The Wheelchair Dad

TODAY IS DAN’S BIRTHDAY!!! I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but YOU ARE WORTH IT & God knows YOU personally! Happy Mortar Dan! I am so incredibly thankful that you are here to celebrate today! This past year has been so full of ups and downs… so many good times & so many hard challenges. To watch you fall and get back up with faith to lead our family over and over again is a gift I’m so thankful for. Thank you for showing up for us EVERY DAY (well…except when you were in a medically induced coma trying to scare the **** out of us 😣🧐😭). Thank you for building this dream for our little girls. The gift you have given our daughters is priceless. Thank you for taking the picture straight out of my head and creating it in real life. You are unbelievable & I’m so thankful to be your girl for eternity. Through all of the storms… we got this. I love you! For those who have stuck with us through this whole project, thank you. 🥹 For those seeing us for the first time, welcome to the family. We love you all and appreciate your support, prayers, & encouragement more than you know. #godisamazing #unstoppable Thank you so much to @Murphy Door @Beddys and @Wall Blush for putting the final magical touches on this project! We love & adore you all!

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There are no words strong enough to express the gratitude we have to God for allowing us to be parents to our 6 kids. Our last 2 babies are an absolute miracle & gift. We felt very strongly that God wanted us to have more but it was so scary and we were heading into the unknown of what life with a newborn would be like as a dad using a wheelchair. It has all been more beautiful and perfect than we could have imagined. Hard…but perfect. #godisamazing #ivf #rainbowbaby #familyof8 #disabledparenting

It’s been a minute since I posted anything about Dan’s chronic nerve pain. For those that are new here, on top of his paralysis, Dan has a condition called Adhesive Arachnoiditis. On a scale from 1-10, his pain never goes below a 2/3 even with all of his medications onboard and most of the time it is higher. I will never understand how he pushes through it to be here for us all… I don’t know if I could do it. I guess when we are faced with hard things we don’t have many choices. I am very thankful than Dan chooses to HOLD ON and SHOW UP for our family every day. #nervepain #chronicpain #chronicpainwarrior #adhesivearachnoiditis #paralyzed

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It is absolutely PRICELESS as a wife to come across tools that give Dan some of his freedom back. We were able to go to Tucson, AZ over spring break and try out this self-balancing wheelchair. When I tell you it is a TOTAL GAME-CHANGER… 😭! This thing goes through grass, gravel, wood-chips, up and down hills etc with EASE which is INCREDIBLE for a dad of 6 that frequents soccer games, playgrounds, camping, etc. As you can see in the video, it makes keeping the same pace when walking hand in hand seemless which is such a gift! 🥹😍 We feel so sincerely blessed to have come across Omeo and to have the opportunity to partner with them and spread awareness for this life changing device throughout the world! We will be getting an Omeo to try out for a few months soon and we are so excited and thankful. If you want more info on this chair please comment OMEO or click the link in our bio. 💜.

God brought us together in the midst of horrible tragedies for a purpose much greater than us. Satan tries to destroy us from every angle. He will not win. #godisamazing Thank you all for being part of our journey!

We are in Arizona still so I’m posting this from last summer. I’m so thankful that Dan continues to show up…EVERY DAY! We are so blessed through all the storms. 💜💜💜 #thewheelchairdad

Get yourself a man that learns new skills just so he can be close to you 😅❤️🥹. #blessed #loveonpurpose

So close to being done! #asmr #DIY #disability #wheelchairlife #paralyzed

Last week we took our 3 youngest kids to Arizona for business/vacation. We had an amazing trip. It is always an adventure to travel but we are so thankful that for the *most* part, things go pretty smoothly. On the way there we were seated in row 2 so Dan was able to work his way to his chair on his own. On the way back he was in row 7 so required assistance with an “aisle chair”. When we landed in Salt Lake yesterday, Dan got impatient waiting for assistance and “walked” from aisle 7 to the front to get on his chair 🤷🏻‍♀️ #stubborn . We will be sitting down shortly to make a YouTube video talking all about our trip so stay tuned for that. 💜

First, I want to thank you ALL for being part of God’s Army that has rescued Dan & given him so much purpose in life. You all mean so much to us. Yesterday was a fun & busy day that left us exhausted! We went to a city even at our park, a soccer game, a Jeep event that one of our subscribers invited us to, deep cleaned the van (we have 6 kids from toddlers to teens so…😳☠️😅), went grocery shopping & worked on the room remodel. The fact that Dan & I are given the strength each day to be here for our babies & each other is a true miracle in & of itself. We are so blessed to live such a beautiful & full life amidst all of the struggles life throws our way. Keep your eye out for GOD’S ARMY… they come in all shapes & sizes. Who/what has rescued you? #godisamazing #paraplegic #ms #family #wheelchairlife #tragedytotriumph #blended

