Our local ABC affiliate aired an interview they did with us about the story we’re telling through this website about our son, Noah…who just so happened to have been born with Down syndrome. By the way…I’ve gotta say this….I am SOOOOOO proud of our little boy. 1 year old and he’s already changing the world. Man, I’m smitten. 🙂 God did good when He made Noah.
For those of you who are new to our website by watching this news interview, or ended up here another way, we’re glad you found us. Be sure to check out these ten great posts to get you started.
I’m thankful for reporters like Shelly Slater who are helping us spread the message that there’s hope for families receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis. That Down syndrome is fully ok. That children like my son (and many others) are fully human, fully lovable, and fully deserving of life.
Thank you Shelly for sharing our story. Your work is appreciated more than you’ll ever know.
Your Story Has Power.
If you’ve been following our story the last week I hope you’re more convinced than ever that:
1. Stories are powerful.
2. Stories remove the veil of fear from people’s lives.
3. Hidden behind the veil of fear is hope. Lots and lots of hope.
Tell your story. Trust me. You may think no one is listening. You may think that no one cares. You may think your story doesn’t have any impact. You may think you don’t even have a story to tell. Guess what….
YOU ARE WRONG.
It doesn’t have to be a video blog like ours. It doesn’t even have to be a blog. It can be outside the box. It can be different. It can be creative. It can be your own style. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you tell it.
What’s keeping you from telling your story in 2012? What do you think about making this the year that you finally tell your story. People are waiting to hear it. I promise.
About Rick Smith
Yeah to Noah and his Mom & Dad! Hopefully your blog will help more parents decide to choose to bring their little babies with Down Syndrome to term. It was a shock when our little boy was diagnosed, but we sure wouldn’t trade him for the world!
Thanks! That’s what we hope also.
How old is your little boy now. 🙂
LOVB IT! Thanks for all you do!
Thank you!
Wow! The Smith family is awesome! I love all of the positive attention you are creating! Keep up the good work! Noah is awesome!!!!!
Thank you very much. We are SUPER proud of this little boy.
Way to go on cleaning your office too!
Thanks….let’s just hope it stays that way.
Way to go Abbie, Rick and SUPERSTAR NOAH! Thank you so much for doing all this! We love sharing our story as well, and love it when someone says they are following and learning. We can’t wait to see your blog about meeting Ryan! Let us know if he has a blog to follow too. You guys are the BEST! There is NO DOUBT that you guys are truly God’s angels!
Thanks so much…Noah is rocking.
We can’t wait to meet Ryan and his family also…should be lots of fun.
and i promise..we are very far from angels. 🙂
Hope you guys are doing well..we want to hear how things are going with you guys.
you guys did a great job and Noah was AAAAAMAZING as usual!! LOVE IT!
Thanks, we were nervous…but the reporter was super kind…which made it easier.
And Noah rocked…we’re so proud of him.
I love everything that you and this blog are doing! Simply by telling your personal story, you and Noah have already begun to increase awareness of people with Down Syndrome. I’m 20 and my older sister (23) has Down Syndrome. Since leaving home for college I’ve been doing a lot of reflection on my own experiences growing up and have jotted down notes here and there. But after reading your stories and hearing your messages, I definitely found the motivation to really sit down and write mine story on being the younger sibling to a beautiful woman with Down Syndrome, an experience which I wouldn’t trade the world for! Thank you soo much!
Thanks for the kind words….don’t forget about my wife she does a TON also. 🙂
So cool to here about your sister…we’d love to hear about your experiences. I bet they would be awesome.
Are you on our Facebook page? Lots of very cool parents there also. http://facebook.com/noahsdad.com
Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou for your Awesome Site!!! You have opened so many family’s hearts, by sharing your beautiful son Noah!!! Our daughter Nikki is 26 and she too has Down Syndrome. We have gone thru all the steps you are doing now, to make sure she had a “normal” life. By doing all the steps Nikki now is living the life we have dreamed of for her. Nikki graduated from Chisholm Life Skills in Wichita Kansas, 5 years ago, Lives in a group home with 4 other girls, gets to go to dances, summer camp, movies and cookout’s and is on a bowling league!! We go and get her every weekend to come home. So Nikki has the best of both worlds, her being able to live a young adult life, plus her room at home waiting for her! I have to admit, I was a basketcase when the day came for Nikki to move, but didn’t take long to realize she Loved it there!! ( and many phone calls to her)
This was suppose to be a comment!!! Wow, see what you have done for me already…Wanting to share what a Joy Nikki has been to our life!! Better sign off, Part 2 later…Thanks Again!!! 🙂
Wow…thanks so much for sharing that. We have thought about what it would be like when / if Noah moves one day…and I’ll be honest at first I was sad that he may not be able to …not I get sad tinkling he WILL probably move out one day.. 🙂
We love him so much and love having him around.
