Wordless Wednesday... hey, shut yer mouth :)

God knew what he was doing when he made me!

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. John 9:1-3

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Yum-my apples that we made...hmmmm mmmm good!

Spenser and Mason

Mason Montana






Mommy & Mason (his real costume) and I keep swearing I am going to let the internet bill go one month so that I can fix these hare teeth! he he!


Ashlyn the GOOD WITCH!



We hope that everyone had a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Post #1 for October 31st

So I let myself down. I didn't get to post all 31 days :( I did try though. Typically I could have done this, but this month has been a VERY crazy month.

Here is Miss Jaiden, one of our favorite friends that we have in our Trisomy 21 family. Her mommy Leah and I met last year in Chicago at a gathering of T21 families. Leah and I have been friends for quite a while and it was awesome to finally meet in person. Jaiden and Ashlyn stayed at home with their daddy's while us crazy moms met up and had a little fun! We vow that we will one day meet up again and bring our wild and crazy girls to finally meet! I just know in my heart that they will love each other as well! They are so much alike in personalities and behaviors and we call them the "soul sistas". We hope to meet ya soon Jaidey girl! :)


Jaidey and her daddy



Baby Jaiden and her big brother Nicholas


Jaiden's 1st ride on a school bus!


Pretty lil girly!


Jaiden in her daddy's pilot hat


HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY!

Wordless Wednesday

Lovely lab work and x-ray's

I have been very busy with life for the last several days and barely have time to post this, but I was feeling like a slackard. :) So yesterday I have to take Ashlyn to the hospital to get yearly lab work and also a neck x-ray so that she could ride the horses at Saving Grace farm with her class. I honestly think that the visit yesterday took about 6 months off of my life. :( We did the x-ray first and believe me it could have gone better than it did. I was sweating when we got out of there. This chick of mine might have low muscle tone but she is NOT low in strength. We started out with this great guy who was a big ol' teddy bear... sweet as pie. (I was very thankful for this!) Then we decided we needed some back up. We layed her out on the table, he held the bottom part of her body and I tried to hold her neck/head in the correct position and then another lady got the mug shot of poor poopsies neck. Thank God the x-ray's came back in the clear. Lab was next and boy I thought she was strong getting her x-ray...that was a piece of cake compared to drawing blood from a screaming chicky. Her thyroid levels were fine, which is awesome because we were watching her levels last year. :)

I really don't know what is up with the older generation. There were 3 elderly people in the waiting room yesterday, 2 women and 1 man. I REALLY wanted to go and tell the one old lady that just because the man sitting beside her had in a hearing aide, that the rest of us weren't deaf. So Ashlyn was actually being PRETTY darned good for Ashlyn. She was playing around with a toy and then got restless and tried to escape a few times. As I am sitting there watching Ashlyn I hear the old lady go... blah, blah, blah syndrome (that was all that I heard, ha!) So then my ears perk up and I am trying to hear the rest of their conversation...yes I am nosey, I don't deny it! Then she screams out "they say it comes from lack of folic acid". She stopped there for a while and then on another escape route from Ashlyn I hear, "I could not handle that" from the old hag. :) The old man says " not now you couldn't" and she says "not then either". So I had about all that I could take without being ugly and put wild woman in a wheel chair and start wheeling her around the floor for about 25 more mintues of waiting. I think what made me mad the most was that they were just spewing at the mouth like none of us could hear them and just kept right on doing it like it was no big deal. I told Mike about it and he said I should have went up to her and said "you don't have to worry about handling her, she is mine and I can take care of her myself!

So that is my older generation story for the week.... I have one more encounter that we had the YMCA not long ago, and yes it involved another ol' lady.

Couple with Down syndrome prepare to wed

Thursday, 10/11/07

Couple with Down syndrome prepare to wed
They expect their love to transcend limitations

By CLAUDIA PINTO
Staff Writer


Doctors referred to Gwenn Resha's baby as a "mongoloid idiot" and advised her to put the infant in a nursery and have another one real quick.

