Update on Andy's Missions Trip

On Tuesday I got to talk to Andy. He is in Mexico on a Mission Trip. They are working at a Special Needs orphanage and they are loving it!

Andy said every day they have been there has been amazing! All of them have fallen in love with the children at the orphanage, and they cannot stay away from the place. Andy said that at the end of the day, when they have the option to go back "home" to shower and rest for the reminder of the day, all of them choose to go back to the orphanage.

We talked about all the different kids there, and it is no surprise his favorite kids at the orphanage have Down syndrome!

One of my friends on the mission trip is a speech therapist (actually, she is Nichole's ST). She has done an amazing job with the children. Some of them are finally saying words for the very first time. What an amazing thing to witness and be a part of, don't you think? Even being able to teach the workers how to position kids when they feed them is making a huge difference.

So they have loved and loved and loved some more, and their hearts have been touched in a very special way. Somehow, individuals with special needs have a God given ability to inspire love, a love that few people get to experience in their life time. How I wish I was there.

We tried to have me come, but we were not comfortable leaving our girls with other people besides family, a week is just too long for them, especially Nichole. Andy has said to me maybe there was a reason I was supposed to stay. When I talked to him I mentioned I still did not know the reason. He laughed and said he did know the reason, I would want to adopt every single child in the orphanage and bring them home :) I am not sure about that, but even from over here I cannot help but feel my heart wrapped around those little kids, even if I have never met them before.

I will hopefully get to talk to Andy tonight and will update again.

One of my good friends from Mexico is with our group. She is helping them out and is their translator. I have not seen her in 6 years, so I had really hoped to see her again. I also got to talk to her Tuesday, I wish I could see her and give her a hug too.

If you want to see the orphanage where Andy and our church are working, check it out.

Gabriel House

Sharing with Physical Therapy Students

Today I went to a local College to talk about Nichole. Okay, I did not really go to talk about Nichole, but I did go to talk about Down syndrome and therefore I did talk about my daughter.
There were fourteen students that are hoping to get a degree in Physical Therapy and I have to tell you, it was awesome.

I have been able to speak with middle school students and high school students, and it has been great, but these College students were awesome! They asked great questions and they understood things at a much deeper level, granted, they wanted to know about children with Down syndrome since some of them want to go down the pediatric route of physical therapy.

Time flew by! Well...at least for me :) For the last half an hour we went to the lab where I showed them some of the exercises that we do with Nichole. So even though I thought my presentation went pretty well, I have a feeling they all enjoyed the time with Nichole the best. And lets face it, she is pretty cute, and she was LOVING all the attention. She also thought they should all clap at her just because she wanted them to.

As we walk down these road, my passion to share about our life with Nichole continues to increase, and I hope that I am able to do more of these presentations. My main goal is that students walk away with a new understanding and appreciation of Down syndrome. And if someday down the road, God chooses for them a child with an extra chromosome they can look back and remember the once they heard someone say that if they had a child with Down syndrome, they would experience shades of color that they never knew were possible.

Driving!

I never thought that it would be so exciting to see a baby ride one of those ride-on toy cars, but when Nichole figured out how to move her little legs and make it go...I was excited! I am so proud of her, and it is great to see her as she seems to be really interested in working on her gross motor skills. Also, she is developing a little attitude, but that is for a different post. For now, just watch her go!

Still Here!

I realize that I have not blogged for a long time. I have to use Andy's laptop and the last few weeks were pretty intense in seminary. I am exhausted after a long day, but I thought I would share some pictures of the girls.

Life is never boring around here, that is for sure. Ellie is such a comedian and thrives on making us laugh. She is particular about her hair, accessories and what she wears too.