Happy New Year!!

Quite the year we had in 2018.

I could go there again. You know....the place where I point out the unfairness of the last 11 months (wait the last 19  years)....but I will not.

You know why? This is the first time, since this madness all started, where I finally feel at peace.

Peace about Olivia's future.

I feel armed with REAL knowledge about her injury and a new path that has already yielded a miraculous recovery from where we started in April.

This verse from Isaiah continues to shine light in the darkness that almost took my girl:

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
    and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

I'd like to focus on the things she has overcome this year:

• She has regained complete head control.
• She has regained the ability to eat, including chewing and swallowing.
• She has regained the ability to get herself to a sitting position from laying down.
• She has regained the ability to walk, while being supported
• She has started attempting to raise herself up and balance on her knees.
• She has regained the ability to walk up our two story stairwell for a bath (with help of course).

All of these gains, with none of the pharmaceuticals I was told she needed when we left the hospital. 

We are gaining ground, not losing.

I was thinking......this time I'd like to document some New Year Resolution Goals for Olivia's progress:

• Independent walking.
• Independent eating.
• Self care skills.
• Healthier year.
• Relocating her bed back upstairs to her bedroom (with her setback, her bed is in our office).
• Testing of communication devices.
• ABA type therapy.
• Getting her out in the community more.

These goals may appear as no-brainers for the average person, but for Olivia they are monumental.

I have my own resolutions...

• To have more courage with sharing her story.  BE BRAVE
• To trust, that for some crazy reason I was chosen for this .   BE CONFIDENT
• To engrave on my heart what I have gained from my relationship with Jesus.  BE LOVED

A couple nuggets of truth I've learned through this hardship:

• All things work together for good (Romans 8:28)
• God has started and is perfecting a good work in me ( Philippians 1:6 )
• I can find grace and mercy in my time of need ( Hebrews 4:16 )
• He has given me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind ( 2 Timothy 1:7 )
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me ( Philippians 4:13 )
• I have been chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit ( John 15:16 )
• I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins ( Colossians 1:14 )
• I have been established, anointed and sealed by God ( 2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
• Olivia and I are protected by His Love & Faithfulness ( Psalms 40:11 )
• He arms me with strength, makes me surefooted as a deer. Prepares me for battle, with His shield. His right hand supports me and provides a path for my feet  to keep from slipping.         ( Psalms 18:32-36 )

I could seriously go on and on. Truth soothes those nerves of dread each and every time.

As we enter 2019 with high hopes and expectations of new possibilities for Olivia's life, I need to remember that even though I can be such a wienie when it comes to her suffering, I apparently am the one He chose for this particular journey. When I'm at the height of my "wienieness", I love to crank the volume high on Lauren Daigle's new song --- "You Say"

Here's a sampling of the lyrics:

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough,

Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?

Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing

You say I am strong when I think I am weak

You say I am held when I am falling short

When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours

And I believe, oh I believe

What You say of me

I believe

The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me

In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity,

Taking all I have and now I'm laying it at Your feet

You have every failure God, and You'll have every victory,

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing

You say I am strong when I think I am weak

You say I am held when I am falling short

When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours

And I believe, oh I believe 

What You say of me

I believe

Oh I believe, yes I believe

What You say of me

Oh I believe

Take a listen:

Happy New Year Dear Friends ----- I'm looking forward to more Overcoming in 2019!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Olivia & I!!🎄

A couple notes about the attached video....Puppy kisses are fun for everyone, but more importantly look how stable she has become since the last time I’ve updated you!

It’s hard to believe that at this time last year we were celebrating (🤔) Christmas in the hospital and the following months in-patient robbed the little bit of independence she had before being admitted. (Sigh)

But today is different.....we are in restoration mode, even if it is slow. I’m incredibly thankful for the amazing strides she has made in the last 8 months. Remember.....the prognosis was that her new normal was devastating - no head control, inability to sit independently and walking again would be impossible.

Thank God the experts were wrong.

I love that The True Expert focuses on other things.....healing, restoration, resurrection and rebirth. Making all things new. Believing and receiving.

Thank you for your prayers for my warrior. They mean so much♥️