Wii Fit Plus

This is how we start our days now:



The girls received the Wii and as their 'big' Christmas gift this year. They were very excited and dreaming of all the gaming they could do but it only came with Wii Fit. I know - what mean parents! We don't do much gaming here outside of Nintendo DS...and that is limited.

I can't cite any studies about the effect of exercise as it specifically relates to cognition and Down syndrome but let me tell you my own little case study has shown dramatic results. We have always made frequent use of outdoor play and exercise, fun exercise videos, rotated gross motor activities in and around our school day but I just never started our day with exercise. Starting the day with the Wii Fit Plus has had a dramatic effect on how Reagan presents herself for learning. Her mood is better, her mind is more focused and her memory in math and reading is much sharper!

As an added benefit - she is losing weight!

Making a Case for Life

By Stephanie Wincik is on its way to my house! Well, hopefully it is on its way to my house - I just contacted the author and I'm so excited!



The review on Amazon:

"Whether you are a parent, grandparent, or newly pregnant, you know that most prospective parents hold high expectations for their offspring. Superior intelligence, physical beauty, excellent health, and outstanding athletic ability are just a few of the qualities we dream our children will be born with. Since contemporary society tends to value these qualities above all others, it is only natural for us to hope our children possess the attributes that will provide them with the greatest opportunity for a successful life. But what if your child arrives with a different set of qualities- a combination of traits that the world views as a disability? What if you are told that your child will have Down syndrome? What happens to your dream of producing the perfect child? Nothing need happen to your dream. You only need to alter your definition of perfection. In this book, we will explore the myth of the perfect child, along with a number of popularly-held yet erroneous beliefs about the negative impact of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome. At the same time, we will begin to develop a new perspective on which characteristics are truly the most desirable in a changing world. As our society becomes increasingly self-absorbed, materialistic, and violent, the new human beings entering the world will need a fresh arsenal of personal qualities if our planet is to survive and thrive. If we hope to reverse what appears to be a downward spiral for humanity, then kindness, generosity, compassion, gentleness, tolerance, and good humor- attributes, by the way, observed with remarkable consistency in people with Down syndrome- must surpass physical perfection in terms of the enviable traits we dream of seeing in our children. With only a slight shift in our perception, we can clearly see that the extraordinary individuals dismissed for centuries as disabled, actually have a vitally important role to play in the world, and indeed may even hold the key to our positive advancement as a human family."

The author is offering free shipping if you contact her via e-mail and mention “Chloe“.

Don't forget to visit and support International Down Syndrome Coalition for Life!

You Make Me Smile!

A New Year's video from the International Down Syndrome Coalition for Life:

Happy New Year from the IDSC For Life from IDSC For Life on Vimeo.

The 12 Days of Christmas...

Tell me, what is with this society that celebrates the Twelve Days of Christmas before Christmas? I just don't understand...



I guess I do understand. It is all a part of the secularization of Christmas.

My house remains fully decorated and we enjoy the fullness of Christmas until Epiphany on January 6th. The Magi wait in their hiding places to arrive in my multiple nativity scenes spread about the house. Have I mentioned here that I collect nativity scenes? Here is my newest acquisition - a gift from my in-laws and another lovely memory from hubby's childhood:



The girls each get a rather large gift on Christmas and then the next eleven days get a small gift. As Christmas lingers, I revel in the peace and hope I know as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. A blessed Christmastide to you and yours....

O Holy Night

By 7 y.o. Rhema Marvanne Voraritskul



Amazingly gifted child!

Christmas Cookies

Is baking Christmas cookies a part of your Christmas celebration? I'm not much of a baker. I don't like the exact measuring baking requires but every year, around the end of October, I begin baking cookies for Christmas.

In my childhood home, we did not do Christmas cookies but I had a dear great aunt, Blanche, who would send us each (and she had many, many great nieces and nephews) a little box of cookies every Christmas. She was very poor and lived in a tiny house that always smelled musty with a hint of stale cigarettes and yesterday's beer. In the late fall, she would dedicate her days to baking for her beloved nieces and nephews so she would have gifts to give to us. She had no children of her own.

I have to admit the cookies were stale by the time Christmas arrived for she had no freezer. My siblings would not eat them but I did. This gesture, done with great love, was quite meaningful to me throughout my childhood.

After she died, I began my own Christmas baking tradition. I started small but over the years have built quite a library of recipes. Each year I try a new recipe of two. Some become part of our cookie tradition, some don't.

This year's best new cookie is Toffee Almond Sandies. A close runner-up - Key Lime Meltaways

Always on my list of favorite Christmas cookies:

Snickerdoodles
Triple Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies
Hazelnut Crinkles
Brown Sugar Hazelnut Rounds
Chocolate Crinkles
Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Spritz
Thumbprint Cookies
Reindeer Drops
Rossettes
Russian Teacakes



Some might call our cookie feast a little over the top or say I put way to much energy into something you can buy but this is one symbol of love precious to my childhood memories. Those memories came from a little, lonely old lady who spent most of her time in an alcoholic daze until it came time to bake for us. I'll never forget the love found in my little box of stale Christmas cookies.

Today I bake with my children and my children bake for me. What precious memories we've made together and now it is time to feast!

A Christmas Tale of a Little Wise Man

A moving story about Brendan, 12 y.o. with Down syndrome, battling leukemia. How intimately he knows his Savior during his courageous struggle with this killer disease!

H/T Pro-Life Blogs

Waiting...

For my guests to arrive!

Dinner is on, the house is clean (as it is going to get), the decorations are up, cookies baked, gifts wrapped, a little Bing Crosby playing softly in the background -- I'm enjoying the peace I feel. I know it is only temporary for I only have a few short minutes until my dad and in-laws arrive. So here I sit in my office enjoying my retro tree and this little USB Christmas tree plugged into my laptop:



It is really very cute - changes from blue to green to red and yellow.

I'm feeling hugely blessed today and I hope you are too!

Not what I asked for...

Disaster fans:



I don't know what their real name might be but I call them disaster fans. Do you know how LOUD these things are?

Something about a broken gasket in the overflow drain in the upstairs bathtub.

I won't show you the bowed ceiling that is now cracked and stained in the great room.

The same ceiling I just finished painting.

My in-laws and father arrive tomorrow for the holidays.

I choose to look on the bright side - it looks like I'm getting a new ceiling for Christmas!

Christmas Treasure

I've been busily decorating my house for the holidays - slowly unpacking the storage containers filled with the things we've collected over the years. While bringing boxes out of storage my hubby said "did you see the boxes my parents brought this summer?" Amid my Christmas stash were two boxes lovingly packed by my in-laws to give to us - filled with Christmas treasure. Hubby's parents are downsizing and moving into a retirement community. I don't think they have put up a tree in years - they usually spend the holidays with us.

As I retrieved the new treasures from the basement, I pondered what I might find and how I could incorporate what I found with what I have. As I opened the boxes, I knew they had to have their own place.

Look at these beautiful old boxes!



The vintage treasure inside - some of it quite worn but these ornaments hold many wonderful memories for hubby...and now he is telling the stories!




Different sizes of ornament hangers - who knew! My father-in-law is an engineer :-)



The tree does not do these ornaments justice.



But I get to enjoy this tree every day - it is in my office. The sight of it while I do my wrapping will bring me great joy!