It's only hard sometimes

Lately I have been noticing a lot of people 
staring at us 
when we are out.  
I know it's not common to see two children 
with Down Syndrome in a family
 so it doesn't bother me that much.

You can usually tell what a person is thinking 
(when they are looking at us) 
by the expression on their faces.  
Most people look for a while and then smile.   
Some people, not many, look away in disgust.  
Some people look at us in pity.  

Sometimes I wish I could carry cards in my purse 
and hand them out based on what I think 
the person looking at us is thinking.  
 For the people who smile at us, I would give them 
a card that says,
 "You got it, we have a pretty good life!"

For the people who look away in disgust, 
the card would say.... 
wait, those people don't deserve a card.  
 Never mind.

For the people who look at us with pity in their eyes, 
the card would have to be relatively big. 
It would say...
 "Oh, please don't pity us.   
We had a prenatal diagnosis with our 6 year old.   
We chose her.   
She is a huge source of joy to us.   
She has struggled with so many things 
and we are incredibly proud of her. 
 She is our hero.  
As for the baby, we chose her as well.   
We adopted her~ she came to live with us 
when she was 6 months old.  
She is incredible.   
We have an open adoption and a 
great relationship with the birth parents.  
She is loved beyond belief." 

Along with the cards, 
I would love for them to take a 
little peek into our lives.  

 I wish they would have been 
at our breakfast table this morning when
 Lexi was fussing so Lila reached into the cereal box 
and handed Lexi a piece.  
 Lexi immediately threw it across the floor. 
 Lila said, "Wexi, dat wasn't nice.  
I give you another chance".  
She reached into the box again, handed another piece
of cereal to Lexi and it went flying across the kitchen.   
Lila said, "Dat's ok, sweet girl, you don't feel well. 
 You getting you teeth!"

In the playroom this afternoon~ 
Lila was jumping full force on the mini trampoline 
when Lexi crawled up on the trampoline 
and tried to stand up.  
 Lila stopped jumping, reached down 
and gave Lexi a hand to steady her balance.  

In our kitchen tonight when Lila was dancing around
 and Lexi was trying to dance with her-
 falling down about every 4 steps then getting back up
to join her big sister.  

 In the bathroom tonight 
while Lila was sitting on the potty 
and Lexi was sitting on a stool, 
hanging on her big sister's every word, 
watching as Lila sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
 and doing the motions.  
Lexi was trying to do the motions with her 
and Lila was cheering her on. 
 "Good job, Baby Wexi!  You doing it!".

Is it hard sometimes? 
 Absolutely. 
 I've never experienced anything in life 
that wasn't hard at times.

 I raised two typical kids and that wasn't easy all the time.  
Parenting is a tough job.  

Do the good times outweigh the tough ones? 
 In a huge way.   
Would we trade our life, change our choices? 

  Not in a million years. 
Not for all the money in the world.  


16 comments:

  1. Oh Linda, you are very blessed! I feel the very same about my little guy---so very, very lucky!!

    Peg
    Mommy to Cason, 8 years old

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  2. I was smiling and tearing up until I got to the picture. I looked at Lila, who looks a little worried, then I looked at Lexi and busted out laughing! Lying back the way she is and that look on her face just cracked.me.up!! Not a care in the world.

    You truly are blessed with all four of your kids. And I just love Lila's sweet heart and her empathetic, caring way. That she gets from her mama, of course. She's learned it well.

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  3. Sooooo beautifully written!!!!! Lexi and Lila are lucky to have you as their mama!!!!

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  4. Well said Linda! Those two little girls are special, beautiful and very sweet! I actually kind of feel sorry for those who never get to know them. They are truly missing out!

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  5. "Wexi"! Love her! Lila has such a big heart and Lexi just loves her big sister. You have a beautiful family.

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  6. I don't take the looks personally anymore because they don't truly matter in our lives. Everytime we are out and about we are planting seeds. When people see us doing 'normal' family things they have to change their perceptions of Ds. Good, Bad, or Indifferent. The more we as 'the Ds community' continue to do 'normal' family things and include our loved ones in daily life, more and more seeds will be planted. Like the mustard seen in Matthew 17:20.... Jesus says to the disciples...

    "Because your faith is much too small. What I'm about to tell you is true. If you have faith as small as a mustard seen, it is enough. You can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there.' And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you".

    Keep planting those Mustard seeds and Nothing will be impossible for our kids!

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  7. Love your Lila and Lexi stories. Sisters just have a special connection.

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  8. A beautiful post. Your girls are so gorgeous! Love those sister stories. Thank you for posting, and to Missy for sharing on the Babycenter DS Pregnancy board x

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  9. This was a good one. I can't wait to come visit for Christmas. Love you all!

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  10. beautiful and just perfect! :) Katie

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  11. That was an awesome post! It is exactly how I feel! Amy Dasher

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  12. Your girls are so beautiful...just seeing their pictures brings a special joy to my heart. God doesn't make mistakes. You are blessed to have these little angels and they are blessed to have such a loving family.

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  13. The girls are as cute as can be. Everyone has challenges raising children...they are a gift!

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  14. Linda thus post was beautiful!! Thanks for sharing ! Love those girls of yours!

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  15. every post makes me gush! Love you and your family. muah!

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  16. Oh gosh, you brought tears to my eyes! Thank you so much for sharing & yes, the best things in life is watching your children love one another and that's our reward for being parents :~)

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