Before his accident, Dan was a cop, built homes, ran marathons, etc. Becoming paralyzed was a devastating blow to everything he knew. I can’t express in words how much it means to me to find new things that make his life better and give him some of his freedom back. Two weeks ago we found out Dan needs shoulder replacement surgery. This was DEVASTATING news and we immediately started wondering HOW THE CRAP he was going to do that as an active Dad of 6 that NEEDS his shoulders to push his chair. I said “you need a power chair…but a Segway!” And then God put this wheelchair in front of me through an IG video. I was in shock that this actually existed…. This would be a complete game changer for Dan. This is a self balancing wheelchair and it is INCREDIBLE (it’s like a Segway…but a wheelchair!) It would allow Dan to be hands free, to go to soccer games with ease, to go to the beach, roll on gravel, cruise along the kids with ease as they’re running or learning to ride their bikes, go up and down hills easily, get through the wood chips at our park to push the girls on the swings etc. 🥹💜🙌. Thank you My Omeo for the chance to be here in AZ to try this chair out & for letting us share it with the world!!! People NEED this!!! Link in bio for more info on this OMEO chair!

We started this Remodel Project in February 2023. Between nerve pain, hospital stays, surgery recoveries, family vacations & the hustle & bustle of raising 6 kids - it has been a definite labor of love BUT we are *almost* done. (For those who have been around for a while you’ve heard that before but this time it’s so so close! 😅) I spent HOURS painting every nook and cranny the last couple of weeks and Dan has been working tirelessly on the fold up stairs that are going to be SO cool! Our friends Danny, Nefi, Ken & Robert from @Murphy Door showed up & installed THE COOLEST entry & closet doors. Our girls literally go around saying “I LOVE OUR MURPHY DOORS!” several times a day and it is the talk of the town to have a magical room behind a hidden door disguised as a bookcase! Are you kidding me?!? How freaking cool is that! Check them out! Seriously the coolest & we are so happy they found us & offered to help! Guys… if you haven’t subscribed, please do… hopefully you’ll be as excited as we are to see this thing finished! It’s turning out PERFECT! CAN’T wait to show you!!!!

Full Room Reveal coming Sunday!!! 🎉♿️💪 Can’t wait to show you all! Thanks for being here every day and rooting us on. We love you! 💜

When I tell you that this week has been a ROCKY one in the marriage department… 🥴. I often joke with people that if there’s ever a lull in our content, you’ll know that we are struggling because I can’t in good conscience make positive content about someone I’m at odds with 😅…#funnynotfunny Yesterday as I laid in bed crying, a good friend sent me a devotional about Christ by @Matt Townsend. In his devotional, he posed the question “If Christ entered the room, what would you do?” I immediately had a perfect vision of Christ coming to sit on the bed next to me and burying my head in His chest and crying. I knew in that moment, without a doubt, that because of His Atonement, He knew what my heavy heart was feeling. So… last night after a week of frustration and fighting we decided to give it to God. Again, with encouragement from a dear friend, we went to a Christ centered meeting at a local church and then chatted in the car until 2 am until we felt at peace again. I’m extremely thankful to say that God has done it again… He can change hearts faster than anything humanly possible. Only He can restore what’s been broken. #godisamazing P.s. Get yourself a friend who encourages you to turn to God during hard things… 💜🥹. Thank you Meredith Love you 💜

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude & finding it impossible to put into words how much it means to us that Dan can move around our property with ease. We live on an acre lot and have a lot of rough terrain. WE HAVE LIVED HERE FOR 7+ YEARS & DURING THAT TIME DAN HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET AROUND WHERE HE WANTS TO GO!!! How frustrating right?!? To get from one end of our yard to the other is a lot of work in a wheelchair (I’ve tried and given up within seconds). We have a fire pit that Dan built for us on our property that is all but impossible for him to get to so it has become overgrown and gone unused for the most part. The Omeo arrived yesterday and WITH EASE Dan was zooming everywhere around our property. Omeo=FREEDOM. We are so excited to partner with Omeo to spread the word about this incredible chair! Omeo has gifted Dan a chair to use for a few months in exchange for spreading the word about it (which we would do with or without this agreement because people NEED this!) You can check it out through the link in our bio! #myomeo #madetomove #omeoamerica #omeopartner

Two years ago…make time stop! ❤️

I am so excited about this Product of the Week! We had the best time with the girls doing a Hatchimals egg hunt! The best part about it was that the excitement lasted for DAYS after the hunt. Candy filled eggs leave the kids on a sugar high, a house full of wrappers & nothing to show for it! Our girls have been carrying around their Hatchimals basket & egg carton non-stop since watching them hatch. They are also very affordable! Link in bio! 💜 *as Amazon affiliates we receive a small commission from qualified sales so thank you for shopping through our links!

#ad All fun & games aside… if you want the smell of a non-toxic man in your house… this is it 😉. Thanks @Thoren Bradley