Friends

i know i talk about them an awful lot, but i am blessed with THE BEST friends. friends who call at just the right time.....friends who know when you need a cherry coke from sonic.....friends who love your children like their own. friends you can laugh and cry with. friends that you may not see for years, but you know they're always there for you! friends who even aggravate you and make you mad, but you always make up! friends who know everything about you...the good, the bad and the ugly, and they love you anyway! friends who you can disagree with but who you love and fiercely defend to anyone! even facebook friends who i've never actually met who i feel like i've known all my life!

isn't it funny how much more important those girlfriends are as adults than they were as kids? maybe it's just me, but the friendships i've made over the second half of my life have been invaluable to me! i am just so thankful that God has given me some really terrific girlfriends throughout my life; but even more so now, when i seem to need them most! i love my girlfriends! and you know who you are!

Well I Did It....

well i did it; i finally went over to reece's rainbow and looked at those precious babies and children who need adopting. oh my. i'm in tears as i write. they are so precious; it is so sad that they are sitting there needing forever families. they are beautiful children who need to be loved and cuddled and nurtured.

i know that there are plenty of babies and children in our country who need forever families as well, but these children will not be saved in their own country. they do not get the medical care that we are blessed with. these children, many with down syndrome, do not have a future if they are not adopted out of their orphanages. is it you? are you the one that God is calling to be the forever mama or daddy to one of these precious babies? "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27)

i am so thankful for those who have responded to God's call on their lives to adopt these precious children. like hector and jennifer sanchez who are in the ukraine right now finalizing their papers to bring sophia home next week! (www.savingsophia.blogspot.com ... if you want to follow their journey!) and thousands of others in the same process of adopting, or who are struggling with a desire to adopt and no finances to make it happen. if it's not you who can/will adopt, will you support financially those who desire to? contact me if you need to be connected with a family who is raising their support!

"Once our eyes are opened, we can not pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." (Proverbs 24:12)

A Little Nervous

i'm getting a little nervous about going to the national down syndrome congress conference in july. (no reason to wait until the last minute to get nervous!) last weekend tim and i encountered an acquaintance whose adult son has down syndrome, and tim was able to meet him for the first time. he was not very responsive, didn't have much to say, and as we talked about him later, it made me sad. perhaps it was because he was in an unfamiliar setting, it was noisy and he wears hearing aids, etc. i don't know if he's that way all the time, but i've kind of had a sad week. is that what wyatt will be like in 30 years? or will he be like the other young man i met a couple of months ago who i could hardly tell had down syndrome? who spoke so clearly and was so engaging and personable.....

a friend reminded me this morning that our kids have so many advantages in this day and age over those born 30 + years ago. their parents were told to put them in institutions, because they would never walk or talk....surprise....they are walking and talking! and learning, and working, and living a full and meaningful life!

remember, this is my place to be honest.....i know that as wyatt grows it will be more noticeable to us and others that he has down syndrome. at this stage he's still such a baby that i don't notice it that much, except that we work hard to do the things he needs to learn to do..... and not everyone notices it either. last year we went to the florida ds conference and it was difficult to see kids and adults at different stages and levels of functioning. of course wyatt was only 5 1/2 weeks old, and everything was still painfully new to us. but sometimes it is still painful.....

Learning to Crawl is Hard Work!

did you know that learning to crawl is hard work? i'd forgotten, or maybe didn't even notice with ethan and forrest. i guess it came much more naturally for them! i don't remember it being a big deal for them....i do remember that they were both walking by this point in their young lives! of course with wyatt's down syndrome, those milestones might (will) come a little later!

wyatt is 10 3/4 months old, and we are working really hard at crawling! REALLY HARD! "mama's almost too old for this" hard! haha! it really takes 2 of us to practice this effectively! one on the pushing end (feet), and one on the enticing end (in front w/toys to entice him!) his physical therapist had to tell me last week (nicely) that we will HAVE TO PUT HIM ON THE FLOOR for him to be able to learn to crawl. i know that, but he doesn't like it, so before then we gave in too easily, and just picked him up when he even whimpered! they told me this week that he may even have to get a little unhappy to make it happen. but no one likes to hear him cry in this house! when he cries, which is seldom, everyone hears......because he screams!

