Yesterday Dylan turned 8 months old. I cannot believe my little baby is already 8 months old. This little ray of light in our lives is the greatest gift god could have ever given to us! I don't know where I would be with out him. He truly brings us the most amazing joy!

Dylan has really turned a corner with his personality. He is talking...well "dadadad" that kind of talking, but there is no off button now. When we went camping a few weekends ago he started to babble when we were on our trip and it has been over and beyond ever since we got back. He is almost sitting up but we are working on that of course. He sleeps through the night ( been doing that since he was 4 months old) rolling over like crazy, his favorite foods are sweet potatoes, peas, peaches,bananas, pears, green beans, carrots, there really has not been anything that he does not like. He smiles all day long, and I know some of you will hate me for this, but he NEVER cries. Dylan has never cried once since he was born, I think the only time he has ever cried is when we go to the doctor for his shots. This little boy is just the happiest little thing in the world!

Last week we had our 7 month in home evaluation with the Regional Center of Orange County. This is the company and program that provides Dylan with all of his in home therapy and any therapy that he will need in the near future, they are amazing! We are truly blessed with the team we have for Dylan. Our meeting went great and our counselor was very happy with where Dylan is and how he is progressing. I was so happy to hear that. Again special needs or not you cannot put a number on the milestones for your child. Every baby and child are different in how they grow and learn, but of course being a mom with a child that has down syndrome you tend to compare a little bit. So to hear that Dylan is right on track with his milestones was a huge deal for Greg and I.

Dylan surprises us everyday with who he is and how much of a strong little boy he is. Just to think 4 months ago he went into the hospital to have open heart surgery and to look at him now is incredibly remarkable. He has come a very long way and is our little fighter. Happy 8 month birthday Dylan, I don't know how are family was complete with out you. We love you so much! Love, Mommy and Daddy!

Let Go Of The Things That Hold You Back

“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress ...” (Hebrews 12:1b NLT)

If you want to finish the race of life, if you want to make it to the finish line, you’re going to have to let go of some things that may be holding you back in the race. Call it de-cluttering; call it simplifying. There are some things that need to be laid aside in order to finish well.

What kind of things am I talking about? The things that cause you to get discouraged. Think of it this way: If you attach one light bulb to a battery, the battery will run for a long time. If you attach 100 light bulbs to a battery, it will go dim and dark really quick!

When you keep adding things to your schedule and your life, you will quickly become discouraged and tired.

In today’s verse from Hebrews 12:1, I want to focus on two words, “weight” and “sin,” because these are the two things that hold you back in the race of life.

A weight is anything that slows you down. It could be a relationship, a job, an activity, or a sport. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A weight can be a good thing, but if you get too many good things in your life, you’re going to collapse because you don’t have time for all of them. You need to learn to say "no" to grow. God doesn’t expect you to do everything.

A weight can also be an unrealistic expectation that comes from peer pressure or the need to please someone, or it can be a memory. You might be stuck in the past, holding on to a happiness or hurt. The problem is that you can’t live in the past or even in the future; you can only live in the now. Trying to do anything else will weigh you down.

Whatever the weight is, if it isn’t working in your life, if it’s dragging you down, you need to let it go.

Identifying sins are easy, right? Sins are the things that you know to do but you don’t do them. You know the keys to living a healthy lifestyle or keeping your finances in good shape. But do you do them?

James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (NIV).

So if you know that you should spend less than you make to stay financially healthy, don’t go on a spending spree that puts you further in debt. You don’t need to keep up with the Joneses or the Smiths or whoever you’re comparing yourself to. You don’t need to use the charge card.

Live within your means so you can lay aside the weight of financial debt and run your race well.

Hope For The Future

As a mother to a child with special needs, of course I will always want what is best for Dylan and his future. A lot has been on my mind lately as far as how will Dylan grow, what will his future look like, what milestones will he accomplish, what schools will he be able to attend to make sure that he gets that undivided attention and still be able to learn as a normal child and have the same experience that any other child has when going to school.

