Alex and Maddy

Saturday, December 21, 2019

So much to be thankful for!

I was going to say that I wasn't sure how a month had gone by since I last updated, but as we all know at this time of the year, time seems to fly by. We have stayed incredibly busy with some fun and some medical.  I will start with the fun and then update on the medical stuff for the kids.

November 21st was Maddy's last day of school before Thanksgiving break. As is tradition at her school she had her Thanksgiving Feast. I have loved to watch her little class this year. There are only 13 of them and they truly love each other. That was so clear during the feast as they were all smiles and hugs.









On the 23rd we were lucky enough to go see Frozen 2 which we all loved. The week of Thanksgiving was mostly quiet and just enjoying time together as a family which included a Nerf war and walking the dogs.



And of course there was also Horseback riding!

And doesn't everyone dress up as Rudolph on Thanksgiving day?
On December 3rd, Gramma and Grampa (Bruce's parents) came for a visit! We had fun and crammed lots of activities into the days we had together. We went out to eat, went to horseback riding, a Celebrity Cutting event and Saddle up with Santa and squeezed in some playtime at home.

























On December 11th, Alex had the amazing opportunity to film a commercial for Cook Children's. He had so much fun and everyone involved were incredible!



And there was more horseback riding...

And Cuddling...

And ballet...



This past Tuesday Maddy had her Christmas Performance and party.







Wednesday we had an ice cream date with Mrs. Mitchell and she came to watch Maddy Horseback ride.




Phew...Told you we have been busy. It has been a fun few weeks and we truly do have so much to be thankful for. We look around and see so many blessings...from teachers and friends and family members who love us to family members who helped financially so we could ensure that bills were paid and the kids are able to have an Amazing Christmas.

Medically it has been a mixed bag. Alex has not had his best few weeks. He is having increased GI pain which then sets off other issues liked increase problems with his adrenal insufficiency and hypertension. But we are able to see all the ways we are in a better place then other times and for that we are grateful. Maddy has been doing well overall. The only issue is that we think her knee issues may be worsening quicker then we had hoped. She has fallen multiple times and it appears that her knee may be giving out on her. We will reassess once we get through the holiday season. We saw our GI yesterday and had a really productive appt for both kids. We have some medications we may try with Alex as we are hoping we can get his pain to a lower, more tolerable level. We are also going to do a dexa scan to check bone density. For my Maddy Moo, we are adjusting one medication and potentially adding another for help with her reflux and constipation. We also need to do some further testing on her liver to assess the Fatty Liver Disease that was discovered this summer.

As we go into the next week, my prayer is that you can look around and see all the blessings in your life. That create memories with family and friends and that you begin  next year full of hope for all of the adventures to come. I know we are!

Thank you for being a part of our story and reminding us daily of the love that surrounds us.

Ali

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

A lull in the craziness and Good News

The last few weeks we have had some much needed quiet times! After the absolute craziness of October and the first week of November, the last two weeks have been much slower. I so desperately needed the physical and mental break. We have had school, ballet, horseback riding and acting, but not much else! Here are a few pictures of the past few weeks:

Maddy with her AMAZING teachers!

Riding backwards


Seeing Frozen

Zoey the bed hog

Mad and Rebel

Sassy Pants

Now for our exciting news! Bruce accepted a job yesterday as a Construction Project Manager. We have prayed for an opportunity to open up that would get him out of sales and the instability that is so often a part of that industry. We are so grateful for this change. He will start after the first of the year.

Thank you to everyone who has stood beside us so faithfully in prayer. 
Ali

Monday, November 4, 2019

Happy 6th Birthday, Maddy!

I have never not posted a message to my kids on their birthday, but this year we celebrated Maddy for days so I am finally getting around to my blog post!

To my precious Maddy Moo-



You my love are joy. Your smile and your giggle are infectious. You love to be my helper. some days you make me crazy, but just when I am getting so frustrated you are quick to tell me you love me and that I am the best mother. I have loved watching you grow this year. You are getting more confident. You are a loyal friend. You are kind. You love to learn and are starting to read and write. You still love ballet, but this year we have discovered how very much you love horses and horseback riding. You get to the Stables and you come alive. You make everyone around you happy with your love of animals. You are so very brave my sweet girl. Continue to shine your light and you will go far.
I love you, my princess.
Mommy

Now back to the fun...This summer we happened to be at Mimi and PopPop's house for Alex's birthday. Maddy was so sad that Alex got to be with Mimi on his birthday and she didn't. So Mimi planned to surprise Mad for her birthday.  Wednesday Alex and I headed to the airport without telling Maddy. We put Mimi at the front door and went in through the garage like normal. We called Maddy down and told her that we thought there was a package out front. Maddy opened the door and was so excited to see "the best birthday present"!

Thursday was a full day with a costume parade at school, a class party and trick or treating!

Maddy and Mrs Kimble

Maddy and Brooke

Maddy and Mrs. Mitchell

Maddy and Mrs. Zorich

Becca, Brooke and Maddy

Costume Parade

Maddy and Mimi at School

BFF's




Rosalie, Maddy and Brooke


Maddy and Mrs. Wildeman
After school we had to do our 6 year old pictures with our pumpkin!




Friday was a special day as we headed to the American Girl Doll Store!




Saturday was her birthday party with friends!








Today finished out the fun as she celebrated at school! Whew! What a whirlwind. We were sad to say goodbye to Mimi, but it sure was a fun 5 days!

One quick medical update...Maddy had her appt with the Knee Specialist/Surgeon this afternoon. The good news is we can just watch for now. The bad news- He expects it to get worse and the surgery will be more extensive then we hoped when it is time. We are hoping we can hold off a long time before we need to do it!

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate my sweet girl this week!
Ali