Splendid Mayhem: Family Pictures

Welcome To Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Family Pictures

I can't decide which one I like best! Would you help???? Please comment with 1, 2, or 3! Thanks Blog family!

8 comments:

DawnJanuary 10, 2008 at 2:26 PM
Oy, I can see why you are undecided. Sorry I am no help. ;) I like them all. The family looks so great. Love the b/w ones of Mr. Logen too. Those turned out awesome!
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AnonymousJanuary 10, 2008 at 2:57 PM
They're all GORGEOUS but I really like #3!!!
CYE later this afternoon!! Sorry I've been sooo busy!! :)
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MelindaJanuary 10, 2008 at 4:42 PM
Okay, it's a tough call, but I'm going to go with #3. At first, I was going to say #1, but then I realized that Logan is looking up in that one. Then I thought #2, and I realized DH wasn't really smiling in it. So #3 seems to be a happy medium!
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* ~ *Jessica* ~ *January 10, 2008 at 9:07 PM
It appears that most of you guys like # 3! Thanks for the help :)
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AnonymousJanuary 11, 2008 at 4:38 PM
I agree i'd have to go with #3!!!! I love all the pics though!!!!!
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The MitchellsJanuary 12, 2008 at 8:50 PM
I like #3 the best!
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Andrea "The H family"January 14, 2008 at 11:31 PM
They are all breathtaking!!
EVERYONE IS GOOD!!
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3LittleFlowersJanuary 28, 2008 at 3:52 PM
They are all cute but #3 is the best one!!!
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