Christmas Performances

This was Marshall's first year being a part of Christmas

performances, and he was a part of two!

On the last day of preschool,

Marshall's class had a party where the parents

were invited.

My husband took the day off as both of

the little kids had Christmas performaces during school hours

and on the same day, so it worked out well.

The kids had been practicing Christmas songs

for weeks, but of course, Marshall

does not have the language to tell

me about anything he does at school.

I pick up on some things based on the crafts he brings

home, or Mary his aide will inform me.

Marshall did give me a little taste of

his singing when i brought home

a hair elastic with bells on it for his sister to wear.

He started shaking the bells and belting out,

"Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way!

Oh... fun.... ....... sleigh, HEY!!!"

LOL.

I was shrieking with excitment when he first did this!

It was so cool to hear,

and also, i've never heard him string that many

words together!

(We phoned several family members so he could sing it to them!

He is really into talking on the phone lately :))

I mentioned to Marshall's teacher Mrs. K that M

had sung some of Jingle Bells at home and

she had stated that "if he sings half as loud

during the performance as he does in practice,

it will be awesome!"

Well, the day of the performance came

and Marshall participated in everything...

but he kept pretty silent through it.

He did all of the actions and

seemed to really enjoy it all,

and he did shout out "HEY!" with his arm raised

during the appropriate time during Jingle Bells :)

After the singing time,

there were crafts set up at a few tables

which Marshall enjoyed as well.

After coffee/juice and some snacks,

the parents were free to leave.

Danny and I were talking with a couple of the parents

as well as the teachers and were the last

ones to leave.

One of the teachers commented on how well Marshall did

how very often, the families with

Special Needs kids are the first to leave

as these situations can be overwhelming for the child...

and look at us, the last ones to leave :D

Marshall had a great time as did we.

One of the Moms approached me at the craft table

and said that her daughter talks about Marshall often.

This made me happy.

Another time this morning, Miss Mary pointed out

this same little girl and said that the two

often play really well together. Awww.

Making friends is often difficult for children with Autism,

and look at Marshall, making a friend.

So sweet.

The second Christmas performance Marshall was to be involved

in is the one that we do at our church.

They have been practicing Sunday mornings since

October. There were a lot of songs for the kids to learn,

and then acting parts in between each song that

were done by some of the older kids.

I took Marshall into the practice area

several times, and he would scream and run out as soon

as we'd set foot in the room.

I wasn't going to force it as who knows what the heck

he would do on stage anyways.

Then we had our turn with the cd at home

a few weeks ago so his sister

could practice the songs.

By the end of the week, Marshall was really into a few of the

songs. He was dancing and doing some of the actions

as well as singing a little bit!!

So, the following Sunday, i took him into practice again

and he walked right up to the group of kids

and found his spot!

I sat in during the practice and M was actually participating

for one of the songs where there are a lot of

actions. After that song he was done and

came over to me and we left the practice.

The following Sunday my parents took the kids to church

and my sister told me that M stayed in the practice the whole

time! Ok, so what will he do during the real deal??

The Sunday before the Christmas play

they had a rehersal on the stage.

I decided to take Marshall to this to better gauge

whether or not he could be on the stage

during the live performance.

Ideally i would love to see him up there of course,

but if he was creating problems or being too

distracting, i felt i needed to respect everybody else involved

and pull him out.

Well, Marshall was eager and went on the stage

with the other kids. He kinda participated

doing some of the actions,

but he often just stood there or turned around,

or looked up at the spot lights squinting and what not.

During the times when the kids sit down

was where most of the problems arose

as Marshall could not keep quiet.

He kept talking and jammering and we were

constantly shushing him.

Near the end of the play, the kids all move to the back

of the stage so that one of the children can do back

flips and hand springs and such.

Well, Marshall thought this was a cool idea,

so when he saw her doing it,

he got on the floor in the middle of the stage and started

doing his own gymnastic routine! lol.

It was pretty funny, and i thought the audience

might enjoy it, but really, it was a big hazard

to have M up there with her doing her tricks...

and the Director didn't seem to fond of the

idea of having M rolling around on the stage. lol.

I tried to get him to stay in line with the kids but that concept

was lost on him.

SOOOO....

after practice i decided that i would not put him on stage at all.

He was too loud during the speaking parts

which would really take from the story.

But now that i'd allowed him to go on the stage with the kids

for rehearsal, was he going to sit nicely in the

audience and just observe Sunday morning? Hmmm... doubtful,

but i thought we'd just have to try it and see.

