When we went to Disney World a few years ago- one of the highlights of our trip was a big family luau- On the wall of the entrance was a big sign O H A N A Because of watching Lilo and Stitch (see- watching movies with children are educational ) I knew right away [...]
Read More Bethany, children, disabilities, downs syndrome, encouragement, family, home schooling, inspiration, limitations, living between the trees, ohana, perspective, transformation
Breathing a sigh of relief here today. Yesterday was Bethany’s annual EVALUATION. Six years ago, Bethany finally got off a waiting list and was approved for a MR/DD Waiver. ick- ick- ICK!!!! (was that enough emphasis to get my point across ) I hate the label- Mentally Retarded/ Developmentally Disabled. I mean really, who wants [...]
Read More Bethany, disabilities, downs syndrome, encouragement, family, labels, life between the trees, limitations, living between the trees, MRDD Waiver, special needs, thankfulness, transformation
I live the life on a roller coaster- and sometimes I plunge and twist into Depression and Anxiety. Even though I love Jesus and He loves me, D/A seem to take me for an unexpected ride. But He is my HELP. I’m learning how to FIGHT and FLEE. One day, I’ll do a post about [...]
Read More anxiety, depression, encouragement, fallen world, Fear Not, inspiration, Jesus, Jesus will meet you there, living between the trees, perspective, transformation
Someone will always have it “better” than me. Someone will always have it “worse” than me. I’ve learned to keep my hand in Jesus’ No Jesus- know pain- Know Jesus – know pain will be healed Have you ever been blown away by someones testimony? Their joy and faith that doesn’t [...]
Read More disabilities, encouragement, God's faithfulness, inspiration, living between the trees, Sandy Rios, Sasha Rios, Sasha's song
When I first heard about Pinterest- I thought- “Not me- I already have too much on my plate and the last thing I need is another social media outlet!” Let me tell you why I changed my mind and why you should consider one of the coolest social media tools- imho- ever. 1. It Lets [...]
Read More encouragement, home schooling, Pinterest, treasure hunter
I want you to meet an incredible family! Aren’t they just beautiful? I want you to love them as much as I do! Meet Sarah, Noah, John, and Genev’e Here is there amazing story- in my friend, John’s own words! In April of 2004 I received a call from our Doctor informing me that there [...]
Read More disabilities, down syndrome, encouragement, inspiration, John Leslie, living between the trees, overcoming, treasure hunter
My most challenging ongoing lesson: ”Letting Go-d” Years of protecting, nurturing, & shielding her from the “looks”, “nonacceptance”, negative experiences, or situations where she would flounder, have left me with a bit of a “nest” mentality. I know the “nest” where we are safe- where we thrive- where Bethany is safeguarded and secure – where [...]
Read More Bethany, downs syndrome, encouragement, overcoming, perspective, special needs
I blog from a bit of a different perspective when I talk about special needs. I don’t want to try to convince everyone that Bethany is the same as me- or you. I want to illuminate the truth that WE are like HER! All of us need our Creator’s touch of grace and restoration. I [...]
Read More brokenness, encouragement, fallen world, special needs, treasure
Recently, I was perusing a website entitled – “SAVING DOWN SYNDROME” It stirred two conflicting thoughts; It’s my juxtaposed reality- I love Bethany- down syndrome and all- but in truth, I’d love to see the damage from that extra chromosome disabled or its power diminished! It works overtime with oxidative stress on their bodies and [...]
Read More disabilities, downs syndrome, encouragement, eugenics, IDSC, saving down syndrome, World Down Syndrome Day
World Down Syndrome Day is March 21st IDSC is uniting with bloggers and parents all over the world to celebrate “Who I Am” – an awareness campaign to help people understand that ALL of life is precious! Don’t forget to come back this Thursday, the 21st, to view the exciting video but for today- Here’s [...]
Read More Bethany, celebrate, disabilities, down syndrome, encouragement, perspective, special needs, treasure hunter
Do you remember the story of the two women coming before King Solomon….. begging him to cut a baby in half so that they could “share” the baby? ~ I read an even more bizarre news story today! Thankfully, as in the Bible account- true love wins. A surrogate woman was offered $10,000.00 [...]
Read More adoption, Bethany, choose, disabilities, encouragement, gift of life, inspiration, life, perspective, surrogacy
My husband, Jeff, has always been a runner. When he was 16, he had a heat stroke when he was running and almost died. His mom was told that they “couldn’t do anything more” for him, that he would be a “vegetable” (yes- the medical profession used this unbelievably illiterate word to describe his supposed [...]
Read More Cindy, encouragement, eternity, finish line, inspiration, Jeff, living between the trees, perspective, run your race
Higher than the mountains that I face ~ Stronger than the power of the grave ~ Constant through the trial and the change One thing… Remains [repeat] [Chorus:] Your love never fails- it never gives up! Never runs out on me [3x] The most amazing love- we’ll never come to a full understanding of- [...]
Read More 1 thing remains, encouragement, inspiration, love, Love wins, perspective, treasureI’m here to testify- you can teach an old dog new tricks- or maybe it’s you can teach an old bird new twicks. I’ve ventured into tweetland and I’m having so much fun meeting like minded Christians who are on the same mission as I am- Shout it out- God is good and we’re all [...]
Read More adoption, encouragement, inspiration, Moriah, perseverence, Satisfied in Christ blog, treasure, treasure hunter
I saw a tweet by Rick Warren the other day that zapped me! “Your problem isn’t that you don’t love God enough- the problem is you don’t realize how much He loves you!” The average number of thoughts human brains think during their awake time: 52,000! (I think that’s a very conservative estimate- but [...]
Read More encouragement, God thoughts, identity, inspiration, living between the trees, perspective, prayer, treasure hunter