"Awesome-tism CAREWalk 2011"

As Dominic calls it, the "awesome-tism" CAREWalk was definitely awesome. It was the largest one yet, with over 2,000 in attendance! And, even more amazing, Team Dominic was in the top 10 for fundraising!! Yay!!! MANY, MANY thanks to all of you who supported us...from the bottom of our hearts. Pictures are available for viewing at www.samuelshafferphotography.zenfolio.com. I was having a bad morning, and Sam & I arrived a little late. As a result, we parked about a mile away, and joined in on the walk on a side street. As we waited to see our gang, I watched as all of the participants passed by...and I saw a great variety of children, all with special needs, all with special workers, all with special families, and all with special abilities. I witnessed some who struggled to walk; others struggled to stay focused on the pathway and attempted to run in circles in each parking lot they passed. :) Some were over-stimulated by all the noise and wore big headphones to block the noise. One sweet little girl carried a doll with her--she would walk about 10 steps and toss the doll over in the grass just so she could run to pick it up. And a little boy was giving his Daddy fits, continuously trying to kick the people walking in front of him. :) One thing I was happy to see this year was a multitude of Sheriff vehicles, as well as the Party Busses circling around the 2-mile path, ready to give a ride to anyone who had trouble along the way. I think this was a huge to relief to many, as some of the kids are doing great when the walk begins, but somewhere along the way have a meltdown. It's always comforting--eye-opening--relieving?--when we participate in the yearly event and physically see with our own eyes that Dom is not the only sweet child affected by Autism. The are others on this journey with us. However, it does NOT ease the burden of watching him struggle or lessen our desire to see him function as a child of his own age. So we continue to ask for your prayers and support on a daily basis. We know we have an awesome brigade of prayer warriors who are our strength when the goin' gets tough & rough. Know that we love each and every one of you--and Dom does, too!! xoxo, Sarah