Jonathan Story and Race Day Footage

Chris Montana and Johnny Rockett with Fox News came to our house last Tuesday to film a human interest story on Jonathan. We expected something short and sweet - nothing like what we saw Friday night. To watch, click here: http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=8357868.

Both teams ran well on Sunday. Thank you for your prayers - everyone was healthy and the weather turned out to be perfect. You can see a slideshow below of all of our pictures. If it does not work below, try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjNmQcZpoeA.

We did not realize that our teams were competing against each other until Jamie asked Scott Bickel for some advice on how to stretch his knee. Scott is a PT and Scott said, "I'm not helping you!" We strapped in for a fight. The McCrory/Bickel/Elliott team ended up beating us in terms of time but everyone gave it all they had.

Many thanks to those of you who have donated, have prayed, and who ran for Jonathan. We appreciate all of you and would not have made it this far personally in our Down syndrome journey if it had not been for you. Please feel free to pass along our name, website, or email address to anyone you come into contact with who might walk in our shoes one day. We love to share, listen, encourage, and pay it forward.

To those of you who want to donate but have not yet done so, our deadline TO WIN is MONDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2009. We would still need to raise about $3,500 to $4,000. No donation is too small (or too big, of course!).

To make a tax deductible donation, you can either go online or mail in a check. To go online, click on www.firstgiving.com/jonathanhallwarren. If you would like to write a check, make it payable to The Bell Center with Jonathan's name in the "for" space and mail it to The Bell Center, 1700 29th Court South, Birmingham, AL, 35209.

Mercedes Marathon 2009 slideshow, featuring Suzanne Cook, the Warrens (Jamie, Julie, Jackson, Jonathan, and Jim), Jayne Bishop, Drew and Julie Cundiff, Courtney and Scott McCrory, the Bickels (Scott, Nanette, Bryce, and Elise), and the Elliotts (Jay, Melissa, and Jonah).

Many thanks,

Jamie, Julie, Jackson, and Jonathan

Jonathan's Last Bell Center Race

I want to thank everyone who has given so far in honor of Jonathan to the Bell Center (www.firstgiving.com/jonathanhallwarren). We are so grateful to those of you who have taken the time to support us. Please pray for good health and mild weather on Sunday. It has been mild here the last few days and is supposed to be on Sunday. We are looking forward to it!

Jonathan ran in his last Bell Center race at Samford yesterday. Jackson ran in the race for siblings as well. We were there along with the Cook families (Suzanne, Jason, Sarah, Gracie, and friends of theirs), Jim, and Julie and Philip Cundiff. We brought Buzz and Woody to use as bait, to lure Jonathan down the straightaway. We played out on the football field first where Jackson mistakenly took Gracie down in a headlock. He was chastised as her mother emptied her pants of rubber turf.:) We then took our seat in the stands to watch all the kids race. Jonathan and Jackson got to run toward the end.

There were several heats of races. Some kids were pushed in strollers while some walked on their own in their walkers. Others walked while holding hands. In the last few heats the kids were able to walk/run unassisted. It was so neat and touching to watch - I had difficulty not crying. When you give to us, you give to them. These kids often can't talk or walk or see. Just crossing that finish line is huge to them. They all received medals and had a blast.

Jackson ran at the end. According to him, he won. I honestly could not tell. So, congratulate him if you see him.:)

Below is a slide show of yesterday's events. Enjoy!

Julie:)

juliewarren73@charter.net

This is our slide show, a collection of all the "footage" taken yesterday at Jonathan's last Bell Center race.

Interesting "angle" on Jonathan's race.

Mercedes Marathon Time Again

Family and Friends,

It's that time of year again for us - fundraising for the Bell Center by running the Mercedes Marathon! This is Jonathan's last year at the Bell Center and we want to leave with a bang! We have two teams running composed of Jamie, Jim, Jayne Bishop, Julie and Drew Cundiff, Courtney and Scott McCrory, Nanette and Scott Bickel, and Melissa Elliott. Please pray for their health and for good weather.

Watch the slideshow below to see how far Jonathan has come in the past three years because of the influence of the Bell Center. If you cannot see it here, go to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUzM7NH98hU. Many thanks to Tony Perricelli for his help. Jamie helped me, too!

If you would like to give a tax deductible donation, you can give online at www.firstgiving.com/jonathanhallwarren or mail a check payable to The Bell Center at The Bell Center, 1700 29th Court South, Birmingham, AL, 35209. The race is on 15 February 2009 and the contest deadline is 23 February 2009.

Thank you for keeping up with us. Remember, no donation is too small (or too big:))!

We appreciate your support,

Julie:)