Gideon James' Journey

James loves words and letters. He enjoys being read to. He likes it when he hears people singing the alphabet or speaking in rhymes. He particularly gets excited when we show him big, bold letters on flash cards. The other night, Daddy and James played with letters. Our little boy seemed to have enjoyed seeing his name spelled out on the mat.

Just want to share these. James ' story appeared in a few magazines before. The purpose of telling his story is to encourage other parents with special needs' kids to never give up praying for miracles no matter how little nor how far in between they come.

Got this from a forwarded message in one of my egroups. I wish I could thank the author for putting down in print what many of us are also exactly feeling and experiencing. == Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I've searched you out every day. I've looked for you on the internet, on playgrounds and in grocery stores. I've become an expert at identifying you. You are well worn. You are stronger than you ever wanted to be. Your words ring with experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world. You are my " sisters ." photo borrowed from dreamstime.com Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority . A very elite sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members. Some of us were invited to join immediately, some not for months or even years. Some of us even tried to refuse membership, but to no avail.

A fellow egroup member of mine, Candace Barnes , from  Special Child Exchange , wrote this piece last week for her 50th birthday. I laughed and I cried while reading it because she was pretty accurate in describing how moms (of kids with special needs) like us have to prioritize other things above and beyond what we would have wanted for ourselves. As I told her, I pray that when I reach the same age, I would also have the capacity to still find humor in every situation and to never lose hope like she does. Thanks so much Candace for allowing me to share your very inspiring writeup to my other parent friends :) ====== I always said when I turned 50 I would own a sports car - bright red and fast as they come. I always said when I turned 50 I would be living the life I wanted. When I turned 50 I would be a grandmother. When I turned 50 my children would be grown and gone with lives of their own - good jobs and happy relationships. When I turned 50 I would be wear

A lot of people, who find out that my son is 100% tube-fed , usually ask me to describe how we feed James . So as not to stretch your imagination too much, here's the step-by-step procedure told in photos :) 1. Prep the G-tube button

The piece below was written by Erma Bombeck on May 11, 1980, almost three decades ago. It has remained a powerful encouragement to many mothers whose kids have special needs. Happy Mothers' Day to all you wonderful moms out there, especially my kindred souls who were also chosen to take care of special angels in this world! === Most women became mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes. "Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecilia. Finally he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child." photo borrowed from polyvore.com The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She&#

Being a mom of a child with special needs, it is my prayer that my other kids would continue to love James unconditionally in spite of his disabilities. Thus, I admire other children who show so much understanding and compassion of their siblings who also have special needs. I was forwarded a link in youtube about a Clara Sigmon 's poem about her younger brother, David, who has Down Syndrome . It is such a touching piece. Allow me to share it with you. May you be inspired as I was.

... James is also just a normal, happy kid. Daniel was goofing around with the camera a couple of weeks ago and I only recently uploaded the

As many parents who have children with special needs know, it is sometimes very hard to find or buy supplies for our kids that we can afford. As such, if you know of people who are disposing the following items either through donations or discounted prices, do let us know. We would appreciate the help very much.  All photos you can see here are: 1. Formulas for tube-feeding that would greatly help James get the special nutrition he needs 2. Special needs equipment that would make him more comfortable and which would help us take care of him better *items are updated as the need for them arise