World Down Syndrome Day

Hey, so I know I’ve kinda been absent from blogging, but I have good reasons!  I moved from CA to FL, lived with our friends for a few weeks, and finally bought a house!  So, for all you people who can move and travel and keep up with their blogs, kudos to you!  But, did I say we bought a house?

Yep, we are officially home owners and I’m loving it!  Our house is perfect for us and has a lot of room.  I’m down to the last few boxes to unpack and then I can decorate!  But hey, it’s so hard to do those things when the beach is calling!

SO, today, I wanted to share something else.  March 21, just happens to be World Down Syndrome Day!  Now, for the ones who share the designer gene, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you why this day is important.  However, I wonder how many of my other friends know why this day is important…OK, I should say, why March 21 was chosen to be World Down Syndrome Day?

AND in celebrating this day, I want to send you to another blog.  This person has been a constant since Lillian was born.  She’s given me great advise and a ton of support!  Now, in return, I want to do the same for her.  She and her family are adopting!  A little boy who needs a home immediately!  As, people are coming together to show her support, I’m here to help her by running a fundraiser in Alex’s name. 

Yeah, I know, you didn’t come here asking to give your money away.  But I’m asking you.  In our small community, there are many many families who are in the process of adopting or has already done so…like my friend Jennifer who adopted Sofia (isn’t she beautiful!)  We all know the cost involved in adopting are astronomical, but all we can do is ask for support.  You wouldn’t believe how many forever families have been brought together by simple donations from online fundraisers and from blogging.  It’s amazing, and all of their stories are amazing!

So, if you are willing please go to Christie’s Blog and participate in one of her giveaways.  OR, you can check out my AVON fundraiser for them and help.  AND, if you do, please remember to use the promotional code “4ALEX” at check out. 

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I did it!  

I've reached a blogging milestone!  

I'm glad I waited to post today because today is also World Down Syndrome Day.  World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated on March 21...can you guess why?  Because Trisomy 21..."the extra copy of chromosome 21 which causes Down Syndrome".

Because I started my blog in light of my daughter Lillian, I thought it would only be appropriate to celebrate a big milestone on such a fantastic Day!

So, to my non Designer Gene friends, please take a minute to read a blog from a fellow Designer!  

I want to thank everyone who takes their time to read what  I have to write, to those who share their wonderful comments, and to those who share a common bond with me and Lillian!

Thank You!!!

Now, to answer some great questions!

Sandy from The Adams Family asked, "I know that you are a Navy family.  Have you ever had to move around  a lot and if so,  how do you prepare your family for such a change?"

Great question!  Yes, we've moved a lot!  Since 2004, our lives took us from Florida, to Hawaii, to Italy(him)/Temecula, CA (us), to Washington, and to Northern California!   

It takes a few months to prepare the kids for a big move.  Bobby and I really try to make each move like a great adventure.  For instance, the final month we were in Hawaii, we rented a Condo in Waikiki!  We were two blocks away from the beach and in the center of all the activity! 

It helps to let the kids have their own input and their own wish list of sorts during the move. The wish list includes:  choice of hotel, on the road activities, sites to visit, and input on where we will live.  My kiddos know that we will be leaving friends, but know that they will always make new ones.

Also, one of the biggest things is to make sure our rituals and routines don't change!  Yeah, there may be some leniency, but I try to stick to what we know and do.

Chrystal from One More, More than One, asked, "How'd you meet your husband?"

So, 10 years ago, the internet of choice was through  America Online.  Also, during that time, I was a junior at Jacksonville University and Bobby had just transferred to Sub base Kingsbay, GA (just north of Jacksonville).  

One night, I was online doing some research on children's books and authors, I was an education major, and Bobby was online searching for some girls :)  He found my profile, among others, and instant messaged me.  I replied to his answers between reading information, and we ended up chatting for hours.  A few weeks later, online chatting moved to telephone calls, and a few weeks after that we went out on our first date.  We've been together ever since!

I found Love online!

Tara from KIDZ asked, "What do you do to maintain a healthy relationship with your husband with everything else that is going on in your life? I've just been thinking about this a lot lately not because I'm having problems in my marriage, but because I read some discouraging statistics about marriages and kids with SN"

Hmmm...this one got me thinking a bit.

I realized that Bobby has this "so what" type of attitude and I have the "what if" type of attitude. So, we kind of equal out.  Because we know this about each other, he listens to all my "what if's" and I don't get disgruntled when he answers with a "so what".

But the most important thing that keeps us going strong is paying attention to each other, even in the littlest way!  Here are some great examples:  

~ He knows I'm dieting and trying to loose weight, so when he brings home lunch he brings me a shrimp burrito with all the veggies and no sauce.   

~ I make sure he has a cup of coffee ready to go every morning.  

~ He doesn't grumble at me when I go out once a month with the ladies and I don't grumble at him when I come home to a disaster area!

We do these things for each other and neither one of us expects it.  However, every small loving gesture never goes unnoticed!

We always make sure we have time for just us!  Even, if it's once every two months or so, we go out to a dinner and a movie.  That time is so precious.  It brings life back into our relationship!

I guess we understand that the minute one person becomes selfish and or ungrateful, things can go south.  It's been a long road for us, but we have learned to stop our selfishness and learned to be grateful to each other.

Well, that's it!

Again, many Thanks to you all!