Happy 8th Birthday, Maddy Moo!

 

Oh my precious Madelyn Paige...

How, oh how, are you 8? You my sweet girl are a precious gift from God. When we decided to grow our family and give Alex a sibling we never could have guessed he would surprise us with a red headed firecracker on Halloween. But boy did he know what we needed. You bring so much joy and spunk to our days. You make us laugh. We never know what you might say at any given moment. You are the hardest worker. Life has not been easy for you. Your body betrays you so often and yet you continue to push yourself to accomplish amazing things. I have loved watching you over this past year. You are no longer a baby, but a lovely little girl. You love school and your friends, but mostly your horses and your afternoons riding at Victory Therapy Center.  I have loved watching your faith grow. You are such a beautiful girl, both inside and out and I love you so much!

Mommy

A Super Busy Month

 The last few weeks have gone by in a blur! We have been extremely busy with school, dog training, horseback riding, ballet, art and doctors appointments. Every year I say the same thing...People talk about how busy they are from Thanksgiving to Christmas. For me it is the weeks leading up to Halloween! A Halloween birthday makes for a crazy October, but we wouldn't trade it for anything!

Hart's first trip to the lab!

We are still working on sorting out Maddy's dizzy spells and how best to treat them. Sweet girl is dizzy several times most days and gets extremely pale each time, but she continues to persevere and find a way to live her best life. 

She has had Storybook Character Day at school as well as school pictures. She has the best teacher who she loves dearly!

She has been working hard training with Hart and he is about to do his public access test. They are doing amazing and he continues to try and please. It is HARD work to train a service dog and she has been committed to training almost every Saturday for the past year. Being ready for the public access test is a huge milestone and a testament to their work.

At horse back riding, Maddy has been preparing for a virtual show. Her first time competing independently! She videoed her Western Trail Pattern last Friday and did an amazing job. She will video her English pattern this week. 

We also had our big fundraiser at Victory Therapy Center and Maddy baked a cake, helped with the raffle and sold bracelets. It was a fun night for all! Victory Therapy Center means so much to us. There is so much love for my girl and all the riders. I love that we get to help at their biggest fundraiser!

Please continue to pray for my girl as we try and get her back to feeling better! Please also pray for continued good health for Alex!

Thank you,

Ali

This is the last week of Alex's fundraiser! He is $1700 from reaching his goal. Any little amount you can give will get him closer. Alex's Extra Life Fundraiser

Hard week

 This week has been a rough week especially for my Maddy Moo. However, so often when times are tough, I can so clearly see how very loved we are and how blessed we are by the people in our life.

For almost a year, Maddy has had periods of feeling lightheaded or dizzy, getting very pale and sometimes nauseous. This past week the episodes of dizziness have been unrelenting. We are working with a number of doctors to try and figure out what is going on and how we can best treat Maddy. Both my children have been so lucky to have incredible adults who have mentored them, coached them, loved them throughout their lives. That was never more evident than this week as I watched three incredible women rally around Maddy to allow her to still safely participate in the activities she so dearly loves. And speaking of that little red head, she has a determination and a fiery spirit that is often hidden under her shy demeanor. I watched her push herself this week to participate in life when most of us would have chosen to just lie in the bed feeling bad. I am awed at times as I watch my children live with  strength of character and perseverance that most people (myself included) do not possess. 

To say Maddy is loving school would be an understatement. She is absolutely thriving and tells me every time I pick her up how amazing her day was. I have loved watching her enjoy this time. We went on a field trip with some of her classmates to the pumpkin patch on Friday! It was fun to see her enjoy time with her new friends.

On the Hayride

Waiting

Maddy with Brookelyn and Julia

In Jail

Waiting on the train ride

While Maddy has had a rough go, Alex has been feeling pretty good! He continues to finish up his last couple of electives before graduation. He is also in his last few weeks before his biggest fundraiser of the year, Extra Life. Speaking and Fundraising for Cook Children's and Children's Miracle Network has given Alex a sense of purpose and something that makes him feel like his struggles are worth it. Combining gaming with this passion makes this time his very favorite time of year! Last night he got to attend an event and game a little, as well as speak about how much it means to give back. Love this boy and his amazing heart! Here is the link to his Extra Life page if you want to help him reach his goal. 

Alex and DeMarcus Ware

Erin introducing Alex

Alex doing his thing

Of all the things I am grateful for, one of the absolute tops is having Mimi and PopPop here. My mom and I are extremely close. We used to count down the time until we could see each other again, usually every 3-4 months if not longer. Now we see each other more days than not and it is nothing for the kids to ask to pop in for a quick hug or to just say hi. I love that we get to do life together. One of the gifts I gave her for her 70th birthday was a family photo shoot. We finally got around to doing it and the results were awesome! (Thank you Tina!) Here are a few of those pictures.

Thank you to all of you who love on our family and stand with us through the hard times and the good times. I am so very grateful for you. Thank you for continuing to pray for my sweet girl as we figure out how to get her back to feeling better!

Ali