inspire: a memo to my daughter

i've dreamt about ava all my life. i've imagined how she would look and how she would smell and how her tiny hands would fit into mine. i prayed she would be beautiful, i prayed she would be smart, but i never imagined the inexpressible love i would feel for her and the perfection that she is until she came. it would be impossible to; she exceeds every dream and every thought and every wish i ever had. to me, she is everything. 

the day after we found out we were pregnant, i started writing letters to her. i wrote to her about how she was growing and what effects she was having on my body. i wrote to her about how excited i was to meet her and how much i loved her and how much i wanted to raise her to be strong and powerful and smart and spiritual and beautiful. how much i wanted her to know that she is infinite and complete and capable of anything. 

i often times find myself looking at her big grey eyes or listening to her babble and i am amazed that i created her. that she grew in my body. that she will one day grow a tiny person in her body too. it's truly a miracle to me; a true sign that there is a God and that He loves me so much as to give me the most precious gift.  

i found this video the other day and it touched me deeply. ava was napping when i watched it and i thought of my sleeping baby and how this little three-minute segment embodies everything i want to teach her and everything i hope she believes about herself.  

that she is kind and smart and beautiful and funny and important and valued and respected and loved.  

that she is perfect in her own skin.  

and that she is a gift. a heaven-sent, impeccably-wrapped, designed by God himself, gift.

inspire: natalie falls

"hot tears rolled down my cheeks onto the top of elias' newborn head. i held him tight and didn't want to let him go, i felt an overwhelming amount of protection for him. my love and acceptance of him was not a question. but there was something else i was having a hard time accepting.

one of the first heartbreaking thoughts to enter my mind when i found out elias had down syndrome was that i wouldn't be able to have any more children. i assumed that he would take up most of my time, and it wouldn't be fair for my attention to be given to other children. i wanted what was best for him, but i was sad to think that my dream of having a big family was put to an abrupt stop.

i don't remember who it was. but i do remember feeling relieved when someone told me that the best thing for elias would be family. they said, "the more interaction and love, the better!"

and they were right. elias has fallen in love with his big brother and wants to be just like him. and he can't go five minutes without noticing that pia needs a kiss and to be told where her eyes are.

i have learned something very important about elias. he doesn't want our life to be any different because of him, he just wants to be a part of it. he wants to be loved. he wants to enjoy life and the people in it.

sure, elias has down syndrome, but things really aren't as different as i thought they would be. 

and for you, as you peer from the outside looking in...just remember, people like elias just want to be loved and accepted. they enjoy life just as much as you!"

follow natalie here. 

inspire: lindsay dickerson

"the beautiful moment wesley was placed on my chest for the first time, we were in awe of his perfection. i will never forget that feeling. he was everything we hoped for and more. we were beyond in love. we sat in disbelief that our sweet son was finally here and our hearts grew by leaps and bounds. about ten minutes later, my midwife showed me his left hand was missing two fingers. we still saw him as the perfect baby he was, but i would be lying if i said it didn't change a lot of things in that moment for me. my love for him deepened even more and my purpose for life changed.

i've never gone through anything as intense as having a child. everything is new and foreign and that first week was like any other new mothers, i'm sure. there were roller coasters of emotions, so much joy and a lot of learning. it was difficult for me that first week to wrap my head around the fact that i now had a baby, but even more that he was missing two fingers and what that meant for his life.

i've never doubted him and what he will be able to do. not ever. that's not why i was afraid for him. i was afraid for him because of the world we live in. no mother wants to ever see their child hurt or in pain and i couldn't help but imagine the teasing he might endure. i finally understand loving your child so much that you want to protect them from anything and everything that is bad. that first week i would break out in tears if i thought of him being bullied or looked at differently. i couldn't tell my siblings or friends because i didn't know what to say. i would cry when people met him for the first time and noticed it. i tried each day to be strong and wondered why i was so upset about it. i felt guilty for not wanting this for him. here i am so deeply in love with my baby, but will others love him as much as i do and see him for his worth? do i leave it as it is or try and seek different options for him? it was a lot to contemplate and consider and i struggled a lot.

by the end of the week i came to terms with it. (i also was not as emotional and my sanity was coming back, so i could see things clearer.) relatives left, the house was quiet and i had a moment i rocked my new baby, looking at his hand and finally pushed the denial away. and then i cried more than i have in my life at the reality that it will never go away. this was really happening. i could be angry and upset or i could embrace it and see the good. i remembered god has a plan. this happened because he has great things for wesley to do. i realized i can't be afraid for him because then he will doubt himself. the way we raise him is the most important thing we will ever do. we will make sure he understands his worth.

from that day i have been more than okay.  we are so used to his hand and most the time i forget about it. it's a part of who he is and we love it. i recognize that we are so blessed to have such a healthy little boy and this trial is so small compared to what others go through. we love him and he brings more happiness to our lives than we imagined. so many people have told us that he is lucky to have us as parents and i agree. but even more i feel like we are so blessed to have him. he has taught me more in these three weeks then i have learned in my lifetime. he has taught me that all of us are on the same journey and all of us struggle whether it be tucked away inside or outwardly for others to see. i've learned that god has a purpose for us and it is our responsibility to find out what that is and fulfill it. he's taught me to be kind and to think before judging others. that it doesn't matter what you look like, but what kind of person you are and how you treat others. he's taught me that each day is a gift and life is so beautiful. and most importantly, that our god loves us so much and will never abandon us. i am learning the type of person i want to be and what kind of life i want to live because of wesley. i'm so grateful for that and my sweet boy. i look forward to our beautiful life together."

follow lindsay here.