Star Wars Battle!

We couldn't wait to post a scene from the battle of the Jedi's against the Dark side. Our first minutes of filming was when all the boys were teamed up on two different teams. For some reason a few of the members on Josh's team which happened to be "The Dark side" abandoned him. So, in this second filming, you will see that Josh is taking every on himself!

It was a great time had by all! Thanks for being born Josh! We love you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDMF18sJnQA

Happy Birthday to Joshua Orme!

Josh is turning 6 today. (Well, kind of. He is a Leap Year birthday!) These pictures are from when Sir Boss (Grandpa Geoff) came to visit us in January. These pictures were taken at a great Western Art Museum. The stagecoach was the highlight.

I have been wanting to think of some Joshua stories to share, but nothing is popping out at me. But when I think of him, all I can think about is how grateful I am for him. I am in love with the boy and person he is becoming. I think one of my favorite things I have been able to do with him this year is to watch him learning to read. Tonight we finished a reading course that has taken us nearly 6 months to complete, and guess what, he is reading!!! It is so exciting. I love that Josh enjoys school so much. I love his teacher Mrs. Lehr. I honestly can not think of one thing I do not like about his school. It has completely exceeded any expectations I had of Kindergarten. I already know it is going to be extremely hard to leave Traders Point Christian Academy in 5 years.

Tonight we had a KILLER birthday party at our house. Josh helped plan the whole thing. It was a Lego Star Wars Birthday Party. I will save the details for when I post the pictures, but it was a total success. 9 boys attended, all with their light sabers and Star Wars shirts! We had plenty of games planned to last the 3 hours. (If you know me, you know that I am a game person at parties!) After about the 4th or 5th game, this cute little boy with glasses and blond hair said, "Do you think we can have a rest from the games and have some free time?" I thought he was adorable in the way that he asked, and of course I said "yes"!

Josh, thank you for being the best big brother in the world. Thank you also for being exactly who you are and so kind and caring to everyone. It is a joy being your mother!! We love you!

I love you Salisha!

Over my Christmas vacation in Utah I had the privilege of spending 3 days with one of my favorite people! Those of you who do not know Salisha, she is someone I plan to be friends with forever. She is from Grenada and is currently attending BYU Hawaii.

This was Salisha's first time EVER seeing snow. She has lived on an island her whole life and has never experienced any seasons. When she got off the airplane she couldn't understand what was coming out of her mouth and said, "Oh my gosh, I am talking smoke!" Seeing her breath in the cold was something that she had never known.

We spent a beautiful snowy night on Temple Square with Aaron and Keri Johnson. They are also friends of ours from Grenada. They are the ones who made it possible for Salisha to get an education in the U.S. (I hope you guys know what an inspiration you are to all

of us that know you!!!)

Despite all the hard times Salisha has faced in her life, she is one of the happiest and most kind people I know. I feel grateful to know her and to be able to talk with her often.

We are standing at "This is the Place Monument" at the mouth of Emigration canyon. Salisha joined the church 2 months before I left Grenada. She was one of the smartest people in her school in Grenada despite harsh family and living conditions. I admire her motivation and determination to work hard. It has been wonderful to see the blessings come into her life because of her faith and hope.

The cute girl in the pink hat is "Jada". Jada was one of Josh's friends in Grenada. They were only two at the time and look how beautiful she is now!

Salisha is fabulous with kids too. She gives Tyler lots of love!

And here we are on my favorite ski mountain. We had a great time hanging out, but I was not going to be able to convince Salisha to ski down that mountain. She was ready to leave the cold and get back to the warm beach!

I love you Salisha! You're the BEST!

A retort to my Valentine

WOW! I certainly can’t top that last post. I can honestly say in 10 years I never new my wife loved me so much!
This is only my second post of all time, but I wanted to share a few thoughts about my wife today. Of all of her amazing attributes, there is one that I think stands out the most and that is…FUN. She is generally always happy and is up for anything with anyone at anytime. So today I wanted to highlight this one attribute that I truly adore with a top 10 list of the fun things Kristine has done for/with/to me over the last 10 years.

