Roll call

[Guest guest]

I'm Loree, married to for almost 33 years. Mom to 5, MIL to 1. My

oldest is 31 and my youngest who has DS is 7. No grandbabies yet...shucks.

But

daughter said maybe this year as they just bought a house...YAY!!! My mom

has been living with us for almost 2 years now. Life is VERYhectic and full.

We are busy all the time. Looking forward to getting to hear more about

everyone.

Loree

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[Guest guest]

I am , mom to Mandi (32 married to ), Lani (29, married to )

and Kenzie 12 DS. I am married for 34 years to my wonderful husband Ladson.

I sell real estate in beautiful Savannah GA and my husband owns his own

business. Kenzie is our biggest joy in this world. She is smart (honor roll for

the first time this year in fully included 6th grade) and has a wonderful

personality and sense of humor. She started her period for the first time last

month....no fun there. She doesn't have any health problems and loves

MUSIC...singing in the school choir (loud and proud I might add) dancing for 7

years,

swimming and jumping on the trampoline. I love this list although I don't

respond often , I always read your responses...keep up the great work!!

S. Hancock......Selling SAVANNAH...One DREAM at a time!!!!

ReMax Professionals

912-441 6338- cell

912-897 3775- direct

912-897 1955- office

912-897 7846- fax

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[Guest guest]

Hi folks just started to read the emails well we are still in NJ still work

in AC Jeanna is 9 DS and Jr is 7 Jeanna is in the 4th gr and chris is in

2nd gr they are doing well so hope all is well with everyone

and Kathy Di

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[Guest guest]

My name is and I am married with two boys. My husband is an attorney, Ben

is 15 (DS) and is now 13. We live in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Ben is doing

really well and since he had pneumonia last year this year he had bronchitis so

I'm guessing he will be more susceptible now. He really has no health issues

except for his allergies and thyroid.

Ben is in to watching his videos, playing the PS2, XBOX3

0 and we are working on the WII. He is having a harder time using the

controller but it is so much fun.

Ben does many age appropriate things for being 15 however he will then turn

around and you will see him watching something like Barney etc. Go figure!

We will be deciding in a few years what we want to do when he turns 18 which I'm

sure many have already been through with their kids.

Mattern

Re: Roll Call

What a good idea, thankyou!

I am Gundula, Canadian living in Germany now since 1972. I came over after

high school to spend a year here to get my german fluent and got stuck.

I have 3 big boys from my first marriage, 28, 26 and 22 years old. The 28

year old lives with his girl friend in town about 20 kilometers from here.

He is a software developer and quite happy with his job. His girlfriend is

still going to university but will be finished next year. The 26 year old is

an OT (like me) but went back to university 2 years ago and is studying

music in Holland. The 22 year old is in Canada at the moment going to

university for a year in BC studiying political science.

And then there is Fiona from my second marriage who will be 11 in January

and has DS as well as a ton of other health issues. She has been doing much

better during the last few years and I hope that keeps up. She is tiny, even

for a child with DS, but is developing more and more power and stamina.

She has pretty severe apraxia of speech, it is hard to understand her (for

non-family members) but that doesn't stop her talking. She loves

role-playing of all kinds, she re-enacts all of her hospital and doctor

" adventures " , her school days, her family life, everything.. In spite of her

apraxia, she is growing up with both languages as I intend to return to

Canada with her someday soon.

2 years ago I went through a serious bout of cancer (NHL) and since

finishing chemotherapy I have been working on restructuring my life. I had

an OT pracitice which I am currently renting out to a colleague. We shall

see what happens next in this coming year.

Take care

Gundula

[Guest guest]

Hello and Happy New Year!

I'm , and Mom to Sammy (13 DS) who made the honor roll last month at his

new school. I am remarried to those who new my ex sperm donor. Jim is a

great guy who is just about to adopt Sammy. We're just waiting for the courts

to

process the paperwork. We live in Northern, New Jersey.

HUGS to ALL

**************************************

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[Guest guest]

Hi

My name is Joanie and I am married with two boys. My husband is a Manager for

Mcs. I am a pharmacy technician and work for an independent pharmacy.

