Church Camp

The girls and I leave tomorrow for church camp leaving hubby and pets behind. My girls are more than excited!

This is a great opportunity for Miss R. She gets loads of independence in a safe, loving environment. Last year she won an award because of her Christ-like behavior and for the way she lets the love of the Lord be known to all.

I will be a counselor for the first to fourth graders - quite the fun group. I hope to have some good stories to tell when we get back. I just hope I can find the time to tell them!

Oh, and I'll be in a communications black-out. No TV, no radio, no computer ---- no electronics at all. How is an information junkie to survive!

Road Map to Holland

This book is a mother’s story of the first two years of her life with her son born with Down syndrome. I really didn't plan on reading it. I have had more that my fair share of time with my children in NICU, PICU, and CVICU. I’ve been in Holland for 13.5 years – been there, done that – I know the story!

When I first heard this book was being published, I put it on my Amazon wish list. Recently, I placed an order with Amazon taking the books I wanted off my wish list. As I reviewed my order and saw the additional book, I thought maybe it was just meant to be so I left the order as it was.

The order arrived just before our trip to the Rockin’ Roller Coast – Cedar Point in Ohio. My hubby and children are roller coaster fanatics while I prefer to skip the thrills and sit in the shade with a good book. Road Map to Holland, by Jennifer Graf Groneberg, immediately sucked me in and I could not put the book down.

I found Jennifer’s story profoundly moving. She is so honest in telling her story that, at times, I could feel her pain and her joy - and my own memories became alive. She moves through the premature birth of her twin sons, Bennett and Avery, and the post-natal diagnosis of Down syndrome that Avery receives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The first two years of life with Avery are portrayed with touching clarity. It is a story of love, family, friends and growing understanding of the gift that Down syndrome is. I love the last lines of the book, “He is the child that I always wanted, that I did not know I wanted. He is my son.”

This is THE book I would give parents of a newborn with Down syndrome.

America's Rockin' Roller Coast

My hubby and children are roller coaster fanatics. Every year we journey to the best (so they tell me) roller coaster park in the US – Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. I prefer to sit in the shade with a good book. I’ve had enough excitement in my life and certainly don’t even want to know what getting air means.

My family will wait as long as it takes to ride in the very front of the roller coaster. Here are the girls in the front of the coaster (The Magnum) having the time of their life!

I'm Back!

Life has been eventful since my last post. I'm so far behind, I may never catch up but I've had a good time getting here! I've put 4700 miles on my car since my last post and don't even want to think about just how much money that might add up to be.

I've visited my parents in southeast Florida - my mom had her hip replaced and was recovering nicely until a blood clot formed in her lower leg. So, recovery is a little delayed while she goes on blood thinners and a few days of complete bedrest. She is in good spirits and taking everything in stride.

I then drove over to the gulf side of Florida and vacationed in my favorite place on earth - Captiva Island, Florida. Captiva is a place where I relax - get refreshed and refueled. The hardest thing I have to do is make it to the beach. I love it! See the gorgeous sunsets below

Then back to Illinois to unpack and repack to travel to Wisconsin for graduation festivities at the seminary my hubby is now attending...and back to Illinois to repack for our trip to the Rockin' Roller Coast. Are you tired yet?

Now, I have to face the house I've ignored for the last nine months and the 1000 posts on my google reader!