#10. Tour de St. George. One month before Kristine became pregnant with Josh, we got the crazy idea to ride our bikes from Salt Lake to St. George. We spent four days on the road with just the clothes on our back. We stopped in Eureka the first night, then Milford, and finally Ceder City for the last. We crashed in our Grandmother's condo for a day and a night once we completed the journey. I never ate so well. We walked funny for a few days afterwards but it was worth it. St. George usually means lots of tennis, and of course, rollerblading, but once there, we just felt like sitting down, so we went to a movie--we never do that on vacations. Anyway, it was an incredible trip, the crummy hotels we stayed at, the ma and pops cafe's in Delta and Milford, the beautiful scenery, the solitude of being alone on our bikes in the middle of nowhere listening to our cassette players. (ipods weren't around yet.) I forgot to mention neither of us actually trained for it and Kristine used her mountain bike. But we did it. I remember huddling up together from Delta to Milford, during a wind storm and it was near the sand dunes, so we hid behind an old rail road shack until it died down. We had quite a few flat tires, and going from Ceder City to St. George on the interstate was scary, but all in all, it was a blast.

#9. Rollerblading down the strip in Las Vegas. If you know Kristine, you know she loves Las Vages and if you really know Kristine, you know she still loves rollerblading despite its rapid decline in popularity 10 years ago. But not too long ago, Kristine and I found ourselves in St. George with roller blades and there was one thing on her mind…to go ride the strip…at midnight. It was before Josh, so just the two of us, cruising through crowds of people, bumping into them and saying sorry a million times(I did, just typically felt it was their fault.) Our favorite part was when a man yelled out to us “Rollerblades? People don’t use those anymore.” We’d take them off to go into stores of course, but it was a memorable night for all involved, Kristine and I, and the hundreds of people still shaking their heads after seeing us. In the purpose of full exposure, it could be said Kristine and I have had many a memorable time rollerblading in various parts of this country. From Balboa beach over to Mackinac island, from Seattle down to Phoenix, we’ve done our best to keep the roller blade in existence.

#8. Snow camping. It was a long time ago now, but when we first started dating I knew I like Kristine, but I didn’t know how much. I always thought a good tale sign would be if the girl would enjoy snow camping. So I asked her if she wanted to go sleep in a snow cave with me and my friends for New Year ’s Eve. It is obvious to me now what her answer would be, but back then I was quite surprised how excited she was to go. So we went up the North side of Big Cottonwood Canyon near Jupiter Hill and built a snow cave. I had a large wool blanket to put the sleeping bag on and as far as I remember, there weren’t any complaints overnight. We built a large fire pit, hung out, drank lots of hot chocolate and went snow shoeing in the morning. Kristine and I always talk about going again, but the kids aren’t old enough, though Josh is close. My friends told me I was lucky to have a girl willing to sleep in a cave made of snow…so since then she was dubbed, the “snow princess.”

#7. Kayaking in the Pacific Northwest archipelago. Although most people prefer the beach for a honeymoon, Kristine and I went to the San Juan Islands off Seattle. We spent our days hiking in trails, taking boats to different islands and most memorably, kayaking in the ocean. We packed some sandwiches and took off. We didn’t see any Wales unfortunately, but we had a blast and caught a few waves as well.

#6. Swimming with the Green Sea Turtles. Off the coast on Canoun, an island in the Grenadines of St. Vincent, Kristine and I took a one day boat trip and ate lunch on the deck, snorkeled around four different islands and eventually wound up swimming with the sea turtles that were 4-5ft long, no kidding! Most people on the boat were too scared to jump in, but Kristine and I were the first off the boat and they eventually had to call us in to get back on as we were having way too much fun(and they were sick of watching Josh without us). In fact, that entire day was incredible. We saw coral very few people have ever laid eyes on while snorkeling. One particular island was so remote it was simply an island with one resort on it with a dozen rooms. Only the wealthiest people in the world could go there—no, not movie stars, beyond movie stars. Our boat was forbidden to dock and we could only rest 100ft from shore. Funny thing was, that didn’t stop Kristine. She wanted to go on there. So she convinced me to swim to shore with her, act like we were part of the crowd, and walk around. I was nervous the whole time, but not her. Soon she was swinging in a hammock with Josh. We didn’t have much time to hang out, but I won’t forget it.

#5. Cross Country Skiing on her Birthday. So, every birthday since she can remember, Kristine’s dad had taken her skiing. So I helped continue the tradition since we’ve been married. 6 years ago, she was 8months pregnant with Josh and was very discouraged she couldn’t go skiing. So instead, we went cross country skiing up Millcreek with our dogs and had a blast. The dogs were crazy, Cru even got stuck in a snow drift that I had to literally search for the body, it was hilarious and we had a memorable ski day. Kristine, of course, enjoyed it like she always does and didn’t complain at all that she wasn’t up at Alta.