(DS) is 11 years old and is 6 years old. We live in Indianapolis,

Indiana. is doing well. His major accomplishment this year was finally

being potty trained! No more pull-ups! He loves music and watching Barney. He

has many musical keyboards that he loves to play with. He also loves shoes,

especially his brothers Crocs!

is in 1st grade and loves Power Rangers. He also loves to talk (wonder

where he gets that from?)

Joanie

roll call

While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros again.

It's been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on your alls

kids.

I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two and

grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a seizure

disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com. We live in WV.

I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out tonight

with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see when I nod off

before she hears my snoring...lol.

[Guest guest]

My name is Shipp and my wife and I have four adopted children, three of

whom have Down syndrome. We live in Southwest Missouri about 2 1/2 hours

northwest of Branson, the family entertainment capital of the United States.

is 17 and a senior in high school. He is very much into history,

science, and study of the Bible. He takes mostly regular classes. He is very

creative and would like to be an actor or singer or both. He also has a lot of

writing talent.

Kristi is 16 and a junior. She does really well in school too. Her strongest

area is math. She loves to sing and dance. Kristi loves the Cheetah Girls,

Zack and Cody, and the Baldknobbers.

is 15 and a sophomore. He has a very good memory and like the other

two is extremely personable (we have had people ask us if they could have him).

He likes movies, books, and games and is a collector of toys.

is 10 and goes to state school. has incredible energy and

physical strength and is so active that five kinds of medicine do not slow him

down. loves Mickey Mouse.

, Kristi, and are all very active in school, church, and

community. The boys have been in Boy Scouts since a very young age and all

three have been active in 4H over the years. and Kristi currently take

dance lessons and takes music lessons (which the other two took until

recently). All three are musically inclined and and Kristi have sang in

the school choir and church choir. All are enthusiastic Special Olympic

champions.

and I are stay at home parents. I teach when I get the chance and last

year taught English at a nearby community college. We are both enthusiastic

readers and like to collect things and watch movies.

We have several pets, including a standard poodle and a chihuahua, five birds,

a white rat, and a guinea pig.

Dad and husband to the ones named above and Uncle Daddy to and in

California (both Down syndrome and both remarkable girls) and brother in law to

in California (a remarkable Mom)

CINDY MATTERN <cindymattern@...> wrote:

My name is and I am married with two boys. My husband is an

attorney, Ben is 15 (DS) and is now 13. We live in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Ben is doing really well and since he had pneumonia last year this year he had

bronchitis so I'm guessing he will be more susceptible now. He really has no

health issues except for his allergies and thyroid.

Ben is in to watching his videos, playing the PS2, XBOX3

0 and we are working on the WII. He is having a harder time using the controller

but it is so much fun.

Ben does many age appropriate things for being 15 however he will then turn

around and you will see him watching something like Barney etc. Go figure!

We will be deciding in a few years what we want to do when he turns 18 which I'm

sure many have already been through with their kids.

Mattern

Re: Roll Call

What a good idea, thankyou!

I am Gundula, Canadian living in Germany now since 1972. I came over after

high school to spend a year here to get my german fluent and got stuck.

I have 3 big boys from my first marriage, 28, 26 and 22 years old. The 28

year old lives with his girl friend in town about 20 kilometers from here.

He is a software developer and quite happy with his job. His girlfriend is

still going to university but will be finished next year. The 26 year old is

an OT (like me) but went back to university 2 years ago and is studying

music in Holland. The 22 year old is in Canada at the moment going to

university for a year in BC studiying political science.

And then there is Fiona from my second marriage who will be 11 in January

and has DS as well as a ton of other health issues. She has been doing much

better during the last few years and I hope that keeps up. She is tiny, even

for a child with DS, but is developing more and more power and stamina.

She has pretty severe apraxia of speech, it is hard to understand her (for

non-family members) but that doesn't stop her talking. She loves

role-playing of all kinds, she re-enacts all of her hospital and doctor

" adventures " , her school days, her family life, everything.. In spite of her

apraxia, she is growing up with both languages as I intend to return to

Canada with her someday soon.

