The month of October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and to celebrate we have created The 2012 Wall of Awesome. Just what is The Wall of Awesome? I’m glad you asked!

Check out this video that Noah and I put together to tell you all about, as well as this article on Life News. Then be sure to check it out, read the stories, share the stories, and add your own.

We are firm believers that stories have power when they are shared, and we hope to help people share theirs.

By the way, if you don’t already, we’d love for you to stay connected to the story we are telling about our son who was born with Down syndrome by connecting with us on Google +, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, our Picture Journey and of course our blog.

We look forward to continuing to share our story with you!

-Rick

(Noah’s Dad)

The post Amazing Stories Of Children Born With Down Syndrome appeared first on RickwSmith.com.

Today is Saturday, October 13th 2012 and today I really wanted to know who the best pastor in Dallas was. So what did I do? I did a quick Google search, I was disappointed to find out google didn’t think my friend Todd Wagner, pastor of Watermark Community Church was the best pastor in Dallas.

Truth be told there lots of great pastors in Dallas, but I think Todd is the best! So I thought I’d try to help Google out real quick. And (hopefully) pull off a pretty epic (and funny) illustration. But we’ll see.

(P.S. I also think Todd’s one of the best looking pastors in Dallas…and I mean that in a real manly sort of way!)  Plus he likes hanging out with Noah, so that’s pretty awesome!

The post Who is the best pastor in Dallas? Todd Wagner! appeared first on RickwSmith.com.

This is a friendly reminder to all of my parent friends out there to smile!

It’s easy to get bogged down and stressed out with all the things life throws at you. I’m sure each of us could write a long list of things that stress us out as parents.

But even it’s just for today I want to encourage you stop, and smile. To stop and simply enjoy being a parent.

Remember the first time you saw your newborn ? Remember how felt? How much joy filled your heart?

Why not take a minute today to pause, and smile? To pause and enjoy being a parent…again.

You deserve it!

- Noah’s Dad

The post It’s Good To Be A Dad! appeared first on RickwSmith.com.

We had a great time hanging out with Noah during his first trip to New York.

It’s fun being Noah’s dad!

The post Hanging Out In New York! appeared first on RickwSmith.com.

We’re on twitter. How about you!

One of my favorite things about sharing my story being Noah’s Dad is all of the amazing families I’ve been able to connect with through various social media properties. We live in a time like no other in history in that we can build relationships with people all of the world without leaving our house. It’s amazing!

One of my favorite ways to meet people is through our Noah’s Dad Twitter account. I typically use it help people check out some of our archived posts, and sharing images, but I also enjoy meeting new friends on there as well. 

If you happen to be on twitter (which I know so many of you are) it’d be awesome if you’d connect with you on there. All you have to do is click the follow button below. If you do connect with us, be sure to send us an @ and introduce yourself, it’d be awesome to ‘tweet” you!

Follow @NoahsDadDotCom

By the way, be sure to leave your twitter user name in the comments so others can check out your awesomeness….!

The post Connect With “Noah’s Dad” On Twitter appeared first on RickwSmith.com.

Noah loves his dad.

Thrive Magazine recently interviewed our family about why we started the Noah’s Dad website, our family, life raising a child with Down syndrome, and lots of other fun topics. You can also view the full magazine for free! (Which I highly suggest, since it’s such a great publication.)

We had a great time talking with them and thought they did a wonderful job telling our story and why we are so passionate about using social media to help the world see that Down syndrome is ok. I hope you enjoy the article.

Be sure to check out Noah’s Dad‘s journey in pictures, Noah’s Dad Facebook page, and Noah’s dad Twitter stream. Be sure to say hello; we’d love the chance to get to know you.

The post Noah’s Dad, Mom, and Noah Himself In Thrive Magazine appeared first on RickwSmith.com.

We all have a story!

If you’ve known me for a while than you know that I’ve always been a fan of creating and publishing videos online. (Double Popped anyone?) I’m not sure why really. I just know that every since I can remember I’ve enjoyed documenting and sharing stories.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve also realized just how powerful stories are.  Being Noah’s Dad has only further confirmed this. Our stories have power!

We live in a time like none other in history. Today anyone can share their story with the world. You don’t have to be famous, rich, or even good at telling narratives. You just have to tell it.

Noah’s dad’s on YouTube, how about you?

This is one of the reasons I started Noahs Dad Youtube Channel and started telling Noah’s story on our blog. When Noah was born I had a hard time finding videos about Down syndrome. I wanted to see what life was like for a family raising a child with Down syndrome. Sure, there were lots of really great blogs, but just not many videos.

So I decided to start telling our story via one minute, daily videos. And it’s been a life changing experience for us.

Noah’s Dad Facebook page recently passed 17,000 “fans;” although families is a better way to say it. If you browse Noah’s Facebook page you’ll family after family posting pictures, sharing stories, and encouraging others. It’s amazing, and I’m honored (and humble) to be on this journey with so many amazing families.

Many of which are telling their story.

If you’re on YouTube, take a second to subscribe to Noah’s Dad Channel, we’d love to meet (and swap videos) you.

If you have a blog I want to encourage you to keep it up. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “regular” blogger. It doesn’t matter. Just blog. Tell your story. You never know how your story could end up changing the world!

Do you have a blog? Let me know in the comments. If not, what are some other ways you tell your story? I want to hear about them.

The post Hi, I’m Noah’s Dad, And I Have A Story….And So Do You! appeared first on RickwSmith.com.