The Bus

I heard the term "The Bus" from a fellow blog writer  Kelle Hampton http://www.kellehampton.com/ . It is used to describe when you are having a bad day. When the emotions of having a child that has Down syndrome hits you like a ton of bricks. It does not come often but sometimes it comes. Never knowing when it is going to strike thankful for that is passes and does not come often.

I was just running and thinking, praying. The Bus started to hit me. I am not going to lie it hit me hard. As I was running with tears streaming down my face I was thinking about running and how much it hurts me that Jana is not walking much less running. Then I started thinking about the Day she was born. How that was such a dark day but I knew deep down there was light at the end of the Tunnel. I think about how far she has come how holding her head up, sitting up, crawling was such a big milestone and she did it. Just like I know deep down she will walk. In her time. Her time is not my time just like my time is not God's time. I thought that I had already learned lessons of patience in my life but sadly God is still trying to get that through my hard head. When am I am going to learn it is not about me??? As much as some days the days are long and I am working with Jana for hours trying to teach her how to walk I know she is the one that is actually teaching me.... She is teaching me Patience, perseverance, strength and will.

She will walk and I will look back on days like today and smile thinking how far we have come. Because after all we are in this journey together..Oh and when she does walk we are going to have a glorious party. A party fit for a Princess. With Cake and Ice cream, balloons and Princess Gear. It will be a Celebration for sure. AND I WILL give the Glory and Praise to God for it. I will kiss my little girls cheeks and cry harder than I ever have before and knowing Jana she will kiss me and say "OK Honey" because that is how my girl rolls. She is the most loving person I know. I am HONORED that I am her Momma. I can not wait to go on runs with my Baby Girl together.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Seth David

This morning I got to Work in Seth's Class. His Teacher amazes me. She had Full control over 26 children without breaking a sweat. And 22 of those children were BOYS. I am not just talking regular run of the mill Boys. I am talking BOYS that make you want to pull your hair out because they are full of such energy and spunk.

We practiced writing the letter "A" uppercase and Lower. We pained our Names. Learned "A" E" I" O"U". We sang songs and even Danced:) It was a great morning.

Seth is not very affectionate but this morning he was so cute and proud of me. When I walked in his eyes got huge and he hugged me. He introduced me to all of his friends with such pride. It was so cute. I had to be right by him. There was this little boy named Colton who wanted to be right next to me too. He kept playing with my neck less. Seth Said that he better watch out only Me and My Daddy are allowed to touch me. His Teacher and I both lol.

I am going to put this morning in my memory bank. I know the day when he does not want me to work in his class much less admit I am his Mom are around the corner. So I am going to suck every ounce of joy as I can out of this morning.

Yes he is my "Full of Life Child" But I love him dearly. I have a feeling he will always challenge me and drive me crazy but I love him just the same and would change a thing.

Art

Have you ever thought about art? God of course is the best Artist I know. Can you imagine how much fun he had creating the Universe. I am sure they Angels were singing his Praise and in aw of its Beauty. I am not creative and far from an Artist. I am jealous of people that that can just see a piece of fabric and create a dress. A friend from a Message bored started creating dresses for her little girls. They are so adorable and fun. http://www.etsy.com/shop/pinksugarclothing
Jana is wearing one today.

I was looking for something for Seth to do this morning and saw some bottles of paint. So I decided to cut up some fruit and use it as stamps. We used Apples and Lemmons.

Thanking God today that I do not have to be artistic or crafy he loves me just the way I am and I can "try" to be artistic with my Son and still have fun.

thoughts

Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

During Bible study tonight Beth Moore was talking about Praise Music and how is can be such a wonderful thing and a painful thing. She said she does not sing a Praise song unless she really means what she is singing. For instance You are my All and All. Is he really your All in All...
Blessed be the name of the Lord you give and take away give and take a way my heart will choose to say Blessed be your name. Oh I remember a time a week after I had Jana. I heard that song on the radio and wanted to scream and say I do not want to choose Blessed be your name. You took something from me that I can never have back. But I couldn't with tears streaming down my face hitting my steering wheel i sang from deep in my soul My Heart will choose to say Blessed be your name. I felt like it was God's way of saying ENOUGH... You have been mad at me I have broad shoulders but enough is enough. You need to get on with life. Yes you will have your ups and downs but I am your Rock and YOU WILL get through this. I still can not help but get teary when I hear that song.

