Down Syndrome Awareness Month

"We often think having a child with Down syndrome is like gaining membership to a secret club, a club you never knew you wanted to be in or even existed, but once you are in you are so thankful you were chosen."-Nicole Maher- <

October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month and I have been wanting to post something all month, so now that it is the last few days of the month I figured I better do it. I love the blogging world for the connections I have made with other families with children with down syndrome. I learn so much from them, I laugh, cry and take pride in their accomplishments because I feel connected to them through our "extra chromosomes". I wanted to share a few things that hit home with me lately.

One mother, refers to her daughter, Lily as her "Ladder to Heaven". She says "she will get me there. She will teach me all the things that I need to know to return to my Father in Heaven. I believe this to be true for every parent that has a child with a disability. I can't explain the "pure joy" (words I've used to describe Lily forever!) that these children give to the world. Lily has made me love better, care better, do better."

I know I feel the same way about Bree. She makes me want to be better, to treat others better, she makes me aware of the blessings around us every day in the simple things of life, and I know she has a direct path back to our Father in Heaven which means I have to work a lot harder to make sure I will be right there with her.

As Bree gets older, there are new joys and also new fears and challenges too. A few months ago when I was having a moment of frustration with things, I came across these wonderful words of encouragement taken from a church book.

"Blessings promised to mothers of children with disabilities.

I speak a word to mothers who have little children who are handicapped, children whose little bodies were born incompletely formed or whose little minds are limited. No one knows the depth of agony that you have suffered. By way of consolation, I read from scripture:
Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory;the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. Blessings will be extended to mothers such as you who have given tender and affectionate love to handicapped children. Trials such as these bring a reverence for life, a new depth of compassion and motherhood."

This brought peace to me that day and maybe it will do the same for someone else.

In the last few weeks, I have attended two funerals of infant babies. Both babies only lived for a few hours and both families had known about the complications, and the outcome, before the babies were born. As I thought about what these families were going through I thought about how easily this could have been our situation with Bree, with all the health problems that can come with Down syndrome and it reaffirmed to me what a blessing she is in our life.
I realized the other day, that a year ago Bree wasn't even walking yet and now she can't be stopped. She is walking, somewhat running, eating better on her own, attending to activities longer, using words, problem solving, and much more. She started her "pre-preschool" class at the early intervention site and she is doing GREAT! She looks SO old all ready to go to her class!
The second day of class she was very eager to open the door and get back in there.

She loves the little chairs they have for storytime. I couldn't stay inside the class while it was going on but I got a few pictures at the first. As I watched through the window I was overcome with emotion over the little things she was doing. They all have to sit in this circle and the teacher holds up a picture of each child and asks "is Bree here today" and the child is supposed to recognize themselves and then they are supposed to stand up, go to the teacher and take the picture from her and then go put it in the pockets on the board. Although Bree needed help knowing when to stand up, she got up, walked right up to the teacher, took the card and put it where she was supposed to and then sat back in her little chair. I was SO proud of her!

At the end of class the kids have to line up inside the door before they will open the door to where the parents are waiting. This is the cute sight I see when the door is opened. Bree running to me, so proud of her craft from the day!

Watching Bree grow and learn lately, I thought of something I read about the bumblebee. According to the law of aerodynamics, the bumblebee can't fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that. So it flies. Like the bumblebee, Bree doesn't know that she is not "supposed" to fly...so she does.