Gene Stallings

What a wonderful honor it was to meet Gene Stallings tonight! Some of you may know him as a great past coach of the Alabama college football team. In my family ... we are avid Alabama football fans, so we have known who Gene Stallings is for quite a while.

Coach Stallings came into town this weekend to speak at our church (First Baptist North Mobile) on Sunday morning for our "Every Sunday Is Game Day" kickoff. My husband, Mark, picked Coach Stallings up from the airport and as they drove he began to tell him about our little girl, Victoria. This, of course, was a very special conversation due to the fact that Coach Stallings had a son with Downs named Johnny.

Mark drove Coach Stallings to meet a small group of folks for dessert. I was among the few there and thoroughly enjoyed meeting Coach Stallings. He asked me right away how my little girl was doing. He shared many encouraging words with me that night concerning having a child with special needs. He hugged and kissed me on the cheek twice that night. He was such a sweet man. He wanted to make sure that I brought Victoria to meet him the next morning at church.

The next morning, Coach Stallings spoke at North Mobile and was swarmed by a slew of folks after the service was over. I managed to get to him and introduced him to Victoria. Without saying a word, he handed his Bible to Mark, immediately grabbed Victoria from my arms and kissed and hugged her. It was not only moving to me, but I believe it was for him, as well. You see, he lost his son Johnny several years ago and misses him so much.

I was very encouraged this weekend by a very special man. If you haven't read Coach Stallings' book, Another Season, I strongly encourage you to. It is an amazing account of his past football career intermingled with the struggles and joys of having a child with special needs in the family. You can find the book at www.amazon.com/Another-Season-Gene-Stallings/dp/0767902556.

Terrible Two's!

Victoria turned 2 in March and is still a really pleasant child. She is pretty determined at times, but she continues to remain a very sweet and innocent girl. Our challenge with her is the fact that she is so physically capable of doing anything now! She has been able to climb up on the tall bar chairs in our kitchen, as well as any other chairs/couches that are lower than those. One day I walked into my bathroom for about 3 minutes to finish fixing my hair and Elyssa came running to me yelling out my name. She said it was an emergency that I should come right away. I went quickly with her into the kitchen where I saw Victoria STANDING on top of our breakfast table. I totally freaked out! I couldn't believe she was able to get up there. I immediately got her down and locked her in the bathroom with me until I was able to finish my hair. I have realized recently that I cannot take my eyes off of her for very long at all now.

I recently took my active little girl for her first haircut and here is a photo of her new "doo!" If you ask me, she is a doll!

Even though she keeps me on my toes, her "Terrible Two's" are still a joy!

Dancing Around!

Victoria is growing so fast! Although she turned 2 in March and still only wears 18-month clothing ... she is doing some big girl things!

I recently put in a DVD that we purchased during our week of VBS at the church. I put it in for the girls to listen to and caught Victoria raising her arms up at the exact point in the song that the dancers in the video prompt you to do. I was amazed!

More and more I see that Victoria "gets it!" There have been moments that I wondered if she really understood things. As I see her grow I find myself constantly amazed at all she DOES know and understand.

She is picking up sign language that I teach her right and left. If I were more consistent in adding new signs more quickly, she would know much more than she does know! She is such a smart girl.

God has truly given us a gift! And, just as Victoria raises her arms in praise songs as she watches her VBS DVD ... I find myself doing the same as I praise God for letting me see so many miracles in Victoria's little life!

Meet Us Here

I would love to invite all of you to purchase a copy of my brand-spankin'-new CD! It is called Meet Us Here. I believe you would be blessed by it!

Five of the eleven songs are original songs that I wrote. One song, in particular, is very special to me. It is a song that I wrote about my "special" child, Victoria. The song is called "She Is God's Child."

Another song I wrote, "Great God," is receiving local airplay. You can hear it played on Power 88 (88.5 FM), if you are local. If you are not, it will be featured on Power 88's "Local Artist Spotlight" myspace page in the next day or so. Visit that page at: www.myspace.com/power88local.

If you would like to order or download a digital copy of Meet Us Here, you can do so at www.cdbaby.com/heathermessick. You can hear samples of each song on that website, as well.

Happy Listening!

A Night Of Blessings

Thursday night was Ladies Night Out at First Baptist North Mobile. I was the guest singer/speaker for the event. It was a night full of blessings for me.

What a unique opportunity it was for me to share at Ladies Night Out. You see, First Baptist North Mobile is my home church. Some of the ladies present for the event have seen me "live out" the journey that I've been on. They see me and my family in all of our disfunctional-ness (I'm sure that is not a real word!) on a daily basis. They have known Victoria from birth and have prayed her through many physical struggles. So, I felt honored to be able to share with those ladies in this sort of setting.

I was also able to share with a diverse group of women. There were women present who have struggled with substance abuse, women who had children with special needs (and some brought their "special" children with them), women who had completely different struggles that sometimes carry those burdens secretly and women who had come from other churches just because they were curious about what I would say. What a blessing for me to be able to share with all of them.

I was blown away by all of the women who came up to speak to me before the event started. I saw one lady who I met a month or so ago in Springhill Hospital. When Victoria was in the hospital with pneumonia, this sweet lady was in the same unit with her 22-year-old quadriplegic son who was sick, as well. We talked and cried together in the hospital about the griefs and joys we have experienced as mothers of special needs kids. How awesome that she would want to come and hear me share my story at North Mobile.

I also saw a woman at Ladies Night Out that I met almost 2 years ago at a Breakfast For Santa event that AIDB put on for the "special" kids they serve with therapists. This lady's son, Hollis, has the same birthday as Victoria. I felt so honored that Gwen, who I've not seen in such a long time, would come hear me speak and sing. When I saw her before the event started, she was holding her son, Hollis. Let me tell you ... I almost lost it when I saw that sweet boy. My heart just swelled with joy to see that God drew this sweet woman to our church on such a special night.

