In previous years, during the month of October, I have blogged daily in honor of Down syndrome awareness.

It's not gonna happen this year. I just can't pull it off. There are all sorts of reasons.

One is that I don't have as much to say about Down syndrome in the sense of how it impacts us daily. It's part of the fabric of our days. It is our normal. Bean is not defined by Ds, though it is very much a part of him. On the one hand I don't think much about it. On the other, it is always with me. Somehow those two things have blended together for me.

Second, we just have a lot going on this month and I am finding it hard to keep up with the pace of our family. First up for the month is the first public service of our church. We have been in SC for more than 2.5 years now with the goal of beginning a new church. We hit some hard spots, made some changes, and started fresh last November. After nearly a year of meeting with our core group for worship, teaching, planning, building relationships, seeing new folks join us, and looking for a building we are ready to begin public services. This Sunday, Oct. 4, is the big day. It's a housewarming of sorts. A celebration of all the Lord has brought our little church through. And it's a way to introduce ourselves to our community in a more formal way. We are excited! We even have our website up and running. Check us out: Riverside Community Church.

So, I'll be in and out. Posting some about Down syndrome as well as other goings on in our family. And for those of you that don't know much about Down syndrome maybe you will learn something new from our family. Next time I check in I will point you toward others that will be blogging about Ds more regularly than myself, in case your interested.

Happy October!