"They said nursery, but they were meaning institution," Resha said. "Back then, there was no expectation that people with Down syndrome would do anything but sit and vegetate."

Resha's daughter, Berna dette, has helped to debunk that once-widespread be life. The 28-year-old has graduated from high school, acted as a paid spokeswoman for Easter Seals and Special Olympics, appeared in the movie Gummo and become an accomplished artist whose paintings sell for hundreds of dollars.

On Nov. 11, she will do something else that experts a generation ago would not have thought possible: she is getting married to a man who also has Down syndrome.

Advocates say marriage is rare between two people with Down syndrome but becoming more common because of longer life spans made possible by medical advancements. Newer laws ensure their right to education and employment, which have made independence possible.

No one tracks the number of such marriages across the country.

"I don't know of any other couple with Down syndrome who have been married in Tennessee," said Sheila Moore, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee.

"This is very exciting for Bernadette and Josh. It's also very exciting for the Down syndrome community. It's gives us hope and excitement that individuals with Down syndrome are having more opportunities and living more normal lives than ever before."

Bernadette Resha of Nashville and her fiancé, Josh Putman, of Mt. Juliet, seem unconcerned about being pioneers. They just want to be together.

"I like Bernadette. I love her like a wife," said Putman, 25. "Every time I met her, her is a good person, a good athlete. And her is a good artist."

Bernadette Resha re sponded to the kind words with a shy giggle and tenderly touched Putman's arm.

"He is my very close friend, boyfriend," she said. "I like for him to support me and be a good husband."

They had opportunities

Advocates say that Bernadette Resha and Putman are part of the first generation of children with Down syndrome who have had opportunities to be educated and employed.

Instead of living out their lives in an institution, they have been included in public schools. Their individualized education plans typically include employment training and instruction on how to live independently.

"Prior to 1975, it was
Not mandated for children with Down syndrome to be educated," said Madeleine Will, vice president of public policy for the National Down Syndrome Association.

"It's believed there were 1 million children with Down syndrome and other disabilities who weren't being educated."

In the early 1990s, the Americans with Disabilities Act required that accommodations be made in the workplace when possible, and prohibited discrimination.

As a result, "adults with Down syndrome are achieving more than ever before," Moore said. "They are graduating from high school. They are employed in our community."

In addition, medical advances have dramatically increased the life expectancy of people with Down syndrome. Will said that in the 1980s, whites with Down syndrome typically didn't live to the age of 25. That compares with an average lifespan of 55 today.

Down syndrome, caused by a chromosomal abnormality, comes with a host of
Medical conditions, including heart and digestive problems.

"Now almost all of these things can be corrected," Moore said.

While progress has been made, advocates say there are still many obstacles that people with Down syndrome face in getting married.

Will said the primary problem is that people with Down syndrome who choose to get married will receive one-quarter less in Supplemental Security Income, a federal program that gives money to people with disabilities who have little or no income.

"Sometimes they just move in together and don't get married because they can't afford it otherwise," Moore said.

Putman and Bernadette Resha will receive $300 less each month in federal benefits. That means their parents will have to provide them with additional financial support. In addition to Bernadette Resha's income as an artist, Putman works part time bagging groceries at a Publix grocery store.

It doesn't seem right to Bernadette's father, Louis Resha. "If you have a disability, you shouldn't be penalized for getting married," he said.

Independence possible

Putman was unaware of the symbolism, but he chose to propose to Bernadette on July 4: Independence Day.

Once the two are married, they will move from their parents' homes and live independently for the first time in their lives in a Nashville apartment.

Putman fondly remembers the day he asked Bernadette to marry him. It was in her parents' kitchen in the middle of a party.

