Last week in church a woman approached me with a folder full of pictures. They were pictures of her sister, who had Down Syndrome. Her sister at five, the same age as Lydia. Her sister around 18 in a beautiful senior portrait. Her sister at age 50 in a stylized shoot fulfilling a lifelong dream. And finally, her sister leading a group in music, beaming from ear to ear. It was such a beautiful GIFT to see those images and consider the future. For Lydia’s birthday a couple weeks ago, we got covered in chocolate cream pie and danced to Journey. Today she sang and danced with me to Taylor Swift. Last night I watched her take Dan by the hand and lead him through her bedtime routine while his heart melted on the spot. As we bid the boys goodnight the other night and they headed off to their rooms, we heard a garbed but still discernible, “Bye! Love you!” ::kiss kiss:: 🥹 Her favorite (and our favorite) thing is to throw her arms out wide and ask in her tender high voice, “Hugs?!” Often when she’s a complete mess/it’s least convenient 🤣 No one has ever turned her down, yet. I’m tearing up this very second just thinking about what a complete GIFT of a human this angel Lydia is and how very grateful I am to have her. How I hope that we as a society SEE her and other individuals better for who they are and all the remarkable ways they can contribute and the things they have to offer. I haven’t stopped being amazed and she hasn’t stopped finding ways to bring us joy, yet. Happy World Down Syndrome Day. 💛💙