This is What it’s All About – JJ’s Tails: SERVICE DOG FILES

Okay, this is actually about JJ’s little brother, but the rest of my title is absolutely on point.

Little man has been having a really rough time lately. He’s been very emotional. The fits, tantrums, and melt downs have gone up. He’s the youngest of 7 and within a short period of time, two of his older sisters spread their wings and moved out (about 2 weeks apart) and we think this has a lot to do with him being as emotional as he’s been.

Sunday, trying to get to church was hard. We walked into the building and he was heading for a melt down. I was able to get Grady in there pretty quickly and asked my little guy if he needed to snuggle Grady.

He did.

And the meltdown was interrupted before it really got started.

And this is what this whole process is all about. This is why all the fundraising pleas. All the hours of looking for just one more idea to help raise money. The time spent in community outreach and working with sponsors to try and raise awareness for my son’s needs.

This moment, when my son was calmed and a meltdown avoided because of an amazing dog that sensed he needed something…

This is what it’s all about.

If you want to learn more about JJ or help him out, you can find both options

here: HELP JJ

SERVICE DOG FUNDRAISER OPPORTUNITY- Are You Hungry?

Hey guys! This is for my local friends and family.

Granite City in Zona is doing another Dine to Donate fundraiser for us! We’re so excited to be working with them again ❤️

Hope to see you there!

Also, if you’d like to read more about JJ, or donate directly to our fundraising, you can go here: Help JJ

You can read about the organization as a whole, there, as well, by selecting the various tabs.

Paper Orchid Shadow Box – I got to play a little!

I used to play with paper and make things on an almost daily basis. But then our lives went down a different path and the time and the emotional availability wasn’t there. My creativity flows best when my mind and shoulders aren’t weighed down.

But every now and then, like a snow day :D, I get a chance to play. And that day was yesterday 🙂

I made the 3D Orchid Shadow Box, found here, in the Silhouette Store.

I really like how mine turned out, BUT it is modified from the original, and here’s why: I didn’t read the directions ahead of time. So, a caution to all you paper crafters out there – if there are directions somewhere, take a quick peek before you start, just to make sure ;D

Because I didn’t, my project couldn’t be displayed like the example. But it still works. So, if you want to make this project, too, here’s the blog with the directions lol.

I cut mine out of white card stock and colored the flower parts using copics and colored pencils. I was then able to nest all the boxes, instead of having two separate shadow boxes – this is an example of how mistakes can be springboards for other ideas 🙂

I also added a back, because I could lol.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Let’s Get Real. A Free Public Education Isn’t Free for My Autistic Son

Did you read that right? Yes.

That “free” education that all of our children are, by law, entitled to, will cost us THOUSANDS of dollars to SAFELY obtain.

If you’ve read my son’s story over on the Paws 4 Autism page, you know we’re homeschooling because my son was bullied on a weekly (often more) basis by a number of kids throughout FIRST GRADE. It amped up his anxiety. Made him fearful to go to school. Learning was no longer fun. Our mornings were horrible and always full of tension because he was dreading the day. And can you blame him? Not only was he getting teased, he was being hit and punched.

Kiddos with autism struggle socially. Those social struggles leave them vulnerable to bullying.

My boy has had enough trauma in his young life, so we pulled him out of school to homeschool him.

But the goal is to get him back in school. I want him to have a chance to figure out how to navigate social situations. I want him to have friends. I want him to see all the variety out there.

But it needs to be safe and that’s where a service dog comes in.

I had some time to think about this the week before Christmas (two different kids were in the hospital that week). Between the fundraising for a service dog and the homeschooling costs, at MINIMUM, it will cost somewhere around $22,000 dollars (you read that correctly) for him to SAFELY ACCESS the FREE public education the law says he’s entitled to.

That’s just ONE of the costs of special needs, and looking at it, it seems kind of extreme that we have to come up with/raise $22,000 so he can safely attend the public school just around the corner.

Thanks for stopping by

xoxo

If you’d like to read more of his story, or help him reach his fundraising goal for a service dog you can find the information here: Help JJ

I Had the Cutest Visitor! JJ’s Tails: SERVICE DOG FILES

Holy cuteness batman!

On Tuesday, my sister and her husband stopped by (we live quite a distance from each other, so just that was a treat) with the sweetest visitor.

This is JJ and Cupcake.

Cupcake is the pick of the litter. My sister and her husband, of 2Hartz Rottweilers, are donating the proceeds from her sale to JJ’s Paws 4 Autism fundraiser and we’re extremely grateful for their generosity.

Here’s another shot of Miss Cupcake, passed out on my lap 🙂 She has the cutest little feet!

Adorable, right? They won’t be ready to go for a bit (February), but there’s nine more puppies if you guys are interested in adding a new best friend to your life. You can find more information here: Adorable Rotti Puppies

And as the icing on the “Cupcake,” the family that bought her knew where the proceeds for her were going, and that was one of the reasons they wanted first pick 🙂 I really like nice people.

As you may know, this was one of our fundraisers, so it is now closed. Thank you all for your kindness ❤️

For more information about JJ’s Paw’s 4 Autism fundraising and why he needs a service dog, or if you’re interested in donating to JJ’s page, you can find the info here : Help JJ

Thanks for stopping by

xoxo