31 for 21 Day 28

More Pumpkin Patch Pics!

31 for 21 day 27

Okay here are some Pumpkin Patch Pics. I have more on my camera but I keep forgetting it as I'm flying out the door with the lunch, coffee, extra clothes, hat, mittens and, oh yeah, Asa! These are courtesy of my sister Jenna and our friend Carmen - thanks guys!

Asa and Uncle Dave...

Ashleigh, Morgan and Ace...

Riding back to the Farm Stand

This little Farm Kitty was enjoying the warmth of the Greenhouse, so were the boys. This is Ace and Logan. Do you see the unknowing Kitty's tail in Asa's hand? Ha!

Asa loves kittys but the Canine Boys would not...

31 for 21 Day 26

Still have those pumpkin pics to share, been crazy busy! Doctor's appointments this morning on top of Therapy before that! Annual Flu Shot and Chest X-Rays - CHECK!

I'd like to share The Creed, as I've said before, some may know this by heart and it may be the first time for others!

My face may be different

But my feelings the same

I laugh and I cry

And take pride in my gains

I was sent here among you

To teach you to love

As God in the heavens

Looks down from above

To Him I'm no different

His love knows no bounds

It's those here among you

In cities and towns

That judge me by standards

That man has imparted

But this family I've chosen

Will help me get started

For I'm one of the children

So special and few

That came here to learn

The same lessons as you

That love is acceptance

It must come from the heart

We all have the same purpose

Though not the same start

The Lord gave me life

To live and embrace

And I'll do it as you do

But at my own pace...

Asa 20 months

Help Bring Axel Home

I do have pics of our Pumpkin Picking Parody! But in the mean time I wanted to share my "friend" Leah. I met Leah about 2 years ago on a web-board I belong to called Downsyn. Downsyn was created by a husband and wife who's son was born with Down syndrome. Michel and Tom wanted a place where parents and loved ones of of those with Down syndrome could go and share their experiences and advice. I have met many people from around the world and we all share the common bond of Down syndrome! It's quite awesome if you think of it.

Back to Leah. Leah has a daughter Angela (14 yrs) Angela is AMAZING. She is an awesome swimmer amongst other talents, but has competed and won Olympic Gold. She was also an alternate to go to the World's Special Olympics! To say the least Leah is proud of Angela and has done a wonderful job raising her and being her mother, but Leah is taking a giant leap and has decided to adopt a little boy from Eastern Europe with Down syndrome. His name is Axel and he is in Foster Care currently and has not been transferred to a Mental Institution (yet). Children who are born with a Mental or Physical disability in Eastern Europe and other despaired parts of the world are put into orphanages and then placed in Mental Institutions when they turn 4 where they ultimately die from lack of care.

Meet Axel! He is ten, a older orphan that probably would never have been adopted if not for Leah! Leah had the chance last spring to meet Axel while she was traveling as a representative for Reece's Rainbow. Adoption is a extremely expensive undertaking especially doing it internationally. Please visit Leah's Adoption Blog. She is doing a Apple IPad Giveaway to help raise funds, every $25 donated will get you an entry into winning the IPad - You can read about it here ;-)

HELP GET AXEL HOME!

31 for 21 Day 22

Crazy Kid...

What do you do when you are 3 years old and in the men's locker room at the aquatic center while you are waiting for your buddy to finish getting dressed?

Find the nearest safety cone and wear it as a hat of course!

Oh Brother....

Asa goes to Daycare at our friends' house. Plural because it is wife and husband, he does not work full time in the winter because he is a Golf Pro during the summer and is able to help out with the kids during the "off " season...

They went to our local aquatic center yesterday because it was their youngest daughters 5th birthday and there was no school! (In Service). Ace is the only boy most of the time at daycare so he got to go in the Boy's Locker room with Todd. Todd was changing and turned around to Ace with his new found hat! LOL This kid really does crack us up ALL the time...

31 for 21 day 21

Day 21 for 31 for 21! Today is a yucky day - rain, and tomorrow is only suppose to be a high of 47! Yikes! I'm not ready for this, please summer come back! I'm going to seep into these photos and try to warm up...

I took these photos last summer at a family reunion we had in Central Vermont. The Farm originally was owned by my Great Aunt and Uncle, they have since passed it down to their son, my 2nd cousin ;-) They have many horses, but are one of the few Organic Milk Farms in Vermont - pretty cool huh?

Ace even got to ride a horse that day! He was with my cousin Kiki. She had rode a horse before and I have not - I felt safer with him riding with her - Ha!

There is a great story about this horse, I don't specifically remember his name but he was the BEST. My Dad has this animal instinct about him, he's a whisperer of sorts - LOL But this horse LOVED my Dad, he would snort and paw the ground whenever my Dad tried to walk away from him. This is where my Dad spent most of his day at the farm, with his new buddy...

This guy had so much character! And he was such a beauty... The Farm boards many horses and also serves as a foster home for horses that end up in the hands of the Humane Society. The story is that this horse was a rescue, he was the barter in a drug deal gone wrong. Yes, I know what you're thinking - a drug deal in Vermont? Yes, there are drug dealers in Vermont too! Remember it borders Canada ;-) I don't know why anyone would barter this dude, I wanted to take him home with me!

Soak it up people! Seep into it, snow is just around the corner - it is actually snowing on Mt. Washington today!

31 for 21 Day 20

When time flys...

Before I know it Christmas will be here and I can't believe it. I actually wanted to skip the whole Halloween decorations and go straight to the X-mas ones. It would save a whole heck of a lot of time wouldn't it? I'm starting to get a little panicky because I have to go to Gatlinburg Tennessee in 2 weeks for a Trade Show and it is a 5 day long show! Ugh... A total of 7 days out of town and the week after is Thanksgiving! Holy Crap...