#4. The Break-In. I know this is mostly a lighthearted post, but one of the truly “craziest” things Kristine has ever done was quite serious. Some may know that while in Grenada, Kristine and I had a man break into our apartment in the middle of the night. The perpetrator and I got in a fight, thrashing up the house, but eventually pinning him down, Kristine(eight months pregnant with Maddie) and Josh went to safety downstairs at a neighbors apt. Anyway, a dramatic night to say the least, I was treated for multiple wounds, couldn’t see out of one eye, etc, and then had to go take a final that morning. Despite all of that, and the fact that there is a significant gang population on the island that the police warned us of that may retaliate(since I fought back and embarrassed the kid), Kristine didn’t want to back down and she spent the day helping to clean the house and we slept there that night. There wasn’t even a part of me that wanted to sleep there again, but Kristine was firm that we needed to overcome the fear immediately. So we did, and we were safe from there on out. Admittedly neither of us slept well for weeks, we nevertheless stayed in our apartment until the lease was up.

#3. ANIMALS!

Kristine loves animals. The first big surprise was when I came home from camping and we had a beagle puppy in a shoebox sitting in my house. It was hard to be mad when the puppy was so adorable. FYI, for all the guys out there, lesson learned, don't go camping by yourself. Well, one beagle spread to two. Then in Grenada I build a bird house and we had "bluie" for Josh while Cru and Saddie stayed in Utah--it was too difficult to get them to Grenada. Then In St. Vincent came "fish" for the gold fish we had(don't tell Josh but we actually had three of them.) Now in Indiana we have Tucker, our new terrier that I had the surprise Kristine with when she went to Utah without me. To be honest, I was considerably upset about Cru, but Cru soon became my best friend, I played soccer with him outside all the time and he loved to go running with me, and well, this isn't a memorial, since he passed away last year, but let's just say Kristine's guts to bring him home has led us down a path of nonstop action and fun. Anyone who thinks having pets takes away time from the kids, or are too messy, or too much work, or depreciate your house value, etc, well, just ask your kids if it's worth it(yes, I am calling out all of my siblings)

#2. Camping in the rain forest in Grenada with 6 young, sexually excited men. Kristine attended a campout high up in the rainforest of Grand Etang in Grenada. She cooked their food, help set up the tent and gather firewood and was the instigator of the hike to the waterfalls in the morning. By the way, it rained the entire night, our tents were so poor that water went straight through them despite the rain tarp. Luckily it was the Caribbean and even when raining it’s still hot. She told ghost stories at night to the boys and easily brushed away their charming though silly advances(they didn’t care she was married or even that I was there as well. The most guilty is in the yellow shirt) She was one of the first to dive into the waterfall in the

morning and got all the boys to update her on their girlfriends, girl-trouble and how to talk to women. While we were driving home, one of the boys whistled out the window to get a girl’s attention. Kristine quickly explained girls didn’t like that. (unfortunately I think that particular girl did.) By the way, how many women would absolutely love moving to Grenada for 2 years, little communication with family and no money to enjoy the perks of the Caribbean? If you didn’t go there, you may think a lot, but Kristine is one of the happy few that don’t talk about the Caribbean med school experience as something they “had to get through.” I even think some of her friends threw a party to celebrate “getting through” the Caribbean. Kristine on the other hand, can’t wait to go back and has been encouraging me to start teaching down there part time.

#1. Well, sorry to disappoint, but this one is too Hot for TV(or computer). Sorry David, I just deleted it. We all know you can cross the line with some of the things that come out of your mouth. Your wife sure does love you though!

Sorry, I just saw this picture and had to put in on. Maddie on an island she'll never see again.(mostly because it was illegal to be on there in the first place.)

I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON, KRISTINE!!!

To my Valentine on V-Day!

Young and beautiful...

Older and a little frightening...

(Maybe this picture is telling me that I need to go back to blond!)

