Life around here has been crazy. We have had Easter egg hunts, Easter parties, and Easter dinner. Jackson was inundated so much with the Easter story that he was telling and retelling it to me. He made a placemat telling the Easter story with stickers. He brought it home from church and it was laminated. He ate on it several times. One day we had stickers out doing another craft for school. He found some Elmo stickers and decided to retell the story using Elmo as the lead character rather than Jesus. I just didn't know what to say. Do you laugh or do you sternly say, "We don't laugh about the crucifixion"? We re-enact Bible stories (David and Goliath) and he doesn't understand why he can't pretend to nail Jonathan to a cross. Interesting place Jamie and I find ourselves when we are attempting to explain that one. Any suggestion?
We are in the midst of celebrating Jackson's fourth birthday. He will be four years old on Sunday. What a joy that child is. We were reading a Bible story entitled "The Fisherman's Net." It was a parable with Jesus telling about the fisherman sorting his fish according to good fish and bad fish, likening them to godly and ungodly people. He looked at me and said, "Am I godly?" I explained that in order to go to heaven one day, he needed to believe that Jesus had to pay the price for his sin. He said, "I believe! I believe!" :)
Jonathan is doing a lot of screaming these days to get our attention. Our special educator that visits our home told me today to acknowledge it with words but not to repeat the noise. I have wondered if I should tell him to stop, ignore it, etc. He is regularly taking four and five consecutive steps. He has taken as many as fifteen consecutive steps. It all depends on the end goal and how determined he is feeling. He does best in bare feet. When he is wearing his AFO's he does not walk much. He cruises around the furniture but that is about it. He motions for me to do "Itsy Bitsy Spider." He signs "more" and "all finished." He love his big brother and both of us. He is a snuggler. I love this child so much. Where we get into trouble is thinking about what the future holds. Please pray that we plan for the future but that we don't spend time worrying about it, wasting mental energy on things that may never happen.
I am now the treasurer for PADS (Parent Advocate Down Syndrome) and Jamie is on their board, acting as PR. Pray for us. We have opportunities all the time to encourage other parents and family members connected to people with Down syndrome. Pray that we can share our faith. Pray we can listen and share our story.
My brother got home Wednesday from Iraq. Here is here for a short two weeks and then heads back. Thanks to those of you who pray for him and his safety. He is a captain in the army and commands about 100 men, including Iraqiis. Please pray he would continue to make wise decisions. Pray he would remain strong and determined.
Pray for us as we parent these two little guys. Pray for us as we discipline them and try to incorporate therapy practices seamlessly into our everyday routines.
Thank you for following our story. There are some pix below!
Julie:)
Mommy and Jonathan at Easter Egg Hunt
We had an Easter Egg Hunt with our Sunday School class. In some of the eggs we hid items that were parts of the Easter story.
Here are the moms and kids listening to the Easter story. Sarah (one of the moms) took the items in the Easter eggs to tell the Easter story. Then she had the kids act it out.
The "soldiers" guarding the tomb and the "ladies" who came to tend to Jesus' body.
Fierce soldiers.
Jonathan liked his dessert.
Jackson hunting eggs.
Kids decorating eggs.
Jamie helping Jackson with lunch.
Jackson with his friend, Brooks.
Jonathan eating his lunch.
Warren family on Easter Sunday.
Jackson, Philip, and Linden at the zoo to eat breakfast with the Easter bunny.
Scary bunny at the zoo. How old is that suit? It showed up with human hands at first. How much would a new suit cost? Maybe we should donate one...
Jackson and Daddy at Jackson's school Easter party.
Jackson's friends at school.
Jackson's friends at his table.
Warren boys in Jackson's bed at bedtime.