Have you ever realized all of a sudden that God put you in such a unique ministry? I think I realized that on Thursday night. I was overwhelmed by God's grace and goodness to use such a broken vessel to minister to women from all walks of life. How incredible. How amazing. And, just because I'm open to share my struggles, griefs and joys with others ... it blows my mind that God can take that and bless it.

I look forward to the days ahead and pray that I will always be faithful to share with others (even on a daily basis) how God has walked with us through our "special" journey.

Physical Therapy

Victoria met with her physical therapist on Monday of this week. This is the first time that we have met with her since Christmas. Victoria has been doing so well that her therapist thought that she didn't need to come see her as often.

When Candace saw Victoria this week she was in awe of how great she was doing. She said that "Victoria has officially turned into a toddler!" She was so excited about how Victoria can walk outside (on uneven surfaces) with little or no falling. She can also walk over thresholds and other objects now with ease. It was a great visit with Candace. As a result of Victoria's wonderful progress, she has been released from her physical therapist! Candace said that Victoria's sisters are now her main source of motivation!

Victoria is a very busy girl. She is getting into everything. I even see her opening drawers that once were out of her reach. She actually pulled a hairbrush out of a drawer today and acted like she was brushing her hair. It was the cutest thing.

It is amazing to see how well Victoria is doing. She is doing several simple signs now and realizes that signing is a form of communication. She is even beginning to try to form words. She isn't just grunting anymore. I really believe that she will soon be saying things that I can somewhat understand. I think the day she says my name ... well, I'll just cry.

I am forever thankful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to see Him work in such miraculous ways on a daily basis! The thrill of seeing a special needs child achieve new things never gets old. You don't take for granted that tasks are easy for them because you know they are, in fact, a challenge. You know your "special child" works much harder than a normal kid to do the things they do. But, the thing I'm aware of so much more now is that Victoria doesn't do what she does alone. The Holy Spirit is at work in her life! I truly believe that God has done things in her body that is just plain miraculous. I credit the Lord for all that Victoria has been able to do so far and will continue to do. And, as long as God lets me hang around on this big o'l ball we call earth ... I will forever be amazed at how awesome He is!

Ladies Night Out!

Hi Ladies! If you are in the area, I wanted to let you know of an event that I'll be singing/speaking at in May of this year. The event is called Ladies Night Out. The event will be held on May 6th at 6:30pm. Dinner will be served. You can purchase tickets from First Baptist North Mobile. Contact the church at 251-679-3266 to obtain tickets.

Click on the photo above to see all of the information concerning the event! Hope to see you there!

Victoria Is 2!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Victoria Jayne!! It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone! I have enjoyed every moment of life with you and am thankful that the Lord saw fit to bring you into our lives!

You have done so many things this year that I am so proud of. You began walking, started jibber-jabbering (although we are still waiting on real words to come) and have done tons of things that have amazed your therapists! You are a miracle living right in front of our eyes!

Thank you for being so loving and such a blessing to your momma and daddy! We pray that this year is a great one for you! We love you!

She's Like Me!

Now that Victoria can walk really well, I'm letting her walk a lot on her own. She'll walk with Natalie and me from their Mom's Day Out classrooms over to the other side of the church to Elyssa's 4K classroom. The other afternoon, we were walking over to the school to check Elyssa out and saw a lady in the hallway that is no stranger to us. Her name is Kathy. She serves as a maid at the school. Kathy also has Down syndrome. She is the sister of Kim, a sweet, fellow church member. We met Kathy a little over a year ago when Elyssa started 3K.

As we were walking down the hallway, Kathy intently watched us. She especially seemed interested in Victoria. We passed by Kathy's cleaning supply room and proceeded to sign Elyssa out for the day at the school office. As we walked back to Elyssa's room we, again, passed Kathy's room. Kathy came out of her room and tapped me on the shoulder. She then said, "She's like me!" She was pointing at Victoria. She said again, "She's like me!" I replied, "Yes, she is!" Several people in the hallway passed Kathy, but not before she told them that Victoria was like her. It was the sweetest thing I've ever witnessed. I almost cried. It was such a touching moment to me. I felt blessed to know that one day my little Victoria would be so sweet and innocent ... and maybe she, too, would find pride in meeting others who were made "special" like her.

Kathy walked down the hallway with us, trying to hold Victoria's hand as she walked (although, Victoria is quite independent and doesn't like to hold hands!). Kathy asked me before we left the school if she could hold Victoria. I had wished at that moment I had a camera with me to capture this moment, but I didn't. I handed Victoria to Kathy and she held her for a few seconds (as long as Victoria would let her). It was so sweet!

I told Kathy that Victoria had heart surgery just like she did when she was little. She said, "Really, she had heart surgery like me?" She was so amazed at Victoria and how much she had in common with her.

Before we left, Kathy told me, "I am Down syndrome and she is like me." And, with much joy in my heart, again, I said, "Yes, Kathy ... yes, she is!"

Snow Day!

Today it actually snowed in Alabama! Who would've ever thunk it! I dressed Elyssa and Natalie warmly and we played in the yard while the snow was pouring down. There were some really big pieces falling! It was a lot of fun! I always hope for snow each year, but it usually doesn't happen so this was a huge treat for me!

Here are a few pictures from our snow day!

The girls before we went outside! We were ready for the cold weather!

Elyssa made a little snowball!

Mark with Victoria

Natalie

A picture of our front porch. You can really see the snow coming down!