Friday, January 28, 2011

Sandra...

This is Sandra...
Photobucket

Gorgeous and full of potential.  She waited her whole life just to have the love of a family.  She waited to be hugged by her parents, to open gifts on her birthday, to be kissed goodnight.  She waited....

Today I found out that the wait turned out to be just too long for her.  Sandra, like so many children in orphanages over seas, passed away.  These children have health concerns that are not addressed in these countries.  There is no money to care for them properly.  Sandra's chance at a forever family is gone but there are MANY, MANY other children hugging themselves to sleep each night as they wait to be found.

Photobucket


All they want is a family, a chance at life, to know what it is like to be rocked to sleep by someone who is theirs.

Photobucket

Photobucket

YOU can help.  YOU can save a life.  Like us, many are not in a position to be able to adopt right now.  Like us, you can donate, you can advocate, you can make yourself heard on behalf of these children who aren't given a voice in the world. 

Feel free to link back to this blog post to help advocate and take the time to visit Reece's Rainbow to see all of the waiting children.  This is important, this is real, and this hurts my heart in ways I can't even describe.  This could have been Natalie had she been born in a different country.  If she were there now, if someone took her and put her there, what would you do to help us get her back? 

Photobucket

Visit RR to find out what you can do to help.  If you don't know where to start or who to contact PLEASE contact me and I will help you.  Thank you for taking the time to read this.  That is 4 more faces who have been seen.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Just a few...

I am not going to do a post on Everlyn's party as I had planned since I am thinking that Ashli may want to share her little girls first party photos. HAHA!  Here are a few plus a couple from the cake smash as a sneak peek for Ashli and fam. Enjoy!

Photobucket

PhotobucketThe laptop that we gave her.  You know we are all about the full circle... ;)

Photobucket

Photobucket
Everlyn's little brother Elliston.  CUTE!

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Monday, January 24, 2011

Full circle...

Sometimes I just sit back and get slapped in the face by how full circle things in my life are.  How many things happen that lead to other things that in the end lead me to places and people that amaze me.  This is how I feel about Ashli and her family and Tiff and her family...and mine.  You saw my post last week about Everlyn and how we were going to visit her.  Well, there is sooo much more to this story.  Grab your coffee and possibly a tissue, we're going to be here a bit.  haha

6 years ago:  I was desperate to be pregnant with my first child and having a heck of time getting there.  I joined an online forum filled with other women in my same predicament.

5 years ago:  PREGNANT!  I proudly moved into the "due in April" board on the site I was on and met a bunch of mommies due when I was.  It was awesome and many, MANY of us still talk today.  One of these women is Ashli.  We talked, kept in touch as our kids grew and shared photos.  She went on to get pregnant with her fourth and was due a month before I had Alyssa.  Bond much? haha  Again, we kept in touch on the site and through Face. book.

3 years ago:  PREGNANT again!  I joined the "due in June" group.  I didn't bond with many women on this board as I was just kind of lurking to refresh my brain on what to expect...blah blah. All of us started having our Junebugs and as I stalked all the newborns in people's signatures one stood out.  One gorgeous little girl with almond shaped eyes.
Photobucket
I immediately contacted her mommy through the site and POOF!  Bff's!  <3  That mommy is Tiff and her mini is Etta.  They live about 4 hours away so we have met a few times in person.  The first time, our Junebugs were only 5 months old.  Awwwwww  Full circle number one = met two awesome mommies on this site through pregnancies and one of them had a little one with DS.

Fast forward to about a year ago.  Ashli emailed me a "secret"...She saw a little girl on Reece's Rainbow and wanted to adopt her.  Miss Everlyn has Down syndrome and was living in a baby home in the Ukraine.  Keep in mind that although Ashli was a mom of 4, none of her children had special needs.  She saw this site because I had posted it on Face.Book about a million times once and she followed the link.  (this is what she tells me anyway haha).  She followed that link, found her girl and despite a million obstacles managed to get to her girl and bring her home.  Full circle two= having Natalie has me obsessively posting about Down syndrome on FB which leads to Ashli following my link and finding this beautiful little girl (with almond shaped eyes).

This is where it gets good.  If you need a bathroom break or a coffee refill I suggest now as a good intermission.  HAHA!

Here is the part that still gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes... I stalk RR like it's my job.  For real, I love their little faces and as much as it breaks my heart to know they are in other countries being treated, lets just say, less than what they deserve. I feel like I owe it to them to at least love them from afar. To get to know their faces and recognize that they are there, that they have at least touched a life in this world even if it is a million miles away.  Well, I went and fell head over heals for two of the minis on there.  Like, I stalked 
and cried
and hoped
and pleaded for the universe to find them families who could take them home as we were not in a position to do so.  One was a little boy (who currently has a mommy and daddy working on bringing him home! YAY!)  and the other....



