Noah's Big Gift

Noah's 4th birthday was just as beautiful as his first.  He had a Shrek Birthday themed cheesecake and his Service Dog in training arrived.  Meet Samson!

Samson - Noah's Service Dog in Training

A Happy Birthday Boy

Noah's Shrek Cheesecake

Samson immediately responded well to Noah - it is truly a perfect match.  Samson is very easy going, gentle, loving and wants to be where Noah is.  They are off to a beautiful start.   We weren't sure how our other two dogs would adjust but we're so happy to report that within less than 24 hours everyone are best friends.  Samson has a lot of training ahead of him in the first year and then he'll leave home after a year old for extensive skill training, which I am sure will be hard on the entire family - especially Noah when he leaves home for a while.  But in the end the reward will be so great.  Noah had a really great day.  He loved his balloons and loved his cheesecake.  It was a day full of lots of love, laughter and smiles.  We remain so thankful for all the help and kindness that made Noah's Service Dog possible - and it couldn't have been more perfect for him to arrive on his birthday.

We were so touched by all the birthday cards Noah received.  Especially from Cole's Foundation.  They are the most loving group of people ever.  They continuously lift us up in love and prayer in lots of caringbridge guestbook posts, and they love our Noah tremendously.  He received the most precious birthday cards from other little children from the Cole's Foundation and they are so sweet that they bring tears to your eyes.  I save each one in a hope chest for Noah.  So he knows someday how many people love him and cheer him on everyday of the year!  They are so special to us.  It's tiny things like a card that we hold so dear to us, just to know that he's loved and that we're not alone.  We're so thankful for our friends at Cole's Foundation!

Noah had an equally wonderful Christmas.  He loved alternating sitting in his daddy and grandmother's lap to open presents.  He was full of excitement and joy. And he finally was able to open all those presents he had been trying to get to for several weeks.  I don't know that Noah has a favorite present.  He seems to be enjoying looking at everything that is so new to him.  I think he had grown bored of his toys all year so it was nice to be able to pack away his older ones to make room for newer ones for him to play with.  And his interests are changing.  He's no longer a baby so some baby toys just bore him.  That's the tough balance you find when you have a special needs child is finding somewhat age appropriate gifts but gifts that Noah can also find a way to play with at the same time.   But it's great that they make so many neat toys these days like cars that drive themselves.  Noah loves that kind of thing - any 4 year old would.

Excited that Santa Came!

Noah also dodged the Christmas Croup that his little brother contracted shortly before Christmas.  Thankfully Noah remained healthy, although I worked very hard to keep the two boys apart for many days.  Something that wasn't easy since they have become like peanut butter and jelly to each other. 

And now we look forward to another year full of lots of blessings and continued miracles in Noah's life.  He continues to do great things and we are so proud of him.  We have a feeling the new year will bring even more amazing things!

Love,



Noah's Miracle by Stacy Warden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.