At Home in the Mountains

Well, the whole week was just a little crazy. Instead of describe it all, I just put the craziest highlights into a time line. A very incomplete time line. It doesn't include Aaron's final schedule, routine doctor appointments, or activities we did catching up with friends. We did our Christmas last night. We wanted to give Maddy a few days to play with what she got from us before we leave, and I am thinking that we'll take down the tree BEFORE we leave this year. Otherwise, it is just going to be too big of a mess. Anyway, Maddy did her first trip to the ER last night. While opening presents, we had one that had plastic zip ties that needed to be cut off. Aaron got the pocket knife and was working on them. Maddy was watching him. I had gotten up to go to the kitchen or do something for just a minute so I didn't see the incident, but suddenly heard Maddy wailing. Tammy and Aaron said she got cut so we ran to the bathroom for tissue, rubbing alcohol and bandaids. It ...

Okay so I am excited that our Christmas tree is up, Christmas lights are up,Christmas cards are close to being mailed out, Christmas parties are at hand, and the countdown to Christmas on the Advent Calendar is well underway, but so far, the highlight of the season for me, is that finals are complete! I don't know why (since I only had a total of 19 students between two classes), but this semester was particularly hellacious (spelling? spell check doesn't recognize this word. so is it not a word or have I butchered the spelling that bad? hhmmmm. might be explaining some of my struggles as an english teacher this semester). I think a lot of it was the marathon Saturday classes and that that class was a new prep and I had to spend hours and hours and HOURS preparing for the class. I felt in over my head on that one for sure. Regardless the reason for my stress this semester, I am ready for a little peace on earth, a slow down, a time to focus on the" reason for the season...

If any of us wanted decent hair for our picture after our White Rock runs yesterday, White Rain was probably our only chance. :) That stuff probably wouldn't have even held up in the pouring rain and cold we had for the race. The race experience was great this year despite the rain and cold. Janet, Rachel, Tammy, Raya, and Nat made up a family relay team, Jessica, Tricia, and I ran the half marathon, and Aaron ran the marathon. Aaron also organized two student relays and for the first time ever in the history of having student relay teams, BOTH teams finished and got their finisher shirts and medals. No one missed the buses to the relay spots or missed the person handing off to them. Maddy got to attend the race for the first time and hang out with Uncle David. He was very gracious to watch her while we all ran. Sadly, things did not go as smoothly post race. Before the race Aaron had brought a box for people to put sweats or whatever in that they didn't want to carry. Why ...

Showing off her craft night art work Huge pot of white chili I made for the homecoming chili cook off at DBU. It was the month of turkeys.....turkey cards, turkey trots, turkey eating. We had turkey twice because Aaron wanted me to cook one that was in our freezer and then we had turkey at Mema's house. I used to get tired of turkey but I actually really like it now. I made all kinds of turkey soups and casseroles out of the leftover turkey we had here at home. Maddy loved making hand turkeys...you know the ones where you trace your hand and then color it like a turkey. Maddy also discovered that she is a fan of pumpkin pie. Oh! We also had turkey for our church's thanksgiving meal the Sunday before Thanksgiving so make that triple turkey dinners for us this month. I thought of that because I was telling Maddy what we were going to have for lunch: "turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and stuffing..." and Maddy piped up at the end and said ...

Every year on this day I reflect back on the day when our doctor called us into his office and told us Maddy wasn't going to make it. I also reflect on God's grace, mercy, and healing for Maddy. I also reflect on God's grace and for me and Aaron and his blessing of giving us a gift beyond what we could have asked for or imagined. About a month or so ago we talked about making decisions and pursuing our goals and dreams in one of our Sunday school classes. Most of us agreed that the percentage of people who actually get to fulfill what they dream of is very low. There are so many dreams that go unfullfilled for so many reasons. However, this class also made me realize how amazing it is that when we trust in God we often get something so much better than we ever dreamed, even if it doesn't seem like it right away. Having a child with arthrogryposis certainly wansn't my dream for my life. (It certainly wasn't a nightmare either. I didn't even know it existed ...

