A few minutes after Jenna was born, I asked the doctor who delivered her if Jenna was "special," and he said, "No, I don't think so." I do not know how, but I knew that the doctor was wrong and that she was special the minute she was born. Actually, I do know how I knew. That night, from the hospital, I called my good friend, Don McDonald, and told him that I thought Jenna was special in some way, and I asked him to pray with me about her. Don and his wife, Laura, got out of bed at 2:00 and began praying. I spent much of that night in the chapel at the hospital praying for and about Jenna. God was so good to be so close. The next morning, the pediatrician came to us and let us know that Jenna was born with Down's syndrome. We were afraid and worried about what that would mean for Jenna and the whole family. No offense to my other children, but Jenna was the cutest little girl we had ever seen. Those of you who know Jenna will know that nothing has changed, and she is still the cutest girl, lady, and person on the planet. Not that I am biased!
Our fears and worry turned into incredible joy as we watched Jenna encourage and bless everyone she interacted with. I have thought over the years that if I could change things for Jenna, I might, but as far as I am concerned, not a chance. When Jenna sees me, she runs and hugs me and does the same to almost everyone she knows. Nope! I would not change a thing.
Our family has been in southern New Mexico for five generations, and so, growing up, I was always asked, "Are you Arnold's boy"? I was always so proud to say, "Yes, I am." With Jenna it is the opposite. We are being asked, "Are you Jenna's dad, mom, sister, brother or friend"? Everyone knows Jenna, and everyone loves her, and yes, she brings joy and laughter wherever she goes. Jenna is incredibly cute, she is really funny, she can be ornery at times, she is smart and social and competitive, and you should see her sing in church on Sunday morning. Her worship is so very real.
One of many stories I can tell you about Jenna --
Jenna has been a special Olympian over and over since she was six years old. She has more ribbons and metals than anyone I know. She even was chosen to swim in the National Special Olympics in Princeton, New Jersey. She swam several races, but her favorite was a 100 IM, which is four laps of all four strokes. That is 16 laps! The night before she was to swim the 100 IM, she came down with a terrible stomach bug or food poisoning, and she threw up all night long. She even threw up on the way to the pool. I went down to meet Jenna before the race, and I told my little green girl that she did not have to do this race, and she told me, "No way, Dad, I am at the national Special Olympics in Princeton, and I am swimming. She did it and took the silver medal with a time of nearly 2 minutes longer than her normal time, but she did it. There were only two swimmers in this event, and everyone in the stadium was on their feet as Jenna struggled to finish. When she finished, she got out of the pool and put her arms in the air like the champion that she was. That joyous memory and so many more will bring a smile to our faces and joy to our hearts for eternity. Jenna is just downright cool!
Now you know more about Jenna, and no one is more excited to release this new product line, "Jenna's Jellies and Jams," than Jenna is. She is SOOOOO excited. Jenna loves sweets and Hatch Chile, so with the help of the team at The Fresh Chile Company, we have developed a line of Hatch Chile Jellies and Jams that we think you will love. The first product we release is Jenna's favorite, Strawberry and Banana with Roasted Hatch Red Chile. Jenna wants us to give a portion of each jar to help fund the Special Olympics in New Mexico. We will donate 5% of internet sales of this product line to the New Mexico Special Olympics. We are releasing this to our loyal subscribers and club members today, so place your order soon, as we will be shipping next week. Thank you from Jenna, Carol, and me for enjoying our products. We are grateful.
Eat more chile,
Randy McMillan