2 years ago I went through a serious bout of cancer (NHL) and since

finishing chemotherapy I have been working on restructuring my life. I had

an OT pracitice which I am currently renting out to a colleague. We shall

see what happens next in this coming year.

Take care

Gundula

[Guest guest]

My name is , Jim and I are parents of three: is 18, is 12,

Ciarra is 9, with DS. We live in central Maine, between a mountain and a river,

next door to a horse farm. Ciarra is a third grader, fully included. She is very

typical in many ways, reading well, doing math, playing sports. Loves her PS2

and her new Nintendo DS. She LOVES the computer, especially Youtube. She

collects old Barney movies, from when he was blue. Is an incredibly good artist,

especially drawing Spongebob . Ciarra has a few VERY good friends, and is

well liked by her community. She is tall and thin, long dirty blonde hair and

green eyes with the most gorgeous Brushfields Spots I have ever seen. She has an

awesome vocabulary, though we will likely always work on articulation. She is

very independent in terms of self care, etc. We hope she will have the

possibility of doing some things we didnt expect, such as driving, college, etc.

She has a wonderful imagination and is doted on by her siblings.

roll call

While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros again.

It's been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on your alls

kids.

I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two and

grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a seizure

disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com. We live in WV.

I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out tonight

with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see when I nod off

before she hears my snoring...lol.

[Guest guest]

I am Jill. I am single mom to Mac and Kit, both with Ds and both came to me

through the miracle of adoption.

Mac is now 9 yrs .old and so much fun. Most of the time he has this

wonderful, fun, outgoing personality. However, he can be quite stubborn and,

at times, rude. He is currently fully included in the 4th grade--beginning in

2008 I am going to be a more assertive advocate for him and his inclusion as he

( " they " ) have been having some real difficulties with his inclusion this year.

Mac LOVES Spiderman, High School Musical and wearing suits and ties!! He has

participated in baseball, soccer, swim lessons, CCD/PSR, manager of the PeeWee

football team and other community based activities. During the winter there

isn't much going on here so we stay at home a lot (which is nice).

Kit is 6 years old and is my " wild child " . She was born with duodenal

atresia and a heart defect. At 3 days old she had surgery to correct her

duodenal atresia and to place a g-tube into her stomach for feeding. She spent

the first 8 weeks of her life in the hospital. I got her at 10 weeks old and at

17 weeks she had her heart repair surgery. The first year of her life she was

just this little bundle of cuteness--didn't show many emotions, didn't make many

sounds, she was just very content and somewhat " blah " . Shortly after she turned

1, all of that changed. She has been a bundle of nonstop energy ever since. It

has been like the terrible twos for over 4 years. She is currently included in

the general education K classroom with a part-time aide (only due to her extreme

activity level) and doing better than I anticipated. Besides being active she

is very head strong and bossy and beautiful (which definitely helps). She also

is not yet potty trained and the teachers and I believe that it is because she

is controlling the situation--part of her obsession with control as the teacher

puts it. She loves her brother and they enjoy being together and playing 95% of

the time. She also loves Cinderella!!

I am an intervention specialist (special ed teacher) at the JH level in our

local school district. I enjoy my job and I like working--I stayed home last

semester (January thru June) and all summer and it was very hectic--I wasn't

good at being a stay-at-home mom. However, I would ideally like a part-time job

where I could be at home a little more and have more time, energy and patience

to " work " with the kids more and also just play and be together more. It seems

so often the time after school is just spent on " work " and no play and I often

feel like teacher and not mom.

I'm enjoying the " roll call " again.

Jill

Mom to Mac & Kit

Ohio

[Guest guest]

Hi!

I'm Jackie, married to Don for 21 years and mother to 20ds, 17, and

Bradley almost 14. We live in Reading, Pennsylvania (once deemed outlet capital

of the USA....now noted for its rising crime rate!) I am a 7th grade teacher in

the Reading School District.....lovely experience ; ) and my husband is an

editor for the local newspaper, The Reading Eagle. We bought our first dog last

January.....an Australian Shephard who we all just adore. He's awesome and has

cured of his fear of dogs!

