt that day. The unity we felt as a country, as a people. Remember those who lost their lives, or loved ones. Remember those who have fought for our country in the war since September 11, 2001. But most of all, remember....... that we can move ahead in the face of adversity, that we should love our fellow man, and that we should love ourselves.

Graphical timeline and photographical timeline of the events of 9/11 ....

WTC shortly after Flight 11 crashes into
the North Tower on 9/11/01

Flight 175 crashing into the  South Tower
of the WTC 9/11/01

Pentagon after it was hit on 9/11/01 by Flight 77

Site of the Shanksville, PA crash of Flight 93 on 9/11/01

WTC South Tower as it collapses on 9/11/01

WTC North Tower as it collapses on 9/11/01

MEMORIALS to remember those lost.....

9/11 Memorial reflection pool at Ground Zero

9/11 Memorial Wall at the Pentagon

9/11 Memorial in Shanksville, PA

Have a wonderful day of remembrance..... remember the good in those we lost, and never forget the tragedy we've overcome. May God continue to bless our wonderful country with the freedoms, liberties and the pursuits of happiness that we're allowed......

What a difference..... Surfers Healing 2011

Look at that smile!! :) PURE happiness and joy!
The ocean heals my soul when I see that look of pure excitement!

Thanks to Emily Peat for this wonderful picture of Ashton

Surfers Healing 2011 in Virginia Beach, did not disappoint. It was a beautifully sunny, warm, light breezy day. Perfect weather for surfing!

CFA sandwiches are a FAVE!

Since we've done this before, we knew a lot more about what to expect. Got Ashton signed in, received his goody bag and all of our t-shirts, and went and found a spot on the beach. We ran into many friends and the excitement was in the air! Funny enough, my family and went ahead and grabbed a spot while I was talking to a friend. After I sat down, I realized another group of friends were in front of us; the Peko Family!

We got there right as lunch was being served; Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches! The camp was running a little behind, trying to wait for the surfers and volunteers to catch a breath from the morning heat of surfing, plus allowing them time to eat and take a break. Plus, they were waiting for some better waves, as the waves petered out a bit in the afternoon.

Ashton's surf time was scheduled at 1pm, though he didn't go out until around 2:00 because of the delay. He was so excited, as he knew exactly what to expect! He was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to surf with his surfer from last year, Kalani Kahalioumi, but I think once he was out on the water, he didn't mind one bit! There weren't very many waves during Ashton's time out in the water, but he did get to ride a couple of smaller waves in. He greatly enjoyed just laying on the surfboard out on the water; what an extremely calming effect.

But, what excited me the most wasn't the way Ashton was in the water, it was how social Ashton was this year, in comparison to last year. I don't know if it was the vibe or energy of those around us, or if he's really just made that much progress, but wow, amazing. We had seen Kalani the night before at the Welcome Luau at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. He'd given Ashton a gift (a poster of himself surfing) and gave hugs, etc with a promise to "see you tomorrow!".  I cannot tell you how many times I heard "Where's Kalani? Where's surfing? Where's Kalani? Where's surfing" the entire ride home and even afterwards. It was hard getting him wrangled into bed that night, but he went, begrudgingly.

When we arrived at the beach Saturday, we looked for Kalani. We ended up heading over to the tents where the surfers were taking a break, eating lunch and chilling out. We saw Kalani (after asking several people where he was) and Ashton got a huge grin on his face and was so excited! He got even more excited when Kalani started introducing him to all the surfers as his buddy. At this point, I paused, because I was amazed at the transformation in my son. He was talking, laughing and being a total social butterfly! This time last year, he would have shied away from them, not knowing what to say. This year however, he was wanting to meet everyone and excitedly talked to anyone who would listen! He caught a glimpse of Izzy Paskowitz and said "I saw him on TV" so the surfers gathered us around and introduced Ashton as a fan! :) We got a couple of great pictures, gave Izzy hugs and I thanked him for all he does for our special children with Autism. What a gracious, generous, teddy bear of a man. So humble and so normal! Ashton had a blast meeting all the surfers, and I'm so glad they didn't mind our interruption.

Mahalo to all of the surfers who gave my son much aloha and many happy memories! We now can't wait until next year! Our entire family had a wonderful time watching the transformation of these kids in the water and I'm continuously amazed at how such a busy event can be run so smoothly.

