A Little Story to Warm Your Heart this Fall

So I didn't write a blog about Gustav, my daddy spent 21 days in the
hospital due to a bleeding ulcer on his main artery in his stomach, which
required 2 surgeries, he is home now and doing much better (thanks to all of
those who prayed for us and continue to do so, your prayers are definitely
felt). Jon's mom and dad moved to Tulsa, OK to be at Cancer Centers of
America (and Jon's sister lives there). She has had a few complications over
the past couple of weeks, so please continue to keep them in your prayers.
And we are still in battle with our insurance company and FEMA, but it seems
like we might be winning a little, at least for now. And one day, I will
blog about all the chaos of Gustav, but right now I am still in the middle
of it and can't reflect on it too much.

So all that to say, here is a new blog entry and before you start reading
it, I should warn you I am really rambling today...

I know it is really early to be thinking of Thanksgiving, but I am...I love
this time of year, coming to work while the sun rises, watching the sunset
while playing outside with my sweet baby boy, and wearing long sleeve
t-shirts, something about them always made me smile. As the season changes
to fall, I start to think about what we are thankful for and now that I have
Jackson how much our lives change every season, how much he grows, how much
he accomplishes, how much we grow, how much we accomplish. So first, what I
am thankful for...when you are told you will have a differently abled child
(okay that is my new word, I still am okay with special needs, but I so love
the term "differently abled") you start to think about all sorts of outcomes
for them and for me I thought ALOT about Jackson's future, even when I would
dream about him before his birth, I never "saw" him as a baby, it was always
as a toddler. I guess I also knew that once we got through a lot of the
initial stuff (therapies, castings, surgeries, etc.) that our lives would be
more "normal", so I always thought about the future; that is not to say I am
not completely wrapped up in the present.

Well one of the things I think both Jon and I worry about the most is
whether or not other kids will take to Jackson like adults do, kids can be
so cruel. There is a little girl named Sara who lives across the street from
us and is a little younger than Jackson, she is a typically developing
child, and she has loved Jackson ever since she laid eyes on him and
needless to tell you, if you know Jackson, he is enamored with her. If she
sees him outside, she immediately yells "JACK!" Her mom even told me that
when she gets in the windows in there living room (where you can see our
house), she yells "JACK, JACK!"---her mom tells me the running joke is
Romeo, Oh Romeo!

So a couple of afternoons ago, we were outside and so were most of our
neighbors, soaking up the beautiful weather and Sara was in her wagon, her
mom asked Jackson if he wanted to ride, we put him in and buckled him and
away the rode, with Sara's older cousin pulling them. They played with Mr.
Potato Head, bent over and bumped heads and laughed hysterically, and rode
together for about half an hour. As if that wasn't enough to put a big smile
on my face and my heart, Sara topped it last night. We went home, but left
because we had errands to run, when returned after dark, Sara had made her
mom, her grandmother, and her cousin all stay outside with her so she could
have her "Wagon and Jack"---her mom tells me she refused to go inside, eat
dinner, or take a bath; until she had her "Wagon and Jack"; so it looks like
this will be a daily outing. And I can't tell you how much it warms my heart
to see how much another child loves my Jackson.

I hope to get a picture of them soon, so I can share the joy with all of
you.

Thanks for checking in on us,

the Heckerts

UPDATE:

Here are two of my favorite shots from yesterday....