My boys are getting more and more challenging as they navigate through the

teenage years, with the exception of . I've always said I'd take 10 kids

with DS over the two teenagers I have! All our issues regarding " drama " is

about girls! They're evil! LOL! Really, though, it's been a bumpy ride this

last year. is still in high school, since he can attend until he is 21.

He is trying different jobs with a job coach but still loves just being in the

high school with kids. He is sooooooooo sociable and everyone loves seeing him

in the community. He attends all his brothers' sporting events and is still on

the high school swim team himself! We're very proud of him.

still competes in SO bowling, swimming and soccer. and his father are

very well known for their bike riding. The two of them trek all over the

community (10+ miles at least at a time) on a blue tandem bike. It looks

hysterical, but they love this time together. They both have bells and ring

them whenever they pass a house of someone they know. LOL! You have to see it

to appreciate it! Donny definately does most the work, but has to pedal so

he does contribute some! LOL! It's very hilly around our home, but they both

get a wonderful workout.

He loves hanging out with my husband and his buddies for all the Eagles football

games and is quite popular! He looks forward to Sundays for this reason! He

will swing for hours on a swing built just for him a few years back by a very

close friend of ours. He swings and sings at the top of his lungs with his

walkman. The whole neighborhood can hear him! LOL! He bundles up and

swings/sings year round! Nothing makes him happier. He loves life.

We are so fortunate to be surrounded in our lives with wonderful friends who

have all opened their hearts to and continue to learn what's really

important in life from him. We continue to learn as well. I could go on and on

here!

I love you all and wish you all a blessed New Year!

Jackie

-------------- Original message --------------

From: " " <cindysue@...>

While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros again. It's

been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on your alls kids.

I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two and

grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a seizure

disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com. We live in WV.

I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out tonight

with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see when I nod off

before she hears my snoring...lol.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm Sue, mom to 5 including Caiti, 17 now---lets alll feel old---soon to be

a senior in her neighborhood school. She loves High School MUsical and Hh

Montana. She goes to culinary school twice a week and loves it. Also goes to a

nursing home once a week. We have some issues to work out but she's doing well.

We are in rural Delaware.

Sue

---------------------------------

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Di from PA. Wife to Bob (almost 13 years), mom to Jake (25-UGH) and Nic

(10-DS). No grandkids!!

Nic had a complete AV canal defect, common valve, PDA and additional ASD all

repaired at 11 weeks of age. Deaf in left ear. Was dx w/ myoclonic seizures

at age 2, was on Depekote for 2 years, weaned off and haven't had any

seizures since. ADHD and other behavior stuff...but we love him 80)

Nic loves music. I've been sending a walkman CD player on the bus with him

and for Christmas my SIL got him an MP3 player-which he LOVES!!!! I also got

him a portable DVD player for trips and doctors' offices.

Di

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

roll call

> While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros

> again. It's been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on

> your alls kids.

>

> I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two

> and grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a

> seizure disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com.

> We live in WV.

>

> I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out

> tonight with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see

> when I nod off before she hears my snoring...lol.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm B. Married to for 10 years (14 total

as I count every blessed moment). We have 3 boys

10, (DS) 4, Ethan 2. We live in Texas

but are from Washington State. 's is light on

the verbal side but its coming along.

Thanks

B

--- <cindysue@...> wrote:

> While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a

> round of intros again. It's been awhile and I

> personally would love to hear an update on your alls

> kids.

>

> I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to

> four kiddos, mil to two and grandma to one beautiful

> little angel. My son has DS and a seizure

> disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to

> surf youtube.com. We live in WV.

>

> I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web

> camera. I tried it out tonight with my oldest

> daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see

> when I nod off before she hears my snoring...lol.

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

>

> Click reply to all for messages to go to the list.

> Just hit reply for messages to go to the sender of

> the message.

>

[Guest guest]

Hey..Im Angie and married to Darin for 16 years. We have two girls....Sydnie 7

(Ds) and Saylor 3. We're in NC.

May God Bless You As He Has Us

~Angie~

~~DREAM BIG~~

An extra little chromosome,

that's all it is, you see.

Where all of you were born with two,

She was blessed with three.

roll call

While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros again.

It's been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on your alls

kids.

