• Giveaway Day 3 :: The Best Yes

    This summer I read an article written by Lysa Terkeurst, What We Miss When We Rush. I had been hearing about her new book, The Best Yes, through posts on social media, but this was my first time to hear from her about this book. Do you know what got me? The story she shared in that article was about a man with special needs who sat near her on an airplane ride. She witnessed him experiencing the wonder of flying, without holding any of his emotions back. A few years ago this might have pulled at my heart strings a little, but now? These kinds of stories move me…

  • It’s Getting a little Messy

    In first grade I had a friend named Sarah.  We would play on the playground during recess, chasing one another and I would push her on the swing.  I went to her house to play, I think on more than one occasion, and attended her teddy bear tea birthday party.  There isn’t much else I remember about her; I just know we had fun together.   My relationship with Sarah was my first exposure to someone with Down syndrome.  She was my six year old friend who played, went to school, and shared a life similar to mine.  Sure, she looked a little bit different, but that didn’t matter; I…

  • Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Speak?

    When we moved to Florida one of the challenges I knew we would face would be finding new therapists for Mason.  There’s a process:  see your Primary Care Physician and request a referral, wait for the referral, schedule an appointment with the referred therapist, have an evaluation of child’s development, schedule regular therapy sessions, begin therapy. It’s pretty straightforward, but this always exhausts me.  Yes, bringing all of my children to an appointment is a challenge, and that in itself can be tiring.  But, the evaluations with therapists are what I most dread.  For thirty minutes to an hour, I’m forced to think on all the ways that my child…

  • He’s Come so Far

    There were days when I thought Mason would never walk.  I had prayed for him to be walking by his second birthday; his birthday came and while he could walk behind a cart or holding onto both of my hands, he refused to let go. This summer was a summer of growth in many areas of Mason’s development.  When I look back over the past three months I stand in awe at what God has accomplished through this little boy, and I can’t help but smile at how far he’s come. Over the next few days I’ll be sharing some of the specific ways that Mason has developed recently.  It’s…

  • These Two Couldn’t Be Better For One Another

    Jennavieve took her first steps the other night.  The pure delight on her face was priceless.  It’s like she knew that her little legs were figuring something out and she nailed it.  She didn’t go far, just a few steps a time, but that was enough for me.  We clapped, cheered, and squeezed her tight, reveling in her new found freedom. Then, something amazing happened.  Mason scooted over to me, looked up at my face and I knew that he wanted to try.  I lifted him to his feet, helped him to get going and before we knew it he had walked across the whole room. He had taken a…

  • A Better List

    Two years ago I was sitting in a hospital exam room with my husband and our two week old son, waiting for the Doctor to come in and let us know whether or not our baby boy had Down Syndrome. It had been a long and difficult two weeks as we waited the outcome of the blood tests they had done. Somehow those minutes of waiting seemed almost longer.  We knew that we might possibly be facing the beginning of unknown waters, and my legs were feeling just a bit shaky. Now, here we are two years later.  Two years of living life with a child who has Down Syndrome.…

  • We all start out with shaky legs

    I’ve been watching little legs in motion a lot lately. Up and down, side to side, front to back. I have sat through countless physical therapy sessions holding back tears as I watch my son struggle to do what comes so easily and naturally to most children.  His little legs wobble, his knees sometimes buckle, and I have to sit by and watch him learn and grow and get better at this thing called walking. And yet isn’t that how we all start out?  We all wobble a little under the newness of something. A new job, being a parent for the first time, living on our own, moving to…

  • When you wonder what to say :: Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day

    We had just traveled across the country, I think it was about 9 hours worth of travel time, with our two youngest children.  The baby was just 5 weeks old, and Mason was 17 months old.  Still dealing with postpartum issues and sleepless nights, we were both exhausted and ready to enjoy a few days with good friends in San Diego. There was a bit of confusion in our rental car arrangements, so we were sitting in the rental car lounge waiting for our vehicle to be ready. It’s not easy to sit anywhere with two very small children and go unnoticed.  People started asking how far apart the two…

  • A lesson learned through spaghetti

    We were driving to the beach for a week of vacation with my husband’s family.  Our oldest two girls had left home earlier that morning with their grandparents, so the car was quiet with just my husband, our 17 month old son and our 9 week old daughter.  The quiet was a nice break–no questions, no complaining, no bickering–a nice respite. For, I don’t know, maybe the millionth time, I handed a graham cracker to my son. Maybe this time he’ll actually put it in his mouth.  I turned back around in my seat to continue the conversation with my husband.  And a few seconds later I heard it. “Crunch.…

  • Seven months and my fears are lifted

    When I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child I was scared.  Our son was just six months old and we were still adjusting to the fact that he had Down Syndrome. Would this child also have some sort of special need?  How would I be able to truly care for both of them?  Surely someone is going to be neglected.  Will I love another child more or less?   We had talked about having more children, but it was always way down the road, like after Mason learned to walk, and maybe once he was potty trained.  But here we were with a baby who still couldn’t…