The Goodwins

This story was written by a 12 year old girl in honor of her brother Toby, who has Down syndrome. It touched me as a wonderful expression of wisdom & love, that I pray we can all live by. I am posting it here with permission from Gillian Marchenko’s blog Pocket Lint , & her friend Suzanne McDonald.

Pete the Purple Pumpkin
By EmmaLee McDonald

(Dedicated to EmmaLee’s little pumpkin Toby, who happens to have Down syndrome)

There once was this purple pumpkin named Pete. Unlike any other pumpkin, Pete was purple. Every fall he hoped he would get picked. But every fall he didn’t get picked, he wondered why. He thought, “Sure I might be purple, but you can still carve me and eat my seeds.” The only thing different was his outside. People would look at him and then laugh. Every pumpkin thought that Pete was the kindest, sweetest pumpkin ever! They also wondered why Pete wasn’t getting picked. Now, Pete was getting older and the farmers said that if Pete didn’t get picked this fall, he would have to be thrown away. Pete didn’t want this to happen, so he hoped this fall would be different. Two days went passed and people only looked at him and laughed. Then, the next day, a little girl with a pink tutu and a tiara looked at Pete and said “I want this one.” Pete was so overjoyed. This girl loved Pete the most. Once this girl carved him, she placed him on her porch. That evening, she saw all of the neighbors on her lawn. Hoping they weren’t making fun of Pete, she ran out. Then, she realized what they were all staring at. It was a light brighter than any she had ever seen, shining from within Pete, without even one candle. It was a light that shown from within. Then, people came from far and wide to see this bright, little pumpkin. Just imagine what the world would have missed if Pete were simply thrown away. Even though people may look different on the outside, true beauty comes from within.

Big thanks to EmmaLee for sharing her story

(EmmaLee is twelve years old. Amazing, huh?)

Sharing this from a blog post by a good friend….. I think that she got it just right!

Posted by Jan Brandt on Jul 20, 2010 at 8:24 AM

Bonnie is having an outpatient procedure today.  She’s having Nasal Septal surgery (sinus surgery) to help her to be able to breathe through her nose.  Currently one side is about 90-95% blocked and the other is ~ 50% blocked.

We need to be there by 9:30 AM and her surgery is at 10:30 AM.  Ella is off at school and a friend has graciously agreed to meet her at our house when Ella gets home around 11:30 AM.

Justice will be hanging out with dad at the outpatient center while Bonnie undergoes her procedure.

Please keep Bonnie in your prayers.  I’ll try to keep folks updated here.  If you want an email, sign up for email updates in the top left column or use the form below in this post.

Today Polly will be under anesthesia for her angiograph to aid the surgeons in understanding where the surgery in her brain should occur.  The date of the first surgery will be set after this, but is likely to be in a couple of weeks.

Please keep her and her parents in your prayers so she will be stroke and seizure free and bounce back from these procedures and surgeries and that her parents will feel the presence of the Lord during these tough times.

You can keep up with the Marchenko’s here.  http://lintofpocket.wordpress.com/

Our dear friends are in the process of adopting a beautiful little girl from eastern Europe. Her name is to be Evangeline. She is a child with Down syndrome, just as their youngest Polly.

As a parent of a child with Down syndrome we are blessed to have them as friends and are supporting them in their adoption quest both in prayer and financially.

Before Sergei began pastoring at the Christian Fellowship Free Church in Chicago, he and his family attended The Chapel in Saint Joseph, MI. Their former church family had a baby shower and this video was created for that shower.

For more information on their adoption process please go to http://expectingevangeline.blogspot.com/

If you ware interested in providing financial support please go to http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsormarchenko.htm