Keeping My Eyes Open

    2025 has been a wild year filled with blessings I didn't even know we needed.  Personally, it's been a year of finding myself again. A year of slow surrender and recalibration. Early in 2025, I found myself faced with a career change that I never saw coming. It was one that I had never even considered, so it was scary. I wanted to hold onto the familiar, the comfort zone, but God was like “Come on, Beth. Try this new thing and see what happens.” So, I threw up my hands (but maybe with eyes squeezed tight) and said “Eek. Ok. Let’s do it.” Now, I’m feeling parts of myself begin to heal. He’s bringing out parts of me that have been buried deep down, unable to surface for years. He’s showing me that there is a place in this world where I can be too sensitive, and that’s ok because it’s who He made me to be. And, it’s ok to be the quirky, overthinking me who loves concerts and singing to the top of her lungs (terribly). There's a place for that too. I’m learning not to be afraid of people or what they think of me, and it’s blessed me with new friendships, new perspectives, and a deeper walk with Jesus. Life is just different. Reece also started senior year and with that, Nick and I are seeing less and less of him. We are preparing for him to hit that magic 18 number that signifies adulthood next month. His independence has increased so much, and it's a weird yet incredible feeling. We sent him to another state without us for senior retreat, and he will be leaving for Passion in just a few days without us. It's just so unreal. Nick and I are hanging out more, talking more, and dreaming more. I can’t say I’ve ever gone into a new year excited, but I am eager to see what happens in 2026! Maybe I’ll even keep both eyes wide open this time. 😃

Christmas was filled with lots of friends, family and food!

              A 2nd successful special needs respite night at church

December- Senior Kinderbuddy Day

Thanksgiving... so much to reflect on

College visit 2... Mississippi College

Hanging out at Quiet Waters for cooking club!

November- 1st college visit- Holmes Community College

Senior Portraits Round 2

Storytellers Live.. I was asked to speak on God's faithfulness in our journey with Reece. Totally out of my comfort zone

Senior boys just hanging out

October- Senior Homecoming

All dressed up for a wedding 

September- Mom/Dad Getaway to Disney

Parents collected letters from people who are a part of seniors' lives. Reece reading one of his on the senior retreat.

First Day of Senior Year!

August- Senior Group Pic

July- We ran away to Nashville to see Goo Goo Dolls perform "Iris" live on our actual anniversary. 

June- Speaking to Carthage Rotary Club about our experience in Cuba... again out of comfort zone

Senior portraits round 1 at Disney

May- Junior Step Up Day

In April, Reece recognized that he needed to rededicate his life to Jesus, so he was baptized a second time.

March- Our first mission trip, and it was to Cuba. Here I met other moms of children with disabilities. We experienced so much of the Holy Spirit in this country. They remain hopeful and joyful despite circumstances, and it's a lesson for all of us. 

January- My baby boy 💙

 

So Much Good in 3 years!

 I can't fit it all in, but we are blessed!!

   1st Homecoming Dance

 16!!

    Drivers License day!

1st Mission Trip!

He's a Senior!!

The End of Our Orioles Era

 

This is more than a picture of two jerseys and a dingy baseball cap. Four and half years ago, I started noticing a change in Reece.  His friends were all becoming more involved in sports, and I could tell it was affecting him. I wanted to find him something he could be involved in too.  I distinctly remember talking with one of his best friend's mom over the phone. I was in tears not wanting to see Reece get down on himself. She suggested what if he helped out in some way with the baseball team her husband coached and Reece's friends played on. There would be no commitment, if we didn't want to come to a game, then that was fine. We didn't have to travel with them.  Very low key.  Nick and I liked it!  Ha!  Little did we know we would find ourselves at almost every Orioles game. Reece became the Dugout DJ, and we became committed.  We bought the wagon, the chairs, the big speaker, the wristbands, and the trips to World Series games. We sat in the rain and sweated in the heat.

This past week we ended our era with the Orioles at the World Series in Orange Beach. It did not go the way we wanted it to go due to having to end our trip early because of being sick. Reece didn't get a chance to close out his time with the Orioles one last time, which was disappointing to all of us. This mama has shed a lot of tears over the last few days. These four years have meant the world to us. The Orioles family adopted us in without even blinking an eye. In a world where we struggle to fit in, we found a place.  Reece was always included in everything. He got the championship rings and the fun Orioles shirts. Most of all, Reece was given purpose, and it helped him discover his love of baseball, which has now trickled over into school baseball. He was part of a team. He was silly in the dugout. He sweated. He wore eyeblack. He walked the entire length of Texas Ranger stadium in 100+ degrees heat because one of the amazing coaches walked alongside him. They didn't just let him come onto the team; they truly cared for him.

I'm not sure what we will do on our spring/ summer weekends now, but I can assure you that what we did over the last 4 summers was absolutely worth it. We feel invested in each one of those families, especially the boys, and I can't wait to see what great things they do. Go, O's!!

         

Knee Surgery- Phases 3 and 4

It's been a busy and challenging 31 days.  On June 7, the long awaited surgery finally happened.  Prayers were answered, and Reece did fantastic!  His anxiety was well controlled, and he went back to the OR like a champ.  Nick and I waited in the waiting room of Le Bonheur from 9:30-1:30, with updates every hour.  When we got back to see him in recovery, Dr. Sawyer said everything went well, even better than expected.  He was able to get 15 degrees of extension in Reece's right knee and 30 degrees in his left.  When Reece finally woke up from the anesthesia, his first comment was "It's over.  How did I do?  Did I throw a fit?"  Not being able to control his anxiety really was one of his biggest fears, which is so ironic. We were happy to report that "Yes, it's over.  You were amazing!  No, you did not throw a fit!"

