Some Background

I feel the need to provide some background on our family. I wish I would have started this ages ago, but I suppose I just wasn't ready. I tend to be a bit long-winded. Permission to skim, or even skip is granted to all readers. - just don't tell me you did :)

Like many other families in this day and age, ours is "blended". I was a single parent to my first son, Tony for 8 years before I met my husband, Paul. I was not married to Tony's father. Tony was not planned. He was the best surprise I ever got however, and from the moment I knew he existed I loved him. I like to tease him and tell him that I've loved him since he was a "dot". I was determined to make the best life possible for my son.

When I met Paul I was a few months away from my 30th Birthday. I had decided that a serious relationship, ie. husband was just not in the cards for me. I was sad that Tony would be an only child, but by the time my birthday rolled around I had reached a place of acceptance. I was working full-time as a adm. assistant in the social services dept. of a retirement community. I was also a den mother to my Tony's cub-scout group. It was in cub-scouts that I met Paul. Paul was there with his then girl-friends son and became my "assistant". We became friends, and more importantly he and Tony became friends. To make a long story a bit shorter, Paul's girlfriend took off with her kids in tow, he stayed on in scouts to help out. He pestered me for months to go out with him, and after 3 months I finally agreed.

Paul proposed to me on July 4th, 2005 during a spectacular firework show over the Columbia River. I said yes. We told family and friends, who were all very happy. We set a tentative date for the following spring. Then, on July 9th, 2005 Paul received notice that his National Guard unit would be deployed to Afghanistan. They would leave in October. I was devastated, scared, angry - you name it. We bumped up the wedding to September. It was a beautiful wedding, I will treasure the memories from that day forever. We had a few glorious days at Ocean Shores and then; we prepared to spend our first year together - apart.

We made it through. It was a very difficult time, but going through that hardship strengthened our bond. Every day apart was a test of our love, our commitment to each other and to our vows. We had promised for better or worse and we had meant it. Looking back, in a way I am grateful for this. If we hadn't gone through this and come out stronger, the next challenge would have been harder to handle.

Paul and I got pregnant in February of 2007. We were trying. It had taken a little longer than we thought it would and we were just starting to get discouraged. We were all soooo happy. Tony too; he had been asking for a baby sister since he was 3 years old. We were all so sure that Drew was a girl. :) We called him peanut; and when he would wiggle around in there, I would say "peanut is dancing". We found out later that peanut was a little boy, I was a little disappointed that I would still be surrounded by "stinky boys" but the baby looked very healthy and that was what really mattered.

I had some minor complications during pregnancy. Really low iron, a thyroid problem, a low lying placenta, and a little extra amniotic fluid. Nothing seemed serious enough to the OB to warrant further investigation. Our insurance didn't cover the screening that tested for things like Down syndrome as I was only 32 and not considered "at risk". Money was tight. We decided even if the test was covered, what would it change? nothing. We would have our baby and love him no matter what. We declined the tests. We were sure everything was going to be just fine. We'd had multiple ultrasounds to look at the placenta, everything looked great. Besides, it was our time to have things go our way. The fairy-tale (modified slightly) was now ours. We had "paid our dues" and it was our turn for "happily ever after".

Andrew Declan Dennis was born on October 8th, 2007.

He weighed 6 lbs 2.6 oz. and was 18 1/2inches long.

He was beautiful.

His mother, father and brother were filled with such joy!

About 4 hours after his birth, the OB informed us that they believed he had Down syndrome.

I think I'll save the rest for another day.