The Down Syndrome Creed

My face may be different
But my feelings the same
I laugh and I cry
And I take pride in my gains
I was sent here among you
To teach you 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

Welcome to Holland

How you ever imagined what it would be like to hear that your unborn child - the perfect baby you have been dreaming about- has a disability? This essay by Emily Perl Kingsley describes the emotions better than anything else I have come across.

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland."

By the way, I LOVE TULIPS!

March Mascara Madness

Has your tube of mascara almost run dry like mine? Is it time to buy a new one? Wouldn't it feel good if your buying a new mascara helped someone else out? Well, now is the chance. Chelsea is one of the cutest 2 year old girls out there. She as Down syndrome; she also was diagnosed with Leukemia 6 months ago. She is on her 5th round of chemo. Her mom is on a Mary Kay mascara mission to help out. Click here to read all about it.

World Down Syndrome Day

Down syndrome is occurs when there are 3 of the 21st chromosome (normally there are only 2 of each chromosome). Hence, today, March 21st (3/21), is the day we join in a world-wide celebration of people with Down syndrome. In honor of today here are 21 things you might not know about Antalya, and Down syndrome (The facts about Ds were mostly taken from the NDSC website).

1. Although the odds of giving birth to a child with Ds increase as a woman gets older, about 80% of babies with Ds are born to women under 35.
2. There is no known cause for the chromosome variation known as Ds.
3. Antalya had major surgery on her intestines when she was only 2 days old. She came through with flying colors.
4. Antalya hates having her teeth brushed, nails clipped, and her face wiped.
5. Children with Ds are usually smaller than other children.
6. Approximately 5,000 babies are born with Ds in the US each year.
7. Antalya's name means "heaven on earth".
8. Ds is the only disability in the US that has a waiting list of parents wanting to adopt.
9. Antalya loves chicken.
10. There is a wide variation in mental abilities, physical development, and behavior in individuals with Ds.
11. Antalya's favorite movie is Baby Signing Time.
12. About 1 in every 800-1,000 live births are babies with Ds.
13. Antalya has 67 first cousins, with another one on the way this summer.
14. There are 3 kinds of Down syndrome. The most common is Trisomy 21.
15. Antalya loves to camp.
16. Each child with Ds is unique.
17. Antalya ate for the first time when she was 12 days old. She was given nutrients through an IV until then.
18. Antalya hates pudding.
19. Ds is not related to race, nationality, religion or socio-economic status.
20. Antalya is the name of a city in Turkey. One day we will take Antalya to her city.
21. Antalya's middle name is Marian. She is named after her great-grandma Marian who is still alive, and an inspiration to all who know her.

Brent Martin

Have you ever changed check-out lines at the grocery store when you noticed that the person bagging your items had a disability. Maybe it was because you were in a hurry, and you knew they would take a little more time bagging your groceries? Or maybe you just weren't sure why, but you did anyways. It saddens me to admit that before Antalya was born, I had done this on several occasions.

At our local grocery store there are two baggers with disabilities. Now when I go there, if I happen to get one of them as my bagger, I feel blessed. Blessed that my life could be touched by theirs, however small the moment is; touched by their gentle nature, their strong work ethic, and positive attitude they both portray. I think of their mothers, and how pleased they must be that their child is able to work and support themselves; pleased that their child has accomplished so much; pleased that they have had the opportunity to raise that child to an adult.

This morning I read about a tragedy that occured in the UK back in August. I feel outraged that such a thing as this could happen. To read about Brent Martin go to Chewing the Fat or click here to read the BBC report .

I know that changing the way our children think about people with disabilities must begin with us. I urge all of us to be more kind and compassionate. To teach our children to rejoice in differences - whether those differences be racial, ethnic, religious, or individuals that are just "different" than the way we are. I think as a whole we have come a long ways in equality, but the disabled community still has a long ways to go. Lets work together to educate ourselves and our children so atrocities such as this won't occur in the world our children are creating. For some great ideas visit the blog entry about Brent at Praying for Parker.

Thursday Thirteen: T21 Mom

I love reading Thursday Thirteens, so I've decided to start my own. This week it is about Down syndrome (what else would I choose for my first topic?) Lately I have really struggled as the gap between Antalya and other kids her age is slowly widening. The hardest part about it, is that it will only continue to get bigger and bigger the older she gets. Every week for the past six months or so, we have gone to playgroup with several other little girls about her same age. It seems like it happened just over night, that they all past her up, even the younger ones. While Antalya is still working on learning to crawl and recognizing and responding to her own name, the other girls are walking and learning to say words. Am I complaining? No! But I do have to be honest with myself that it is hard to deal with my emotions in such circumstances. Do I think these feelings will ever go away? No, although I do think with time it will not affect me as strongly. I hope when the day comes that all her "normal" friends are going away to college, getting married, and starting families and careers of their own I can handle it without getting so emotional.

So this weeks list is thirteen reasons why I love being a T21 (Trisomy 21/Down syndrome) Mom.

1. Before the hospital would let us take her home for the first time my husband and I had to pass off several requirements that ensured the staff we were competent in diaper changing, bottle feeding, burping, infant CPR, giving baths, taking her temperature, washing her hair, etc. This was great training for first time parents!

2. Even though Antalya will be 14 months old next month, she is still happy to let me carry her around in a sling all day.

3. Our local T21 support group that puts on the funnest activities for the kids throughout the entire year.

4. Visits from our occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists every month. They come to our home, and are such a resource with games and activities that I will also use with our other children. Not to mention the fun Early Intervention playgroup that Antalya has just started attending.

5. Big slobbery tongue kisses.

6. Feeling an instant connection and bond with other people. For example, while we were in Chile, we went to the market one day. It just so happened that I ended up standing right next to two ladies who where discussing a Ds event they had just attended. I quickly jumped in to introduce my daughter and find out who they knew that had Ds. We chatted like old friends for several minutes, then parted.

7. My baby doesn't grow up as quickly as other babies.

8. Antalya is the sweetest, happiest, most easy-going baby I have ever known (except when she's not!)

9. Antalya's cute little face. This past year has taught me that babies with Ds are the cutest babies out there.

10. I am more grateful for good health. Not only did Antalya have a rocky start in this world, but having Ds makes her more susceptible to other illnesses and diseases. Each day that I get to hold my healthy baby girl is a miracle to me.

11. I appreciate western medicine more than I ever thought I would. I know realize it a blessing when used properly. If it wasn't for skilled doctors and nurses during my pregnancy, and during Antalya's hospital stay, she might not be with us.

12. Learning to let go of my expectations and trust in the Lord that His plan for me and my family is greater than I could ever have imagined.

13. I get to be Antalya's mom! And that to me is one of the greatest blessings in the world!