It's hard to believe that it's been 13 years and yet it seems like yesterday. Looking back and remembering is healthy and cathartic. I am always encouraged to think over the previous year and see what God has done in and through Chloe and how far she's come.
I often reply to people who comment on how amazing Chloe is with, "we just try to keep up with her" :). It's so incredibly true though! Chloe is always up for something new, something challenging, something fun, something daring...just get out of her way! Today I thought about that quality and how that has characterized her life and that I know it will transform the landscape of the rest of her life.
A funny note - there are a million different things that Chloe would like to do with her life. Recently, she learned that she could not be in the military because of her prosthetic leg. She was furious, how dare someone say she's not good enough and can't do something! Look out Armed Forces, she's coming for ya! :) LOL!
Chloe's had another incredible year! I always like to tell most of the story in pictures...
Wildwood, NJ beach day with Chloe's Aunt and cousins
A road trip with her friends to Camp No Limits Teen Camp in Maine.
The Wims Mobile is the bomb!! :)
Finally got to see her long time Florida friend, Kaia at Teen Camp!!
Camp No Limits friends in Maryland
Best buds, soul sisters...they just get each other!
They say a picture is worth a thousand words...
Deep Creek, MD with family - first time on the sea-doo!
Celebrating together with family!
Camp No Limits BFFs - Nuts for No Limits Bike Ride
Enjoying the ride with Tyson.
An awesome treat! Behind the scenes at the Zoo with the fam.
Stubby, the Rhino and the Penguins were the favs!
Chloe had the best school year yet - her sophomore year!
Chloe served as the SGA Secretary this year.
She loved playing Volleyball once again with her good friends
The school dances with her friends are some of her fav times.
This girl likes to boogie!! :)
This girl likes to boogie!! :)
Where has the time gone? Sophomore Year 2018-2019
School Drama Production of Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Her first musical and she loved it!
Sweet friends
Field trips are the best with friends!
Tackling the King and Queen Seat. Heights? Who's afraid of heights?!
Her beauty radiates from the inside out! There has never been a more precious spirit.
Chloe received the Scholar Athlete Award this year.
And she got her LEARNER'S PERMIT...my baby is driving, how did this happen?!!!
The best class ever!!! How Chloe loved her Mrs. T!!
And Chloe's cat, Jasper never leaves her side.
Chloe celebrated her 16th birthday early with a girls trip to Ocean City, MD!
The beach is her most favorite place to be...of course!
Always an Animal Lover
Last Day of School - I am so proud of you, Chloe-girl!!
Family -- where would we be without each other? Through the good and bad...
She enjoyed a fun trip down to Southern MD and boating with her best friend, Sabrina
Chloe had a blast with her Aunt at Hershey Park.
(yes, even the roller coasters that she wasn't supposed to ride on!)
The past few weeks since school's been out, Chloe has packed in everything she possibly could because she will be having surgery on her leg this Friday. It will be reconstructive/plastic surgery, prayerfully a less intense surgery than she has had before. This surgery is something that we have been thinking about but wanted Chloe to be old enough to make up her own mind about whether she wanted to have it or not. The hope is that the surgeon will be able to get rid of the skin graft, the extra tissue that always pinches and the pressure point area that blisters and causes her pain. We are praying for a perfect result and super fast healing for our sweet girl! If you think of her, please pray for her healing and encouragement this summer. Summer is her favorite time of the year and to not be able to be mobile and do all the things she loves is so disappointing. It's difficult to watch her struggle with this but we are up to the challenge of making sure she still has a great summer! xo
The irony of the timing of this surgery is not lost on us. This time 13 years ago Chloe was in the hospital and now she is going back in two days. Memories are a funny thing, with time the severity of emotion and pain lessens but your heart always remembers. There was a time when I would have done anything to take her place but now I'm at peace with the fact that this is the path that was chosen for her very best. As a mama, anything that causes your child pain is usually something that you would not choose for them. But as a believer in a God who loves my child so much more than I do, I continue to place her in His tender hands.
Every single day this girl amazes us -- her smile, her laughter, her compassion, her sensitivity, her passion, her determination, her perception and her capacity to love -- there's no end to it. She is truly her Father's joy and she is our joy as well. A gift from God on loan to us. Our family would be so lonely without her.
And so I say again as I do every year -- God is good, all the time God is good! God is faithful and He is continuing to work out His perfect plan for Chloe's life so we are grabbing the popcorn and settling in to watch all that He does in her, for her and through her.
We love you with all our hearts, Chloe-girl! XOXO.
Happy ALIVE Day, sweetheart!!
You can't help but love her...
2 comments:
Perfect day for me to read this post. What a picture of the love of Christ through a young girls heart and her journey through a painful ordeal. Encouragement should always start at home and it is evident it has with Chloe. You two as her parents are such a big part of her journey. The way you have encouraged her through each stage of her life has produced a fighter, one who will not give up, one who would of course love a real leg but has turned an artificial leg into a message of hope. Thanks for keeping everyone caught up on your life. You are a testament of the grace of God working through those "troubles" Jesus said we would most certainly have to a place of thankfulness. so glad to say we know you all.
What a wonderful way to celebrate! I remember reading her story on your blog years ago. So much has happened since that time. It's amazing what God can do, even with something you never asked for or wanted for your daughter.
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