tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18598787450475392152024-03-06T12:02:14.265-08:00Hidden TreasuresUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859878745047539215.post-46855156987981426202010-03-31T22:00:00.000-07:002011-04-18T05:00:08.587-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZjKovjm6YSMWektZWd8oRveLkiEsI162G9YEjiSsHpGFPsumOAZRSo_9a58gdba7jVOao9Oo4QnttBxWEMlLeo9KVBhQKTFup9yNk146BPlSxQLwD7xMR_9DC2tXJ13iB5R9ai_gufk-/s1600/015%255B1%255Dframe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZjKovjm6YSMWektZWd8oRveLkiEsI162G9YEjiSsHpGFPsumOAZRSo_9a58gdba7jVOao9Oo4QnttBxWEMlLeo9KVBhQKTFup9yNk146BPlSxQLwD7xMR_9DC2tXJ13iB5R9ai_gufk-/s320/015%255B1%255Dframe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Welcome to Hidden Treasures~ The T21 Journey. We are so glad you found us. When you get a diagnosis for your child, whether it is Down syndrome, or any other syndrome, there is a period of grieving and reflection that takes place. We have all been there. Some of the grief will come because you are worried for your child. Some will come, because you are unsure of what is ahead. And for some, the grief will come when you see the reaction of others, when they hear about your child's diagnosis. Hidden Treasures was designed, and created, because at least one of us has felt the way you have felt. It is our prayer, that you will see that this diagnosis is not the end of the world. It is a diagnosis. Your child is your child. With or with out the extra chromosome. We have all been where you are. We have grieved. And then we have gone on to learn a love that we never knew existed. We learn that our children are not the beginning of despair, but the beginning of laughter, love and lessons. We are glad you found us! </div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859878745047539215.post-29371790210166554232009-08-18T07:02:00.000-07:002009-08-18T07:08:58.545-07:00New Stories added often....We are able to add more stories to the "Our Stories" portion of this blog. We do that as often as a family tells us they would like us to add their story to the page. Please check back often to read them. They are beautiful heartfelt stories of each families journey in the Trisomy 21 experience. <a href="http://hiddentreasuresourt21stories.blogspot.com/">Click here to read them!</a><br /><br />If you would like to share your story, please let us know. We would love to put it on here! You can email us at <a href="mailto:hiddentreasuresT21@gmail.com">hiddentreasuresT21@gmail.com</a> <br /><br />If you have been at all inspired by any of the stories you have read, we would love to know that as well. Our children are a blessing, and we only hope you will be both inspired and blessed by them as well!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859878745047539215.post-70422019369624427092008-01-20T11:34:00.000-08:002008-04-22T09:11:59.148-07:00Hidden Treasures Montage (be sure to turn up your volume)<embed name="FLVPlayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=" width="312" height="310" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" salign="LT" flashvars="&p=4b5d1feb04e65103f88028&skin_id=801&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com"></embed><br /><br />We hope you took the time to click the above montage! We believe you will be blessed by meeting our children.<br /><br /><strong>Why this site? </strong>In the United States, there is a 90-94% rate of termination of pregnancies associated with Trisomy 21. In the UK it is said to be at 95%. These numbers reflect to us that there is misinformation about what life is really like with our darlings. As parents of children with Ds, we want to help others to know what it is REALLY like. Unfortunately, many either do not get any information, or they are given outdated information. It is our hope that families can come here to see the beauty of our children, and find support in their journey.<br /><p><strong>Why the name "Hidden Treasures"? </strong>Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta often referred to those in the world that others did not value as hidden treasures. We are concerned that the value of an individual with Trisomy 21 is being diminished. As you see from our montage, and as you read in our stories in the Our Stories section, we feel so blessed to have our children. We want to give parents who receive this diagnosis a true look, from the parent's perspective. </p><p><strong>Who is the artist singing in the video?</strong> We have been asked OFTEN, who is singing the song on our video above? It is Greg Troyer. We are thrilled that Greg has been able to see our project. Here is what Greg had to say about <strong>Hidden Treasures</strong>... <em>"I just want to say thank you for the honor of using my song for such an important thing. It really helps to encourage me that this music I write and labor over is not done in vain. God will continue moving in ways that He sees fit, and that is enough to keep us all going. Your video and cause are so inspiring that it makes regular day to day things seem to pale in comparison. God bless you, your family, and all of the other children and families that are affected by your ministry. Thank you again, Greg Troyer" </em><a href="http://www.gregtroyer.com/">http://www.gregtroyer.com/</a> </p><p>We <em>thank you</em>, Greg, for listening to God's call, and following it. Your song has been a blessing to us!</p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859878745047539215.post-57840926098693189552008-01-18T21:39:00.001-08:002009-05-03T18:10:03.664-07:00Our introduction to Trisomy 21<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RWchhDYk6WU/R5GNmxubcKI/AAAAAAAAABc/aloxU4mPZqY/s1600-h/031_31_0001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157058745638547618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RWchhDYk6WU/R5GNmxubcKI/AAAAAAAAABc/aloxU4mPZqY/s320/031_31_0001.