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

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

A Hard Week

This last two weeks has been a hard few weeks for me. I usually am pretty good about seeing the positive and keeping a smile on my face, but this week has been a test for sure.

As many of you know Bruce's company went through a restructuring and eliminated his position as of September 30th. This came as a complete shock to us. Over the past week we also realized that the way they handled his severance made the road much more difficult for us financially. We also have to keep COBRA until we have other insurance coverage. COBRA is $2000/month! Please continue to pray for us as we struggle through this period and if you have any leads, we would appreciate a heads up. A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already reached out with encouragement or job possibilities. It is SO very appreciated. We have felt the love.

Maddy was sick for a bit this last couple weeks, but we did manage to fit in some fun.

We have been getting to the Therapy Center early each week so Maddy can help groom and tack Rebel.

Immediately after getting off Rebel, Maddy said she didn't feel well. By the time we got home her temp was 104.1!

She was happy when she felt well enough to go back to school!

Maddy and her BFF! They have the most special relationship.

Bruce and I were invited to attend the Cook Children's Celebration of Generosity. It was amazing to be there to celebrate all the people who give so generously so my kids have an amazing hospital where they are well cared for and so loved. 

We finished out the week with both kids doing what they love most...Maddy spending time with her friends and Alex meeting with other gamers to raise money for Cook Children's through Extra Life.

Alex is 2 weeks away from game day. He has accepted that he will not make his goal this year, but he is still trying to raise as much as possible. If you would like to donate, please click here

Anyone who knows us, knows that our nurses are like family to us. Erin stopped working last October right before Greyson was born. While we don't get to see each other for many hours a week anymore, we have remained the best of friends. Yesterday we joined Erin and Evan and their family to celebrate Greyson's birthday!

After the last few weeks today was a day for lounging and relaxing and regrouping before we take on the upcoming week...

Not only a service dog, also a foot rest

Sweet Mia turned 7 yesterday

Thank you to our friends and family who love us and give us hope to continue moving forward even when life tries to knock us down. We are so lucky to have so many amazing people in our life.

Ali