The Joy of Childhood

The Joy of Childhood

Down the dimpled green-sward dancing Bursts a flaxen-headed bevy, Bud-lipt boys and girls advancing Love's irregular little levy. Rows of liquid eyes in laughter, How they glimmer, how they quiver! Sparkling one another after, Like bright ripples on a river. Tipsy band of rubious faces, Flushed with joy's etheral spirit, Make your mocks and sly grimaces At Love's self, and do not fear it!

George Darley (1796-1846)

Visiting Nana.......we are blessed that the graveyard my Mother [and brother and nephew] are buried in is a mile up the Lane from our home. I have always gained such a sense of peace from graveyards and the children and I visit this one often. We sometimes like to walk through the oldest section and try to read the stones. Some of them are over 200 years old. We read their names and try to imagine their lives. It is also a great way to reinforce math skills and the children and quickly work out the math and find the age at which the person on the headstone was at the time of their death, based on the year of the birth and the year of their death.

This is Emma Sage and her cousin Rori visiting on the last day the 'Irish' were here before they headed back home. The easiness of these two reminded me of the beauty of childhood............and that life is truly precious.

"Do you love me because I am beautiful, or am I beautiful because you love me?" ~ Cinderella

Today was a bit difficult for me, as a few times I went to pick up the phone to call my Mother, only to be hit with the realization that is a daily habit of mine that can never happen again. So what better to do? Emma Sage and I headed up the lane to the graveyard and talked to Nana in person. While there, this sweet child of mine says 'Shhhh'.......and I stop to listen. The wind was blowing in the near-by trees and she turns to me and says "can you hear it?" and I ask "what do I hear" and she says "GOD"............and at that moment, the voice of GOD was carried in the wind through the trees for me.

Mom, I miss you dearly.

O lyric Love, half angel and half bird And all a wonder and a wild desire. (Robert Browning (1812-1889), British poet

While my days have moments of great, profound sadness.........life continues on and what joy, brilliant joy, this little girl of mine fills my day with.

Welcome to the World Sweet......

Welcome to the World Sweet......Gabriel Griffin.

Today, at 4:10 pm, my dear sister Patti and her husband Jim welcomed to their beautiful family a precious little boy.

The events of the last week have been an emotional rollercoaster. On Sunday, September 24, we ran the Griffin Patrick 5/10K in memory of the first anniversay of Griffin Patricks birth and very sad death.

On Tuesday, September 26, 2006 our beloved Mother passed from our world into heaven.

Family and friends arrived to pay tribute to an amazing and very much loved woman, our very special Mom.

I will write more about my Mothers wake and funeral at another time, but I wanted to share one very speical moment for me.

During the second visiting time, the line of family and friends coming to pay their respects was out into the street, I look off to the side and I see my dear friend Laura Quinn and her husband, Mark arriving to give me a hug. I met Laura online when I was pregnant with Emma Sage and we have been friends online for the last [almost 6 years]. Laura came to give me a hug...............a gesture that has to be one of the most beautiful things anyone has ever done for me. At that moment, the power of Down syndrome in my life was never more precious. A gift, truly a gift.

"Autumn.....asks that we prepare for the future ~ that we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go ~ to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness." ~B.W. Overstreet

In Celebration of the birth of Gabriel Griffin I share with you some images of his birthday!

I love you Patti & Jim!


Wearing the birthing necklace from her Running Momma friends


The beauty of labor

Welcome Sweet, Sweet Baby Boy.....our Mother's love filled the room with strength and peace.

Big sister Kelsy waiting to cut the cord

Mommy and Daddy marvaling at your newness.....

Oh, how precious......

Gabriel Griffin.......

Kelsy, Connor and Fiona meeting their new baby brother.


8lbs. 3ozs......of pure innocence and beauty.


This smile, this celebration was so needed by all of us. Mommy, we so wish you were here, and we know you are smiling down on us from heaven.

