Merry Christmas!

Liam wants to wish you all a very merry Christmas! And tell you he's lost another tooth! He's looking very snaggly with only one permanent replacing the 5 he's lost so far this year.

We bucked tradition this year and instead of presents we gifted each other our presence. 

We took off with the kids to our favorite destination, the mountains, to experience some firsts: tubing, skiing, and snowboarding!

The kids have enjoyed it so much and wish we had done this years ago. 

Even  though Liam hates to travel (we laid him across Mimi's lap for half the car trip) and dislikes change, he's done really well. 

We got to cut down our very first real Christmas tree!

We are ridiculously grateful for the blessings we have been given this year.  It is not easy traveling with a significantly disabled young one: sleep is minimal, diaper rashes from long car trips, vomiting when he's nervous, afraid he feels left out when we take off to do the things he can't...but no matter the trouble, Liam's worth the trouble and we are grateful for every family moment when our kids are always headed in different directions these days. It's tough to find time to get us all together in one place and with Rylie transferring colleges to one quite some distance from us this next year we are cherishing and enjoying this Christmas. Much love from our family to yours.  ❤️

Merry Christmas!

Liam wants to wish you all a very merry Christmas! And tell you he's lost another tooth! He's looking very snaggly with only one permanent replacing the 5 he's lost so far this year.

We bucked tradition this year and instead of presents we gifted each other our presence. 

We took off with the kids to our favorite destination, the mountains, to experience some firsts: tubing, skiing, and snowboarding!

The kids have enjoyed it so much and wish we had done this years ago. 

Even  though Liam hates to travel (we laid him across Mimi's lap for half the car trip) and dislikes change, he's done really well. 

We got to cut down our very first real Christmas tree!

We are ridiculously grateful for the blessings we have been given this year.  It is not easy traveling with a significantly disabled young one: sleep is minimal, diaper rashes from long car trips, vomiting when he's nervous, afraid he feels left out when we take off to do the things he can't...but no matter the trouble, Liam's worth the trouble and we are grateful for every family moment when our kids are always headed in different directions these days. It's tough to find time to get us all together in one place and with Rylie transferring colleges to one quite some distance from us this next year we are cherishing and enjoying this Christmas. Much love from our family to yours.  ❤️

Our Favorite Days

Liam's #fromwhereistand on Instagram

We've had a very beautiful fall in this area of NC this year. The colors have been gorgeous and long lasting due to extended amounts of rain. My Bradford Pear in my front yard just finished dropping its bright yellow leaves today.

I try to take advantage of the weather this time of year to get Liam outdoors. Liam does not handle heat well so it's too hot here in the summer to take him out for very long. We pretty much spend all July and August in the air conditioning which means when fall rolls around we are antsy to get out and enjoy our favorite season.

The only really good nature trail I've found around here that's wheelchair accessible.

 We have a nice short trail that ends at the river nearby that makes a really great place to take Liam on a hike. It's perfectly shaded all the way to the river landing. It's "wheelchair" friendly meaning it's flat and wide. The trail is not paved, it's gravel, and there are a few bumps in the off shoot trails but if you have a jogging stroller it's perfectly accessible.

I wish there were more places to be outdoors with Liam while he is in his chair. We all love being outside and hiking/walking but can't enjoy that much anymore with wee man confined to a wheelchair. You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone and we sure do miss the days of being able to explore and hike. You don't realize how hard life is in a wheelchair in the great outdoors until you're limited by where your wheels can take you.

My boys.

We came across this beautiful spot recently and was able to take Liam in his jogger for a short time through the trails along the river but the terrain became very rough and we had to abandon our journey and hang out at the river bank. Ian's such a great big brother and took Liam down to the river to dip his toes in.

No joke, I walked out to put Liam's stuff in the truck to take him to school the other day and this pile of leaves was in a heart shape on his wheelchair ramp. I was sure one of the kids did it but since it was very early in the morning and they all said they hadn't, I am taking this as a sweet message from the Lord. :) He loves Liam.