Abby update - March 10

Today was another one of those miracle days. After a week that tested our patience and stamina, today was a series of blessings, one after the other...

The first blessing was that, somehow, after a week of car troubles and a Friday that took me to College Station and back and Gordon to at least four different kid appointments, this morning at 8 a.m. we found ourselves at our appropriate locations on time--Gordon, Abby and Arby at the agility trial in San Marcos and me and Frank at the PSIA district academic meet in New Braunfels.

The second blessing was that, though I couldn't envision a break in my schedule at the PSIA meet, I was able to slip away in the morning, leaving Frank in the very comforting company of his friends from Hill Country Christian School, to go and check on Abby and Arby.

The third blessing was a biggie--seeing Abby and Arby compete in their first agility run since the accident. Arby was a little over-hyped about the event and strayed off in the middle of the Touch-N-Go course, but that didn't keep an entire arena full of people from clapping. My eyes are streaming as I write this--thinking back to those days when we didn't know if Abby would speak or walk or run again, remembering the encouragement and care that we received from Abby's agility friends, and then realizing that she and her dog were out there running again. We are so deeply thankful for this blessing and for those friends who are a part of it. (And the applause occurred again when Abby and Arby later put together a clean run in the Jumpers course.)

But the blessings weren't over. Back in New Braunfels Frank earned a first place ribbon in the Maps, Graphs, and Charts contest and a second place in Number Sense, qualifying him for the state meet in both of those events. Frank has many things to be proud of--those academic achievements are noteworthy, but he's also shown himself to be a young man of character and compassion this year. We are very proud of him.

And just being around our dear friends from Hill Country Christian School at the academic meet are giving us much cause to look forward to the next blessing: seeing Abby back in class there after Spring Break. These people have prayed with us through the darkest hours and share our true joy at Abby's restoration--we are very glad that she will be among these friends and mentors again soon.

I'll update you more about the school plans as they develop, but I think there are enough blessings for you to share already in tonight's message. (And, besides, I just now remembered about "springing forward" for Daylight Savings Time--so much for being a good steward with the way God planned out our day so well for us today...) Oh well, with all this excitement, I couldn't fall asleep easily anyway...

Thanks for sharing our joy,
-the Linams