My Daddy and Me! Happy Father's Day! 

“I love my daddy and my daddy love me!” continues to be a familiar song that Damian & Damian Jr sing together. Below are a few ways that Damian's dad loves him! 

Daddy celebrates with me when I get awards! 

My Daddy worships God with me! 

My Daddy helps me bowl! 

My Daddy makes me laugh all the time! 

My Daddy swims with me! 

Christmas Compliments

An Powerful Exercise in Gratitude 

Damian has had an amazing time in general education this year. He spends the full day in a mainstream 3^rd grade class with Amy, his incredible parapro who supports and adapts the curriculum. So this year, the entire class engaged in a COMPLIMENTS exercise during their Holiday Festivities this week. Each student wrote compliments for every other student. What a beautiful idea! We need more of this in our relationships, schools, families, churches and communities. Give this gift this Christmas! 

Here are the statements from Damian Jr.'s classmates:

“You are very nice.”

“Damian is a very good listener.”

“I am really glad you are in my class because you are nice and funny. You make me laugh everyday.”

“I am happy that you are in our class even though you have disabilities.”

“Damian is very good at dancing.”

“Damian is funny, nice, and great.”

“We are lucky to have you in our class.”

“Damian is the best person in the class.”

“Damian is funny and playful.”

“You are awesome and you always make me laugh real hard.”

“You know a lot of hard words.”

“Damian, you’re so funny and cute.”

“A very nice and kind friend.”

“Damian is very nice and funny and also comes to school with a smile on his face.”

“He is funny a lot and he does his job for folders really good.”

“You are very funny.”

You are so funny and a good friend.”

“Super awesome.”

“Damian is really good at talking.”

“He is friendly. He is sweet.”

“Your are very handsome.” (And this one concerns us a bit…very handsome?? Do we need to take a visit to the school?)

Merry Christmas to you and your family! 

Choose Life: Be a Life Giver

CHOOSE LIFE

BE A LIFE GIVER 

I am reminded how we have the power to GIVE LIFE to others through our own words and actions of compassion and sacrifice. The Rick & Dick Hoyt story speaks of this life giving experience.

I pray that my husband and I too will have the same depth of commitment to help our son experience FREEDOM – living a FULL life despite his multiple disabilities.

It is interesting (and sometimes offensive) how doctors and really people in general think that they have the final say on the potential of someone’s life – a life that he or she didn’t ultimately create and design.

In Psalm 139: 13-17, King David wrote “You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because You made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What You have done is wonderful. I know this very well. You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there, You saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me were written in Your book before I was one day old. God, Your thoughts are precious to me. They are so many!"

Only God, the Ultimate Life Giver, knows the unique purpose and potential of a life. He ALWAYS has the best vantage point. With God, all things are possible!

Commit to being a life giver!

UPHILL JOURNEY

UPHILL JOURNEY

I learned about the interesting dynamics of going UPHILL when we took Damian Jr. on a mile-high climb up the beautiful Kennesaw Mountain. This adventure was as a part of our Family Reunion activities in September. A few of us took the paved route while others went up the rugged road.

I don’t know if I was really aware of what I was getting myself into trying to go continuously up the hill while pushing a 50lb wheelchair with a little guy weighing over 40lb. So, this brought some complexity to the challenge. It was hard enough for myself but even harder because of the weight of someone else.

But I learned that it wasn’t about me in that moment. Of course, I had to ensure that I was ok going up the hill, but I also had to accept the responsibility of the care and safety for our son. And since we were in a small group of family, we each took a turn pushing Damian Jr UPHILL. It was amazing to see the community and courage we built together on that mountain.

So I looked up the word – UPHILL.

As an adjective it means…

-going or tending upward on or as if on a hill

-at a high place or point

-laboriously fatiguing or difficult

As a noun it means…

-a rising terrain; ascent.

Some of the synonyms are…

-arduous, hard, strenuous, taxing, grueling.

Sometimes in life, it takes a lot to get oneself up a strenuous, laboriously fatiguing, uphill journey. But there is something that clicks in you when you are responsible for getting someone else UPHILL. Know that others are counting on us to care enough to help them UPHILL. We each will be a better, stronger, more caring person in the process. 

Family Members on Kennesaw Mt. 

Congrats to Amy Stone!

Amy Stone (on the right side)

Damian Jr has many amazing people championing his development and fighting for his success! One of them happens to be Mrs. Amy Stone. Amy is an educator at Damian’s school, Kincaid Elementary. She is amazing, compassionate, firm, smart, creative and determined and works extremely well as a paraprofessional in Damian’s class. She exemplifies Kincaid’s mission, which is “to encourage every individual child to reach their potential while celebrating the diversity of our school family”. That is why she received the Certified Staff of the Year Award at Kincaid.

We celebrate in this recognition because Amy has been devoted to Damian’s care and education for the past three years. And currently, she works with Damian exclusively while he now spends the FULL DAY in a general education 3^rd grade class. Because of the challenges and opportunities of full inclusion for child with special needs, Amy is assigned to him to make his experience meaningful. She wheels him everywhere he needs to go. She adapts the curriculum to fit his needs. She gets him out of his wheelchair to work on standing, sitting, and toileting. She works HARD each and every day. She is a tremendous advocate for our son, and we are forever grateful.

May this recognition of Amy be a reminder that she is making a life-long difference in the lives of many students especially our son, Damian Jr. 

We love you, Amy! 

Amy with Damian - Group Reading in 3rd Grade

Happy Birthday, Damian Jr.

Damian Jr absolutely loves singing. When hearing him sing the words of this song, we are so encouraged. These words speak to his life - all 2,920 days.  

Happy Birthday, Damian Jr! We praise God for your life! 

"Beautiful Things"

All this pain

I wonder if I’ll ever find my way

I wonder if my life could really change at all

All this earth

Could all that is lost ever be found

Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

All around

Hope is springing up from this old ground

Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new

You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

By Gungor