Ties That Bind, Connections In The Down Syndrome Community

There is this great group for Down Syndrome children and their families:

http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com/

The originator, CJ, made an afghan and has her afghan travel among families along with a journal. The afghan stays with the family for a week during which time they journal and take pictures. CJ later puts the pictures to music in a video montage. What a wonderful service she is providing for all of our families! Thanks CJ!

I learned about the T21 Traveling Afghan Project from my great friend Michelle Moorhead. Michelle had lived here in Southeast Idaho when I first met her over 3 years ago. Michelle and I met at a La Leche breastfeeding group at the Pocatello, Idaho library. Her son was a little older than my son, so it was nice to have her as a mentor.

I called Michelle early in 2009 to say "Hi". She had told me she had a new daughter, and I told her I had a new daughter born over a year ago. When I found out that her baby was about 6 months old I asked, "She must be sitting up and trying to crawl around?" Michelle said, "Well, Cayleigh will do things a little slower than most babies." My heart leapt out of my body. I was so excited that her Cayleigh might be blessed just like my MaKenna with Down Syndrome. Michelle confirmed it by saying, "Cayleigh was born with Down Syndrome." I've never been so excited in my life! I felt so lucky to be able to bond with Michelle in more ways than I had before. Both of us hadn't known that our daughters were born, or that they were both born with Down syndrome until that telephone call.

Michelle and I introduced our new daughters to each other this month in Pocatello. Michelle and her husband Jim visited the area and stopped by a local park to let the kids play. We had such a wonderful time. Here is a picture of our daughters together at the park (MaKenna and Maria Neumann, Cayleigh and Michelle Moorhead):

And here is a photo with our sons too (Zane Neumann and Collin Moorhead):

This is a video of Cayleigh and MaKenna playing:

I am so grateful that Michelle let me know about the T21 Traveling Afghan Project. When I heard about the blog contest, my mind went to one very special girl that I know.

To introduce the special girl, I want to tell everyone about our fun trip to the Idaho Falls Chukars Baseball game! We went the night of Friday, July 31, 2009. We invited the Down Syndrome support group that we have here in Pocatello, Idaho. One other family was able to join us.

We had a great time with the other Down Syndrome support group family. Our kids all are about the same ages. Here is their family: Kristine (mom), Jaren (5 years old) and Megan (2 years old):

My 4 year old son Zane and 5 year old Jaren got along great. Jaren had never had cotton candy before, but once he saw all of the pretty colors, he wanted to try some. Good thing Zane didn't buy any cotton candy that night! Jaren fed Zane and my daughter MaKenna most of his cotton candy because it was too sweet for him.

Here is a picture of very special girl Megan and my daughter MaKenna:

Megan, the very special girl, was so content watching the other kids. When Megan was born, her father was battling cancer. He has since passed away, so that makes my heart reach out to Megan and her family even more. Megan also isn't eating much food yet. She is fed through a tube. She is a wonderful girl and has such a huge heart.

If this post wins for the afghan, I want to present the afghan to Megan. She has been through a lot in her short life and she is such an inspiration to me. Thank you for this opportunity CJ and Sonia. What a blessing you both are!