Catching up on ... June 2007

We went to Destin in Florida with Jamie's family in the middle of June. Upon our return home, we got into "Move Mode."

So... Jamie was out of town on business the week we moved. The movers came and packed our home up and it was hard to watch. I was torn - we had poured so much of ourselves into that house. While I was thrilled to move, I felt sad as well. I took the boys to Jamie's parents house while the packing continued. I thought it would be difficult for Jackson. We packed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jamie got home and we moved Thursday. Nana and Pops took care of the boys on Moving Day. I stayed at the Oak Mountain house, cleaning, while Jamie was at the Homewood house, directing which boxes landed where. I wanted to leave our old house in good shape - it sounds silly but it was closure for me. It all happened so fast we really didn't get to say a proper good-bye to our neighbors. Friday we closed and that took a lot longer than we anticipated - the buyers were not prepared and it took about four or five hours when it should have taken only 30 minutes.

When we brought the boys to the house, Jackson thought his toys were still at the other house because they were not unpacked. He had a hard time adjusting as well. He told us he missed his room, especially his fuzzy carpet...

Jackson riding his bike.

Jonathan walking - he thought he was four years old, too, trying to keep up with

his brother and cousins.

The cousins having a picnic.

Jack jumping to Uncle Ryan.

Nana and Jonathan in the pool.

Uncle Jamie and Eric.

Pops relaxing out of the sun.

The cousins...

Jonathan having a blast...

Catching up on ... May 2007

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? After my last update, things went a little nuts in our lives ... Jamie renovated a home in another part of town, Homewood. We lived there four years ago but moved to the Oak Mountain area to be closer to our church. I had spent the last year and a half traveling to the Bell Center in Homewood and had fallen in love with Homewood again. Jamie put the Homewood house on the market in February and it did not sell right away. We had grown attached to the home and were hankering to see if our Oak Mountain house would sell. So, we put the Oak Mountain house on the market in the middle of May. While we were at the beach in June, Jamie ran back and forth to an Office Max fax machine, countering the potential buyers' offer. We finally settled. They wanted us out in two weeks, including completing a laundry list of things to fix. So, the Oak Mountain house sold in one month! I was grateful but hacked at the buyers' demands. We were relieved the waiting was over. It was overwhelming and exciting. We loved the Homewood house and there were four other families in that neighborhood that had kids with Down syndrome within a year of Jonathan and typical kids within a year of Jackson. We knew several other families there as well. While Homewood's system didn't have the recommendation for special needs' children like Oak Mountain's, we felt good about it. There are other families with our same dynamic so our kids are not alone. The director of Special Needs in Homewood was the director of Special Needs at Oak Mountain for 15 years. We love how much smaller and more quaint it is here. We feel confident that this is the best place for our family right now. After months of prayer, we had our answer!

Party at Jackson's school, Noah's Nook.

We went to my sister's graduation in May. This is Jackson on the plane - thank

goodness for portable DVD players!

Jamie and Jackson at the beach on the Isle of Palms, the day before Betsy's

graduation.

Jackson and Grandpa head for the waves.

Jonathan at Doc and Friend's house.

Pops and Jonathan.

Gracie Cook and Jonathan playing together at her grandparents' house.

Jackson's Fourth Birthday

Jackson turned four on April 15. He had a couple of parties. Next year it is going to be ONE party! He had a cake for the grownups and cupcakes for his friends. We took pictures of all of his favorite things. On each cupcake there was a picture of one of Jackson's favorite things. We printed out photos and then stuck them in each cupcake with toothpicks. It was an easy way to avoid drawing Buzz Lightyear with icing!

We cannot believe we have had this guy for four years. We were glad it was finally his day. He has been waiting for his birthday party since last year. Here are some pix...

Jackson and his friends at his school had chocolate iced doughnuts with sprinkles for his birthday celebration.

He got a bike from us!

Daddy gave Jackson "bike school" in the garage. He would throw things in front of Jackson as Jack pedaled and would say, "What do you do?! Steer around it!" Very funny.

Jackson on his bike at "bike school" with Daddy. Jackson loves all the gear.

PJs from the Voelkerts.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Jonathan liked the paper.

The Four J's.
Nana, Pops, and Jackson.

Beach Bums

We went to the beach a few weeks ago. The first night we were there we took a walk on the beach.

On the way home, we happened across this guy. Scary!

We took bike rides every day. Jackson got a bike for his birthday a few days previous. Jonathan hated the helmet because it slid down over his eyes.

He gave up and fell asleep!

Daddy and Jack as we stop for a rest.

Mommy and Jonathan. We found that one of us needed to hold him so he wouldn't eat sand. The other parent played with Jackson. We started coming to the beach at naptime so Jonathan could sleep.

Jackson had a blast playing in the sand.

Daddy being funny.

Jonathan's face was irritated from sand and sunscreen. Poor guy!

Jackson and Daddy.

Daddy burying Jackson in the sand. Jackson kept begging us to bury him.

Jonathan napping.

Jackson was upset not to get to swim more. Each day the temperature was in the 70's. So, it was warm but not really warm enough to swim. He was bound and determined. He jumped in with his clothes on and didn't seem to mind the cold.

We stayed in a house where we cooked every night. However, this night we ordered out pizza!

We took Jonathan's portable seat one day to keep him from eating the sand but able to hang out with us.

Jonathan, wearing his helmet. He looks happy here, but he was not to thrilled to have to wear the helmet.

Jonathan and Mommy.

Daddy and "Little J." This was our first vacation as just our family. We had a great time.

We are so grateful for our boys. We feel so blessed. Our hearts are softening to accept changes God has been trying to make for years. We are so glad He never gives up on us!

Julie:)

Latest Goings-On...

Family and friends,

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.