Why do people say this? This is one saying that drives me batty. Nowhere in the Bible does it ever say that God won't give you more than you can handle. In fact, my Bible tells me pretty much the opposite.
The verse that is often misconstrued is 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) which reads, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Truth is God gives us more than we can handle on our own all of the time. The Almighty Father does this so that when we finally wake up and realize we CANNOT do 'it' without HIM, we will RUN to him for our support so we will rely, fully rely on Him. It is not easy but then growing pains and labor pains never are.
We can find comfort in our trials in the arms of the Lord. When the money is tight and eviction notices fly, when the bills are mounting and the liquor no longer numbs the pain, when nothing seems to go right; if we can just learn to lean on the shoulders of the one true God we can find comfort.
Finding comfort does not mean it won't be hard and comfort does not mean it won't hurt. Comfort means peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Come to Him; He is waiting. Arms open wide, He is waiting.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Can you see it?
There is beauty in almond shaped eyes, the flatness of a nose, the ears that droop, the smile that glows. There is joy in waiting, there is joy in triumph, there is joy in hard work. There is worth in my child with Down syndrome.
I wish everyone could see that. My heart is sad today, because some woman, somewhere, is struggling with the decision to abort her child with 47 chromosomes. My heart aches..........
I wish everyone could see that. My heart is sad today, because some woman, somewhere, is struggling with the decision to abort her child with 47 chromosomes. My heart aches..........
Monday, August 24, 2009
Jared is nearly 7
Exactly 24 hours from when I begin the post, my baby boy will officially be 7 years old. Jared was born on a Sunday evening, at 20:22 to be exact. He weighed 7lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 inches long. My labor was short and uneventful. And within hours we were in our room together.
Jared was a great baby, very laid back, wonderful nurser and loved to be cuddled. He has grown quite a bit since then. He is now some 50 inches tall and is 10 times heaver than when he was born. He is smart as whip and pushes my buttons daily. We butt heads often.
But as I type this now, I am reminded of the little baby who was born nearly 8 years after his Grandma Janet went to heaven. I cannot believe my mom has been gone for 15 years. It stinks, but life does go on. At least for us it does. I was reading the tribune today and seen there was an obituary for a 5 month old. A baby boy, Gabriel Goshern, I knew his daddy. I grew up with him. I cannot imagine what Stevie (Stephen is what he goes by now but I cannot bring myself to call him that) is feeling. An angel on loan, here for just 5 months and 2 weeks. Unreal. Simply unreal to me.
I am so blessed to have my live born babies still here with me. The child I miscarried at nearly 16 weeks was never born, and while I grieve that loss, I cannot fathom having held my child and then lose them forever. I have met families through online connections who have lost their children. My heart weeps for them.
I cannot, nor do I wish too experience, imagine the pain a mother's heart feels when her child is taken from her. To never again smell the sweetness of that child, never again see their smile, never again hear their giggle, never again feel their tiny finger grasp your pinky and take your breath away. I cannot fathom. May God hold them all closely.
I was talking with a friend, I hope I can call them that, I have only met them once in person. Told me that the things one writes or says can affect a person in ways they will never know and to keep doing what I am doing. I thank them for that gift, a gift of encouragement. I needed that. We all do from time to time. So for my friend, until next time....
Love your babies, hug your friends, and never doubt that someone, somewhere is watching and listening.
Jared was a great baby, very laid back, wonderful nurser and loved to be cuddled. He has grown quite a bit since then. He is now some 50 inches tall and is 10 times heaver than when he was born. He is smart as whip and pushes my buttons daily. We butt heads often.
But as I type this now, I am reminded of the little baby who was born nearly 8 years after his Grandma Janet went to heaven. I cannot believe my mom has been gone for 15 years. It stinks, but life does go on. At least for us it does. I was reading the tribune today and seen there was an obituary for a 5 month old. A baby boy, Gabriel Goshern, I knew his daddy. I grew up with him. I cannot imagine what Stevie (Stephen is what he goes by now but I cannot bring myself to call him that) is feeling. An angel on loan, here for just 5 months and 2 weeks. Unreal. Simply unreal to me.
I am so blessed to have my live born babies still here with me. The child I miscarried at nearly 16 weeks was never born, and while I grieve that loss, I cannot fathom having held my child and then lose them forever. I have met families through online connections who have lost their children. My heart weeps for them.
