November 3 2021
Completely forgot to share the photo book I made for my mom’s birthday last month. I’m finally doing something with all these photos I take!
Follow the link to see the full photo album …
https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/interests/blank-canvas-25815708?vk=S6gTco51G2tlogjTLPVZ
November 1 2021
It was a great day to mail a signed book with a surprise inside. (When I mail signed books, I include a short found poem, created using books destined for the trash, rescued from the library.) Your book is on the way, Renee.
Also a great day to mail these letters we wrote to ourselves in 2016, five years ago. We wrote them, sealed them, and I hid them in my fireproof safe box. I put a note on my calendar for 5 years out to mail them. Can’t wait to see what I wrote to myself! I absolutely do not remember!
November 3 2021
This was such a moving experience. Today we received the letters we wrote to our future selves five years ago, November 2016. Thank you 2016 Camilla. ❤️❤️❤️ Thomas likes his, too. Lillian likes the advice she gave herself.
October 31 2021
Extra movie night for me and Thomas. “Arsenic and Old Lace”
A Halloween night tradition.
October 25 2021
Conversations with Thomas … Any of the songs in Polar Express can be sung to any of the music in the movie. They’ll obviously sound different, but it works.
I asked him if he read that somewhere or if he figured it out. He figured it out on his own.
He also says it’s one of the most underrated movies: Tom Hanks playing 5 key characters, the computer animation was superior for its time, the soundtrack is great, and the message can be applied to more than just Santa. As it’s about how our thinking changes as we get older.
I’m just now sure what I’d do if I didn’t have this amazing person in my life to have conversations with. I don’t post as much about them as I did when he was young. Yet, just about every day, we have such meaningful, deep (or sometimes just plain fun) conversations, blessing me more than I know what to do with sometimes.
October 31 2021
Thomas has been taking piano lessons since January 2021. Last night I was invited into his room for a performance to an audience of ONE … ME!
The song he played was less than a minute, and is from one of the online games that he loves. It warmed my heart, and brought much joy that he is finally comfortable enough to play for me. I’m so very proud of Thomas! xoxo
August 24 2012:
Team TLC movie night … One night early so Team Member C can have a girls night tomorrow night … Almost popcorn time!!
August 24 2013:
Team Member C movie night …. “Once upon a time ….” ……. I just LOVE classic movies …. love!
**THROWBACK POST**
August 24 2014:
These are some of the craziest, fun, inspiring people I know!! Turning what could have been a 15 minute walk into an hour, playing with shadow pictures, looking at the sky, rolling down a hill, smelling roses, and being silly! I love us! xoxo
**THROWBACK POST**
August 24 2014:
Oh happy day, oh library day, oh happy, happy day! We scored and there was a tech fair! Thomas got to see a homemade 3D printer and talk to the creator and work with Don of Reno Collective to learn to some Ruby coding! Oh what a happy boy!
October 30 2021
Movie night for me: “Dark Shadows”
October 30 2021
Some news to share. I’ve taken on a volunteer position with Chromosome 18 Registry & Research Society.
Hi. I’m Camilla Downs and I’m looking forward to my role as the new 18p- Coordinator. My name is Camilla Downs (pronounced like Pamela but with a “C”), and I’m a mom to 20-year-old Lillian Darnell and 16-year-old Thomas Darnell.
Lillian has 18p-, being diagnosed when she was 3 years old after the pediatrician suggested genetic testing, due to Lillian being behind in more than three areas of development. The pediatrician called me as soon as she got the results, letting me know over the phone, rather than postponing until we could get in to see her. After pulling myself together, I found the Chromosome 18 Registry that night while searching online. This was before Facebook, and social media groups and I joined The Registry shortly thereafter. I spent time observing the conversations in the Yahoo listserv before jumping in, introducing myself, and asking questions.
The main ways 18p- has manifested throughout the years for Lillian are speech difficulties, chronic stomach pain, proprioceptive issues, balance and depth perception, difficulties with executive functioning skills, and inability to process emotions. In hindsight, I can see she exhibits many symptoms of autism. That is currently being addressed. In the past, she has done speech, physical, and occupational therapy. Currently, she receives craniosacral therapy and just began seeing a therapist begin work on her phobias. All of these issues are still with her.
I divorced in 2007, moving to Reno, Nevada from … Follow the link to read the full announcement …