A Singing Heart

No book,

No blog,

No medical article,

could have prepared me for life with Down Syndrome.

Nothing could put into words the joy that this little girl brings to my life. 

It can only be felt by her eyes and her smile.

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Who wants a full 31 days of Ollie Faith?

Oh I see you over there waving your arms going me, me, me.

Well guess what you are getting it!

October is Down Syndrome awareness month & I'm going to blog every single day about our favorite little flirt.

So here is the questions...what do you want to know, learn, discuss, see?

shoot me some topics & I'll blog em for you and I'll throw in some pictures of little Miss :)

Happy

Saturday we attended our first Down Syndrome event.  It was a Walk In The Park in St. Louis.  They had a big pep rally (which we missed thanks to a parade closing roads down town - stink!).  Then, we got to walk around the field & attend the game.

As we walked up, I saw a beautiful baby boy a little older than Ollie with Down Syndrome.  Thankfully, I was wearing sunglasses because I teared up several times this day.

I can't put into words what it was like to be around so many people that got our lives.  That saw the sparkle in Ollie's eyes.  That knew how lucky we were to have her & her extra chromosome.  I know they get us because I get them now & seeing so many kids & adults with Down Syndrome was like a breath of fresh air - just awesome to be a part of it all!

Jade was just on cloud 9 walking the field.  He's a huge Cardinals fan so it just blew his mind that his feet touched the field pre-game.

Even the kids grabbed a quick photo.

They were loving it too.

Why yes, meet Ollie's chin - she slept the entire way around the track.

No it doesn't look comfortable, but apparently it's very comfortable because she pulled this nap off for a good hour.  Even a boy with Down Syndrome came up and kissed her and she slept through it.

Geez I just love that chin & those cheeks.

At home plate Jade was snapping photos - I was dropping a 4x6 photo of Miss O into an appreciation box for Albert Pujols and his wife Deidre.  For those of you unaware, they have a daughter with Down Syndrome & have an amazing foundation in St. Louis that we are also members of.  On the back I wrote them a note - it's crazy that they are going to see a picture of Ollie, and I know they are going to love her!

The kids were good.  They had a blast.  On the way home Everett told Jade that the "red ones"  AKA the Cardinals were stupid & he likes the "blue ones"  AKA the Cubs.  Jade couldn't believe it.  However, the Cubs lost & Everett is a fair weather fan because he likes the Cardinals again today.

Aubrie cried on the way home because she didn't see anyone with Down Syndrome.  It cracked me up because seriously, there were at a guess 500 people with Down Syndrome in attendance. 

Thank you again Shelly for including us in this day.  It meant the world to us!  I am excited to attend more events in St. Louis now that Ollie's heart is repaired - it's definitely a wonderful group & I see a lot of friends in our future there!

Chicken Legs - Part II

Dear Chicken...

Get in my mouth.

Love,

Ollie Faith



In-COG-nito

Do you ever see something & want one bad?

Well I saw this giant red metal cog on HGTV and had a fit over it.  Thankfully, Maggie heard me and she listened.  This weekend Mom, Abbie, Maggie, & our friend Darby went to 3rd Sunday Market - I stayed home.  Mom wanted to buy me a gift since I stayed home.

Maggie looked all day for a cog for me.  Then she spotted it, a table where the top was a highly varnished wooden cog.  It was seriously ugly in its current state.

The guy said he wanted $20 for it - SOLD!

I was stoked!

I sanded the varnish off where I could, primed it, painted it layers of colors, and sanded it a ton.

Oh yes - I am in LOVE with my giant cog!

I realized I haven't blogged my house in months - probably close to a year even!  Life has changed, but for those of you that were here to crush on my home - it's still evolving - I just like to take pictures of the babes instead & they are funnier. 

Example - tonight Everett asked Maggie to show him her belly.  She did and then he asked if her pee pee was inside or outside.  After MUCH confusion - we realized he meant the word belly button - not pee pee - makes a lot more sense with the proper word!



Please remember to keep Mason in your prayers - OHS tomorrow.

Prayers for Mason

This coming Thursday, September 22nd, Mason will be having his open heart surgery to correct his AVSD

Please pray for him, his family, and his medical team as they go through this journey.

You can check into his mother's blog for updates & to leave encouraging words and prayers.  I know she would greatly appreciate it :)

Artist

My little picasso has filled this notebook cover to cover with her own artwork of her favorite things...

That's right, "aminals".  Mainly her kitties. 

There is one picture of our family, I am a giant, Jade is as small as Everett...hmmmm

Get Fit

I am putting together a BEACHBODY CHALLENGE group of 5 people.  I am only taking those who are willing to COMMITT & get SERIOUS about taking their life back & EARNING the body they want to ACHIEVE. 

You need to sign up by Sept 21st & we begin Oct 3rd. I will help you with eating, accountability, etc.

 We will also have a group support page on Facebook.  The programs will be: Insanity, P90X, or TurboFire. 

So if you are ready to lose 5lbs or 50 bring it on!!  You can do anything you put your mind to.  E-mail me for more details!  housethatjadebuilt@gmail.com  Prizes are involved!!

Yee Haw

Ollie has one question

Do these boots make her knees look fat?

Sorry for the poor photo quality - she's hard to capture her fast moves with a cell phone!

