We’re coming into the season where we all take an intentional look back at the year and our lives and practice the life-giving discipline of gratitude. Many of you have been following our little family’s adventure faithfully for over three years now, so let me say right at the outset that we are very, very grateful for you!

But there’s more that we’d love to celebrate with you! It was over a year ago – summer of 2012, in fact – that we put a goal out there that we wanted to go “all in” on the meager therapy resources available to us and get Julia walking as soon as possible. We were told that a lot gets unlocked in terms of fine motor skills and speech development once a kid masters walking. It’s as if all of their creative learning power needs to focus on that one thing before it can be re-tasked to other things.

True to my clueless nature, I put a date on the goal. I said we wanted her walking into the Easter services at church this year. I even had the temerity to tell a couple of the therapists of our aspirations. My ideas were met with polite silence.

Winter and Spring came and went; and though there was progress, it was painfully slow. But then over the summer, with some focused physical therapy, we started seeing strength and organization develop. By the end of the summer, with proper motivation (read: playground!) she had mastered her walker and was off and running. But walking unassisted was still eluding her – over a year after I had set the goal.

I had forgotten – again – that as important as Jocelyn and I and all of the therapists are to Julia’s growth, we play a only a small role. In the end, it is God and Julia who determine her trajectory. It isn’t as if I’ve not talked about that before (in fact: here, here and here), perhaps it will sink in through the layers of my skull sooner or later…

But now, I’m happy to tell you that a new milestone is near. I offer you the following for your viewing pleasure:

Only eight months after the original dream, but we’ll forgive her! But in all seriousness, we are grateful for your continued prayers and encouragement.

Have a great Thanksgiving!