...the other was Everlyn.
Photobucket

Did you just get chills?  It seriously makes me want to cry to know that she is with someone I know, a family who will love her.  A family filled with children and fun and color and happiness and....life.  Ashli and her husband are amazing and Everlyn already looks like she has lived with them her whole life.  So I told Ashli that someday I was going to make it to St. Louis to visit.   She told me, "Well, you can just wait until we move 4 hours away and come visit."  WHAT!?!?!  4 hours?!  THAT I can do! Could this really be real?  Was I really going to get to meet and hold that little girl I had been gazing at for months?
Photobucket
Photobucket
I think she was just as overjoyed by the awesomeness too don't you think?  hahaha 


Yes, it was real.....and it was amazing.  To see her in person, healthy and loved....well....I just can't explain it.  I wanted to cry and laugh and touch her to make sure she was real.  I wanted to hug Ashli and thank her for saving this little girl.  Ok, I might have just done that but left the words out so I didn't end up sobbing. hahaha  

She selflessly stepped out of her "normal" and into the world of special needs by choice to save her girl.  Are you weeping yet?  SOB!  Let me just remind you that the abortion rate for children with Down syndrome is around 90% in the United States.  Ashli CHOSE what most people fear and in turn throw away.  She fought for her, she spent a lot of time and money for her, she called her her daughter before she met her and CHOSE Down syndrome to be a part of her life.  I love that and part of me likes to think that maybe it was just a teeny bit less scary for her after watching Natalie grow up. 

Ready for the next full circle?  It turns out Ashli and fam were moving to the same state that Tiff lives in!  I was all "OMG!, I can visit them BOTH over the span of a week or so!" WOOTY!   I call Tiff, I call Ashli, I call Tiff again....trying to figure out how far apart they live so I can plan this trip with my girlies.  Then it all clicks as Tiff gets Ashli's address.  "Ummmm, Lori?... Ashli moved into my neighborhood."   CHILLS I TELL YOU!  What are the freaking odds of that?  Out of the entire state, out of all of the people I know around the globe, Ashli moved into Tiff's neighborhood.  I was not only going to get to visit them both but they were going to get to meet and be friends!  Go back, we were ALL on the same site while pregnant, they never met on there.  I met them separately and for two different reasons.  Ashli and I had two pregnancies in common, Tiff and I are bonded by a pregnancy and Down syndrome.  Along comes Everlyn to tie it all together.  I LOVE FULL CIRCLENESS!
Photobucket
Here we are with our "babies" that we were pregnant with together and Everlyn.

Tiff and Etta looking adorable as always <3
 
Photobucket
3 of Ashli's children plus Etta, Alyssa and Natalie.  EEEEK!  The cuteness is blinding!

So I stayed with Tiff since she had extra room.  The girls had a BLAST playing together as we completely took over Tiff's house and ruined Etta's schedule. hahaha
Photobucket
Notice those Junebugs with the same expression and position as they eat their cheez its. haha

Photobucket
Tea time anyone?Photobucket
I can't even take how cute it is that our Junebugs are now old enough to have tea parties.

We played babies
Photobucket

Did each other's makeup
Photobucket

Photobucket

Checked our FB pages...
Photobucket

Rode bikes in the house
Photobucket

Watched movies
Photobucket

...and just hung and had some much needed girl time.
Photobucket

...You know, all the things that make a girly visit complete.  ;)

Photobucket

Photobucket
I couldn't leave out the token "rub a dub dub, three girls in a tub" photos.


I visited Ashli as much as I could.  We were able to be there for her third birthday party which was extra special for two reasons.
1. It was her first birthday with a family.
2. it was her first recognized birthday with accompanying birthday party.

Photobucket



Photobucket 

Photobucket
The gorgeous smash cake that Tiff made for Everlyn.  Say it with me, FULL CIRCLE!

Photobucket

She asked if I would photograph a cake smash session with Everlyn.  I of course said OMG YES!!!  HOW FUN!!!!! "Sure".

Stay tuned for more from our visit and Everlyn's birthday party!  Mean aren't I?  hahaha

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

So there's this girl....

...She was born in the Ukraine with that little some thing extra.  My friend (I was told to warn you that her blog is a tad neglected as she just found out that is she pregnant with number 6  WOOT!) whom I met online when I was pregnant with Natalie (and she was pregnant with her third) saw one of my posts about Reece's Rainbow.  Said friend falls in love with this little girl, raises money they didn't have, flies across the world and saves THEIR little girl from a life of neglect and death in an institution. 

Meet Everlyn Grace:

Photobucket

Tomorrow morning Natalie, Alyssa and I will be heading out to visit them. It will be the first time in our 5 year friendship that Ashli and I will get to meet in person.  To all who think that a giant door closes when you have a child diagnosed with Down syndrome I say "PISHAW!"  We are all meeting BECAUSE of our girls.  Now that is just tear jerkingly fantastic is it not?

While we are there we are going to be visiting another really good friend whose daughter also has Down syndrome.  Stay tuned for stories and photos.  See you all in a week!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

You are my Sunshine.....

She had sung this AWESOME as I was getting the camera....then she got all camera shy.  Excuse the snotty nose as she is in the middle of a cold.  

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A fundraiser and some SNOW!

