food, fun & falling

livia is teaching us patience; so often i'm failing

livia's head is harder than mine, and mine is taurean hard. with time-limits of places to go and places to be, livia's sitting on the ground or pretending not to hear our "let's go!" pleas- can be ultimately frustrating. i am in no way under the illusion that we are alone. children are supposed to test their wills, and with that, the clarity, patience, creativity and perseverance (or lack therof ) of good-willed parents.

of course i will never know what attributes can be connected to down syndrome... though it seems stubbornness is a shared one. being an aries probably doesn't help the situation either.

i love livia's feistiness. i hope i can keep up with her lessons about patience while still being a guiding light as i am supposed to be.

(these pictures are by a friend, yves maurer, who spontaneously invited livia to a quick photo shoot one evening when we met in town. they speak a thousand, feisty words, i'd say.)

brothers, blueberries & friends

i love how livia is so enriched by her big bro's and their friends. i love how they sometimes let her get 10 goals in a row with 3 in the net, and other times she has to play by the same rules as anyone else. i love how they often take her hand without thinking, and other times let her know they're not in the mood. i love how they share blueberries, one at a time, even when supposedly kept out of reach...

and if you haven't seen us there already, go take a look over at lily's blog...

liala

have i mentioned that this is what livia calls herself?

liala...

love

fully five

livia's fully five... full of fancy thoughts of how to get things done, full of creative ways to get her point across, full of finicky ideas of who, what, where, when, why and how... full of music, movement, new words, friends, family, LOVE & a lot, lot, lot of fun...

princess

it was carnival/fastnacht again last weekend... a kindergarten friend's mother made this beautiful dress for livia for christmas and she loves to put it on... in these pictures she's saying that she wants her brother to catch her after jumping at the bottom of the stairs... they are close pals.

then we went to a favorite park nearby... livia LOVES to swing, and is deeply inspired by how high her bro's can go

may we all fly high and feel loved in our lives

be a fan of respect

not sure why using the r-word hurts? go HERE to find out.

and thanks for making RESPECT the new r-word.

A DAY TO SAVE OLGA, my birthday wish for livia

in less than one month livia will be 5 years old... and i have a birthday wish to make from anybody reading this.

if you've been a regular visitor to livia-the-great then you'll remember sweet olga who just turned 5 yrs old and the invitation made (originally from reece's rainbow & patti @ a perfect lily) to help her find a forever family and to raise funds for her adoption fees...and this happened! the abell family stepped forward to adopt olga, and thanks to so many who gave so much, a grant of over $13,000 was raised for her adoption, a grant which is set aside for the final travel costs and fees that it will take to bring olga home. it will take every penny of that and then some... the abell family have done numerous fundraisers, and will continue to do so until they can bring olga home.


right now the they are in need of raising $7,000 that is required to submit their dossier for olga. they need to submit that dossier as soon as possible, for without that dossier it is not known if olga has been transferred yet to a mental institution... a mental institution where five year old girls are tied to cribs to keep them from climbing out.

the connection is clear: livia is turning 5 and it is an unfathomable thought that such a fate would await her.

it is also clear that there are so many children on this planet in need of being rescued from an unimaginably horrible life... or death.

i committed to helping at least ONE.

at the risk of dear olga losing her chance of being welcomed into the abell's family, i'm asking you to give in whatever way you can. $10, $20, $40 or $100 can go a long way to support this family to bring olga home.

this is my birthday wish for livia, for olga and for all children...

FREEDOM, LOVE & A FAMILY TO CALL THEIR OWN.

This is being called A Day to Save Olga, because there are about 17 of us blogging mamas who have set aside this day to blog, post on Facebook, pray, give and spread the word to SAVE OLGA.

Will you help us?

please go HERE to the abell's blogsite to donate... and THANK YOU for spreading the word...

liv & mama rollin'

swiss mountains, snow & sunshine

pure love giveaway

PLEASE GO HERE AND FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN FURTHER SUPPORT THREE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN TO GET HOME... PATTI at A PERFECT LILY IS DOING HER MAGIC AGAIN, & IT'S CALLED PURE LOVE GIVEAWAY... LET YOUR HEART BE TOUCHED! thank you...

papalove

guest post @ BLOOM

i was asked by louise kinross at BLOOM - Parenting Kids With Disabilities to write a guest post... she's a wonderful woman i am so grateful to have connected with, and the blog is filled with rich resources for parents. check it out if you're interested :-)

haircuts

help olga find a home

this is olga... a family stepped forward to adopt her through reece's rainbow- but the adoption process fell through last week. that means olga has been put back on the waiting children's page at reece's rainbow and is in great need of finding a home. due to patti's huge efforts to help fundraise for her before christmas, olga has a $12,709 grant for her forever family. becaue of her age, she faces being transferred this month to an institution, where the conditions are heart-breaking and inhuman.

no one deserves such a fate. many do not survive long there once transferred.

please spread the word about olga to help her find a family!