Auntie Betty, my Mothers sister who is over from Ireland........she looks so much like my Mother and her spirit is just as bright.

Phyllis Linehan Swanson, steadfast advocate for children


HIGH BRIDGE -- Phyllis Linehan Swanson, 64, of High Bridge died Tuesday (Sept. 26, 2006) at Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township.

She was born April 15, 1942, in Clodaugh, County Cork, Ireland. She was the daughter of the late Michael Linehan.

She and her husband, L. Kenneth Swanson Jr., were married 43 years, and were High Bridge residents for 32 years.

Phyllis arrived as a 17-year old in White Plains, N.Y., where she later married and gave birth to her first two children. She lived in Plainfield for nine years, where her third and fourth children were born. Through the years, she served as a leader and volunteer with many youth organizations, such as Rolling Hills and Watchung Mt. Girl Scouts, Plainfield and High Bridge Cub Scouts, North Hunterdon Little League, High Bridge Huskies and class trips chaperone.

Phyllis was a steadfast advocate for all children.

The linen department at Hunterdon Medical Center was fortunate to have her as its leader for 27 years. She was a true friend and loved by many.

Phyllis was a member of St. Joseph's Church in High Bridge.

Survivors in addition to her husband and mother, Mary Scully Linehan of County Cork, Ireland, include a son, Michael and wife, Victoria, of Kingwood; two daughters, Tara and husband, Rick Hintz of Lebanon Township, and Patti and husband, Jim Letko of Franklin Township; nine grandchildren, Katrina, Greta, Otto and Emma Sage Hintz, Kelsy, Connor and Fiona Letko, and Ronan and Rori Swanson (and another expected); three brothers, Michael in England and Tim and Gerard in Ireland; two sisters, Betty and Paula in Ireland; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was predeceased by a son, L. Kenneth III and grandson, Griffin Patrick Letko.

The funeral will be 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's Church, High Bridge. Interment will be in Lower Valley Cemetery, Califon. Calling hours will be 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Naughright-Scarponi Funeral Home, High Bridge.


My dear Mothers name is actually, Mary Philomenia [Linehan] Swanson, but everyone knew her as 'Phyllis' or 'Philly' or Mom or Nana...........she is deeply missed.

Emma Sage is missing her Nana. She understands that Nana has died and tells us that 'Angels carried her to heaven'. Emma Sage is also telling everyone "My Nana loves Me' over and over again,,,,,a fact that rings so true. My Mother loved children,,,,,,all children.

My Mum's family arrived a bit ago from Ireland and we are heading to my sisters to have dinner and put together photoboards, scrapbooks and a video slideshow for tomorrows calling hours and Saturday's Mass and funeral.

I am still in shock. My Mother was my dearest friend. I have a whole in my heart that is quite large, as my Mothers love for me and my love for her was great.

Please hug your children, call your parents, drop a note to a long lost friend......life is very precious and moments go fleeting by.

September 26, 2006

This post has been created at the request of Tara Marie,

who will be spending the evening in the close company of family

and dear friends. More details will be provided at a later time. ~Rebecca

May the road rise up
To meet you.
May the wind be always
At your back.
May the sun shine warm
Upon your face.
May the rain fall soft
Upon your field,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
~Celtic blessing, author unknown

On April 15, 1942 in Cork, Ireland, Mary Philomenia [Linehan] Swanson was born. This afternoon after a great struggle to survive after her recent surgery, her soul left this earthly place to be joined with the Lord.

Your positive thoughts and prayers for Tara Marie and her family are greatly appreciated.

Griffin Patrick ~ September 24, 2006

Griffin Patrick 5/10K Memorial Run



A year ago today, my dear sister's fouth child, Griffin Patrick entered our world quietly and still.

A year has passed,and as life changes and moves forward, today we stopped to pause and celebrate Griffin Patrick.

I created a video slide show as a way to share the images from our day.

