Maddie's Uncle Doug Gets Married

Well, three days into my new challenge and I've already missed two days of blogging!!  

I have a good excuse though : )  

Maddie's Uncle Doug got married this weekend in Kansas City, so we've been out of town for a few days.

It was such a lovely, beautiful wedding!!

Shana was the most beautiful bride and we were so happy to be a part of their special day.  

Here's a quick sneak peek at the fun we had...

Quirks

Maddie frequently does this tongue thing and makes this noise when she is either concentrating or really tired.

I sometimes wonder if this is just a Maddie-quirk or if it's a Down Syndrome quirk.  

Do any of our other DS friends do this kind of thing? 

It's really cute except on road trips when that's all you hear for 5 hours straight!!  : {

31 for 21

Well, Down Syndrome has been a part of our lives for 4 years now and I had no idea that October was National Down Syndrome Awareness month! 

Who knew!!

So, I discovered this really neat project called 31 for 21

And let's just say I'm arriving fashionably late to the party!

You guys are going to love this...

The idea is to blog every day in the month of October  in order to raise awareness.

31 days in October for Trisomy 21.

It doesn't all have to be about Down Syndrome, just a post every day.  

Sooo...challenge accepted!  

You'll be hearing more from me this month than you probably ever wanted!  :)  

 

Sock Curls

I took all of Maddie's socks she had outgrown and decided to re-purpose them!!  

This was me yesterday morning when I woke up...(scary, I know) 

and those sleep wrinkles tend to linger a lot longer these days than they used to!

And here's my glorious curls!!

Amazing right!!  

I LOVE sock curls...so easy to do and no heating element to damage your hair!

I asked Maddie what she thought of Mommy's pretty hair.

She said, "ooh, YUCKKKKK!"  

She's still not a fan of curls! : )   

Childhood Memories

Do you ever wonder what your little ones will remember once they grow up?

I think about things I remember from childhood...

like when I'm folding Maddie's socks with the ruffles and a bow and the time Mom was out and Dad was taking care of us.  

Mom told me the socks went on certain feet, but I couldn't remember which foot was the right one. 

I asked Dad, but of course he didn't get it.  

He insisted that socks do not have a right or wrong foot.  

I knew they did because Mom told me so, and as a little bitty however-old-I-was person it was strangely important that I get this right!

We argued back and forth and I remember being completely exasperated trying to convince Dad to tell me which sock went on which foot.

We are both pretty stubborn!
And for all of you confused by these socks, I now know at 34 years of age that the side of the sock with the  bows go on the outside.

Or another memory that came flooding back while listening to Alan Jackson's Drive. 

We lived on dirt roads and Dad had an old green chevy pick-up.  

He would set me on his lap and let me "drive" home.  

That thrilled me to pieces!

Or the way Mom made such a big deal of our birthdays and she sent me to school with a flashing button to alert every one that yes, indeed, it was my birthday!

With Maddie's cheery disposition, I'm sure her memories will be happy and blissful because that's the way she sees the world, but I wonder WHAT she will remember. 

I can't wait for the time she's all grown up and we sit back and laugh and tell all of our "remember when" stories. 

These pictures have absolutely nothing to do with this blog post, but I just can't have a post with no pictures!!!

Just some more practice photos for the Academy photo shoot, which by the way went extremely well!  I did learn some very valuable lessons though...

Like although it's important to capture different angles and perspectives (bend down at eye level, climb up on step ladder for higher angle, and sit on floor at their level) these should be considered very carefully when you have to repeat 90 times for each student!

My legs were on FIRE by the end of the morning! 
I was completely spent...but in the end it was all worth it.  I thought the pictures turned out great. 

What Are These Books Doing To Me!?

Ah! Books!  

These books keep messing with my awesome life!  

It all started with Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Then it was Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Now, it's 7:An Experiemental Mutiny Against Excess

Before reading Choosing Gratitude, I would have told you I was a grateful person...uh, yaaa....I'm gonna have to back to you on that.  This book explored depths of gratitude I never knew existed.  

And when you find these new discoveries, it changes who you are... 

like I can't hear a worship song anymore without crying my eyes out.

 Geeesh, thanks gratitude!

Good-by composure, it was nice knowing ya... hello blubbering mess.

This  tilled the fertile soil of my soul for Crazy Love.

ay, ay, ay...talk about turning your awesome life upside down.

Seriously, no new bedroom makeover?

Fine. Only because I love you Jesus.  

But that wasn't enough!  

It's like the angels in heaven are conspiring against me and my awesome life.  

"Let's give her this one and she what she does with this," they say as one nudges the other in the side.  

What's worse my sister was in on this one.  

She's the one who told me about the book.  

So enters 7:An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess.  

I put my name on the library's waiting list September 4th.  

I checked it out September 20th.  

I finished it September 23nd.

I would have totally finished on the 20th had my family not required food and such.

It was that good.  

The premise of the book is about cutting back on things for yourself and your junk and making room for Jesus and his kingdom.  

It's about self-denial, which leads to self-awareness.  

It's about caring more for your neighbor than your comforts.  

It's good stuff.

Stuff I hope to implement very soon.  

 

And now, if you'll excuse me I think I have a memorial service to plan for my former awesome life!

 

 

Who Could Resist Painting?!

I'm loving this God's Little Explorers Curriculum. 

It's simple and fun.  

This week is Adam and Eve and apples.  

(Although, we are still wrapping up the days of creation from last week.)

Maddie loved yesterday because it involved one of her favorite things ever...painting!

She has always been very sensory-aware; give her a paintbrush and it will go right on her hands.  

She can't NOT put it on her hands, it just feels so good! 

and why should the hands have all of the fun..arms have feelings too!

The great thing is she loves to make messes, but she also loves clean up (yay!! the best of both worlds!)

We made a tree and today we get to add the apples on our tree!  

So much to look forward to : )