Sharing da' love

I visited a new family with a very tiny and cute baby that happened to be born with Ds. 

For the past few years I've volunteered for Parent to Parent and Down syndrome Outreach of Whatcom County.  And for the past few years I've had the absolute pleasure of meeting new families.

Well over a dozen in the past twelve months alone.  Some new to Whatcom county.  Some with newborns born here.  Beautiful families with the most beautiful babies. 

I feel kind of selfish about this volunteering though.  See, I get so much more out of it then I think the families that I meet do.  Hearing their experiences, meeting their beautiful babies and helping them with any questions, means so much to me.  I feel like I get so much more out of our friendships and sharing our similar paths than the new families get out of me.

But this meeting with the family was a bit different.

Baby was sick and being carefully cared for in the hospital by his amazing mommy.  It was different too because I brought my daughter Hannah with me. 

See, her "culminating senior high school project" is on social support systems for families with a child with Down syndrome.  And the effect that has on families.  We were between a series of appointments for Hannah and I had taken a half day from work for all those medical appts.  But we had a few minutes to swing by the Arc and pick up the "New Parent Bag" full of Ds books, calendars, blanky and hat.  Then up to meet this gorgeous new baby and tell the parents congratulations. 

Hannah learned a bit about sharing your heart with another family.

Volunteering.

How a servant's heart is always refilled and overflowing.