It was on Instagram that I first discovered Annie – or more
accurately, Annie’s baby boy. A few months older than Harlow, Nicholas is
quite simply a beautiful child. White blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and a
smile that steals the breath from your chest. Every picture Annie shared of her little guy struck me – that impish grin, little tongue stuck out as often as not,
it was impossible not to fall for this child. Annie’s Instagram was instant
feel-good material, Nicholas’ little face home to a thousand different expressions
of joy.

On the strength of Nicholas’s cuteness alone, I sought out
Annie’s blog, Mummalove, a place where, in words both tender and true, she shares the journey of her sweet family of five. Already mother to two adorable little boys, Sam and Charlie, Annie began blogging during her pregnancy with Nicholas after discovering at 16
weeks that her third son had Down syndrome.

Whatever I supposed I knew about Down syndrome has been
altered and through Annie’s words, I am learning – or relearning. And though I
knew that there are never any easy decisions to make in the event that a
pregnancy scan or screening not go as planned, “meeting” Nicholas has forever
changed any conviction I may have had one way or another. I can’t unsee that
little face aglow with joy, I can’t unknow how perfectly Nicholas fits within
his family, I can’t unread the words of his mother’s heart.  

This Love Story has changed me.

And so you can imagine my delight when I received this
letter in the mail.

And I am only now getting around
to saying thank you. 

Annie, forgive me for the shocking delay in acknowledging
this wonderful surprise. I was, I am,
so touched to have been in your thoughts and so thrilled that you reached out
to me, via the deeply personal art of letter writing no less. People say social media is killing our
society but for me, it has opened up my world to the magic of stories like
yours, to the magic of people like you.

And also, do you have the most stunning hand writing in the history of the world? Yes, you do!

Thank you for sharing Nicholas with me. He has been a most unexpected gift in my life. 

*Images stolen from Mummalove's Facebook page. Hope that's okay, Annie. 🙂