   

Smiling in recovery because it's over!

This was our attempt at a "before" picture of his knees.  The shorts cover up most of them though.

After 6 hours in recovery because the hospital was understaffed, we made it to a room.  We stayed one night in the hospital, and then he was discharged the next afternoon.  We decided to stay one more night at the FedEx House.  We were a little disappointed in how we were discharged because we had zero guidance on anything (getting him in the car, transferring him from place to place, etc), and then his surgeon did not even know he had been discharged.  I think we can thank Covid because the staffing just wasn't there.  

                                 

Getting out of bed for the first time

Right leg incision

                                                                          

Left leg incision

The first night at the FedEx House was a nightmare.  Reece's bladder woke up, and we lifted him 18 times to take him to the bathroom between midnight and 6 a.m.  This was 100% my fault because I declined a bedside toilet, thinking they were asking for home.  

We were more than ready to get home that next day.  Our original plan was for Reece to ride in the front seat, but we couldn't figure out a good way to get him in there while also holding his legs.  So, we put him sideways in the backseat with his legs propped up on Nick..  Three hours of riding like this was not comfortable at all for him, but we made it.  

When we arrived home, our amazing neighbor who owns a medical supply company, had a wheelchair ramp and a Hoyer lift set up for us.  After another stressful trip to the bathroom, we all collapsed and even cried from exhaustion and frustration.  The next few nights were tough keeping Reece comfortable, but we finally hit our groove.  He was super happy to be in his own bed!

                                                

We got home on Wednesday, and he started rehab on Friday.  The first few rehab visits were a lot of quad stimulation and massage using a HivaMat to get the swelling down.  

                                              

                                                  

                                                        

  Getting some sunshine after rehab

                                                               

He has had a ton of visitors, and my goodness have we been blessed with food and gift cards!  I can't even describe how loved we have felt.  

                                                

                                                     

Over the last couple of weeks, we have progressed from using the Hoyer lift for total transfers in the house to pivot transfers with him doing some of the work as we support him.  Getting him in/out of the car was our biggest challenge before he started bearing some weight.  We knew riding crossways in the backseat was a no go after riding home from Memphis like that, so we had been managing to get him into the front seat.  Now, we have it all down to a science.  Ha!  He has also gone from having to have his legs elevated all of the time to letting them hang.

The first weight bearing attempt at rehab didn't go so well, mainly because the harness was a little large for him.  So, on the next visit he moved to a tilt table.   He was bearing about 70% of his weight the first day!  

 

                                                    

Just this past week, he moved into a different harness.  It was a challenge, but he did well.  What has to happen is his quad muscles are going to have to learn how to function with the new range of motion in his legs.  It sounds easy, but it isn't.  

Thankfully, we have begun to be able to squeeze in some fun among all of the rehab visits.  Mississippi State played in the College World Series, so he was able to watch them as he recovers.  Reece also received a special FaceTime call from one of the players, and it meant so much to him.  Then, the icing on top was that they actually won the National Championship!  We decided we could try to make it to the big historic celebration in Starkville this past Friday.  The best grandparents in the world arrived at 11:15 and sat at the gates of Dudy Noble until they were open at 2:30 just to ensure Reece would have a wheelchair accessible seat.  He had the best seat there! 

                                           

                                   

   Precious neighbors brought Reece a shirt to wear while watching the Dawgs play.                  

                                          

                                    

 Our first non-rehab outing to Bulldog Burger the day after the Dawgs won the

 National Championship

                                             

                                                  

  Pics from a long day of celebrating at Dudy Noble

 

                                                        

                                                

                                                       

                                              

                                                      

                                           

                                                    

                                          

To say this recovery has been tough is an understatement, and we are nowhere near being back to somewhat normal.  As with every surgery Reece has had, doubt and fear begin to creep in, and I start questioning whether we made the right decision.  What if we have totally messed up?  Despite having so much confirmation from the Lord on our decision, Satan likes to distract me from that.  I know it, and I still fall for it.  It's my weakness.  The night before last I woke up around 3:00 in the morning, and fear gripped me.  The obsessive, anxious thoughts started, and I'm not really sure what time they finally stopped.  I know it was sometime after I thought " Why aren't you praying about this instead?"  I was trying to figure out how school was going to work if we don't make much more progress.  What if he can't learn to walk again?  We waited over 2 years to actually get him to walking in the first place, and it was such a big deal because the doctors weren't sure he ever would.  Now, it feels like we are right back to square one.  What are stairs going to look like?  Bending down to pick things up?  Getting in the car independently?  It's so hard to see the independence he had not there any more.  All of these things I had thought of prior to surgery, but we knew we had to help him because the pain in his knees was really already taking a lot of his independence away.  All of that to say that yesterday was an emotionally rough day for Mama.  Reece had no idea, but I had asked some friends to pray for me.  Then, last night God decided to reveal Himself.  We were all in the living room watching tv, and all of a sudden Reece sits up and says "I want to try something."  Having no idea what the kid was about to do, I had to make him do it again.  He had never ever even mentioned wanting to do this.  Nick and I could not help but laugh out loud.  Reece originally thought we were laughing at him, but it was a laughter full of joy because we knew what the Lord had just done.  Just like He has done over and over and over in our son's life.  I told someone yesterday that when I start to worry, I just need to remind myself of this.  God has used Reece to display His power so many times over the last 13.5 years.  This was His way of reminding me to expect the unexpected.  He's able to do exceedingly abundantly more than I can ever think or ask.