Blessings

The last two days have been busy and I really should be tired this evening, but my heart is so renewed and happy.  Yesterday David and I roadtripped to UVA for his monthly clinic appointment.  We had a great time together and of course we hit his favorite Cici's Pizza for lunch. 

We were crunched for time, but I just had to stop on the gorgeous scenic overlook on Afton Mountain for a quick picture.  I am not sure if this is "peak" weekend, but Friday was simply golden and gorgeous in Virginia.  To see David so healthy and with a full head of hair with those gorgeous mountains in the background overwhelmed me.  My heart was so full.  So many times we have crossed that mountain going to and from chemo when he was sick or asleep and yesterday I was so grateful to our God. 

David with a head full of gorgeous hair and a spunky attitude to go with it:) At clinic overall we got great news.  He has had a viral croup mess in the last month plus an ear infection so I expected his labs to be a little off.  His Creatinine was a little high, but nothing to worry about.  He weighed in at 67 pounds (wow!) and all other vitals were great.  We will return the first of December for the dreaded scan:(

On the way home from UVA David fell asleep and I was praying and praising God.  I looked up and I saw this beautiful sunset and I just felt so blessed.  That trip to UVA is long, boring, and we have done it way too many times, but I still felt blessed and reassured that God was and will always be with me.

We stopped by my parents for a few minutes on the way home, and David insisted to show them his new Ironman costume that he suckered me out of at Target.  How can you say no to a new costume after all that he has been through?  He is so excited to wear this new costume at Disney!

 

The other amaing blessing of this weekend was the women's conference I attended today.  I had been asked months ago to speak and I accepted with a knot in my stomach. I do not feel like I am a good speaker but I will gladly go out of my comfort zone and speak to brag on my Jesus.  He has done a mighty work in our lives through David and he continues to bless us with His peace as we face the future. 

 

Not only was the lunch amazing (you know it is good if I felt compelled to whip out my iphone and take a picture), but the church was welcoming, the ladies were encouraging and kind, and the other speakers wowed me.  I was scheduled to speak last and the knot in my stomach got bigger and bigger after each speaker.  The speakers before me were awesome and they could sing-I barely had a voice due to allergies,  a frog in my throat, and my pantyhose were not cooperating!  I was starting to feel insecure and inadquate until God reminded me that His grace is sufficient.  I held onto the podium for dear life and shared with those kind women how our God used David and his life to show me His glory. It was an awesome day! 

 

I have spent the evening in the kitchen cooking with my kiddos for some more special events going on tomorrow.  My heart is so thankful and blessed.  Our God is truly the Good Shepherd.

2013 Buddy Walk

This past weekend simply rocked.  The VT game on Saturday was amazing and awesome and then Sunday we got together with our friends that rock that little extra chromosome for our annual Buddy Walk.  This event every single year makes my heart swell with thanksgiving that God blessed us with David and that we are surrounded by this awesome group of families, friends, and educators to "do life" with. 

I tried hard to locate David's "Keep Calm It's Only an Extra Chromosome" shirt, but we all try to wear blue and yellow for the official Down Syndrome colors. Here are David and Angie.  They have similar personalities and Angie is truly the life of any party.  She is simply hilarious. 

Here is David with one of my preschoolers, Emily.  I love her so much and I LOVE having her two mornings a week at preschool.  She is so smart!!  This year I was there not only as David's Mom but as Emily's teacher as well.  We fight over her at preschool we love her so much!

Here are our friends that were able to make it this year.  We were missing a few due to illnesses but we always have a good time!  

David and Caroline.  Caroline is now in middle school with Kyle and she is looking so grown-up.  When we started these buddy walks David and Caroline were preschoolers. 

David was a blessed guy because not only was AShley there (and has been for the past several years) but Amber and her entire family came.  God has blessed us with both Ashly and Amber and they split time with David now.  Here is David with Amber's little brother, T.J. 

 

AShley has been a faithful Buddy walker for the last several years.  (Don't you love her new hairdo?)

 

If you asked any of the parents that have an "angel" with Down Syndrome, they would all tell you that raising a strong-willed child with DS is not easy at all.  We worry about their futures, we worry that they are truly loved and accepted, we worry about their health, we just worry.  It is our jobs to keep them safe and protected. 

 

Then on the other hand, there is this understanding when you come together with other families with children that have DS that you are part of this amazing club where genuine love, acceptance, and kindness reigns. When I leave these Down Syndrome family events, I am always so thankful to God that he blessed us with David.  God has used David to make me a more genuine person and to teach us as a family what it means to be "fearfully and wonderfully made." 

