3/21 is World Down Syndrome Day!

Today is World Down Syndrome Day! Celebrating this special need and these special children is nothing new to us...to date we've given fifteen families our Say Yes - Downright Lovable grants and have over fifteen more to give this year alone. We featured Down syndrome adoption as the focus of our Orphan Sunday mission last November, and we're blessed to be part of a very special book project called "extraordinary."We're thankful for the chance to shine a light on Down syndrome and the extraordinary community who are known as "the lucky few."

Stories of YES #42

Six years ago, the kids and I packed up the car and headed three hours north for a quick Spring Break getaway. About half an hour into our adventure, my cell phone rang. It was Beth from Holt, our adoption agency at the time. She had just come across a new file of a little boy, and she wanted to know if we were interested in taking a look. Beth mentioned that - out of all the families waiting for referrals - we were only one of a few families who are open to adopting a boy. Suffice it to say, that hit my heart.

We arrived at our destination a couple of hours later, and our dear relatives graciously allowed me to hop on their computer, so I could study his file and read all about this beautiful boy you see pictured. Now, if you know me at all, you know that I'm really tied in to signs and connections and all that divine stuff. Well, this child has my Grandpa's birthday of January 14th! He and I were very close while he was alive.

I could feel that my husband truly felt a sense of peace about this little boy. His medical needs seemed manageable, and we knew that we could give him the love and medical attention he needed. "Xiao Xiao" had just turned five, so that put him slightly out of birth order in our family, with little brother nine months behind.

The next day, we shuffled the necessary emails back and forth to submit our LOI to adopt "Xiao Xiao." We loved him already. It was March 19th, and we soon realized that it was the Feast Day of Saint Joseph, the earthly father to Jesus. I quickly found my yellow pad where I had been jotting down potential boy names the night before, and, to my amazement, guess what name topped the list? Joseph! But I had no idea - when I first wrote it - that it would be so meaningful the very next day!

Our Joseph has been home for almost six years now, and what an amazing boy he is! While I will admit that rough patches have been present with our son who spent so many years without us, we absolutely cannot imagine life without him, without our God-given YES to his adoption. God surely made a perfect match. And with our "twinned" brothers? They are Felix and Oscar. They are ying and yang. They are, without a doubt, meant to be together forever. We have been blessed by our yes.

- Lisa Murphy