Courageous Joy

Today marks the 10h anniversary of Chloe's accident, a life changing experience for our girl and for our entire family.  I cannot believe it's been that long, so much has happened since then.  It's funny because Chloe just stumbled upon this blog and I shared with her why I continue to write on here every July 3rd.  This is for her.  My prayer is that Chloe will be able to read through all the posts about her and see how God's hands has rested powerfully on her from birth.  

It's been good for me as well, in the beginning it was more about having a place to pour out my heart in those first agonizing days after her accident.  In the last few years, it has developed into a yearly testimony to all the amazing things that God has and is doing in and through this amazing young girl! 

I love to tell her story in pictures...

We have been through so much as a family.  God has been the glue and we stand today together, the bond of love stronger than ever.  All the glory goes to God!

Family Love


Camp No Limits continues to be a HUGE part of our lives!  As Chloe grows as a young lady, we are excited to see how her role changes from camper to mentor.  She and Emma have a super strong bond through some tough shared expeiences.

Camp No Limits, CT ~ Attended camp by herself for the 1st time!


We are always amazed by the things Chloe is able to do, there are truly NO LIMITS!!

Camp No Limits, Maine

So thrilling to see the advances in prosthetics!  This was such a fun time shared with good friends.

Camp No Limits, MD ~ Tried a running foot for the 1st time!

Chloe not only sets and achieves physical goals but she does the same with academic goals.  She finished 7th grade with all A's!  She works hard at everything she does.

1st Day of School ~ 7th Grade for Chloe and 9th for Alex

She was very excited for her very first middle school dance at school!  
What a special girl she is, truly her father's joy!

1st School Dance

We love to see her in sports!  Chloe loves being active and playing on her school teams.

Played soccer for her school

She is a beauty inside and out!

Havre de Grace, MD

She had the opportunity to attend four different Camp No Limits in the past year ~ 

CT, ME, MD, FL

Camp No Limits, FL ~ Gator fun!

Camp No Limits, FL ~ Dominating the Ropes Course

Camp No Limits, FL ~ Amp Buddies

For the most part, this year has been incredible for Chloe physically with one exception.  In December, she injured her leg and ruptured an area of bursitis she's had for awhile.  Her leg swelled to double the size and she was out of her leg for weeks.  So hard to see her like that, but she's a champ!  We were able to get her a wheelchair and we just carried on as normal.  Chloe never complains and has a smile on her face no matter the obstacle.  

It is evidence of God's mercy and grace!

Longwood Gardens with the girls ~ Always smiling even when in pain and in a wheelchair

This girl loves the beach like her mama!  We enjoyed a little family getaway to VA Beach.

Beach Lover

Chloe loves playing softball and had an awesome year!  No one except another amputee understands how much harder Chloe has to work  to do the same things others do in sports.  We are so proud of her, she works twice as hard as anyone on her team!  She never complains, never whines, never feels sorry for herself, never asks for extra slack, never asks to be treated special.  I'm pretty sure most of the girls and their parents on her team this year did not realize that she has a prosthetic leg!  :)

Softball girl

She is FULL of laughter and joy!  What a sweet blessing this girl is to our family.  How lost and lonely we would be without her.  We give all thanks to God for saving her life 10 years ago.

Silly Girl


She was thrilled to be in her first school play and to be one of her favorite characters from Anne of Green Gables!  I do believe she has a natural talent for drama!! LOL :)

1st School Play ~ Chloe was Diana and Alex was Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables


We were so excited that Chloe's good friend, Emma, was able to attend the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Camp that Chloe went to in CA last summer.  These guys are our heroes and they just give the kids inspiration and confidence that is extraordinary!  This year they were close enough for us to go down and watch the final big game.  It was awesome!!  Chloe loved seeing her friends again and was honored to be the bat girl for them.  She had a smile from ear to ear and talked about it all the way home!

Super pumped to be the Bat Girl for her friends from the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team!

Good catch!

Our sweet girl, such a precious gift from God on loan to us for a little while...

Courage, Strength, Faith, Laughter, Faith, Love

This girl...what can I say?  The older she gets, the more open she is and talks quite often about her accident and how it has changed her life.  After the WWAST game on the way home, Chloe told me that she was grateful to have the life she has.  She is grateful that she had her accident because she never would have met the people she has met, made the friends she has, been able to do all the amazing things she has done.  Let me tell you, it was one of those conversations that I will remember for the rest of my life.  Talk about emotional, this mama was a hot mess!  All I could think of was the goodness of God.  To see my daughter's faith grow, to see the beauty from ashes that God has orchestrated...it's unbelievable!  I will always struggle with some of the whys and the wanting to trade places with her, I would in a heartbeat.  And yes, whenever she has hard days or pain, I ache and I mourn for what was "normal life"...I can't help it, I'm her mama.  But the majority of time, I just revel in how far God has brought her and how He knew from the begining of time that this was Chloe's journey.  The day that rocked our world was not an accident in God's perspective...He was with us every moment.  He's been with us every step, every day and every year since then.  Her heavenly Father created her and gave her everything she needs to meet every obstacle head on, conquer it and move on to the next one with a perseverance and tenacity that is mind blowing.  God's hand rests powerfully on our daughter, whose name means Vibrant and her Father's Joy.  These words could not describe our girl more accurately!   

Ten years ago, if you would have asked me to forsee where Chloe would be, where we would be as a family, I never in a million years would have guessed!  Isn't that God?  He is able to do much more than anything we could ever think or imagine!  And so, by faith today I look another ten years down the road to when Chloe is 23 years old...I see amazing things, I see the sky is the limit, I see the ripple effect of God's grace extend outward to so many others through Chloe, I see her setting goals and demolishing them, I see her growing in grace and love, I see her continuing to be a living testimony to the goodness of God.  Friends, so many of you have walked with us these past ten years...continue to believe with me. Believe and have faith for yourselves, for your families...have Hope!  God never disappoints us and He will never let us down!