NDSC convention

WEll, what can I say? The whole experience was amazing!It was like heaven.I mean you are just free to be you! The entire Hotel was FILLED with people who all had a passion for Down Syndrome....It was simply amazing! Working at the booth with Christina and Renee was AMAZING...the three of us had so much fun together! It was great to meet everyone from Downsyn! I am in AWE still of the amazing experience I saw and felt!It was sooo encouraging!I can't even put it into words!
I walked in the first night and was waiting for Renee and Renee and stephanie and their families to come meet me and it was AMAZING....that is the most people with Ds I have ever been around and to see it in living color was a Dream! I couldn't believe it when the first person just walked right up and started talking to us like it was a NOTHING thing!!! I LOVED it...why can't everyone be this way! I didn't realize how "aware" I was of the Down SYndrome until I didn't have to be! The adults were all over. Bernadette Resha was there and is one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen and Very talented..and it must have been her Boyfriend with her(they were holding hands) but I am not sure. Chris Burke was there and loved Koby and his hair we got a picture or two and he talked and played wiht Koby!!!! It was great!!! Carrie Burgeron-Desai was there and we got to see her the first day and she is just BEAUTIFUL and everything you can imagine and more! Very kind! SOmeone said they saw her in the lobby "telling" Sujeet everything they had planned and his clohtes to wear and they both looked like they couldn't be any happier! The babies were adorable! The sleeping ones and the ones like Koby who WOULDN'T sit still!!!lol. It was great. SOmeone said, you know, when I first had my baby someone told me that all people with DS look alike, and I thought so myself, but beign here you can tell a CLEAR difference!!!! It is great! ANd I totally agree with that! Thereis such a diversity! The personalities likes and dislikes, and much much more! WE had alot of fun interating with people...The downsyn dinner was great.I was a little stressed, but Really I think it had more to do with the fact that Koby was RESTLESS and driven with overstim, and I only got about 3 hours of sleep the night before!LOLI think everyone enjoyed themselves!!!But I must admit something less formal next year we could just HANG out at the hotel and order Pizza....sound like a good idea??LOL
WE did have a few NOT SO great experiences..Atlanta is HARD AS HECK to find your way in adn out of, even if you have been there a ZILLION times...All the one way streets and such, so we dot lost and ended up in SOuth Central Ghettoville a few times. Then we had two near muggings....it isn't a but safe to walk around Downtown Atlanta alone, EVEN in Daylight!ANd Parking..I ended up paying over $50 in parking for the weekend....and probably more like $70... I cna't remember exactly! The hotel staff was pretty good. THe hotel was bautiful and simply HUGE! WE did end up staying one night there after the first near mugging/trying to get away from a homeless man,we decided it was safest!It was great. My MIL was beyond helpful! It was great to have her there!Chris wishes like heck he would have gone! So do I...he would have LOVED it!To everyone we met, THANKS for a great time!!! TO the NDSC, thanks a million it was another great year, and to everyone we didn't get to meet see you next Year in Kansas City Missouri!!!
ALl in all it was the most amazing weekend filled with Laughter Hugs, tears, joy, anxiety, but most of All FUN! It is times like these that I sit back and MOST refelct on why God blessed me with Koby. If it wasn't for Koby I NEVER would get to experience anything as wonderful as I did this weekend and meet the greatest people and make life long friends!I am once again thankful to God for all of my Southern Fried Blessings!!!

I forgot my camera but Here are some that others took!!! There will be more to come! Koby and Angela(Leah's daughter) Koby and Ann
From L-R) Christina, Stephanie, me, Ann, Leah, Amy, Renee P,and Bethany.
Koby and Leah
From L-R: Renee G,Kennedy(Renee's daughter) with McKenna, Karli(Shylo's daughter) with me, and Shylo with Koby(my son)
And this is Noah, the little man who Means sooo much to me! I barely siad ANYTHING to him at dinner I knew I would LOSE it! He is SO amazing and really got me through those first few days of dealing with DS, once I "met" Noah online I KNEW everything would be okay! ANd it has! He is like a celebrity to me! I was STAR struck to meet him!-Courtney
LOVE and Hugs to all...GOd Bless...More stories and Pictures to come!!!