Open The Gate

The homestead has been coming together little by little. The garden is in, the animal pens are full and continued projects line up like ducks in a row. The fence is up and all is well. Then God invited us to add a gate! We already had 2 gates...welcoming home father from work, welcoming in guests to sit for a spell. However, this gate was for us...to walk out of...into a new view of our homestead. Wed, June 17th, we opened the gate and took our first step away from everything we knew. We call our gate Lylah Kate, born 2 weeks early at 6 pounds 6 ounces, 17 1/2 inches long. Within a few hours of birth, the doctor expressed the concern of possible down's syndrome and testing was needed for confirming what many felt for sure. I guess I'm still in a surreal state of feeling this even 4 days later, but the news did not send an initial shock wave over me. In fact, I felt a real sense of God's calming peace and affirmation that he had desired this for us. Out of all the mommy's and daddy's in the world, he chose us to carry this blessing! In a matter of hours, we were flooded with hospital staff bringing in loads of information concerning the details of Down's Syndrome and all the wonderful support groups available for us. We discovered how blessed we were to experience this new direction in such a time as this...with so many services, therapies and helps available to baby and family. So here we stand, the gate is opened and the view is breathtaking! Mountains and valleys stretch out before us, the meadows are brilliant with flowers and off in the distance a rainbow dances across the rolling hills. We welcome our new journey, and invite you to come with us!