"I got my knee down. I said, 'I love you a lot.' I said, 'Bernadette, will you marry me?' " Putman recalled. "Bernadette said yes. Then Bernadette started crying. Then Bernadette's dad, Louis, started crying. That was a big happy moment."

Putman and Bernadette Resha have been lifelong friends. They met at St. Bernard's preschool when Bernadette Resha was 5 and Putman was 2.

But it wasn't until 1995, when Putman accompanied the family to the Special Olympics' World Games in Connecticut, that they "somehow saw each other in a different way," Gwenn Resha said.

"I think their love for each other probably is more sincere than other people because their friendship just kept getting stronger and stronger," she said.

They like to go out to eat, go to the movies, walk in the mall, spend time together — many of the same things other couples like to do.

Like other couples, they are looking forward to getting married and spending their lives together. However, they aren't interested in having children.

"No kids," Bernadette Resha said. "It's real hard to care (for) children. It's a big task."

The two realize it will be hard enough to take care of each other. They are confident they can do it, though.

They know how to clean the house, wash clothes, and do minor cooking. Their parents will regularly check in on them.

"Our responsibility is, grow up. Be a young man and young lady," Putman said. "We together. It's nice together. Sometimes it's good and bad. We work it out."

Wordless Wednesday (a few hours late)

What is he thinking?????

I have to admit we have had pretty good luck the last 8 years as far as people saying crazy, off the wall stuff to us about Ashlyn. Last week I had my *yearly* exam with the doctor that delivered Ashlyn. We were chatting and things were going along pretty good. (or so I thought) He starts going through my chart and naming my children and telling me how old they were (oh hum, I'm glad you told me that because I couldn't remember their ages, Ha!) So when he gets to my dear Ashlyn he says "How is Ashlyn doing?" I tell him that she is doing great and he then proceeds to ask me "is she living with you?" I sure hope that my face didn't look anything like my brain was thinking.... I was not happy at all (Ashlyn's favorite saying) with this nutso question. I am pretty sure that I gave him a *are you crazy* look and told him of course she lives at home with us. (I was thinking of a million things to say to him but I am changing my ways and kept it clean!) I also let him know rather quickly that we love her very much and wouldn't have our little girl any other way (extra chromosome included) :)

My Best friend

My very best friend in the whole, wide world (I said this when I was little) who I met in kindergarten, came to visit us back in August. Her name is Renee and she now lives all the way across the country in Oregon. :( She stayed with us for about 6 days. (which was entirely too short of a stay) She has 3 beautiful girls back home, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last October. I flew out to Oregon with her mom (I am a chicken and didn't want to fly alone) and stayed for about 5-6 days with them. The last time that I saw Renee was when she came home about 7 years ago with her oldest daughter and was pregnant with her second daughter. She now has #3 and I got to meet everyone! So this time when she came she got to meet Mason who wasn't born yet when she came home last and she was able to see my teenager who was 5 then and Ashlyn who was only 1 back them. This is so crazy and I don't even know why it was a concern to me, but in the back of my head I was thinking I hope that she just loves all of them and doesn't leave here feeling sorry for me. (about Ashlyn) I guess my reasoning for this is because I love Ashlyn with all of my heart and would feel just terrible if my best friend didn't *get it* (do you know what I mean?) There are still people in my life that I think still don't get it. It is all hard to explain, but anyway my worries were nothing.... Ashlyn wrapped her around her little finger as well. She was in love with my 3 kids as much as I had fallen in love with her 3 kids :)

Here are some pictures from our visit...

Don't you think it went over pretty well???






Ashlyn loves Renee so much! Renee sat around feeding her ice cream all week...so how could Ashlyn NOT love her?? ha ha!




Oh and one funny thing. Ashlyn could say Renee, but she decided that she would call Renee BRENDA all week. It was hilarious and made us laugh every time she called her that. Ashlyn would throw up her hand and say "good morning Brenda", with this sneaky little smile. She knew her name wasn't Brenda but she sure insisted on calling her that!