As I look back on 2013, I am struck by how far we have come as a family. So to end the year, here are my favorite posts about our family (interspersed with some of my favorite photos) from the year:

What Penny's Birthday and Epiphany Taught Me About Who We All Are "I look forward ...

It's Penny's birthday today, and I'm sure I will have some thoughts about her to share soon, but for now, in her honor, here are seven guest posts written for this blog in 2013, all related in some way to Down syndrome:

Life with Down Syndrome in Zambia  An interview with a mother ...

Today's list includes my four favorite posts I wrote for other venues:

How to Talk to Kids (And Parents) About Disability    (for PBS Parents): Even though I have a daughter with Down syndrome, for a long time I didn't know what to say when we encountered other people with physical ...

Have you bought all the presents? Have you wrapped them all? How about the cookies? The movies? The cards?

Maybe you are like me and most of the physical preparation for Christmas are complete. And maybe you are like me and this season of Advent, meant to be a time of spiritual ...

I've heard lately that it's hard to get a high-quality copy of A Good and Perfect Gift. And I'm sorry about that! Apparently Amazon is printing its own copies, which means that if you order one there (for the low-low price of $6.98, which should have been a clue), instead of ...

It's one of my favorite lines from a Christmas hymn, Joy to the World: Let every heart prepare him room.

But my heart is crowded with the regular preparations for Christmas–writing a letter and sending out cards, decorating the tree and making cookies, buying presents, wrapping ...

I wrote last week of an incident in which I realized Penny had appeared to be willfully disobedient, mean, and destructive (Happy Tears: Why I Believe in My Daughter). Based on what I already know about her and some gentle nudges from the Holy Spirit, I questioned that version ...

Faith:

ow.ly/rv2h9 Making Jesus look good @kwpershey @ChristianCent#NadiaBolzWeber #BookReview #Pastrix

Recommended site for #Advent: ow.ly/rv2OT #Christmas

How much #money should we be #givingaway? nyti.ms/IWFoEQ @tarasbernard@nytimes #Donations #Charity

What's one subject you'd be ...

Nearly a year ago, I went out to lunch with a friend. When I returned I learned that a gunman had attacked a school down the road. We all know the horrific story now, and a year later, though the emotions aren't as raw, I'm also not sure that anything that went terribly awry ...

I'm so not an Elf on the Shelf person.

a) it takes me until mid-December to realize that Christmas is coming (thus the elf only arrived at our house two days ago when my husband remembered his existence).

b) I don't do anything crafty or cute or fun or creative with my kids in ...

I'm a technophobe. In fact, my husband and I suspect that I might be technologically cursed. (Things like little Mac symbols we didn't know still existed–anyone remember the image of a bomb? I still get those . . . or devices shutting down automatically in my presence . . . ...

I kneel down. Penny and William are both in front of me on the couch. Both look a little puzzled by my tears. I clasp their hands. "Happy tears. Happy tears," I say.

****

It is Saturday night. A few hours before my happy tears, Peter and I are sitting in church for a special service ...

I was surprised to see yesterday that my name showed up a list of 101 Christian Women Speakers compiled by Rachel Held Evans. Surprised and, let's be honest, grateful and flattered and a little bit relieved too. And again, in the name of honesty, I am drawing your attention ...

A few articles from this week that you might enjoy:

A modern image of the typical#AmericanFamily far from Norman Rockwell's#Thanksgiving portrait http://ow.ly/rdxEB #Diversity @angier58

"Should Able-Bodied People Ever Use a#Handicapped Bathroom Stall?" @EllenPDollarhttp://ow.ly/rdyZO#Disability#Accessibility ...