"If you're lucky enough to be different, don't ever change."
-Taylor Swift-
With lots of girls in our house, we hear a lot of Taylor Swift and when I heard this quote of hers, I fell in love with it!
It is so fitting for today.
Today is March 21 or 3/21....it is World Down Syndrome Day because Down syndrome appears as 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. So today we are celebrating down syndrome.
Since blue is one of the colors for down syndrome awareness and the butterfly is also a symbol....this shirt of Bree's was a perfect choice for today.
Down syndrome has changed our lives. Little did we know in those first moments, hours , and days of this new world, that it would change our lives FOR. THE. BETTER.
Down syndrome is not WHO Bree is but rather something that she has, but because of her extra chromosome, we have had so many opportunities and so many experiences that we never would have had without the down syndrome. We have many friends we would never had met, we have had many opportunities we would never have had, and now we will soon have another daughter who we never would have found had it not been for down syndrome.
I went in Bree's room the other night to kiss her goodnight and as I sat there looking at her sweet face, I got emotional thinking that she is Kareen's guardian angel.
SHE is the reason we were led to Kareen.
SHE is the reason we knew we could say yes to Kareen.
I can only imagine the conversations that must have gone on in heaven between Bree and Kareen as they looked forward to their lives on earth. Bree must have told Kareen that they would go down to earth around the same time but they would not find eachother for 4 years, until mom and dad were ready. Bree must have told Kareen that she would feel lost for a time but that one day all that would change. I am sure Bree promised Kareen that if she would just hold on, that we would come for her and that they would both have a family together.
THEY are both the reason we want others to know that down syndrome is not scary, in fact it is down right wonderful (no pun intended there)!
So on this world down syndrome day we celebrate this extra part of our lives.
We celebrate the joy and happiness that down syndrome has brought us.
We celebrate the friends we have through this down syndrome family.
We celebrate that on the other side of the world we have another daughter who also has down syndrome.
We celebrate the hope that one day the world will not deem children unworthy because of down syndrome.
HAPPY WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY!
Lucky Charms for breakfast
treats
and we each wrote reasons why we are lucky to have eachother on these shamrocks
Then of course while we slept our mischievious little leprechaun friends visited
tearing up the house and leaving a trail of gold
to some green and gold treats!
Happy St. Patricks Day.....3 weeks ago!!!!
We headed to Orangville for the day to celebrate with this cute grandpa!
We walked into Walmart and found the magazine article we did last December for All You magazine....it was funny to pull a magazine off the shelf and see your family's picture in it!
First she got to play with cousin Lyla at our house and she loved it!
She was all about giving her kisses
Lyla wasn't so sure
Later in the week I had a little taste of what Bree and Kareen will be like when I got to watch Natasha.
Natasha's twin sister Abigail is going through chemo for Leukemia so we got to have Natasha and her baby brother for the afternoon. This little girl is such a doll. She cuddled with me and was so good and she has only seen me a handful of times.
These two were so cute playing together. It made me realize what a great time Bree and Kareen are going to have together!
Adrie's kindergarten program was SUPER cute! Her line was "Hey, isn't a frog a reptile?" It was about kindergarten zoo.
Adrie and Mercedes
who happen to have down syndrome! We have been able to go to a couple playgroups lately. One at Emily's (above) and one at my house (below)
it is almost impossible to snap a picture before someone runs off or grabs the person next to them
It is so nice to have all these friends to get to know and share joys, struggles, and questions with.
