CKC Portland
Tags:Delightful. I love being able to teach in the Northwest. Lots of familiar faces this past weekend - and a good variety of new ones as well. Thanks to everyone who came and played in the Discover Home class.
One of the most amazing things happened on Friday night at the crop - Chris, my Mom and I are still talking about it (and I think we probably will be for a long time to come). The Friday night crop featured about 450 women (and a couple men) working away on projects, participating in the games, and just overall enjoying the company of one another (and getting some layouts completed). I was called up to the front to give away some prizes on the stage. I stood up there, said my name, etc and then Simon (who had been in his stroller with Chris and my Mom) came running up on stage.

He came right over to me and took the mic. Mikayla grabbed a chair so he could stand up tall at the podium. He babbled a few words all scrunched up together. I asked him if he wanted to sing a song and he thought a moment and began with the ABC song.
No fear. No trepidation. He missed the "L" which got a good giggle from the crowd. A big round of applause came at the end of the song.
But he was not done yet.
Next came "If You Are Happy And You Know It." The awesome crowd played right along as he sang the entire thing - including "clap your hands," "pat your knees," "stomp your feet," "beep your nose," and "shout hooray." People were clapping and stomping and beeping right along with him. It was awesome. I was totally amazed the whole time - the look on my face and my mom's face and Chris' face was probably almost as entertaining for people as listening to Simon sing.
He was confident. He was proud. He kept right on singing, finishing with a little song called "I love Mommy, I love Daddy." Seriously.
Afterwards he got down from the stage and ran around between the tables - no talking to the scrapbookers of course (saying "no" to people as they tried to give him a high-five). Up close is too personal for him but give him a microphone and an attendant audience of almost 500 people and he is amazing.
If you were there and you took some photos could you please email me - I definitely have to do a layout about this adventure. Thanks to Jill for printing out the one shown above.

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113 comments
Loved your Discover Home class at Portland CKC. Had the pleasure of taking it with my mom. She had the best time; she hasn't been a big class taker. I had the pleasure of taking one of your classes previously at Scrapbook Attack, Portland, OR + I'm a HUGE fan of your work, your blog --but it was fun to see my mom "get" it. And she won a copy of your 2nd book. Thank you. And love this Simon story. So wish I could have seen it. Love the photo and the joy on both of your faces.
Amy
P.S. started a free private blog last night to try capturing my everyday moments. :)
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precious boy...
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Wow, that's so great! Simon has made so much progress :-) How amazing that he could just get up like that in front of all those people!
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that is the bomb. seriously!
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I wish I could have been in Portland to see Simon at his finest...
Deb and I caught up with Denise Sanner today in Maryland. We had a great time reminiscing about SAVE.
xxoxxoo
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WOW ali!! What a an awesome amazing story!!! So cool! way to go Simon!!!! I don't think my kiddo would do that- that's cool :) I am excited to see a layout about it too :):)
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Beautiful suprises come in small packages Ali.
He is one of those priceless pieces of wonderful.
tears are streaming with ya xx
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Ali, That is so incredibley awesome! I'm happy for you, Chris and Simon. What wonderful opportunities are afforded you and your family because you SCRAPBOOK! So cool!
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So validating for you guys! You and Chris so deserve to relish in this glory. Such a cool story! Thanks for sharing!
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WOW, that is so cool!!! Wish I could have seen it. Did anyone take video???
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Wow, I am breathless reading this! Go Simon-dude!!
What an amazing LIFE MOMENT!
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Never underestimate kids, as they are amazing! As a teacher of special needs children, I once had a beautiful little girl say only 5 words when she started in our class, two years later she stood in front of 400 or so people and introduced our performance for the Christmas concert, she held that microphone tight and said what she had to say, we were all so very proud of her, she had come along way. Children are amazing and Simon is one of them! You won't forget that feeling Ali when you watched him, it will always be there. Strong and Proud! Way to go Simon.
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Ah, so sweet! Love the look on your face. Hugs -
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Hey pass this on to Simon for me!!
What a dude!!! On to Hollywood for him!!!
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A truely heartwarming post that brought happy tears to my eyes. I enjoy your blog as I love your spirit, your scrapbooking style and hearing about your journey with autism. What a great day for your family. cheers!
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What a great class - loved the entire experience at CK Portland !! Finished the book today, took lots of time to journal about my home and took the pictures this morning while my daughter and one of the cats were still sleeping - quiet moments / smell of coffee/ and my lab sitting by the fire....This will be a treasure....Thank you for sharing all that you did with us - loved the meanings of your pictures - loved that we had a "no hurry" classroom -loved that you used a picture more than once, now that ROCKS ! - thanks for the pictures and autographs - Loved that Simon sang at the crop - Future American Idol ??
Starting my personal blog about everyday things tonight !!
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Teary here too! Thanks for sharing your wonderful story (s) Ali! Hope you have a wonderful day! Kim
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that's awesome ali! what a guy! :)
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That is just the COOLEST!!! What an awesome experience for Simon, and which you, Chris and your Mom got to experience in person together!
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That is so amazing Ali! Way to go Simon!
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