Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Cousin Time

Well, we hopped back in the car and went back to Maine this past weekend. Asa and I brought Derrick and Ashleigh up to spend the week with Grammy. Grammy and Grampie had been there for a week already and Grampie needed a ride home to go back to work. A weekend never seems quite long enough for the 2 1/2 hour ride one way, but we made the most of it.

Asa and Ashleigh played hairdresser.


Phone pics again...

Back to the fun @ Daycare on Monday!


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Vacation?

Vacation was nice, relaxing to a point - Ha! It was plain nice to have time off from "work". We did go to Maine for a few days, we really enjoyed the down time. Here are a few pics, I of course forgot my camera every time we went to the beach. Good thing for cell phones! The pics are what we call the "Main Beach", those of you Wells, Maine vacationers know what I'm talking about. This beach does not have nice fluffy dry sand. It is rocky, kind of stinky :-), but has great tidal pools! Asa learned the hard way what running in a tidal pool and falling on a rock with barnacles feels like. Man, the number of times I did this as a kid - welcome to the club Ace ;-)
There were a few tears shed, boy does it sting from the salt water!

We felt better fast, we were having FUN!





Ace and Daddy

Love the top pose!


If you click on these you can view them larger - the sepia makes me think of the pics from my childhood, don't you think Ma?



Friday, July 8, 2011

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

wordless wednesday

Check out page 72 of the new Nordstrom's Catalog - the boy to the far left. Other then me wanting to buy everything in the women's department how fantastic is this?!

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale 2011

Friday, July 1, 2011

So true

One of my most favorite blogs I read is by Kelle Hampton - Enjoying the Small Things, you can find it in my sidebar on the left. I feel like I know her even though I don't. She reminds me of a high school friend. An old friend you catch up with every once in awhile. She writes beautifully and straight from the heart, it amazes me how she nails it everytime - see here...

"Yesterday was a long day.

I was't going to write about it because I'm already over it, and looking back it seems a bit silly now. But it's important to me to be especially honest about Down syndrome on this blog. It greatly pales in comparison to the myriad of rich events and moments in our home and therefore, it fades to the background of our life, evident in my writing as well. But there are times where I remember, if but for a moment, the inconveniences and extra worries an extra chromosome brings. Yesterday was one of them. We started with a quick dentist appointment to check out some concerns in her mouth which led to a doctor appointment and, by late afternoon, I was vulnerable and anxious, reminded of all the increased likelihoods that come with Down syndrome. I sat in my car holding a script for a blood test, Nella asleep in the back seat, and I cried for the first time in a long time. It's not really about Down syndrome either. It's far more related to the searing vulnerabilty loving a child brings. Maybe we feel it a bit more when we have a child with special needs, but everyone feels it at different places along the journey. I love them so deeply, so fiercely, so wholly that the thought of them not being okay is more painful than that of my own well-being. There is fear in parenthood, and maybe more with special needs parenting. That fear never really disappears, and I'm well aware it exists. My job is to find an appropriate place for it, not to bury it completely but to manage it, to never let it outshine our zest for life and adventure. Sometimes, it's good to go there. To think about the what-ifs and sympathize with the families that do experience this reality. And it's uncomfortable. But I am becoming familiar with the beautiful process of ups and downs, ebb and flow, victory and defeat. They depend upon each other. We wouldn't know defeat if we didn't have victory to measure it against, and we wouldn't understand that breath-taking happiness is so wonderful if we couldn't compare it with lesser days of disappointment."

So true...

About Me

My photo
My name is Jackie and I am a mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter, cousin to many, and a dreamer of sorts. I dream of many things and one is a life full of acceptance, achievement and success for my Super Hero son Asa. He's got extra good stuff that comes with a little thing called Down syndrome. We live in the beautiful state of New Hampshire with our 2 Bulldogs; Rosie, Frankie and 36 chickens.