The Biebuyck Family
I’ve not met many families more on a mission than the Biebuycks. Mark and Karen are great parents and each kid has their own amazing personality and are doing great things. I took them around Rochester a few days ago and even took time to get headshots for their performer. Anna! (click on an image […]
An Open Letter to Julia on Her First Day of Preschool
Editor’s note: As strange as this might seem, Julia’s formal educational career starts today at the three year old preschool class at our local elementary school. I’ve been anticipating and dreading this day for the entire summer, especially in the light of the wrangling we have been in with the special education department of our […]
Julia’s Walker
After months of trying (unsuccessfully) to get our daughter Julia to use her walker, she finally decided. And her world opened up and has never been the same. There is so much she is discovering now that she is mobile on her own. We decided to take her out to the family farm over Labor […]
Working + Waiting = Mobile!
As a parent of a kid with Down syndrome (or any special need, for that matter), you find yourself never taking anything for granted. Sure, it can get frustrating watching your kid’s typical friends seemingly breeze through crawling and standing and walking and learning new words as yours is still figuring out the intricacies of […]
Talking to a Teenager About Heaven
One of the cool things I get to do in my position at the church is fielding a lot of the tough questions that come in. Our weekend services have a great way of drawing people in and opening all kinds of questions in people’s minds, and that’s where I come in. The subjects are […]
World Down Syndrome Day Plus One Week – Now What?
Let me just get this out there right now. I had a really rough time adjusting my attitude last night as I put Julia to bed. I’m not sure if it was the last of the stomach bug she’s been dealing with or the contrarianism that her whimsical toddler brain has developed, but let’s just […]
Christmas Greetings from the Farm
It’s Christmas Eve at the farm on Willow Road. The house has long fallen asleep as I atone for my procrastination. I had every good intention to bang out this annual greeting in the light of day; but one marvelous distraction after another intervened. Visits with family and neighbors, eating way too much, quiet meadow […]
Yancey Family Portait
I met a fantastic family last weekend for their holiday shoot. Tina and Kevin run the local bread bakery and are absolutely delightful people. Our families met through Jocelyn’s drive to raise community awareness for Down syndrome through the annual walk and fundraiser for the Down Syndrome Guild of Southeast Michigan. The Yanceys went “all […]
Fulfilled…
The past few weeks have seen the fulfillment of a longtime dream for Jocelyn and I. You may remember over a year ago as I was thinking through the emotion of watching Julia’s Down syndrome becoming a little more evident and younger kids passing her by developmentally. Well… it’s been over a year and a […]
Pumpkin Fun!
Just so I’m not all serious all the time on this blog, I wanted to share the fun we had last Sunday looking for a pumpkin. Julia had a blast messing with these massive orange things in the dirt! I love watching the wonder unfold in her eyes now that she’s well along the way […]