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RWchhDYk6WU/R5GNnBubcLI/AAAAAAAAABk/PkskYgTm6Vg/s1600-h/100_6381.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157058749933514930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RWchhDYk6WU/R5GNnBubcLI/AAAAAAAAABk/PkskYgTm6Vg/s320/100_6381.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We would like you to meet our 5th little darling, that many call Emmy. I think she has more nick names than all of my children put together! </div><div></div><div>Emmy was born nearly three years ago, on March 17. For Catholics this is an amazing day. For some Irish Catholics, this is more than amazing, this is the only day that matters. For us, it would be a day that we would never forget. After her birth, we would find out that Emmy had a cluster of features that would lead doctors to suspect that she had Trisomy 21. </div><div></div><div>On the day Emmy was born, we had more questions than we did answers. <em>What did we know?</em> We knew we would be okay. We knew that we loved her beyond words. We knew that this was indeed part of the plan for our lives. No doubt about it. <em>What didn't we know?</em> We did not know she had a heart defect. We did not know <strong>enough</strong> about Down syndrome, Trisomy 21, or the fact that people called it by two different names. We did not know if this would affect our other children, <em>(thank God it did, it has been such an amazing gift to them).</em> We did not know if she would be able to do the things that other children do. I would say we did not know more than we did know. We turned to people who had gone before us to learn what we did not know. We turned to God to help us to continue to have the strength to help Emmy develop to her best potential. We read a lot, we prayed a lot. There were many resources that came from perspectives that were different from who we are. We are a Catholic family. We read about families who were of all different faiths. They told their stories, with their traditions woven in and through them. They were beautiful. So while these stories were absolutely wonderful, they were missing something for us. They were missing our faith journey. We could not fully "see" our family in the many books, web sites, and other resources. They could not answer the questions we had whirling through our heads. Would our daughter make her First Holy Communion? What about her faith would she understand? Along with the questions we had, many authors would share with us how their faith helped them to understand the diagnosis that their children were given. We looked for our faith in their stories. But struggled to find it. </div><div></div><div>We hope that we can give that gift to other families who are new to Trisomy 21. <em>Our beautiful faith</em> reminds us of the <em>dignity of all life</em>. We pray that our stories will share our journeys, with the Catholic faith woven through them. We hope that <em>what ever your faith is</em>, you will find hope here, and see the joy that our children have brought us. We would like you to meet the families who have chosen to participate in welcoming you to the world of Trisomy 21. From Emmy, her siblings, and her parents, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59z1XfMhjbc"><strong>welcome...to Holland</strong></a><strong>.</strong> </div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859878745047539215.post-40068984717243038962008-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:002010-04-01T08:20:36.067-07:00Welcome to Rome..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RWchhDYk6WU/S7S42agph0I/AAAAAAAAASA/lV3P3mVNL4Y/s1600/161%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RWchhDYk6WU/S7S42agph0I/AAAAAAAAASA/lV3P3mVNL4Y/s320/161%5B1%5D.JPG" /></a></div>If you speak to the parent who has a child with Down syndrome, they likely will be able to tell you how they felt when they first read the poem <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59z1XfMhjbc"><em>Welcome to Holland</em>, by Emily Kingsley</a>. Written by the mother, of a son, who happens to have Down syndrome, we are taught that we are on a new journey. The author shares, that although we expected to land in Italy, we actually arrived in Holland. We learn both destinations are equally beautiful, just very different from each other. It is a wonderful lesson about expectations and acceptance.<br />
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When I heard this poem for the first time, I was very moved. Its message brought to me a comfort, that, although we had not landed where we expected, we would be fine in our new location.<br />
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As time went by, this poem started to have new meaning to my husband and me. We realized we had indeed, landed in Italy after all. Rome, Italy. As we reminisce about our experience, we agree, that it is not the tulips of Holland we are looking at, but the basilicas of Rome.<br />
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Rome is even more gorgeous than we expected. It is almost like we heard God over the loud speaker in the plane, saying, “Welcome to Rome. I will be traveling with you. You are indeed blessed.” My husband and I grabbed our guidebooks-- the Church’s teachings-- and held them tightly. With our daughter as our tour guide, we see the beautiful hills and valleys of our new location. Each day we learned more than the day before. Yes, we have landed in Rome, and how sweet it is!<br />
