Pirate Week

It's been Pirate Week at Daycare. They decided to do something fun for the kids going back to school. This was a picture in Asa's cubby this morning. HA! What a cute Pirate - Now go steal some Gold!

1 step forward, 2 steps back...

I'm so proud of New Jersey (never thought I'd say that), but I am very disappointed in Jennifer Aniston. She was on Regis and Kelly last Thursday and dropped the "R" Bomb - not cool.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/19/jennifer-aniston-says-ret_n_687760.html

http://topcelebrityheadlines.com/is-jennifer-aniston-going-to-apologize-for-using-the-r-word-that-was-thursday/

So, I wrote to Regis and Kelly... I copied a little from my Super Hero essay.

Dear Regis and Kelly,

Last Thursday August 19th Jennifer Aniston was on your show. She said a very hurtful word that affects many. My son was born with Down syndrome 3 years ago. He is the light of my life and we are truly blessed to call him our son. Asa is chromosomally enhanced, I thing of him as bionic. He's got extra good stuff, much like Spiderman or Captain Courageous.

When Asa was born, we did not know that he would be a Super Hero. It was not until a week after his birth that we found out about his special powers. We were awe struck to say the least, but I was always taught to embrace life and make it what you want it to be. So, after many tears and those dreams of another time and another place, we started to put the pieces together for our Super Hero life.

I can't say life is any different then an episode of Leave it to Beaver or the Cosby Show. We are who we are, and we do what we have to do - we live life. Ace (that's his Super Hero name) was an ordinary baby and is an ordinary boy. We laugh (a lot), play (a lot), eat ice cream and love to swim. We give our dogs kisses and pull their ears, tell Mommy "NO" and fight with her when we try to get dressed. Our daily life is typical; we put our pants on one leg at a time and throw our socks down the stairs.

As one of many parents in the Down syndrome community we fight everyday with the threads of our being for our children to be included and treated fairly with respect. When Jennifer used the R-Word it hurt, not just a superficial wound but one that cut deep - to hear that word from someone I thought was "above" all that, it crushed my world. I know she used it to refer to herself, but using it at all, even in general conversation is in the wrong. Kelly, your home state even just passed legislation last week to change the way laws are written to eliminate the use of the word! God love New Jersey!

I just wanted to bring it to your attention that there truly is a reason why we should eliminate the R-Word from our vocabulary and I've attached his picture... Every 1 in 800 children are born with Down syndrome - think of how many beautiful faces saying that word affects...

October is National Down syndrome Awareness month - help the nation be aware of how beautiful 47 chromosomes is...

A Step in the Right Direction - Hoorah!

Opponents of R-word Win Key Legislative Victory in New Jersey
Can I get a Hallelujah for New Jersey!

FOX NEWS REPORT:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/17/opponents-r-word-win-key-legislative-victory-new-jersey/?test=latestnews

Vacation

So, I haven't posted about vacation yet because I didn't want it to overshadow the post about my Grammie. We ended up coming home early from Maine so my mom could be there to help take care of her. Her funeral and Celebration of Life was perfect - everything I think she would of wanted it to be. On that note here are some pics from the few days we had in Maine.

It was a kind of overcast day at the beach - but it was perfect for not getting "too" hot. I had dug a moat around this rock to keep the water in it, it worked great! Ace is not a huge fan of the big bad ocean - he likes to stick to the puddles.

There is this great playground at the harbor that the kids love, Mr. Asa is a whiz! He does great, I just get nervous with the open areas with climbing and pole things.

And THIS is the face and the gesture I get the most of these days. It is a "MOM"!!, it rears it's ugly head mostly when The Little Man doesn't want to do something or wants something, and then there are times when he just thinks it's funny.

Elizabeth Howe Spaulding aka "Tish"

I know she would say, "Ugh, that's a God awful picture of me!" I say, love you Grammie! It's a beautiful picture!

Elizabeth Howe Spaulding was a woman of great pride and dignity who could sew, knit or needlepoint anything! Life was never about have nots, but the love and abundance of the haves.

She gave birth to 3 daughters and 3 sons (a biological Brady Bunch), who then gave birth to a small army of children who share the same pride of calling each other cousins and yes 2nd cousins. This army consists of 13 grandchildren and 17 (1 due this week) great-grandchildren. It's hard to piece together the thought process of not having her here, she's not suppose to be gone, she's Grammie. The Family Matriarch, the Leader of the Pack, Momma Bear out to protect her young. She was a tough nut and a even tougher one when it came to stakes of the heart. She loved with her entire body and soul, whole hearted and never faltered. Unless you pissed her off, then you knew you were in trouble and on that list you hoped to get off of fast!

You could say she lived a very full life and died of a broken heart. My grandmother had a bad ticker and fought it for many years. I guess it was too full of love to give up on us :-)

As for Grandmothers she was one of the best, her picture should be beside the definition in Webster... She made the best homemade doughnuts (this is a universal truth), bread, muffins, anything with a bit of flour and that could rise. Handmade gifts sewn with the threads of her being, and hugs and kisses that could make the biggest iceberg melt, I bet she added to Global Warming ;-) She would share in the deepest conversations and make you laugh at the smallest things. She was blessed with a head of snow white hair at a very young age, she easily could of passed for Mrs. Claus, but you'd be wise not to tell that to her face.

We are all at a loss with out her here, she always knew the direction and led us down the righteous path.

Lead us still with your memory, I will miss you greatly and my heart aches with out you here, but I know now yours is healed - may your soul bless all that were lucky enough to call you Grammie...

Rest in peace...

Your loving granddaughter,
Jacqueline Elizabeth Derrick Henry, 6th grandchild...