Jumping Johnny

I'm taking a break from decorating rooms and thrifty finds to share a heart warming story with you.

My friend, Mary Claire her husband, Adam, are two of the most amazing people I have ever met. They are the parents to three sweet, adorable kids. Jacob, the oldest is nine. He's funny and athletic and happens to be in my daughter's class at school. Johnny just turned seven and he has the most beautiful eyes. Elizabeth is five and has a smile that could light up the world. I have known Mary Claire and Adam for about eight years, but have gotten to know them really well in the past couple of years.

Mary Claire and Adam's youngest two children, Johnny and Elizabeth both have special needs. They both require constant supervision, lots of therapy, doctor visits, and plenty of attention from Mary Claire and Adam. Living in the small town that we do, there is a nice network of friends and family that help out.

About a month ago, Mary Claire an I took our kids to an indoor playground for the day. They sell trampolines, swing sets basketball goals and things like that and they let you sample the equipment in their showroom/playground. Johnny got up on a trampoline and had the absolute best time. He kept grabbing me by the hand, leading me toward the trampoline and saying, "Jump, Jump, Jump!". It was too cute. Everyone had a great time, we left and life went on.

I knew how much Johnny would love having a trampoline and I knew that Mary Claire would have bought him one that day if she could have. So again, my "DO IT NOW" attitude took over and I set out to raise enough money to buy sweet little Johnny a trampoline for his birthday, which happened to be yesterday, April 27th.

Like I said, Mary Claire and Adam have a tremendous network of friends and family, near and far, so raising the money was an easy task. Not only did we raise enough money to buy the trampoline, but we raised almost twice as much as we needed. The trampoline was delivered to Johnny's house yesterday while he was at school. One of my best friends, Laura, helped me with this venture and she and I, along with Mary Claire's sisters and parents, were waiting at their house when Mary Claire and Johnny pulled in the driveway.

Here is a small video clip of Mary Claire's reaction.

Here are a few pictures of Johnny enjoying his new present. 

He was loving every minute of it, even in the rain. 

Even Adam got in on fun!

Here is Mary Claire reading the card that included everyone's name who donated.  With the extra money we raised, we were able to give Mary Claire and Adam a gift card so they could go out on the town and a check for Johnny's school to help cover some expenses.  They were both more thankful than words can say.

Seeing the smile on Johnny's face made it all worth it!

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