It is a part of our journey together that we never would have chosen for ourselves...
It is a piece of our journey that WE were chosen to be a part of!
Today is a day to honor, respect, love and cherish our children that happen to be enhanced with an extra 21st chromosome!
March 21st, World Down Syndrome Day...why? Because our amazing kids have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome.
It all started with this little guy...our dear, late son, Caleb Andrew...
When we learned early on that our son would be born with Down Syndrome and two different heart conditions, we chose to give him life, for however long that may be for. After many days of agonizing over his conditions and the doctors constantly telling us that he would never amount to anything...that his quality of life would be poor, etc, we finally had to quit listening to the doctors and persevere for our son. Persevere through their negative attitudes and know that GOD brought this VERY unexpected gift into our lives for a VERY specific reason. From day one he brightened our lives, he taught us so much each and every day about ourselves and about how strong one can be even at just a few days, weeks or months old! We had no idea what the future held for Caleb, but we knew WHO held his future. As unexpected as Caleb came in to our lives, we certainly never expected him to only be with us for 414 days.
After losing Caleb, neither of us felt that we were "done" or "complete" as a family. Maybe just because we were missing a huge piece of our family or maybe because Caleb was in our lives and a part of our journey, to make us fully aware of the fact that we could handle a special needs child. We felt that God trained us with a special needs child for a reason and we should not let that training go to waste. So...6 months after Caleb left our earthly family, we came across this special guy on the internet. He was listed as being available for adoption on a website that specifically posted special needs children...
Thus began our adoption journey to bring THIS amazing little guy home...he needed a home to love him despite his extra chromosome and we just so happened to know of one! :)
After a home study, Immigration application, paperwork, notary, paperwork, notary, sign, send $, repeat...we were to the point where we just had to wait for Taiwan courts to do their thing. Taiwan requires 3 court hearings, each with their own time frame and so we wait...and wait. Finally last spring, we got the call that Kai was officially ours! Come and get him...come and be blessed!
For the last 10 months, we have enjoyed every moment of having a toddler back in our home! Kai keeps us VERY busy and never ceases to make us laugh!
Never forget the fact that EVERY child and person on this earth has a purpose. Whether it is to be President or just to bring a smile and extra love to our hearts and homes...EVERY one of us has a purpose! Whether we have an extra chromosome, the inability to focus in crowded/loud situations, the inability to enjoy all foods, a speech delay/disorder, etc...
We can only hope that our situation has helped you or your family enjoy each day to the fullest...
to do a little extra something special for someone who crosses your path...
to see the good in everyone around you...
Happy World Down Syndrome Day! The day where we all need to take an extra special look around and honor, respect, love and cherish everyone around us.
Thank you for supporting our family during this journey!
Joanna & John
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