Ceramics!

Today I took Duncan and Morgan to Pace Atelier art studio for a Sibshop with Parent to Parent. Parent to parent is a support group for parents of children with special needs. They hold monthly support group meeting as well as several special events throughout the year. This organization has been of great benefit to our family in many ways, but one of the best parts is the Sibshops. These are special activities especially for siblings of special needs kids.

Having a sibling with special needs can be extremely difficult. In our case, the kids have had to deal with Mom and/or Dad being gone for extended periods of time during Owen's hospital stays, ambulances showing up at the house at all hours of the night, and having the entire household run around Owen's feeding and medication schedule.

One of the biggest effects Owen's health has had on our family is that the younger kids have not had the opportunity to do many of the activities that the older kids were able to do. We simply don't have as much time available for outside activities as we used to have. Plus it takes so much effort to  be gone from the house with Owen that we just haven't done as much.

The kids had a great time at the art studio today though. They got to draw for a while, then they spent most of their time experimenting with clay. They got to use a potter's wheel, which Duncan especially enjoyed. Morgan also made a cat out of clay using an internal armature, which she has never done before. Then they got to glaze their creations. I can't wait to see the finished results once they come out of the kiln.

Thanks to Parent to Parent they had a nice, relaxing day to just do something fun. No stress, no worries, and they got to be the center of attention!

I think Morgan's face is a great example of just how much fun they had. You can't possibly get that messy without having a great time can you?