Facing Stress and Searching for Answers As our family continued to grow we sometimes questioned what God had done and what He had in store for us. We chronicled our struggles as we searched for meaning and purpose - and we now understand how those very struggles have led us to deep fulfillment and great satisfaction in our lives. All of our children have been true blessings.

The following short excerpts will give you an idea of the flavor and style of the book.

The nurse folded the blanket back from the bundle she held in her arms to give us a better view of our newborn son. What a funny little bit of humanity he was! His tiny head boasted a mass of dark fuzz that arched over his eyes and came to a point in the middle of his low forehead, making him look ever so much like a baby monkey. He certainly wouldn't win the prize for being the prettiest baby in the nursery, but that didn't matter. He was our baby!

"Look what big hands he has," Tom said.

"And big feet," the nurse added with a smile, further unbundling our baby to reveal feet that, like his hands, looked as though they had been attached to his tiny limbs by mistake. "He's going to be a big boy with hands and feet like those," she said as she placed my baby in my waiting arms and walked briskly from the room.

"Weighing only five pounds and fourteen ounces, he's got a lot of growing to do," I mused, wondering why he was so tiny since he was a full term baby. Our first born Andrea, who was now two-and-a-half years old, had weighed nearly eight pounds when she was born.

Cuddling my new baby close, I leaned back contentedly against the bed pillows.

Darren Thomas Jones. The name we had chosen even before Andrea was born had a good sound now that we had someone to attach it to. Though both of us had declared that it didn't really matter whether the baby was a boy or a girl as long as it was 'all right', now that our son had arrived we were glad to have a boy. One of each was ideal.

Too excited to sleep well that night, I found myself wide-awake early the next morning. Sounds of activity at the nurses' station down the hall indicated that the maternity floor was already gaining momentum for the new day. From the direction of the nursery came cries of discontent and I wondered if our son was among the complainers. I was contemplating strolling down to the nursery to find out when a doctor I'd never met appeared at my door.

... there was another matter that I had been wanting to take care of.

The trigger for this 'other matter' was an incident that happened recently. Darren had come in from playing outside and asked me if I would eat stones.

"No, of course not," I responded. "Why do you ask?"

The reason, as it turned out, was that some of the older neighborhood boys - evidently realizing that Darren was 'different' - were teasing him and told him he couldn't be their friend unless he ate some of the small stones along the edge of the street. Darren however, was not taken in by their perverted idea of fun. I was saddened that they would try to take advantage of him and I determined then and there that I needed to help these boys to understand why he was different. Now was my chance.

I sent Andrea to quickly round up the neighborhood kids and bring them to the side door. In short order about fifteen of them appeared, some of whom I had never even seen.

I greeted them and explained that I wanted to thank everyone for making my family welcome in the neighborhood and especially for being such good friends to Darren.

"You've probably noticed that Darren is different from other three year olds - he doesn't talk as well as others and he can't see very well, either - and I want to tell you why." I instantly had everyone's attention as I continued. "Before Darren was born he got sick - kind of like when someone gets the flu. If that happens before a baby is born, when it is still developing, it may slow down the way its brain grows and it may even hurt its eyesight. Well, that's what happened to Darren. He couldn't help it and it wasn't his fault. It could happen to any one of us. If you got very sick or you were in a car accident, your head or your eyes could get hurt so that you might have the same problems that Darren has. Just think if that was you - not able to think quickly or to see very well. I think you would like to be treated the same way you are treating Darren - with kindness - and I thank you so much! I just wanted you to know the whole story."

The little audience quietly disbanded when I had finished, but from then on there was a special bond - a family feeling - not only with Darren, but among all the children in the neighborhood.