Please click the button below to view the video.





We missed our own Mother dearly today. Nana is still in the hospital and having a rough time of it. If you could continue to keep her in thought and prayer, we would be so grateful. We miss you Nana.

New York City Buddy Walk Slide Show

Please click on the above little link to see a slide show of pictures from our amazing and wonderful day in New York City for the big Buddy Walk.

Down syndrome Awareness Month

October is National Down syndrome Awareness Month.

With many Buddy Walks being planned and positive press coverge, I happened to take a few minutes to myself this morning and looked at a few national Down syndrome websites. The one thing that I noticed is that the National Down syndrome Society has a new webpage......and thought if you haven't seen it yet, you might like to check it out.

National Down syndrome Society [click for link]

and if you are interested in attending a Buddy Walk in your area, you can visit the Buddy Walk website and use their search for a walk link to find a walk near you.

Our Local Buddy Walk will be held on Sunday, October 21, 2006 at Spruce Run Recreation Area at noon. Emma Sage would love it if you could come out and join her in this walk.

Prayers of Thanks

O MOST holy Angel of God, appointed by God to be my guardian, I give thee thanks for all the benefits which thou hast ever bestowed on me in body and soul. I praise and glorify thee that thou condescended to assist me with such patient fidelity, and to defend me against all the assaults of my enemy.Blessed be the hour in which thou were assigned me for my guardian, my defender and my patron. In acknowledgmentand return for all thy loving ministries to me, I offer thee the infinitely precious and noble Heart of Jesus, and firmly purpose to obey thee henceforward, and most faithfully to serve my God. Amen.

To all of our family and friends,

Thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers.

Nana is in recovery and by the Grace of God the surgeons were able to do what they needed to do at this point.

My heart has been on edge, but sitting her with Patti, Michael and my Dad, I know that all of our love, spirit and positive vibes, will continue to surround Nana as she recovers from this first step.

Thank you all for reaching out and sending your positive energy our way.............and thank you Guardian Angel for watching over my Mom.

Have a blessed and beautiful day.

The Elephant Song

The Elephant Song - Cool Tunes for Kids by Eric Herman

Today at 10:30 am if you could keep my dear Mother, and Emma Sage's beloved, Nana, in your thoughts and prayers for a very postive surgery.

I am sharing this amazing song/video, as Nana is the most amazing Mother and Grandmother and she would just adore this video...........One of the greatest lessons my Mother taught me as a child and helped guide me as a Mother to my own children is this:

"The Greatest Gift you can ever give a child, is Allowing them to be Children for as Long as Possible!"

We love you Nana!

"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more." ~ Jasmine Fitzwilliam

This is Emma Sage and her friend Emma Grace. The two met on a photoshoot for Toys R Us and became 'best' of friends after that short meeting. When they saw each other in Central Park at the 2006 New York City Buddy Walk this past Sunday they were just so excited to be together. I so wish we had more time to visit. Hopefully soon we can have a longer get-together.

I have many photographs and thoughts to share about our magical day in New York City, but alas it is late and there is still to many things that need to be done before this Momma can get to bed.

I just have to say that my heart and soul feel renewed after this gathering........

Emma Sage adores her brother......who is here catching in today's game.

Oh My, Oh My, Oh My......

Oh My Goodness.......you all have to click on this link to see the most adorable and magical image ever!!!!

Little Miss Magic in her first Prom Picture!

Happy Birthday Mamie....

Today is Emma Sage's great-grandmother [Mamie]'s 87th Birthday......she just got off the phone singing "Happy Birthday" and ended it with "I love you soooooo much!".

Here are five of Mamie's great-grandchildren [and she has one Great-great-grandchild too!]....there are a total of 3 children, 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grand children [and two on teh way, one in 2 weeks and one in 6 months] and one great-grandchild.

What a blessing to have so many little ones that love you dearly.

Happy Birthday Mamie, we love you soooooo much!

