The ebb and flow of life is so interesting. It always seems like an influx of blessings and praises or like bad news at every turn. This past week has been a GREAT week for both kids. Just so many amazing things have happened and I feel like I have not stopped smiling!
My Alex, my sweet Bug...his life has been so, so hard and yet he stays positive almost all the time and is such an encourager to every one around him so it means so much to me when he is rewarded for his joy and perseverance. Last Thursday we had the privilege of watching him be inducted into Psi Chi, the International Honor Society for Psychology. He has also met with the head of the master's Program and is working out his plan and concentration. I love seeing his passion for learning. He truly does love to learn and it is special to watch, even if he drives us crazy with his endless string of facts and information. And then yesterday he learned that he received a Scholarship through Night of Superstars! Some of you may remember he was a "superstar" in 2015! What a week he has had! I sound like a broken record, but it is really special to watch this child thrive when we thought we would never get to experience these milestones. I am just soaking in this precious time and praising God for the miracles HE has worked in Alex's life!
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| Alex signing Autographs on the red carpet at Night of Superstars |
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Alex posing for the Paparazzi
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My Maddy Moo...I posted something similar on Facebook on Sunday. Horses and riding have been Maddy’s passion and life for the past 7
years. When she started in 2019, she wasn’t strong enough for the Therapeutic
riding program, so she started in Hippotherapy (physical therapy using horses).
In 2020, she got to start riding. I have watched my girl set goals and be
relentless in her pursuit of them despite pain, fatigue, illness, fear and so
much more. There have many hard days and seasons. When we arrived at Stable Strides Farm in June of 2024, Maddy was beat down from years of pressure and stress at the barn. But that all changed with a new barn, a new coach, and a peaceful environment. Maddy started changing almost immediately. I started to see her smiling more. There were no tears. And by the time we were a few weeks in, Mandy had convinced her to try English (which she had always wanted to do, but was too scared of the saddle) By the end of the first month, Maddy was an "English girl" asking to do English more and more often and by the fall she told us she wanted to jump. Since November of 2024 Maddy has been working towards the goal of attending a hunter show. She has worked incredibly hard and it hasn't always been easy. She had to build strength. (Pretty sure she could beat almost any one in a two point contest at this point). She had to work through fear. (Don't ask us how many extra laps there used to be before she worked up the courage to pop over a jump). Something clicked over the summer. She has been making improvements and trying new things almost every jumping lesson. Sunday she got the chance to attend her first Hunter show and it couldn't have gone better. This Maddy was not the same Maddy as "normal horse show Maddy". She was as calm as I've ever seen her. She was peaceful. She was happy. And she rode beautifully! If I had any doubt that this truly was the direction she wanted to go, Sunday pushed them all away. I am so grateful to so many people. Mandy stepped and took a scared, hurt little girl and taught her to trust again and made her love riding again. Mandy has allowed her to forge the path she wants even if it isn't the same as her teammates. This is Maddy's dream and Mandy lets her set the course. Letting her have control and make her own decisions has helped instill confidence. And while Mandy is her safe place and the one who makes sure Maddy is happy and not nervous, Keeya challenges her and pushes her past her comfort zone, but in a way that Maddy feels empowered to do it. Two coaches, two approaches and the perfect team to help Maddy accomplish her lofty goals. But that team is not complete without the best horse ever. Our Newmie has been a gift! Every horse teaches a lesson or is good for a season and Newman has been the perfect horse for this season. He LOVES to jump, just like his girl. He gets so excited when he sees the jump. He is so trustworthy and reliable. If there are two choices, he takes the safe one and always protects his girl. And he is easy in the sense that he does what she asks of him. He cooperates. They work together. And together they have become the sweetest little partnership. And then there is our barn family. They have brought so much joy and laughter to our life. They are teammates but also friends. We travel together, we eat together, we hang out together. And we encourage each other. Parents, siblings, volunteers, coaches, the whole barn. It is safe and it has become our second home. Everyone know Maddy wants something different, but it doesn't matter they joke around and then cheer her on and she does the same. The past two years are a testament to what a kind, encouraging coach, supportive teammates, and amazing horses can do to transform a life. What a gift it is to watch her living her dream every day!
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| Keeya giving her instructions |
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| The two women who encourage Maddy and help her achieve her goals and dreams. |
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| Jenna has known Maddy since her very first show. |
It meant a lot that she came to Maddy's first Hunter show!
But horses aren't all, Maddy loves ballet and this year has been really good. Maddy loves Joli and loves her time dancing. This year Joli separated Maddy's previous class in two as there was a big age gap. Maddy is dancing with her closest friend and they are enjoying being challenged and acting like typical teen girls. The girls are working hard and Joli is challenging them with harder combinations. (All photos courtesy of Laurel Herron). Like her brother, Maddy is accomplishing more than she should be able to do. All of her joints are unstable and don't behave like they're supposed to. But God has plans for Maddy and she is not going to allow her medical issues to slow her down.
While my kids have been a source of amazing news and so many answered prayers, I've been misbehaving. Oops! In August, i had my first endoscopy in 3 years. My GI wanted to see if they could figure any more out since I still have daily pain after eating despite doing "all the right things". Well, they figured out why I hurt...I had an ulcer and erosion in my esophagus. So they wanted to do another endoscopy and see if the ulcer was healing. Well, I don't like to do anything halfway so I decided to have two bigger ulcers this time and still have erosion. The problem with bile reflux is the treatments are different and not a whole lot of options and when we tried them last time they would interfere with my thyroid meds no matter how far away I spaced them. I see my GI doctor in 2 weeks, but my guess is we will try again! I have also had left ankle pain and swelling since August. It is believed to be tendonitis of the Achilles tendon or Peroneal Tendon. My PCP doesn't like it has gone on this long and is swollen so I am going through some testing to figure that out. She told me to sot and keep it elevated most of the day. Anyone who knows my life, knows how laughable that is. I am really good about taking care of the kids....myself not so much.
Tomorrow my mom and sister fly in to spend the weekend and celebrate Maddy's 13th birthday!! We are all excited!
Thank you for loving our family!
Ali
