World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated on the 21st day of the 3rd month each year to signify triplication of the 21st chromosome. It is a day to raise awareness for what Down Syndrome is, is not, and how people with Down Syndrome play an important role in our lives and communities.

I was welcomed in to the life of Maggy when I was 16 years old. She, who has Down Syndrome, came to live with us because her parents had passed away and her sister didn’t want her unless she could get paid to keep her. She was just shy of 250lbs and 4’6 tall. She threw tantrums to get what she wanted and her quality of life was diminishing. She wasn’t valued and dealt with that by overeating and throwing tantrums. Her original doctor even told us that she didn’t have any other pleasures in her life so we should continue to let her eat whatever she wanted… We switched doctors.

It didn’t take long for Maggy to love and trust us all. Because of her our family was changed for the better. Maggy lost 150lbs and stopped throwing tantrums. I believe that our family was saved by Maggy. All us kids were in the midst of our angry teenage years and Maggy taught us too focus on something other and bigger than ourselves. For example, even though my brother wouldn’t talk to anyone, he would go and tuck Maggy in to say goodnight each night. That eventually led to him talking to us again. I know I’ve told that story before but it was a huge turning point for all of us. Maggy was and still is a un-judging shoulder to cry on and listening ear for all of us. She is still the worlds best hugger 🙂 In every sense of the word that matters Maggy is my sister and I love her with all my heart!

I always knew I wanted to include a people with Down Syndrome in the family that I grow as well and I was blessed enough to get a husband who wanted the same thing! We didn’t know exactly how that would come about until I proposed adopting a little girl to Jon last January. It was not a big debate. It wasn’t a question of whether we should adopt who we now know is Sofie, but how we were going to make it happen.

I am literally filled with bubbles of anticipation for Sofie to come home. I can’t imagine how much she is going to bless our family and I can’t wait to find out! I think next years World Down Syndrome Day is going to be a very different personal feel for me 🙂

1. I got word yesterday that our agency got our official proposal for Sofie and it is in the mail! We should get it tomorrow!!! This is a huge step forward and it actually came earlier than expected! I was told that it would that the MOJ and Hague Convention 2-3 months to get the proposal to us… we got it within a month of Bulgaria receiving our request! Just two months after we mailed it off! We should receive the original documents in the mail before the end of the week too sign and officially accept Sofie. The next step is waiting for our court date!
2. Last weekend my sisters, bro-in-law, Jon and I did some much needed yard work in our/our mom’s yard. It isn’t completely done yet but we got all the big stuff done. We cut a bunch of over grown branches off our blue spruce in the front yard, trimmed back some juniper bushes that hadn’t been touched in years, and pulled out four overgrown junipers from the front yard. We got all this done in the rain too! It looks like a big mud pit right now but there is now some potential! It is a great start for me to get it looking nice this spring and summer with Livi (and Sofie!) running around and exploring our huge yard!
3. Jon let his bosses know that he is interested in a advanced position. A position hasn’t been posted yet but there was a notice sent out wondering who would be interested. This would mean a raise and the opportunity to do some teaching in the field of community living! It would be pretty perfect and is the next logical step up the ladder! Governments never move quickly but we are hoping that something comes of this!
4. We got to enjoy some good friends that we haven’t seen in almost two years over for supper last night! We got to reminisce over our college years which was a lot of fun but made me feel really old!
5. My best friend in Winnipeg had a little baby boy on Sunday. I am so excited for her! Little Toby came in to the world almost 7 weeks early but he is doing so well! He is going to be such a little blessing. I really wish I could go out there to meet him… one day I will, if we ever have money again 🙂
6. My Lent has been going really well. I started reading my Henri Nouwen book and am allowing myself to start speak more freely about prayer… something I am not comfortable with. I have been doing really well on the self-denial part. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d make it this far without sugar but it has been easier than I thought. I thought the beginning would be the most difficult part but I think I was wrong. I haven’t had any sugary foods except for eating what I thought was a healthy nutty, berry granola bar on day 1, only to realize later that sugar was the number 4 ingredient. I haven’t made that same mistake and have been fine with out it! I definitely have had my evening cravings but I just think of Sofie and what she is all going without! I’ve also been focusing, this week, on what God has done for me in my life. I am so blessed. No red meat and poultry has been a little more difficult than I thought. Funny how I thought the sugar would be harder than the meat. I just really need to plan all my meals better so I have all the protein I need and don’t get shaky and eat something crappy. That seems to be when I crave the sugar most too. 8 days in to Lent so far! I’ll expand on this more further in to lent I think. 
7. Livi used the big toilet tonight without having to use a stool to step up on. I haven’t measured her in a few months but she must have grown! She is taking pride in how big she is too, saying things like “I’m growing up so big like Mommy!” or “I am big, just like Daddy! Right?” I love my little weirdo 🙂

