About Stacie…

This is me! Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing starting a blog, but I’ll do my best to give a great description of me!

I was born and raised in Northern VA. Got married in 2003 to a great man and we started our life together! Our first child, Andon was born in 2006 and was absolutely perfect! I had such an easy delivery and he was an angel baby!! 🙂 He is still super smart, way too smart for his own good! 🙂

Our lives really started to change when our second child, Noelle was born in 2008. Noelle was born 16 weeks prematurely and has some lasting medical issues from being under 2lbs at birth! We were thrown into the world of having a special needs kiddo with complex medical issues. After spending almost her entire first year in the hospital, she finally came home right before her birthday! She goes in and out of the hospital pretty frequently, but this year has been pretty easy so far with minimal inpatient stays! Thank the Lord! Noelle is such a blessing in our lives and we thank God each and every day for saving her time and time again!

In 2010, mounting medical expenses and having to go down to a one income household forced us to declare bankruptcy and lose our home. As you can imagine, having a 4+ million dollar kid (total medical expenses….not our out-of-pocket) would bankrupt just about anyone.

Moving to a new home and getting rid of debt actually ended up being a HUGE weight off of our shoulders. We moved to a small one level home which was actually much easier with the oxygen lines. Noelle was no longer confined to the family room. With a 50 ft tube, she could now go in every room in the house, which gave her a new-found freedom and sense of independence!

However, Noelle remained a mystery in the eyes of medical professionals. Even for being a 24 weeker, most kids were able to wean off the oxygen by 2 years old. Now 4 years old, Noelle was still on a considerable amount of oxygen, still dependent on her feeding tube and not improving. We have been to local experts at Children’s National and Fairfax Hospital, as well as doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to try to figure her out. She still remains a mystery. Her future is a mystery….her personality however….is far from a mystery! Noelle is a spunky kiddo with a smile that would charm ANYONE!

In 2012, I decided I was absolutely done being fat and tired! I started The Grace & Strength Lifestyle and lost over 60lbs in 4 months. I have kept that weight off ever since and started to run and exercise! I really enjoy feeding my family good wholesome yet healthy meals, exercising and running and just finding a new me! I knew I was in there somewhere….it was great to finally see her again! Shortly after meeting my goal, I became a coach with Grace & Strength! Honestly, it is my perfect job! I can work from home or the hospital or any where that has wifi and still make a living and take care of my family! It is absolutely the perfect mix of what I had been praying about for so long.

2013 brings new challenges to our family. My husband had some liver disease issues from when he had childhood cancer. He went through 28 weeks of treatment. It was far from a walk in the park, however its done now!! His liver now looks better than ever! We continue to look for answers for Noelle’s issues. We will be back at Pittsburgh for more exams and tests soon. Andon is doing amazing in school and we have to look for ways to challenge him. As for me, I continue to take care of myself and my family to the best of my ability. I recently completed my first half marathon and I look forward to continuing on and completing other races and just being a healthy and happy momma.

Many people have suggested I write a blog about how I do everything that I do. Honestly, it just seems normal to me. At this point in my life, I can’t imagine living my life any other way. I’m a super busy momma who has the best friends and support system. Without that, I’d be lost! I look forward to starting a blog and helping people realize….after all, not all bad news is bad. What doesn’t kill you….makes you stronger! As Dory would say in Finding Nemo…..JUST KEEP SWIMMING!