However, I will say that our photographer was quite good in this picture, aka: Joshua.
Three weeks ago, Dave and I started a 6 week marriage course through our church. The leaders of the session pick 4 or 5 different couples for each new session until every married couple has a chance to be involved if they choose. Dave and I went to our first class and after about 30 minutes we were all told to go into separate rooms and discuss and write down any "challenges" we are facing in our marriage. Dave and I got up to the quiet bedroom and we just stared at each other and laughed. We couldn't come up with anything. Let me explain why. As Dave put it, "I just don't feel that we have any problems in our relationship because we don't really have a relationship." Sounds horrible, but in many ways this is true. We have nothing to fight about because we are never around each other for a long enough time period. These days I feel that I truly never see him. The only thing we managed to write down on the paper was that our greatest challenge is finding time for our marriage. A few nights ago, at our third class, our teacher asked everyone to explain how our communication had been through out the week. Dave and I once again looked at each other and tried not to laugh. He held my hand and gave it a squeeze. When it got to us we both admitted that we truly felt like we hadn't talked to each other for the entire week. Not because we don't want to, and not because there is underlying tension, but rather, simply because I have not seen him. He does not have a cell phone, he can not talk regardless when he is at work or on call every 4th night, and time slips through our fingers when he walks in the door and is pulled in a million directions by the kids. We promised to do better this week.

This blog may sound as if I am complaining, however, that is not the case. I love my husband more than anything in the world. I would not trade him or anything about him. ANYTHING. I have loved Dave Orme fully and completely for over 10 years now. (And actually 13 years if I think back to high school.) I want to feel that I can write an honest post although I always worry that I may offend a reader. Sorry if I do.

I talked to my mom yesterday and she asked me about Dave. I told her about his hours and how hard this rotation is for him. She asked me if it was hard on me. I told her in all honesty, that "No, I am doing very well and so are the kids." She knew that I was telling the truth. I feel right now that my life is perfect. Yes, even in residency when I rarely get to spend quality time or any time with Dave. My life is still perfect. In Michigan and Indiana I have numerous friends and acquaintances that are in the same stage of life as me. Young kids at home, finances tight, missing their husbands, and just trying to "make it" through residency until "real life" begins. So often, the conversations lead into a feeling such as "whoa is me" or "life is unfair." Or there is a feeling of pity, resentment, anger or just frustration. (There are times when I feel it too.) More often than not, I feel that these wives want someone to complain with about "how hard" life is being married to a resident. I guess what I am trying to say is that it gets old. In fact, recently whenever I meet a girl who is married to someone who is NOT an aspiring doctor, I get so excited to talk all about another, ANY other profession outside of the medical field. Let's just say that I feel totally saturated with residents in our neighborhood and ward. Variety is good...and healthy! I have to remind myself that there is a world outside of medicine.

I am so grateful to be married to a highly motivated, hard working, compassionate individual who has chosen a field where he truly changes and blesses the lives of other people every day. I don't have to pull my husband off the couch to go find a job. I don't have to nag him to study or work harder. In fact, I don't think I EVER have told Dave to work harder at anything. He is the hardest worker I know. And I know exactly where he learned his work ethic. Thanks Geoff AND Lynnette! I don't have to push my husband to read his scriptures or go to church. I don't have to worry about him eating too many french fries and burgers at McDonald's. I don't have to drag him outside to get exercise or do something fun with the family. I don't have to worry about him looking at porn or flirting with other girls. I don't have to ask Dave (without the kids hearing) to watch his language or to try to show a little more love to them. I don't feel the need to ask for his help around the house, because when he is home, he helps without asking. I don't even have to ask Dave to take our dog out running. Dave gets that puppy energy out of Tucker at least 3 times a week with a 5 mile run. So tell me again why I should be complaining about how hard life is being married to a resident? I don't have a whole lot to complain about. (By the way, I know every resident has a different and/or more demanding schedule than Dave. Some wives probably have every right to complain about their husbands. I am just saying that I don't feel that I do. I have a million more things to be grateful for than whine about. I have to watch myself to make sure I don't fall into that negative mindset.)

When Dave first made the decision to be a Child Psychiatrist I didn't quite know what to think. "Is that going to be weird," I wondered? Psychiatrist's definitely have a certain stereotype associated with them. The more I have thought and thought and prayed and prayed about this decision he made, the more excited and convinced I am that he is pursuing the right thing. I am SO GRATEFUL he wants to help children in this way. This week at the gym I spent two hours in a room with an autistic child who clearly needed medical attention and medication. It made my heart break to see a child so perfect looking on the outside, but his mind was in a totally different place. These are the types of kids Dave will be helping. I felt even deeper sadness for this boys mother who seemed so lost as to know what to do with her child. Here in Indiana, you can be put on a year or two waiting list before having your child get into see a psychiatrist. There is a high high demand for good psychiatrists throughout the country and becoming more and more so every year.

