Happy 11th Birthday, Maddy Moo!!!!

 Happy Birthday to my best girl!!!

Where have 11 years gone!!!!

To My Precious Maddy Moo-

 From the time I was a little girl and knew I wanted to be a mom; I always wanted a little girl. You made that dream come true 11 years ago. Your fiery red hair matches your fierce determination and desire to do everything to the best of your ability. You are so smart. You are kind. You are sassy and funny with those you are close too. You are the hardest worker. You set your goals and dreams high and don't let anything stop you from attaining them. You don't give your love and trust away easily, but when someone has earned them, they are so lucky to be loved by you. This year was full of change and hard circumstances, but you showed your strength and toughness as you sailed through it all with grace. I am so grateful for all of our time together sharing love, dreams, laughter and tears. I love you more than you will ever know baby girl and I could not be more proud of you!

Mommy

Fun Days

 Life in the Beckwith Household has been busy!!!!I am never sure where the hours and days go!

As is usually the case, Maddy's days are filled with time at the barn! She continues to improve in both riding skill and confidence. Her joy is infectious, and she could not love her Lila Bean more! She is loping and cantering every lesson and is working towards her goal of learning to jump. She is like a sponge absorbing everything Mandy throws at her and working hard to do her best and meet her goals. The confidence she is gaining at the barn continues to spill over into the other areas of life. She shocked me last week by auditioning for a solo or duet in Choir. She has also told Ms. Joli (her dance teacher) that she would like a solo in an upcoming recital. It is so fun to watch her thrive and blossom during this time. I love all of the time her and I get in the car and at the barn. It gives us a chance to have conversations and connect and create special memories. While the end of our time at our previous barn was so difficult, we are SO grateful and happy for where we have landed and to be making friends and enjoying the love and kindness that is the foundation of everything at Stable Strides. 

I also had a parent teacher conference about Ms. Maddy Moo. Her teacher is thrilled with how she is doing. According to her teacher she is a sweet, diligent, hardworking student and a joy to have in class. The most exciting report was that despite her dyslexia she is reading above grade level with very high accuracy and comprehension. School does not come easy for Mad, and I am so proud of her for pushing through the challenges to do her best. And she gets to see the fruits of her labors as her tutor decided based on her success that we should drop tutoring to one day a week!

As for my Bug...he is also working extremely hard. Due to a scheduling mix up he wound up with 18 credit hours this semester including some honors courses and math (his biggest struggle academically). He is busting his butt trying to stay on top of his workload while also handling his medical care, being on the esports team, participating in bible study, and volunteering. He will be happy when it's time for Christmas break!! Alex has always pushed beyond what anyone thought was possible and that continues to be true. He has a ton of friends, is close to his professors and an active participant in all areas of campus life. While also still being the best big brother! Maddy and Alex love their time together and are currently reading the same series of books for fun so they can chat and compare. Their relationship is so special to watch.  He even agreed to take a trip to the barn this weekend to look at horses and meet Lila!

For those who didn't see on Facebook, we had a really special surprise this weekend! Our Erin came to visit! Erin was Alex’s nurse for a number of years. She was with me during some of Alex's toughest years and while Bruce lived and worked in San Antonio. She is so much more than "Alex's nurse" she is a member of our family and a dear friend to me. She stopped working for us 6 years ago when she gave birth to her first child and moved away several years ago, but we continue to keep in touch! Getting to hug her and spend an hour chatting was such a gift! Boy, do we miss her and her family.

As for a medical update... Alex seems to be completely recovered from his infection and hospitalization a few weeks ago. We have also continued to receive all of his necessary fluids and nutrition. Maddy is doing pretty well. There is some concern that her knees are worsening so we continue to watch and wait until she has grown enough to perform the surgery needed. She has a ton of appointments coming up over the next month as we continue to try and keep her doing the best we can. As for me, still not much to report... we continue to struggle to find the correct dosage of thyroid medication. I have been anemic for months and have completed one iron infusion with another scheduled this week. I am "starting over" with a new GI in November as my PCP refuses to give up hope of finding answers and relief from severe pain anytime I eat. I had some new symptoms also crop up these last few weeks that have led to a few more tests over the next couple weeks. And to add to the fun, Bruce decided he didn't want to be left out, so he was in the ER and diagnosed with gallstones. He will schedule an appointment with a surgeon to follow up!

This weekend is a big weekend for the kids... Maddy will be showing at the Appaloosa World Show in Fort Worth. If you are local and would like to come watch, please reach out. If you are not local here is the link to watch on live stream. She is competing in 5 classes, two on Friday and 3 on Saturday. Friday. We expect to start around 4 on Friday and Saturday around 9. Appaloosa World Show LiveStream

Alex will be participating in his 10th year of Extra Life this weekend as well! If you would like to know more or support him the following link is to his page. Alex Beckwith Extra Life

Thank you to everyone who continues to support us with love, friendship and prayers.

Ali

What a Week!

This week was truly more than Alex and I could ever have dreamed of. He texted and sent pictures each day and we spoke a few times and each message I received was full of joy and excitement about the day's adventures! In true Alex fashion he started the week not knowing anyone but had made good friends and endeared himself to the faculty by the end of the week. 

Saturday was a travel day so not much to report other than Alex did a fabulous job navigating security without me there (He travels with HUGE amounts of liquids from meds to his IV fluids and TPN). Sunday was the freedom trail, and they worshipped at the Old North Church which is where Paul Revere signaled the British were coming by sea and not by land. They also saw the site of the Boston Massacre, the Massachusetts State House, Paul Revere House, and the Bunker Hill Monument. They had lunch at the Green Dragon where the constitution was drafted and dinner in Little Italy. 

Fauniel Hall

Top Of Faniel Hall

Samuel Adams

Old North Church in background

Paul Revere

Site of the Boston Massacre

Monday, they spent the day at the JFK Library. It was one of Alex's favorite days. 

Bunker Hill Monument

Tuesday, they toured Harvard. (He said he likes DBU better) and then took a drive up the coast to Rockport. In Alex's words, "Rockport was heaven on earth". He would have stayed there the rest of the week if he was allowed!

Wednesday brought a Harbor Cruise and then a visit to Adams National Park to see the home and library of John Quincy Adams. 

USS Constitution

Adams Library

Harbor Cruise

Thursday, they toured Walden Pond, Louisa May Alcott's Home and the sites of the battle at Lexington and Concord.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

Louisa May Alcott's Home

Walden Pond

Friday, they toured Yale University. Alex was extremely impressed with the library which holds 500 million books and the first Guttenberg Bible. In the afternoon they went to Mount Tom State Park.

Guttenberg Bible

Alex called me from the airport to let me know that he felt like he was sick, but that it was worth every minute! He is home and doesn't feel great, but we are hopeful he is just run down from a crazy, busy week. 

Thank you for everyone who prayed for him over this special time. We also have another prayer request. As most of you know Alex is alive because of TPN (IV Nutrition delivered through a permanent IV in his chest that feeds into his heart). Along with his TPN that runs over night he uses IV fluids all day. During Hurricane Helene a Baxter Facility that manufactures and stores 60-70% of the IV fluids for the country was damaged and is offline. Hospitals are conserving Iv fluids and postponing elective surgeries, but this is a scary time for those that rely on these fluids for their life. Please pray that this facility can get back online ASAP and that in the meantime Alex's infusion pharmacy can find another source of his necessary fluids.

Ali