I have been trying to pinpoint my favorite moment from the last two weeks and I finally settled on it…

This photo was taken shortly after we went and picked up his new Ankle Foot Orthotics (AFOs). These are customized braces that Malachi wears during the daytime and they help keep his feet properly in place. Without the braces his hypertonic CP causes his muscles to contract and pull his feet up towards his shins. When I was in Cincinnati during Levi’s NICU stay he outgrew his braces and we weren’t able to get new ones for several months. The time without the braces affected him so much that he required double foot surgery with pins and tendon cutting to release some of the tension that had built up.

Malachi gets a new pair of these each time he outgrows the old ones and he gets to pick the print for the new set. After the measuring process it takes about 2 months to get them made. When we went to pick them up Malachi was very serious and when they brought out the new shoes he started his sheepish grin, genuinely excited to get new shoes.

Later that day when we picked Levi up at school Malachi just kept grinning, waiting for him to notice. And Levi didn’t disappoint, gushing over how cool Malachi’s new shoes were.

Watching Malachi’s face fill with pride brought tears to my eyes. And having such a “normal” moment…a moment where an 11 year old boy can’t wait to show off his new shoes…that is something that I cherish. Those moments are rare and cause some big emotions when they do come.

We have been trying to be very intentional lately with family time and making sure Malachi has a voice. He has been choosing to play games, this shark game being the top choice.

We also visited his favorite restaurant, a hibachi style restaurant that cooks in front of you. I love sitting next to him when we go so I can watch his excitement at all of the noises.

Our family got hit with a pretty mean stomach bug that kept us home for a week. It was a good opportunity for a reset in many ways.

On the week that we weren’t sick we managed to have a whole lot of fun! Swimming, fishing, soccer, and puppies!

Malachi has been devouring audio books lately on his Yoto player, a portable audiobook device. The narrators for most of the cards add in a lot of zest and fun voices. He is working through the classics, like Treasure Island and the Secret Garden. And he has finished some of the Boxcar Children but didn’t enjoy those as much as I expected him to.

I am very pleased to report that Malachi officially has secondary insurance again! This is a huge answer to our prayers and we are overjoyed to be able to close that chapter of chaos. We meet with the state on Thursday to finalize all of the details.

Now that he has insurance again we are considering increasing his therapy sessions while Levi is in school. We had decreased them down to one per week because he loves hippotherapy (horse therapy) so much but feel like he could benefit from more frequent sessions in other areas as well.

I know I have shared this with you recently, but I find myself in an odd season of life. We have had so many big changes happen in a short amount of time and adjusting to those has been difficult in many minor and major ways.

One of the biggest blessings of youth ministry was being able to host the teens a few times a month for Bible studies and dinner. And while there may be an opportunity for that in the future, or something similar, right now we are trying extra hard to be supportive while giving appropriate room for the new leaders to establish their ministry.

For the last several years Jake has organized a men’s Bible study most Saturday nights in our basement. Recently the church asked about opening this up to be a co-ed Bible study and relocate it to the church to open it up to a wider demographic, which happened to coincide with the youth change.

So we went from easy hospitality moments to nothing very quickly. We are praying about this and trusting that God will guide us towards ways we can continue to open our home but I want those to be God driven, not Leah driven to fill a void.

Having opportunities for others to enter “our world” made ministry feel so…well…natural and organic. We had proper seating for Malachi and we were prepared should there be a medical emergency. It just felt safe.

Now that I am re-entering the world of adult Bible studies I find myself experiencing anxieties that I have been able to avoid for the last several years. Some of those come from a sinful and fleshly place and some of them come from medical mom dilemmas, like navigating a very seizure prone Malachi into a room full of women that don’t know us.

Back in January I started doing a weekly morning Bible study through 1 Peter at a local church, and I had to laugh as we read through chapter 2 when it referenced “aliens and strangers”. I know Peter meant that in a spiritual sense in regards to this fallen world but my mind went straight to this photo:

I have always had trouble “fitting in” but when you work with teenagers you just chalk it up to an age difference. Now that I am back into the adult world those insecurities are flaring.

But back to scripture…

1 Peter 3:3-4 “Your adornment must not be merely external-braiding of the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.”

Gentle. Quiet.

There are a lot of things in my world I cannot control. And there are many things I just don’t have the energy to try to control. But one thing I can focus on is asking God to cultivate a more gentle and quiet spirit in me that can reflect Him to others.

I love that we can honor God in such wordless ways!

Thank you for taking the time to check in on our family. We are thankful to have such a tribe of people that care about us.

Much love,

Leah