wyatt usually prefers to pull himself up with our hands and "walk" than practice crawling! his physical and occupational therapists say he might just walk and skip crawling....he much prefers us holding his arms and him taking steps, which is sooooo cute! but, i took their advice yesterday and put him on his blanket w/toys surrounding him, just out of his reach and left him there to fix supper. we had some success......he pivoted a lot and even SCOOTED backwards about 18 inches! yay! that's progress! and he was EXHAUSTED!!! :)

Chrissie's Dancing With Jesus

i am broken hearted for the patterson family. chrissie went to be with Jesus early this morning. as her mom lorraine said, she is "dancing with Jesus now." she fought such a brave fight. her family fought for her. thousands prayed for her and have been affected by the faith of her family, as told through her mom's blog...."All Are Precious In His Sight".... pray for them during this time.

i can't imagine how anyone faces the death of their precious child without the comfort of Christ, and knowing Him as their personal Savior. do you know Him? He came to earth to die for our sins....and we're all sinners. praise God He paid the price for mine and your sins! "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith-and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)....."For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life...." (John 3:16). it's easy. recognize and acknowledge that you are a sinner; ask God to forgive your sins. you must believe and claim that Jesus died for your sins, and confess or claim Him as your Savior and the Lord of your life. if you have any questions, just ask me....if i don't know the answer i'll find it for you!

God is in control. and He is on His throne....

So Glad I'm a Mom!

today has been a great mother's day... my first as the mom of 3 boys! church was amazing this morning...i was blessed to be asked to sing a song that i sang about 12 or so years ago; "watercolor ponies" by wayne watson. a sweet song about your kids growing up... there were more than a few tears shed! especially by our middle, sensitive son, forrest....he could hardly stand himself! (i don't think he's ready to grow up!) but the choir also sang an amazing song "we will remember...." it was awesome! and i was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the praise and worship portion of both morning services! woo-hoo! great day!

we enjoyed lunch with my parents and both sisters and their families. it was a truly beautiful day; we grilled steaks and really enjoyed our time together!

so i'm just winding down from a great mother's day...except the part where i was grumpy....i'm sure this doesn't happen to anyone else on their special day, right? where you look around the house and see all that needs to be done (that you should have done in your spare time last week...) and start stomping around doing it. yep, it's not pretty, but it happened. i'm not proud of it, but i'm being honest! tim managed to calm me down and i was able to move on....

i'm so thankful that God blessed me with motherhood; 3 precious boys that He gave us! i'm so glad that He knew better than we did that we needed 1 more son...precious wyatt to add to big brothers ethan and forrest! i'm glad that He is in control and has great plans for me!

better go finish that laundry.....

The Privilege of Prayer

what a privilege it is to pray for those in need; whether we know them or not. we were certainly the recipients of such prayer, as more than 800 people are part of Wyatt's Prayer Warrior on facebook. we certainly do not know probably over half of those people, yet they were willing to intercede on behalf of our precious wyatt and our family. we are blessed.

and now it's been my turn to pray for others that i don't know; especially this week. little chrissie in texas remains in my prayers and thoughts as she is recovering from open heart surgery. she has made great progress, but still has a long way to go. praying for her lungs, heart and her pain management as well. it is a miracle the progress that she has made! micah, who was almost septic a few weeks ago, might get to go home tomorrow! praise God that his infection responded to medications and he is recovering!

praying for two sweet babies with down syndrome who are being adopted into loving homes. jonah, who is less than 2 weeks old, is being adopted by the spier family.....praying that he will gain weight and be able to take bottles so that he can go home to his new family! thankful for this family, with four children already, who are anxiously waiting to welcome him home! praying also for the sanchez family who are in the process of adopting beautiful sofia...hector and jennifer are in the ukraine now awaiting their court date on may 6th to complete their adoption. they have been falling in love with their precious sofia during twice daily visits at the orphanage for the past week. their three sons are anxiously awaiting their homecoming!

these families amaze and inspire me.... to willingly choose to rescue a baby with down syndrome...to change a life forever. i am so thankful for them, for their love for God and obedience to Him in this area! wow! the needs are so many; there are so many babies/children with down syndrome who need loving homes....it overwhelms me to think about them. i know that i can pray for these families, and countless others like them, who are living out James 1:27 "Religion that our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."