On Kylemore Abbey and Connemara.

Miracle Maddie

Maddie Girl is making slow but steady progress. In his stellar keynote address at the Team Luke Hope for Minds conference, hyperbaric oxygen treatment specialist Dr. Paul Harch said, “Recovering from brain injury is a painfully slow process.” That statement is painfully true, but it’s amazing to see how far Maddie has come since her accident. She showed tremendous head control during tummy time in her MNRI OT treatment, and she’s been hitting home therapy hard.

We received a wonderfully beautiful gift from a coworker. The love and support me and my family have received has been such a blessing. I’ll never be able to thank everyone properly. It’s been life saving in so many ways.

Read what’s on the blanket and dissolve into tears like I did. So much love to the Robertazzi family.

We’re launching a new GoFundMe campaign on Monday to be more informative and engaging, and to coincide with Missy’s birthday. I’m hoping we can raise at least $1,000 that first day. Please spread the word and keep a look out for that update and thank you so much for all those who have donated, shared, asked after Maddie and her family, been patient and loving; we wouldn’t have come this far without you.

Ireland

On Saturday, I visited Kylemore Abbey in Connemara. Every single time I think Ireland has shown me all its beauty, the Emerald Isle outdoes itself. I am always impressed.

The Estate “Kylemore Castle was built in the late 1800s by Mitchell Henry MP, a wealthy businessman, and liberal politician. Inspired by his love for his wife Margaret, and his hopes for his beloved Ireland, Henry created an estate boasting ‘all the innovations of the modern age’. An enlightened landlord and vocal advocate of the Irish people, Henry poured his life’s energy into creating an estate that would showcase what could be achieved in the remote wilds of Connemara. Today Kylemore Abbey is owned and run by the Benedictine community who have been in residence here since 1920.” The grounds were absolutely stunning! And that’s a statue of Jesus way up in the mountains in the picture on the left. There’s a Gothic church on the grounds built for Margaret Mitchell. And a mausoleum. The Romantic in me HAD TO stop at The Ironing Stone (Giant’s Wishing Stone). You’re supposed to stand with your back against the big stone and toss three tiny pebbles over top and make a wish. It took me a minute, but I finally got three over. I can’t tell you what I wished for, but you can probably guess. I will never ever get over the beauty.Victorian Walled Garden

My favorite part of the estate was the Victorian walled garden. I spent HOURS there. And in case there’s a man secretly in love with me and discreetly reading this blog, I’d like to be proposed to in this location when it’s in full bloom.

Gorgeous.

And the head gardener’s house. Is it available for rent?

Did I really not get a picture of the outside? What an amateur. Sorry.

And I saw ponies and pigs!

Meet Ken and Gloria.

I explored the cutest mindfulness trail ever.

Adorable.

It was just beautiful.

Writing

I’ve never worked so hard on my writing before. This is a good thing. It’s also a revelation of sorts; how arrogant I was to send out manuscripts without them being as polished as I’m learning they should have been. I am so grateful for everything I’m learning and am applying all this knowledge to my edits for Moody Blue. I want to be proud of that project when it’s published this coming summer.

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