Terri Hershey here.

Sorry I haven't written in so long, but you know how it is when you are displaced from your home by events that are beyond your control.  We lost our home last year due to devastating flood damage; we (meaning my husband, Randall, and our children, David Patrick and Danielle Grace, ages seven and one half and one year) ended up staying with my sister, Talitha, until just before Christmas.

Going back to our house was probably the greatest Christmas present we could have ever gotten.  Some kind neighbors (and members of our church family) stepped up and repaired our house.  It looks better than ever: new floors, new furniture, new paint job, new toys for the children .... their generosity has been nothing short of overwhelming!

At first David had trouble adjusting to the changes made to our home, but he's since settled in, and he's back to acting like the happy little boy he's always been.  David has autism and sometimes has trouble relating to others, but he also  has an incredible gift.  He loves to sing, and he's even tried out for America's Got Talent.  (Unfortunately, he didn't make it: when it counted, he "froze up" and got a nasty case of stage fright.)

He's tried out two times and both times he "choked".  I felt so bad for him, especially when he ran off the stage in tears.  It was all I could do to keep from crying right along with him. 

This year we didn't even bother going to the AGT tryouts.  Maybe next year.  Gonna take a break from this.  Maybe a better opportunity for David will be in the offing, but for now, we will have to work on him getting over his stage fright first, and it will have to be entirely up to him as to whether he wants to do this or not.  The ball is in his court.

Happily, though, David is doing well in his classes at school.  He is getting good grades and he works hard to get his assignments completed.  In that way, David is very intelligent, even with having autism.  In fact, most people don't even know that David is autistic unless he "stims" his hands in front of his face or remains silent more than usual.  (He only does the "stimming" or "the silent treatment" if he is extremely agitated or upset; otherwise, he acts like a typical little second-grader.)

David has many friends who seem to understand his disability, and for that I am grateful.  He still loves to go to church each and every Sunday.  He sings in the King's Kids choir at church, but he hasn't done any solos since his disasterous stage fright incident last December.  Again, the stage fright got a hold of him and he ran off the stage in tears.  Another little boy had to take his place.  Did a wonderful job, but I wanted to hear David sing.  He does such a beautiful job with "O, Holy Night"!

Well, Danielle is crying (either she's hungry or else she needs a diaper changing), and David is hungry as well, so before he tries to dismantle the kitchen, I'd best get their supper on (for David it's mac and cheese, his favorite; for Danielle, it's my breast milk! LOL).  I will write in here again soon; hopefully I won't wait over five months before doing it!  I have been very lax in my writing; it's because the children (and my husband) all keep me grounded.  I also have my church business to tend to (I work with the little kids in the daycare while David is in school).

Take care and may God bless you always!

~Love, your friend in Nashville, Tennessee, Terri.  :)