the blog

There are Sundays I would rather stay home in my pajamas. In those days I go to church because I want to support my husband, and because I feel like I have to. I usually enjoy going to church, it is a place of renewal, encouragement, and support. Nonetheless, there have been times in life …

“Mom, that’s the perfect speed, are you going slower for me?” Ellie calls from behind me as we are going on a bike ride. “No, this is the perfect speed for me too babes, this way we can be really careful when we cross the streets.” Ellie learned to ride her bike without training wheels …

“Wait! Nina wait!” I take off running after my daughter. “I said wait!” I can hear her giggles, and she has no intention to stop. On the contrary, she runs faster, so I also have to pick up my pace. We are attending a school field trip, and she stops running when she reaches her …

“I thought you said you lived in a small town.” “It is a small town.”  I replied “No, this is a city, right there on that sign it says there are over 400,000 people living here.” My husband Andy – then just my boyfriend – had traveled with us to Mexico to visit family. “Believe …

I watch intently as my grandma, Mami, sits on her vanity bench, carefully applying her makeup. She puckers up as she puts her lipstick on and it makes me giggle. With one hand she gently touches and fixes her curls while batting her eyes at her reflection in the mirror. She is beautiful, and I …

They glowered at me. They whispered. Some spat their disapproving words. Although I did not understand their language, I knew why they criticized me. Strapped to me with a long piece of frayed white cloth, my almost four-year-old daughter hung awkwardly on my body. She seemed too old to be carried, and my “baby wearing” …

I am a special needs mom and I am okay with that. Okay, let me rephrase, just to be clear: two of my kids have special needs, and I am okay with that. That is, until I see older kids with special needs and the growing up scares me.  Sometimes what I see grips my …

Sweat drenched my back under a heavy winter coat; a weighty and over-sized backpack hung on my back, a child was strapped on my front, and I tightly gripped a large suitcase. Amidst morning breath and a hint of coffee, a crowd of Ukrainians yelled furiously around me at the Lufthansa service-window where we all …

It is no secret that one of the biggest “woes” for parent’s of kids with special needs comes yearly in the form of an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). Often times, parents walk into an IEP meeting as if walking into a battle in which they are outnumbered. Parents vs. School (teachers, therapists, support staff, etc.) …

Dear Nichole, When you came into my life, your diagnosis of Down syndrome threatened to crush my heart. That tiny extra 21st chromosome seemed too powerful for me to stand up against. I cried constantly, and I feared our lives would be covered with limitations. I wanted to wake up and find that you were …