|
Sunday, June 21, 2009 |
|
Cool Story/New link!
|
Hello everyone! Just wanted to tell you a cool story about something that has been happening, since our last camping trip. When we arrived at the park, it was raining, and rained on and off for the first two days. But, as you could see by the last pictures that I posted, we had a blast on this trip! It wasn't long after the rain stopped and we were able to go outside, that we noticed a young family at a campsite near us, having the time of their lives. Two young children, were laughing and playing, with their mom and dad. This little girl had the prettiest, curly, red hair. I could hear this little girl and her younger brother giggling, a mile away. My first thought was, how cool it is, to see such a loving, devoted young family and to see these young children, having such a good time.
Anyway, it was really wet outside, and of course water puddles everywhere. Anyone who knows Brady, knows that he isn't going to let an opportunity like this pass. So he quickly ran over and sat down in the water puddles draining down the sidewalk. Of course, I didn't dare try to stop or prevent him from doing this, I knew that it would be useless to try and keep this kid from water.
I was taking pictures of him, playing in the puddles, when this young family approached us. The kids quickly joined in with Brady, and then Peyton joined them as well. I had the opportunity to chat with their parents, while all the kids played, they were very interesting people. I just could not believe, how much energy this couple had, if only I had half of their energy,lol. Their children, have equally, if not more, energy. As I talked with the parents, they told us that their names were Marcel(dad), Leigh(mom), Nina(big sis) & Waylon(little bro). They told us about all their travels in the last days, they had been to several different states, visiting family. Now, I would have been a nervous wreck, if I had traveled with two young children, all those miles. But these guys, seemed to take it all in stride and enjoy every minute. They had, at the spur of the moment, decided to swing by this campground that we happened to be at, and stay the night. I don't think that any of them had ever been camping before,lol. As we all watched Brady in the water, Marcel, Leigh, Nina and Waylon seemed a little curious about Brady, since he was not talking and obviously acted different than your typical child. I explained to them that he had Angelman Syndrome, what it was, and a little about how it affected him. They seemed very interested in learning more about Angelman Syndrome. I told them about his blog, that they should look it up sometime and that they could contact us on through there. We agreed, that we would like to stay in touch each other, after we all got home. We had planned to get together later that night and watch a movie, but things were so busy, and we were all wiped out, so we didn't get the chance.
They all left, the next morning, so we didn't get a lot of time together. I was hoping to hear from them once they were back in Texas, but to be honest, really didn't expect to.
It wasn't long after we got home, that we found a comment on Brady's blog. It was Marcel and his family. They had made it home to Texas and were trying to get in contact with us. I emailed them back, but the email was bounced back to me. I wasn't sure how to contact them, until they actually emailed me. It was really cute, they were not sure they were even emailing the right people, but gave it a shot anyway,lol.
As the weeks after our trip progressed, I have spoken with them several times. This truly is an amazing family. They have started a project called, "Big Happy Tent". This is going to be a non profit organization, that takes Angleman Families camping. Its so ironic, that they just happened to be at this campground, that this was their first time camping and that we were total strangers. They had never even heard about Angelman Syndrome before this day. But yet they were so inspired and so willing to try and help Angelman Families. As much as they were inspired by our family, I think they have been an even bigger inspiration for ours. This project is still a work in progress, but quickly coming together. I have posted the "Big Happy Tent" link, in the right hand column, under "Angelman Links". Please take the time to visit this website, its going to be amazing. Marcel, Leigh, Nina and Waylon are working very hard, to make this dream a reality. They need our support to make it happen.
I think that, so many times, we parents, especially those of who are special needs parents, forget or just don't have the time or the financial means, to sit back, look around and just enjoy life. This is going to be a great opportunity for families, to just get away from it all, if only for a little while. I cant speak for everyone, but I know that our family loves to "just get away from it all". I think that camping is one of the things that helps keep us sane and grounded.
Anyways, you guys check out The Big Happy Tent link! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I will keep you posted on this project.You guys can help, by passing this link to everyone in your address book :) Last but not least, we want to send a big THANK YOU, to Marcel, Leigh, Nina and Waylon, you guys rock! Will post more later............ |
posted by angelwings
@
3:54 AM
  |
|
|
|
