2 Birthdays, adoption, a little boy, and a give-away

(READ TO THE END, THERE'S A GIVE-AWAY!)

So... today's my birthday :) and in 4 weeks (and 1 day) is Emma's birthday! When Emma was born I had just turned 21, I was beginning my final 3 semesters for my Elementary Education degree at UCF. Mike and I had been married for a year and a half and lived in a little 2 bedroom townhouse just one street away from the house I grew up in. I worked at a church-run daycare in an infant room with my 4 little 'charges' that were 6weeks-12 months old (yep, always have loved babies!) and also helped in the 2-3 yr old room where there were 2 teachers and 12 kids. We were happy, content at where we were in life, and preparing ourselves in terms of education, finances, and maturity to grow and learn together.

I imagine that Emma's birth parents may have been in similar terms. We know they were married and this was their first child to be born. We also know they suffered the loss of at least one child due to miscarriage before they had Emma. The custom in Ukraine, to my understanding, is not to hold baby showers or give a pregnant woman gifts before the baby is born because that is seen as 'bad luck'. So maybe they didn't have a baby shower and a house prepared for baby, but I would bet that their excitement and anticipation of her birth were still evident as they planned to welcome their firstborn.

We also know that Emma's mother had a "difficult pregnancy with problems early on" though we don't know what kind of difficulties or problems. Did they know Emma had Down syndrome? Did they know she had a heart defect? I don't know, but I have a lot of respect for them to continue a difficult pregnancy even though there were, I'm sure, other offers given to them.

And then, on February 19, 2003, Emma was born, perfect, tiny, with 10 toes and a gap between the first two, 10 fingers and a Palmer's crease, with that extra 21st chromosome. Her parents did what they knew to do, they left her at the hospital, probably told family and friends that she had died (and probably believed that she would die very soon in reality) and went home to mourn the loss of yet another child.

I pray that as her birthday approaches that somehow, someway, her parents might have a renewed faith that their daughter is not only alive, but thriving, learning, and blowing us all out of the water with each month that goes by. And more than that, she is loved. By SO many!

Our adoption of Emma fell the day before her fifth birthday... God is always on time :)

This brings me to a little boy. His name is Ilya. He, too, was given up at birth by his parents because he shares the diagnosis of Down syndrome. But Ilya hasn't "come home" yet. And his future doesn't look good. He's small, under-stimulated, under-nourished, and frankly he needs someone to put a smile on his face! Ilya was born in November of 2004 and just turned four years old. He's now just 10 months from being transferred to a mental institution. This year, though we cannot go bring home a child ourselves, I will continue to advocate for those waiting for a family.

For the next 4 weeks I'll be hosting a chip-in fundraiser for little Ilya (Click here). This will go straight to his Reece's Rainbow grant and all money donated will be available to his forever family to help with the cost of Ilya's adoption.

Ilya is 4 years old and can crawl and sit, but still does not walk. I know what kind of wonders a bit of therapy can do for a child like Ilya (and Emma!) and I hope some day to see home video of Ilya walking with his new Mom and Dad. Will it be you? The only medical complication that little Ilya has is a duplication of the left kidney (made in 2006) and a PDA (very very minor heart issue which likely resolved itself).

Here's what I'd like to do for those of you that are interested in helping raise a grant for Ilya... When I went on the Buddy Cruise in October I had the pleasure of meeting a very sweet man by the name of Jason Kingsley. He is a very independent person who came on the cruise with his two roommates and enjoyed himself immensely :)

Jason, with a friend, wrote a book called "Count Us In" several years ago and recently had it re-published with a new section on life as an adult with Down syndrome. I have enjoyed reading my copy of this book, but when I was there I bought not one, but two copies. Now's your chance to receive your own autographed copy of "Count Us In"!

The Chip-in will begin today (Click here) and ends on 2-18 (our adoption date!) and on Emma's 6th birthday, 2-19, I will randomly choose one person who donated to Ilya's grant fund (using the chip-in) to receive this book.

And... here's a photo of Jason signing the book for one of you :)

Just in case the name sounds familiar but you're not quite sure why, you may have heard of Jason's mother, Emily Perl Kingsley. She wrote the poem "Welcome to Holland" which summarizes her feelings and that of so many other mothers who have received any sort of diagnosis when their child is born. This poem was referenced to me by my mother the day that I received Brianna's diagnosis and is a treasure to so many parents of children with Down syndrome.

That's not all, though! Emily Kingsley is also a writer for Sesame Street and has been the drive behind having children with special needs included in the segments! Jason Kingsley was the first child with Down syndrome to appear on Sesame street, and possibly the first child with Down syndrome to ever appear in an educational role on television. Do a little googling or YouTube searching and you'll be sure to find clips of Jason as a child on Sesame Street.

I had the pleasure, as well, of meeting Emily Kingsley on the Buddy Cruise and hearing her heart for children with special needs and especially Down syndrome. She has a huge heart! I know both Emily and Jason are glad to know that this book is being used as an 'incentive' to raise money to bring a child that is faced with institutionalization home to a forever family... I'm sure of this because I asked them if it would be all right and I was given the response of "We'd be honored."

Here they are sharing the dance floor on the cruise...