I cannot, nor do I wish too experience, imagine the pain a mother's heart feels when her child is taken from her. To never again smell the sweetness of that child, never again see their smile, never again hear their giggle, never again feel their tiny finger grasp your pinky and take your breath away. I cannot fathom. May God hold them all closely.
I was talking with a friend, I hope I can call them that, I have only met them once in person. Told me that the things one writes or says can affect a person in ways they will never know and to keep doing what I am doing. I thank them for that gift, a gift of encouragement. I needed that. We all do from time to time. So for my friend, until next time....
Love your babies, hug your friends, and never doubt that someone, somewhere is watching and listening.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Family and epilepsy update........
Hello, everyone!!! St. Vincent's called today to schedule Joseph's video EEG to indeed find out if the activity we are seeing is seizure related or not. This is a 24 hour hospital stay at Peyton Manning's Children's Hospital; Joseph will be hooked up to an EEG machine as well as have a video camera on him at all times. He will not be allowed to leave his room at all since we are video taping this time around.
We are to be at St. V's at 12:30 on September 3, 2009. I will be taking lots of videos and books to keep him occupied with. Thank goodness he LOVES his books.
Otherwise, he is doing fantastic. He is walking unassisted probably 75-80% of the time now and is soooo cute when he does it. He has also mastered the step UP from the dining room into the kitchen. He practices all the time. His verbal ability is still growing at a fantastic rate and now we are working on Mommy, Daddy, baby (with focus on the ending long e sounds). He says Ma-Ma and Da-Da and Buh for baby but we need to keep pressing on and work on annunciation. He can say more now and not just muh while signing it.
Jackson is the funniest little man-child I have ever seen. He is such an imitator and loves to do whatever the big kids are doing. BUT he has developed a cutesy thing now that we really need to break him of. This past Saturday while I was at the Nickelback concert and he spent the day with Daddy he started doing this. What is this, you ask? Well, see, if Jackie gets corrected for something or spoken firmly too, he will sing "Doot-doot-doo" back at you! Daddy thinks this is hilarious of course so now he is doing it all the time when he is corrected!! But it is pretty stinkin' cute!
Jared has started 1st grade at NES and is doing well. His teacher is Patti Elliott and I really like her. Jared is reading at the 3rd/4th grade level already is probably the most advanced in reading in his whole class. Tonight he starts Karate again, he is excited and Sensei Donnie is glad to have him back.
I think that pretty much covers what is going on in our household, just one more thing. Please keep our soldiers in prayer. There is an election coming up in Afghanistan and it is sure to get rougher on our men and women in uniform. Pray for their protection, please.
Until next time!!
All my kids are special and I LOVE Joseph's Designer Genes!!!!!
Down syndrome Awareness~~~BuddyWalk 2009~~~
We are to be at St. V's at 12:30 on September 3, 2009. I will be taking lots of videos and books to keep him occupied with. Thank goodness he LOVES his books.
Otherwise, he is doing fantastic. He is walking unassisted probably 75-80% of the time now and is soooo cute when he does it. He has also mastered the step UP from the dining room into the kitchen. He practices all the time. His verbal ability is still growing at a fantastic rate and now we are working on Mommy, Daddy, baby (with focus on the ending long e sounds). He says Ma-Ma and Da-Da and Buh for baby but we need to keep pressing on and work on annunciation. He can say more now and not just muh while signing it.
Jackson is the funniest little man-child I have ever seen. He is such an imitator and loves to do whatever the big kids are doing. BUT he has developed a cutesy thing now that we really need to break him of. This past Saturday while I was at the Nickelback concert and he spent the day with Daddy he started doing this. What is this, you ask? Well, see, if Jackie gets corrected for something or spoken firmly too, he will sing "Doot-doot-doo" back at you! Daddy thinks this is hilarious of course so now he is doing it all the time when he is corrected!! But it is pretty stinkin' cute!
Jared has started 1st grade at NES and is doing well. His teacher is Patti Elliott and I really like her. Jared is reading at the 3rd/4th grade level already is probably the most advanced in reading in his whole class. Tonight he starts Karate again, he is excited and Sensei Donnie is glad to have him back.
I think that pretty much covers what is going on in our household, just one more thing. Please keep our soldiers in prayer. There is an election coming up in Afghanistan and it is sure to get rougher on our men and women in uniform. Pray for their protection, please.
