Jingle, Jangle, Ring-a-ding-ding! Ring-a-ding-dang! The Salvation Army Bell Ringer was merrily ringing with all his might. “Mommy, I need money! I need money!” Bethany bounced up and down as she chanted. Digging in my purse, I scrounged all the change I could find. Her excitement grew with each step. Plunk! Plunk! Plunkity plunk! “Mer-ry Christ-mas!” Bethany […]
Christian family, Christmas, Fear Not, God of Grace, joyful journey, special needs parenting
“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV The world! God- loved- the – WORLD. I get excited when I think about how wunderbar beyond understanding His love is! When I check my […]
Chris Tomlin, Christmas, encouragement, eternity, God loved the world, good news for all people, good news of great joy, inspiration, Jesus, John 3:16, Joy to the whole world, Joy to the World, salvation, world
Alas, flu has come to visit our home & I hope and pray it doesn’t visit everyone! Last night, Moriah and Bethie boo were up -vomiting & I’ll spare you all the other gory details…. But even as I held heads and prayed, I was contemplating my Christmas wish. On the other side of the […]
adoption, eternity, family, inspiration, life between the trees, living between the trees, love, orphan, Reece's Rainbow, Saige, treasure
To say the holidays can be depressing & lonely is an understatement! Hearts ache with family far from each other, the economic challenges, divorce demanding children’s alternating visits, loved ones in heaven….the list can go on and on. BUT we still have so much to be thankful for! No matter how difficult our life is, […]
Lights low, snuggling on the couch, popcorn & drinks in hand, Jeff & I were riveted to- Mission Impossible 4 ~ Ghost Protocol! I guess my life is so boring (LOL) that I need to watch high adrenaline, fast paced, exciting movies just to spice it up a bit. 
I love the thrill of […]
I actually had someone ask me the other day, “How’s your downs girl?” My downs girl?! MY DOWNS GIRL?!!!! I looked at them in stunned silence? Seriously, if you can’t remember her name, don’t ask- please! “Do you mean my DAUGHTER, Bethany?” They had the wisdom to look embarrassed. I don’t see downs syndrome, […]
Bethany, child of God, disabilities, downs syndrome, fallen world, identity, Jesus, labels, perspective, prayer, satan is a liar, special needs, treasure
Before “special needs” made its grand entrance into our lives, I walked in ignorant bliss, unaware of hidden treasure. “Special” Needs – the gift that no one asks for …… [Tweet “Sometimes the most #precious #gifts were never desired in the first place. #downsyndrome #treasure”] c When Bethany was born and the genetic testing came […]
Bethany, Christian family, down syndrome, God of Grace, joyful journey, special needs parenting, treasure
[Tweet “Our #children need to #know- the #God of angel armies is their #friend. #GodIs4U #Godslove”] There is no better way to start a Monday of home schooling, than snuggling on the couch with Cohen and Bethany! Blanket √ Stack of books√ hot chocolate √√ First on our agenda: The Message Bible for Kids. […]
army of angels, Christian family, Cohen, God is my friend, God of Grace, home schooling, joy in the journey, special needs parent, treasure
If you’ve never heard, read, or seen Joni’s story (yes, there’s even a movie about her amazing life ) you need to get to know this phenomenal woman and her faith in God! Talk about Eternal Perspective!!!! Click to visit http://www.joniandfriends.org/ Ask yourself: What if you suddenly lost your mobility? What if you […]
[Tweet “Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his #holy temple; He observes everyone on earth; His eyes examine them.”] I love teaching Bethany homonyms. Homonyms are words that sound the same but they’re spelled differently and have different meanings. They’re fun, but can make English difficult to learn! I’ve also come to the conclusion, there’s […]
Christian family, God of Grace, holy, joy in the journey, prayer, special needs parenting, transformation
preface- I’m thrilled and overjoyed to announce the engagement of our daughter Sarah, to Keith! I loved the way Keith posted on FB- “I just asked the most wonderful woman in the world to marry me, and she said, YES!” Is there anything more glorious? God has asked us the same question! [Tweet “God is […]
encouragement, engagement, eternity, Keith, life between the trees, marriage, Sarah, transformation, treasure, Wedding, Wedding Supper of the Lamb
[box] RAM- 1)Random Access Memory-RAM in the computer is like short-term memory in our brain. The hard disk in our computer is comparable to our long term memory. [/box] We all deal with “limits” in our human brain! I know I have days where I feel “brain fog” or “brain dead”. I go into a […]
Bethany, disabilities, downs syndrome, encouragement, limitations, perseverence, perspective, RAM
Way back when (gosh that makes me sound old LOL) I loved playing my records (Mary Poppins, Sound of Music, Jungle Book- then later, Donny Osmond & The Partridge Family) on my very own record player. I would carefully lift the “arm” that held the needle and place it gently so as not to scratch the grooves in the record. Scratches […]
Bethany, brain, downs syndrome, glitches, limitations, overcoming, perspective, phonograph needle, special needs
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book Psalm 56:8 God knows I must have a ginormous bottle and I’m fairly certain you do too. Sometimes, my “life between the trees” journey feels like someone unexpectedly pushed me off a […]
Bethany, Christian family, down syndrome, God of Grace, joyful journey, special needs parenting, tears
Do you love me? We show our love in millions of miniscule ways; hugs, flowers, a card, a phone call, small gifts, expensive gifts, silly gifts, thoughtful gifts, the gift of time, touch, a smile, sharing, encouraging, cheering, and certainly we should daily say the three little words that have the power to rock someone’s […]
Bethany, Christian family, down syndrome, God of Grace, joyful journey, special needs parenting