Exhausted EdVenturers

Even with a day of some rest both me and Ben are still feeling the effects of two weekends of work. The good thing is knowing our efforts paid off. Saturday was so very much more rewarding than the previous one. In fact it was as if everyone there had read our blog last week about how we'd like to greeted and treated!

Obviously there was a great deal of curiosity in regards to Ben's syndrome. I was overwhelmed at how many "normal" children asked how Ben got sick, how his equipment operated, and if they could hold his hand. One predominantly African American church group really stood out and we will remember them for a long time. The kids were so very thoughtful in expressing their curiosity about exceptional children and not just with Ben. Every time we were on break and touring the museum, those kids made a point of greeting Ben and including him in their activities. If we anywhere near Columbia we would've joined their church yesterday.

The little secret I mentioned last week isn't a secret any longer. I was invited to participate in an artist co-op early last month. About twenty local artists have joined together to purchase gallery space in downtown Greenville and we officially opened this morning. It was a big surprise for me at last week's meeting when I found out how soon we were opening! Yesterday was spent hanging artwork in our space and preparing labels, signs, and price tags. We still have awhile before we announce our grand opening but it sure is exciting to embark on a new journey that our local community hasn't experienced yet.

The next two days will be exciting for Ben. He turns eight tomorrow and our first "blogiversary" is Wednesday! Hopefully nurse Lisa will have some photos for us from today's classroom party. Unfortunately the rest of us missed it due to Jessie's stomach bug that hit her very early this morning.

We'll be back tomorrow to share some bling that Above Average Joe bestowed upon us last week. I feel bad that we haven't been able to mention it yet but I can't think of a better day than tomorrow to recognize it!