Happy Birthday to our Superman
since his birth 24 years ago!!!
Travis celebrated his 24th birthday on
January 5th. For a long time, I knew
I wanted to do something for his birthday.
When we learned he'd be leaving for the
new rehab hospital in Galveston the week
after his birthday, I just knew I had to come up
with something. I was so thankful when
Troy agreed to let us host a party for him
at our house...and that I would be inviting
anyone and everyone via Facebook,
Caringbridge and word of mouth!!!
I really went out on a limb...
not knowing whether 20 people or 100
people would show up.
Thankfully for Trav's sake, the latter
plus more is what happened!!!
DUH!!!!!!!!!
It was a party for SUPERMAN!!!
The kids were outside holding up the sign for me
when Lynna and Travis arrived! ;)
They thought that was so cute.
Thank Goodness for Garrett's
quick thinking though ~
he came up with a place for us to hang the sign!
The party was Sunday, January 6th
from 1 to 3 ... Come and Go!
My little Hadlee came up with the idea of a
poster for everyone to sign. Sweet hearted girl!
She even made the sign...
My mother and my friend Amanda helped me
with making desserts. I served a few desserts
and drinks. Since Travis still can't eat real food,
I didn't want food to be the focus of his party!
Let's get this party started!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The two best lookin' guys at the party!!!
Mr. V was so sweet to come.
He's one of my dearest friends........
He is so faithful to pray for Lynna and Travis.
We love you, Mr. Vardeman!!!
I tear up thinking about the goodness of ALL
the different groups of people who have
been with us since day one...praying, supporting,
loving, and caring for us. One group that
really gets me is friends that I have made
through Walker's friends and their families.
The Rinewalts ~ Jeff especially ~ have
been so faithful to pray. Jeff is the one who
encouraged me to go to God BOLDLY by
sharing this verse:
So let us come boldly to the throne of our
gracious God. There we will receive his mercy,
and we will find grace to help
us when we need it most.
Hebrews 4:16
Glenn is a guy that Travis went to high school with
and his family lives next door to my parents.
Travis always really liked Glenn.
Ironically, Glenn suffered a traumatic
brain injury when he was younger.
The REEDS!!! The party would not have
been complete without them. I called Robin
on my way to the hospital that July 25th morning
to ask her to pray. In no time, she was standing
in the hallway at Hillcrest praying and being there
for Michelle and me. I'll never forget that.
Robin hasn't left our side since.
Her children's prayers are so precious to us, too.
They brought Trav the perfect shirt:)
Darryl...Mother and Dad's Baylor
Basketball Buddy!!! They have season
tickets together each year. :)
Rhonda and her mother. They lived next
door to my parents when my sisters were little.
Apparently they did everything together!
Lynna and Rhonda are still very close.
Walker and his buddies having their own
little party in his room!!! ;)
ZEB!!!!
From day one at the hospital, Zeb told us that he
had a vision from God that Travis would be healed
and that great things would come from this.
He brought Lynna some pages from his journal
that he had written back then. Things are
coming true that he envisioned!!!
We are so thankful for Zeb!
AND his beautiful family:)
Karen!!! God love her heart and soul.
She has prayed and prayed and prayed some
more for Travis and my family. She's given us
nothing but support from the very beginning
~ she amazes me with her faithful encouragement.
Precious Abby, too!!!
I couldn't love them more...
Chad ~ what would we have done
without Chad Carr at Senior Care?!?
I will never forget how he dropped
everything on a Sunday to show Lynna
around his nursing home when we realized
we were bringing Travis home. He
worked it so Travis could come there
and then he made it the best possible
situation for a 23 year having to be
in a nursing home. He rocks!
I love that his wife has become such
a dear friend to me. I love her!!!
And of course we love the cute
Carr boys like crazy!!!
Sweet friends for Walker and Hadlee:)
My dear friend Jennifer Davis.
What a prayer warrior! She's another one
who stepped right up during those first
days after the accident taking Walker
whenever I needed her. She even ran
her first half marathon in HONOR
of Travis!!! She trained for it with him
in mind and wore a Superman sticker
during the race just for him...