Dave truly is my best friend in the whole world. For the two years he served his mission, it was kind of fun going out with guys while I attended Southern Utah University. After a few dates I would ask myself the golden question. "Does this guy compare with Dave?" Then I would check them off the list pretty quick. Nope. That was easy. One guy I was friends with/dating told me a few months before Dave got home, "Kristine, I just really hope I can meet this Dave guy. He sounds like he is superman." Yep, pretty much! I thought Dave was the most amazing guy back then, and now, 3 kids and 10 years later, I know that I only saw a small fraction of how rare and special and good he truly is.

I love you Dave. I can't wait to go out on a real date with you tonight! (He is on call tomorrow for Valentine's Day. Poor me.)
Love,
Kristine with a "K"

Friends

This is my younger and fiesty sister! Watch out or she will give you the snarl. "You, you're sisters, do you share everything? (Everything.) Then give your sister her half of this!" (Smack!)

(Name the movie)

Suzi Grant and I at Sammy's Baptism. It is so great having friends that go back to 7th grade, and having a friend with such amazing hair!
These girls go back just as far, and farther. Marian is the first person who inspired me to sing and play the guitar. There is no one in the world who is funner to get hyper with than Marian. Brianna and I became as close as sisters my freshman year of high school. Lake Powell trips and skiing stand out the most when I think of our memories. And Grace....I don't even know where to begin. I think Grace knew me better than anyone else for over 10 years, or until Dave came into the picture. She will take on any adventure, and back in the day, I was almost as brave as her; whether it be skiing, snowboarding, climbing, biking, parasailing, water skiing, rollerblading, cliff jumping, and everything else in between.

Oh yea, I just thought of something I would have never done with out the influence of Grace...crowd surfing at a concert! She had done it numerous times and finally I got up the guts. It really is an amazing feeling...until you get dropped, which I did!

I feel grateful for the friends I have had during the different phases of my life. If you are out there reading this, I just want to say, "Thank you for being a friend."

(Does anyone think of the Golden Girls theme song?)

I love you guys!

And by the way, thank you for putting up with all the dumb things I say and do! Hopefully those of you who know me well, know that I have good intentions, and once I make a friend, it's for life!

Christmas morning

Josh has been long awaiting his Star Wars Monopoly game. My 5 year old is totally obsessed with counting money. I wonder if this is normal. That castle on the ground was hand crafted by Dave. Josh sure has a cool dad. I could never make something like that.
I think this is the perfect age for kids to be excited at Christmas. It was really fun to have our first Christmas at home together.

Maddie didn't know what the rush was to get the presents open. She just took her sweet time.

And Tucker always wants to be in on the action.

And that's it. Christmas came and went and we packed up for our big drive across the country. To be continued...

Christmas Eve

Santa came!
The Christmas Eve Nativity with our friends Janelle, Paul, Sydney and Grant Romriell.

This may look like a traditional Nativity scene except for the reindeer and the surprise ending.

Do you see the sword in Josh's belt?

Josh turned into King Herod at the end and ordered for all the babies to be killed in the land. Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt before King Herod killed baby Jesus. It was quite dramatic, but Josh only agreed to be in the Nativity if there was a bit more excitement.

Janelle and Paul were WONDERFUL to have us over for Christmas Eve dinner.

We all had a great time! Thanks!

Before Christmas...

Two days before Christmas we had a music recital at our house with a group of kids from the ward. Josh played "Jolly Old St. Nick" and "Deck the Halls". What a cutie! We had a special treat by the one and only Jessica Bishoff playing, "Happy Christmas."
Before the guests arrived...

Maddie, Beth, Kristiana, & Sadie.

Getting excited for Christmas!

These were our star performers for the evening!

On December 3rd, Dave turned 32 and on December 20th, I turned 31. It is hard for me to believe I am living in an adult world now, but I can't complain, I love my family!

Dave made me this ice cream pie and none of it went to waste. By the way, I don't typically wear my hat like a gangsta'....only on my birthday.

I am constantly amazed by how the months just fly by. These years are passing too fast. This weekend Hannah and I are going to Toledo, Ohio to see our friend (Terria Saunder's) brand new baby boy. Then, I just can't resist making a stop to Michigan to see some old friends. Dave is working around the clock this month and says it is going to be the worst month of the whole year. (I've heard that before...too often.) He shouldn't complain too much because I don't know any other interns who got two weeks off for Christmas.

I couldn't agree more!

