Blogging for Bliss Blog Party

I read a blog post today on one of my favorite blogs to follow, Take a Walk on the Happy Side;

Today in celebration of the publication of Tara Frey's book, Blogging For Bliss, Artsty Mama is hosting a blog party. We are posting why we blog, how we came to blog, or why we dare to blog. So here's my take...

I originally started because I thought about how nice it would be to keep my family informed about things going one here in our crazy abode. To share stories, photos, videos, and our hectic schedules with everyone. This has been accomplished and I have a few family members visiting the site often to find out how the kids are and what we've been upto.

As I began expanding my reading of blogs, I realized that it would be a great way to share our story with other people who have been blessed to raise a child with Down Syndrome. Then there are those who know nothing of Down Syndrome but want to know, so this could be a bit of an informative/advocacy blog. Then there are those who just found out they are expecting or just had a child with Down Syndrome and they want to relate to someone who's been there. Then there are those who are just curious because they see someone with identical twins who both have Down Syndrome and PDD Autism and they want to know how we do it. So this became a project of mine to spread the word about how we've been doubly blessed to receive these precious children and the silly, sad, and serious stories that occur in our lives.

I know that everyone's journey is different yet so much of it is the same. I have yet to find alot of people who have identical twins with Down Syndrome. That too was part of my mission with this page. For me to RELATE with others, but our numbers are very small indeed. We were told three years ago from the Down Syndrome Clinic in Pittsburgh that we are only the fourth set of identical twins with Down Syndrome that they have heard of in 20+ years. From my searching online, its not a common thing at all. With us having a dual diagnosis, that makes us even rarer, so when I say my boys are 1 in a million, I Mean IT!!

Back to why I'm blogging. If I can just touch one person with our story my efforts have been well worth it. I will never say I know or understand everything there is about Down Syndrome, about raising twins, about raising typical children, about being a wife, about being a mother, sister, daughter, aunt.... but one thing that I do understand is that God had a specific reason to bless Tom and I with these five beautiful children, two of which have disabilities and I am here to enjoy the ride and anxiously await what more our future brings. All Glory to God!!