33. How Has Down Syndrome Created Your Family Norm?

Heather and Josh Avis (@theluckyfewofficial) here! This week, we’re answering a question that we get asked a whole lot!  “How has having two kids with Down Syndrome created our family norm?”  We should probably start by saying that we’ve never really been a family with “norms.”  The two of us moved to Hawaii just weeks after getting married at the ages of 20 and 23.  A few years later, we came back to California and adopted three kids (not all at once, thank goodness!).  Macyn is 11 with Down Syndrome, Truly is 8, and August is 5 with Down Syndrome.  Our free spirited nature definitely helped us adjust to the rollercoaster of these unique adoptions, but they still came with plenty of uncertainties.  

How would our extended family react to having someone with Down Syndrome in the family?  How would having an older and younger sibling with Down Syndrome affect our middle daughter, Truly?  How would we ever create “normalcy” out of this?  One thing we do know for certain is that having two children with Down Syndrome has allowed us to know the fullness of humanity and we consider ourselves very, very lucky (hence our name, The Lucky Few!).

Clearly, we have A LOT to cover today.  So friends, join us for a chat about our 17 years of marriage, our family vacation in Hawaii, and how Truly (and all of us!) have been made better because of Down Syndrome. 

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Keep up with the Avis’s on Instagram and their website! For more on their family’s story, read The Lucky Few and Scoot Over and Make Some Room by Heather Avis

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Connect with Heather’s friend Christy on Instagram at @cjpics 

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