The Abortion Debate No One Wants to Have
Prenatal testing is making your right to abort a disabled child more like "your duty" to abort a disabled child.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- If it's unacceptable for William Bennett to link abortion even conversationally with a whole class of people (and, of course, it is), why then do we as a society view abortion as justified and unremarkable in the case of another class of people: children with disabilities?
I have struggled with this question almost since our daughter Margaret was born, since she opened her big blue eyes and we got our first inkling that there was a full-fledged person behind them.
Whenever I am out with Margaret, I'm conscious that she represents a group whose ranks are shrinking because of the wide availability of prenatal testing and abortion. I don't know how many pregnancies are terminated because of prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome, but some studies estimate 80 to 90 percent.
Imagine. As Margaret bounces through life, especially out here in the land of the perfect body, I see the way people look at her: curious, surprised, sometimes wary, occasionally disapproving or alarmed. I know that most women of childbearing age that we may encounter have judged her and her cohort, and have found their lives to be not worth living.
To them, Margaret falls into the category of avoidable human suffering. At best, a tragic mistake. At worst, a living embodiment of the pro-life movement. Less than human. A drain on society. That someone I love is regarded this way is unspeakably painful to me.
This view is probably particularly pronounced here in blue-state California, but I keep finding it everywhere, from academia on down. At a dinner party not long ago, I was seated next to the director of an Ivy League ethics program. In answer to another guest's question, he said he believes that prospective parents have a moral obligation to undergo prenatal testing and to terminate their pregnancy to avoid bringing forth a child with a disability, because it was immoral to subject a child to the kind of suffering he or she would have to endure. (When I started to pipe up about our family's experience, he smiled politely and turned to the lady on his left.)

Margaret does not view her life as unremitting human suffering (although she is angry that I haven't bought her an iPod). She's consumed with more important things, like the performance of the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs and the dance she's going to this weekend. Oh sure, she wishes she could learn faster and had better math skills. So do I. But it doesn't ruin our day, much less our lives. It's the negative social attitudes that cause us to suffer.
Many young women, upon meeting us, have asked whether I had "the test." I interpret the question as a get-home-free card. If I say no, they figure, that means I'm a victim of circumstance, and therefore not implicitly repudiating the decision they may make to abort if they think there are disabilities involved. If yes, then it means I'm a right-wing antiabortion nut whose choices aren't relevant to their lives.
Either way, they win.
In ancient Greece, babies with disabilities were left out in the elements to die. We in America rely on prenatal genetic testing to make our selections in private, but the effect on society is the same.
Margaret's old pediatrician tells me that years ago he used to have a steady stream of patients with Down syndrome. Not anymore. Where did they go, I wonder. On the west side of L.A., they aren't being born anymore, he says.
The irony is that we live in a time when medical advances are profoundly changing what it means to live with disabilities. Years ago, people with Down syndrome often were housed in institutions. Many were in poor health, had limited self-care and social skills, couldn't read, and died young. It was thought that all their problems were unavoidable, caused by their genetic anomaly.
Now it seems clear that these people were limited at least as much by institutionalization, low expectations, lack of education and poor health care as by their DNA. Today people with Down syndrome are living much longer and healthier lives than they did even 20 years ago. Buoyed by the educational reforms of the past quarter-century, they are increasingly finishing high school, living more independently and holding jobs.
That's the rational pitch; here's the emotional one. Margaret is a person and a member of our family. She has my husband's eyes, my hair and my mother-in-law's sense of humor. We love and admire her because of who she is -- feisty and zesty and full of life -- not in spite of it. She enriches our lives. If we might not have chosen to welcome her into our family, given the choice, then that is a statement more about our ignorance than about her inherent worth.
What I don't understand is how we as a society can tacitly write off a whole group of people as having no value. I'd like to think that it's time to put that particular piece of baggage on the table and talk about it, but I'm not optimistic. People want what they want: a perfect baby, a perfect life. To which I say: Good luck. Or maybe, dream on.
And here's one more piece of un-discussable baggage: This question is a small but nonetheless significant part of what's driving the abortion discussion in this country. I have to think that there are many pro-choicers who, while paying obeisance to the rights of people with disabilities, want at the same time to preserve their right to ensure that no one with disabilities will be born into their own families. The abortion debate is not just about a woman's right to choose whether to have a baby; it's also about a woman's right to choose which baby she wants to have.

The writer is a former Post reporter and bureau chief. Her daughter, Margaret, is a student in the post-secondary program at the Riverview School in East Sandwich, Mass., from which Margaret received her high school diploma in 2004. She also takes classes at Cape Cod Community College.

It has only been two years, and without a doubt, Tyler has brought more joy to our family than I ever could have imagined.