I'm a "plunger"!

A what?!  A plunger.

If you're not confused then good for you! If you are confused I shall explain.

You see a "plunger" is someone who will be jumping into a freezing cold body of water during the middle of winter.

Why on EARTH would anyone do that? Well it is to benefit the Special Olympics. Specifically in my neck of the woods the Special Olympics of Illinois. This past June Shelby participated in her first Special Olympics Young Athletes event during the Illinois SOIL Summer Games. We were blown away. The atmosphere is amazing, it restored our faith in the world. The athletes, their families, everyone was there united. In today's world that was such an amazing feeling!! The Young Athletes is a part of SO for the younger kids, the pre-athletes you could say. It is designed for kids 2-7 to introduce them to the world of sports. Kids with intellectual disabilities and neuro-typical kids play side by side. The athletes are introduced to sports that give them a taste of what being an athlete in the Special Olympics organization would be like. I get teary just thinking of all the love, acceptance, and understanding I felt just by being there. Despite the heat Shelby had the time of her life!

Our team for the 2012 Polar Plunge is Shiverin' For Shelby. We will be "plunging" at Miller Park Lake in Bloomington, IL. Visit our team page here and consider donating to this wonderful organization that means so much to our family. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/shiverinforshelby/2012-polar-plunge-bloomington If you are local and would like to join us you are more than welcome to! Each "plunger" must raise a minimum of $75. Let's make this a great year and hopefully many more to come, that is if I ever thaw out!

Updates on other family happenings coming soon. Just gotta figure out what I'm gonna say...

Below are pictures from the summer games! Please excuse Blogger for distorting the colors...that is Blogger not me...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The R-Word

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, 

it will forever live its whole live believing that it is stupid."

~Albert Einstein~

     Would you EVER call that beautiful little girl above a retard? 

      That would be mean wouldn't it? I hope your answers were no and yes. However, I'm sure that you've heard someone say "you're retarded, she's retarded, that's retarded" and you didn't even blink. Heck, you yourself may have said it at one point or another. Or in reaction to something, have said or heard said, "RETARD!". These may just seem like words in everyday speech, another way to say "stupid". Well it isn't JUST a word. It's a hurtful, hateful, derogatory word. Special needs kids have to struggle every day to do the things "typical" people do with ease. Often times they do it with the biggest brightest smile on their faces. They have a way of restoring your faith in humanity, a way of showing you that life is what you make it, and they choose to make it GREAT! 

     Yes, the word retarded is still used, even in the medical community, however even that is being phased out. And let's be real. When someone uses the word retarded in their speech 99.99999% of the time they are NOT using it to describe someone's medical diagnosis. They are using it to degrade some one, some thing. They are using it to describe someone as the dumbest of dumb. They aren't being nice. Period. Just like the N-word, just like every other derogatory term used to describe a group of people based on color, religion, or heritage, the R-word should be phased out of our vocabulary and our children should be raised better. If you think the word is ok, then I challenge you to look at the picture above and call her a retard. Tell that innocent little girl, that does nothing but love people, she's retarded. Look at a picture of someone with Downs Syndrome and call them that ugly word, look at your neighbor down the street, still feel good about using it? I hope not. If you want to be a part of the change then make a pledge, right now, to erase that word from your vocabulary and to not tolerate it from others. Speak up, on person CAN make a difference! If you find the need, print my daughter's picture and next time someone challenges you about it, or says the word, show them Shelby and tell them to call her that to her face, with her mama around. Commit to being the change we need in this world. I will now post a popular PSA video and the link where you can join others in Spreading the Word to End the Word! 

From my family and from Shelby, we thank you!

Share this!

And THIS is where you take the pledge! Do it for Shelby! Click the image below to pledge! 

Please share this post with others. Let's make a change!

Wow...

I started this blog on the 1st of August.
In just over 2 months we now have...

978+ Page views

We have readers from 10 countries

United States 870 Canada 32 United Kingdom 6 Russia 6 Australia 5 Germany 5 Ireland 3 Israel 3 France 2 Greece 1

And I've made 10 posts! 


Thank you to everyone that takes the time to read our blog. I thank the community of A4cwsn for helping to spread the word! I look forward to watching it all grow!!