Until next time!!
All my kids are special and I LOVE Joseph's Designer Genes!!!!!
Down syndrome Awareness~~~BuddyWalk 2009~~~
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A brief moment with a soldier........
Yesterday, I was able to share just a few minutes online with a soldier. This truly made my heart smile.
See, this soldier is also a dear friend of our family. His name is Bill Watson and he is fighting for our freedom today. Bill is also a husband and a father to a child with special needs. Allie, his baby girl, has Autism. Allie is verbal but limited in her verbal communications. She is a bright-eyed young lady who loves her daddy very much. And wouldn't you know it, when Daddy is able to use Skype for a video phone call, she talks to Daddy! And I will have you know Bill LOVES this.
Hearing his baby girl talk to him over the video phone call from literally thousands of miles away sustains his soul. Bill told me he 'needs' to talk to and see his baby girl. Don't get him wrong; he loves his wife April and his son Trevor...............but Allie? Well, if you have a child who does not verbalize often but does when she sees Daddy on the computer............How can that make your heart soar and sustain your soul until the next time?
As humans we take for granted all the "will be's" with our children. It is natural. We never hope for or expect a child with special needs or a disability. But when it happens, your world is changed; sometimes, your world is rocked to it's core. It is what you do with this blessing that will define you for the rest of your life.
Not everyone sees our kids as a blessing. Shamefully, often times, society sees our kids a burden, a pity, a blight in the unattainable perfection of what children are supposed to be born like. I cry for these ignorances because I know with every fiber of my being that every child is a perfect gift no matter their abilities.
If you are a new parent of a child with a disability and are struggling with the reality that is now your life; give yourself time. Grieve if you need too, yell if you need too, purge your heart and soul of any bitterness that you may experience. Then LOVE your child. LOVE this child with a fierceness you never knew you had in you. LOVE them and you will see your child. YOUR CHILD is a child first with a diagnosis medically placed on them. Advocate for your child, teach them all you can, never put them in a box, never underestimate their abilities, set the bar high for yourself and never stop achieving. Advocacy is my life now, it is the passion I never had the courage to chase until my son, Joseph, was born with Down syndrome. I love all of my boys, they are all special and I LOVE my son's Designer Genes. His life is not a burden to me, his life is the catalyst that set my life in advocacy in motion. Without him, I still would not know what I wanted to be when I grow up! LOL
Until next time, love your mommas, pray for our soldiers and relish in the sweetness that is your children.............
See, this soldier is also a dear friend of our family. His name is Bill Watson and he is fighting for our freedom today. Bill is also a husband and a father to a child with special needs. Allie, his baby girl, has Autism. Allie is verbal but limited in her verbal communications. She is a bright-eyed young lady who loves her daddy very much. And wouldn't you know it, when Daddy is able to use Skype for a video phone call, she talks to Daddy! And I will have you know Bill LOVES this.
Hearing his baby girl talk to him over the video phone call from literally thousands of miles away sustains his soul. Bill told me he 'needs' to talk to and see his baby girl. Don't get him wrong; he loves his wife April and his son Trevor...............but Allie? Well, if you have a child who does not verbalize often but does when she sees Daddy on the computer............How can that make your heart soar and sustain your soul until the next time?
As humans we take for granted all the "will be's" with our children. It is natural. We never hope for or expect a child with special needs or a disability. But when it happens, your world is changed; sometimes, your world is rocked to it's core. It is what you do with this blessing that will define you for the rest of your life.
Not everyone sees our kids as a blessing. Shamefully, often times, society sees our kids a burden, a pity, a blight in the unattainable perfection of what children are supposed to be born like. I cry for these ignorances because I know with every fiber of my being that every child is a perfect gift no matter their abilities.
If you are a new parent of a child with a disability and are struggling with the reality that is now your life; give yourself time. Grieve if you need too, yell if you need too, purge your heart and soul of any bitterness that you may experience. Then LOVE your child. LOVE this child with a fierceness you never knew you had in you. LOVE them and you will see your child. YOUR CHILD is a child first with a diagnosis medically placed on them. Advocate for your child, teach them all you can, never put them in a box, never underestimate their abilities, set the bar high for yourself and never stop achieving. Advocacy is my life now, it is the passion I never had the courage to chase until my son, Joseph, was born with Down syndrome. I love all of my boys, they are all special and I LOVE my son's Designer Genes. His life is not a burden to me, his life is the catalyst that set my life in advocacy in motion. Without him, I still would not know what I wanted to be when I grow up! LOL
Until next time, love your mommas, pray for our soldiers and relish in the sweetness that is your children.............
