Buddy Walk 2011

We went to our first Buddy Walk, today! What a lot of fun. We live in a small town, so I was surprised that we even had a Buddy Walk here. Oh, for those who don't know, a Buddy Walk is a walk to raise awareness about Down Syndrome. I was excited to meet some local families raising children with down syndrome. I can't wait to be able to take our boys next year. We'll have a team in the walk and raise money for our local Down Syndrome Society.

This year, we set up a Reece's Rainbow table and shared information about Reece's Rainbow and the Christmas Warrior program. Everyone was so receptive and excited to learn more about Reece's Rainbow. I was invited to share on the stage about Reece's Rainbow and our adoption. I'm not a fan of public speaking, but somehow I seem to keep finding myself with a microphone in my hand. I was brief and then headed back to our table to answer questions.

We had lots of fun items to giveaway that Reece's Rainbow sent ahead of time for this event. Brochures, mugs, pens, notebooks, totes, etc. The biggest hit of the day for our crowd was the bumper sticker. It says, "Babies with Down Syndrome choose life, too!" What a great message and one that every person who loves someone with Down Syndrome agrees with.

My Mom, Rebecca, Julianna and her cousin Maddox all helped share Reece's Rainbow with our new friends. Here are some other fun photos from our day. Enjoy!

McGruff was Julie and Maddie's favorite at the walk!

Don't you love this boy's smile and you can see some of the great stuff we had to giveaway.

I hope your day was as fun as ours. The best part of my day was meeting some beautiful children blessed with that extra special chromosome. I'm so glad God led us here to be a part of this community of people who clearly love their children beyond measure. Every family really does deserve the blessing of a child with down syndrome...

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...Do Something!

Blessings,

Mandy