Lauren Sparks

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For the Love of a Cow

January 4, 2019 by Lauren 31 Comments

We flew to California for one day passes to Disneyland.  We had to.  We were on a mission to get my special girl Shelby to see a life-sized Clarabelle Cow.  At lease that’s what we thought we were doing.

 

To back up, our 18 year old daughter has the mental and emotional intelligence of a toddler.  And my first born baby is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Some of you got to outgrow that phase with your children.  We probably never will.  It can be annoying at times, but it brings her so much joy that I can’t help but enjoy it too.  Because Shelby struggles to communicate, I might never have known that Clarabelle, a minor character in the show, was her favorite.  But we got her a Mickey Mouse book, and she kept it turned to a picture of the singing cow all the time.  She was only ever interested in looking at that page and talking about her.  Once we found a Clarabelle stuffed animal on ebay (for entirely too much money) and presented it to Shelby, we knew FOR SURE that the cow is her favorite.

 

Stuffed Clarabelle is now Shelby’s almost constant companion.  That 15 inch toy only leaves her hand under duress.  Bath time, meal time, school and therapy.  When our daughter went away to summer camp for a week with the Epilepsy Foundation of Texas, we told her counselors that they would have to pry Clarabelle out of Shelby’s unwilling hands for activities and that Shelby would tell them she was sad.  We assured them this was necessary and that Shelby would rebound quickly when her beloved was out of sight.  Those tender-hearted counselors must not have been able to deal with anyone being sad at summer camp.  Every picture of Shelby they posted on social media that week included her doll.  Clarabelle went to the mess hall, rode horses, kayaked, did arts and crafts and swam in the pool.  She was a sad and tired mess after 6 days.  And Shelby was exhausted too.  The love of the cow runs deep.

 

When we got to Disneyland the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend (they set an attendance record – wouldn’t recommend going then), we trucked it to the guest services desk post haste to find out when and where Clarabelle would be appearing.  The answer stunk.  She would not be present in the park that day.  Now we knew when we started planning this trip that there were no Clarabelle guarantees, but I confess that I bummed hard.  For the love, we made a cross country trip.  *Sigh*  Anyway, our next hope was Clarabelle’s Creamery – a popular ice cream parlor.  We imagined her image adorning the walls and memorabilia for sale in the gift shop.  No such luck.  There was not a picture of Shelby’s best friend, or any other cow in the whole place much less a t-shirt or keychain for sale.  All of this prompted my husband to caption his social media photos with

#Disney #fortheloveofacow

Click To Tweet

 

With all of our musical cow dreams dashed to bits, we got about the rest of our day enjoying the park.  And did Shelby enjoy the park!  We discovered that our meek and gentle girl LOVES the speed, thrills and potential spills of roller coasters!  She rode rails that would make this mama mess her britches and whooped and hollered the entire time.  Smiles and giggles ALL DAY LONG.  Turns out that Chuck and I were the only ones disappointed.  Shelby had no expectation of seeing a bigger than life Clarabelle.  Her mind can’t even fathom the possibility.  She was as happy as I’ve ever seen her just hanging out with her people, and making some death defying turns – at least that’s how it appeared to this scaredy chicken.

 

In retrospect, I think the coaster-love was God’s sweet little surprise for us.  We made plans for what we thought would delight Shelby, but God knew what would do the trick.  In a silly and whimsical way, Space Mountain illustrates Proverbs 19:21.  “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  We most often use this verse to remind us that God knows what’s best for us, which is absolutely true.  But I think it also points to our God’s propensity to surprise us.  He loves us so much that He delights in our delight.  As much as the sound of Shelby’s laughter brings me joy, my love for her is dwarfed by our Heavenly Father’s pleasure in us.

 

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.”  Isaiah 30:18

 

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2018 in Review – or Our Christmas Newsletter

December 13, 2018 by Lauren 16 Comments

One of my favorite TV specials to watch every year is Barbara Walter’s 10 most fascinating people of the year.  It’s so entertaining to see the year’s biggest events replayed through interviews with key players.  And while I feel certain that no one in my family will ever make that list (well, maybe Chandler has a shot), I thought my annual Christmas letter might be more fun through a similar lens.  Therefore I present to you:  The Sparks’ Family’s Top 10 most fascinating facts of the year – even if we are playing fast and loose with the word fascinating.

 

10.  Chuck now works as the Chief Operating Officer for a company called Strategic Government Resources, and will transition from Board President for the Epilepsy Foundation of Dallas/ Ft. Worth to the same position on the state board.

9.  I just had another surgery.  Wasn’t thrilled to be facing that again so soon, but grateful that it is not really cancer-related.  Maybe just cancer adjacent.

8.  Shelby had a minor heart surgery that did not work but is still as healthy as can be expected and ended up accepted into the drug trial we were pushing for last year.

7.  Allie is in her last year of middle school, singing in two school choirs, became a student council officer and made her volleyball club’s select team!

6.  Shelby graduated from high school and started the transition program at our sister school.   She also now participates in music and rec therapy.

5.  Chuck and I endured the process for becoming Shelby’s legal guardians and continue to work setting up other programs and processes for her now that she is 18.  Her adulthood is one learning curve after another in the school of life.

4.  The four of us took a trip to California in October and got Shelby to see the big mouse himself at Disneyland.  A good time was had by all.

3.  Chuck and Allie finally got to go on a life-changing mission trip to Honduras where they worked alongside Orphan Outreach with at risk children.  As a result of this and her service at church, Allie believes she wants to be a children’s minister some day.

2.  We proudly watched Chandler graduate from medical school and be commissioned as a Captain in the United States Air Force.  Then we, a tiny bit begrudgingly, watched him move his bride and our 4 grandchildren to O’Fallon, Illinois for his medical residency.  If you didn’t catch it, our Chandler is a doctor!

And the #1 most fascinating Sparks family fact of the year is…

We remain so grateful for you, our family and friends, and to our God and Savior Jesus Christ for the unbelievable gift of His grace.

 

Merry Christmas!

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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