World Down Syndrome Day ~ One More Voice
Four World Down Syndrome Days have passed in my daughter’s life, and this will be the third one I’ve written about. I missed the first one because it was only a couple of months after her heart surgery when we were still taking in how marvelously normal things were becoming. A lot has happened since […]
Christmas Greetings from the Farm
It’s Christmas Eve at the farm on Willow Road. The temperature barely got above 20 degrees today, but a strong sun melted off the dusting of snow we got last night and its reflection off the white and fallow fields made it hard to look outside today. But now the light has mellowed and the […]
A Pre-Thanksgiving Giving of Thanks
We’re coming into the season where we all take an intentional look back at the year and our lives and practice the life-giving discipline of gratitude. Many of you have been following our little family’s adventure faithfully for over three years now, so let me say right at the outset that we are very, very […]
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 […]
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, […]