Happy World Autism Awareness Day 2013!!!

Ethan Lighting It Up Blue!

Well, I knew 2 things this morning when Ethan woke me.....It was 7:00am, and I would need to dress us both in blue. Awhile back we bought Ethan a digital clock and told him that he had to stay in his bed until the first number was seven. Now my daily wake up call is...."It's Seven! We can get up!" (Yesterday, I told him that I knew we COULD get up, but did we HAVE to???.....to which he, of course, replied, "YES!")

And naturally we dressed in blue to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day! Ever since Ethan's diagnosis, we have been "lighting it up blue" to celebrate the amazing child that God gave to us! In fact, Ethan even PICKED out this shirt...he liked that it had the world on it for WORLD Autism Awareness Day...and there was blue in it! We all wore blue, my friends & family texted me that they were wearing blue, and some of us even accessorized with Autism Speaks wrist bands &/or other items. Ethan even wanted blue underwear. :0)

This year, Ethan is loving any & every holiday.....that's is SOOOO my child! So, today was a nice change when Ethan was EXCITED about getting dressed & out the door. He was ready to "find other people wearing blue underwear, blue pants or blue shirts." After all.....isn't everyone doing what we are doing & wearing??? :0)

I gotta be honest though, folks. I think the day is drawing nearer & nearer to when we will eventually need to tell Ethan that he has autism. As I was explaining what today was all about, he asked, "What does the word AUTISM mean?" And, yes, he drew out the word autism.That's how he asks us what anything is.....What does the word ELEMENTARY mean? What does the word DIE mean? What does the word CHANGE mean?....and these are just a few of the questions from today.

I just told him that autism is something that some people have & others don't. He then says, "Unique is another way to say something is very special." Blinking back tears at how this canned phrase of his was so spot on relevant to our conversation.....and thinking how right he was.....I simply agreed with him. Yes, people who have autism are unique, Ethan.

But it's coming, folks.....I can sense it. But not for today, I guess.

Well, one of our favorite things to do on this day is to put on our jammies and drive around our town...looking for other homes with blue lights! We found more last year than this, but it was still a lot of fun. It's funny how you can connect with a home....and the only thing you know about that home is that they are Lighting It Up Blue and probably love someone with autism. But a special sense of community overcomes you. And it's totally worth the gas money of driving around town! :0)

Well, here are our pictures from today! Did you light it up blue & have some pictures to share? Post them on Courage & Coffee's facebook page!!! I would love to see how you celebrated those living with autism!!!

My mom's house

Corey's brother's house

Corey's parent's house

We loved how lit up this porch was!

They even had a small evergreen tree with blue lights on it!

This blue yard light could be seen all the way down their street!

Ethan was excited that FORD was lighting it up blue. I didn't have the heart to tell him that this is how their sign is all the time. We just cheered & took a picture.

My friend's house

Our house

We decided to hang the blue Christmas lights in the shape of a puzzle piece. I think it turned out really nice.

My sister's house

A lot of us still have our wristbands from last year! We wear them all year long, but we are SURE to be wearing them today!!!

This was given to us from friends, and it is now a permanent fixture in our 2nd bathroom. It is from Scentsy, but I'm not sure if they carry it anymore.

Here it is lit up at night.

How did you celebrate World Autism Awareness Day? Tell us on Facebook!