Beautiful Dancer

 My graceful ballerina had her recital today. She has now been dancing with Ms. Joli for almost 4 years. Joli's kindness, devotion to focusing on each dancers' abilities and her desire to bring out confidence and creativity makes her students shine. Maddy has thrived during her time with Joli. Her very first recital in December of 2020 she danced with tears streaming down her face and a quivering lip. Today she was excited to perform and not nervous. That is a testament to the environment that Joli has created and the way all of her students know they are loved. At the end of each show, they sing and sign The Blessing Song. It is the epitome of this program and one more way that Joli pours into her dancers. 

The Blessing Song

May God give you eyes to see

All that is good, all that is good

The courage for anything

May you be strong, may you be strong

May God give you ears to hear

His loving voice, his loving voice

Speaking all around you, all around 

He is love.

Maddy and Ms. Joli

Maddy and Ryla

Maddy and Ryla

Maddy and Becca

Maddy and Becca

In a cruel twist of fate, I was not able to complete my testing yesterday as the center was without power and internet due to storms and had no way to start the camera to capture the images of my GI tract. It is now scheduled mid June. I expect to hear the results of my blood test this week.

Please pray for a fun and relaxing time as the kids and I head to SC tomorrow to visit Mimi for our annual trip!

Ali

A New Chapter

 This last few months I have walked through so many trials. I have been loved and supported by people I didn’t expect. And I have been hurt and cast aside by others who I thought would always be there for me. God gave me the greatest blessing by choosing me as Alex and Maddy's mother and they have taught me so much through the way they have handled adversity. I always want to be someone who they look up to and who they know tried her hardest. I hope I have shown them it is okay to laugh when you are happy and cry when you are sad and that the people who you want in your life will accept you and love you through the good and the bad. As my children have watched trusted adults in their lives not act in kindness, I have had the opportunity to reinforce to my children what it means to choose actions we can be proud of regardless of others actions or responses. I have spoken to them about Christ and what he taught us about how to treat others. I have followed their example and gotten back to choosing joy despite how I feel physically and how much I have been hurt by the treatment of others. I pray I have modeled forgiveness and conducted myself in a manner they can be proud of. I hope they see that we all have struggles and we all make mistakes, but that God has set the example for loving all and forgiving even when it is hard. I have made huge strides in learning to love myself and realize that with my faith I can survive anything. I have always been someone who wants to love and support others and be a place of kindness in a harsh world, but more than ever I have seen how much that is needed. I have learned to seek out others who appreciate my heart. To spend time with those who surround me with love and laughter. And ultimately to continue to grow in my faith and become more fully the woman God created me to be. 

Yesterday we received a letter letting us know that Maddy will no longer be allowed to be a rider in the program at Living Hope Equine Therapy. To say I was shocked and blindsided would be an understatement. As you can imagine Maddy was absolutely devastated. After her initial response and saying she never wanted to ride again, I watched the tiny warrior come to life. My kids have lived lives wrought with heartache and disappointment. They know all too well that life doesn't always turn out the way you hope, but they also know that God's plans are always for good even when we can't understand them. The hardest part for Maddy is that they didn't even allow her the opportunity to say goodbye to "her" horse. Maddy has loved and worked with PD tirelessly to build a bond and a mutual respect, and they have made huge breakthroughs over the past few months. But my precious little red head has had a fighter's spirit since day one. And so, we have already contacted and been accepted into another program. We have discussed goals and the future. She is looking forward with excitement and cannot wait to pour her love into a new horse and build another bond and continue to chase her goals and dreams. I could not be prouder of her resilience and strength. 

I will miss watching the special love they shared!

And so, as we begin this new chapter my prayer is that my children and I continue to shine Gods light and love in a dark world where so many people are hurting. So often the kindness of others can make a difference to someone who is struggling. I pray that God can use us to show others love, kindness and acceptance even when they feel like they are not enough. Please continue to pray for our family as we walk through this next time with so many uncertainties. 

Ali

Fun week with Gramma and Grampa

 This was a fun week with Gramma and Grampa visiting from NC. We don't get to see Bruce's parents very often, so we tried to balance some fun sightseeing with enough down time for the kids to get to hang out and show them the places they love. We went to the barn so they could meet PD and watch Maddy ride, went to DBU to tour the campus, spent some time in the Stockyards and Grapevine. They even got to experience Buccee's.

I realized that last week I forgot to share Maddy's last day of school pictures! So here are a few of those. I cannot believe my sweet girl will be in Fifth grade in the Fall!

Maddy and Brooklyn

Maddy and her teacher, Mrs. Miller

Maddy and Elizabeth

Maddy and her principal, Mrs. Cook

In December when Living Hope had our silent auction I bid on and won a special portrait session with Park Hill Fine Arts Portraits. We received our portraits this week and couldn't be happier with how they turned out!

Finally, a medical update...The kids have had quite a few appointments over the past few weeks. Overall, they are both doing well and other than a few tweaks to medication dosages and Alex's TPN we don't want to rock the boat, so we are mostly status quo. As for me, the initial bloodwork for my cancer screening had an issue with the sample so I had to have my blood redrawn. It is now being processed and we hope to have results in the next week. My camera endoscopy is scheduled for Friday, this will take pictures of my entire GI tract and should give some answers regarding the cause of the gastric wall thickening that has been seen repeatedly on CT as well as help determine if I may have Crohn's Disease. Please pray that these tests yield some answers and direct treatment so I can get back to a healthier state.

We appreciate your love and prayers more than we can say.

Ali