As she was reminding Travis of this,
he stood up to give her a hug!!!
So thankful for Jennifer and her boys...
Ryan and Tyler!
We met this beautiful lady, Diane,
at Baylor Speech. Her son was in
an accident and has a TBI as well.
She was so kind to come!!!
Sweet, Beautiful Taryn! She and
Travis worked together at Zebs.
She visited Travis on numerous occasions
even in Austin and Irving. Such a sweet soul!
Trish!!! One of Lynna's besties
and practically another mama to Travis;)
A Trishia Talkin' To!!! ;)
Alyssa and Lindsay!!!
What can I possibly say about these
beautiful girls? They were with Travis
the night of the accident and then
pretty much everyday after while he was
at Hillcrest. These girls are wise beyond
their years and TRUE friends.
It was soooo good to see them!!!
They are attending Texas State now.
Plus our favorite guy, Garrett!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Although Travis doesn't remember it,
this was our Texas Neuro Gang!!!
We even all had a slumber party one night
in the RV!!! I.ADORE.these.PEOPLE!
In fact, here we are at Texas Neuro celebrating
Trav's 22nd birthday. This was about six months
after the accident. We had no clue how much of
Travis was really there:(
but we certainly CELEBRATED! :)
We were Superman STRONG
then and now!!!!!!!!!!
WOW...this is Chelsea. She was the
paramedic who climbed into the truck
to pull Travis out. She's been such a
special part of our journey. She
even spent our first Thanksgiving
after the accident with us at
Texas Neuro. We love her!!!
Last year her own brother died
in a car accident. I think being able
to hug and love Travis does wonders
for her. She did not think Travis would
survive the night she arrived at his accident.
Sweet, Beautiful Skye!
This precious soul worked with Travis
at Zebs. He competed in a triathlon
with her and her Baylor friends just
to be around pretty girls!!! ha!
Skye is such a true friend.
She drove in for the party from
San Antonio. She made many trips
to see Travis while he was in Austin
and Irving. Love her dearly.
Casey Reed! He "gets" Trav!
So very thankful for Casey's prayers
and support. Still wondering what
all he was telling Trav that day! ;)
Kim & Kaley. Kim just happens to
be an angel on earth. I could do an
entire blog post about her and her support.
So thankful that she took notice of
Trav at Sr. Care and wrote me.
She's been a HUGE blessing
ever since to Travis and Lynna (and me!)
I prayed and prayed for young people
to come to the party. That's what Trav
needed to see ~ his friends.
God answered my prayers!!!
Chas & Ashley:)
Rhonda, Lynna's dear friend.
Larry! Travis met Larry at the church he
has been attending. Larry has become
such an encourager to Travis:)
Darling Ella Reid...love this little
girl's precious heart so much.
She was in Walker's class the year
following the accident.
More Trish!
Pastor Steve and his Family...
he is the pastor at the church Travis visits,
Crossroads Baptist Church.
I am so honored to know this family now!
They are the real deal!!!!!!!!!!!
That morning the entire church prayed
over Travis while he and Lynna and Scott
and Wendell and Hunter were on stage.
Erin has been nothing but wonderful
to Travis ~ a precious, new friend
through all of this. So thankful
to know this sweet, beautiful girl now!!!
Superman working the crowd!!!
Terri and her family...what could I ever say
about them? Terri was a couple years older
than Lynna in high school. She literally came
out of the woodworks after the accident
and hasn't stopped being the best,
most faithful prayer warrior since!!!
They drove in from Florence for the party.
They've driven everywhere to see Travis!!!
The turn-out was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
Mother's dear friend from Sunday School,
Mrs. Hickman. Mother's entire Sunday School
class has been SO incredibly supportive and
generous. They are all true angels.
Such a blessing for Superman
to be giving out his hugs:)
Kim Jackson introduced Travis to
Crossroads and the AMAZING people there.
