WDSD - Still Growing and Learning

 Today is World Down Syndrome Day

Most people have 2 copies each of their 46 chromosomes.

People who have Down Syndrome have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. So we now celebrate them on March 21st. Or 3/21

It was officially recognized in 2012 so for most of Beth's life it didn't even exist. We did 'a thing' for it a few years ago but mostly the day goes by without much fanfare.

But this year, Beth woke up, came upstairs and announced, "Today is my day!"

I got a text the other day telling us that Top Pot Donuts was selling donuts to celebrate people with Down Syndrome!

 Sweet! Literally!

A friend at church came up to me, grabbed my arm and said she just HAD to tell me... Beth had started a conversation with her. Just out of the blue. If you know Beth you know this is completely out of character. For those of you that don't know her very well, this is completely out of character! I didn't even know that Beth knew her. A said that Beth told her it was Down Syndrome Day and proceeded to tell her about the donuts, of how her grandmother had died... I was shocked! So was she! She said it was the first time Beth had ever talked to her besides saying a rather quiet "Hi" as she walked by.

And A was the second person this week to say Beth had just randomly started talking to them. 

It does my heart good to hear stories like this. To know she's still growing and learning and doing things that are hard.

We went out to lunch with Sharaya and Ally and afterward we headed out to get our donuts, only to find out the distribution center had a power outage last night. The store only got about 3 - 4 donuts and they were completely out. 

Well bummer.

From the back seat Beth says, "We could get cake or something."

So we stopped at QFC and bought some slices of cake that we split between the 5 of us. This 36 year old woman who sometimes forces herself to do hard things, who knows almost every musical by heart, who snorts when she laughs and who loves her family more than anything else on earth, was celebrated today.

 It's a journey we never would have chosen but it's one we wouldn't trade for anything in the world!

 Happy World Down Syndrome Day Beth!

Saturday Snippets - Secret Seattle Adventures

When people visit Seattle they go to the Space Needle, the Aquarium, Pikes Market, they might even ride The Great Wheel. 

But just like every city, the locals know the best spots!

So we introduced my sister and great-niece to... 

The Fremont Troll!

He lives under a bridge just north of downtown.

And yes, he's clutching a real volkswagen bug in his left hand.

 

Next we were off to the Gum Wall! Rachel said she heard of one in another city but she's never seen one. It's exactly what it sounds like, where people come from all over to put some gum on the infamous wall. I don't know how often, but occasionally the city will close it down and clean it off, then it begins again!

 

 And yes, she came prepared! 

There were fireworks at our next door neighbors on July 4th; we took a ride on the ferry across Puget Sound; drove up to Snoqualmie Falls; took Nala to Dog Beach... and also spent a lot of time at home, playing games and talking by the fire.

 

We had such a great time. It was hard to say goodbye!

Have you ever been to Seattle?

Have you ever seen a Gum Wall?

What do people visit when they come to your city?

Hard To Put Into Words

Diana sent me a text this morning encouraging me to post an update. (What would we do without our kids?!) I love you girls!!

Last Thursday we all flew down to San Diego to attend what was supposed to be my nieces wedding, but ended up being her fiance's memorial.

She had it at the same place she was going to have the wedding, a beautiful park with a river running through it. The caterers still came, the photographer was there and she had new cakes made.

One of the saddest moments came when Steven's youngest daughter took the microphone and said that since she'd never be able to have a father-daughter dance with her dad, and Karlene wasn't able to dance with him, would she be willing to dance with her? So the two of them began slow dancing. Part way through my brother-in-law got up and finished the dance with them! 😭

Steven was a dump truck driver and the company he worked for put his name on the back of his truck. A bunch of drivers were there and Karlene had them all honk their horns for a few minutes in honor of him.

There were tears but there was also a lot of laughter and happy memories of a man who loved well. One woman got up and said that she met Steven when she was an addict. He found out where she was staying and continually brought her food and checked up on her. She said that she's been clean and sober now for 3 years, because of him. 

And I found out the reason they left him on life-support was because he was an organ donor. He saved multiple lives, even in his death.

It was a difficult day but I'm so glad we were all able to be there to support my niece. Hug your family and friends! Lives can change in an instant.

A Tragic Turn Of Events

Diana flew out here from Pennsylvania last week and we're all flying to San Diego to attend my nieces wedding on Saturday, August 10.

My niece Karlene has been through a lot the last few years, mostly due to poor choices, addictions, hanging with the wrong people, etc. She took responsibility for her actions and paid her dues. Now she's clean and sober, a contributing member of society living a healthy life.

She met her current boyfriend S a few years ago and he's walked with her through most of this difficult journey. He has loved her kids like they were his own and has been her rock.

Last Friday I was at the grocery store and my phone rang. As I'm putting it up to my ear I can hear somebody sobbing and Karlene says, "Aunt Cindy?!? I need you to pray!! Please pray!!!" 

S was riding his motorcycle to work and someone pulled out in front of him. He swerved to avoid hitting the car and fell hard on the road. The other driver kept going. As he laid in the road he was able to call 911 and then called Karlene. When she got there he was telling the EMTs that he felt okay and didn't want to go to the hospital. 

She took him to his moms house so he could change his shirt or something and he began to complain that his chest hurt. She insisted they go to the hospital and when they got there, they put him in an ambulance and took him to another hospital, a trauma center I think. That's where she found out that he had ruptured his aorta and they immediately took him into surgery. That's when she called me.

They repaired his aorta and got him stabilized. That night and all day Saturday she and all of his family were able to be with him and hang out in his room.

At 2:30 Sunday morning my phone rang again. I heard those familiar sobs again and, "Aunt Cindy I need you to pray!! Please pray!! Just pray!!!!"

S had rolled over. That's all. He was just laying in the hospital bed and he rolled over. And went into cardiac arrest. Six doctors and nurses came running into the room and one of them "jumped on his chest" and began compressions.

She was absolutely hysterical and I will never forget the sound of her sobs and the way she was yelling into the phone, telling me everything that was happening in real time. It was gut-wrenching.

They got his heart beating again but he suffered brain damage and has been unresponsive since. He's now on life support. 

The wedding they've been planning and one so many of us have been so excited to go to will now be a Celebration of Life.

Please keep Karlene and his whole family in your prayers.

Just Random Stuff

Work has been so busy lately. 

We recently had a memorial for a sitting mayor of a city near us. I'm sot sure how he died but there were about 500 people there to honor him. Lots of police officers, fire fighters and local dignitaries. 

The next day we had to set up for our Business Meeting so I had Beth come in to help us. There were 23 tables and a whole lot of chairs!

 Our Sunday school class went well. We've had a couple new students recently, the class is definitely growing although we only had a few this weekend. Teacher M is telling them about Jesus calming the storm.

 

 I picked Allie up from school on Tuesday and she got to spend the night with us because Sharaya went out with friends and knew she was going to have a late night.

 

Getting ready for school and for All Aboard

Today I went out to lunch with friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. It had been about a year since we all went out together and it was so good to get together.

Things around here have been pretty tame compared to other parts of the nation. Those of you living through the Polar Vortex, stay safe and warm!