Shark Tooth

She is a toothless wonder no more...

The bottom right tooth is now in - let the biting while nursing begin...

Prayer Request

Please pray for this little sweet pea.  Her name is Aseman.

She is having open heart surgery for the same heart defect that Miss Ollie Faith battled.

The difference is that Aseman lives in Iran.  The medical system isn't the same there.  Some doctors do not yet understand the beauty that the magical extra chromosome holds.

The surgery has a 50% chance of survival.  In the US at our hospital it is 99%. 

I know her parents are scared, but they are full of faith.  They have put Aseman into God's hands.  His plans are the best.

Please lift them up.  Thanks prayer warriors!!

Blueberry Eye

Yesterday Abbie & I took the kids to lunch at Wendy's.

Ollie drew in the paparazzi like flies - she always does.

As these two old ladies are enamored with Ollie's grins she's charming them with, I notice one old lady has a serious cataract on her eye.  No big deal.

After they walk away Everett keeps talking about "THE blueberry eye".  I am totally confused.  I said, "What do you mean?  She has blue eyes?"

He responds, "No, she has a blue eye, and a blueberry eye."  OH MY GOSH he really said that.

So I tell Abbie remind me to tell you about blueberries in the car thinking he'd miss the statement - no he doesn't miss a beat.

He then yells, very loudly, "Abbie, look at that lady right there with the blueberry eye."  Oh dear is all I could think.

Then I no longer felt bad because the old ladies friend comes back over and asks Abbie if she is Ollie's grandmother - ha larious considering Abbie is 3 years YOUNGER than me!

Sing a little song to me...

Everytime this little girl cries, big brother or sister are right up in her grill singing...



You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy, when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take, my Ollie Faith away

They are sweet and she adores them as much as they adore her.

TurboFire

Boom I got your boyfriend, I got your man.

That is a song on TurboFire & now Ollie thinks it is her personal lullaby - hilarious - yes!

I dare you if you see us in public to sing it to her & boom - you will get the million dollar grin from her!

Beachbody

Well friends I've been working out for about 2 months now so I thought I should update on my progress.

I have officially lost 11 pounds! 

I am excited!  11 pounds in 2 months is a lot. 

So what are my goals? 

Well I'd like to lose 12 more pounds!!  I also want to start a FREE once a week fitness club in Shelbyville.  Why?  Well because I need the accountability.  If I have friends that know I'm working out it pushes me to continue.  I don't want to show up once a week and then be embarassed that I didn't work out the rest of the week.  So it pushes me to workout daily.  Also, because I'm a stay at home Mom.  I don't have the extra cash for a gym membership so working out in my house makes sense.  Free is always good for me :)

I am officially a beachbody coach now.  I love the programs, I love Shakeology, and I get a 25% discount now because I coach.  So it was a no brainer.  It is another way for me to stay accountable & I get to help my friends when they want to know how to transform their bodies.  I have been loving it!

It's a one day at a time process to get healthy.  Unfortunately there isn't a magic pill, it's all hard work when you do push play & then eating healthy the rest of the time.  I finally feel like I have this under control and my last pictures I snapped showed me amazing results as did the scale. 

I am so excited to see where I am in 2 more months!  I am hoping by Christmas that I need all new clothes!

If anyone is interested in any beachbody program or Shakeology - message me on facebook or housethatjadebuilt@gmail.com - I would LOVE to help :)

The Future

One of the scariest things for me is our future regarding Ollie.

Not the typical fears that others immediately think of like never having an empty nest...

in all honesty I think it's easier for me to imagine her living with us forever.

School scares me.  At age 3 she ages out of Early Intervention where she gets therapy now, in our home, with me watching and learning.  When she goes to school it's out of my hands, and kids aren't always nice.  Thank the good lord for Aubrie, Everett, Caroline & Penelope to ensure kids are nice to Ollie Faith.  I get so mad when it's on TV.  I've been bombarded so much lately with uneducated people tossing around the word retarded like it's some hilarious joke, but if it happens to my sweet girl, I can't even imagine.

Another fear is boys.  That's right I said boys.  The thought of her having a boyfriend, although I have a few cuties picked out for her, scares the crap out of me.  And marriage - oh dear - marriage let's not even go there.  And let's face it, Ollie Faith is a charmer - what boy could turn her down??

Living on her own - ugh - I think I'd rather her live with me or in a house right down the road too.

And the worst part, the high rate of Alzheimer's and the shorter life span. 

It's so far away, and so very scary to think about if I allow it.

So I push myself into a positive mindset & move on.  She is only 6 months old, so why fret over something that is unknown.

I'm focusing on eating up her smile every day, letting her know how loved she is, and working on her therapy.  She's having a blast now that she's healthy & I'm having a blast with her.

I never would have dreamed how fabulous she would be, but now that she's here I can't imagine her any other way!  She's a rock star!

And since I'm totally random all the time, just an FYI - I am totally looking forward to October - Down Syndrome Awareness month - and blogging daily about Down Syndrome.  Last year that month was a hard month & blogs lifted us out of the dirt, shook us off, and gave us a firm kick in the butt that everything was going to be perfect.  So many mamas, so many blogs, fabulous pictures of adorable kids, so much good information - eek I'm excited to take part this year!!