Avery Grace

Avery Grace

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Beeson Holiday Letter 2011




It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Or so the song goes. As the days get shorter and the early evenings allow us to glimpse celebratory lights on homes, trees and buildings, I am always reminded about the many moments of illumination we have been afforded in the past months. Light equals happiness to me. A joy reflected in our soul that reaches out to others so we can share and spread our beatitude. Every challenge we face enables us to choose an attitude of joy and gratitude. The Beeson family has surely met our fair share of heartache, but we are in no way short on remembering the many lights in our lives for which to be thankful. That heartache serves to make us stronger, and allows for the simple moments of grace to be all the more glorious.

Our year has been chalk full of smiles, a few tears, and more blessings than we can count. Sweet Avery Grace is 5 now. I wish our every moment of almost every day didn’t revolve around her schedule of therapies, appointments and meetings... but they do, and we are surely grateful for the lessons learned from having a very disabled, yet beautifully simple and lovely child. Her laughter is infectious, and her smile can still bring warmth to a room. Her severe autism, apraxia, and mastocytosis still make her very limited in her abilities, and she needs constant care and supervision. Regardless, she is a beaming source of light, and somehow manages to lift us up with the touch of her hand and the occasional look in the eye. Her motor skills are improving, and she will soon have braces to help her re-learn a more functional way to walk. She will follow a few simple one-step directions, and loves to play on her iPad, which is actually giving her a voice for the first time. Thank goodness for technology! Avery is so much more to us than her disabilities. And even in the dark days, we remain hopeful and encouraged that her life has meaning and purpose beyond our scope of vision.

Kaylin Joy is 3, and Presley Hope is 1. Kaylin loves preschool and playing with her “buddies.” She keeps us hopping with her quick wit and affinity for trouble, but she is also a constant source of light in our home, and true to her name, spreads lots of joy to those she knows and loves. Presley is busy trying to keep up with our schedule and her sisters, and is certainly finding her voice amidst the chaos. She is talking quite a bit (phew) and is running around like she owns the place. Also true to her name, Presley has brought an abundance of hope and love into our hearts. Can you tell we love our girls?!

Other big news of the year is that we moved to a new (to us) home here in Frisco. The pool was a big summer hit, and we look forward to staying here for a very long time. Bryan has a new job as an indirect sales executive at Hudson Energy. He is very happy with his new company and position, and spends all of his “off” time helping with three little girls.

As for me, I run around like a crazy woman, toting Avery to 30+ hours of therapy in a week and to various doctor’s appointments. I taught a class over the summer, and am going to be working at a clinic starting in January accumulating the MANY required supervision hours I will need for a new certification I am beginning at UNT’s graduate school this January. I guess I just love school too much to ever quit! (although it’s been a nice break since I finished grad school- but I did have 3 kids.)

So that’s it in a nutshell. We stay insanely busy, but somehow manage to find peace and contentment in our circumstances. We choose to fill our hearts with gratitude, and try, little at a time, to spread our light with those we meet. We have so much to be thankful for this year and every year. Mostly for each other and our overwhelmingly supportive friends, respite worker, many therapists, and family. Wishing all of you a holiday illuminated with love and laughter, and a 2012 full of many bright blessings.

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