It also confirmed why I only want my Kids to listen to Praise Music. Have you ever thought of how easy it is to memorize a song? I bet for most people it is easier to remember a song than most Bible verses. If I am going to fill their hearts and souls with words I want it to be worshiping God. Not some Guy or girl. I want them to have words to cling to through trying times.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ( 9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work.

10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

I am doing a Beth Moore Study on Psalms. I am learning a lot from it regarding relationships. While doing it I am reflecting on relationships. On what a wonderful Blessing they are in my life. How they are all so different but all beautiful. God does that. He gives you just the right friend for whatever life circumstance you are in.

For Instance Tami and I have been friends since 10th grade in High School. She is responsible for introducing me to Jason:) We have been through boyfriends, dating, engagements, weddings, babies, losses, pain, deaths and we are still Best friends. We have always been there for each other. God has blessed me with a friend and a family member how cool is that? I always have a friend at family functions. I love her babies Luke and Mara. I thank God for the blessing of our friendship.



God Has also blessed me with my friend Tonee. We met through Church 3 years a go. We did not start to get close until we got pregnant with our third babies. It was so much fun being pregnant together. Since then we have gone through good times and bad. Birthdays and more pregnancies. Lots of fun times sleep overs, dinners etc. She is a crack up and I am so thankful for all the goofy times we have shared.
She has taught me how to let loose as a Mom and the fun of Boy's. I love hanging out with her whether we are playing with babies or cleaning out closets. I thank God for her daily. She has taught me a lot of Grace and to give it to every one.




Kristin,
She is a friend that I met through church. I love her dearly. She is always the person I go to if I need prayer. If it is in the middle of the night I know she will stop everything and pray for me. God has so blessed me with her. She is full of life and I love the Chilis Dates we have shared.


God has also blessed me with friends from our old Church Kendra and Quincy. We have met once a month for the past couple of years. I love that we can go time without seeing each other and pick right back up. We have also gone through good times and bad cried together. Kendra was the first person there when I lost my baby. We cried together. I will never forget that.
Quincy will always be a part of our family. We have spent many nights and dinners together;0


We started going to a new Church in Jan of 09'. It was painful because we missed all of our BW friends but felt it was what God was leading us to do. Shortly after attending there I met Megan Deprez. She is a gift from God. She welcomed me with open arms and Love. I am so grateful for the friendship of her and her Husband Matt. We love them both dearly. We spend a lot of dinners together. They love our Children as their own. Such a Blessing.



In closing I want to say that many people hope for just one good friend in their lifetime and I have been blessed with many. God is so good to me. I thank him for my friends daily and do not take them for granted.

10 Years Baby...

We will be Married 10 Years September 30th. In some ways it seems like yesterday others it seems like it has been longer...

We have bought a house, got a mini van:) and have had four wonderful Blessings.

Jason surprised me this year by booking a room at the JW. He pull out all the stops. I was amazed. When I walked in the room I found this......

We relaxed in the room and then we decided to go on a walk. It was also during the opening of Art Prize so we got to see some of the different pieces.

We walked to the Bistro for Dinner. Jason got a Firestone Pizza and I got Ravioli. It was amazing.

After dinner he arranged a carriage ride. It was so romantic.. Sitting in the carriage next to the Love of my life I kept thinking about how blessed I was. God is so amazing.

Marriage is not easy but really is anything that is worth fighting for easy? I think the good times make up for the trying times. I am amazed everyday that if we give our Marriage over to God every day he protects it and blesses us. Oh and when he blesses us it is so sweet and good. I think it is rare to find a everlasting love. A love that just gets sweeter over time like a good wine. I honestly still get butterflies in my stomach when I hear Jason's Truck in the driveway. I find him as attractive as the day we met. Ok maybe more:) Now he has that whole distinguished Daddy look going on. I can not wait to celebrate the next 50 years with the Love of my Life.

.

Lanie Love

Our 4th and Final addition to the
Blanchard Family is three months old today. When did that happen? She is sleeping through the night now. She is really on crabby when she is hungry or tired. I am so blessed with her. I am not sure how big she is because we do not go to the Doctor until next month but she is in 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. Jana wore this outfit in Jan. and their Birthdays are only a week a part.