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<\/a><\/p>\nFast forward one month. Sucker punched. Reality.\u00a0 No more pretending everything was ok.\u00a0 And then I’m pretty certain the world where I was standing opened up into a giant abyss and I had to decide whether I should jump in or not.<\/p>\n
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May 9, 2012<\/a><\/p>\n Brett and I recently learned that we are about to begin a new journey – as parents of a child with Down Syndrome. Baby Girl – we are so excited to meet you and welcome you into a family that will love you like no other<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So that’s how Sarah and I first met.\u00a0 We kind of had a rough start you could say.\u00a0 But I’d like to think the greatest stories are filled with ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs, times we are tested and fail and pick everything up and rise to the challenge.\u00a0 I spent the first months telling everyone who would listen that the baby I was pregnant with had Down syndrome, I have no idea why.\u00a0 Maybe it’s because that’s all I knew about her, and I let my imagination and fear fill in the rest.\u00a0 She was just a diagnosis. I imagined her needing me more than other children.\u00a0 I imagined her never being able to say I love you.\u00a0 I cried thinking we’d never go shopping for a prom dress, or a graduation cap and gown.\u00a0 Her Dad would never walk he down the aisle.\u00a0 Months passed, and on August 20th, my Sarah came bursting into the world ready to break every single preconception I (and a lot of the world) had.<\/p>\n Sarah is 2 and a half now.\u00a0 She is spirited and funny and\u00a0 total ham for the camera.\u00a0 She loves ketchup on everything, has just mastered the word “mine” and can sing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song.\u00a0 She knows what she wants and can communicate that to us.\u00a0 If she hears music playing she has to stop for\u00a0 dance break regardless of where we are at.\u00a0 She hugs and loves and cries and pouts.\u00a0 She throws 2 year old tantrums.\u00a0 She uses a potty. She feeds herself with a spoon.\u00a0 Sometimes I’m both proud and sad that she doesn’t always need me.\u00a0 She is everything I could ever want in a daughter and more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n GiGi’s Playhouse opened just 3 months after Sarah was born, and it is so much more than awesome programs.\u00a0 They are changing perceptions by showing the world everything individuals with Down syndrome can do when given the right tools and support.\u00a0 They are teaching the community that Sarah and her friends are more alike other children than different.\u00a0 They show the world there is beauty in differences.\u00a0 I read an alarming statistic just after Sarah was born – 9 out f 10 parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of\u00a0 Down syndrome would choose to terminate the pregnancy.\u00a0 I can’t imagine how different my world be if I chose to jump into that abyss.\u00a0 If I would have chosen a drastic solution simply out of ignorance and fear.\u00a0 A world with 9 more Sarah’s sounds like a place I want to live! GiGi’s Playhouse is part of a movement, one of inclusion and love, one that’s breaking down barriers by educating the world what being differently abled means.\u00a0 One where instead of being scared when receiving a prenatal diagnosis, parents are informed on all the wonderful places their lives are about to go.\u00a0 My life is perfect.\u00a0 Sarah is perfect.\u00a0 But the world around her isn’t always.\u00a0 GiGi’s Playhouse is helping to change that.\u00a0 Thank-you for being a part of that change. ”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thank you Becky! We sure do love all Miss Sarah brings to GiGi’s Playhouse and we are excited to see her grow into a beautiful woman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This Years Gala will feature Skip Clark from Wolf 105.1 as Emcee, The Mere Mortals will keep us dancing and Dr. Brian Skotko<\/a>\u00a0will share as our Key note speaker. Of course there will once again be outstanding\u00a0live & silent auctions. \u00a0An amazing…Disney Trip…raffle (yes you read that right!) and other fun prizes through out the evening.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n