Tonight I was a guest on a Mother The World podcast, discussing parenting children with Down Syndrome. The hosts, Deanna and Carolyn, were great about asking the right questions. But, how do you cover a subject like that? It's HUGE!
Then Carolyn brought out her new daughter who is sporting designer genes, and it took me back to when Ralphie was a baby. Ahhh. Memories.
Let me just say that I love babies, and children and grown ups with Down Syndrome. I think they are a great gift to the world. That said, Ralph's first year was downright frightening. Even so, I never considered that we would have been better off without him. Never once. I loved him with ferocity from day one.
In order to communicate with a large number of people who were praying for Ralph's health, I started experimenting with websites and blogging. I had never heard of a blog until 4 years ago! I'm not sure I would had anything interesting to share until he came along anyway, right?
Ralph at three months.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBqGGB4ZwRsI_de0EclSuI_sT90BzUEdQG6SL4XoC1tlb9k6gT9eO8trdFpueVtFiXel7ivM_IPeEB_Oe81b-gjud-jE9QqQ-sYFeQM816xy8h6plrsksblMsZIbXVgtzmUPgmLv-HNA/s400/babyralphie1.jpg)
The original website is gone, but our second attempt is still live on the
internet. If you want to go back in time, check it out
HERE. I started
Ralphcrew a little bit later.
1st birthday party - a little late because he had been in the hospital. :(
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I feel like I came out of the fog when Ralph was born. I started to see things more clearly. He's the reason I started a blog. He's the reason we adopted two additional boys with Down Syndrome. He's brought some folks back to the Lord. He was, and is not, a mistake or a burden in any way.
I'm pleased to answer any specific questions that you might have about parenting a child with Down Syndrome. I sometimes forget what life was like before Ralph, so I don't remember what I would have wanted to know, ya know?
I haven't begged for comments in a long time, but here goes: Leave me some love and questions in the comment section. Please?