Camp PALS

My Katrina is a head couselor and my Greta is a couselor at Camp PALS and Miss Emma Sage is a camp MASCOT!!!!!

If you have a teenager or young adult with Down syndrome, we highly recommend the Camp PALS experience. Emma Sage is counting down the years till she can be an 'offical' camper. We are hoping that she has the opportunity again this year to spend the night and 'pretend' to be a camper.

How Now Brown Cow.....

There is nothing more precious than a baby......especially a baby cow. This little one just wanted to be nuzzled and loved. Emma Sage just loves baby cows.

Emma Sage's Art

An abstract..........she loves to make shapes and designs.

I think is lovely....what do you think?

Beth's Sunrise......

This was a moment of the sunrise that I witnessed the morning my cousin Beth left her earthly bounds.

I love to watch the sunrise.......because I am usually up before it and get to marvel at the splendor of it....from the beginning sounds of the wildlife that is also anticipating its arrival, to the incredible colors that only last a short while, swirling and changing as the brilliance of the sun finally pushes through.

My cousin Beth spent the last few weeks of her life at a Hospice Hospital right on the Long Island Sound....with a great big window that overlooked the water and the perfect view of the sunrising in the east.

The sunrise was a connection that the two of us could both witness and feel, and then share our thoughts together later in the day, via her Caringbridge site.

So, on Wednesday morning, while I was out walking one of the dogs and gathering kindling.....this was the view that unfolded in front of me. I had to capture this one on film. [I don't always carry my camera with me, especially in the cold, icy weather, as I don't want to slip and break it] but this morning I had a feeling it was going to be a beautiful one.

Around 8 a.m. that same morning the phone rang..........it was my cousin Fred [the man with my cousin Beth in the photograph below] to tell me that Beth had left her earthly bounds at 5:48 a.m. that morning......about 10 minutes before the sunrise.

So, see this sunrise for what it is.........a beautiful reminder that life is very precious.

The Power.....

of the Internet to me, is this incredible ability we have to share, with ourselves, others, the world ~ thoughts, feelings, ideas, emotions.

One of my favorite bloggers shared a piece called 'Turn the Lens Around' and shared the video below......she found the video on the site of another of my favorite bloggers in her piece,'Outside the Box' ......who found the video because of another of my favorite bloggers. and so it goes...isn't the internet incredible.

If you have been a visitor of Emma Sage for a while, you might see a theme that has been a driving force for me in writting this blog and sharing our life with our daughter with others.

In my daugther I see................beauty, grace, faith, hope, joy, laughter, strength and even weakness. In my daughter I see HUMANITY.

Emma Sage and I went for a quiet walk in the snow last night, just as the day was ending........it was that beautiful kind of snow that blankets the earth, clinging to every branch and limb.....softening the sounds of the world.

I was walking to reflect on a passing in my life. My dear cousin Beth, who I have posted about before in the blog, gained her wings this morning, just as the Dawn was breaking. So, what could be more fitting than a quiet walk at Dusk to say 'Good-bye'.

Emma Sage delighted in the snow.........so I must share a few images I took while we walked and talked about life.







Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow, Filling the sky and earth below, Over the housetops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet. Dancing, Flirting, Skimming along. Author: J.W. (Joseph Warren) Watson

So Emma Sage's comment got me thinking today....

She knows she has 'Down syndrome'.....she has friends with Down syndrome.....but this comment cracked me up and made me realize that she truly does not see 'Down syndrome' as 'limiting'

Abbie [who also has Down syndrome] and Emma Sage were having snack after school and were watching the Disney channel while they ate home-made nachos and salsa.

On comes a clip about a 'kid doing their thing' and it is about a young girl who has volunteered her time to help children with special needs play sports. My thought that it is like the 'challenger league' not Special Olympics type volunteering. Towards the end of the segment, which has shown this girl who is about Abbie's age [13] helping different children at T-ball, soccer, basketball, the young girls says how much she has gained from this experience and when she grows up she wants to teach students with special needs.

Emma Sage pipes up and says "Hey me too, when I grow up I want to teach children with Special needs!"

I started to crack up at how funny that comment actually sounded, because I truly don't think Emma Sage thinks she is a child with special needs.

So I say to her, "You want to be a teacher like Ms. Weiss is?" [she is the special ed teacher in Emma Sage's co-teaching classroom'] and Emma Sage says: "No, we don't have any special needs kids in my class"

How wonderful is this........the kid at this point does not think that there are any special needs kids in her class ~ all she see's are peers. I hope she maintains this sense of self for a long, long time.

and I do believe if she puts her mind to it, she WILL be a teacher for students with special needs someday, if that is what she truly wants to do.

