LOST

I lost a child today.  And by "lost," I don't mean hide-and-seek lost.  We're talking panic mode, out the front door, down the street, across traffic lost.  Scary, heart leaping from your chest lost.  The kinda lost that is every mother's worst nightmare.  Especially a mother whose child cannot communicate to strangers where he/she should be.  I should have known this was coming eventually.  But I'd never be ready for it.  Landon made it out the front door and far down and across the street before anyone even realized he was gone.  I'd like to say he's just that fast, but the reality is, I feel like a completely incompetent parent.  I should have had my eyes on him, I should have known he was strong enough to open that door, I should have been more aware.  I thank God that he was picked up by a woman who has experience with children with special needs and knew he needed help.  I thank God that I put him in his bright yellow "can't miss it" (or doesn't blend in with the road and get run over) Buddy Walk tshirt today, so he was completely visible as he was crossing the street.  I thank God he wasn't picked up by some East Helena weirdo.  (Sorry, E.H., but you know it's true, there's plenty of 'em)  I thank God I had enough people to spread out and help me look for him.  I thank God he's ok, because I had every worst-case scenario playing out in my head.  The woman who found him had, of course, called the police department, and we had to stay & talk to the deputy they sent out.  He was very friendly, very understanding....apparently they see this sort of thing all the time.....I'm not the first person to lose track of my child.  But that doesn't make it any less scary.  And it doesn't make me feel any better about losing him.  He was probably gone 5 or 10 minutes, total, but it felt like hours.  I'm emotionally exhausted and still feeling like the complete opposite of Mother-of-the-Year.  And now, I have to try and teach him WHY it is so dangerous to take off on his own, because now he thinks it's a game.  He's a big boy, and he CAN open that door and take off, without understanding the consequences.  Having a toddler is scary enough, but raising a toddler with special needs is extra challenging, and I can't ever take that for granted.  I'm thankful for the way things happened; it could have been far, far worse.  But Lord help me to raise this child so that both of us make it out alive!

Holly: My Christmas Angel

This is Holly.  Isn't she beautiful?  This year I was chosen to be her Christmas Warrior through Reece's Rainbow.  The mission of Reece's Rainbow is to rescue orphans with Down syndrome through the gift of adoption, to raise awareness for all of the children who are waiting in 25 countries around the world, and to raise funds as adoption grants that help adoptive families afford the high cost of adopting these beautiful children.  


The tragedy in all this is not that these children are orphans with Down syndrome, but that they are orphans BECAUSE they have Down syndrome.  They don't have anyone who can give them the love and care they deserve, and so they are placed in orphanages, most of which provide only minimal living conditions.  And if these children are not adopted by the age of 5, they are transferred to institutions and left to waste away.  The sad truth is that, once transferred, most of these beautiful kids will die within just a few years.  Can you imagine a child, any child, never having a mother or a father to hug and kiss all over them?  It brings me to tears.....


My mission between November 1 and December 31 is to raise $1000 for Holly's adoption fund.  You can read more about the Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree program here: http://reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2011


The impact of this program really didn't hit me until recently.  Can I really raise $1000 for this sweet angel by myself?  Is it possible?  Well, not really, not alone....but with friends and family, maybe we really can do it.  I cannot change the world, not by myself, but I can be a crucial part of this little girl's life by helping her to find her forever family.  And if I can better the life of one child who desperately needs a family to love her, then I will do my very best!  BECAUSE EVERY FAMILY DESERVES THE BLESSING OF A CHILD WITH DOWN SYNDROME!  


I will have more information and a donation box posted soon, so stay tuned!!

To blog or not to blog?

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

The Walrus and the Carpenter, Lewis Carroll

I am not a writer, by any stretch of the word. And to be honest, I never really understood the appeal of blogging. But people love blogs, and it seems like most everyone has one these days, or at the very least, reads them. And when it comes to expressing myself, I have always had an easier time putting my thoughts down on paper rather than saying what I feel. So what the heck? Here goes nothin :)

My first challenge was to think of a name, something semi-creative and not too dorky. Have I succeeded? Not really. But I came across this poem while searching for quotes that contained the word "Kings" (for obvious reasons), and The Walrus and the Carpenter seemed perfect. I have seen a lot of blogs dedicated to a specific topic, but that's not something I feel I can stick to. And we are not a terribly exciting family. We have the usual work, school, minimal extra-curricular activities schedule, and it isn't often that we venture out and do anything remotely exciting. We have a family member who, in many ways, makes us extraordinary, simply because he has one extra chromosome. But do I want a blog dedicated entirely to Down syndrome? Certainly not. While Down syndrome has certainly blessed our family, it does not define us any more than it defines Landon himself. It's just another one of those things that makes him a bit more awesome, and us a big luckier to have him!

But I digress. The time has come, I feel, to talk of many things. Cabbage probably won't be one of those things. I know, heartbreaking, right? So here we are, and if I can stick to this blogging thing, my vision of this blog is to be a mish-mashed hodge-podge of all sorts of things. The good, the bad, and maybe even the ugly. Because family is awesome, and messy, and ultimately the most important thing we have. So, if you're intrigued (as I'm sure you are), feel free to join me. And if I've already bored you to tears and you run screaming as far from your computer as you can, no worries....I won't be offended if you never come back!

I'm starting to maybe be just a little bit excited about this. I'm not really a chatty person, but I know I can find plenty to talk about!