Genevieve

When I was young the picture I had of my future and my family looked pretty different than it does now. I never could have imagined all the twists and turns and blessings that I would call my story. We had a few challenging years financially and emotionally with the news of a thyroid cancer diagnosis when I was 27 and our 3rd baby was 6 months old. Baby number 4 came and we were so excited! I had been working with some great doctors and health professionals and doing great myself. A little while later we started to feel like our family wasn't quite complete. We talked through adoption, fostering to adopt and having another baby ourselves. Dreaming and sharing what life would be like with 5 kids. Then we found out baby #5 was on the way! Our plans and dreams seemed to be forming. Only a few short weeks later we had a misscarriage at 6 weeks. It only solidified for us that we really wanted to try again. Then baby #6 was on the way! After living in Nashville for 7 years, we decided it was time to move back to Wisconsin to be closer to my family again. On May 2nd, 2019, Genevieve was born and our world was forever changed.

The pediatrician first said, “Congratulations!” and then explained that the nurses noticed several features that are common with Down Syndrome. I closed my eyes and listened and nodded as he explained more. It may sound funny, but when we got this cursory diagnosis (genetic testing would later confirm) it totally made sense to me. A few months before Genevieve was born I had these strong feelings that something was going to be different, but I had no idea what. All of her check ups went great, and there were no indicators of anything out of the ordinary. Now; although the pieces of the puzzle seemed to come together, I never ever would have guessed that Down syndrome would be a piece. As we sat there in our small delivery room I felt God's gentle whisper…

‘I was preparing your mama heart, I know it might feel like a lot right now, you are capable of so much. Life doesn't slow down when things get tough, but I will always be here to guide you and give you the strength and fortitude you need. She is what you asked for and prayed for so many times. She is my gift to you.'

If one thing that raising 5 kids has taught us is that life will probably always be crazy. But we can choose to make it great no matter what is going on, no matter how overwhelmed we feel, no matter how many times we feel like we've already scraped the bottom of the barrel. We've learned you have to embrace the adventure, no matter what. That way when those amazing unexpected moments happen you can be there fully. You can add another piece to the puzzle and you will see how beautiful the picture is.

To learn more about Genevieve, follow along @theupsidedownfamily on Instagram!