At Home in the Mountains

It all started the Saturday before Thanksgiving when Aaron roasted a deer shoulder. Matt, Brittany, Rachel, and Dr. Griffith joined us for dinner and we had birthday cake for Rachel. Aaron announced at the meal that this was the official beginning to six weeks of gorging ourselves and sadly, I think he was right. We had a great time that evening and it was good to get to spend some time with Matt and Brittany before they head out to California. Maddy joined right in the gorging along with everyone else. This is not on the same night if anyone was concerned. Maddy loves!!!! ice cream. Monday before T-day Aaron and I went to the Russell Perry dinner, a fund-raiser for DBU. We are normally too poor to go to this but we've been invited to a table that someone else has paid for every year. Aaron loves going to this dinner. It is very dressy and yes I wore the bridesmaids dress from Ethan and Jenna's wedding. I love that it is a dress you can actually use for something besides being ...

I'm sure that everyone has a day that marks the point when "nothing would ever be the same again". For me that is today, November 18th, and it's always a day of mixed feeling for me. Our family has been so blessed by Maddy, yet on this day there is always a little bit of sadness swirled in with the joy. November 18th is the day that we found out that our life with our baby was not going to be "normal". However, I don't think that I'm reminded of this day every year so I can feel sorrowful and regretful that things didn't turn out how I planned. I think that God has given me this day so that I can look back on it as a marker of his direct and incredible action in our lives. Having a special needs child is difficult to deal with--that is a fact that can't be glossed over--but it is also an incredible blessing. Through Maddy, God has revealed so much to me and Aaron about what is important in life, about trusting him, and about really truly livi...

This week is packed with doctor appointments but the two biggies are out of the way. Yesterday we went to the ENT. We found out that Maddy has fluid on her right ear. He thought it was not infected yet but is giving antibiotics to clear it up because he doesn't want it to progress to something worse. We will check up next month to make sure the ear is clear. Be praying about that because if it's not we'll probably have to do a tube again. Today we went to the appointment with the neurosurgeon in Ft. Worth. Maddy's MRI looks just the same as it did last year. That means her condition is stable and since she doesn't seem to be exhibiting any symptoms of tethered spinal cord we will do another MRI and another follow-up in one year. So that is a big praise. There is still nothing on the MRI that is showing why her spinal cord is lower than it should be. So we will just keep praying about that and see how God works. Tomorrow we have physical therapy and then on Thursday ...

Likes spaghetti and pizza... Thinks that the wipes dispenser is a chair just her size... Is sure she knows how to tape her own foot to get ready for bed... Is the cutest, most precious little girl in the world!

So I try not to complain about my life on this blog, because really I'm blessed beyond measure. I debated venting on here but I think it's good to sometimes share frustrations just so everyone knows that other people are human too. So don't feel obligated to read my gripe session. It's just time to vent. So frustration came to the boiling over point at OT today. Maddy always does great and her therapist is great, but today she comes out and tells me that Maddy's hands aren't doing as good as they have been and that her hips are tight. We were doing great on hip stretching this summer when we had the pool. Maddy loved leaning over the side of the pool to try and grab the grass and while she was working on that I'd stretch her hips. Now it is too cold, there is no pool, and Maddy can now run away from me when she doesn't want to do something so how am I supposed to incorporate hip stretching back into the routine? Also her hands have gotten a bit tighter b...

We went camping this weekend! Aaron and I haven't been camping since 2007 when we hiked the Grand Canyon (just sad) and Maddy has never been camping so it was a great weekend. Maddy is a great little camper. She ate good the whole time and enjoyed constantly being outside. We went with a group from our church so there were tons of other kids for her to play with. I also had the best Saturday afternoon nap in recent memory. It was great and the weather was perfect. Sorry some of these pictures are so tiny. Loving the balloon from Ms. Shea. Wagon fun with friends. Maddy finally discovers how to get some juice out of the juice box. Nope, sadly the sunset didn't really look quite this unusual. Just my weird camera. Junk food. Mmmm mmmm good! What else are you going to eat when you camp? We went out to Penn Farm which was this cool farm from the 1800's that is in the park we camped in. They had walking trails and you could see all the old buildings and machinery. Wiped out!

We had lots of activity Halloween weekend... but first wanted to share a few pics just from in general. Our garden has been producing a ridiculous amount of peppers! The stander also makes a great chair for watching TV. Maddy got new pjs. So cute! The horsey is the toy of the month she can get on and off pretty much by herself. A tired girl who does not want to go to bed. Maddy has started being kind of prissy lately. It cracks me up. Used to if she had anything around her neck or on her head she would throw a fit. Well Friday she decided that she wanted to wear my necklace. She wore it until she went to bed. The next day she requested that I put a green bow on her head. Really funny to me. Jack carving. Jack #1 Jack #2 And Jack # 3 Tam, Tric, and I carved these to greet the students that Aaron invited over for dinner on Saturday. We had 6 show up. I made brisket, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, salad, and caramel pecan apple pie. Tric made fun of me for subscribing to the Taste o...