Today is Rachel’s 19th birthday. If you are anywhere near her, you know that. The girl loves her birthday, and celebrates it for at least a month if not the entire year. Forget that she just had a really big […]
May 20, 2018 was a momentous occasion for Rachel and our family. She was one of 563 members of the Olathe South Class of 2018. Thousands across the country are members of the Class of 2018. We celebrated before, during, […]
“This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. ” Nineteen years ago we were awaiting the arrival of Rachel Nicole Mast. We had known for five months that she would be born […]
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Rachel has just five more days of high school and two of those are finals. It has been a journey for sure. In grade school, each year I would write a note to her classroom teacher […]
Conservatively, I estimate Rachel has had 45 IEP meetings. I just returned home from her last IEP meeting – almost 16 years to the day we had her first IEP meeting to discuss transition to preschool. Truly, it seems like […]
World Down Syndrome Day is recognized every year on March 21 (3-21) because simply stated, Down syndrome is created when a person has three copies of the 21st chromosome. There are celebrations, ceremonies and educational activities all around the world. […]
Back in September, I wrote “What Will Rachel Do Next Year?” Seemed like a smart way to communicate to everyone because it is THE question. I outlined her preferences and some of our options. I said we wanted to enjoy […]
Nineteen years ago today our world changed forever for this is the day that we learned our unborn daughter had Down syndrome. There is an old song based on the words of Psalmist that says “Hold on my child, joy […]
I have a guest blogger today, Katie Locke, MCD, CCC-SLP. A few month ago, Katie posted this on an Instagram picture of Rachel: “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Rachel. So proud of her.” She tells it better than […]
One year ago today, Rachel opened the first Kansas ABLE Savings Account. It was a BIG deal to us! Having advocated for the passage of ABLE for eight years and then three years after the federal law passed, Rachel had […]