"You cannot perceive beauty, but with a serene mind." - ~Henry David Thoreau

"We can all be angels to one another.
We can choose to obey the still
small stirring within,
the little whisper that says,
Go. Ask. Reach out.
Be an answer to someone's plea.
You have a part to play.
Have faith.......'
We can decide to risk that He is indeed there,
watching, caring, cherishing us as we love
and accept love.
The world will be a better place for it.
And wherever they are, the angels will dance."
-Joan Wester Anderson
Used with permission from the author Joan Wester Anderson
from her website ~ Inspirational Stories Thank you!

Her Note.....

This child is just too funny. She loves to read and write [what a glorious thing] and she has been into writing 'notes' lately.....I find them everywhere.

This is what I found today...do you think she is feeling better? [she has had a stomach bug and hasn't really kept food down, and I've not been out to the store, so we are running out of basicis.....I guess she figured she'd leave me a note so I didn't forget we need food.



Now bless her little soul....the soda is really for her Momma, as I love Fresca, and we've been out for a few days, so I've been drinking way too much coffee!

The cool thing is that she is really getting good at spelling. A month or so ago, 'Ice Cream' was spelt 'Ice Creem' so she is really learning lots!!!!

Thanks for sharing in my joy!!!!! These notes truly tickle me pink!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Emma Sage so enjoyed my cousin's babyshower......as we all did, as it was a precious time with family and friends and the anticipation of a new little soul on our family tree.

Generations.......my children and Mamie. We stopped to visit Mamie on our way to Florida to take Katrina back to college this past August. I can't believe it is coming up on six months since the last time we saw Katrina. Thank goodness for cell phones and the ability to call free.....as we talk daily [and most times 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 times a day]

Sadly, we won't be seeing Katrina until she comes home to volunteer for Camp PALS in June. Yikes, I can't believe it is still so far away.

There are times when I feel like my heart will burst.....from such joy! This was one of those times, as Emma Sage was just in heaven at this wedding as was I, as we were all together as a family. With Katrina away at college and not seeing her for so many months, I was looking back at this moment and treasuring the precious time we had together.

Our friends over at Daniel Drinker posted about this series from Australia that is being picked up by HBO called, Summer Heights High. I am looking forward to watching the series. Thanks Dan and clan!!!!

Wordless Wednesday......

Wordless Wednesday

To be with this child is such a joy.......we were outside on the pond when I took this, and she was captivated by the snow on the ice, when I took this shot. She had just brushed the snow off the frozen pond and could see how thick the ice was and the leaves underneath......

"Peace is always beautiful" ~ Walt Witman

"Peace is always beautiful." ~Walt Whitman

Quiet Reflection.....

I have been spending the last few weeks in quiet reflection.....hibernating in a way, cocooned ~ surrounded by everything precious and familiar to me. I have been cherishing this 'alone' time.....listening to beautiful music, reading, baking and cooking warm nourishing food ~ watching the wonder of nature, as we have had beautiful snow falls that keep my scenery blanketed in white, giving a perfect backdrop for birds to come to my feeders and my children to squeal in delight sleigh riding and ice skating.

We have had some unsettling news [and I know so many in our great nation are experiencing the same feelings in this shaky economy] and I have been searching deep ~ re-examining my comfort zone and praying that Rick finds a job in his industry soon.

During this time, my dear cousin Beth has been battling a beast ~ and all through her fight, her spirit and resolve have given me strength and clarity. She recently shared with me an essay she wrote about her 'Easter Basket' and how, even through 38 moves in her lifetime [yes, you read that right - 38 moves] this basket found its way with her in each move.....a basket that held memories more valuable than any materialistic object could hold. It had a resounding effect on me, as so many thoughts, scenarios and "what-ifs" have been racing through my head, but after reading this essay and learning about Beth's life journey in greater detail has made me realize that change and uncertainty are fine - as it is just part of the ebb and flow of our lives and that we need to feel and experience all of our emotions....but what is most important is how we ultimately respond to these emotions.

So while hibernating this winter - I have realized the core truths of myself - that I need very little - that I have the world in my children, husband, family and friends - that if I must change where I live - where I work - it is just an external change, it does not change who I am, it only strengthens me.

While I've been quietly reflecting......my little imp has been busy celebrating her life. This child is truly the most incredible little thing I have ever known.....as she has this way about her that just sparkles and puts everything into perspective.

A sweet comment from her: At Christmas we traveled to my brother and sister-in-laws upstate New York. At dinner, she was telling friends gathered at the table about herself.....she told them she is in First grade, that she models, she swims and that she is a 'Cupcake!!!'......laughing, I realized she meant to say 'Brownie' Girl Scout.

That is my little girl.....she is the sweetest 'Cupcake' around!

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that ex perience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland

Emma Sage and I [and our whole family] are wishing you and yours a Glorious and Blessed 2009. May your year be filled with Wonder, Magic, Faith, Joy, Health, Love, Friendship and Family.

Happy Birthday.......

Sweet brother.


Today you would have been 44 years old.......Emma Sage made you cupcakes and we sang to you. She is just so precious and I know that you were there smiling down at her joy as she celebrated the day you were born.

We miss you..........Rest in Peace.