🍂Fall Is In The Air 🍂

It's been a beautiful October here in Ohio and we've been enjoying every part of it! This is our season! We love it! The chill in the air, the smell of crisp leaves, and yes, the need for jeans and sweatshirts is everything we look forward to! Oh, and the pumpkins! Yes, we love pumpkin season in the Shroyer house! 

We've been busy with football games, UFC fights, homecoming, movies, family time, and oh yeah...the pumpkins! LOL! We love going to the pumpkin patch, carving our pumpkins, and eating the seeds too. Colin, absolutely loves going to the pumpkin patch! He had a ball this past weekend! 

Making our creations:

This year, Ethan had his very first homecoming! No date, he tried, but unfortunately we were late with trying to get his friend from another school in. We didn't realize there was such a process, so we learned a valuable lesson. However, it turned out he had a great time anyway! Probably even more tbh!!! He was invited to dinner w/friends, but didn't want to do that so Jamisyn stopped by and picked him up. For me, that was perfect! I was so worried about him walking in by himself, but it worked out! The whole process for homecoming was a fun one though! Ethan and I had a great time finding his suit and I must say he looked fantastic! 

We enjoy the movies, but I have to admit with this crazy world we are in I didn't feel comfortable going to the theater. Yes, COVID is still here and we are making it through the 2nd strain, but Biden has this nation in a mess that the unrest feeling I have is just maddening; however, it was great to pack up the boys, get snacks, a pizza and with our chairs in hand we found a spot at Lynn's Drive-In to watch the movie Venom: Let There Be Carnage. It was a fun night and we really enjoyed it, even Colin! He loved being outside, under the stars more than the movie, but hey, he had fun! Ethan, he was waiting patiently to get to see this movie, so he had a fun night too! 

This is our first year of no Halloween parties at school, but Ethan did have "Spirit Day" and he decided to dress up w/a friend to go around each class to trick-or-treat...

Trick-or-treat is always an experience for us, because we're never sure how Colin will do? We never push it and if he wants to go, then we go. These past few years he's shown interest and this year, he was pretty excited. He likes the atmosphere, rather than getting candy, but that's ok....he went! That's huge!!! Ethan has grown out of it, but he loves taking his brother...

And, since my boys were little I've enjoyed every season and have enjoyed making their "buckets" a part of our traditions here, as well! Yes, to me, they will never outgrow these things. LOL! So, to end our Halloween season I had one more thing to do....

With all this craziness around us we are keeping our faith, finding our strength in each other and enjoying our lives during this weird time we're in! I refuse to let this crap knock us down and live in fear, so we're finding our way and living our best life right now...together! I love my little family and making memories is what we do best! Now, it's time to switch gears and get ready for our "Thankful" season! ❤

A Big Deal 📚🍎✏

And, just like that, summer is over! I knew it would fly by after July 4th and it definitely did! I tried to prepare myself, but holy smokes the first day of school did come pretty quick! I'm trying to wrap my head around it, now that our first week is done, but man it went fast! Our summer was good though, no complaints, just went so fast!

This school year is a pretty big deal, because the boys both are in new buildings and when you have a child w/ autism you plan! We planned for this jump, since February, and with a few tears Colin conquered it! Took him 2 days to adjust, but he did and now the staff is getting to know the happy Colin! 2 days! That's a record and makes me so happy! I'm so thankful we spent the week, before school started, getting him acclimated to the middle school. That was our saving grace, because he knew what he needed to do...he knew the building, he knew his room, he knew his teacher and so I was able to get him on the bus knowing his amazing bus driver would get him there safely, even with tears. These moments, hard yes, but are the teachable moments that grow my boy! Yes, I could take him to school, however, he has to be able to do these things in life, so we push! Independence, is an important life skill and Colin is learning it by doing these types of things like, riding the bus. The good thing about being able to push, is we don't just throw him to the wolves, we do our homework as parents and we talk with every person who he comes in contact with. We build relationships, for the sake of his safety, and it's great to be in a small school district to be able to do that! We started this 2nd week, 100% on point, not one tear and he's back in the groove. Yayyyyy! I love watching him grow! He's learning to adapt quicker and that makes my momma heart so happy! 

Ethan, did great too! His freshman year is upon us! Yes, he was nervous about it, but my boy is doing it! He too is in a groove and it seems to be going well. It's crazy to think we truly only have a few more years of this school thing! I mean, how do parents do it? I think of my parents often, because I now get it! I'm embracing it though and taking in every moment. I adjusted my work hours to be sure I'm available for my boys, because I know time is not on my side and I knew I had to take the bull by the horns. There will be plenty of time for work, right?!? Atleast, that's what I'm telling myself. LOL! This moment is brief and I will not take it for granted anymore. We're so blessed by Brenton and that he can provide our every need & want, so I don't have to do more than I do and for that I'm grateful. This season of life is calling for me and I felt it, so adjusting the priorities has truly calmed my spirit! I just hope we can enjoy this year and be able to stay in school, because COVID is still here and this world is crazy right now, so we're just riding the wave, putting our trust in God to get through and embracing the moment! ❤