What have we learned?

Sitting in a pile of laundry.

We have had our little guy for a year and 8 months now.  We "forget" that he has Down Syndrome.  We don't see the physical differences and the cognitive delays.  He is just our little guy to us....

But this morning, I found myself googling "Discipline and Down Syndrome."  He is two...oh so very two.  But also so very 15 months...and 18 months.  His development is all over the place.  

So he grabs our hair and we tell him no....and show him how to touch hair gently.  He laughs and pulls again.

He doesn't want the food we give him, so he spits it out and throws it on the ground.

We need to be aware that he has Down Syndrome...not that he is Down Syndrome!  He is more like us than different.  But the way he learns and processes is different than a typical child.

We have learned a lot...but still have far to go.

Ordinary Life in an extraordinary place.

On most days, our lives are very ordinary.  We get up, we eat breakfast, we go to various schools and jobs.

Well, some of us do.  Others get to stay home and read books in bed.

Or love on his stuffed lion.  The other morning I woke up to the sound of him singing and rocking one of his stuffed bears.  It was such a sweet and tender moment.

Practicing walking behind his new walking toy.

Our friend gave our little guy these vocabulary cards.  Some are wonderfully Chinese in flavor.

Some...let's just say that we aren't sure these are necessary for his vocabulary development.

Traditional shape of a Chinese snowman.

We finally got some real snow....in March!

I've been knitting this beautiful bamboo silk shawl.  Ironically, the yarn was made in China but I bought it in the US.  However, I am going to rip it out and start again.  I made a mistake in the texture pattern across the top and the longer the shawl gets, the more it bugs me.  Oh, knitting.  Hours of knitting, minutes of ripping.

Socks that are almost done. Note to self..even when your gauge is correct, it may be wise to go down a size when you make socks.

A friend of mine gave me tons of scrap yarn.  So I got out big needles and just knit in seed stitch until  each color until it was gone.  I had the green for another project.  It still needs an attached i-cord edge but it's a nice little lap blanket for Elisabeth.

Every Friday, the middle schoolers have help teams, where they do project for the school or community.  I formed a knitting team to do charity knitting for the community.  I taught 14 middle school students how to knit!  Right now, they are knitting squares that will be stitched together to make a blanket for a local foster family. This picture is about half the group knitting. It is school policy not to show faces of students on the internet.

The squares so far.  They will be stitched into a blanket.

I went shopping on my way home from work and got all of this for about $10.00.

As I was washing the lettuce, I noticed this on the dish soap.

Click on the picture...it's kumquat scent!  With oranges on the container.  Totally cracked me up.

She is the real deal.

This year Elisabeth and two friends are organizing World Vision's 30 Hour Famine.  After spending one summer in the high mountains of Yunnan, building roads by hand and helping in villages.....after going to the Phillipines twice to work in an orphanage and now returning this summer to work with teen girls...after laying down her rights to let our little guy live in our home...I'd say her heart is for the poor and disenfranchised.  We are proud of her.
If you'd like to help her raise money to feed two children for a year, click on the link below or copy and paste. Links are also on our Facebook pages if you know us that way. We appreciate it.  World Vision is a reputable organization that we trust.
http://support.worldvision.org/site/TR?px=1157144&fr_id=1610&pg=personal