Wednesday's, Glorious Wednesday's

Wednesday is Emma Sage's most favorite day of the week......why? you ask?.........Well, Wednesday is the day she gets to put on her pink tights and little tutu skirts and dance, dance, dance!

Our first Dance Class was this past Wendesday. Emma Sage was beyond giddy and delight getting ready. She wanted her hair in her 'loo-hoo' as she calls it [You know, from Who-ville and that old Grinch], although those of us who experienced the phenomenon of watching the first release of Star Wars back in the 1970's will only think of Princess Leah when we see Little Miss' dance hair style.

Dance Class was a dream. The studio is wonderful and everyone there has been just fantastic on inclusion. The class is filled with 10 other little girls, all of the age of five, since it is a 5 to 7 year old class, but this session is held from 1 to 2 pm, so only Kindergarten [5's] attend this class. There are two other 5 to 7 year old sessions in the evening and weekends, so it will be fun to watch the recital this year [mark your calendar for June 16th].

I had a very pleasant conversation with one of the Mom's sitting next to me, who just beamed when she told me of her beloved cousin that has T21 [ah, someone who really gets it!!!]

We are not able to watch, but we could hear the music, the instructor and when it came time for 'TAP' 20 tap shoes tapping away!!!!

Here are a few pictures I was able to capture of the first day........

and I say 'Tried' to capture, because if you notice in every picture, this child would not stand still....and my digital is not good with movement [ah, someday soon I hope my dream of a digital SLR comes true so I don't have to have burry images of my little poetry in motion],,,,so look closely, in the above photograph look at her one foot [tapping way!!!]



I love this one of her with her little pinky stuck in her mouth as she takes a moment to 'reflect'

I love this one as I her face was so serious, but if you notice her hand, they were moving a mile a minute as well as her toes [which came out as blurrrss on the original crop of this image]

Ah,,,,,,,Wednesday's, Glorious Wednesday's!

Minnows and Butterflies Beware....

That is the title of a picture of Emma Sage that appears in our weekly newspaper, Hunterdon County Democrat, for Thursday, September 14, 2006. on Page C-5


Minnows and Butterflies Beware. When Emma Sage Hintz, 5, of Lebanon Township finishes her mango ice from Rita's, that net is going into action. Her hunting ground is at the edge of Spruce Run Reservoir off Van Syckels Road.

My little sweet girl just doing her job of raising awareness of difference in a very subtle way.

Too cute, don't you think?!?

Little Man.....

If you have not yet seen this amazing documentary, I urge to do so.....as it is truly a powerful movie about life, love and the power of believing. Little Man

"Nicholas' smiles and joy show what all of us parents of kids with disabilities already know - why we keep believing in our children and trying to do everything for them that we can so that they may know joys and smiles, too." ~EP

and in our family, Emma Sage has a very special cousin who was also born a 'Little Lady' when Livija Diane entered our world when she was only 26weeks 3 days gestation....truly one of God's littlest miracles.

I think one of the things that strikes me the hardest when watching this documentary and looking at sweet Livija Diane, is to know that at this same gestational timeframe, doctors are still allowing women to terminate a child with T21 [just because they are sporting that extra chromosome], when in fact, these two little miracles show us that their little lives, if born, even this early, can surrive and grow and prosper and bring forth such love and joy.

I just ordered the soundtrack as it as beautiful and powerful as the doctumentary is.

Pretty in Pink....

Today was Emma Sage's first dance class at her new dance studio........what a magical time she had. She adored the teacher and all her new friends, and it seems like they felt the same way about Little Miss.

I have many photos to upload and stories to tell, but I just don't know when I will get enough time to get any of it done.

One of my most favorite things to do is to share our life with Emma Sage on this blog and there just haven't been enough hours in my day for me to do that properly.....so here is just a tease until this Momma can sit down for a little bit of time and update life with Emma Sage.