31 Fundraiser

A very kind friend from our neighborhood has offered to do an online fundraiser for you. It is so humbling to have some many people reach out and help to get you home. Below are the details to the fundraiser, she is giving us her WHOLE commission!

RESCUING VICTORIA FUNDRAISER

Let’s kick off Spring with some great new Thirty-One products and help bring sweet little Victoria home to her forever family at the same time!

Dates: April 1st thru April 14th

Time:Anytime Where: Online at www.31bagchick.com

**25% of all sales will be donated to the Bonner family to aid in the costs associated with adopting this precious little girl. Let’s help bring Victoria home soon!

For every $31 you spend your name will be entered into a drawing for a half price item.

To place an order go to www.31bagchick.com, click on My Events and chose the Rescuing Victoria Fundraiser. And don’t worry, you’ll still get tickets into the drawing for online orders as well.

Go ahead and make your wish list now by viewing the online catalog but please refrain from placing any orders until April 1st or they will not count towards the fundraiser.

And don’t forget to take advantage of this month’s customer special! For every $31 you spend you can get any purse ½ price! This includes the ever popular Retro Metro bag, Fifth Avenue Purse and the brand new Casual Cargo Purse plus many others.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

Today was a very special day in our house, it's World Down Syndrome Day! 3-21, get it three copies of the 21st chromosome = Down syndrome. We had a great day, only thing missing was Dad, he had class all night :(

The girls started off with a fun play date at Grandma Amy's while I ran some adoption errands.

They both had a great time and came home and took some serious naps while I did some work.After naps the girls and I picked up their cousins Jackson, Carson and Natalie and we went and got dinner and ate it on our front lawn. Loving the weather and sunshine!!

Then we picked up my friend Sarah and we went to the local library to watch Deedah, a movie about a little boy with Ds and his sister. I thought it was a great way to help my nephews learn more about Down syndrome, they love Kaelyn so much and have been so loving with her ever since she was in my tummy. The boys couldn't take their eyes off the movie and had lots of favorite parts to talk about on the way home. It was really cool being about to share it with them and that they could meet some of our other little friends with Ds.

Carson and Jackson kicking back watching the flick.

"Hey Mom, this is a cool movie"

Bryn also couldn't take her eyes off the movie. She was learning some good stuff about how

fun having a sibling with Ds is.

Group shots, thank goodness my friend Sarah came with us, she was a great help with the girls.

Of course Kaelyn had to make her elephant noise and face during the picture.

Kaelyn's little boyfriend Max was there, she was so excited to see him.

She was sure putting on the charm.

Max was a little shy

Then they shared a quick glance

And Max was off, too much to do to sit around and chat :)

After the movie we stopped at Iceberg to take advantage of the free ice cream cone for anyone with Down syndrome. Kaelyn graciously shared her free cone with Jackson and Natalie.

Then we went back to the kids house and took silly pictures and finished our ice cream.

It has been a wonderful day and we were so glad we have family so close to spend it with! We are so blessed to be members of this community of people affected by Down syndrome. It has brought so much good and love into our lives. We have made amazing friends and know that we are just at the beginning of this beautiful journey.

Happy St. Patricks Day and Other Stuff

The girls and I were able to celebrate St. Patricks day by watching Dad play in a volleyball tournament. He did really good when we were there watching, won both games, got lots of kills and digs. I forgot to get a pictures of him playing though :) As you can imagine my hands were kind of full.

Bryn sporting her St. Patricks outfit

Does THIS outfit look familiar to anyone?

Kaelyn's St. Patty's day outfit. Does THIS shirt look familiar?

Yes we get full use out of Kaelyn's clothes.

Bryn loves bath time, just like her sister.

The girls can't get enough play time with Dad.

Kaelyn has started going to school! She goes to a little toddler class once a week for an hour and a half. The first week of the month I get to stay with her, but the rest of the month she goes by herself. She was loving watching the other kids and doing what they were doing. School will be so good for her. We are trying everything we can to motivate her to want to walk. We hope that seeing all the other kids running around will help.

Sitting and listening to story time.

Playing with the toys.

Last week we took advantage of the semi-nice weather (55 degrees and sunny) and went to the zoo with our cousins. It was Bryn's first big outing and she did great. Thank goodness we had aunt Sarah and KK to help with the girls. I need a couple more arms :)

Enjoying a nice train ride around the park.

Checking out the baby elephant.

Watching the mama elephant eat.

Kaelyn and I riding a cricket on the carousal.

Kaelyn showing Bryn how to get the most out of tummy time.

"See little sis, its not so bad if you have the right equipment."

End the R-word

Since having Kaelyn, Wayne and I are more aware of how hurtful the R-word is. Its sad to think that we both used that word without even realizing how offensive it is to people, especially someone with a loved one with an intellectual disability. We are both pretty timid, and have a hard time speaking out when people use the word. We haven't quite mastered it yet, but we will continue to try because we are the ones that need to speak out for our girl and her friends.

I love this video, it states why the R-word is so hurtful in such a beautiful way. I just picture little Bryn one day, speaking out for her sisters. Helping the world to see how perfect they are. We would like to ask those of you who read our blog to help us in this effort, to not only stop using the R-word, but asking those around you who use it to please stop. Do it for Kaelyn, do it for Victoria and do it for their sister Bryn.