Thanksgiving: Lessons from the Mountains

Last summer, we spent a week in the mountains of Wyoming. Now that Thanksgiving is fast approaching, God keeps reminding me of a conversation we had as I sat in the middle of a cluster of large rocks. I had the perfect view of mountains below me, around me, and behind me. God's work of art surrounded me, and I felt so small, yet, that same God works diligently in me, in my life. God and I recounted all that He has done in my life, and my family.

I will start with my husband. To say I love him would not be enough. I respect him, admire him, and cherish him. He works hard for us everyday. His heart for our family and for others is so evident. I am so proud of him. I am thankful that he chose me.

Our first daughter, Ellie. Before I became a mother, I had many dreams about what life would be like with a baby. We knew we were having a girl, and my mind danced with beautiful pictures of the future. I imagined what she would look like, what she would enjoy doing, and our every day life. I was excited to have a little princess.
When Ellie was born, all my dreams came true, every single one of them. Even the fact that she has blue eyes! She loves dressing-up, wearing dresses, dancing, painting, singing, playing dolls, etc. All the little things that I hoped for. I do in fact, have my perfect little girl.
I had not realized this before, not until I sat in that quiet place in the mountains. My heart was broken, because I realized how much I had abandoned my precious Ellie as I learned to be Nichole's mom. I thanked God for opening my eyes to His wonderful gift. And in this time of thanksgiving, I am thankful for Ellie, my firstborn, my daughter.

Our baby Nichole. I did not picture a child with Down syndrome in my future. I did not even think I would be a good mother to a child with special needs. Nichole was certainly not what I wanted, but it has turned out, that she is everything that I needed. A little baby, wrapped and ribboned in God's love. The journey our family has taken because of her diagnosis, has been altering. Our hearts have been transformed.
Neither Andy, nor I, would have her any other way. Sure, she has Down syndrome, but that is not who she is, it is simply something that she has. It is a gift, and her gift has worked miracles in my personal life, as well as all those who love her. I am thankful, oh so thankful, that I was chosen by God, to have His very special and precious child.

Real Beauty

If I ever wondered what real beauty looks like, now I know. Nichole takes my breath away.

It is sad to think that some people completely miss it. They do not see how beautiful she is, all they can see is her diagnosis.
But she is beautiful. I can picture her as a beautiful little girl, a beautiful teenager, and a beautiful woman.
She melts my heart.

My two adoptive grandchildren, by Connie Glandon

Every Friday in one of the local newspapers, our friend Connie writes a column. It is called My Turn.

Last October she wrote about my girls! It is a beautiful and wonderful article. It is a story that will forever be special to our family.

Enjoy it! (And since I figured out how to post links, you can just click on it, or click on the title)

My two adoptive grandchildren

She can do it!

She can pull herself to sitting, all on her own!
Now, I do not know of any other parent that has cried over such an accomplishment. It was so exciting! And a very special moment. I was reminded again about how special this journey is. I am so aware of all the extra work Nichole has to do in order to reach this seemingly insignificant milestones.
Now that she is a year old, people constantly ask if Nichole is walking, when I say no, the next comment is how she must be crawling all over the place. But with a huge smile and an excited heart I get to say, no, not yet, but she can pull herself into sitting, all on her own! And I could care less if people think she is behind, or delayed to reach such milestones. The important thing is that she is reaching them! And if feels so good! I am so proud of her!
So when I saw her sitting on her bed as I was coming to get her from her nap, I went crazy!
As I ran downstairs to get the camera I was really hoping she would not go down on her tummy, and thankfully, she did not!
And one of the sweetest things is to hear Ellie cheering along with me! I know that throughout their lives, Ellie will also be one of Nichole's greatest cheerleaders.
And, really, how can I complain about having a baby a little bit longer? Is that not what I hear mother's say all the time? I just get to actually have a baby a little bit longer. And I am loving every single moment of it :)

Cinderella

Ellie is without a doubt, our Cinderella.

She watches the movie, she dresses up, she even plays with daddy (he is prince charming) and has him quote the movie (which she knows by heart). She likes to play the part when she dances with him at the ball, then she runs and daddy calls for her, "Come back, come back, I don't even know your name!"
So when she got to dress up at school, we knew exactly what she would wear.
Ellie's best friend at school was Snow White. They are so cute!

Ellie shared with her teacher and class about her costume. There were three Cinderella's that day. But I would say, my Cinderella was the best!

A Perfect Heart

And I mean Nichole literally has a perfect heart!

Today Nichole had an echo. It took all morning long. They gave her this medicine so that she would sleep, and then the echo took about an hour. Then they did and EKG and later we went to see the pediatric cardiologist to get the results.

So here they are:

Spontaneous closure of VSD
Spontaneous closure of PDA

What does it mean? God healed our baby's heart!

Praise God!

Thank You

I actually did it! I posted every day during the month of October in honor of Down syndrome awareness month. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read it.
Thank you to all that left comments. I really do appreciate those :)

I will try to post more often now, but not every day :) Maybe come next October.

I did have two days where I did not post because we were sick. I will "make up" for those.

And Ellie will get to be the star in some of the upcoming posts too :)