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.

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.

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?

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!

Here we are with our "babies" that we were pregnant with together and Everlyn.

 

Tiff and Etta looking adorable as always <3
 

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

Notice those Junebugs with the same expression and position as they eat their cheez its. haha

Tea time anyone?

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

We played babies

Did each other's makeup

Checked our FB pages...

Rode bikes in the house

Watched movies

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

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

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.

 

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

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