Dylan's life has been like skipping rocks - he's the rock and as the years have passed, the ripple affect of his existence has gone farther than we ever imagined. 

As much as I never want to be selfish, the desire strikes.  I'm human, and I was recently reminded of just how selfish I am.

Youth Convention in San Diego. Summer Splash. Winter Camp. Missionette Camp. Missions Trips. Shake Romania '96. When I was in junior high and high school, these were the things I lived for. Every aspect was bliss...yes, even when the church van broke down. Honestly, that's when teenagers get the most creative and create crazy, life long memories. 

Three, thin slices of turkey. One croissant roll. Put them together and you've got a decent sandwich. Nothing fancy, but it's a basic form of nutrition, something every human body needs. Without nutrition, the body becomes frail. Illness and disease can occur. A lack of it impacts our mood, our behavior. Since Dylan began eating, I've become all too familiar with the value of food.

In just a few short months, our oldest son will graduate from middle school. It's hard to wrap our heads around that!  Come fall, we will have kids in grades 9, 6, 4, 2, and Kindergarten.

Honestly, it doesn't always feel like it was that long ago that I was a teenager. I remember so much - the stupidity, the crazy, the fun, the aches and pains, the beauty. Yet here I am, my teenage years long gone and now I am the mother of my very own 15 year old, right in the thick of teen hood.

I used to manage a campground. One evening, when Dylan was about six months old, I had a lengthy conversation with a camper. Eventually the conversation shifted to Dylan and I shared that he had Down syndrome. She began asking me a variety of questions, which I welcomed. However, I was suddenly blindsided. She asked, "What is it like to raise a retarded son?"

The maternity ward at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz is U-shaped, which allowed me to look out the window of my room and see the NICU across the courtyard. The multi-colored Christmas lights twinkled in the windows as Dylan lay inside. I drifted in and out of sleep that first night, peering through the window and reflecting on my thoughts from when I had first held Dylan. I thought about our meeting with the pediatrician. Instead of fear, anger or even sadness, I felt complete peace.

From the time I was just a little girl, I always wanted three things:

1. To meet someone special to spend my life with. I married my very best friend, Rob.
2. To be a teacher. More on that later.
3. To have three or four children. My children, particularly my first son, Dylan, will be the primary focus of this blog. But, then again, who knows where the Lord will lead!

Dylan is 15. I'm not sure how it happened. He's in 8th grade and next year he'll start high school. This makes my heart soar and break all at once.