Sarah's Surprise Coins for Katie Jar

I woke up this morning very late.  8:30, which is unheard of for me.  Our children never, ever permit me to wake that late, and I really don't like to.  I feel like I waste a lot of the day when I sleep late.  And I'm a morning person - I'm productive in the morning.  However, our next door neighbors had a car alarm that went off at 4:00 this morning.  And didn't stop until I called the police and they went next door and did the "cop knock" on the door to get them up. . . . So Christopher generously let me sleep in today.

After I woke up and did a few things (including loving on my muffins and getting some snuggles) I settled down with a cup of coffee to read some blogs.  (This, by the way, is one of my favorite things about the weekend!)  I have a list of regular suspects I read all the time.  Imagine my surprise when I clicked onto Sarah's blog and saw this:

You  must read Sarah's blog.  She was born on 8-9-89, and on her 21st birthday her parents opened a quilt store in Ohio where she and her family live.  Sarah works at the quilt store and makes quilts and pillowcases for children.  She is a huge Buckeyes fan.  She has two brothers.  She blogs, plays the piano and the drums.  She likes to sing and dance.  And she has Down syndrome.  

I think most people talk about what people with Down syndrome can't do.  Sarah's parents focused on what Sarah can do.  This is a lesson that people can stand to learn. . . If Chris and I parent our children - all of our children - by focusing on the things that they can do, rather than the things that they can't, I think we'll all be OK.  Sarah is a great inspiration for us on our journey to Katie.  We want Katie to feel loved, wanted, important, valued, and special.  But not special because she has "special needs".  Special because she is - she will be a special part of our family.  The only girl.  The child we have chosen.  The child we, and all of our friends and family, have worked so hard to bring home.  The child that complete strangers to us are working hard to bring home.  

Thank you Sarah.  Thank you for raising money to help us bring Katie home.  Thank you for loving these children from Reece's Rainbow that have been unloved for too long.  Thank you for your blog that I enjoy so much.  And thank you for being such a good role model for Katie, and for showing a lot of people that life isn't about what you cannot do, but about what you can.