We’ve been asked a few times what drew us to adoption, specifically adopting a chromosomally enhanced child. I’m not entirely sure where to start so I guess I’ll just talk about our back grounds and experiences with the amazing world of differently abled people…

My mom said I was volunteering in the special eduction classroom as early as grade 1 and continued to help out were I could through out school. My real immersion began when my mom began working for Chilliwack Society  for Community Living when I was 13. We would get to hang out with the people she was serving often. When I was 17 my sister Maggy came in to my life. I’ve said it before… She saved our family. She came to us during our angry, tumultuous teenage years but she was the unifying presence in our family. We would all drop everything to stand up for her. She gave so much love, silent understanding, and a constant ear to listen or lap to cuddle in. After high school I continued volunteering occasionally and began working professionally for people with special needs after I was married. I worked independently for a few micro-boards and Jon and I began doing respite in our home on some weekends. When I had had enough of waitressing I started working for an agency in a group home. I loved the clients there and they taught me so much. I ended up switching agencies after a year or two and also took a job working as an Education Assistant in the high school with kids needing extra support. I continued working part time in a group home after Livi was born but because of funding cuts, I was laid off a few months earlier than planned. I’m not sure if I’m going to go back in to the field after Sofie settles in to our family, but I guess we will see what life brings!

Jon’s experience didn’t start until much later than mine. As a teenager, the Kenos were a part of his church and had adopted a son with Down Syndrome. Jon loved that kid and Brent was his first introduction in to the world of extra chromosomes. The summer Jon was 19, he had just been laid off from his job from the book store. John Keno asked him if he wanted to volunteer at a camp for the summer. Since Jon had no other plans and, being in Port Alberni, little hope of finding any paying job, he agreed to go. This was, quite possibly, one of the most changing experiences of his life. That summer was stressful, amazing, exhausting and fulfilling all at the same time. Jon worked with adults and children with all sorts of different abilities and needs, and came away feeling like he had got more out of the experience than he had contributed. Since then Jon has had a passion for people with various special needs, and now works for Community Living BC, organizing and contracting for service to people with Developmental Disabilities. He has also worked as a life skills worker for a teenager with Autism, and recently taught him to drive!

I remember the first time Jon met my family, I was amazed at how comfortable he was with Maggy. Any other guys that had met her were always quite awkward and stiff. They didn’t know how to talk to her. Jon was completely different. He shook her hand just as he had my mother’s. He bent down, matching her eye level and talked to her as the adult she was. This caught my mom’s attention. She knew he was a keeper before I did!

Neither of us remember when we first started talking about adoption. It was always just understood that we both wanted it, like we both wanted a birth child. We also knew that we would love to adopt a child with special needs. I think we were made for each other in that respect. We are both so blessed to be so completely in sync when it comes to our family.

Although we both knew we wanted to adopt in our future, we did not plan on adopting this early on in our lives together. We had thought that we would have two or three birth children and then look in to adoption down the road. January I received an email from the Kenos, forwarded from their adoption agency about a little one year old girl from the Phillipines needing a home. Although that child did not have Down Syndrome, this got me thinking about how perfectly a little girl, the same age as Livi, would fit in to our family. I think I sat on the idea for a day before mentioning it to Jon. Particularly with the 18 months we had just come out of, I expected him to throw out the notion as one of my crazy, rash ideas… but he didn’t. He stopped and looked at me, nodded slightly, and said “that could be kind of perfect.” My heart skipped a beat. This was going to happen! Our dream of adopting a child with an extra chromosome was going to come true!

There was still many conversations to have and research to do. Adopting earlier than planned meant re-evaluating our finances and putting off any thoughts of another birth child a little longer. We decided to move to save money, be closer to family for support and have a yard for our girls. I’m not sure if God plans details of our lives or not, but if He does, this road for our family was definitely ordained. I need to remember this during the uncontrollable, difficult times of this adoption process.

I’m finding right now to be the most difficult time. We know who she is. I dream about her little face and holding her in arms but so much could still go wrong that I find myself distancing myself emotionally at times. What if she isn’t approved for us to adopt? What if there are paper’s lost or new hoops to jump through? What if something terrible happens to her before we can get to her and protect her? What if this takes much longer than we are expecting? I feel so close but so helpless to take the next step. I want to talk about our adoption and Sofie, but sometimes get frustrated with questions because I have no new information. Everything just seems still so uncertain and out of my control. I just want her home.