Super Gabe

Every family is made of SUPER people! 

As we work together to strengthen our capes we begin to recognize and encourage the super powers in each of the people we love.  While spending last week in Florida at Family Forward, our family had the opportunity to work on our figurative capes.  During our favorite session with Duct Tape and Cricut we were asked to brainstorm a project we could build together using the supplies at hand.  Gabe, who we would have guessed was oblivious to the message of strengthening our family based on his attention span, asked Kevin to make him a super hero cape.  It was fun to be able to do that for him and as soon as we tied it on he took off!  A thrilling display of running, jumping,and  giggling!  Those of you who know Gabe's story understand the Super {Natural} Powers at work here.  Physical limitations and abilities aside,  our family delights in Gabe's super powers of making people smile, entertaining, being playful, and empathizing with others.

7.7

My future is so bright 

I've gotta wear shades!

Favorite Recent Reads

So This is Life by Tiffany
In so many ways I feel like she just reached in and pulled out my words.

"Even though you don't understand completely what they are going through, you can't help but feel like you're being pulled closer, emotionally towards them. You don't understand what it's like to be in their exact shoes but you can understand the emotional aspect of things that they are going through. You sit there wishing that you could do more for them... Wishing that there was some way to make it all easier for them..."

Boy Sent Home to Die is Now 78 (...or 81) by Matt Cuthbert
Amazing! 

"My daddy walked 10 miles (from the train station to his home), carrying me on a pillow after my surgery," said Whatley, who was head of Huntsville Aviation for 30 years."

That Night by Lisa
Our night is sneaking up on us here. I too feel it with each spring breeze.

"With every surge of pain, a mother was learning how to love deeper, live fuller, and appreciate each and every blessing. Like a magnet, the crumbled heart pieces found the space where the love pulsed deep and, slowly, built a new home. This new creation was now beating for new reasons, reasons that not only held the broken pieces together, but formed them into a shape far more beautiful than the original."

3.21 by Kelle Hampton
Learning & Loving.

"Sometimes it takes wearing the shoes or wondering what it would be like to wear the shoes of a tsunami victim, a mother with cancer, a soldier's wife, or the parent of a child with a special need to force us to be more compassionate. A child must understand the concept of "self" before he learns to share; so it is a person must wonder what it would feel like to personally experience something to be truly altruistic."

Gabe. I. Am

{we have chosen this song as Gabe's mantra - winky face}

Stronger

{lovin' this song lately}

"You're Original, Cannot Be Replaced"

Something about these children singing Katy Perry's song - awesome!
Own it, baby Gabe.

Because of Love

Because it's February.

 

Because I just decorated my house in pink and red hearts.

 

Because Valentines are not just for couples...but friends, mommies, daddies, siblings, classmates and neighbors.

 

Because everybody needs love. And not the romantic comedy, butterflies in your stomach, plucking petals off daisies kind of love.

They need the "I'm yours forever" kind of love.

The "we can do this together" kind of love.

The "can't stop starring at you" kind of love.

The "I'm always there for you" kind of love.

The "I can't keep myself from smiling around you" kind of love.

The "I promise to make time to laugh with you" kind of love.

The "everything you say is so important to me" kind of love.

The " I couldn't be prouder of you in this moment" kind of love.

The love that lifts you up....

Squeezes you tight...

Makes even hard times feel alright..

The love that teaches you all that you need to know...

And gives you support you need to grow...

The undeniable you were made for me...

And together we make a family...

What's mine is yours...

I treasure each kiss...

And everyone deserves to feel like this...

Kind of Love.

Because real love is something that cannot be bought - only shared. We need it from the time we are born - and those of us who having loving families know that NOTHING could have replaced that. The love of family - the love I was given as a child - made me who I am today. It teaches us how to love the rest of our lives. It can never be truly expressed in the form of greeting cards, chocolates, flowers, or jewelry. Those sweet tokens and gestures give momentary happiness - it's the feeling love behind them that really means anything at all. So with that in mind, and in the spirit of this holiday of love - I would like to propose the perfect gift for your loved ones.

Give the gift of Love itself.

Give Love.

reposted with permission from Joanna

New Associations

In the past I've met with friends where I was defined as teacher, Hope College alumni, mom of a preschooler, Christian woman, city newcomer, and more. These pieces are, and will continue to be, part of me. 

Last night I met with an amazing new group of women, giving me a new association - spina bifida moms.

I will admit that joining these ladies took a lot of courage. I had, and continue to have, so many questions about what life is going to look life for us and for Gabe. Hearing much of what these moms are dealing with, as well as their perspective on day to day life, was inspirational. Yet, it was frightening.

Today my head is bursting with new information, new questions, new to dos, and new hope for our new journey.