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Ties That Bind, Connections In The Down Syndrome Community
What a wonderful idea and true to the heart concept.
I have the privilege of being in an elite group, a family if you will. A family tied together by the 47th chromosome. A family filled with members born with Down sndrome and I love it! Because of my blessedness in this family, I have come to "know" a great gal in cyberspace, CJ the mother of two kids and one of her kids has Down syndrome.
I wanna tell you all about something very special CJ is doing and help spread the word about the T21 Traveling Afghan Project. On CJ's blog about the project she say's "There is a very special blanket making it's way from one family to another all over the world.The common tie? Down syndrome. Each family who receives the afghan for one week has a member with T21. They get the blanket, take photos with their family and pass the blanket (and an accompaning journal) on to the next recipient.One blanket. Fifty US states. Many countries. Hundreds of families. One common thread!" You can click on the T21 Traveling Afghan Project widget on my sidebar to get to the blog or you can click here http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com/
CJ knitted the afghan herself and has been recruiting families to send the afghan to and in return each person is to send pics back to CJ to put on the blog page. A wonderous journey for an afghan and each family. It is true, families like ours, are indeed tied and knitted together forever.
Once Joseph was born my world has been expanded. My mind has been opened and my heart has been overfilled with joys of raising my child with Down syndrome. There is a joy in raising a child such as mine. There is a heartache that comes with that joy as well in the realization that there people who see my child as imperfect and unlovable.
CJ has opened the lines and shown us all what love is. Love is an afghan knitted with a purpose. A purpose meant to show each and every person that we are tied together, we are loved, and through the journey of the T21 Traveling Afghan we get to experience that love. So, if you know a family who loves someone with Down syndrome or your family has someone with Down syndrome in it; check out the T21 Traveling Afghan's blog by clicking http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com/
So come on! Join up, spread the word (bombard Oprah with this story!) and hey if you want an afghan of your own you can find out how to get one by clicking on "an afghan of my own" button on the T21 Traveling Afghan blog's sidebar or clicking here
http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com/2009/03/afghan-of-your-own.html
Until next time, love your babies, hug your momma and blow bubbles in the park!
I have the privilege of being in an elite group, a family if you will. A family tied together by the 47th chromosome. A family filled with members born with Down sndrome and I love it! Because of my blessedness in this family, I have come to "know" a great gal in cyberspace, CJ the mother of two kids and one of her kids has Down syndrome.
I wanna tell you all about something very special CJ is doing and help spread the word about the T21 Traveling Afghan Project. On CJ's blog about the project she say's "There is a very special blanket making it's way from one family to another all over the world.The common tie? Down syndrome. Each family who receives the afghan for one week has a member with T21. They get the blanket, take photos with their family and pass the blanket (and an accompaning journal) on to the next recipient.One blanket. Fifty US states. Many countries. Hundreds of families. One common thread!" You can click on the T21 Traveling Afghan Project widget on my sidebar to get to the blog or you can click here http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com/
CJ knitted the afghan herself and has been recruiting families to send the afghan to and in return each person is to send pics back to CJ to put on the blog page. A wonderous journey for an afghan and each family. It is true, families like ours, are indeed tied and knitted together forever.
Once Joseph was born my world has been expanded. My mind has been opened and my heart has been overfilled with joys of raising my child with Down syndrome. There is a joy in raising a child such as mine. There is a heartache that comes with that joy as well in the realization that there people who see my child as imperfect and unlovable.
CJ has opened the lines and shown us all what love is. Love is an afghan knitted with a purpose. A purpose meant to show each and every person that we are tied together, we are loved, and through the journey of the T21 Traveling Afghan we get to experience that love. So, if you know a family who loves someone with Down syndrome or your family has someone with Down syndrome in it; check out the T21 Traveling Afghan's blog by clicking http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com/
So come on! Join up, spread the word (bombard Oprah with this story!) and hey if you want an afghan of your own you can find out how to get one by clicking on "an afghan of my own" button on the T21 Traveling Afghan blog's sidebar or clicking here
http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com/2009/03/afghan-of-your-own.html
Until next time, love your babies, hug your momma and blow bubbles in the park!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
It's my birthday............
