Ahhhh Meghan

Only one accident in our potty trained girlie. So yea, it took 8 years, but by golly, this girl is a panty wearing big girl now! She ate half the apple and I found it in the garbage, grrrr, she always does that. If I cut it up for her, she will not eat it. Kara does the same thing.

You can tell Meghan is growing up, I can see the face she will have as a pre-teen, that is coming up sooner that I wish...

The interactions I have with folks when we are out and about is intriguing to me. When I look at the girls and see girls, not Ds, so I always feel surprised when people notice the girls have Down syndrome. When we were at the doctors office today an elderly couple came out of the orthopedists office and spied the girls. Kara was in my lap, Amanda was in the double stroller, and Meghan was running around us. The wife said "Do they all have Downs?" I said yes, she said "Are they all yours?" I said yes, and she asked if I gave birth to all three (with an incredulous look on her face, I definitely look too old to have three little ones I guess) I told her God gave us Meghan and led us to adopt Kara and Amanda. She smiled at me and said "You must be a saint". I chuckled and told her, I was far from being saintly, and she said "You are one in my book dear, God bless your kind heart". It was very sweet of her to take the time to interact with us. We get stared at wherever we go, with some not so nice looks from elderly women, I always suppose they must have given up a special child in their younger years; they have such a guilt-ridden look on their faces. I try to imagine why they look at us the way they do, and try to explain it away. Surely my girls cannot cause anger in people by their very existence, could they?

Inevitably there is someone we meet who will call us saints, we always smile and are kind to these folks, but we wish they would just see two parents who love their children. We were not on a mission to save the world when we decided to adopt, we never wanted acclaim, if we could move about unnoticed, we would, but with our beautiful daughters, it is not possible. We wish we were invisible at times, it would be easier to go about our business. We did not go to the press and get interviewed on TV when we brought the little girls home. We wanted to quietly go on with our lives. This is not to say that others who did do interviews searched out the limelight, I know many wanted to get the word out about the children available for adoption internationally who had Ds or CP, etc. They did a wonderful job making the public aware of the children waiting for forever families. We did this too in our own way, we tell everyone who asks where the girls are from and how many children still wait there for families. I never grow weary of discussing my children with people sincerely interested.

So much has been happening in our family and with our friends that we have not had a lot of time to do much blogging. Three very good friends are fighting cancer and it has deflated our family a bit, regardless of the time that has passed since your diagnosis, the cancer imp sits on your shoulder and taunts you. I think my kids are feeling anxious about me and my past breast cancer fight. I cannot go into details about their friends issues, but one has had a recurrence, and another is newly diagnosed and I think it brings back my children's fears of losing me. Their feelings are left unsaid but yet their body language and facial expressions say so much more than the words they are afraid to utter. I feel I have to say it, cancer SUCKS, and I hate that it affects so many people, no one is left unscathed by the ravages of it, can anyone say any longer that they do not know someone who has cancer or has died from cancer? I doubt it.

Meghan was in a good mood today, our next door neighbors daughter came over to play, I hope they enjoy each others company, I don't know what S thinks of Meghan, but I know Meghan likes her.

I posted pictures on Kara's and Amanda's blogs today, if you want to go over and take a look at theirs too.

It was a really long day, it is time to go to bed.