I think most people would assume that there child has to attend a special class and school just because he has special needs. Is this correct? I spend a lot of my time researching and reading about Down Syndrome. This is our family's life and Dylan's life and we want nothing but the best for him and the bright future ahead of him. A few nights ago I came across a special from the Today  show on a school in New York that has opened it's doors to all children of different diversity's along with the inclusion of children with special needs. This is simply amazing! Who would of thought? Or am I just discovering this and there are school's like this? This has got my wheels spinning and of course will be doing some more research into schools where we live. I know Dylan still has a few more years before he hits that point, but I want to be fully prepared when that day comes. I want Dylan to be the best at everything and enjoy being around as many children that will help him grow into an amazing person.

We are all born differently, and that is the amazing thing about life. We are all different and beautiful in our own unique ways, but this does not mean that anyone should be treated differently just because they have a special need or disability.

I will strive for this...

Improving the academic performance of ethnically and linguistically diverse 

students and those with special needs has been the focus of national and state 

policy and initiatives for decades. Unfortunately, one of the greatest failures of 

the public school system has been the stubborn achievement gaps between 

white native English speakers and students from diverse backgrounds, as well as 

the generally low performance of students classified for special education services. 

Recent efforts to address these gaps include policy changes at the national and state 

levels, in particular legislation under which schools are held accountable for the 

performance of each subgroup, including African-American and Hispanic students, 

English learners (ELs), and special education students. 

Click on link for Video
www.today.com/video/today/50846628#50846628

And Were Off....

This past weekend we finally made our first family trip to Glamis. This is one of our favorite places to go and camp with family and friends, and ride our fun toys. Now that Dylan is strong and healthy we were so excited to take him along and have a little getaway with our family, and that also included Grandma!

Some of you may think, where the heck is this place...and to answer your question, it is in the middle of no where, but a very beautiful place. If you are into riding quads, dirt bikes, and fast cars this is the place to be! 

We have been going here for the last 7 years. It is such a fun family thing to do and we love spending time with friends and family that we love. This trip was somewhat of a small group, but it was nice since it was Dylan's first trip and I was just a little nervous. Of course Dylan did great! He slept great, and there was no fussing for this little boy. It was nice to get away for the weekend from all the craziness that our life has been the last 8 months. We look forward to many more trips! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Will You Be My Valentine

A little late..but hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!

God's Love Is Deep Enough

“The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me; he pulled me out of the deep waters.” (Psalm 18:16 TEV)

There are times when we all think, “I’m going under for the last time! I’m about to sink!” No matter how deep you are, God’s love is deeper than your problem.Corrie ten Boom and Betsy ten Boom were Christians who lived in the Netherlands during Word War II. They hid Jews in their home to protect them from the Nazis. When they were discovered, not only were the Jews taken to the concentration camp, but Corrie and Betsy were taken as well, and they spent the rest of the war there.After watching one atrocity after another, Corrie told Betsy, “This place is the pit of Hell!” Betsy replied, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper.”In the last few months, you may have hit bottom financially and thought, “I am going broke!” Or, maybe you've hit bottom emotionally, or your marriage has hit bottom, or you’re having health problems. You’re frustrated and can't help but think, “I’m going under.”Where is God when you hit bottom? He’s right there underneath you. He is “your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you”(Deuteronomy 33:27b NLT).Drop into his arms of love. Let him catch you and support you when you have nowhere else to go.

Radio Flyer

This weekend we celebrated my nephew's 1st birthday. Once again my sister did such an amazing job with the party planning and all of the decorations, she seems to always know how to make the most amazing birthday parties.I absolutely loved the theme!We enjoyed a full day of celebrating Chase's birthday and spending time with friends and family. I am still recovering from food over load...

January 2013

I can't believe we are already in the month of February. It just seems like we were celebrating Christmas. I guess that's what happens when life is pretty busy!