I talked to a few family members as well as some church

friends about how i was going to keep M from

being a part of the play.

Everyone said to me that they wanted to see Marshall up

there and that i should put him up there.

I wanted to, but i didn't want him to ruin it.

Dilemma.

Church started and during the Directors intro,

Marshall had to go pee.

So i took him out of church to the washroom

which i thought might actually work out well as Marshall

would not see all of the kids enter the stage and be

screaming that he'd want to go too.

We came out of the washroom and the kids were singing

on stage. As we walked down the stairs

towards the front of the chapel where we were sitting,

Marshall kept looking at me saying, "sing".

Yikes, well, lets try to sit down.

I guided him into our row of seats and he didn't want to

sit down... he kept pointing to the stage saying SING!

I said "no no" a few times and he came to me.

Then the kids moved onto the next song,

Marshall's favourite song with all the dancing in it.

Marshall was asking and asking to sing

and i looked over at my husband and asked if i should let him

go up there and he shrugged.

So i let him out of the row and he very slowly crept up to

the stage. He ran across the front of it to the stairs on

the other side. I waited to see what exactly he

was going to do.

Well, he walked up the stairs and across the stage to where

the kids were dancing... i knew the WHOLE chuch had

their eyes on my son. I sat in my seat waiting

for what was to come too!

Marshall paused in his spot on the stage

and the broke into the dance routine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was HILARIOUS!!!!!

The whole church was laughing and Marshall was

having a blast up there smiling and dancing away.

My husband and I were laughing as well.

Goodness Marshall, you are not shy!!

Tears were running down my face i was laughing so hard...

and then as the laughter calmed down i was confused

at how many tears i was having to wipe away still,

and the i realized,

i'm crying.

There were a lot of emotions flowing through me

and i was just so proud of my little guy up there

just being himself with the love of our church

behind him.

The title of the play is called The Christmas Star,

and Marshall was definitely a Star :)

If you are facebook friends with me, you can

go to my wall and watch the 2 minute video my

brother in law took of Marshall's moment of fame!

I've watched it at least 20 times already. lol.

Marshall sat down with the kids when the song was over

and as the audience clapped (mostly for M i'm sure),

Marshall clapped happily as well.

It was a pretty amazing moment for Marshall,

one i'll never forget.

I couldn't believe it, but when all the kids sat down

during the acting parts, M did too, and he was actually quiet!!

I came down to the front so i could grab him if i needed

to, but he did pretty good for a while.

There was a handheld mike that needed to be used by

the girl standing beside Marshall for an upcoming solo.

The director, not really thinking about it,

laid the microphone down in the garland on the stage

right near this girl... and Marshall.

Well, Marshall stopped singing and moving and he went into

a total zone.... he did not take his eyes off of the mike!! lol.

The laughter in the audience as we all waiting in anticipation,

was contaigeous. It was a growing laughter which

is the best kind in my opinion.

I sat on edge, waiting at any moment to jump up and grab

him... but he just stood there staring. lol.

Then he got distracted and the director handed the mike

to the little girl without M noticing.

But then shortly after, he saw that the mike was now in her

hands. He turned his body toward

her and just stared at that mike in her hands.

Everyone was laughing.

I just laughed and watched him.

He reached out once for it but retracted. lol.

Then, of course right when she was supposed to start her solo,

Marshall reached for it, grabbed it, and attempted to

pull it away from her! oh no!!

I jumped up and grabbed it from him and gave it back to her

and then pulled Marshall off the stage.

I felt terrible, i still feel terrible.

The little girl missed her cue and ended up coming in late

for her solo :(

The mike was not turned on so it made me feel a bit better

knowing that the solo wouldn't have been heard either way,

but still.

I went over to her parents right after the program was over

and apologized and they brushed it off saying that it was

totally fine. But i'm sure they were just being nice.

*sigh, what can you do?

I kept Marshall off of the stage after that,

although he really fought me to get on there during the

gymnastic routine. lol.

After church was over, i think every little group gathered

throughout the church had Marshall

as the topic of conversation. Pretty cool.

Many people approached me to say how happy they were

to see M on the stage and how sweet and

memorable he made this Christmas.

A great memory for sure.

Marshall, you are our STAR!!

I will post more about Christmas events we took part

in this year, but most likely after Christmas is over.

So i'd like to wish you and your family a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS

from our home to yours.

Blessing to you all!