World Down Syndrome Day

 We celebrated World Down Syndrome Day by sleeping in, not having any school, watching tv, and eating dinner at Red Robin. It was a fantastic day of telling Seth repeatedly how great he is and how much we love him!

Girls Trip

Two of my best friends came to visit. We took time to smell the roses -- literally! We're having a fabulous time doing some of our favorite things.

Short or Long?

From January, 2022 to today, my hair has grown at least six inches! I probably should think about scheduling a haircut!!

World Down Syndrome Day

People who don't have the privilege of having someone like Seth in their lives probably can't understand the level of blessing and gratitude that our family lives with. Down syndrome comes with some challenges, but it also comes with the potential to radically change people into more compassionate and understanding humans. Thank God for Seth and the many other people like him!!

Garden Day

Today's weather forecast is very cool, and cool weather means reading time in the garden!!

I'm like a cat or a dog turning around ten times before settling down for a nap. I have to walk all through the garden to decide where I'm going to finally sit and read. A shady, semi-secluded spot is perfect today!

A Difficult Few Months

 Even though we hear ALL the time to never take anyone for granted because tomorrow is not guaranteed, we hardly ever listen to that advice.  We live as if all of the people we love will live forever and that life will never change.  Recalling the conversations I had in August and the beginning of September, I'm thankful that I stepped outside of my comfortable isolation and actually spent quality time with and spoke real words of gratitude to my mother-in-law.  I had no idea that those would be my last moments and words with her.  A truck hit her car on September 20, and she took her last breath on Earth and her first breath in Heaven on September 22.

Sandy's funeral service was beautiful, and we were completely surrounded by family and friends sharing in our grief and helping us get through the horror of losing one of the most special people ever born.

Sandy's body was laid to rest at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, and almost all of her immediate family was at both the funeral and the burial services.

I was so glad that all four of my children could be together with us!  Since that tragic time, we've celebrated birthdays (I turned 50 just a few days after Sandy's funeral), Christmas, and a New Year. We've gone to church, the garden, Disney, and the beach. We've continued to live, even when it seems like we can't possibly get out of bed knowing that we won't be seeing or hearing from Sandy today.

Because Sandy knew without a doubt that God is real, the Bible is true, Jesus died on the cross to pay for her sins, and God raised Him from the dead, she is in Heaven with her Creator, Lord, and Saviour.  We miss her constantly, but we will see her again either when God takes us from this life or when Jesus returns to take all of His family to Heaven.

Fairy Doors

Sandy and I went to the garden to smell the flowers (which I couldn't smell at all, partly because many of the flowers were dying in the heat and partly because covid stole my sense of smell) and to find fairy doors. We had so much fun! A map showed the location of each fairy door, the name of the fairy who lives behind each door, the meaning of each fairy's name, and what kinds of fairies they are. We never would've found #20 if a little boy hadn't shown us where it was. Even one of the garden employees couldn't find it. As a bonus, we found four bird houses (which we believe are actually fairy vacation resorts).