Special thank you's to Izzy, Kalani, Pito and Tim ..... I can't remember the names of all the surfers we met yesterday but I greatly appreciate the time and effort you all make to help our children feel the love and acceptance that they so greatly deserve.

Here are a few pics from yesterday..... enjoy!

Izzy Paskowitz (founder of Surfers Healing) and Ashton

Izzy grabbed his "cool man" sunglasses for another cute shot!

Getting suited up

Getting led over to his surfer w/ a volunteer

Ridin' a wave in with his surfer, Tim (look at that smile!)

Ridin' the second wave in....

Thank you Tim for your patience and kindness!

Ashton with last year's surfer, Kalani Kahalioumi - TY for the gift! 

Thank you so much everyone! Surfers Healing, Surfers Healing VB, all of the volunteers, the surfers, the families who shared their children with us all, and most of all, thank you God for putting Angels on Earth like these tireless people, who can give us a day away from judgement, away from the stares and puts us with a group of people that we can laugh with and share our joys with.

Gift from Kalani (trying to get a frame for it)

Until next year,

The littlest heros.... the siblings

I know I've posted about Holden, Ashton's younger brother many times..... well, Holden is Ashton's wind beneath his wings..... :)

But, have I told you how awesome he is?

<~~~~ That beautiful baby boy, was the single best and most important thing we ever did for Ashton. I mean yes, we had a second child because we wanted one and knew a second child would round out our beautiful family. But what we didn't know at the time, was just how important of a role Holden would play in helping Ashton. We didn't realize just how crucial Ashton's well-being and independence would be and what role Holden would play in that. Never did we realize how good of a therapist Holden would be. A built-in and free therapist, imagine that?! :)

Holden has always been early at meeting his milestones. I mean heck, he came out, 3.5weeks early after a 2.5hour labor! ;) He's been early at everything! hahaha! He started walking around 8-9ish months, started talking shortly after his 1st birthday and he was talking non-stop by the time he was 18months old. Holden knew all shapes, colors, ABCs (upper and lowercase and all sounds) by his 2nd birthday and was singing the Star Spangled Banner and was saying the Pledge of Allegiance by his 3rd birthday and also knew his full name, birthdate and phone number and address.

<~~~~ That is a picture of Ashton and I the summer before Holden was born. I got pregnant the month after this picture was taken. We were still undergoing the diagnostic process for his Autism (meaning, we knew something was up, but didn't have a label yet) and had decided, if I didn't get pregnant by the end of that summer, that we would remain a one-child household. Well, Holden was meant to be, because I found out the day before mine and hubby's birthdays (August 23rd) that I was pregnant. Ashton underwent testing for seizures (MRI, EEG) and genetic screenings and blood tests. Everything came back normal, but we knew something was going on with our precious boy. We found out in November of 2001; Autism. The scarlet letter of developmental delays. He rated on the severe end of the scale, and we were left wondering what that would mean for our sweet boy. We found out in December of 2001 that our new baby would be another boy. While I was sad at the thought of never experiencing having a little girl, I know now, that our second and last little boy was exactly what God had planned for us. In January of 2002, Ashton started school, a preschool class for special ed children. His teacher (Ms. Cindy) was an Angel on Earth (though she may dispute that!). I greatly admired (and still do!) this woman; she has a huge huge heart, has special needs children of her own and yet, was going to school to finish her schooling and was teaching special ed kids. Because of her, Ashton learned incredibly quickly. He quickly picked up on the communication skills that laid the groundwork for us to be able to hear his sweet voice. At first, he used PECS cards and used those for communication. On April 16, 2002, Holden made his grand appearance! Ashton's teachers knew when he didn't come to school that day, that I'd likely had the baby. When Ashton returned to school the next day, we sent in pictures of his new baby brother and he wore his "I'm the big brother" t-shirt! :) What a grand moment for him.

I was fortunate in that I got to stay at home with Holden. Ashton was in school full day when Holden was only 4months old, so he got lots of 1:1 mommy time despite being a second child. We went to playgroups, LLL meetings (LaLecheLeague; it's for breastfeeding mothers), and we were hardly ever home! :) Lots of mommy & Holden time. At this point, Ashton didn't pay much attention to Holden I don't think. He was still very much "in his own world", although I would often get pictures like that one ~~~~ ^. Beautiful, aren't they?