They took Travis in with SUCH a
Christ like love. The way we should
ALL react to EVERYONE.
Travis even started attending a life group
on Monday nights with people
his age. Some of them showed up
at the party!!! SO COOL!!!
Claudette! Another angel....
her son was one of Trav's good friends in
high school. She loves to encourage
Travis and go to the movies with him! :)
PaPa!!!!!!!!!!
I swear I think he cries everytime
he sees Travis:(
Melissa Cates and Ella Reid...
Melissa has become such a dear friend to me.
I'll never forget calling her with a PTA room
mom question (I didn't know her...just needed
a volunteer) and in the course of our
conversation she informed me that she
was praying for Travis and shared a story
about her own brother. Over the phone
we prayed and thus began our friendship.
NOW, she is Walker's precious teacher in the
fourth grade!!! I love and appreciate her so much!
That other favorite aunt!!! ;)
Super Girls & Super Hank playing!!!
Kim and Kaley...both beautiful angels!
Travis was truly ALL smiles!!!!!!!!!!
More friends from Life Group!!! :)
I got good lookin' nephews!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just missing Macy ~ who had already
started with student teaching at Texas State:(
Michelle and I can't seem to
get enough Superman hugs!
Kelli G!!! Travis adores her!
Kelli is the one person who has cried
and continues to cry with me
(still often) since day one of all of this.
She has always loved Travis so much
and that hasn't waivered.
I really don't know what I'd do without
Kelli. She just gets it all.
Life Group friends ~ Dirk and his wife.
Such amazing people!!!!!!!!!!!!
Becky ~ Lynna's dear friend.
She is the one who did the benefit.
Such a beautiful person...
We couldn't believe when some of
the nurses and the director from
Senior Care showed up!!!!!!!!!
God love them!!!!!!
Sweet Amy Christie....my dear
friend who was the nurse when I was teaching
at Midway Middle School. She and her
sister have been the sweetest,
most faithful prayer warriors through
all of this. Amy gave Travis
his Jesus Calling book that he reads daily.
Amy has the most compassionate heart...
Towards the end of the party all of the
sudden we noticed that Grandmother
had done a "costume" change!
To her Baylor stuff!!!
Leave it to them...just had to get to
their beloved Baylor basketball game!!!
So funny!!!!!!!! But then they showed
back up when it was just family left
that evening and we all ate and
loved on Trav some more!:)
Garrett....
A gift from God to our family!!!!!!
What a friend he has become
to ALLLLL of us.
Mike Cleveland...another man of God!
He is Lynna's dear high school friend
and he has done SO much for us.
He led us in a beautiful prayer
that day with our hands joined in a
big circle with Travis:)
Sweet Kate Kate...
Love these two Superman Supporters!
LOVE THE BARKLEYS!!!
Travis adores Kelli!!!!!!!!
Two of the best smiles I know:)
Lynna has a dear friend from work
who has gone through A LOT of her
own struggles recently. She rarely
leaves her house anymore,
but she showed up at Trav's party.
When she came in, Travis immediately
stood up and walked over to hug her:(
It was such an amazing moment...
Lynna just cried and cried
that her sweet friend had come.
God is good.
T-Dawg and T-Man
Troy is so wonderful to Travis.
Makes me cry...a good cry;)
They are funny together
and I love them like crazy!!!
Wendell & Travis...
seriously what would we have done
without this man the last three years?
He really stepped up and I'll
forever respect him for that.
He's so good to Trav:)
I barely saw my little Hudson
during the party...he was too busy
flirting with Alyssa;)
(in fact she texted me these pics!)...
...AND playing with Uncle G!!! :)
Beautiful Skye before she had
to head back to San Antonio.
Just love this girl although I hardly
even knew her before the accident...
Dr. Linam wrote to KWTX about doing
a story on Travis. They contacted me
a couple of days later about coming to the
party to interview Lynna and Travis.
Travis had been wanting to do this
for a long time. I can only imagine
that sharing his story and inspiring
others gives him the purpose we
so desperately pray for in his life...