I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two and

grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a seizure

disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com. We live in WV.

I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out tonight

with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see when I nod off

before she hears my snoring...lol.

[Guest guest]

oops didnt finish...haha....Sydnie is in regular 1st grade and doing well, she

does get two hrs pull out time but would muchhh rather be in her reg class.

She's smart, funny and full of energy!

May God Bless You As He Has Us

~Angie~

~~DREAM BIG~~

An extra little chromosome,

that's all it is, you see.

Where all of you were born with two,

She was blessed with three.

Re: roll call

I am Karyn, married to for 3 and 1/2 years and mom to Adena, who is 33

months old. Adena is doing very well and starting to say a few more words. Her

favorite word right now is horse after we saw horses at a community event

earlier this month. She will start school in March although we do not know where

yet as we are requesting an out of district transfer so she can go to a full day

program. I work for our Early Intervention program and have worked there for 2

years now. is going to nursing school and working as a nursing assistant.

We live in Texas. I think we could open up our own toy store now since Adena has

so many toys! We did not even get her that much for Christmas and both come from

fairly small families but we have toys everywhere. Adena even has more at my

mom's house that she has not even been interested in opening. Right after we

opened Christmas presents, she went in our bathroom and got daddy's comb and

dental floss and was happily playing

with those instead of her Christmas presents!

Karyn

[Guest guest]

My name is Roni and our will be 11 on the eighth of Jan. He is

homeschooled. He loves the baseball and soccer stuff we got him for Christmas.

He also really enjoyed going bowling for his brother's birthday party.

is still trying to decide if he wants to go bowling again or go to Monkey Joe's

(huge indoor play place) for his b-day party.

Roni

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am Pat. I have been married to Randy for almost 33 years. I am mom to

three kids. Becky-married and mom to 2 adorable kids. Leanne-married and mom

to 3 kids and step-mom to 2. Then there is . He is 26 and has DS. He

has been working a Chili's as a dishwasher for 7 years. He works 3 nights a

week, the hours depending on how busy it is or on 's mood. They have

been wonderful to him. He also goes to a program during the day. They pick him

up and drop him off everyday. They go to libraries, work out at the " Y " , do

volunteer work at different sights, plus all kinds of other activities. It is a

great program and it is free! He loves Hulk Hogan type wrestling, his laptop,

movies and his video games. I love reading the updates. Thanks Cindi.

Pat

[Guest guest]

Re: Roll Call

I am Leanna, wife to . We have been married for almost 30 years and I

retired from the TV business. DH works for the State University System here in

Georgia. We are adopting a 2 year old with Down Syndrome. He is the light of

our lives and my retirement! He is my trip to Europe, Ireland and China all

rolled into one with a lot more excitement than I ever knew I could have!

Artie is 2, as I said, and he is walking and running. He skipped the crawl and

pull to stand and he just pushed away from my arms one day and took off. Now he

pulls up on furniture to walk. He loves his ABC, 123 and signing lessons. He

is a stickler for routine. He has to have it! He laughes a lot and he loves to

play and loves to dance. He does not say any words yet and he does not accept

any texture or spoon in his mouth but puts everything else in his mouth!

He is my sweet baby and I appreciate everything I learn here. Thank you all for

being here.

Sharon <huie@...> wrote:

Hi everyone

I am Sharon, wife to Mike for almost 20 years, and mom to , 16 with DS,

and , 12. We live in South Carolina. Mike works for " a major paper

manufacturing company " , and I am a nurse.

loves to read, she is currently really in to the Little House on the

Prairie series, and insists on calling us " Ma " and " Pa " . For some reason, it

makes me feel rather old. loves music, dancing (she takes ballet, lyrical

ballet and jazz), and watching some favorite shows on TV. has always been

fairly healthy, she had a TEF repair at birth, tonsils out at 20 months, and

regular other childhood stuff. is very happy, most of the time (after all,

she is a teenager), and her smile can light up a room.

Her sister also loves music, and she plays on the high school JV tennis

team. She keeps very busy with friends, and her latest thing, chore avoidance.

