Noon Today

(Thanks to Target for letting me use this photograph.)

I sent this out last night as an email. In the event you did not get it, I thought I would "double dip" by putting it on the blog...
Julie:)


Dear Family and Friends,

We went to Moe's Saturday night. As we were packing up to leave, a couple arrived. Their little boy had glasses and his hair was a little wild, probably from sitting in his car seat. They toted a chair similar to one we have on loan from the Bell Center. That was our first clue. Jamie and I refer to it as the “medieval throne” because it is quite ancient in appearance. Jamie and I had not spoken to each other but both of us noticed the chair. We were not going to give this family undue attention. As Jamie was finishing with Jackson, Jackson screamed out, “HEY, DADDY! THAT BOY HAS SILLY HAIR!” I almost lost it because it was so funny and not funny at the same time. I kept my head down, trying to clean the table and contain my laughter. Jamie told the couple he was sorry and whispered to Jackson, “That is not nice to say and your hair sometimes looks like that after a nap” to which Jackson responded, “I KNOW, DADDY, BUT HE STILL HAS SILLY HAIR!” His parents laughed it off and then noticed Jonathan’s leg braces. The mother said, “Are those AFO’s?” at which point, we gladly chimed in that they were and that Jonathan needed them to force him to bend his knees. We mentioned that he had Down syndrome. After chatting a few minutes, we dragged Jackson out before he could make another loud observation. When we got out to the car I could barely talk because I was laughing so hard.:)

We have had ample opportunities to make connections with families with children with special needs. Over the last year, the Lord has changed our despair and turmoil to peace and determination to "pay it forward." When Jackson was born, we saw him as a tremendous blessing and just what we "ordered." We see Jonathan as an additional blessing that has also changed our lives. Jonathan's entrance into our household has turned it upside down and defined us in ways we never knew possible. Thank goodness God does not always give us what we think we need or "ordered." I cannot tell you how thankful we are God has blessed us with him because He has changed our hearts in a way we might not have experienced without him. If ever I begin to compare our family to another's, I stop when I see those precious faces looking back at me. I wouldn't have them any other way.

As we were leaving Mothers’ Morning Out on Monday afternoon Jackson said, “Mommy, I am going to be in a new class tomorrow.” I asked him why and he said, “Mrs. Sherri isn’t going to be there. She’s got Down syndrome.” Not realizing Down syndrome was contagious and hiding my smile, I said, “Okay." I moved on to the next topic.

Jamie and I often have wondered, "How do we tell Jackson that Jonathan has Down syndrome without making it sound negative?" We have been biding our time, thinking about casually throwing it out there or reading a book about siblings with Down syndrome. An opportunity presented itself yesterday morning. We were watching Sesame Street and it began with a testimonial of a man with Down syndrome telling about his favorite Sesame Street memory. After he was finished, I turned to Jackson and said, "That man has Down syndrome." Jamie said, "Do you know anyone with Down syndrome?" Jackson said, "Uh, let me fink... I fink I know a wittle boy who has it... Jonafan!" Jamie turned to me and asked, "Who told him??!!" I started laughing and said, "Honey! He hears us talk about it all the time!" I figured Jackson knew and might put it together sometime. Again, God's perfect timing.

For those of you who do not know, we (Jamie, Jamie's dad, my sister, and me) are running in a relay for the Mercedes Marathon on Sunday, 11 February 2007, to help raise money for the Bell Center. Jonathan attends the Bell Center twice a week for therapy. I have said it so many times, but I can never say it enough: this place has been our saving grace. They have been such a source of encouragement and a refuge for us.

As I write this, we are in second place in the fundraising contest for the Bell Center. I wanted to thank each one of you for showing your support on such short notice. We set our goal at raising $20,000 by tomorrow, Thursday, 25 January 2007, at noon, because word on the street was that there was another family who was closing in on $15,000 last week. I thought we were ahead of the game to get our fundraising page up and running mid-January. Little did I know that there was a contest to see which family could raise the most money and that there was a deadline before the actual race! Once we found out about the contest and the deadline, we wanted to win so we set the stakes high from the get-go.

Some of you have shown your support by praying for us. Some of you have contributed financially. We can never repay you or thank you enough. We can only pledge to minister to the other families who will walk in our shoes in the years to come. You have our word that we will "pay it forward." We feel so fortunate to have friends and family like you who have supported us in the last year.

Please forward this email on to anyone you think might be interested in our story, in praying for us, and/or in contributing financially. You can visit our fundraising webpage to check up on our progress: www.firstgiving.com/jonathanwarren.

If you cannot give now but would like to at a later date, you can send checks payable to the Bell Center for Jonathan Warren to:
The Bell Center
1700 29th Court South
Homewood, AL 35209

Thank you,
Jamie, Julie, Jackson, and Jonathan
www.thefourjs.blogspot.com
juliewarren@mindspring.com