I would never change her

When Ruby was a tiny baby I used to think that if I could change the fact that she had Down syndrome I would.Now I know, without a doubt, I would never change her.I would never take away her Down syndrome,her extra chromosome,it's who she is,it's who God made her.

John 9
1And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

2And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

31 for 21/Love Never Fails

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My Little Candle Holder

Last Saturday I went to a pottery class and learned how to form a little clay pot with my hands.At first I wasn't really sure what I wanted to make and then I decided to make a crayon holder for my kids.So I made a little pot that looks like a mug without a handle.
Today I went back to the class and took my little pot that I had burnished at home.I put a layer of  baby oil and then a finish called terra sig and  began to rub it to a shine.While I was rubbing and shining I was talking to the other ladies at the class and then realised,uh,oh,my pot just broke.I looked and a u-shaped piece had broken out of the side.My heart fell a little as I thought about the crayon holder that wasn't to be and then I thought well it will make a nice candle holder.So I put some terra sig on the broken place and rubbed it to a shine and now it will be put in a kiln to be prepared for Friday when we will be having a pit burning for our pottery.I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

My little crayon holder ,turned candle holder, made me think how God can use us even when we are broken ,and  how His light can shine forth from us to shine upon others.

Some may see my daughter Ruby as a broken pot,not good for anything,but God has formed her and finished her and she has a beautiful light that shines from within .Her light shines out and brings beauty and joy to our family and to others who choose to see.

Beautiful

Wordless Wednesday-That Face

My Birthday Gift

Today is my birthday and on this day last year is when I got to bring Ruby home from the hospital ,after her birth and two week stay in the NICU.I don't think I will ever receive a more wonderful birthday gift.

We had been told she would have to stay in the NICU until she was feeding well, which could take weeks and weeks, and if she couldn't eat enough she might have to have a feeding tube placed in her stomach.Well,my wonderful husband said what if you are giving her feedings too close together and she isn't hungry enough at each feeding.The doctor listened and changed her to demand feeding,as soon as they did that Ruby started eating wonderfully every 4 hours!We got to bring her home after 24 hours of feeding well.

When Ruby was born and we found out she had Down syndrome I felt like I had aged many years in just a few minutes,when she turned six months old it seemed like it had been an eternity,now at one year it seems that it passed quickly.I have come to know her and accept her Dx,she has changed so many things in me.What a perfect gift God gave me!

I read this following quote in an old christian devotional book, written by,Jessie Rice Sandberg ,from the 1960's.I think she said it perfectly:

" Trouble is a strange thing.It arrives in dark robes of despair and uncertainty,and not until it is already behind us do we recognize that our unwelcome intruder has been God's love and mercy in disguise.How often the Lord uses difficulty to give us"the best" in place of "the good."

Thank you my precious Ruby.

Special Needs at VBS

I met a wonderful little girl last week when I helped out with Vacation Bible School at the church I attend.This little girl is 5 years old and has autism.I think because of Ruby I was drawn to this little girl who sat and rocked and sang to herself most of the time.One night I handed out a bag of crayons and pictures to color to each child and she started throwing her crayons in the floor ,so I went and sat next to her and said "Will you help me pick up the crayons?" She did help and then I started showing her the crayons and taking one and coloring, then she would take the color from me and color the page on her own smiling to herself.I then wrote her name for her at the top of the page and to my surprise she started smiling and pointing at each letter and spelling her name which she did several times rocking back and forth and smiling and spelling her name.I said, with a big smile,"You can spell your name!" She smiled even bigger and started humming to herself.
Next we worked on puzzles together and I mistakenly thought she would need my help.Let me just say she is excellent at putting puzzles together and was better at it than some of the typical children in the class.
She brightened my life and I will miss seeing her and hearing her sing to herself and the way she smiled to herself when I talked to her.She was a visitor to our church VBS so I don't know if I will ever see her again.I hope she has a wonderful life,I hope people will see her abilities.

I hope you'll take a minute and watch this video I found.

Wordless Wednesday

Are People with Down syndrome Nice?

"Are People with Down syndrome Nice?" This is the question my 5 year old daughter asked me today while Ruby sat in her Bumbo and I fed her some pears.My 5 year old knows Ruby is nice now but she is wondering what she will be like when she gets bigger.I smiled at her and said,"Yes,people who have Down syndrome are just normal people.People with Down syndrome just look a little different and sometimes their brain works slower and it's a little harder for them to learn things and it may be a little harder for them to learn to talk." She said ,"That's why we are learning sign language!"I told her when Ruby gets a little bigger they can play dollies together.She just needed a little reassurance that Ruby is a normal person just like herself :)

Pray for Zoey

Beauty

Having Ruby has taught me a lesson on what is truly beautiful.I'm ashamed to say that one evening after we had come home from visiting Ruby in the NICU I was very depressed and upset that I would not be bringing home the baby I thought I would have ,the nurses in the NICU had given my smaller children a picture of Ruby they had taken because my little ones couldn't go in to see their baby sister.The picture was pretty bad,it was too close up and poor little Ruby had the oxygen cannula in her nose,which made her nose look even flatter, and her little tongue was sticking out .My little ones were thrilled with the picture though and put it up on the side of our refrigerator.I saw it and thought I don't want an ugly baby! Oh,how very wrong I was! My little Ruby is so beautiful! I can see how much beauty our special children have.Their beautiful eyes,wonderful smiles and their true beauty just emanating from them! I'm so glad to have my Ruby,otherwise I might have missed all the beauty around me. I never realized how many people with Ds live near me.Every time I have gone to the store lately I have seen some beautiful person with Ds.I never saw them there before but now I do and I'm so glad.