Guardian Angels

Tonight, I just had to share something wonderful...something that really made me think twice about the younger generation.  Four girls who exemplify courage, soul, generosity and love. 

I know I sometimes post about adoptive families and their fund raisers.  I'm not necessarily asking for money this time.  I just wanted to share their blog and their mission. 

Please come back and leave me a comment of what you think.  I am so amazed by them and I hope and wish them well in their journey!

4 Girls with a 147 Million Missions

31 for 21:13

 What are they looking at? 

 

31 for 21:10

So, tonight is another picture night.  I’m in the mood for pictures.  But I have to explain that I’m not the studio loving type.  I like realistic, up close and in your face, having fun with color type of pictures. I’m not a photographer, but I wish I was.  But I’ll share some of my favorites.

AND…to make this post a real 31 for 21 post I’m gonna throw in some Down syndrome Facts.

Down syndrome shows no favoritism.  Whether you are a blue collar or white collar family. Black family. Asian family. White family.  Latino family.  Middle Eastern family…the list goes on.  Down syndrome can present itself to every type of family out there.  Even the mixed up families, like ours.

So, here’s to my own personal lovelies.

us

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BUT, if you really want to see some fantastic photos, go visit Erin’s photo blog.  AMAZING. 

Spread the word to End the word

I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.

Disability Talk

The kids and I spent the day at the swimming pool today with some friends. The weather was hot and perfect for pool weather. Lillian had such a great time in the kiddie pool, which I'm assuming her 2.5 hour nap in her stroller and car ride home was a good thing!

But, this post is not about my kids and having fun at the pool. I wanted to talk about someone who I met at the pool. Towards the end of the day, another mom came to the pool with her two kids. I immediately recognized who she and her kids were. Their family sat at the same table as ours during the holiday party for all the families with Special Needs at Travis Air Force Base. We spoke a little and made short introductions. She told me at the time that their son was autistic and I shared that Lillian has Down syndrome.

Well, today was the first time since then that I had seen them. Looking at her son, he looks like a typical 8 year old. But when you see him behave and act out you know that he's not a typical 8 year old. At least, I knew that. She and I spoke some more today and I learned that he also has some mental retardation. And I was OK with it, because Lillian too has mental retardation. But seeing this mom in action made me think of all the time and work she has invested in her son to be in the place that he is in now. The discipline and I'm pretty sure a lot of tears.

I can't imagine that it's easy for her. I mean, raising a child with any type of disability isn't easy. But the part that I was thinking that could be the hardest are the stares from other parents. Those parents and people who don't know her situation like I do. Those people who see this boy, that looks just like their son, daughter, or grandchild, act out and throw fits, yells and runs off. What are they thinking? She said that people just stare, and we both know what they're thinking...they are thinking "Get a grip of your child". When in fact, this is her child and this is what he does.

Lillian's disability if visible. She hasn't thrown a fit out in public yet, but when she does, will people stare because of her disability, because she is throwing a fit, or both? I guess really, who's shoes would you rather be in, mine or hers? Or is it even a fair comparison?

Just some things to ponder about.

KIDZ

As the link above states, KIDZ is a connection for inspiration. It's a celebration of life! It's to bring awareness to everyone about Special Needs Kids.

I found KIDZ through a blogging/BBC friend of mine, WheresmyAngels. If you haven't already, you should check her out also!

KIDZ isn't just for those who have Special Needs Children, it's for everyone, so please join and get inspired! Or just check it out!

An unexpected surprise!

I mentioned on a previous post about the Special Needs Holiday Party here at Travis A.F.B.  I forgot to tell you that as we were leaving, I spotted this boy standing by the entrance way and I knew I knew him from somewhere.  So, I went up to him and said, "Hey, are you J*****?"

J says, "Yeah, I'm  just waiting for my mom"

I say, "Don't you remember me?  I was one of your teachers at Mokulele Elementary School in Hawaii"

I was a part time special ed teacher during my brief stay in Hawaii.

J says, "Oh, I don't remember you.  Hey, is that your daughter?  I remember her.  You made her do work in the class!"

OK...he remembers my kid but not me???

Mom finally comes up and we chit chat.  I can't believe it.  Two Navy families stationed at an Air Force Base!  It was wild, and I never would have thought that I would run into another student like that.  Well, Katie and J are at the same school.  I'm thinking now if I need to keep an eye on that?  I'm still shocked that he remembers her and not me!

So, I thought that was pretty cool!  I'm just hoping that all my speeches and positive attitude towards learning pays off in the near future when one of my students become world famous athletes, scientists, or whatever.  It would be cool for one of them to say that I made a differnce!

Thank you Thank you and THANK YOU!

Thanks to all my wonderful friends out there.  I was having a mommy meltdown yesterday, but this mommy is back on track.  It's amazing how one little hang up can cause a whole mess of things. But, I guess that is why mom's are the way we are.  We know we're not perfect, but we still strive to do our best for our family.  And I think that is exactly what I've given, my very best.  

But, I can understand why we have our breakdowns.  I guess it kind of puts everything back into perspective so we can get back on track.  This would remind me of "Bree" from "Desperate Housewives".  Bree, who thinks her way is perfect, well, is not so perfect afterall.  She kind of missed out on why her kids were unhappy and ended up doing the "naughty" things.   Perfection, is not so good in the end.

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The family went to a "Special Needs Holiday Party" here at Travis Air Force Base, CA.  It was a huge party for all the special needs family attached to the base.  I was so eager to go, because I thought I might run into other families who have children with Down syndrome.  Nope, not one.   Well, not one that I could see.  However, we had a super time!  They had Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, a football player from the Raiders, Looney Toon characters, a full buffet, cake, raffles, and a huge gift bag for every child that attended this party!  We had our family picture taken and the kids got to see a magic show by Kelley the Clown!  They even had volunteers serving each table that helped with the kids and went to the buffet table to get food.  The base did an outstanding job to bring us together and make all the kids feel extremely happy!  Many THANKS to all the volunteers who went out of their way to make us feel comfortable.  It was truly a wonderful night.