BEHIND THE DESIGNS

I love Spring for all the new life it brings. New Life from Dead Things. The trees sprouting green everywhere and buds just sprouting up and peeking through. It’s encouraging to me. I love the sunny yellow Daffodils that so strongly make their presence known, coming out of the gray days of winter. I’ve been watching my daffodils for a couple weeks now. They are a beautiful representation of seasons, community, and the cycles and seasons of life. The continued work that is always being done in us and through us.

This is Part 2 of my blog post from last week. If you didn’t read my blog post from last week, make sure to check out Part 1 of the story. With World Down Syndrome Day coming up, I wanted to answer a few questions (and maybe bust a few myths) about what is and what isn’t hard about Down Syndrome. From a Mom’s point of view.

WHY DOWN SYNDROME?

I have lots of people ask me this question. It usually sounds like this, “Please don’t be offended, but WHY DOWN SYNDROME? What made you adopt a child with Downs? Was special needs always your intent?”

Now, I could choose to be offended. But, why? What good does that do? Plus, everyone that has had the guts to ask me really has had the best intentions in asking. Rather than be offended, I actually like it. I like people that have the guts to ask hard questions. And I like that it gives me the opportunity to share the why and maybe help people see things a little differently.

My answer is this… We didn’t choose Down Syndrome. It chose us. Or rather God chose it for us. Just like we didn’t choose adoption. God chose adoption for us. We simply chose to say ‘Yes’ to whatever God was asking. And He did the rest. He aligned our hearts to His will and put the rest in place. He showed us, without a shadow of a doubt, which child was for us. Nope, I never had the intention of adopting a child with Special Needs. But, honestly, I never had any intentions at all. Or expectations for that matter. I kind of think that was the point. God was just asking us to trust Him in the unknown.

The next question is quite often...

LOOKING BACK...GOTCHA DAY

After meeting Ethan for the first time as a family, we left Shepherd's Field separately to meet him in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia where we would process the adoption in his home province. Lily Z, from SFCV, traveled with Ethan to get him to us in Hohhot. This was just part of our process since we met Ethan at Shepherd's Field first. Now Gotcha Day!!! We met our guide, Ethan and Lily Z., and the Director of his orphanage in Hohhot to do the first leg of paperwork at the hotel. We took passport photos and adoption decree photos. Signed things and thumbprinted things and that's it. We Gotcha, Ethan! Forever.

That's why these Personalized GOCTHA DAY orders are my favorite. I love getting to help families celebrate and remember when they officially became family.

This design has some special meaning to me across several fronts. Waiting and trusting in the waiting is something that God is always working on in me. I did the uneasy waiting to get pregnant with our second child. I did the waiting for healing after losing pregnancies/babies. I also did the waiting during a risky pregnancy. Then, years after I thought my little family was complete, God called us to adopt and wait some more. And this is an area I was not, and still am not, asking for any more growth in. Haha. We met E when he was 1.5 years old and went back to get him at 3 years old. I think paper pregnant was just as hard.

Whatever waiting season you are in, I want to encourage you with this... God is in the waiting.

LOOKING BACK...GOTCHA DAY

After meeting Ethan for the first time as a family, we left Shepherd's Field separately to meet him in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia where we would process the adoption in his home province. Lily Z, from SFCV, traveled with Ethan to get him to us in Hohhot. This was just part of our process since we met Ethan at Shepherd's Field first. Now Gotcha Day!!! We met our guide, Ethan and Lily Z., and the Director of his orphanage in Hohhot to do the first leg of paperwork at the hotel. We took passport photos and adoption decree photos. Signed things and thumbprinted things and that's it. We Gotcha, Ethan! Forever.

That's why these Personalized GOCTHA DAY orders are my favorite. I love getting to help families celebrate and remember when they officially became family.

LOOKING BACK...ADOPTION TRAVEL DAY

There was A LOT of prayer and waiting and expectation leading up to this day. About a year and a half of it. What seemed like forever then feels like the blink of an eye now. I remember feeling like "Phew, it's almost over. The waiting is almost over and it's actually happening. Somebody pinch me because I can't believe we are actually going do this."

So to the people out there that are waiting... I want to encourage you with this...
DON'T GIVE UP!

I don’t really make New Years Resolutions. More like improvement plans and I pick a word or a phrase. What’s one way I could improve something so...

I hope that I will always look back at this time and remember to just slow down. To say ‘no’ to keeping up and doing all the things all the time. To just be and enjoy this life we are given. Even when it doesn’t look enjoyable at first.

Welcome to APartandesign!

I’m Alex! Graphic Designer, Artist, Storyteller, Creator. I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. I see the world a little differently, not just for what things are, but for what they could be. Everything I see creates a new picture in my head. My art is that picture. I hope that everything I create inspires you to see things a little differently. To love the space you are in. To see the world, and all the people and things in it, with a little more life and vibrance. And to love what surrounds you. 

  Over the past year, as the Lord has been breaking my heart for the things that break His, He has really expanded my view on reaching the Father...