Your story about your daughter is powerful…are you on our Facebook page? Lots of people there would enjoy that story.
Be sure to stay connected with us. We’d love to hear more and more about your story…and feel free to post a picture on our Facebook of your daughter.
Thank you for posting the news clip!!! AWESOME!!!! it is so cool to see YOU GUYS in an interview and to see Noah and how is he is doing right now! LOVE IT! God is doing amazing things through Noah and through your gift of communication! Keep up the great work of getting the word out!
Thanks! I forget that we are a little behind on the videos and this is like a skip in time. So yah..I guess everyone is getting a sneak peak! Yes, he is doing very very well. We are so blessed.
Thank you for the very bad kind words of encouragement. They are very much appreciated.
This is really neat, Rick! I love that it’s your voice the world is able to hear on this subject.
Thank you very much!
Great job on the interview!
Thanks so much…looking forward to learning more about you guys as well.
By the way…you should grab a gravatar —-> http://en.gravatar.com/
Rick,
Extremely proud to be your brother in Christ man!
Thanks man…same here.
God is faithful.
How wierd is this. I am actually working on writing my daughters birth story tonight! I just took a break to read your latest post. I can hoestly say that reading other parents stories has been the single most helpful support to me in not only accepting my daughters diagnosis but embracing it. I hope that someday I have the courage to share my story and to help other families. LOVE the news story. Noah is awesome!
Thank you, please be sure to let us know where / how we can read your birth story when you finish. 🙂
Thank you! I’ve been working on a day to day blog about Gabriel but ours tends to document his medical journey, not as much his day to day life. I just started a nonprofit dedicated to Gabriel and his Down Syndrome, although still working out what I want it to do. You make me proud and you make me also see that I want to also dedicate more positive reflections of my beautiful boy. As Noah is, Gabriel is a mover and a shaker. He is also opening people’s eyes all around him. We don’t hide his Down Syndrome. We celebrate how amazing he is and his treasure of a life! Thanks so very much!
@Rebecca,
That’s awesome. Gabriel sounds awesome! How old is he?
And so cool that you are telling your story! Go for it!
How wierd is this. I am actually working on writing my daughters birth story tonight! I just took a break to check some blogs. I can hoestly say that reading other parents stories has been the single most helpful support to me in not only accepting my daughters diagnosis but embracing it. I hope that someday I have the courage to share my story and to help other families. LOVE the news story. Noah is awesome!
@Regina,
Awesome! Go for it, and can’t wait to see it if you decide to share! 🙂
Oh my gosh! That’s exactly why I blog. We are all powerful in our own unique way. It’s so cool to see how you’re able to help share this kind of encouragement.
Thanks! Stay at it…your story is powerful! Keep telling it.
Looking forward to learning more about your story.
This was wonderful! Congrats! Noah is absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way.[:
Proverbs 3:5
Thanks so much!
I’m so glad Noah is making a big impact on people. My son was born with Down Syndrome four months ago and I was so worried for all kinds of reason, but when I found this page a few days after bringing him home I realized everything was going to be okay. So, with that said, I would like to say thank you Noah!! =)
Thank you for leaving your comment. How is your son (and you) doing now?Â
Yay Noah! You have changed my life by making me more aware of how successful people who have Down Syndrome can be. Thanks little buddy!
Thank you! 🙂
Wow Rick! That is awesome!!! I will be sharing and forwarding your story to everyone I know! Thanks for sharing Noah with us!
Thanks so much for the kind words. How old are your children by the way?
WOW! i loved the interview. i watched it here at work when they finally posted it and watched it again at home with my husband. LOL i feel like i know you guys as much time as i spend on your blog, fb page, seeing you on TV was amazing. it makes me so proud of the entire community of children and even adults with down syndrome! you and your wife are amazing people and parents, noah is so lucky. thanks for all you guys do! i started a blog and my challenge in 2012 is going to be to post at least once a week on there….we’ll see LOL God Bless you guys and i hope to make it to the next quarterly parent meeting to meet the infamous noah! him and joseph need a photo opp together 🙂
Thank you!
How exciting that your family was on ABC. Super Noah! You are right in that we all need to keep telling our stories. People ARE listening and our children are changing people’s views of Ds. I am very inspired by your blog and I love watching Noah grow.
Thanks Anna, we enjoy all of your encouraging words…as always. Keep up all the great work. 🙂
Your family is beautiful. It is amazing how your story is touching so many lives. Keep up the good work with your son, he is truly inspiring!
