Taiwan

As most of you know Bill left for Taiwan yesterday morning, Saturday June 28th. We thought we were prepared to say good-bye but I guess you are never as ready as you think. So after a tearfull hug at 6:00 in the morning it was good-bye for three weeks. When I got to church this morning they had gotten a phone call that the team had arrived safely in Taiwan, it was about 9 o'clock our time, 10 o'clock at night Taiwan time (there is a 13 hour difference). So it is good hear that he there and safe. Please continue to pray that all goes smoothly and they would fell the presence of God throughout the trip. Jennifer and I leave on Tuesday to go to Flordia with Bill's mom. We will be gone for ten days. I am looking forward to a few days away of keeping busy while Bill is away. Hopefully I will hear from Bill a few times while he is gone so when I hear information I will be sure to keep everyone updated. Thanks for praying for our family during the time!

Vacation '08

It has been almost a week since we got back from vacation. Looking back I wish we were still there. What fun it was to just relax... eat alot, laugh alot, fish alot, play on the beach in the sun, play some games and sit around doing nothing. It was a great time. We packed up a van and headed out with my family up to the same place we went last year. Jennifer of course was spoiled for the week having grandparents and Uncle Nick and Aunt Amy to play with. If mom and dad said no to something she had four other people who would more than likely give in and give her whatever she wanted. Life is good when your three and on vacation.

Now it is back to our busy and crazy lives. We came home to lots of water in Charles City, we missed out on the worst of it but got to see a little with our own eyes. It is hard to imagine all the water being just everywhere, a few of the restuarants in town where under water, the bridges where closed, lots and lots of home were damaged. For a few days people could not travel from one side of the town to the other. Bill is busy getting ready for his big trip to Taiwan. He leaves on June 28th and won't be home until July 18th (for those of you wondering that is 21 days). He has lots of get ready for his trip as well as make sure all the regular things that he does on a weekly basis are covered while he is away. Needless to say he is very busy right now. While Bill is gone Jennifer and I are probably going to head to Florida with Bill's mom. She was planning a visit anyway and now Jennifer and I might tag along. It would make the time go by much quicker for us!

Here are a few pictures of our vacation (I will try to limit them, we did take 306 pictures while on vacation!!)

Bill's favorite past time on vacation was fishing. He would have fished the whole time if he could have. A few of the windy, rainy days Bill could bundle up and head out to the dock, just to get a few minutes of fishing in.If we were fishing then we were on the beach, playing. We tried several times to make that perfect sand castle, it never worked.

Here is Bill's big catch of the week. He caught a carp off the dock. It was a huge fish! Of course we don't keep carp so back in it went.Here however, is the biggest keeper of the week. Yes I did caught it, I however would not touch it so thanks Nick for taking it off the hook and holding it for me!
Jennifer was just happy to be on vacation, getting whatever she wanted!Jennifer decided to take a little time to read on the beach on day. Actually she took Aunt Amy's book and read it to her.Vacation is over, on our way home to start the crazy summer ahead.

3 years old!

It is funny as a parent, maybe it's just a mom thing, how you remember everything about the day your child was born. I found myself a few days reliving the day Jennifer was born. It was her birthday on Friday, May 9th. It is hard to believe that three years have past since she was born. As the day went by I would stop and think about what was happening three years at that very time. I remember walking up in the middle of the night a few times, going to school and coming home early. I remember leaving the doctor's appointment with Bill telling me that he hoped it was sooner rather than later that the baby came because he didn't know if he could take me like that much longer! Not really a great thing to say to your wife when she is hours away from having her first baby! I remember Bill making a nice supper only to have it set on the stove after being done so we could get to hospital. Then just a few short hours later our first baby was born. I have to admit we were both a little shocked, we thought for sure we were having a boy but not the case, it was a girl. Jennifer Michelle came into the world weighing 5 lbs. 2 oz. and was 17 in. long. She was a tiny little thing. The next days and even weeks were some of the longest of our lives, not knowing what each day would bring. After almost two weeks in the hospital we were finally able to come home. What a great day that was, almost as exciting as the day Jennifer was born. And so began the journey of the McLeland family. What a sweet journey the past three years have been. It is amazing for me to look back and see what a blessing Jennifer has been to Bill and I. She has taught us more than I could have ever imagined. I have decided in honor of Jennifer's 3rd birthday I would put some of my favorite pictures of the past three years on.

Birthday Party

We are just a few days away from Jennifer's 3rd birthday, hard to believe I know. So over the weekend we had a family party for her. There were grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and great-grandparents. And of course lots of food. Jennifer thought it was a great time because all the attention was focused on her! She does love to be the center of attention. There were lots of presents and Jennifer took her time opening each one, I think she wanted to saver the moment of seeing each gift. The weather was a little chilly but we did play outside for a little bit. Grandma Stewart brought some cool bubble wands and bubbles to play with, the kids thought they were pretty neat. Here are some pictures from the party and of us playing outside at the park.

Back to normal

Do you ever have the feeling that you are just running through life? Things come and go and come and go, you think you can slow down for a little bit but then something else comes along and there you go again. That is the way things have been around here lately. It seems we have been running through life sprinting lately. Which if you know Bill and I we are not really sprinters! We are more of the jogging type so running along at a sprinters pace will catch up with us eventually. I do feel as though we will get to jog again maybe even slow down to a walk, wouldn't that be nice?! But I don't think it will be for a few more weeks. Jennifer's birthday is coming up and along with it comes a list of "stuff" to do. We have appointments, check-ups, visits, phone calls, more appointments but most importantly a party! When I look at our calendar and schedule all of Jennifer's "stuff" I am reminded that we will be sprinting for a while longer. When I typed the subject for my entry a few days ago I really did think life was getting back to normal at our house but oh how things change in just a few short days! In amoungst all the craziness that has been our life lately I am still trying to take the time to cherish the little things and I find that it is what keeps me going, it allows me to keep the sprinters pace when I really just want to stop and walk while everything passes right on by. If I slow down and walk I will miss the things like Jennifer laying under a bench at theraphy and telling her therapist nite-nite, Jennifer making grandma climb up her play set and go down the slide, Jennifer and Bill putting dishes away together, reading stories at bedtime in a new "big-girl" bed with Jennifer, hearing Bill say Jennifer Michelle as the two are outside playing- I can only imagine what trouble she is causing and laugh to myself. Life if flying by and there are days when it is just too crazy but I do have to admit I would not want to miss one sweet moment of it!

Jennifer telling everyone "HI"!! See looks to make sure everyone sees her!

Although we are not really potty training on a regular basis Jennifer will sit on the toliet before bath time, we left her for just a few seconds and she had the whole roll of toliet paper gone, lucky for us most of it was on the floor!

Bill is going to make Jennifer a golfer! While at his mom's house Bill just had to hit a few balls and of course Jennifer thought she needed to also so the next day Bill went and got Jennifer her own set of clubs. She does like them, in fact this morning we were hitting balls around the living room! Hopefully she will be better than her mother!

You may be wondering what in world Jennifer is doing here. One morning she was playing in her room, I checked on her once and she was talking to herself in the mirror, when she saw me she told me bye-bye. A few minutes later she comes out of her room with a pair of tights half way on her legs and pair over her head! She thought it was the funny thing! She started walking around just laughing at herself. It was too funny not to take a picture.

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!