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[MommyGirl]

Great insight and encouragement from Martha Sears. . .  (Not an endorsement of Palin, btw, just encouraging!)

Thanks, ______, interesting. A couple of things: Baby Trig is now 5 ½ months old, not a newborn. Babies with Down syndrome tend to be raised by their families, not just the parents, when there are plenty of older children available.

My older children, even Matt who was 4 at the time of Stephen's birth, have learned a LOT from having Stephen to "help raise" and from having Stephen contribute them as they found out what unconditional love is. Matt will probably be choosing his life's work based on his experience being Stephen's older brother/playmate/part time guardian. Lauren got involved in this "raising", too, once she was old enough, 6 or 7, to realize that Stephen was really the younger of the two of them.

I'm thinking this 5th baby was a surprise for the Governor of Alaska, but when surprises come along you step up to the plate. She obviously has.

This Palin family is not perfect, never will be, but God help us if we all run around thinking we have to be perfect (even as AP parents, let's not put that burden on ourselves), let alone think that others have to fit one (perfect?) mold to be good-enough parents. This obviously is not the best timing for Mrs. Palin, but it is an awesome time for her to be McCain's running mate. She is up to the task of making this country a better, safer one for her own family and for her country - and maybe starting with all those preborn babies with Down syndrome whose mothers now may think twice before they end their babies' lives.

I'm sure there is a lot more that can and will be said on this subject, and I will be listening.

Martha

[Elizabeth]

That's awesome!

(though I kinda feel like a slacker now.  )

[MommyGirl]

(though I kinda feel like a slacker now.  )

Aw, Elizabeth. . .  in Sunday School the other day, the boys were learning about the Church and about the Body of Christ.   We are each a different part of the body, and each vital.  I really LIKE that there are people like Sarah Palin and Martha Sears who have special challenges and are in more visible circumstances.  But that doesn't mean that you or I or any of us are "slackers" if we are serving our families and doing our [bible=Col 3:23]daily tasks to God's glory[/bible].

[TestifyToLove]

I LOVE how Martha Sears put that.  My children are learning that M is the special needs child and its ALL our jobs to love him, care for him and carry him.  They have finally accepted that despite his size, he really and truly is on par with L, the 23 monther.  In time, she will outpace him, easily.  She seems to already understand this and was the first of the kids to accept a more caregiver role in his life.  Over time, they are all starting to help care for him, rather than waiting for him to be 'normal'.  And, because of this, HE is learning how to function in a real family, how to interact with other people (a skill he never learned before now) and they are helping him move forward in learning as they work with him on things such as colors, shapes, how to play games, how to play pretend, how to do arts and crafts, etc.

I did worry about what we would take away from these children by bringing a child with such significant needs into the house.  But, we felt in the end what we would TEACH them was far more valuable than what we would take from them in doing this.