A Quick Post

I had planned to get on here tonight and write a long post about my sister's surgery. But  life happens and now it's now pretty late. But I still want to at least give you a quick update.

I flew down to San Diego on June 7, Deb's surgery was scheduled for the 9th. They called her the evening before to say it had been canceled. Needless to say she was upset. She had even shaved her hair to make it easier after surgery! The doctor told her the trays of surgical instruments had been compromised and they couldn't guarantee that they were completely sterilized. So the team made the decision to cancel surgeries, dozens of surgeries. I'm not sure we'll ever understand what happened. And there were so many people effected. 

I was able to stay a few more days, but ended up coming back home before it was rescheduled. And she actually had the surgery today. She is home and has very little pain, but is still on heavy medication. 

She told me to check with her again tomorrow. 😄

While I was there we spent one afternoon driving around San Diego to see places we hung out while we were growing up. We saw our childhood home and our grade school. 

And my first job - 

We reminisced and laughed, and learned a few things about each other that we didn't know! She's six years older than me and growing up she hung out with our older sister more than she did with me. They were only two years apart. 

Even though she didn't have the surgery while I was there, we ended up having a great week together. 

Thank you for your comments and prayers for my sister. Everything went well and she's home. Now she begins her recovery.

I'm Home, and The Kids' Visit

Hi,

I flew in late last night and ended up not going to church this morning. I'm grateful we're able to stream the service because that's what I did instead. It's been a busy couple of weeks. The Lord answered my prayers about perseverance, and not getting sick. You know how there are some seasons where you go and go and go, and eventually you end up not feeling well and before you know it you're exhausted and sick? I prayed against that before it all began and I can say today, I'm rested and I feel good.

The day before our family arrived from Pennsylvania, Beth had an appointment down in Seattle. It was a gloomy day, and I'm glad Chuck took the day off to drive us. The last time I was so stressed about having to navigate downtown streets, and about the appointment itself. But because Chuck drove, it was much less stressful. Beth got changed, and then she and I waited for the technician to call us back.

Beth was able to do a seated mammo and did much better this time. The images were much clearer. I took this pic from the internet to show you a little of what it was like for her.

Unfortunately they are concerned about an area and really want to do a biopsy, but they know Beth wouldn't be able to handle it due to her body shape and her cognitive ability. So for now they will continue to monitor her with more frequent screenings. If the area of concern changes at all, we'll have to revisit the idea of a biopsy.

Then Diana, Peter and the kids arrived! They explored everything! Adelaide is at that age where everything is met with one word, "Why?" 😊 And Oliver is crawling and learning to pull himself up on things. 

One day we all went down to the waterfront, and stopped for some ice cream.

We tried to keep the kids busy, that's for sure!

It was so good to have them here! We love you guys and are already looking forward to the next time we get to see you!

How It's Going - A Quick Post

Diana and Peter arrived Saturday afternoon and we've had so much fun! They've been going almost non-stop, on their way to the Children's Museum and the park as I type this.

There's a lot to share but for today I'll leave you with these:

Tragedy and Joy

Hey everyone,

May is about over and we're headed into June already. Does anyone else feel like this year is flying by? 

We live on a busy street and a couple weeks ago I had gone to bed around 10:00 when I heard a car fly by our house. The speed limit is 35 but sometimes people go so fast. I laid in bed calculating their speed 'They have to be going at least 60' when I heard 'Bam!!" I thought, 'Oh no! Please don't let that be from the car!' There's a very sharp turn a block or two from us and the street heads up a big hill. Then I heard, "Ka-boom!"

I flew out of bed, grabbed a sweatshirt and headed outside. Chuck had been watching TV but heard the sound too and was right behind me. By that time we could hear the sirens. From the sidewalk in front of our house we could see tons of flashing lights up the street. The article said the driver 'was traveling at an excessive speed.'

We learned the driver didn't survive and now there is a memorial at the corner where the car left the road. I don't think I will ever forget the sounds of that car that night. I keep thinking about that persons last thoughts as they lost control of the car, and about their family members receiving the news. It just breaks my heart. 

