Meeting our extended family for the 1st time...

It’s kind of crazy, but when your child is diagnosed with a medical condition you eventually realize that you have this whole new family that you never dreamed of having before.  You become instantly connected too; even when you don’t know every single little detail about them…

A little over a year ago, Joanne from Innersense Organic Beauty had a photoshoot near me so I canceled whatever was happening that day to finally meet her!  We had spoken on the phone numerous times beforehand, but never got to meet in person up to this point.

When I picked her up at the airport, she surprised me by pulling her daughter Morgan out from behind her! When I saw Morgan, I about had a heart attack!  It was just so surreal to finally meet both of them, at the same time, after all of these years of just talking on the phone and texting back and forth.

We went to her companies photoshoot for a little bit, then somehow ended up at Anthropologie where we all bought the same shirts, (just in different colors)!  We made it back to my house and Morgan, Ava and Stella met for the first time too.

We took some photos to mark the occasion, (including numerous bloopers), Joanne braided Stella’s hair, and when my husband came home from work the adults went out to dinner.

Dinner was great, but the conversation was even better!

One of the things that sticks out to me the most though, is when I watched Morgan affectionately lean into Joanne’s face and do, sort of like, a little nuzzle with her. It was kind of like an eskimo kiss, but yet not.  She lovingly rested her forehead and nose against Joanne’s face and closed her eyes, as if she was somehow soaking up her Mama’s energy or something.

When I saw this, I think my mouth hit the floor. Then I looked at Blayne and we just stared at each other in disbelief and complete amazement.  We both saw in Morgan, the same move Ava makes with us.  It's a gesture we both always thought was so interesting and unique.

I guess just seeing Morgan do it with her mom, when she is 20 years older than Ava, I don’t know - it’s just kind of crazy when you stop to think about it.  To think that their genes are so much alike that even their mannerisms are nearly identical too!?!?  It’s just pretty wild, isn’t it?

This little move they do...it's as if they need to get charged back up or something…maybe get their love juices flowing again?  I don’t know - but it was a surreal experience.  I’ll try to catch Ava doing it to me on video for you guys because you just have to see it to understand it…

Anyways, Joanne, her family and her business have supported me and all of my crazy ideas from the start. This year we’re teaming up again to raise money for the Williams Syndrome Association - so they can pay for research studies that help us learn more about Williams syndrome and little things like “why they nuzzle” like I just described above (Kidding, more like I wish!  They have WAY more important things to study other than why our kiddos nuzzle, but still, I’m so interested to learn why!)

Finally, I know times may be tough for some of you, these are certainly crazy times we’re all in right now. I mean holy cow, we’re living in the middle of a pandemic!  But…if you’re able, and want to put your money towards something good right now, I really hope you make a purchase from Morgan’s store today!

Your purchase helps us raise awareness (and money) for Williams Syndrome!  Seriously, it does.  Because when someone sees you with your Love or your You Rock gear on, they’re going to compliment you on it. And the thing that’ll come out of your mouth after “Thank you,” is the why…the story about what makes it so special…Morgan’s story, maybe Ava’s story, but really, it’s “our story” - about Williams Syndrome!  Seriously - that’s how it works!

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