Speaking of busy, we have been pretty busy ourselves this last month. It's a work life balance for us. With both of us working full time are weeks are pretty jam packed. Greg and I really try to find a good balance in helping each other and we make a pretty good team. It's been pretty hard adjusting to being a full time mom and working full time. There are days I really want to crawl in a hole, but for the most part I really enjoy doing both. I LOVE being a mom, but I also love that feeling of independence and getting out of the house and working.

Dylan is doing awesome! He continues to surprise us in all of his milestones. He is the greatest little boy in the world, we just love him so much! Here is January in pictures.

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl in Pictures....We had such a fun day spending time with friends and family. Dylan loved it!

The Simple Things

Every day you are surrounded by sheer beauty.

The question is, are you feeling it, are you aware of it…or are you too busy in your mind?

The beauty could be in the form of a rising sun, the sound of your child’s laugh, the flowing steam off a fresh morning coffee, or that beautiful and coy smile from a stranger on your way to work. When we think of beauty, most of us immediately think of things such as beautiful places with exotic beaches, a sexy model, a masterpiece painting, or many other PHYSICAL things in life. I contemplated the idea of beauty the other day and I realized the things I find in life the MOST beautiful are those things that I cannot touch, taste, or even see.

They are purely invisible, yet they have the greatest and most profound weight of beauty on my heart and soul.

I truly feel that this is on purpose. I think this is the way God works. Why create the most beautiful things and make them 100% detectable by our senses? Where is the mystery and wonder in that? Isn't that part of what makes things beautiful anyway…the mystery, the unknown?

Here are the 3 Most Beautiful Things in Life That Are Invisible
(in no particular order)…

• Sounds/Music/Silence

I don’t know about you, but music to me is the most moving art form in this world. There are songs that take me to another world and make me feel something that I cannot put my finger on. Music is simply powerful and it has the force to change the world. I read once that the reason we fall into the rhythm and beat of music is because it reminds us of our mother’s heartbeat when we were in the womb. To me, this makes sense.

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. I get most joy in life out of music.” -Albert Einstein

Besides music, even simple sounds in life can be the most beautiful “music”. This could be the laugh of a child, the sound of a thunderstorm or a subtle morning rain while lying in bed or the at all, it is pure silence.  When we go silent, our minds and bodies have a chance to “reset” and calm down. When this occurs, a sense of peace and rest comes over us. Not only that, we clear out the mental static in our minds and we are able to see the world more clearly.

“Silence is the mother of truth.” -Benjamin Disraeli

• Contentment/Peace

Peace and contentment cannot be touched, seen or smelled. It is not visible to the naked eye, yet it can be deeply felt within us. You cannot buy peace of mind or personal contentment, it is simply achieved. Everyone has their own path to peace within. The trick is navigating the waters of life and not getting drowned by the waves.

Remember that peace and contentment can be found in small moments and small things!

You simply need to find the small things in life that give you a sense of fulfillment, a sense of peace within, and do them often. It could be as simple as taking 10 minutes out of your day to meditate or do deep breathing. It could be playing with your kids at the local playground. It could be writing poems, doodling, or going to the lake to fly kites.

• LOVE

Last but not least, the most beautiful thing in the world…love. We were born from love, and we live to love. Love is the single greatest driving force in our lives. It is our purpose to love and to be loved. At the very core of every action, this is our greatest need. The invisible power of love is the greatest single thing we can give to one another. Love has the power to break down walls, unite countries, create hope and beautiful pieces of art and cinema, and totally change the world…one single person at a time. Learn to harness the power of love in your heart and your life. Drop your ego. Stop being selfish. Give away love and watch it comeback to you tenfold. The next time you cook or write something, do it with love and watch what happens.

“Beauty is a primeval phenomenon, which itself never makes its appearance, but the reflection of which is visible in a thousand different utterances of the creative mind, and is as various as nature herself.” -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Happy Friday!