As well as sometimes making me feel invincible, parenthood also makes me feel incredibly vulnerable too. I question everything I do as a Mom, every decision I make. I fret over whether I am offering my daughters all that I could, and like most moms, worry that every thing I do will affect them through all the days of their lives.

Often, I am held up by others as some sort of "supermom"...and commended for my parenting of Paige. But really, I am just a mom...nothing more. The things that I do for Paige are nothing more than what I would do for Dakotah.

Parenting does not come with guarantees, and none of us can be sure of what this journey will bring to us. Always, there are surprises along the parenting path. Sometimes our children will far exceed our expectations, and sometimes, they will fall short of them. Having a child with special needs does not change that.

Although Paige has come with many "extras", sometimes I find parenting Dakotah to be the harder task. Paige still sees me with the eyes of a young child; invincible, perfect, unfailing.

Dakotah has me figured out a little more...she sees my shortcomings, understands that I'm not perfect, and that I sometimes make bad choices and bad decisions just like she does. She sees me lose patience, and she sees the days when I am tired and when parenting is beyond challenging for me.

I am always acutely aware that I must set an example for them as a woman. I hope that they both grow into strong, independent women in their own right.

I struggle, as most Moms probably do, to keep my own identity in this journey. I involve myself in so many different things, that I get caught up in all of them, and forget to take time for me.

I'm very active in the girls' school, and volunteer there as often as I can. I sit on the school council, and always have my hands (and sometimes feet!) in activities with them.

A couple of years ago, I started a group called "Special Kids, Special Families" with a friend of mine who has a son with cerebral palsy. Our goal was to be a parent-led organization that would help families newly diagnosed receive all the essential services that they needed, as well as to help them learn all they needed to learn to begin their new life.

Our group did some really neat things, but it has been put on the back burner a bit over the last year or so, frankly because we are so busy raising our families, and just haven't had time.

Next year, I'm hoping to back out of school a bit, and dedicate some more time to the Special Families group. I want to set a path for Paige's life as she grows, and I am driven to be an integral part of the lives of many special people I've met over the past years.

The one passion that I never seem to find time for is writing. I would love to write a book, and WILL do that some day. There is so much living to do every day that I never find time for it, and my heart, my soul, aches to get our story on paper, so that my daughters will have it to treasure for always.

I've been so blessed to have been given this life, and hope that I will live many years to treasure it. I've learned so much; mostly I've learned that I have been put here on this earth to be a student, not a teacher.

My children were born to me to teach me the gifts of compassion, love, understanding, patience, and joy.

I am so grateful for the lessons, and will never take them for granted...