You are my sunshine, my only sunshine....

Dear Laura,

The day that you were diagnosed with Down syndrome, I knew that my world was about to change. I knew that things would be different from that day forward. I had lots of questions in my mind. Questions that no one could answer. Would you be ok? Did you REALLY have Down syndrome or was the ultrasound picking up on things that weren't even there? Would you be accepted by others? I knew that I would love you no matter what, but I didn't know what others would think.

I didn't care what people thought of you because I had some kind of reputation or something to maintain, but because you were my baby sister who I loved SO much, and I just wanted people to accept you for you. If someone didn't accept you as you were, then I didn't want to have anything to do with them. If they couldn't love you because you were "different" to them, then I didn't want them to love me just because I was "normal" in their eyes.

When we found out that you had Down syndrome, I knew that whoever I married MUST accept you. It wasn't an option. They either accepted you or they would never have a chance of being my husband. You are one of the most important things in the world to me. If they couldn't accept you for you, then I knew that that man wasn't worth my time because what kind of man would he really be anyway if he couldn't accept you or love you just because you have Down syndrome? He wouldn't be a very good man at all.....

You have made such a difference in my life, baby girl. You have opened my eyes to a whole new world. You have caused me to want to advocate for Down syndrome and Congenital Heart Defects. You have caused me to realize how hurtful the "R" word is, and to help others realize how hurtful it is and to stop using it. You have made my world a better place. You have made me truly understand what true love is. You have changed my bad days into good days by just giving me that gorgeous smile of yours. God has used you to open my eyes to the world of orphans with special needs who live in orphanages in foreign countries. Orphans who were abandoned for one reason and one reason only.....because they weren't what their parents wanted or expected. They were "different".

You have caused me to take a leap of faith and begin to raise money and awareness for these orphans. You have brought a love into my heart for these orphans that never before existed just because I never knew such horrible conditions for these orphans existed. If it wasn't for you, I would have never found Reece's Rainbow, I would have never fallen in love with Autumn, and we would not be in the process of bringing her home right now.

If it wasn't for you, life would not be the same. You have made my world beautiful. You have put more sunshine into my life. Thank you for being born, bug. I don't know what I would do without you in my life <3

I love you to the moon and back 1,000 times x 10!

Love,

Sissy