Lynna was SO nervous;( Michelle and I sat beside
she and Travis but not in the camera...
we were just for moral support!
Lynna and Travis both did an
AMAZING job sharing this story!
The reporter, Matt, asked Travis if he
was glad that his life was saved
that dreadful day. I loved Trav's answer
that he typed into his iPad...
"of course"!!!!!!!!!
Travis thanked God for how far
he has come and told everyone
to never drink and drive.
It was powerful and moving.
Hearing Lynna's words was the same...
a mother's heart and soul spilling out.
We laughed A LOT during the whole thing, too!
Lynna asked the crew if they had brought
someone to do hair and make-up, her
microphone fell down in her shirt,
and at the end we pretended to be interviewing
each other with what we thought was a
microphone. Come to find out it was a battery;)
The reporter and the camera guy didn't
quite know what to think about us! ha!
We had a captive audience...
except for Hadlee who was sound asleep
on the little couch! ;)
Matt Howerton was awesome! So
was the camera man. God sends
just who we need and when we need them.
Hadlee's little idea was a BIG hit:)
Alyssa's mom, Elizabeth, came late.
She's a nurse at Hillcrest and had some inside
scoop on what Trav's initial brain scans looked
like. She said that the doctors basically
said his brain was "mush".
She came bearing gifts from Angela who
was sick and could not be there...
A Lifeproof case for his new iPhone 5!!!
Thank you, Doc!!!!!!!!!!!
She was absolutely, without a doubt
there with us in spirit! As always:)
So many blessings have surrounded
us since the very beginning.
Elizabeth is one for sure!
After most everyone was gone,
Travis opened some presents...
The kids and I wrapped his gift
in this huge sack;)
A Life Proof case for his iPad, too!
Troy, Trav's IT guy, wanted
to make sure he was set for Galveston!!!
Even though it was a no gift party,
lots of people brought Trav fun gifts!
Kelli G hooked him up with
a few movies that he had been wanting
and that's what he was opening here...
This poor, sweet thing was
not feeling good that day.
Late that night, the stomach virus hit:(
"We are FAMILY....
I got all my sisters and me!!!!!!"
Nothing like adding another nephew!
Garrett....one of my most
favorite people on the planet. He's my
texting and Rangers and sports buddy!
He's a dear friend to Troy and me now...
and Uncle G to my kiddos!!!!:)
One of the things I was able to share with the
reporter was the effect that all of this has
had on my children AND their friends.
I can only imagine and HOPE that
they will never forget all of this...especially
many of Walker's friends who were old enough
at the time of the accident to somewhat
understand and realize some of the impact.
If it helps them to think in the future about
the decisions they make and how one
decision can change your life and your family's
lives FOREVER, then that aspect is just
one more piece to this complex, complicated,
yet amazing puzzle.
Celebrating Trav's 22nd birthday at
Texas Neuro Rehab Hospital........
I know that my Walker has felt every bit
of this journey...his heart is kinder
and more compassionate (if that was even
possible!) and he KNOWS and BELIEVES
in the power of prayer. I'm so thankful
for his heart, his love for Travis
and his compassion that is pretty much
evident to all that meet him.
La Tante & Travis celebrating
his first birthday after the accident. At this
point we really didn't know how much he
was "there" or comprehending...
I've loved him like my very own since he was
born and that will never, ever change.
I'll support him and be there for him
all the days of my life. He didn't deserve
this and I'll never get over all that he has
had to endure, but I'll never stop praying
for the purpose to become EVIDENT
to HIM as well as to all the world...
God has made it clear to me that there
is "something" to be made from all
of this...something that Travis ~ not any of
the rest of us ~ will achieve with this.
Selfishly, I just hope it's on this side of Heaven:)
"I consider that our present sufferings
are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18
Lynna had this in Trav's birthday gift.....
"True DAT"...as I always tell Travis!!!!!!
"God can restore what is broken
and change it into something
amazing. All you need is faith."
Joel 2:25
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