Buddy Walk 2010

Sunday was our Buddy Walk.  This was the 4th one that we have attended.  I still remember vividly the first one we went to and how overcome I was with emotion - just seeing so many people who either had Down syndrome or loved someone that did.  This year I was excited about attending for a couple of reasons.  The first is that it is just a fun event (though it doesn't last long enough for *me*).  The second is that for the first time Reece's Rainbow was going to have a table at the event.  I offered to help and then was delighted to learn that in addition to some other wonderful local gals, that Andrea Roberts, the founder of RR, was going to be there too with her son Reece!



It was a blessing to talk with Andrea - just briefly - and hear words that were an encouragement to my heart.  This is an amazing woman!  She has a son with Down syndrome and God  placed on her heart a burden for orphans with Ds.  She started a ministry that has to date blessed hundreds of families and children!  If you have never been to this site, please take a few minutes to go there.  It will bless you!

We spent time handing out flyers and telling people about the ministry.  Rebecca, Isaiah and Eliana were wonderful helpers, walking around the event handing out flyers.  If you would like more information on how you can get involved with Reece's Rainbow, please visit the website or feel free to ask and I'll help as best I can.  There are so many beautiful children who need your help.  Please consider it!



It was fun to meet Kristin, Nikki, Jenn and Kristen there too!  People that I've known through emails or posts that I finally got to hug and get to know a little bit. 

We ate lunch and then hung around.  There were games to play and free ice cream.  We all enjoyed that.



I think I can guess who enjoyed it the most though.



Little Miss Independent in search of her own fun.  I'm so not used to a child that will just wander off as most of the rest of mine have been "leg-clingers".  LOL



She does manage to find fun wherever she goes - and sometimes in the most unlikely of places.



Towards the end of the event, it was time for the walk.  We were blessed to have our sweet friends join us again this year!  It is a short walk around the park and as a whole it moves at a pretty leisurely pace. 



Eliana had to be encouraged to walk. 



She finally got tired of it all and just layed down on the walk.



We enticed her to go a little further as we knew she would love seeing this ...



She has always loved seeing herself on these signs.



I was excited to get a picture of all of the children!



The day was hot - and yet still a lot of fun!  What a lot of work countless volunteers put in to make this event the wonderful one that it is!  It was also fun to meet another local mom that recognized me from here.  :-)  (Please send me your blog link as I'd love to visit you too!!!)  Eliana had a great time - and that is really what it is all about.



One last fun thing.  You may remember me talking about a photo shoot that Eliana was a part of in June.  Well, the calendar is out and Eliana is in it!  I pre-ordered one and when I went to pick it up, the gal there said, "when you see it, you'll want more".  She was right and we bought more for gifts.  (If you think you might want one, let me know and I'll post info for you.)  Here's a peek though at the month of August. 





The calendar is beautiful.  It can't help but be though with so many precious faces.  If you would like one for yourself, you can get it here.  It will be fun one to look at through the coming year.  And to say good-bye, here is my sweet girl blowing you a kiss!



Blessings

Leslie

Fun, Fashion and Frugality

Last month marked our biannual trip to the consignment sale.  Rebecca loves coming with me and I really enjoy both her company and her help.  Shopping for multiple children is a challenge and this year we shopped for a few extra little girls.  :-) 

I end up buying more things at the sale when I take Rebecca - and that is probably a good and fun thing.  One example - shoes!  I'm happy with just a casual and dress pair.  I would not have come home with 6 pairs - but for a couple of dollars each for almost new shoes, I don't mind.  (One pair of boots is not in the picture below if you are counting.  They are on the little model if you scroll down farther though.)

We also bought for the boys, but they didn't need as many things this year.  (I hope I don't find mid-season that I've estimated their needs incorrectly!)  Since we pass a lot of things down, we get a lot of wear from our boy's clothes.



Eliana doesn't have many hand-me downs.  (And to be honest it is soooo much fun to shop for a little girl!)



Part of the fun of new clothes is trying them on, right?  Eliana happily obliges her big sister's desire to see how it looks.  I think they are both having a blast!





Some of her outfits look cute from the back and now she often shows us the back of each one.  LOL



And check out my new boots!





Eliana is fascinated with the camera.  It's probably no surprise given the number of photos we take.  It is cute to see her hold up the camera and make a clicking noise with her mouth when she wants to "take pictures'. 





