Corey's Day on the Farm

I know I have not written in way too long. I have been busy trying to get things sorted out and thrown away so that we don't have to pay to store a bunch of junk. And let me tell you, there has been a LOT of junk!!! But, I need to write down our wonderful experience before I forget it, especially since I did not get any pictures thanks to a dead camera battery. BUMMER! Despite a morning of glitches like dead batteries and cold rain, we had such a great day. Corey's Day on the Farm was started by a family who invited their son's Special Ed class to their farm. It was such a huge hit, that other schools heard about it and approached them about bringing their own Special Ed classes for a day at the farm. It grew so much that soon the family brought the farm to the fairgrounds and opened it up to all Special Needs children. It is all run by volunteers. People from all over the area bring their own farm animals and equipment to the fairgrounds for the kids to enjoy. I wasn't sure what to expect, as this was our first year to go. The day I dropped Josh off for his first day of school, his teachers told us to mark off this day on our calendars. So we did. All the kids have been looking forward to it. We were definitely not let down! We got there and Josh got his wristband for horse rides(Sarah somehow wrangled one out of Josh's teachers as well, she was all about the bracelet). When we got inside, Josh got a tee shirt and everyone was offered a straw cowboy hat and a scarf to be an authentic cowboy. Sam was the only one who accepted, the rest of my Sensory challenged kiddos declined. Although Sarah took possession half way through the day. They did really great pictures to put into photo mugs, which my children again declined. There were several booths set up inside the big building, which was great due to the rain outside. The kids had fun coloring tiles, eating popcorn and hunting for chicken eggs. Once we got through with that, we walked out into the fairgrounds and what I saw blew me away. SO many people were there to bring joy to so many special needs kids...to MY special kids. They did not just give up there time, although that would have been enough. They came and brought horses(a LOT of horses) and tractors and hayrides and goats and chickens and dogs. Most importantly, they brought joy and smiles to faces that are very dear to me. Josh immediately made a beeline for the horse rides. He walked up the stairs and hopped right on the horse without looking back. I just stood there with my mouth on the ground. They had at least 20 horses walking a huge field with one person leading the horse and another to walk alongside. Josh had the biggest smile on his face. Talk about great therapy for him! After that we ate snow cones in the rain until they were too frozen to hold on to them. The rain stopped while we waited in line for the tractor ride. After that we got to get nose to nose with a baby cow and several goats and ponies. We made a quick pit stop at the potty(did I mention that Sarah is fully potty trained!!!!!!!!!!) and then picked up our free bagged lunches. After lunch we headed back outside so the kids could each learn the art of roping from 2 of the sweetest boys. It was the highlight for Sam and Michael. After a hay ride, Josh rode the horses 3 more times, Sam got to ride twice, and the girls each rode with young ladies from the rodeo circuit. The biggest surprise was that Michael got into line after being pretty adamant all week long that he did NOT want to ride a horse. I didn't even ask him when we got there because I promised him that I would not if he was sure, which he assured me he was. After Sam rode, Michael tugged on my arm and asked where the line ended. I pointed in the direction and the next  thing I knew he was in it. Now, it was not a tiny line, plenty of time to change his mind, but he didn't! He says it wasn't his favorite part, but I saw the look in his eyes on his way back to the platform. During Sarah's ride, she kept holding up her cowgirl hat and yelling, "Yahooooooo!" The group of volunteers at the platform at the end were all cracking up. It is hard to point out a favorite part of my day. I think more than anything, I was so touched by the people that came out and worked hard in order to bring memories and experiences to kids that often get overlooked. This day did so much for my family in just a few hours. I am touched by the kindness of an army of volunteers and a community that came together to give my family a day to remember!