In this episode of Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected, Amanda sits down with Jasmine, a homeschooling mom and medical mother whose oldest daughter lives with Smith-Kingsmore syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that has brought significant medical challenges, developmental delays, feeding difficulties, and a severe seizure disorder.

Jasmine shares the story of her family, the journey toward receiving a diagnosis, and what life really looks like raising a child with complex medical needs. She opens up about the uncertainty, heartbreak, advocacy, and resilience that have shaped her family’s path.

In Part 1, we discuss:

• The dreams and expectations Jasmine had before motherhood
• The first signs that something might be different with her daughter
• The long road to receiving answers and a diagnosis
• What Smith-Kingsmore syndrome looks like in everyday life
• Navigating medical emergencies and ongoing care needs
• The realities of medical motherhood that many people never see
• Advocacy, resilience, and learning to adapt to the unexpected
• What she wishes doctors, therapists, educators, and others understood about families like hers

This conversation offers an honest look at life behind the appointments, therapies, hospital visits, and daily caregiving responsibilities that come with raising a medically complex child.

Join us next week for Part 2 as Jasmine shares more about her daughter beyond the diagnosis, sibling relationships, a second diagnosis in the family, and the hope that has carried them through some of their hardest seasons.

If this episode encouraged you, please follow, share, and leave a review to help more families discover stories of hope and resilience.

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After a two-week break from the podcast, I’m back with unexpected lessons from Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.

What started as a trip to support my children quickly became a powerful reminder of what it means to grow through challenges, face fears, embrace teamwork, and keep moving forward when things don’t go as planned.

In this episode, I’m sharing the behind-the-scenes reality of World Finals—the sacrifices, setbacks, victories, and moments of courage that most people never see. We’ll talk about confidence, resilience, medical motherhood, homeschooling, entrepreneurship, and why success isn’t always measured by trophies or outcomes.

Whether you’re raising children, navigating a medical journey, pursuing a dream, or simply trying to make it through a difficult season, this episode is a reminder that rising often happens long before anyone notices.

In this episode:• The hidden work behind every success story• What Odyssey of the Mind taught me about courage• Why confidence comes after action, not before• The power of teamwork and community• How growth can matter more than winning• What “rising through the unexpected” really means

If you’ve ever felt discouraged, overwhelmed, or uncertain about your next step, this episode is for you.

Because sometimes the greatest victory isn’t winning.

Sometimes the greatest victory is becoming the person who was brave enough to try.

As I watched students solve problems, overcome setbacks, and keep moving forward under pressure, I couldn’t help but see the same lessons I’ve learned through medical motherhood, NICU life, adoption, caregiving, and building Holyoaks Rise. Sometimes growth isn’t measured by the outcome. Sometimes it’s measured by who you’re becoming along the way.

This experience reminded me that resilience isn’t built when everything goes right. It’s built in the moments when things don’t go according to plan and you choose to keep showing up anyway.

Subscribe, follow, and share with someone who needs encouragement today.

Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected

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When we got married 16 years ago, we had plans.

What we didn’t plan for were five kids, a NICU journey, foster care, adoption, complex medical diagnoses, countless appointments, sleepless nights, unexpected detours, and all the ways life would rewrite our story.

In this special anniversary bonus episode, my husband and I sit down together to look back on sixteen years of marriage and the plot twists that shaped our family. We share funny memories, hard seasons, lessons learned, and the moments that reminded us that even when life doesn’t go according to plan, there is still joy to be found.

Whether you’re navigating marriage, parenting, medical challenges, adoption, or simply the unexpected turns life brings, we hope this conversation encourages you to keep showing up, keep loving well, and keep rising through the unexpected.

Because sometimes the best parts of the story are the chapters we never saw coming.

In this episode:• How our expectations compared to reality• The biggest plot twists of the last 16 years• Lessons we’ve learned about marriage through difficult seasons• Humor, survival mode, and finding joy in the chaos• Why we wouldn’t trade this journey for anything

If this episode resonates with you, please follow, share, and leave a review. It helps more families discover stories of hope and resilience.

Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected

Topics discussed include marriage, parenting, medical motherhood, NICU life, foster care, adoption, resilience, survival mode, family life, and navigating unexpected life challenges.

Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon

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For years, survival mode was necessary.

Medical motherhood, NICU life, caregiving, night shifts, trauma, responsibility, and simply trying to hold everything together can slowly become an identity. But what happens when you finally begin asking yourself who you are outside of survival?

In this deeply personal episode, I talk honestly about ambition, fear, vulnerability, healing, motherhood, identity shifts, and what it feels like to dream again after years of simply making it through hard seasons.

This episode explores:

● survival mode and emotional exhaustion

● medical motherhood and caregiver identity

● learning to hope again after trauma

● the fear of chasing dreams publicly

● rediscovering purpose after hardship

● healing beyond survival

● motherhood, resilience, and personal growth

If you’ve ever felt stuck in survival mode or wondered whether you’re allowed to want more from life after difficult seasons… this episode is for you.

Because surviving was important.But maybe surviving isn’t the end of your story.

Welcome to Holyoaks Rise — stories of rising through the unexpected.

For years, I was focused on getting through the next appointment, the next diagnosis, the next challenge. Somewhere along the way, survival became normal. This episode is a personal reflection on what happens when you finally have enough space to ask a new question: What do I want now? Wondering if I can dream again..