Another area in which things were bought due to shopping with a big sister ... costumes.  "She needs more dress up clothes because we mostly have boy dress up clothes!"  It's true, though perhaps we made a dent in that.

A butterfly





A pirate.  (Only a little girl with big brothers!)



A really cute tutu and some hair accessories (hard to see in this picture).







I know I talk of Eliana often and partly it is because I want to advocate for people with Down syndrome.  It is much misunderstood.  I have to believe that is why more than 90% of pregnancies of babies with Down syndrome in our county are terminated.  That just hurts my heart.  People don't know what a joy it is to have a child with Down syndrome (Ds).  I want to spread the message.  I want  people to see the joy, laughter and delight that is a part of our life due to having a sweet girl who happens to have Ds.  I pray that perhaps people might make different choices if they knew that Ds is not an awful thing - but perhaps just a different thing than you expected which is also going to bring you joy!  I hope that a peek into our lives might just change some perceptions and hearts about what it is like to live with Down syndrome.  For our family - it is a huge blessing that is much enjoyed every day!

Blessings

Leslie

Fun Friday - A trip to an Apple Orchard

We went on a spontaneous (kind of) field trip today.  I've been wanting to go to an apple orchard and recently heard of one that was relatively close by (one hour away).  I called to find out how long the season was going to be and heard that our best time to come would be today.  So, with just one day to plan, I mentioned it at the park after our field trip yesterday.  There were 5 other families wanting to do this too!  What fun!  (Lots of pictures to show for our day too!)

We left early this morning to drive to



It was an absolutely gorgeous day!  While waiting for our tour to start, Christopher was playing with the settings on my camera.  (I need to do that more often!)  I thought these pictures were a lot of fun!



Running around and playing in the tire swing was a fun way to start our field trip.





A picture of our group at the start of the morning.



Our "tour" lasted for about 1.5 hours.  We started outside by learning about a few varieties of apples.  We sampled 3 different types - Fuji, Granny Smith and Pink Lady.  We then voted on which we liked the best.  Pink Lady was the winner.  (It was so delicious!)

We then moved inside to learn about the machine that they used to clean the apples.



First they were washed.



Next they were sorted based on size.  The smaller apples were taken out and used for cider or baking.  Then they were polished using rags.



We saw the outside/starting point of the cider making machine.  A conveyor belt carries the apples up to another belt which has one on top and another on the bottom.  It gets tighter and tighter squeezing the juice from the apples.



We then moved outside to make some cider.  We learned the difference between apple juice and cider.  Apple juice uses any apples and in any mixture.  It is heated and pasteurized.  Cider is made using specific apples for a unique taste.  The children used a machine to help chop the apples.



While they were being chopped, we could see some cider being collected in the container below - but not too much.





After everyone had a turn, they pressed the apples.  Wow, what a difference.  Lots of yummy cider to be shared.  It was really delicious!





The last stop on our tour was a hayride.  What fun!  The wagon was just the right size for our group too!





A peek at the person usually behind the camera - me with a couple of my dear friends.



We rode through the orchard and into the woods.  We finally stopped at a small field with small pumpkins.  Everyone got out to choose a pumpkin.  I loved watching Eliana do this!



The group with their pumpkins.



When we finished, it was lunch time.  There were plenty of picnic tables in the shade of the trees for us to use while we enjoyed our lunch.  The final activity was to go and pick apples.



There were two types available to pick today - Fuji and Pink Lady.  We went to pick the Pink Ladies first.  The trees are dwarf trees which are small and easy to pick from.



We are just getting started.



This one didn't seem to get that we wanted to keep them IN the basket!  She did have fun though!  I have to say it - this sweet little face just makes me smile!



The Fuji trees were larger and the abundance was at the top of the trees!





We came home with a bushel of apples!  I'm not sure what I'll do with all of them.  If you have ideas or suggestions for how to put them up, I'd love to hear it!

If you live in the area, this was a great outing!  I know we'll be going back again.  If you want apples, you can just go to pick apples and not do the tour.  There is also a small store which sells cakes, pies, pottery and even cider slushies.  Today was just a delightful day!  It made me think that I need to have more days like this.  We had a fun outing last Friday with just our family (I'll post it soon).  Maybe this can be something new - Fun Fridays.  It won't happen every week, but hopefully more often if I'm planful!  Hope you had a fun Friday too!

Blessings

Leslie

PS  No Rebecca in the photos because she wasn't with us.  It was really odd not having her too!  We all missed her.  She was off today having a fun outing with her Daddy.