BUDDY WALK SUCCESS!!!

We had a great time on Saturday! I was a bit stressed though. Things were not set up the way they were last year and I had no idea. It ended up being fine, but I was a little on edge, so I apologize to anyone if you felt I was being a bit rude! I have to tell you though even with all the chaos, it was amazing. The Buddy Walk brings such happiness to us. We only wish our little angel was there walking with us. It did hit me at one point while we were walking. I was so sad at the thought that we would never cross the finish line with our special little one. But I guess she will always cross with us cause she is forever in our hearts...blah blah blah! I know I sound like a whiney butt, but oh well I am a whiney butt! I am in one of those moods, poor us! I just miss our little pink and squishy soooooooo much. And being around everyone on Saturday makes me miss her even more!

On a different note, we want to thank everyone who supported us whether you were there to walk or you sent in a donation Team GABI'S GRACE raised $1080, which is $80 over my goal!

The PERFECT Queen

I actually was planning on posting this story yesterday and didn't have time to. Then a friend of mine posted it, so I figured I would copy her post...thanks Amy:)
Anyways it brought tears to my eyes so have a tissue near by. Kristen brings so much hope to many others out there. And as her sister said, "Not matter who you are, everyone is the same and you should treat everyone the same as well."

I think that says it all! CONGRATS KRISTEN!!!

Down Syndrome: To Noah With Love

In the spring of 99, a gift from up above,was sent to me from heaven to cherish and to love.

He's not what I expected, and at first I was afraid,

but who was I to question, the choice that God had made.

For he gave to me an angel, so precious and so sweet,

and I thank Him each and every day that the two of us could meet.

I named my angel Noah, he's the love that I adore.

He needs me more than ever, but I truly need him more.

I'll turn my times of sorrow into happy times at last.

The crying and the heartbreak will be memories of the past.

We'll look forward to the future and the milestones that it holds.

We'll battle all the boo boos, the sniffles and the colds.

We're together for a reason, It was clear right from the start.

I'll be loving him forever, till death our lives will part.

by Vonda Weikert

Gabi Made OUR World a Better Place...

I often wonder what life would have been like if things did not turn out the way they did. I obviously loved my daughter with all my heart. I never wanted her to suffer, I never wanted her to leave us, but those were things we had no control over. Do you honestly know what it is like to watch your child in pain and know that there is nothing you can do to help her. My heart aches thinking about it. I do know that the choices that we had to make were not easy, but I have to admit it was not something we doubted for one second. We did not want her to suffer, we did not want her to feel any of the pain. We wanted her to feel the love that surrounded her with every breath she took. We wanted her to rest peacefully.


I get angry because I wish there was something more the doctors could of done, but that is just it, there was nothing more that could of helped our pink and squishy.

I am so thankful that Gabi was a part of my life. She gave me new meaning to how I want to live out the rest of my life. I have said it a million times and I probably will say it a million more...I was touched by my very own angel and for that I will forever be thankful. She introduced us to an entire new community that I knew existed, but never knew anything about. I see more happiness and love in that community than any other. I am so blessed to be a part of such special peoples lives. I love reading their blogs, seeing their happy little faces...they truly make the world a better place!

Dan's April In Paris

What every girl dreams of for the prom. We should all be so lucky. Dan is one amazing guy!

BUDDY WALK

Did you know that there are only 11 days, maybe only 10 if you are reading this on Tuesday, until the 13th Annual KC Buddy Walk. Our team reached my personal goal to raise $1000, but there is still time if you want to be a part of our team. The KC Buddy Walk is one of the largest in the nation. KC's goal this year was $325,000...well we have reached that goal and now the 2nd goal is $355,000 which would take over Cincinnati's lead spot as I believe Top Dog.

KC has 284 teams

6190 Walkers

$343, 092 raised

Down Syndrome Facts

*Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring genetic condition with an incidence of 1 in every 800 births.

*There are currently over 350,000 individuals living with Down syndrome in the United States.

*There are approximately 5000 babies born with Down syndrome each year in the United States.

*There are approximately 50 babies born with Down syndrome each year in the greater Kansas City area.

*Down syndrome is one of the leading clinical causes of cognitive delay in the world - it is not related to race, nationality, religion or socio-economic status.

*With appropriate support, individuals with Down syndrome can lead fulfilling lives and be contributing members of society.

If you would like to be apart of this amazing experience, click on the picture below and join us Saturday, October 18th...

A Poem with Extra Love

Twist of Fate
by Matt Yount

This poem was written by a boy who is extremely blessed with his little sister who has a little something extra...

A twist of a fate brought a special gift to my door

How was I to know what God had in store

The gift was wrapped in beauty and filled with love

It was more special than I'd ever dreamed of

At first I was unsure if this was really a gift

But all my doubts faded when I felt my spirit lift

The gift that God gave me was my special little sister

Overflowing with God's light, there's no way I could have missed her

She has brought me nothing but joy and laughter

The two things in life that are most sought after

She sings me songs and brings me to tears

With a smile or a hug she wipes away all my fears

She is more than my sister, she's one of my best friends

Her heart is so pure and her love never ends

She was everything I never expected

She was a gift from God who was specially selected

I love her so much we're each other's biggest fan

Her influence in my life has made me a better man

I wouldn't trade the world for the moments that we've shared

Because without her in my life who knows how I would have faired

Her future is so bright, I can hardly wait

My life has changed forever, thanks to a simple twist of fate.

I HAVE A VOICE

A Month of Awareness

October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. I would like to pay tribute not only to my angel, but to those who live this life everyday. I truly admire these individuals. They laugh harder, smile more often, and love unconditionally. I never realized how much I was really missing in life until Gabi arrived. She gave me a new reason to live and most importantly more reason to love. The poem, Welcome to Holland was first given to me after we received Gabi's diagnosis. I will never forget the day I read it and how much it touched my heart. With that being said I leave it with you to read as today's Thought of the Day...

Welcome to Holland

by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience, to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. Michelangelo's David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland ?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland ?? I signed up for Italy! All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say: "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things... about Holland.

Smiles for your Monday morning...

The lastest stats on Kinsley...she is 12lbs. 15 oz and 24in. long. My baby is 2 feet tall, that is almost half of me she is gonna pass me up before she is in school:)

Things have been awfully busy around here and I don't see things settling down anytime soon. So for now here are a ton of pictures. Have a lovely monday morning and hopefully I can find time later this week to put a real entry in here. But I know how much everyone loves pics, so I didn't figure anyone would mind...

I am not proud of my girls at all huh!?!