Thank so much!
LOVE THIS! I remember searching the web when we had our son in 2006, and I did find a lot of negative. Thankfully, I also found some beautiful pictures people had uploaded to various sites as well. But, there was nothing as comprehensive, involving and informative as your blog. I would have been so excited to find your page. Praising God that you are both here for those who will need you in the future.
I know each of our sweet babies (with or without DS) has a purpose; however, just know that your situation is extra special since you, as Noah’s mom, are a pediatrician! I was so comforted when one of the partners in my pediatrician’s practice visited our baby in the hospital and provided me/us with the diagnosis because he has a daughter with a chromosomal disorder, and I knew he understood. He was compassionate and caring, and not just a doctor delivering news to someone whose shoes he’d never walked in. 🙂 Blessings!!!
Thank you very much for the kind words. How is your son doing now?Â
Everyone has a story and your story is just so inspiring. I too am blessed with an amazing little guy who just happens to have Down syndrome and he has changed my life for the better. He was six months old yesterday and I can’t ever imagine my life without him in it. I look forward to receiving all the updates about your beautiful Noah. Thank you for sharing your story, my heart is so filled with hope. Thank you!
Tina,Â
Thanks you for your comment! What is your little guys name? Â And how is he doing?Â
It sounds like you are doing a great job.Â
What an awesome piece on WFAA! I was so impressed with the reporter and how she “handled” Noah, and of course, Noah, the star! You guys did good! Every time someone sees Noah and smiles, I feel like they’re smiling at our daughter, too!
Thanks again for being the “faces” of families with children with Down.
Joe
Thanks Joseph, she really was so loving with Noah it was great to see! 🙂
Noah is absolutely adorable! I also have a son with downs he is 11 now, i remeber finding out while i was pregnant that my son would have downs i was young and didnt know a whole lot about downsyndrome and the geneticist was pretty much trying to talk me out of having him all she kept telling me were the things that cold be wrong with him. He was born with a heart deffect and has had two heart surgeries,i will tell you he realy struggled the first few years of his life health wise but i would not change him for anything.He is the happiest most loving little boy dont get me wrong he can be a real handful but he is awesome! Im so glad you started this blog for your son. 🙂
Thanks Jaimie. I didn’t really start it for him…I started it for the rest of the world to be able to get a look at what life is like raising a child wit Down syndrome. 🙂Â
By the way how is your son’s name? You should like an awesome mother. Please keep up the great work. 🙂
Way to go!!!!!! Literally brings tears to my eyes. Your story is amazing and so wonderful to share. Plus, happy to see so many people agree with what I have been saying – your website is inspirational to all parents and individuals regardless of our differences. Keep it up!!!!
Thanks Margaret for the kind and encouraging words. I really appreciate them. We are hoping it helps the world to see that kids like Noah are worth it! 🙂
That was such a great story! Way to go, Noah!!! You are changing the world and you’re only one year old :)))
Here’s another story I saw recently that is helping to change the world for you, my little girl, and all beautiful children and adults with Down syndrome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkNzRjXK3hc
xxoox One of your biggest fans
Thanks for the kind words! How old is your daughter?Â
This is really neat, Rick! I love that it’s your voice the world is able to hear on this subject.
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your story with such joy and hope! People need to hear about what life with our precious children is really like, especially when they are first diagnosed!! We didn’t know prior to birth that Mia had Downs, so we were surprised, but instantaneously fell in love with her and wouldn’t change this journey for ANYTHING. She is a blessing beyond what we could have ever asked for and teaches us how to live, love, laugh and celebrate life! God made these children for a purpose exactly how he wanted them and that should be celebrated! Keep sharing the love!
That’s what we are hoping the world hears. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your story with us. 🙂
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
AS USUAL GREAT JOB AND GREAT TOPIC!!! I TRY SHARING MY SON’S STORY THRU HIS FB PAGE @THE OFFICIAL FAN PAGE OF DAMITRI AIDAN…. HE DOESNT GET MANY VISITORS BUT THE FEW THT DOES ALWAYS HAV SOMTHING POSITIVE TO SAY… AGAIN THANKS FOR UR SITE!!! IT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS HELP FOR ME!!! MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS U AND UR BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!!
