An Introduction

I'm a "cup is half full" kind of girl. A positive thinker if you will. I may even have been called Pollyanna a time or two... My positivity may even bug others. :-P In my defense, I grew up with a mother who practiced the principles of "The Secret" before Oprah was a household name. My mom ingrained into my brain that "thoughts become things" and I believed it. I truly believe that we choose whether we have a good day or a bad day the minute we wake up.

With the birth of our daughter with Down syndrome I can't help but seek the positive side of the diagnosis. Ellie is a miracle girl and a blessing from above. She's here for a reason and I'm beyond grateful for her. My mom is convinced that there's something special inside that extra chromosome. She thinks that people who have Down syndrome have a little extra sugar on top, are more loving, forgiving, and accepting. They have the traits that we strive our entire life to have. Even my brother Joey says... "We should call it Up Syndrome instead, there's nothing down about Ellie!" which made me giggle. He does have the same mother as me, after all.

I hope this blog can serve as a positive and sometimes funny glimpse into a regular family's life who happen to have a daughter with Down syndrome. We live in the country with two crazy boys Will and Luke, their baby sister Ellie and two cats named Lloyd and Harry who were born on July 4th (our favorite holiday!)

I am going to end each post with a song.  In my brain there is a constant soundtrack playing.  I am always humming, whistling or singing something. This particular song has been my mantra since my teenage years and has gotten me through a lot of hard times.  When I need to, I will blast it in my car and sing it at the top of my lungs. It always comes on the radio when I need it to, like someone up in heaven is turning the dial at the specific moment, just for me.  

Bob Marley - Three Little Birds