My first blog post as 'That Autism MOM'

I've been "That autism mom" for a while now. Almost four or five years I believe. I would like to invite you to check out my website thatautismmom.com. This is where it all started. Iwill post more information about myself as time goes by. I was ready for a fresh new start on my blog and this is where I landed.

A little bit about me...

I'm in love with my husband, Patrick Allen. He is my hero. Really. We have been married for ten years this June. I am truly blessed to have him in my life. I write about his awesomeness often.

We were young and in love when our first was born in 2007

I look at this picture and think, "MAN! We look so rested in this picture."  And it's true we did sleep a lot more then than we do now. Coffee has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I talk about my coffee addiction too. A Lot!! Sorry up front. It is my second love.

I have two amazing, beautiful kids. Josh is 9 years old and I have a daughter who is 7 years old named Izzy. My children are both significantly effected by autism. Their exact diagnosis is "Classic Autism". We deal with lots of sensory issues, which I am now super into understanding just so I can make sense my kids needs.

I am an author. I enjoy writing and telling stories. I will tell you that I'm not really good at it. I am striving to get better. Blogging is my practice session. Sorry. :) I have been a contributing author in a book called "Stars In Her Eyes, Navigating the Maze of Childhood Autism". It was Authored by two very special friends of mine, Elizabeth Obrey and Dr. Linda Barboa. Tate publishing company published the book a couple years back. There are a few stories in there about our family and our journey with autism. I Co-authored "Steps, Forming Disability Ministry" with Dr. Linda Barboa and most recently I authored a book called "That Autism Mom's guide to Homeschooling. " It is a short little book about homeschooling with autism. What homeschooling mom has time to write let alone read anything super long. Not me.

Well the cat is out of the bag. I am a homeschooling mom. I have been homeschooling for about 4 years now. Both my kids are quite literally my life. I enjoy writing about this homeschool journey as it is translated for my kids. Autism has changed things including how I look at learning. I love to learn. I love watching my kids learn. It's not at a table with paper and writing utensil typically. It's in our everyday living activities. My children are Montessori students. We use various muli- sensory approaches to learning. We have fun. I might tell you about it sometime.

I am what some may call a religious person. I am an Apostolic Pentecostal (UPCI). I am a fourth generation UPC (United Pentecostal Church). I attend an amazing growing church that is known as Calvary United Pentecostal Church. I have a great pastor, Pastor Carlton Coon Sr. Feel free to check out our church website http://springfieldcalvary.church. There is a sound cloud link where you can hear our pastor preach. I tell you this because I just might write some about my experiences as it pertains to my spiritual life. So you have been warned in advance. ;O)

Church is really important to me. I do my best to live out what I believe on a daily basis. I rely on the bible to direct the decisions that I make as it pertains to every area of my life. I will typically quote King James Version translations of the bible. I may compare looking at other translations, but I grew up reading from the KJV and that is what I am most comfortable reading from. Growing up in the UPC, I consider a great heritage. I knew that I would raise my own kiddos on the pews of a Pentecostal church as well. Autism has presented a few challenges in my "ideals" on what raising my kids on a Pentecostal pew would look like. We have struggled more with church and finding our place than a lot of the other challenges that autism has presented us with. This past year my husband and I started a nonprofit that would be responsible for training churches how to include individuals with special needs in their communities. The organization is called STEPS care Inc. You can find us at stepscare.org We are excited to see God working through this organization.

Well, I think this is all I am going to include in this first post. Please stop by and introduce yourself in the comment section of the blog. I can't wait to meet you.

I hope that you all enjoy your weekend.

I'm Shelli Allen, That Autism Mom