Making Birthday Plans

As we continue to make plans for Alegria's first birthday, I thought I would take some time to explain a little of what we are planning and why.

Shortly before Alegria turned three months old, we received the diagnosis of Trisomy 13. The statistics for Trisomy 13 are fairly grim, and there have been several times this year we have wondered if we would even make it to this celebration. Only 5-10% of children born alive with Trisomy 13 survive to see their first birthday, and by the grace of God, we are quickly approaching her birthday.

Several months back, we started making plans to celebrate should God allow us to see this day. If you know Al and I well, you know we usually do not make a big deal of birthdays, but celebrate simply with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. But this time, we are planning to do things a bit differently. This time this is such a HUGE milestone, we wanted to invite everyone to celebrate with us.

Next month on February 6^th, we are inviting all of our friends and family to join with us to celebrate Alegria's life. We would like to take this time to praise and thank God for the time he has allowed us to spend thus far with our precious little girl. We would also like to thank those of you who invested in Alegria's life and supported us in prayer this year.

The celebration will be an open house style party from 2-4pm. The birthday cake will be served at 2:30 pm.

Your presence at Alegria's birthday celebration would be a wonderful gift to us all! We certainly realize that many of you will not be able to physically attend the party due to distance, but please do join us in celebrating the wonderful gift God has given us this past year.

We do not know how long God will allow us to have Alegria here on earth with us, but we are so thankful for the time He has given us with her!