My name is Amy Jo Paddington.  I live near Salt Lake City, Utah, with my husband, Bryce, and our three children: 10-year-old Camdyn Marie, 6-year-old Miracle Faith, and one-year-old Harlen Bryce.  My husband is a firefighter; as for me, I am a stay-at-home mom and homeschool teacher.

My son and oldest daughter are healthy; unfortunately, Miracle, the middle child, was born with significant brain damage.  The doctors really don't know what happened, but for some reason, she was left brain damaged, which resulted ina life-long sentence: cerebral palsy.

Because of this, Miracle cannot walk; she is in a wheelchair, and has trouble moving her limbs.  She can talk, but her speech is hard to understand.  It sounds like she has a mouth full of marbles.  

Miracle is very smart but her physical limitations often cover that fact.  People often think that she is mentally disabled when nothing can be further from the truth.  In fact, Miracle is in a regular classroom setting and has aides to help her navigate through the day when she is at school.  (Miracle is in the first grade.)

I sometimes get sad when I think that Miracle will probably never walk or talk clearly or keep up with her classmates (or her sister and brother), but compared to many, she is better off.  I mean, she can eat (with help) and acknowledge people whenever they talk to her or make her feelings/wants known; some people with CP are so disabled they cannot do anything for themselves: they need help with every area of their lives.  My daughter is not like that, and I thank God every day that she isn't.

Well, it's time to get breakfast started; then we have church at 9:00.  I want to get the family to church on time; I absolutely hate for them to miss out on anything.  (We are Mormon.)  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is Amy Jo Paddington saying so long and God bless!

~Amy Jo.

~To be continued.~