So rather then think about all the things I NEED to get done, I'm thinking about the fun things I want to do. Saturday we are going to a Pumpkin Patch and picking our "perfect" pumpkins to carve. The last time Asa went he was tiny, so this year will be so exciting. He'll absolutely love the hay ride, I just don't know how were going to keep him from not wanting to drive the tractor because Daddy always lets him drive at home - LOL

I will post pics of the big day. But in the mean time THIS is how I want to carve my pumpkin - yeah I know Good Luck to me right? If you haven't figured this out yet, I like to dream BIG!

31 for 21 Day 17, 18, 19

The Terrible 3's have arrived...

Ha! I've been lazy about blogging on my days off. There is way too many other things to do like hanging Halloween decorations with Asa Man. I finally dug them out of my PARENTS garage. We had to take over part of my parents garage because we just don't have any storage room at our new house right now for ANYTHING! We plan on building a garage next year, holiday decorations were the first thing to go somewhere else...

Anyhow, I had put Asa's frog boots on him when we first went outside because with all the rain we had the end of last week the backyard was a little wet still. All I could picture was him ankle deep in mud with his brand new Adidas Sambas! So, as I'm whittling away at hanging leaf garland and making sure the ghost on a stick was facing the road just so. I catch Asa Man out of the corner of my eye come tooling around the edge of the house pushing his lawn mower - BAREFOOT! All summer we've run around barefoot outside, fine in 70/80 degrees, fantastic in 90 degrees, but yesterday was 56 degrees! Not that he would of froze to death, that's not the point, but I couldn't believe he wasn't freezing his cute little pootsters. I stop what I'm doing and say, "Hey Dude, where are your boots?" He freezes and looks at me, I reprimand with "You need to put your boots on, it's too cold to go barefoot." Well, lately I have not been getting my cute little boy responses anymore, it was a resounding "UGH" followed by a nasty "MOMMA". I knew right then and there the struggle wouldn't be worth the outcome, he was not going to freeze. If it was 46 degrees it would of been a whole other story...


On another note - I did not get a chance to watch Monica and David the other night or even on Sunday (I fell asleep on the couch). Honestly, I'm kind of glad. I thought it was going to be an uplifting story about love and special needs, but what I've heard from other parents would of rung so true in my mind as well. Some of the comments I heard were - "It kind of made me sad, I wish they had lived more independently from their parents", other parents said it made them think and kind of forgetful of the fact that our kids are not viewed by others the way we see them in everyday life and the dreams we have for them and their future. The movie kind of made you think twice about their future like you did back when this whole journey was started. But like I've said before, it's what you make it. Who says that Asa's future is going to be like Monica and David's? We can't plan our children's future for them, whether they have a disability or not. If Asa says to me 20 years from now, "Mom, I want to break the land speed record on a motorcycle." I would say "Let's figure out how you can do it."

31 for 21 Day 16

31 for 21 Day 15

Like Father like Son... Or what I like to call More Alike Than Different ;-)

Every Momma's Wish

For me this is my wish. For my Bubs to fall in love and live happily ever after..... Monica and David's documentary airs on HBO tonight 8pm EST. Tune in for with your Kleenex ready!

You can read about their story HERE

31 for 21 Day 14 - Asa Photo Timeline

I thought it would be fun to see how much Asa Man has grown! Makes me sad too...

31 for 21 day 13

"Slow down", "Be thankful for what you got" and "Don't forget to check your oil". Many famous quotes from my father, hidden meanings yes, more then one... One of the meanings is just as it sounds, the other is straight from the heart.

- SLOOOOW DOWN or GO SLOW: take time to think and recharge vs. Don't Speed - LOL

-BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU GOT: Be thankful, don't always think about what you don't have but what you do and remember to thank those who have helped you along the way ;-)

-CHECK YOUR OIL: this one is the most famous and I have heard it for many years and heard it A LOT when I was thousands of miles away at college. Literally, check your oil so your car doesn't burn up and what it really means - Love You...

There are quite a few others - USE YOUR HEAD: Short for -Use your head for something other then banging it against a brick wall. SIT TIGHT - kind of like slow down but more so meaning have patience.

There was another one that my father said to me during a time when we all were trying to figure life out and that was after Asa Man was born. It wasn't just me who was thrown head first into this world that would forever change my life, but everyone around us was trying to help figure it out - the funny thing is that we haven't figured life out. Asa just has made our lives mean so much more, he's a life changer for everyone he meets. He shines like an Antarctic Sun on a Winter Day (couldn't think of anything brighter then that!) What my father said to me on a day when I thought Life had played a very cruel trick didn't make me think (like so many of his other quotes) because it had never crossed my mind, but my father's words still ring in my head "You Don't Give Up On Him"... Give up? Hell NO! Fight Harder, Longer and Stronger F*** Yeah!

Somedays I do get down because of the fight, I do feel sometimes like I am always fighting for not only Asa but everyone out there that is traveling the same road. I want to scream from the hilltops - HE IS NOT DIFFERENT, HE IS NOT INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED, HE IS NOT COGNITIVELY DELAYED! He is a little boy who likes to play with cars and hates vegetables, loves to run through mud and ride his bike down the steepest hill he can find with his feet up in the air! He is ASA, the one and only. He is not Asa with Down syndrome, he's just Asa. He's not Asa with Cystic Fibrosis, he's just Asa. When I think of my little man I just think of him. How he cracks me up and we both start laughing uncontrollably at nothing at all - the harder he laughs the harder I laugh and it's the funniest thing I've ever heard... Better then Bill Cosby and way better then Larry the Cable Guy...

Life Is What You Make It.... and that is the best-est quote of ALL...

Love you too Dad!

Asa and Grampy - September 2008