Help Hope Live for Noah x Williams

April 8, 2025

We have made it to Spring 2025! Life has been an adventure to say the least. Noah is 2 months shy of turning 16 years old and boy is he living the life!Quick updates:In 2024 we did get a new (to us) van. We broke it in by going to a conference (work) in New York. Along the way we stopped in Philedelphia to earn Junior Ranger badges visiting the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. In New York badges were earned from Castle Clinton, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. Noah received excellent treatment from NYPD as they carried him 4 flights of stairs out of the subway station (story for another day). In July, we did our longerst roadtrip to date; we drove 6k miles. We went from Georgia, to New Mexico (work), to Colorado, back to Georgia. In the process, we stopped and Noah earned Junior Ranger badges in Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. In August, our laundry room and kitchen flooded. In September, our backyard was a river, and our town was hit by Hurricane Helene. We are located far inland, to where our town is an evacuation site for those along the coast; we were not prepared for the 80-100 mile/hr sustained winds. That was definitely a scary time. In December, we traveled to Beaufort, SC and earned a Junior Ranger badge from the Reconstruction Era NPS to close out the year. In between all the travels, Noah participated in his first ever Special Olympics of Georgia State Games for bowling and swimming. We have found and have fallen in love with our local Augusta Stars Special Olympics community. He was also a featured artist and had a mini exhibition during a national conference held in Pittsburgh, Pa.Despite the many challenges (that I've not shared), Noah continues to live his best life, now!

November 2, 2023

We've had a busy busy week. We joined our friends from The Kyle Pease Foundation to take on the 2023 Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA.

This was Noah's 7th time getting to the MCM starting line, and the first time crossing the finish line with a new runner, Marianne from Utah. Our friend, Kevin got Noah across the other 6 finish lines (Kevin and I pushed together for Noah's first MCM in 2014).

Not running with Noah is a mixed bag of emotions. My body said it can't do that distance AND be the primary caregiver, so I've handed over the reigns. Entrusting Noah, who is medically complex, with a stranger for 26.2 (5.5 hours) was a bit unnerving and required a lot of trust. It also brought on the opportunity for me to be on the sidelines and being Noah's biggest & loudest cheerleader!

No longer pushing has been the best thing to happen! It allows me to have my version of being a "soccer" or "football" mom! Noah has some autonomy. Strangers become friends, and a new group of people get involved in promoting and advocating for inclusion.

Be sure to check out the album below and visit The Kyle Pease Foundation website for more pics of the experience.

Choose Joy,

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