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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A Traveler’s Diary: First Day in Country

I started this post this morning sitting at a coffee bar at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India, waiting with the team for the last leg of our travel to see our friend Jaya and all of the good things he is doing. The thirty hours of travel thus far are taking their toll, […]

She Picked Me and She Picked Us

I’m taking a moment to celebrate today, and it’s an easy one to remember. It’s the day that two lives were completely and permanently woven into mine. It’s the day that life would (twice!) never be the same. Four years ago tonight, I was a new husband. A year prior, I had basically surrendered to […]

Dancing On

The summer is nearly at an end, and we took in the waning hours of the Labor Day weekend with an art show and parade in nearby Franklin and some well deserved afternoon napping. Julia has been down for over two hours; and though she needs the rest, it’s always hard not to dread the […]

A Year (and a Lifetime) Ago

Tonight I was reminded again that sometimes in the crush of the day to day, I need to remember to sit and be grateful every now and again. It started innocently enough. I was dealing with a typical “first world” problem and rearranging some stuff in our refrigerator so that I could somehow wedge more […]

Intrinsic Good

There was a lot to be thankful for today. It’s the first day of Spring after the mildest Winter on record, Detroit had an 80 degree day in March, Julia celebrated her eighteen month birthday and I have the evening off! For all of those great things, I am thankful. But I’m also finding myself […]