I can't even remember how many years I have been on now. But I love

the people I have met here, and am eternally grateful for the advice,

suggestions, and the support.

Sharon H.

Mom to , (16, DS) and , (12)

South Carolina

www.gsdss.net

" Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of

battle. "

[Guest guest]

I'm , Mommy to Jessie (8) and Jack (5, ds)

I am English but we live here in the USA in Nebraska. I homeschool both of

my children. Jack is doing really well. He is funny and caring but able to

beat up his sister over her last bar of chocolate whenever the mood strikes!

His language skills are improving rapidly and he can say quite a few

words and make sentences quite nicely. He is learning to read and count.

We love the little bugger to bits!!!

--

(¯`v´¯)

`*.¸.*´

¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨

(¸.•´ (¸.•´ Gorgeous, blogging daily at

http://apparenting.blogspot.com/

[Guest guest]

My name is . I've been married to my wonderful husband, Ted, for a year

and a half. We have two boys, n (4 1/2 yrs) and Chase (13 mos, Ds). We

live in the area of Los Angeles and are hoping to move as soon as someone buys

our place (great time to sell...I know! lol). Ted is a Telecommunications

engineer and, due to Chase's therapy sessions, I am officially a stay-at-home

mom/taxi driver to the therapist's facility.

We did not know Chase had Ds until the day he was born. He was born as healthy

as they come, so I guess I should be gratful about that. (The Ds is still hard

for me) At six months he was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms (a rare form of

epilepsy that can go away). We were lucky in that kids with Ds tend to recover

without incident from the IS and Chase is proof of that after only eight weeks

of treatment (although he is still on an anti-epileptic to keep away any

possibility of a relapse).

Chase has recovered well from the development regression caused by the IS. He

is sitting up and doing the Army crawl. He's very strong, mobile and his tone

is on the higher side of low. So I am hoping to be able to be as brave and as

proud as you all seem to be about your child with Ds. My feelings are what keep

me from really having any input on this board, but I enjoy reading all of your

posts.

n is a delight. He's in pre-k and loving it. He loves Transformers

(though he is not allowed to see the movie yet) and Lightening McQueen. He

loves to go for bike rides with daddy and to cuddle with me, since he is my

official cuddlebug. He just got one of those indestructible digital camers for

kids for Christmas, and is now our resident photographer.

Chase loves anything that makes music or that he can bang together. He loves

waving bye-bye to himself (I think he's just facinated that he's making his

fingers bend that way. lol!) and blowing kisses when asked to say " Ma-Ma " . He

has a joker personality with my Irish stubborn streak (though I know that is

also a Ds behavior, too).

That's us in a nutshell.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that you have a fun and safe New

Year's eve.

Sincerely,

, Ted, n and Chase

roll call

While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros again. It's

been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on your alls kids.

I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two and

grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a seizure

disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com. We live in WV.

I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out tonight

with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see when I nod off

before she hears my snoring...lol.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for doing this,

My name is Kelli mom to Austin 12 DS and 3. Married 17 years, our

anniversary was the 22nd. We live on the southern coast of Oregon. My

husband has his own business making cabinets/furniture. I work part-time

for the county health dept. Austin is doing great, currently in the 4th

grade mostly included in the reg. Classroom. He loves sports, football,

soccer, basketball. Just had his yearly check-up and if anyone struggles

with blood draws/immunizations, like we did, I highly recommend requesting

the EMLA cream. Austin didn't flinch with the pokes! loves dirt,

construction, cars etc. And sports. The kids were very excited for Santa

this year, it's so fun watching the holidays through their eyes.

Happy New year!!

Kelli

-- roll call

While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros again.

It's been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on your alls

kids.

I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two

and grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a

seizure disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com. We

live in WV.

I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out

tonight with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see

when I nod off before she hears my snoring...lol.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am Jeannette I have 2 sons. My oldest is 22 and still lives at home and

goes to college (hey it's free room and board). My son Grant is 20 and has DS.

We live in Massachussetts,in a town of 1600. The rest of the inhabitants are

farm animals and they out number us.

Grant is still in High School, he does some vocational training and daily

living training at school. He takes Digital photography and keyboarding in the

regular Ed classes now. He is getting more training for work as he is out of

school the day he turns 22.

