I recently had the privilege to join my sweet friend, Maggie, to record an episode for her podcast Mindful Motherhood. Maggie shares mindfulness exercises and interviews moms on a wide range of topics. Our time together focused on being the mom of a child with special needs. Maggie has a little girl with significant special needs, so we were able to dig into our experiences together.
What better place for Ella to run her very first 5k than at one of our very favorite places – Walt Disney World! Not only that, she got to run it with Pete for the National Down Syndrome Society. We want to give a really big THANK YOU to everyone who donated to Sammy’s Superheroes for the race. Go #TeamNDSS!
It’s true! Sam and I made the long journey from Kenya to Minnesota one week ago. Not at all something we planned so early in our first term in Kenya.
I first found the Extraodinary Moms Podcast when my dear friend, Anna, shared a link to an episode she had been a part of last spring. I started binge listening in the middle of our move in June and found so much encouragement from each of the mamas. Every story I heard was personal and unique, the common thread being Jesus and how he has encouraged each of them along the path of motherhood. I connected with Jessica Dahlquist, host of the Extraordinary Moms podcast, when I responded to one of her Instagram posts in July. We started talking and, a short time later, she invited me to be on her show. What an honor! A couple weeks ago we recorded the episode over FaceTime and today it is live!
In our interview, Jess asks me about life in Kenya, how we got here, how we held onto hope when the process to get here was so long, and how things changed when Sam was born. You can find the episode a couple different ways. One, search for Extraordinary Moms Podcast in your podcast app. Or two, click here to visit the podcast’s website and listen straight from there.
This was such a fun opportunity to share our story. I hope you enjoy listening!
Today I’m sharing the story of Sam’s birth and how his diagnosis has influenced our work in Kenya on CedarsStory.com. Cedar’s Story is a beautiful resource for parents and friends to find support and ideas while navigating the world of Down syndrome. I’d love for you to read the post! Simply click here. What an honor it is to share our journey!
When our Samuel was ten months old, a professional acquaintance told me the story of her own scare with Down syndrome during her second pregnancy. I sat next to her at the little kindergarten-size table while our kids played at the library. Sam laid quietly on a blanket near our feet, gumming a stuffed giraffe. “We did the amnio because I just had to know. My husband and I couldn’t have handled a child with Down syndrome. Thank God the test was negative,” she told me quite matter-of-factly. I was so surprised at her remark, I didn’t know how to respond. I can’t even remember what we talked about after that, but I do remember saying goodbye about ten minutes later, scooping up my little boy, walking out to my Jeep, and crying while holding him to my chest.
