07/04/2026
Seventeen years ago today, evil walked through our front door.
On July 4, 2009, our family became the victims of a violent home invasion. In a matter of moments, everything changed. As a mother, there are no words to describe the horror of knowing your child experienced something no child ever should. The fear, the helplessness, and the overwhelming uncertainty of what the future would hold are feelings that never completely disappear.
For a long time, I wondered if life would ever feel normal again.
I don't share this story to relive that night. I share it because I've seen what hope, healing, and an incredible community can do, and I want every family walking through trauma to know that healing is possible.
Over the past seventeen years, I've learned something incredibly powerful...
Hope is stronger than fear.
Hope doesn't erase what happened.
It doesn't change the past.
But hope gives us the courage to keep moving forward, even when the road ahead feels impossible.
Watching Kodee find the strength to heal has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Her courage has never been about pretending she wasn't afraid. It has been about choosing, day after day, to keep going anyway.
From that night, and from one little girl's courage to keep moving forward, Marley's Mission was born.
None of us could have imagined that one child's healing journey would become a place of healing for thousands of others.
What began from one family's tragedy has grown into a place where thousands of children have begun healing from their own trauma. Every child who walks through our gates carries a story. Every child has faced something they never should have. Yet every week, I witness incredible bravery as they choose to trust again, to laugh again, and to believe that tomorrow can be better than yesterday.
Our horses don't erase trauma.
Our therapists can't change the past.
But together, they create a space where healing can begin.
People often tell me they can't imagine how we got through that night.
The truth is... we didn't get through it alone.
One of the greatest gifts in my own healing journey has been this community. Marley's Mission would not exist without the people who believed in us when all we had was hope. Whether you've donated, volunteered, attended an event, shared our story, prayed for us, or simply encouraged us along the way, you have been part of something so much bigger than you may ever realize.
Because of you, children who have experienced the unimaginable are finding hope again.
Seventeen years ago, I wondered if my daughter would ever truly heal.
Today, Kodee serves as the Barn Manager and an Equine Specialist at Marley's Mission. Watching her help children facing many of the same fears and challenges she once faced is something I could never have imagined seventeen years ago. Every day, she reminds them, not with words, but with compassion, understanding, and hope, that healing is possible.
That, to me, is the greatest testimony of all.
That's the power of hope.
That's the power of community.
If you believe every child deserves the chance to heal, I invite you to stand with us. Whether you make a donation, volunteer your time, become a monthly supporter, attend an event, or simply share our mission, you become part of a child's healing journey.
Together, we can ensure that every child who walks through the gates of Marley's Mission knows they are safe, they are loved, and they are never alone.
Seventeen years ago, evil walked through our front door. Today, because of all of you, children walk through the gates of Marley's Mission and find hope every single day.
❤️ At Marley's Mission, we believe that hope is always possible, healing is always possible, and no child should ever have to walk through trauma alone. Thank you for helping us make that belief a reality every single day.
