Just Enough Grace for Today

For day 23 of Down syndrome Awareness Month, I wanted to talk about what these individuals can do. While educational and medical advancements have been made, unfortunately, there is still a lot of negative information out there. A quick search about Down syndrome will tell you more about what they can't do. As you see in today's fact, "Many adults with Down syndrome attend college, have jobs, or marry." I went searching for stories just like these shortly after E's diagnosis to give me hope for our future. The same future that I very incorrectly assumed would be sad and the opposite of everything I hoped it would be. I can joyfully and confidently tell you, our future is bright. Emmy's future is bright. Down syndrome is one of the biggest blessings in my life. Now, on to the important stuff. In this blog post, I am going to share just a handful of the stories I have read about individuals with Down syndrome doing great things. I'm so thankful these p...

Whew! What a four months it has been with this girl. She radiates joy. She loves  to "talk." She has a little sass to her. She proves stereotypes wrong everyday. I haven't been on here in a while, and since a lot has happened recently and I'm headed back to work this week, I wanted to write an update. ------(Side note: I know these blog posts probably get long and redundant, but I love having all of this written down for myself to look back on our journey. And if one scared momma that just received a DS diagnosis reads this and finds her feelings validated and/or a little bit of hope, that is my goal. So, sorry if there is too much rambling. ha)------ Therapy, therapy, therapy. As you know, I had such a love/hate relationship with this in the beginning. While I was pregnant I began researching therapy for children with DS and early intervention. I knew Emmy needed it and I wanted her to have every advantage she could have. I guess I just had to swallow my pr...

As I stood in church this past Sunday singing the words to the song, Good, Good Father, I looked down at Emmy and couldn't help but think about just how good we have it. It was Mother's Day, and with it being my first as a mother myself, it was special for that reason alone. It also brought about a lot of feelings about just how hard that day is and can be for some people. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I had been focusing far too much on the negative and the things I wish I could change, as opposed to being thankful for all the truly good things in my life. Instead of being so sad and bitter about my journey into motherhood looking different than I always imagined, I choose to be thankful that I got pregnant easily and carried a baby to term and get to hold and love on that baby every day. Instead of being sad that so many of our days are consumed with doctor's appointments and therapy, I choose to be grateful that the timing of E's birth and my job allow me t...

This is the most random Emmy update, and mostly a lot of venting on my part about where we are on this journey so far. Maybe it makes me feel better by writing it all out, so here we go! The first day after my mom went back home and Wes went back to work was scary at first, but overall we had a fantastic day. Things just flowed naturally, and we got to do our own thing on our own time. I was thinking, "Hey, I might actually be able to do this thing." Haha Then, we had our first cardiology appointment the following day. My 11 day post C-section self managed to lug a baby and diaper bag into Children's Hospital by myself where Wes met us for our appointment. I was already flustered because a) this is all new and b) Emmy was screaming at the top of her lungs and I was getting all sorts of looks. For future reference, when you see a mom (or anyone for that matter) with a young child making a little more noise than you would prefer, don't give them a look or turn to so...

Emmy is here! Her first week of life has had its ups and downs, but she is something to celebrate, for sure. I have never been more in love. Day 1, April 6th: Wes and I woke up bright and early Friday morning to head to the hospital for our scheduled C-section, due to Emersyn being breech. It was such a crazy mix of emotions getting ready that morning and leaving our house for the last time as a family of 2. We got to the hospital about 5:15 and headed up to labor and delivery. I was prepped and just hanging out in our room and some of our close family came in to visit with us briefly. Before I knew it, they were giving Wes his operating room outfit (super cute, btw) and we were headed to meet our little girl! After what seemed like forever of them trying to get my spinal in, things moved so quickly. I heard the doctor say "Someone go get Wes!" and within minutes we heard Emmy's sweet cry. (That might be the last time we consider her cries sweet lol). As I looked over...

I can think of many tomorrows that I have looked forward to in life. Some of them not very important, others more significant. As a kid, I remember looking forward to the tomorrow of Christmas morning. It was even more exciting when you had to wait for your dad's shift change and for him to get home :) I remember looking forward to the tomorrow of my high school graduation. (Seriously, why did I want to grow up? lol) I remember nervously pondering the tomorrow of moving to college, and quickly after, the uncertainty of  the tomorrow of college graduation. I still remember the butterflies thinking about the tomorrow of my first "big girl" job. I remember not sleeping a wink as I anxiously awaited the tomorrow of my wedding day. There were a lot of tomorrows in between all of that, but none will top tomorrow. Tomorrow is your birthday. Tomorrow I will see your face for the first time. (Assuming you don't continue to hide it like you do in practically every ultrasound ha...