31 for 21 Day 12: Telling our Friends and Family

The day Chris and I received the call saying that the results of Trisomy 21 were confirmed, we were a mess. We honestly didn't know what would come next. After I spent my time crying, I got on the computer and started officially researching different things. The "rational" side of my brain kicked in and it was time to get to work. I started the blog, found other blogs, searched in google (yikes!) and found some official websites. Thanks to either the National Down Syndrome Congress or the National Down Syndrome Society, I found a guideline that I used to help write my letter to my friends and family that we hadn't told in person.

I dug back through my Colin folder in my email and found the letter as well as all of the beautiful responses we received back from so many of our friends and family members. One thing a lot of people worry about (us included), was how people were going to react to the news. I think it is hard for some people to know what to say or how to handle the situation, however, we were so incredibly lucky that everyone stepped up to the challenge as well...

"To our closest friends~

Words cannot describe how truly happy we are to have Colin in our life. He has been our blessing from the moment we found out we were pregnant and our lives were instantly transformed the moment we first held him. He is a very special baby and we were chosen to be his parents to take care of him and love him...We found out today that Colin has Down Syndrome. Chris and I felt that this would be the best way to tell you so that you had time to adjust to the news and not feel like you needed to have an immediate response. We are so happy and proud of our little boy and nothing will change that. We hope that you will be able to see him the same way that we do, as a special and beautiful little boy that we love with all of our hearts. We are a family now, so please don't apologize for his condition...God chose us for a reason and we are really trying to see this as a special job given to us.

Colin would still love to visit with his friends, so please feel free to visit him when you need some cuddle time.....

Thank you for your support and love during this time...

With Love,

Kelli and Chris"

At first, I thought I was going to try and put in some pieces of the responses into this post, but there is honestly too much to fill in. We are blessed. Everyone welcomed, loved, adored, hugged, visited, wrote, supported, and joined us in our journey.

There is never any way to know how to handle ANY situation, especially when you are thrown into it without any preparation. We have heard stories of people who lost friendships, had altered relationships and difficulties with certain friends and family and fortunately, we don't know what that feels like.

So, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts to every single one of you (old AND new) who have been there for us in more ways than I could ever list. We love you....we really do.