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Our lessons in Rome came quickly. As pilgrims, we would learn more than ever before. Our first lesson in Rome taught us about God’s unconditional love. Following the birth of our daughter, one of the nurses shared with us how frequently children with Down syndrome are terminated. I believe it was a reaction on her part. She was telling us how beautiful our daughter is, and simply blurted this out. In that moment I realized not everyone would value my daughter, or love her as deeply, as we already loved her. While staring at our newest treasure from God, I could not help but think of my own imperfections, which I know are part of me. I thought deeply about the love that God has for me, imperfections and all. The words of John 15:9-12, whirled through my head, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” It was so easy to love our precious new daughter. She is a gift from God. God had unconditionally loved us all these years. Our youngest daughter helped us to understand the depth of God’s love for us. We know that although all of us are imperfect, He loves us so. We understand this love more now than we ever had before.<br />
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Our second lesson in Rome came rather swiftly following the first instruction. Although we love our child unconditionally, we knew that there were some things out of our control. Questions rolled through the minds of my husband and me. When will our daughter walk? Will she talk? Will she know God? It was in this moment that we realized, we must surrender it all to God: we must humbly hand it all over to Him. He had created this child for His purposes. He had created this child for His plans. What ever comes, will happen in His time, and in His way. In this lesson we learned to surrender, and we were versed in humility. “The poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father, in ever deeper union with His beloved Son.” When we were able to do this, we were able to love more fully, more unconditionally. That first lesson grew more completely in the second lesson. We opened ourselves to His will. In doing this, we found the peace we needed to wholly accept our daughter, exactly as God had created her. We learned to enjoy her and not miss out on this time worrying about what was to come. We were able to take pleasure in all of her little baby stages. We are so grateful for this surrender, because, as she grew, we realized that she is more like our other children than she is unlike them. It would have been a waste to have spent this time worrying, instead of enjoying our little baby.<br />
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Our journey in Rome did not end there. At four and a half months of age, our tour guide went into heart failure. Our third lesson had begun, we were instructed very clearly on our prayer life. When we brought our little darling to the pediatric cardiologist, we found out that not only did she have an extra chromosome, but she also had a little hole in her heart. Well, it is amazing what a little hole can do to a little heart. At this point, she would teach us all how to handle heart failure and how to wait until she was six months old for open heart surgery. Our prayer life increased in every way during this time. We learned, St. John Chrysostom was accurate when he said, “It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop…while buying or selling…or even while cooking.” While we waited for our turn to have this open heart procedure done, prayer was as present as breathing.<br />
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Our family has always been a prayerful family. However, during this time, every thought was offered up as a prayer. Truly, this prayer and the Graces of the Mass, carried us through while we waited. We turned to the saints, to implore them to pray for us as well. In moments when we were unable to pray, we sent out emails asking friends and family to pray. Many Masses were said for us in this time. The Grace of all of these Masses and prayers carried us. St. John Chrysostom was right again when he said, “Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult is easy.” While I would not say waiting was easy, I will say, it was not impossible. It was much more endurable because of the prayers and Masses.<br />
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All of these lessons came to us when we took a surprise detour to Rome. The “Vatican” is truly as tremendous as everyone says it is. Our Holy Father is doing a wonderful job of shepherding his flock, and upholding the teaching of the dignity of all life. The artwork in Rome is absolutely stunning. Paintings and murals depicting the infant Jesus will never look the same again. If you look at them very closely, you might actually think that you are seeing the beautiful almond-shaped eyes of an individual who has Down syndrome. Perhaps, indeed, the artist was wise enough to use such a person as his model. Our family is ever grateful to have learned many lessons about Rome in the years leading up to our darling’s birth. Landing in this place, has brought those lessons to life. We will forever be grateful to have traveled in Rome. And we are eternally thankful for the adorable little tour guide that God sent us. Indeed, we are blessed.<br />
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By Diane (ME's mom)<br />
1. CCC 2712<br />
2. CCC 2743<br />
3. CCC 2744Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859878745047539215.post-61133920419521368222007-04-08T06:01:00.000-07:002010-04-08T06:02:55.614-07:00ContactContact form here...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0