Hi! We are Jason, Nicole, Soren, Laikyn, & Taylia.

Jason & I got married in 2006 & started our family a couple years later. We were pregnant with our 1st child in 2008, a girl, Bella, who we subsequently lost to preterm labor at 22 weeks gestation. Due to that, all my following pregnancies were high risk & I would get sonograms early & frequently. We had Soren in 2010 & Laikyn in early 2014. When we got pregnant in 2015, from the start of that pregnancy it was very... different. Everything about it felt off somehow. I was so worried that I was going to miscarry, or find out I was having twins! I never imagined that at 12 weeks when I went in for my 1st of many “regular” sonograms, I would find out it WAS different, but not for the reasons I had feared. Once the doctor finally came in after the sonogram, he told me they found a marker that suggested “chromosomal issues”. That could be Trisomy 21, commonly known as Down syndrome, trisomy 18, or trisomy 13, & the last 2 would most likely mean my baby would die, either while still in-utero, or shortly after birth. It could also be nothing. He offered me “options”, which I vehemently refused. They did the non-invasive prenatal blood test to check chromosomes, but it would take 2 weeks for results. I left overwhelmed & devastated. The possibility of losing another child was too much for me. It made Down syndrome sound like a win! Little did I know it would be.

Two weeks later we got the call. We were having a girl! With Down syndrome. We were told the issues we could expect- health problems, lower motor skill, lessened cognitive ability, etc. I felt overwhelmingly inadequate. I wasn’t strong enough to handle “special needs”!

But now, in this journey since 2016, even with some of the scariest medical experiences of my life, I truly wouldn’t trade her or our journey with her for anything. She is the brightest spot of joy on even the darkest days, adored by all that know her & meet her. She is a true blessing from God & we are so grateful she’s in our life.

If you’ve found our site because you’ve just gotten the diagnosis, know that grieving the loss of the child you thought you were going to have is normal. But also know that you have just been given the greatest gift you never knew you wanted.