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!).