It wasn't until Holden was around a year old, that Ashton became more aware of this little being that had set up residence in our home. Holden was walking already (Ashton didn't walk until he was nearly two-years-old; now known to be because of hypotonia in his upper extremeties) and was talking pretty clearly for being so young. We had moved right around this time and that had set Ashton back quite a little ways. But, what was quickly becoming apparent was, he dearly loved his little brother. So sweet! <3<3<3

As the boys grew older, and over the years..... Holden's personality came to light. He would not be ignored. It's just not in his personality. He also helped Ashton come out of his shell. Due to Holden's outgoing personality, and his precociousness, Ashton was seldom able to withdraw when Holden was around. Holden loved to play and interact and never had any problems adjusting to a special needs brother; Ashton was just who he was meant to be, his big brother. See ^^^ pure idolization of his big brother, and I think it was mutual between the two of them. They would put up from each other, what they would put up from no one else.

and here's some more pics, story will continue afterwards.....

Ashton would have never wore this if
Holden wouldn't of had the same costume!

Trip up to NOVA '07 - LOVED the carousel in the mall

Holden's first day of kindergarten - MY how he grew!

Ashton at the special games for his school

Look at that smile - RUNNIN'!


Fun with friends



FAMILY PICTURE - ALL 4 of us!


Fun with family friends!
(I Promise, no kids were harmed in the taking of this photo! LOL)

Still feelin' that brotherly love <3

One of the first years Ashton REALLY got into Christmas '09

This was also the year Ashton decided to give himself a hair cut! :P

Happy 12th Birthday Ashton and Happy 9th Birthday Holden!

and now we are here today (well okay.... a few weeks ago LOL) ..... :) 

Holden has helped his brother immensely over the years. But, I think what has helped Ashton the most, is Holden being exactly who he is, so that Ashton can become the young man who he is supposed to be. Ashton is now a very verbal and social creature. Almost always happy, and talking non-stop! Ashton now has a pretty engaging personality. You can't talk to him and not smile. He's so funny and comes up with some really cute things to say! Sure, he's not at a twelve-year-old level, and I doubt he'll ever be totally age-appropriate, but he's come such a long ways from where we started. Holden has been the biggest part of that. Holden knows that sometimes, we can't just go out and do fun things, because Ashton just can't always handle that stuff. He's been put on the back burner on many occasions because of Ashton's therapies, school issues, etc. Holden is now coming into his own, now that he's getting older. Holden is very smart, very active, and is quite a talker. He gets very good grades and is well-liked by all of his peers and teachers. He's quite popular at school, as Ashton paved the way for him! As night and day as my boys are, they are both a very special part of our family. Ashton has taught us that slow and steady wins the race, and Holden has taught us that gettin' up and goin' and havin' fun is a good thing too. They're both sweet, loveable and funny as all get out. And the love they have for each other? Unsurmountable. They're best friends and stick up for one another when they think the other is being wronged. Holden has picked good friends, all of whom have accepted Ashton for who he is, not what he has. Ashton is a book-lovin', movie--watchin' fiend while Holden is a video-game playin' and runnin' around actin' crazy goofball. But, at the end of the day... they're both ours. Our sweet boys who are both growing up into incredible young men.

My hope for them is to always remain friends, always look out for one another, and always remember, that blood runs thicker than water. Family is family, and they do for one another. and Thank you for being the two best sons any mom could ever ask for!

Love you BOTH very very much!

The little lion? that's Holden..... in 2006 on the homecoming float for his school


One of my favorite pics of Holden, EVER!

First soccer game - ala Karate Kid! LOL

No idea what the silly faces were for, but I LOVE it!

2nd place in his VERY FIRST wrestling tourney! AWESOME!

Holden took this picture, with my little p&s camera - photographer in the making?

VERY first GOLD MEDAL in wrestling!

Small, but MIGHTY!

he had some anxiety about the tube initially, but then wanted
to keep going back out in it! :) YAY!

I'm always proud of both of my boys' accomplishments, but I try to make sure Holden gets the extra attention he deserves. He's had to give up a lot with having a special needs brother, and has always taken it in stride. He's a very sweet kid, and this post is for him :) I hope you've enjoyed the story and the pictures :) Thanks for letting me share

Have a nice day!