So today, I have turned another page in the yearbook of my life. I am now 35 years old. I am also a college graduate, continuing her studies beginning in September. I am a mom to three fantastic boys, who sometimes drive me absolutely wonky. I am a wife to wonderful man; it is hard to believe that just three years ago this week decided to "date". I am a daughter-in-law to the sweetest lady and great man.
See, many woman (or so I've heard) have a rough go of it with their mother-in-laws. Not me, not with Diana. Oh, I've had my fair share of not getting along with my ex-mother-in-laws that I have had. It wasn't all bad, don't get me wrong. I still have a great relationship with my ex's mother but we did certainly not always get along so well. But Diana, if she ever had her doubts about me or concerns about Shawn and I; she never once made them known. And today I got the sweetest birthday card from her.
With my own mom passed away, I am not the warmest and fuzziest when it comes to other mother figures. I can be stand offish and I know this. Diana, if you are reading this, please know I am sorry if I have been this way with you. The card today, was so very heartfelt, I could nearly hear Diana reading it to me. The card is the wish of every mother raising a son. I could hear myself in the card with the boys later in life.
Now, it is no secret I have been married multiple times. I am not proud of that, but it is what it is. And I cannot change that now. I can live in the present and be thankful for all I have and all I am blessed with. I have never before had a mother-in-law tell me she was glad her son was married to me. Here is what the card reads:
For my daughter-in-law, I'm so glad my son married you.
I like to think I always knew
my son would marry a wonderful woman...
one who would be a partner and friend to him,
one who would inspire him
to dream and do his best,
and work right along with him
to make those dreams happen.
A woman with a wise and beautiful mind,
as well as a beautiful smile,
and an inner spirit strong enough
to soar along with him
when the sun is high in the sky,
and to weather tough times with him,
side by side.
Christie, you're all of those things
I hoped my son would choose,
and more...
he's so very lucky to have you for a wife,
partner, and friend...
and I'm lucky to have you
for a daughter-in-law.
I am so very grateful for the card from Diana and so far my day has been wonderful. I woke up to a quiet house at 6:20 this morning. Read my cards from Shawn and the boys. I got a new candle and a new deep fryer too. Got tons of birthday wishes from all my Facebook friends. Then I checked my mail and found this card too. I am a loved and blessed woman and best of all, I know it, I feel it. Thank you.
See, many woman (or so I've heard) have a rough go of it with their mother-in-laws. Not me, not with Diana. Oh, I've had my fair share of not getting along with my ex-mother-in-laws that I have had. It wasn't all bad, don't get me wrong. I still have a great relationship with my ex's mother but we did certainly not always get along so well. But Diana, if she ever had her doubts about me or concerns about Shawn and I; she never once made them known. And today I got the sweetest birthday card from her.
With my own mom passed away, I am not the warmest and fuzziest when it comes to other mother figures. I can be stand offish and I know this. Diana, if you are reading this, please know I am sorry if I have been this way with you. The card today, was so very heartfelt, I could nearly hear Diana reading it to me. The card is the wish of every mother raising a son. I could hear myself in the card with the boys later in life.
Now, it is no secret I have been married multiple times. I am not proud of that, but it is what it is. And I cannot change that now. I can live in the present and be thankful for all I have and all I am blessed with. I have never before had a mother-in-law tell me she was glad her son was married to me. Here is what the card reads:
For my daughter-in-law, I'm so glad my son married you.
I like to think I always knew
my son would marry a wonderful woman...
one who would be a partner and friend to him,
one who would inspire him
to dream and do his best,
and work right along with him
to make those dreams happen.
A woman with a wise and beautiful mind,
as well as a beautiful smile,
and an inner spirit strong enough
to soar along with him
when the sun is high in the sky,
and to weather tough times with him,
side by side.
Christie, you're all of those things
I hoped my son would choose,
and more...
he's so very lucky to have you for a wife,
partner, and friend...
and I'm lucky to have you
for a daughter-in-law.
I am so very grateful for the card from Diana and so far my day has been wonderful. I woke up to a quiet house at 6:20 this morning. Read my cards from Shawn and the boys. I got a new candle and a new deep fryer too. Got tons of birthday wishes from all my Facebook friends. Then I checked my mail and found this card too. I am a loved and blessed woman and best of all, I know it, I feel it. Thank you.
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