Emily's Family

The T21 Traveling Afghan made it's way to Miss Emily, who is seven years old. She brought the afghan to her area's Buddy Walk to share the love!

As you can see, Emily and her friends had a blast with the afghan!





You can learn all about Emily and her family on their blog, Hodgepodge! And check out their entry regarding their Buddy Walk!

I'd like to thank Emily's mom, Maria, for taking such great care of the afghan and passing it on to its next stop, the Massachusett's South Shore Buddy Walk.

We are still waiting for pictures from The Alaska Buddy Walk! Stay tuned!

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Emily's Family

An Afghan For Pierce R.

An amazing woman named Jan sent me an email regarding a beautiful little boy named Pierce who was going through his second battle with cancer.

She thought it would be great for him to have his very own afghan and I agreed!

I have to admit, I love the colors in this one and, as you can see, so does Pierce!







According to his mom, Pierce is doing very well and surprising the doctors with his progress! Please keep this little guy in your thoughts and prayers!!

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An Afghan For Pierce R.

Project Hopes

This project has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The people I have connected with, the families I have gotten to know and the inspiration I have gained can never have a price tag put on them.

There are certain hopes I have for this project.

Such as the possibility of celebrity involvement leading to awareness of Down syndrome and what it means to love someone with an extra twenty-first chromosome.

Numerous Buddy Walks and other Down syndrome events.

Seeing the afghan travel all over the world.

And many, many more.

One of those hopes has come to fruition.

If you are not aware of Conny Wenk and her amazing talent as a photographer, you are missing out. Conny's daughter, Juliana, had Down syndrome. Conny uses her talent to capture the beauty, joy and laugher of children and their families, many of which you can find on her blog A little extra by Conny Wenk.

This woman's photography is AMAZING. Therefore, I have been anxiously awaiting her turn with the T21 Traveling Afghan. However, I have been surprised a bit early.

One of the recipients of An Afghan Of Their Own has found his way in front of Conny's camera, along with his very own afghan! As you can see, the results are amazing!

Here is Big Ben Benjamin, with his afghan, as photographed by Conny Wenk.



You can see more of Ben's photo shoot by following this link. And stop by Big Ben Benjamin's blog to learn all about this adorable little boy and his family! (His dad is the one to thank for our amazing Google Map, which traces the visual path of our afghan, complete with pictures and blog links for the families who have already received the afghan!)

Thanks to Conny for fulfilling one of my "project hopes!"

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Project Hopes

The Map/Path

You can follow the actual path of the afghan on the T21 Traveling Afghan Map. A very special thank you to Big Ben Benjamin's Dad for creating the map and keeping it updated with links, photos, locations and icons!

Here is the route in list format:

Little Miss E's Family: Blog - Little Miss E (Wisconsin)

The Flege Family: Blog - The Flege Farm (Iowa)

Hope's Family: Blog - Mom of 12 And Loving I (Iowa)

The Stumbo Family: Blog - Stumbo Family Story (Iowa)

Ashlie's Family: Blog - The Hite World (Iowa)

Team Eian: Blog - Mama Monkmee (South Carolina)

The Mimmel Family: Blog - The Mimmel Family (South Carolina)

The Walden Family: Blog - Blessed Chaos (South Carolina)

Lilly: Blog - Loving Lilly (South Carolina)

The Fabulous Fields: Blog - The Fabulous Field (South Carolina)

Liam's Family: Blog - Sharp Pointy Sticks  (Ohio)

Sheridan's Family: Blog - Genetically Enhanced (California)

John Michael's Family: Blog - Monkey Musings (California)

Joaquin's Family: Blog - Three's A Charm (California)

Joey's Family: Blog- Our Bundle Of Joey (California)

Gabby's Family: Blog- The Phamily Blog (California)

Rapid City Buddy Walk - (South Dakota)

Alaska Chapter of the National Down Syndrome Congress Walk (Alaska)

Emily's Family: Blog - Hodge Podge (New Hampshire)
(North New England Down Syndrome Congress Buddy Walk)

South Shore Buddy Walk (Massachusetts)

2009 Buddy Cruise (left from Florida)

LC's Family: Blog - Little LC Boom Boom (Kansas)

Marissa's Family: Blog - To Love Endlessly (North Carolina)

Leightyn's Family: Blog - Little Leightyn Love Bug (Ohio)

Violette's Family: Blog - Yo Mama Mama (Ohio)

Dorothy's Family (Ohio)

DJ's Family: Blog - Ohio Patrick Family (Ohio)

Joylynn's Family (Ohio)

Ben's Family (Ohio)

Sarah's Family: Blog - Class of 2008 (Ohio)

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The Map/Path

Gabby's Family

After Joey, the afghan was handed off to Little Miss Gabby from The Phamily Blog!

As you can see, Ms. Gabby put the afghan to good use and, once again, shows us the Ties That Bind in the Down syndrome community!










I love that last picture! Gabby is telling YOU to sign up for the Traveling Afghan, yo! Ha ha! What an adorable little girl!

You can read about Gabby's experience with the afghan in this post on their blog, The Phamily Blog!

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Gabby's Family

Joey's Family

It's been really cool to see our families in California hand off the afghan to one another! If you've noticed, the last few posts following the afghan's travels has included pictures of one child handing the afghan off to the next. This entire project was started to show the Ties That Bind in the Down syndrome community. Our Cali families have certainly shown us just how true that is!

Our latest Californian to have the afghan is Mr. Joey from Our Bundle Of Joey. He recently received the Traveling Afghan from his buddy, Joaquin!

Look out girls, these are two handsome little men!






You can read all about Joey on his family's blog, Our Bundle of Joey!

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Joey's Family

An Afghan For John Michael C.

Mr. John Michael over at Monkey Musings is cuddling his very own afghan! He has already cuddled The Traveling Afghan and passed it on. Now he has one of his very own and, as you can see, he's pretty darn happy with it!

Whether awake or asleep, enjoy that afghan, John Michael!

You can read all about John Michael and his family on their blog, Monkey Musings!

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An Afghan For John Michael C.

An Afghan For Benjamin A.

Mr. Ben requested a red, white and black afghan to match his fire truck room...and that is exactly what he got!

As you can see, the afghan not only fits the decor, but fits Mr. Ben perfectly! Here is the handsome young man with his very own afghan!

Ben, I hope you enjoy the afghan for many, many years to come!

Ben's mom sent some of her own crafty work in exchange for the afghan. More pictures of those works of art coming soon! (I know, I know, I'm a slacker!!)

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An Afghan For Benjamin A.

An Afghan For Ashlynn M.

As with all our kids, Miss Ashlynn over at 3 Princes and a Princess has quite the story to tell about her life. Ashlynn is battling cancer for the second time in her short years.

If you are interested in reading more about her story and/or posting her button on your blog, please visit the following link:

I sent Ashlynn an afghan of her own with fuzzy pink yarn...every girl's dream!

Here is a photo of the afghan and a few shots of Ashlynn getting acquainted with it.

Please stop by 3 Princes and a Princess to keep up to date on Ashlynn's progress and don't forget to pray for her!!

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An Afghan For Ashlynn M.