Photo Friday is a little glimpse at our week in pictures. To see more, follow @TheMangoMemoirs on Instagram!
Category Archives: Photo Friday
Photo Friday
Photo Friday is a little glimpse at our week in pictures. To see more, follow @TheMangoMemoirs on Instagram!
Our First Big Goal? Check!
You guys! We’ve hit our first financial goal in getting to Kenya and we are super, super excited to share it with you! Ready?!
We have raised enough funds to cover all of our one time costs!
This is HUGE! Obviously we could not be celebrating this milestone without all of our supporters, so we send out a ginormous THANK YOU to every single one of you who have already joined us financially. We want to give you each a giant hug! Also, Sam has a message for you…
Now, what does this mean exactly? Let me tell you. It means that all of the things we need to pay for just one time, not every month, have now been covered through financial gifts. Curious to know what some of those expenses are? Here are a few…
Plane Tickets & Moving Expenses. Getting over to Kenya and then back again after two years.
Legal Fees & Papers. So they actually let us into the country. That would be nice.
Furniture. Beds. A kitchen table. A few things that make a house a home.
Trainings. We’ve already spent one week in training at our mission’s headquarters and we’ll spend one more week there this summer. Then, right before we leave for Kenya, we’ll study as a family for four weeks at a cross-cultural training facility in Colorado Springs.
Language School. We plan to attend a 2-3 months of intense Swahili language school as soon as we arrive in Kenya. This will be vital to the long-term work we will be able to do there and the relationships we will be able to build.
So what’s next? Now we continue doing what we’ve been doing. Visiting churches, meeting with friends, speaking with small groups. We love sharing our story and our vision for what we’ll be doing in Kenya. With that, we invite people to pray about joining us financially. We won’t be paid by the hospital in Kenya, so we need to raise everything for our first two years there before we leave. That can be done two ways. The first is through one-time gifts. The second is through pledging a specific amount each month. We currently have 28% of our monthly budget pledged.
Our next major goal is to reach 50% of our monthly expenses pledged. Why 50%? That is when big things happen. First, we can register for our last two trainings. Second, we will be eligible for health insurance through our mission organization. We are currently paying for insurance ourselves, as Pete is working as a freelance ER doc. Being on the mission’s health insurance will take a pretty big burden off our current budget, allowing us to pay Pete’s medical school loan faster, something we want to have finished before leaving for Kenya.
We are thrilled to share this news of having our one-time costs covered! Thank you for trusting us to be good stewards of these funds. We look forward to sharing more updates in the near future!
Do you know of a group, church, or family who would be interested in hearing more about what we’ll be doing in Kenya? Please use this contact form to send us an email.
Want to learn more about making a financial contribution to the work we’ll be doing in Kenya? Click here for information and click here to donate! Thank you!
Photo Friday is a little glimpse at our week in pictures. To see more, follow @TheMangoMemoirs on Instagram!
Photo Friday
Photo Friday is a little glimpse at our week (or a little longer, in this case) in pictures.
To see more, follow @TheMangoMemoirs on Instagram!
Aiden
Today, Crystal shares beautiful words about about her adorable little Aiden (who is 28 months old), the day she met him, and the emotions that followed. You can follow Crystal and Aiden on Instagram as @bigbrotherbesos.
When did you find out your son had Down syndrome?
My husband and I found out at birth that Aiden had Down syndrome. It was a complete surprise! I was actually still lying on the operating table (from an emergency caesarean) when a NP approached us and told us that Aiden showed characteristics of Down syndrome. We were in shock. Complete shock.
What were some of the emotions you had when you got the news?
All I could think of at the time we received the news was how society would perceive Aiden. In fact, I cried the exact words, “I just do not want him to be made fun of,” to my husband. I felt sad. I even felt afraid. But at that moment what mattered to me the most, as his mama, was that he was alive.
Over the twelve days following his birth I grieved hard. I grieved for the life that my son might have because of what was being said to us. Instead of congratulating us nurses would say, “I’m sorry.” Lactation consultants would say, “Down syndrome babies can’t breastfeed.” My OB even said that Aiden may never go to college or marry. I refused to believe those things because I did not appreciate that these limitations were being placed upon my newborn son. I knew deep down in my heart that Aiden was all a part of God’s plan for our family. God orchestrated his birth so perfectly. When Aiden was born (three weeks early) our parents, our siblings, and even our pastors were out of town. We had each other. We had our time alone to process it all. It still amazes me to this day. Thankfully, after seeking God for strength and guidance, both my husband and I agreed that all we needed to do was to be the best mom and the best dad we could be to Aiden.
The most wonderful part of knowing Aiden is…
Knowing he was made in the image of God. Aiden has taught us how to love with a deeper love. He has taught us how to be more compassionate about others, especially those with special needs. He has taught us how to advocate respectfully on his behalf. He has taught us how to celebrate his accomplishments, big or small, and to appreciate the determination it took to get there. He has taught us more than we realize and continues to teach us new things every day.
Click below to read all the stories from Down Syndrome Awareness Month!
Photo Friday is a little glimpse at our week in pictures. (This time on a Saturday!) To see more,
follow @TheMangoMemoirs on Instagram!
Porter
It is our ninth day of Down Syndrome Awareness Month! Today, three-year-old Porter’s mom, Danielle, tells of her interactions with the genetic counselor as she first learned of her son’s diagnosis. Danielle writes at The Many Adventures of Penny and Porter and can be found on Instagram at @mammat10.
We had our twelve week ultrasound on a Friday. The tech and perinatologist gave the baby a clean bill of health. We told family and friends that weekend. We were riding high on the bliss of being able to give our daughter a sibling. We made her a big sister shirt and asked her if she thought the baby would be a boy or girl.
On Monday morning, a representative from Genzyme left me a voicemail. I returned their call immediately, but it took them eight hours to call me back. When they did, they told us our baby had a high risk of having either Trisomy 21 or Trisomy 18. We wanted to be prepared at the birth, so we had an amnio. If our baby had minutes or hours to live, we wanted our family there. The genetic counselor called me at work and said “I’m sorry, but your fetus has Down syndrome.”
We weren’t sorry. It meant our daughter was going to be a big sister. It meant another person would call me mommy.
The genetic counselor shared so many negatives with us. She didn’t tell us about the amazing Trisomy 21 Program at CHOP that would become such a resource to our family. She didn’t tell us about Buddy Walk, an event that would carry more excitement than our son’s birthday each year. She didn’t tell us about the local Down Syndrome Interest Groups that would help us learn from the most amazing families. She didn’t tell us about the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network Rockin’ Mom’s Group that would link me with moms whose children were the same age as our son, who would share advice and be just a message away for support. And, she didn’t tell us about the love, the way this little boy would bring our family together and make us stronger. The genetic counselor missed the boat. I wish she could know Porter. We’re so happy he’s ours!
Click below to read all the stories from Down Syndrome Awareness Month!
Photo Friday is a little glimpse at our week in pictures. To see more, follow @TheMangoMemoirs on Instagram!