Before I get to the snow fun I have to point you in the direction of Kelle Hampton's blog.  Her little Nella is turning one this month and Kelle decided to raise a little money for NDSS in honor of the main event. 
Photobucket 
She set the goal at $15,000 with the hopes that we might raise that amount.  It is now around $35,000 and counting.  She has upped the goal to $47,000 (get it, 47....for 47 chromosomes... LOVE)  It started out in honor of Nella and has become this HUGE life of it's own and the Down syndrome community embraced it and is working towards hitting this goal for ALL people with Down syndrome.  It started as a fun thing and has turned into something that can actually make a difference.  Your $1, $5, $10 will literally make a HUGE impact.  Amazing.  Check her out, donate if you can, then come back and read about our snow babies.  Thank you!!!!!
----------------------------------------------------------

It is no secret that I LOVE snow.  I don't get to see it very often and have found that I have missed it since I moved here.  I have missed it so much that most winters I go into a weird funk over it not feeling like Christmas or winter since there isn't any snow.  This year it was really overcast and cold all around the holidays and for the first time in 13 years I didn't notice or care that there wasn't snow.  It was so odd.  Like my brain finally clicked and has built enough other cues to tell me it is the holidays and I no longer needed the snow.  As if to remind me of why I love it so, it snowed
on Christmas.....
For the first time in YEARS.
**Smack** (from the snow gods in case you aren't following) "Remember why you love it and think it is all awesome and stuff!"
So I sat all mesmerized and in a happy fog watching it come down.  Just as I got so I could live without it....those dang snow gods reminded my why I just can't. (see snow pic in last post) ....jerks

Back to work and school and life we all went.  Normal came back in a rush of craziness for a week.  1 week.  Then they started talking snow again....SERIOUSLY?!?!  I get it twice?   Part of me has been so cheated on by our weather guys when it comes to snow that I have this horribly negative "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude when I hear that.  "Sunday night, freezing temperatures and snow!"...yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.
....and all of GA goes into a panic.  It makes me laugh and yet I understand that once it DOES snow, we are trapped due to lack of salt trucks and other such necessities. It has just never happened.  It snows, the ground is warm and the sun comes out so within a day or two MAX it looks like nothing ever happened.

So when we heard HUGE SNOW STORM for days and days and days I got a little hopeful that maybe the snow gods were going to bless us with their presence....and
OH
MY
SNOWGOD
did they ever.....

2 hours after it started
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Handing off a snow ball....be afraid...be very afraid....
Photobucket

Gearing up for the throw...
Photobucket

Photobucket

Shorties trying to walk in ice covered snow is just plain cute to watch...
Photobucket

Photobucket

We don't own any snow clothes because, well, we live in GA. haha  So we dressed them in ghetto snow gear and didn't look back.  3 layers of clothes, a few strategically placed plastic baggies, a hat and out the door we went.  Poor N doesn't even own boots so she was in galoshes. HA!  Look closely at her feet...they are ladybugs......
for rain......
rain galoshes.  Hey, it worked. HAHAHAHAHA!
Photobucket

Then we had to do the infamous "take pictures with your kids in the snow like we are at some main attraction of a museum" thing.
Photobucket


Photobucket

Photobucket
Snow kisses for daddy

Here daddy, eat this nasty driveway snow that totally grosses you out.  See?  Now, wasn't that fun?!  
-Natalie doesn't look too convinced-
Photobucket
Natalie ran to the bushes at the end of the driveway and did us the favor of brushing all the snow off of it.....then figured out she could brush it ONTO Alyssa.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Watch the progression here.....say it with me "Ahhhhh sister love"...er

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket
HAHAHAHAHAHA!.... I mean, "No Natalie, that's **snicker** not nice." 

Irony...
Photobucket

Natalie wanted nothing to do with the camera but Alyssa let me get a few more right before we went in.  I LOVE her sense of humor.  She is not catching flakes here as it appears... she is laughing and making a goofy face.  HAHAHAHA!

Photobucket

Photobucket

One quick snap of my big girl got me this gem
Photobucket

The thing about having a child with sensory issues is that ANYTHING can set her off.  One minute we are in the state of the above photo and the next...literally seconds later, we are here and there is NO going back.  We think she realized she was cold.
Photobucket

It is our reality to see this change coming or catch it as soon as possible and change the situation for her.  We grabbed her and ran inside where we stripped off everything wet and cold.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with sensory stuff and are nodding your head that you kid does that too, it is different.  Alyssa throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way.  Natalie, well....she cried and screamed and threw herself on the floor for the next 20 minutes, inconsolable and seemed to not see what was happening in real time. We eventually calmed her (or she calmed herself) and all was good again.  I don't put this in here for sympathy or recognition.  I just want to make others aware of what it looks like.  If you ever see us literally grab her and run away from the fun at a gathering you will now know why.  She is strong and smart and amazing but my big girl just can't deal with some things very well.  We are working on it ;) 

So on the coat tails of Natalie being over the whole snow thing we all went inside where we of course had to make some of this
Photobucket

Ahhhhhhh....the reward for humoring mommy and getting all ghettofied to stand in wet, cold stuff.
Photobucket

Photobucket

I hope that if you have snow you are enjoying it also.  We are on day two of being snowed into our house and looking at possibly being "stuck" for the week.  Oh darn........
Photobucket