On to something a little lighter -

I was out watering the other night and happened to notice this on one of our evergreen trees -

I've been watering these trees for 25 years and this heart has just appeared in about the last 6 months. I just smiled thinking about how God's creation sings it's praises to Him. Isaiah 55:12 "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace, the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." The Lord speaks to us through His word, through others, and through His creation. His love is like no other.

Beth had some lab work done recently. It showed she's slightly anemic so she's now taking iron a few times a week.

Before I got on here, I was going around closing the blinds and noticed a pink hue outside. Our house faces east so I headed to the backyard and sure enough, a gorgeous pink sky! The sunset was beautiful tonight.

And tomorrow... Diana and Peter fly in and we get to see these two!!

Not sure I'll get much sleep tonight! We saw them back in December but when they're this age it seems like forever. They'll be staying with us for a week so Sharaya and Ally will be over a lot, we bought a kids slide, kids patio chairs, lots of new toys, took some extra furniture to storage, our house looks very different than it did a couple weeks ago!  

There's going to be a lot going on at the end of next week too so I'm not sure when I'll be back on here. I'll try to log on and read posts when I can. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

How Was Yours?

 May 13, 2005. It was 26 years ago today that my mom died. She was born in Massachusetts and her family moved to San Diego when she was 13. She met my dad a few years later. He was a sailor in the Navy and she was smitten! 

My mom in snow-covered Springfield, Massachusetts 

Me and my mom

I was in 10th grade here

Sharaya, me, my mom

In the front: Diana and Beth

Me and my girls

You know, while looking for photos for this post I searched a long time but couldn't find a current photo of me and my girls! You can bet that when Diana and Peter are here next month, that's one thing I want to do!

The girls all got me great gifts for Mother's Day, and we went out for lunch. (Missing Diana and Peter's family of course.) But I had a very good day. 

How was your Mother's Day? Did you do anything special?

World Down Syndrome Day 2026

March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day because most people have 46 chromosomes (23 pairs.) But people with Ds have an extra one on chromosome 21. So 3/21 has become a day to celebrate all those "with an extra" as it's known in the world of Down Syndrome.

We found out Beth had Down Syndrome after she was born. We called our family and asked them to come to the hospital, so we could tell them all together. We were a little  surprised because there was no inclination during the pregnancy, not even a hint that anything was different. They asked a lot of questions about Down Syndrome which we couldn't really answer because we didn't know ourselves. But we all instantly fell in love with her!

Getting ready to go home

A few months old

We were assigned a social worker who came to the house and began physical therapy.

Since she was our first baby we didn't really know what to expect, Down Syndrome or not. She learned to sit up at one year and learned to walk at two.

When she was two the social worker recommended she start preschool to give her the best possible start to education. Chuck and I talked it over and decided to try it, so with a lump in my throat I put our two year old on a school bus! And she loved it! 

Then we had Sharaya. And then Diana. And we just... raised our kids. Taking one day at a time. Trying to figure out what worked best for each of them. You know, parenting! 

Kids grow, they learn and adapt. Parents love, they set boundaries, and they teach. 

And then, before you know it - 

Sharaya and Diana learned to drive cars, got married, had kids... all things Beth will never be able to do. She struggled when Sharaya first got pregnant and Sharaya remembers Beth not speaking to her for a long time. Was Beth confused about what was happening to Sharaya (did I not explain it to her?) or was she sad that she might never get to have kids? It's really hard to know. 

But today Beth loves her life. She loves having her own apartment downstairs in our daylight basement. She's got her own space but has family close by if she needs help with something. She loves her family, her sisters, her brother, and her nieces and nephew. She loves riding DART to her day programs - Karaoke and bowling. She loves her job and the people there love her. And she loves her church. We started going there when she was just 4 years old. She knows her way around there better than most. 

People with Down Syndrome love their routines. (So do some of us without Down Syndrome! 😊) And Beth has made some pretty good ones. Happy World Down Syndrome Day.