Dawson went to Noah’s Ark Preschool for two years and graduated in May, 2008.  Here he is with both his teachers who we loved so much.  Preschool was a great success and “we” felt ready for Kindergarten!  LOL, it’s not just the kid going off to school right?! It’s us mamas too! I’m so thankful for the foundation laid for my boy (and me!) at Noah’s Ark!

God has a plan!

After the little preschool ceremony, and receiving his Noah’s Ark graduation certificate, his teacher, Laurie Church (pictured on the right) pulled me aside.  It wasn’t so much what she said to me that caught my attention, but how she said it, that stuck in my mind forever!  With such caring eyes and a heartfelt hug she let me know how special Dawson was and at first I blew it off as a little kindness because well, all our kids are special right?  But then the way she went on to explain how he was really going to do great things well, wow, her confidence and enthusiasm was contageous and I received her message as if it were a proclamation!  The words truly sealed in me!

Years later I ran into Laurie on a Sunday at church.  I had just reconnected back to my former place of worship, and there she was, Dawson’s preschool teacher, standing and smiling at me, as if welcoming an old friend.  Well, yes, it was then that we really did become friends.  Imagine the surprise when we learned we not only had little Dawson in common, but both of us had adult sons with Down Syndrome!  Every Sunday we would seek each other out in that crowded lobby to share stories of our week as we would laugh, sometimes cry, and often pray together.

God has a plan!

Still today, Laurie and I are very good friends!  We play pickleball together several times a week, run into each other at church, and like me, she too is a Mentor with the Host Home Program.  She’s living with and caring for her son and another Individual with special needs.

I know Laurie joins me in sisterhood as “we” send off Dawson into the world beyond high school!  Indeed, he will do great things!

See?!  God, really does have a plan!