 

The scripture that means the most to me is from John 9:1-3.  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi who sinned, this man or his parents, the he was born blind?" Jesus answered "It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

 

That scripture gets me everytime.  Some would look at Angie, Emily, David, Caroline, Taylor, Jessica, and our other friends with DS and call them a "medical fluke."  Because of Jesus and his perfect plan, this scripture melts my heart that Jesus is using David and his friends to display His glory.  I could care less that David may never drive a car or learn how to do long division-he is here on this Earth to bring Glory to our God!  I am just so thankful as a Mom and teacher that I get a front row seat to the glories that will be displayed through my son and his awesome friends. 

Our Amazing Day at Lane Stadium

There are just some days in this life that you feel blessed and your cup of gratitude is overflowing. Last week we were blessed with the opportunity to be Special Spectators at the UVA football game. One week later I was once again attending a Special Spectator event, but I was closer to home at Virginia Tech and I was the volunteer!

We met amazing families and our group of roughly 25 people was blessed with a wonderful day at Lane Stadium. As the volunteer it was my job to shepherd the group and work with the AMAZING team from the VT athletic office that escorted us around today. My eyes kept "misting" watching this amazing group of kids enjoy a special day of VT football.



Our first stop was Bill Roth's sound booth where we met the Voice of the Hokies.  David really got into the action and tried on Bill Roth's headset.  The view from the sound booth was amazing and the Chris Burnop and Bill Roth were super to our Special Spectator kids. 

David pretended to be calling the game.  We have listened to Bill Roth so much over the years that we were a little star struck meeting him. 

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Here is most of our group in the sound booth.  What an amazing memory for these kids.

While we were waiting for Coach Beamer, we were on the practice field and Coach Beamer and some of his players came out to practice a few minutes before getting ready.  Our kids in our group just stared at these players and legendary coach twenty feet from us running a few drills. 

Then the legend himself, Coach Frank Beamer came right over to the kids in our group.  He was gracious and so sweet with them.  David yelled "Hey hank!" because he truly thinks his name is Hank instead of Frank.  Coach Beamer did not seem to mind:)  He was only with us a few short moments but it was a precious time for the kids in our group. 

After meeting with Coach Beamer, we were allowed to walk through the tunnel like the players do.  The players have a tradition of touching the Hokie Stone before hitting the field and our kids were allowed to do the same.  Here is Kyle!

David was able to touch the Hokie Stone thanks to Pops. 

Me and my two boys on the field pregame.  All the families had a few moments on the field to get pictures and watch the players. 

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David and the lovely dance ladies.  The Hokie bird, the cheerleaders, and the dance team visited our tailgate to meet with the kids.  Several of the girls in our group were so excited to meet the real cheerleaders and Hokie Bird!!

This little girl captured my heart.  Bailee is beautiful and she had so much fun cheering for her Hokies.  Two of the cheerleaders were holding her and this was another moment my eyes were misting.  Precious!  This is what it is all about!!! 

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My boys with the Hokie Bird!  The Hokie Bird missed us originally at our tailgate and he came back to make sure that he got to meet the kids in our group. 

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Group Photo!!

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David with the Corp of Cadets and the cannon!  While we were coming out of the tunnel and going to our seats (a huge group of about 25 people) this man yelled that the Corp of coming through and that we were in the way of about 1000 cadets!  I had to laugh at hime because we were doing exactly what our escorts from the Athletic Office were telling us to do!  We were squished up against the way while 1000 cadets came through!  It was hilarious because we were stuck and that corp leader guy did not like that we were messing up his formations!! 

Enter sandman!  David loves Hokie games and he loves when the team comes out to Enter Sandman!! Add caption



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Kyle was so excited that he was standing near Coach Beamer in the group picture.  This group picture was the one that was on  the Jumbotron during halftime of the game.  VT recognized our group from Special Spectators and put the group picture of all of the kids on the screen. 

Today was simply awesome.  As the volunteer I was blessed by the families I got to meet, blessed to watch this awesome group of kids have VIP treatment at Lane Stadium, and blessed that my boys were with me.  Special  Spectators is an awesome organization that blessed seriously ill children with magical game day experiences.  Please like them on facebook to see all the smiles and magic they are blessing kids (like my David) with each football season.  Today I was humbled and blessed to witness the faces of these kids and parents enjoying a day at Lane Stadium that none of us will ever forget!