Grant loves guitar--he plays an electric one and has had lessons for almost

6 years now. He also does

Special Olympics.

Jeannette

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and good

With ketchup!

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

[Guest guest]

I am Sandy, Mom to Nicolas (DS) - 13 years old - which I can hardly

believe!! I also have a lovely daughter Sophie who is nine.

We live in Snowy Monona, WI - we've gotten 5 inches today since 8 am!

Nic attends our local middle school in a program where he spends most of his

day in the resource room working on reading (emerging skill) and basic math.

He also has a large life skills portion to his curriculum.

Nic loves basketball (we just signed up for Special Olympics) and Santa

brought our family a Wii - and it is just amazing to see him able to

actually play a video game - he is a better bowler than me!

I'm on digest, so I only read for the most part, but I'm always out here -

Sandy Love

[Guest guest]

I would love love love to see photos of our gang!

May God Bless You As He Has Us

~Angie~

~~DREAM BIG~~

An extra little chromosome,

that's all it is, you see.

Where all of you were born with two,

She was blessed with three.

Roll call

Hi,

I'm from Brooklyn, NY, mom to age 17 DS, Diabetes Type 1 and

Celiac Disease. I also have my 13 year old son - who just by being a

teenager is challenging enough, lol.

was in inclusion from grades 1-8 and now in HS is in a Special Needs

Class, but is mainstreamed to regular classes. She is in a huge HS and very

popular and knows everyone. She was in a theater group for people with

disabilites for years where she performed in many venues. This past summer,

the

artistic director passed away and finds it very difficult to return to

her group.

I have come to some balance between inclusion and special needs only

activities for . She attends a social group for teens with disabilites

on

Friday nites and also on Saturday afternoons. But at church she sings in the

choir and is part of our youth group. She has friends, loves to dance and sing

and reads really well. She is funny and cute and always learning new

things. She loves unconditionally and believes in God and Santa with the same

zeal.

I have been a NYC teacher for the past 21 years and for the past few years

have been working with teachers and not students. I love my job- this year as

a middle school literacy coach, and have recently found out that I can retire

in 4 years with a full pension and benefits!!!!! That has definitely

changed my outlook on life. I am also separated from my husband of over 20

years,

but that is working out well for me. We also moved recently and the kids

and I love where we live now and each of us have our own big rooms.

My son is a musician and very smart. He is also an incredible special sib

as many of our kids are. I miss our gatherings that we had in the past and

where I got to make some really great friends from this list. When I think

about that, I think that there was a reason for all of us to meet and form the

bonds and friendships we did and there is a reason we dont do it much now.

But I still miss us. I have kept in contact with many people from the list and

would love to see another gathering in the near future.

has also been in the video at times square for about 5 years and we

met many people at the NYC buddy walks from this group also. She is also in

Law and Order SVU the one where the girl with DS gets raped and she is in the

classroom scene. It's always on reruns if you can catch it.

Have a great and peaceful new year.

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

[Guest guest]

I think I accidentally sent my update to only ! I am Barb, Wife of

Mark and Mom to three terrific kids. is 10 (Tweenie to the max),

is 8 and Sam is 2 ½. Sam is my little guy with DS. He has been a

ray of sunshine in our lives!!!! Of course he is not walking so the

troublesome years have not started, yet! He did take his first three steps

in a row last week (none since), HURRAY! He is talker and a signer! He

always has so much to say – I just can not understand it all yet. My

comprehension is getting better. I love reading everyone’s posts, but

rarely post myself. I hope all have a great new year.

Barb – Portland, OR

roll call

While we are experiencing a quite period, let's do a round of intros again.

It's been awhile and I personally would love to hear an update on your alls

kids.

I'm , married to Tim for 27+ years and mom to four kiddos, mil to two

and grandma to one beautiful little angel. My son has DS and a

seizure disorder. He currently is 14 years and loves to surf youtube.com. We

live in WV.

I just got a new laptop that has a builtin web camera. I tried it out

tonight with my oldest daughter. I can use it with Kathy and she can see

when I nod off before she hears my snoring...lol.