Topics discussed include medical motherhood, survival mode, caregiver burnout, identity after trauma, healing, resilience, personal growth, NICU life, and learning to dream again after difficult seasons.

Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon

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Rise Story

In 1987, the world held its breath as 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell 22 feet into a narrow well in Midland, Texas. For 58 hours, rescue crews dug through rock by hand while millions watched and prayed.

But this story isn’t only about a rescue.It’s about exhaustion. Fear. Human determination. Parents waiting helplessly. Rescue workers refusing to quit. And what happens when ordinary people rise in impossible moments.

In this episode of Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected, Amanda walks through the real timeline of Baby Jessica’s rescue, the emotional weight carried by her family, and the lessons medical moms and survival-mode families can recognize inside this unforgettable story.

This episode of Holyoaks Rise was inspired by publicly available historical reporting and research surrounding the 1987 rescue of Baby Jessica McClure in Midland, Texas.

Primary references include:

● Inside the Well: The Midland Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica by Donna Guthrie and Chip Hickey

● Archived news coverage from CNN, ABC, NBC, and local Texas reporting

● Public interviews with rescue personnel, family members, and medical teams involved in the event

● Historical timeline documentation and published rescue accounts available through public media archives

This episode is intended for storytelling, educational, and inspirational purposes. While every effort was made to present the events respectfully and accurately, portions of the episode may summarize or paraphrase publicly reported information for narrative flow.

Holyoaks Rise does not claim ownership of historical events, news facts, or quoted public statements referenced within the episode.

Topics Discussed

• Baby Jessica rescue

• Jessica McClure

• Midland, Texas rescue

• Crisis response

• Human resilience

• Community support

• Survival and hope

• Parenting through uncertainty

• Strength in adversity

• Rising through the unexpected

Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon

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Rise Story Series. In this episode, we’re talking about the life of Christopher Reeve—a man most people knew as Superman… until everything changed in a single moment.

After a devastating accident left him paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe, his life didn’t just shift—it completely reset.

This is the part of the story we don’t always know what to do with.

The part where survival doesn’t look strong.Where identity feels lost.Where “normal” never comes back.

But this episode isn’t just about what he lost.

It’s about what he built after.

From becoming one of the most powerful advocates for spinal cord injury research, to helping create the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, his life became something bigger than the one he had before.

This is a story about redefining strength.About rising in a way no one expects.And about what it really means to keep going when everything changes.

If you’ve ever felt like your life took a turn you didn’t choose…If you’ve ever wondered who you are on the other side of hard…

This episode is for you.

“This story is shared using widely known, publicly available information, told in a way that connects us to the meaning behind it—no formal citations needed.”

Topics Discussed

• Christopher Reeve

• Spinal cord injury

• Disability advocacy

• Identity after trauma

• Resilience and perseverance

• Life after catastrophic injury

• Caregiving and family support

• Purpose after loss

• Personal growth through adversity

• Rising through the unexpected

Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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Rise Series

What does Rising actually look like in medical motherhood?

Not the dramatic moments—but the everyday ones.

In this episode of Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected, I’m sharing what that season really looked like for me—the routines, the appointments, the court dates, and the quiet decisions I made without even realizing it.

This is a raw look at:

● The daily weight of medical motherhood

● Living on autopilot when your capacity is stretched thin

● Foster care and adoption—the emotional complexity no one prepares you for

● Showing up in court when you don’t feel equipped

● Choosing kindness in situations that aren’t simple

● And the moments I handled things I never thought I could

This episode isn’t about big, dramatic breakthroughs.

It’s about the quiet, steady kind of strength—the kind that looks like getting everyone where they need to be,asking questions you don’t feel ready to ask,and continuing to show up… even when you don’t feel strong.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re just going through the motions,just doing the next thing,just trying to hold everything together—

this episode is for you.

Because sometimes rising doesn’t look like overcoming.

Sometimes it looks like staying.

Topics Discussed

• Foster care

• Adoption journey

• Medical motherhood

• Caregiver resilience

• Parenting through uncertainty

• Court hearings and advocacy

• Identity and personal growth

• Family transitions

• Emotional resilience

• Rising through the unexpected

Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

You think rising comes after survival mode.

After the crisis.

After the fear.

After everything finally settles down.

But what if you are already rising?

In this episode of Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected, we’re redefining what “rising” actually means— because it’s not something that started when life gets easier.

It’s happening right in the middle of the hard.

Rising looks like… showing up when you’re exhausted.. making decisions you never thought you could handle.. learning, adapting and advocating in real time.. holding it together for your family— even when you feel like you are falling apart… becoming stronger without even realizing it.

If you’re stuck in survival mode right now, you might feel stuck. Like you’re just getting through the day.

But survival mode isn’t the absence of growth— it is were the deepest growth begins. Because rising isn’t a finish line you reach someday.

It’s something you are already doing— even if it doesn’t feel like it yet.

If you are in the middle of something heavy and wondering if you are “doing okay”.. this episode will help you see that you are.

Topics Discussed

* Survival mode

* Medical motherhood

* Emotional resilience

* Caregiver stress

* Parenting through crisis

* Growth during hardship

* Chronic illness parenting

* Identity and personal growth

* Finding strength in difficult seasons

* Rising through the unexpected