Renae,
You are always rocking. I love how much you love your son! (And are so nice to all the people that visit the facebook page…thanks so much! Keep telling your story! 🙂
That was great! Â I love that you mentioned that these children are treasures and no one knows about it! Â That is so right on. Â Even though we do not have a child with down syndrome (yet!) we do see them that way through friends’ children w/ DS and blogs like yours. Â
I can’t even say in words how much joy your family brings to me. Â Wow, the power of a father who loves his son so much and wants to share it with the world! Â It’s incredible and offers a picture of how the Father loves His Son, Jesus Christ (Mark 1:11). Â I’m also glad to see you have an ad for Reece’s Rainbow on your blog. Â Keep sharing your story!! Â Thanks for reminding us to do the same too : ) Â Â
Thanks you very much for the kind words. We never know how our story can change the world. We just have to tell it. 🙂
I love the fact that even though you don’t have a child with Down syndrome, you still take the time to learn. That’s great. 🙂
Thank you.
SO SO SO proud of you Noah!!! and of course @NoahsDadDotCom:disqus and @abbiesmith:disqus We love the Smith family!!! xoxoxo
Thanks. Ditto. 🙂
Oh, and guess who just ate a Tim Tam…? 🙂
I totally believe in the Power of One-which was our school theme a few years back. Our little boy had open heart surgery at 6 months old. We are so amazed at how far he has come and continues to surprise us everyday. There are no limits to what he is capable of doing. Being a teacher I was heartbroken when he was diagnosed but now know that I wouldn’t have him any other way
That’s awesome, thanks so much for sharing! We hope Noah has great teachers like you when he is in school. 🙂
By the way, what grade do you teach?
You are doing something very special…you are involved! My parents were told when my brother was born that he should be put in an institution, that he would not have long to live and the quality of his life would be poor. They were VERY wrong, but it was a different time and little was known about Down Syndrome. Our parents could not accept this this way of thinking, and our journey began with our brother John!
I was 5 years old at the time and I remember when they brought Johnny home. Their decision born out of love and faith would change our family forever. I fell in love with him immediately, and I remember telling my parents he would be with me forever, no matter what.  My heart was his.
Don’t get me wrong, it was not always easy on our family, but I know it was the best decision they ever made. Â
Our father and mother have left this earthly home, and are with Our Lord now, but I know they are smiling when they see the results of their “love”.
Johnny is almost 58 years young now (so much for the prediction of a short life) and living with me. Our sweet baby sister, Sonya is also very involved in his care and well-being, and is a great support to me. We are so blessed!
Johnny’s story is still unfolding each dayand the joy he has brought to our friends and stangers alike is priceless.  Thank you for allowing me to share his journey.
God bless,
Sandra L. Aldrich
When I became pregnant with my daughter, I had the quad screen done. The markers for Downs came back quite high. My Dr, had talked to me about have a genetic amnio done to see if in fact that my baby had DS. I chose not to, even if she had DS, it didn’t matter, I wasn’t going to get an abortion. She was MY baby and I already loved her so much. When she was born, Kelly was healthy, chubby little redhead. The Dr’s seem to think the markers were high because of my age when she was born (41) She is my funny little she-devil, and I love her more every day….
Love what you’re doing here. God bless you and your family.Â
Rick,
Another amazing post. You are so right about sharing stories. I wouldn’t feel as confident about our son’s future and be as abreast of everything without you & your blog. Thank you!!
Thank you Rick for being a voice for somebody new parents can turn to. It can be a terrifying experience in the beginning but with your blog I do believe you are helping new parents. I just wish their was somebody like you 12 years ago when I had my Sara I was given so many false negative answers when she was born and had nobody to relate to so again thank you!!!
I admire you and wish I had been able to do what you are doing, when my son, Boomer, was growing up. Don’t stop, whatever you do!  I have been thinking about writing Boomer’s story for years and am now doing so, with words and pictures.  My site is on Facebook and is called, “My Life with Boomer”. I will be following Noah and maybe you can check out some of the stories I am telling about my son, as he was growing up.  He is 25 now and is still amazing and delighting everyone he meets!
I forgot to post a pic of him as a baby. Â Here is my handsome guy!
Here is a pic Boomer, now… Â He works in the kitchen at our HyVee store. Â He applied and was hired as a regular employee with no job coach… Â They created the position for him and he LOVES his job!
thank you for joining me on twitter you son is very cute
After reading this post back in January I was motivated to write my son’s birth story. I did. And on March 21, I started a blog just to post that one story. I posted it to my FB page and shared our story.
That is awesome! Where did you share your story? Feel free to post a link, I’d love to read it!
Great blog Rick, he is a special guy that cute little Noah! Did you catch the Steve Harvey show the other day. He had a young, beautiful, smart and funny young lady on who was voted homecoming queen of her high school named Jessica. Oh she just happened to have Down syndrome. Great segment, uplifting and boy she was rocking that extra chromosone with her swag! 🙂