It is funny to me how emotions take control of our lives as well as influence the decisions we make.  I was always one to run from emotion especially bad….. just did not want to deal.  That changed when I became a parent and started wearing “Big Girl” shoes.  I started facing some of my fear of emotion head on….I think that when that happens, when you allow yourself to really feel life, everything changes.  To me it is the key to happiness as well as living life to the fullest.  I have read inspirational quotes, one after another saying, ” You can never truly enjoy the ups without feeling the downs.”  I get it and I understand.

Family time; spending time with the kids in the kitchen

So i am feeling….I am feeling anxiety, worry and excitement along with a hurting heart for those friends I know who have hearts that are hurting.  Even though I am feeling…… I am not always understanding the twists and turns that life’s journey takes us on.  It is exhausting trying to understand why things happen the way they do, what we can do to avoid disaster and learning how to dance in the rain all the time.  This should be included in the Book Of Life How To we should all receive when we are born!

Portrait of my son Ryan

So today I did what any sane Mother would do I marked things off the list.  When life feels out of control I grab something that I can control like the oil change that was 4 months late, and the haircuts that are way over do.  Oh yeah this Mama took care of business.  I got things crossed off my list that have been on my list for 6 months!  I had to….I needed to feel in control of the day.  In control of my life and my family.

Family time; spending time as a family in Michigan

It is rough growing up, feeling and staying strong.  Reminding ourselves what is most important in life almost takes a Masters Degree.  I always forget…..find myself walking in the wrong direction, needing redirection.  Not sure why it is so hard.  Still working on that one.

I know one thing for sure…… my kiddos are home for a long weekend.  We have school work to catch up on but there is going to be some fall going on in this house.  The 2 older boys and I just got back from the book store with a pile of halloween stories.  Glue, construction paper and maybe some flour and sugar will be flying…..I am feeling it!  This weekend is going to be a good one!

Baking; baking fall treats with the family

I wanted to share an article written about a very special women who runs the horse therapy barn that Grace and Ryan attend.  Her name is Sandy, she and her husband own and operate Victory Reins, Therapeutic Riding Center and you can read the article here.

My journey of investigating alternative options for my children began about 3.5 years ago when we were given a prenatal diagnosis.  I was walking a path that I never in my life thought I would be walking.  I was scared and so I used that fear to learn, educate myself and plan.  We have done things differently then most but I look back on our journey and I am extremely happy with the decisions we have made this far.  They were the right decisions for our family.  I am most thankful for the people we have come into contact with because never have I been told that Ryan and Grace will be anything less then great.  They made it clear there would be hard work ahead but they believe my children have the potential of being great.

Graces therapist told me awhile ago that some of the best people to work with my children would be the people who are not familiar with my children’s disabilities.  The reason being, they can not set limitations because they do not know what the limitations should be.  Well the day we walked in the barn and met Sandy I knew we were in the right place.  I knew Sandys expectations of my daughter and son were high and she would not except anything less.  So this week as I kept playing the last part of her beautiful article in my head it brought tears to my eyes every time.  It confirms why I knew in my heart her barn was the right place for us to be.

“I remember when I passed my certification (for horse therapy), you have to write a paper about your strong points and weak points and I said my weak point is that I don’t know enough about some of these kids’ disabilities and how they affect them. And this man stood up and he congratulated me and he gave me this big hug and said, “Just love them. Just love them.” And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.” – Sandy Michalewicz

That man said it so simply, so perfectly and so right.  “Just love them!”  We should all live by those words and if we did there would be no need for advocacy because we would be living a life of  acceptance for everyone.