A poem

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me a sweet poem and I decided that I wanted to share it with you all.

Down Syndrome Creed
My face may be different but my feelings the same.

I laugh and I cry and take pride in my gains.

I was sent here among you to teach and to love

as God in the heavens looks down from above.

To Him I'm no different, His love knows no bounds;

It's those here among you, in cities and towns

that judge me by standards that man has imparted,

but this family I've chosen will help me get started.

For I'm one of the children, so special and few,

that came here to learn the same lessons as you.

That love is acceptance, it must come from the heart;

we all have the same purpose, though not the same start.

The Lord gave me life to live and embrace,

and I'll do it as you do, but at my own pace.

I'm not sure who wrote the poem but I so love the words. There are often times when we meet new people (or when people we have already known meet Jennifer) that a strange look comes across their face, we can tell it is a look of pity or sadness. And to be honest when I see those looks I often smile inside, because those people clearly do not know my daughter! They simply see something that is different, that don't look beyond, because when you do you begin to see something more. Jennifer makes you smile and laugh, she brings so much joy where ever she goes. And as I said in my previous post, she may not seem to know much by the worlds standards but it doesn't take long and Jennifer will show you what she knows! So I encourage you next time you see someone with a face different than yours don't stop and judge, stop and learn! You may not even know the story, the potential, the love, the gift from God Himself, the person you are about to meet could change your heart, your mind, your attitude, you never know what you might learn.

I hate to put something on without pictures so I decided I would put on some of my favorite pictures of Jennifer from about a year ago at this time. It is fun to see how she has changed in just a short year! She has changed yet some things are still the same (the last picture of her dancing on the table with Bill!).

Cherish

The word cherish has become my new favorite word over the past few weeks. I looked it up to see exactly what it means and I now I love it even more. It means, to hold dear: treat with care and affection, to keep deeply in mind. I have always cherished my daughter but I am learning to cherish her in new ways. Ways that I truly do hold dear. As the craziness of life happens around us I am often reminded to slow down and enjoy the little things and try not to get caught up in all that is happening. Lately it seems everyone is talking about all that their children are accomplishing and doing. It seems as parents we always want our children to be doing something, we want them to always be succeding at something. Jennifer has taught us from the begginning that things need to be a little slower paced, things will happen when they happen, there is no need to rush. So as I listen to others and sometimes begin to wonder what my child is doing, I stop and think of the little things. It dosen't really matter that she can't spell her name, or sing the ABC's (although in her mind she can and does), she counts in a way others don't understand, she dosen't know her colors or shapes but let's face she is not even three. And while some people think she has so much learn, I would have to say it dosen't really matter. She will learn all of these things in her own way and on her own timing and years from now let's be honest who will care how old she was when she accomplished these things. Life is more important than ABC's and 123's. It is about cherishing the small things, singing in the basement and using markers for microphones, getting all the underware out of mom's drawer and putting them on your head, getting exciting about having bubbles put in the bath, being able to get out of bed on your own and waking mom and dad up, going outside on a winter day and getting to swing, hanging out with dad in the garage, my list could go on and on. These are just a few of the little things that we have learned to cherish in our house. Things may be slower paced around here but it truly gives us more to cherish. Oh how fun to finger paint! The picture below pretty much explains itself!

Jennifer is getting dressed up to help dad work outside, it was kind of chilly.

Jennifer loves to help vacum, if you look close it was such hard work she had to do it without her pants on! Below Jennifer is hanging out with dad behind the coffee table!