Our Extraordinary girl!

This was a recent post from Ricki.  She has been so touched by everyone's love and support! 

Loving my ExtraOrdinary necklace! It's a daily reminder that being extraordinary doesn't mean being perfect or being more than just ordinary. It means that what you fight through everyday is worth something. You are amazing, fantastic and yes extraordinary. Every one has battles, in the end are we not all warriors?🎶we are the champions my friends da da and we'll keep on fighting to the end🎶 haha no but really I find it amazing how we all have different battles yet we all are connected through similarities we thought weren't there! I love you all so much. Keep fighting your battles like the Warriors you are. And keep being ExtraOrdinary💕 #ExtraOrdinary#JourneyGirl #KeepFightingWarriors

Blessings

It has been a week filled with blessings....

We always get a little nervous when its time to get Ricki's hearing checked and we came away feeling so blessed and grateful for the time she has been blessed with to have good hearing in her one good ear. Dr. Shelton felt like her other tumor on her facial nerve is stable as well. Such good news! Just hours after her hearing appointment we received a phone call from the NF clinic at Johns Hopkins. They had one appointment in December for Dr Blakely and wanted to know if we would like it. We are feeling so blessed with this opportunity....when we met Dr Blakely, she was so kind and genuinely interested in trying to figure things out for Ricki and she wasn't even her patient yet.. 

Ricki continues to have migraines every day, is nauseous,has pains in her chest and back,tires easily, has daily stomach issues, hot flashes, and seizures almost daily as well. We are hoping to at least get a better understanding of what is going on and hopefully some solutions to improve her quality of life. 

Now we just have to figure out how to get there and where to stay. It will be fun to try to figure out all the details. I was visiting with a dear friend at church today and she encouraged me not to worry and that things would work out. I appreciated her faith and assurance. It was just what I needed. It was just a few months ago when the president of our women's organization at church picked me up and took me for a ride to see how Ricki was doing.  As we visited she asked "Janine if you could do anything for Ricki what would it be?"  I told her I really wanted to get Ricki to a specialist who knew more about NF2.... Since then little miracles started happening and now we have an appointment to work towards! 

I know Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers and that he will give Ricki the medical supports she needs as she looks to her future. We are so grateful for the many prayers in her behalf over the past few years. We are grateful for the blessings of added peace and strength we have received as we have traveled on this journey with Ricki and know we have not been alone. 

Miss Cache Valley

This summer when they were granting Ricki's wish through Make A Wish they have them go through questions that lead them to "If I could be anyone who would I be?" and " If I could go anywhere where would I go?" Her response to the who would you be was "I want to be Miss America" 

This fall Ricki approached us to be in the Miss Cache Valley pageant in November. Knowing her love of pageants and desire for opportunities to serve we agreed.  She had grown and matured over the years and had learned to push through her pain and we had confidence she could rise to the occasion. It brought us to tears several times watching her determination as she would practice her dance for her talent and then be so sick it put her right down in bed for several days but then she would be back practicing her dance again in pain, exhausted, but determined.  

The week of the pageant approached and her dad and I were concerned.  We prayed throughout the week that she would have the endurance she needed to reach her goal of being in the pageant. Her sweet grandparents and family jumped on the bandwagon to give Ricki all the support she needed.  Ashley, our sweet daughter-in-law came to the rescue as Ricki's hostess and was able to help Ricki get through the pageant smiling to the end. During the pageant many I am sure were critiquing any small imperfections in her walk,  or in her talent, but as we watched our sweet daughter, every step, and every smile was a triumph for Ricki. As I sat next to a lady during the pageant she was critiquing all the girls walks during the swimsuit part of the competition. Ricki was a little more off balance than usual and little did people know she had just had a seizure in a room downstairs minutes before and had pulled herself together to go out on stage in high heels and a swimsuit and walk with a smile across the stage. I think if people knew what she was going through they would know how really amazing she is - but that is not what beauty pageants are about and Ricki was not about to let anyone but her sweet sister know what she was going through. Even after the pageant Ricki asked me not to say anything about the seizures she had that night but as a mom I want others to understand why she is so amazing in our eyes. When Ricki has seizures her legs are the first thing to go and they become like jello. So, for her to cross that stage after a seizure was an amazing feat of strength and determination. 

We are all so proud of Ricki! What an amazing young women she is becoming! She has grown in grace and confidence as she has participated in the Miss Cache Valley pageant over the years. It has given her something to look forward to when she has had some challenging health issues with her NF2.  In our family she will always be our Miss Cache Valley and our Miss America, She represents what life is about- enduring gracefully through pain and hardships  and knowing that true joy comes from finding ways to serve and help others along your way.