JM's Journey

06/07/2026

Please take a moment and pray for JMs friend, Ray Ray.

The doctors have told us they have done everything they can to support Rachael. She is currently in respiratory failure and unable to maintain her breathing without assistance. She requires 100% oxygen through the BiPAP machine, and when it is removed, her oxygen levels drop dangerously low.

As a parent, it is incredibly difficult to hear words like, “There is nothing more we can do medically, so spend as much time with her as you can.” Those words cut deep and are impossible to accept.

Faith does not always come easy when you are faced with circumstances like these. There are moments when fear tries to take over, but I have to remind myself that God is still in control. I have to lay my worries, fears, and heartbreak at His feet and trust Him with what I cannot control.

Despite everything she is facing, Rachael is still awake, alert, and aware. She is spending time playing games with her big sister and finding ways to smile through all the tubes, wires, machines, and endless medical interventions surrounding her.

We are continuing to pray, believe, and hope for a miracle. We know there are countless prayers being lifted up on her behalf, and we are so grateful for every single one of them.

Please continue to pray for Rachael. Pray for healing, for strength, for peace, and for God’s hand to move in a way that only He can.

❤️ “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37.

05/11/2026

05/07/2026

JM's Journey is proud to bring to you our 2026 Autism Awareness Fundraiser T Shirt! Our event this year will be a Disney theme, and our shirt theme was picked by Ashley Peebles Hawkins, mom of James Michael aka JM. Sticking with the Disney Theme and choosing a character that she and JM adore, we bring to you our shirt with Pooh as the choice and quote by Tigger being our event slogan for this year, "The Things That Make Me DIFFERENT, Are the Things That Make Me, ME!"

Shirts are on sale now
Front and Back in Light Blue Color
Available in Sizes Adult XS-3XL
$20 each
Pick up - FREE
Shipping - $5

Please include size when you order. Allow 1 week for delivery.
paypal.me/jmsjourney

04/27/2026

It’s our JMs TENTH birthday!!! Enjoy a step down the last ten years!

04/10/2026

Elopement…..

This word makes any special needs parents skin literally start crawling.

Nearly half of all special needs parents will experience this in their lifetime. The fact that their child has ran from them and they don’t know where they are. Scary? Beyond.

Consider the fact that your child cannot communicate and he or she is by herself in the world. Alone to fend for themselves. In the middle of the road with cars zooming by? Heading towards that shiny lake because it’s so pretty? These kids know no danger.

I experienced JM running from me this past weekend for the first time in a very long time. Max hasn’t been able to travel with us in a while because of regression in training. (His ACL injury really did a mental number on him). Typically he would have been with us and would have intercepted him. However, he wasn’t. By the time I got him he was almost to the main highway at our house. Laughing because he thought me chasing him was funny. You cannot punish these children. You just have to silently pray.

You take extra precautions when you go out in public. Labeling your kiddos to make sure people can help them if you’re separated. You take the stares and the hateful comments over stroller usage at older ages and handicap parking when you’re out with them. Sometimes you just wish people would learn kindness.

But in the end you just learn to love your kiddos and do the absolute best you can. And while you’re doing the best you can, you advocate and teach awareness as much as possible. Because after all, how else will people learn?

04/08/2026

Every year when we get ready to do the fundraiser, someone always messages us with the complaint of us using the puzzle piece symbol during advertisement. The autistic puzzle piece was introduced originally by the National Autistic Society of the UK in 1963 by member Gerald Gasson. He thought it was a perfect representation of the challenges he faced with his child and autism. Originally, the puzzle featured a crying child but has since went to a single puzzle piece. However, what was once a symbol for a search to understand our complex children, it can now be highly controversial. Some believe it is showing that an autistic individual is broken and in need of being fixed in some way. Since the early 2000s, people are leaning towards a rainbow infinity symbol if they do not agree with the puzzle piece.

Here at JMs Journey, we do not believe anyone is broken or in need of repair. We use all symbols. You’ll see puzzle pieces, infinity symbols, and all colors used.

So whether you “light it up blue or red”. Or wear a puzzle or an Infinity sign. We support you and your journey either way.