With Thanksgiving and the Christmas season fast approaching, my mind has been on all the great food that goes along with the season. As a young child, I was the beneficiary of all the great cooking and candy making done by my Mom, Mema, Grandma, and even people from church. These days I still look forward to eating my Mom's homemade peppermint patties or my Mema's legendary homemade rolls, but my mind also dwells on food because I'm now responsible for preparing meals and treats for my own family. Another thing I think about is all the wonderful family celebrations centered around special meals that we had growing up. My mom always cooked a birthday dinner for each one of us. We would get to request whatever we wanted and she would make it. I never remember going to a restaurant or even ordering pizza for a birthday while growing up. I think my bother and sisters and I would have been offended if my mom would have suggested restaurant food instead of her delicious home coo...

October was a crazy month. Between school, Aaron, Tammy, and I all getting sick and losing our voices at the same time, The World Series, and Halloween, the month flew by. Maddy was the cutest Minnie Mouse ever for Halloween. We took her to a trunk or treat at a church within walking distance of our house. This Halloween it all clicked for Maddy. We stopped at a couple of houses in the neighborhood on the way over (ones that people were already sitting outside and we didn't have to knock). That got her warmed up enough to the idea of what trick or treat was about that by the time we got to the trunk or treat she was ready to go. She would stop at each car to get candy and grab her treat bag and open it up wide for the person to put the candy in. They also had a place where you could get you picture with Yoda. Maddy had no fear of all the different costumes we saw or spooky decorations we passed walking over to the church but she was terrified of Yoda. We put her on a bench in f...

If Maddy had an advice column, here are some of the things she'd tell you: Eat what you want for breakfast. Recent breakfast requests from Maddy have included: marshmallows, mac n cheese, and Gatorade. The all time most disgusting request, however was fish sticks.  Well....fish sticks are healthy so she got 'em for breakfast. Just as long as I don't have to eat them for breakfast (which she tired to encourage me to do) I'm fine with it. Give equal treatment to all. Maddy's idea of equal treatment is that we all have to do the same thing, wear the same thing, or go the same place at the same time. One day Maddy, Seal (the cat), and I all had to wear bibs. Today Maddy, a stuffed dog, and I all had to wear headbands, or, as Maddy likes to call them "rubber bands". She also gets very upset if we go on a walk or a run without the dogs. They are lucky to have her for their advocate. If your at a loss for something to watch "Frosty the Snowman"...

 I love fall! I used to be a bigger fan of summer when we lived in Colorado but I have always liked fall and it has definitely risen to the top of my favorite season list since moving to Dallas. Fall means that I actually can go outside and enjoy being outside again. That is especially a relief after this summer. It is so great to be able to take Maddy on a walk in the middle of the day if I want to....and it's a great way to get her to take a nap without a big wrestling match. Fall also means the Texas State Fair, which means all the fried food you can eat, fun with family, and lots of fun animal shows to entertain the two kids--I mean the kid and the kid at heart when it comes to animals.. I usually spend some of the fall season missing the crisp air a beautiful changing colors in Colorado, but this year we actually got to go back to visit Aaron's family for fall break so we got to have a little taste of that as well. Here are some great pictures from our fair ...

Maddy is getting much more adventurous in the way she gets around. This video shows how much she had improved in walking since the beginning of the summer. Maddy also started swim therapy yesterday. She had a great time. She is so small they had to put floaties on her arms a floatie around her waist and then put weights on her ankles so she wouldn't tip over. They played all kinds of games in the pool and the therapists were so impressed with how confident she was in the water. By the end of the session she had almost gotten the hang of balancing herself upright in the water without the weights on her ankles. We'll do swim therapy every other week. I think it will be great for her. Maddy is doing great with language skills and also developing quite an imagination. Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping. On the way in we saw a bird in the parking lot. Maddy told me, "That bird's going grocery shopping." Hilarious! She is also great at re...

On Wednesday morning a trauma patient arrived at the Fletcher Hospital E.R. Maddy Fletcher, M.D., the doctor on duty, quickly bandaged the patient, Minnie Mouse, and administered medication.  Minnie was sent to recovery for a few hours where she was issued standard hospital garments. Sorry Minnie but they don't make hospital garments in extra extra tiny. Minnie was given another dose of medicine and an outlet cover. Maybe her accident had something to do with an unfortunate encounter with electricity?  Minnie was then transferred to.....?  Oh my! This doesn't look good for Minnie. Is this the hospital morgue?  Oh! Ha ha! Thank goodness. Minnie was just being measured for a bed. A perfect fit!  Minnie was then taken to some kind of play therapy session. In this picture the therapist offers Minnie an orange plastic fish and instructs her, "Grab this. Try to grab it."  Minnie is taken from play therapy to ICU (right outside the door) to spe...