#sharethelove

You know that old saying "it takes a village to raise a child?" I never fully understood the meaning behind it until I joined the Rockin' Mom groups through the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network. There is such comfort in knowing I can navigate through this sometimes uncertain journey, and that I will always have these moms to lean on. We will always have each other, through thick and thin. Our kids are growing up together and they too will have each other. It's a connection unlike anything I've ever experienced.

We have decided to raise funds to help our amazing DSDN families grow and thrive. The DSDN shepherds kids from 0 to age 3, and provides support to the families of these children through the #sharethelove Rockin' Family Fund. We are one big rockin' family.

Who are these rockin' families? Please watch and find out in the beautiful video below:

#SHARETHELOVE Video

With only one week left in our fundraiser we are hopeful that we can reach our goal of $10,000! Please help us get there by clicking this link and donating, every single dollar helps. If you want to read a really thoughtful post about it, my co-advisory board member and co-video planner Jisun explains it much more eloquently than I can here. 

We thought it was important for you to know our kids and to have a glimpse into our lives. Jisun and I reached out to our Rockin' Moms for photos, and we received hundreds of gorgeous submissions. My brother Joey generously donated his video creating services. After many long nights, multiple messages, lots of editing and rearranging, he had to gently tell us that if he used every photo we received that the video would run for 30 minutes! It was painstaking to narrow it down into a 5 minute video. Below are some examples of the stunning images we received.

Please help us fulfill our mission and give our Rockin’ Families the support, love, courage, and community they need. Are you wondering where the funds go? Your donations will enable us to help our families in the following ways:

1. Welcome
When a pregnant or new mother first hears the words "your baby has Down syndrome", it can be a time full of uncertainty for what the future holds. DSDN is there to welcome these new parents into our Rockin' Mom support groups. We estimate that our Rockin' groups will grow by 500-600 moms this year alone! Having others who understand what you are going through is invaluable.

The Rockin' Family Fund will enable us to send a small gift to each new mom and child that join our network, ensuring that every family is able to see the celebration in this new life.

2. Support

Sometimes our Rockin' kids are sick. We have some children who require heart surgery, long hospital stays and encounter other medical concerns. It is such an amazing feeling to be able to brighten a family's day with hope when facing medical uncertainty.

The Rockin' Family Fund will help us send care packages to families facing medical issues and extended hospital stays.

3. Comfort 

Sadly, we have lost a few of our babies in our DSDN Rockin' Family. It is heartbreaking to see the announcement when a child passes away. It is important for us to support these families through the hardest time of their life. Late last year we began sending memorial wind chimes to families grieving the loss of a child. Every time one is sent out, our hearts break knowing what that family is facing. The Rockin' Family rallies around these parents and we come together to mourn the loss. We have also created a loss support group so these families will have each other to lean on in the days ahead.

The Rockin' Family Fund will help us continue to send a personalized memorial wind chime to families that experience a loss.

4. Empower

Many times upon learning of a Down syndrome diagnosis, families will have a thirst to gather as much information as possible. There are many local and national opportunities for education through conferences, retreats and classes. But sometimes there are financial limitations keeping families from attending.

The Rockin' Family Fund will enable us to empower families to seek out information and resources to best support their family.

Can you help us #sharethelove? Please donate today and offer the gift of hope to these families.

Our First Down Syndrome Event

The Down Syndrome Network of Oregon puts on a yearly event at Oaks Park for families who love someone with Down Syndrome. We haven't done anything "Down syndrome" related yet. I have met with other mama's on my own, but Jesse hasn't. I was nervous but excited and my boys were thrilled. When I told Jesse that I couldn't wait to go he hesitantly said "but aren't we already doing the Buddy Walk?" I was able to coax him into going by telling him that we will arrive late and leave early. Well guess who was the last to leave? We were just living up to our title of the "family of long goodbyes".

When we arrived, we were met by a group of families all with a common bond. The feeling of love that emanated from the group was powerful. We met children with Down syndrome that were around Ellie's age up to a senior in high school. I even had the opportunity to meet a beautiful lady who is 20 weeks pregnant with a baby girl with Down syndrome. I was so amazed by her and her husband and their courage to come out and embrace the Ds community. I overheard Jesse talking to the dad and offering his own advice. It was heart warming to hear him talk about Ellie in such a positive and uplifting way. I think we were meant to meet this couple that night. I think it was good for Jesse to be on the advice-giving end too, a new role for him.

The DSNO had a huge spread of food including desserts, drinks, t-shirts (which I wish I would have grabbed one!) and posters for us to put up at work for the Buddy Walk. There were a lot of teenage volunteers there helping all the kids as "ride buddies".  Many of these kids have a sibling with Down syndrome and were just awesome kids. It was very well organized and had such a welcoming vibe.

We spent the evening with our new friends, and mostly with my self-proclaimed new BFF (famous Iris's mom) see previous post about Iris, she is the coolest kid ever! Scroll to the center of that post and watch her dancing to "Thrift Shop" if you haven't yet. The boys and I have watched it at least 20 times! Will and Luke rode on as many rides as they could squeeze in with Eric their new buddy (famous Iris's big bro) and they are already planning the next time they can see Eric. I am looking forward to play dates with these moms and kids, I can already sense that lifelong friendships are being formed because of Down syndrome. I am continually telling myself I can't believe how this is all turning out. How scared I once was, and how now I can't imagine my life any other way. My heart is full.

Ellie and Iris smoochin!

Luke, Eric and Will

Speaking of the Buddy Walk and my heart being full, we have formed a team called Team Ells Bells. I am so excited to have our friends and family come out and walk with us to honor Ellie and others with Down syndrome! We are raising money for the DSNO and I had to choose a goal amount. I put $1000 down, unsure if that was too big of a goal but I thought it sounded good.  I posted Ellie's page on my Facebook and in 6 days we surpassed our goal. I am so grateful and humbled at the outpouring of love and support! I can't even explain how much this means to us. I contacted our PR group at my work and they added the DSNO to their list of charities, they will match employees donations dollar for dollar! Amazing!  Many of my co-workers, even those thousands of miles away have donated to Ellie's team. Our friends are surprising us left and right with their generous contributions. This money helps with programs, scholarships, and events like the Oaks Park family night! 

Here is Ellie's team page if you want to check it out: 

http://dsno.org/teams/team-ells-bells/

I can't wait to tell Ellie about her first Buddy Walk and how much her friends and family love her. Although, when seeing that scrunchy faced soulful grin, I think she already knows.

Love to you all.

Happy.

My song choice for this post is Somewhere Over the Rainbow, What a Wonderful World by Iz. This is a song we played at our wedding and is one of my all time faves. At the Oaks Park event, the DSNO founder's daughter Megan (who is 15 and has Down syndrome and gorgeous red hair) signed the lyrics to this song as her mama sang it. I was in tears, it was beautiful and the perfect end to the evening.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow, What a Wonderful World - IZ