Madison

Madison has had a great day! She is eating food, and she is out of the ICU. Here is a picture taken before the accident. Isn't she beautiful? She's a mini supermodel. Please continue to pray for her speedy recovery.

New Madison Update

Madison is doing really well! She is so brave, and she has been asking for red Jell-O. She is going to have to wear this halo for a couple of months as her neck heals. But friends, she is doing better than anyone could have ever expected, and I know it is because of your prayers!

Fall Festival

Our preschool had a festival for the kids. It was a lot of fun. We were so busy with the activities that we didn't take many pictures. There was a petting zoo in the parking lot! There was a bounce house and a hay ride. Each classroom had different activities. Preston won the costume contest for his age group. Maddie wasn't interested in participating. I made Preston's Peter Pan costume, and honestly, it was kind of pitiful. I made it too small, so I had to cut the back open to squeeze him in it. He chewed on his sword all night, and everybody thought he was Robin Hood. He was still very cute. I'll get more pictures tomorrow.

The bean bag toss

Tink practicing her "trick or treat"

So by now you know we enjoy the zoo. Detroit actually has a great zoo. There were so many animals that our local zoo doesn't have. The weather was a little better on Sunday.

They were getting ready for Boo at the Zoo.

A wall of ice to melt your handprint on.

The polar bears were our favorite!

Rhinos

The tiger kept his eyes on us.

This big boy has two teeth!! He just turned 5 months old.

Papa finally got to meet Preston.

Me and Uncle Bob

Uncle Doug by the big wheel

Carla, Baby Noah, and Maddie

Marty at the cider mill.

Maddie enjoyed watching the men make the cider.

Feeding the apple donuts to the ducks.

She's in there...I think.

Michigan

We took a long weekend trip to Michigan to visit some of Marty's family. Yes, we drove. No airline would let us on a plane with the load of stuff we would need for a 2 year old and a 5 month old. The kids were excellent! Maddie told us when she needed to go potty (not one accident!!) and when she was hungry. Preston slept a lot, but he did great when he was awake.

Maddie Grace helping daddy with the luggage

Bundled baby

Let me just tell you, it was cold. My poor kids couldn't move by the time I wrapped them up to go outside.

Madison Update

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Madison. Thank you for passing her name on to your prayer groups. I am convinced that God has big plans for this little girl. She had surgery to fuse her neck today. The neurosurgeon was pleased and said they needed to wait and see if she could move her legs. Well...they went to check on her and she had pulled her legs up as if she were sitting indian style! She is still in the halo, and she has a long road to recovery.

We can praise our Lord that Madison is alive. We can praise Him that He has a future for her. He is sovereign, and we have to trust in the most difficult times.

Pray for Madison

Many of you know our friends Trent and Christa, and their little boy Bryson. Yesterday morning, Christa's sister-in-law, niece, and nephew were in a horrible car accident. Their car was the only one involved. It was caused by something that all of us parents have done a thousand times...Christa's sister-in-law glanced back to her kids who were picking at each other. She veered off the road, and her SUV flipped 3 times. Ross, who is 2, is okay. Christa's sister-in-law has a broken disc in her back, but she has been released from the hospital. Madison, who just turned 5, received the worst injuries. Her neck is completely broken from her skull. Only muscle and tendons held her head to her body. She has a lacerated liver and a small bleed in her head. The neurosurgeon said she should not be alive due to her neck injuries. A truck driver saw their SUV upside down, and if he hadn't gotten Madison out and layed her on her back, she would not be alive. To make matters worse, Christa's father is a paramedic, and he was called to the accident scene not knowing that it involved his grandchildren and daughter-in-law. Can you imagine how he felt? Madison was air-lifted to a hospital an hour and a half away. Her mom and brother were taken to the local hospital. Madison has been put in a halo to prevent her from moving her head and neck, and she is sedated and on a ventilator. The neurosergeon is going to try to perform a fusion today on her neck and skull. She is able to move her arms and legs, which is an absolute miracle. Please pray for Madison to fully and quickly recover. Please pray for her mother. I cannot imagine the guilt that she is burdened with. This could happen to any of us at any time. I can't count how many times I have reached back to pick up Maddie's sippie cup that fell or the times I have tried to give Preston his paci. Please keep them in your prayers. I will keep you updated.

So this started out as my kids "playing together". I'm unloading the dishwasher and I look over, and Maddie has taken hold of the yellow teether sticking up and starts running around the exersaucer. Poor Preston looks like he's in a washing machine on the spin cycle. And he's cracking up! The 2nd picture clearly shows that Maddie knew better than to do this, and P is mad that she stopped!

Here's MG saying "sorry", which I'm sure she's not. P is still mad.

By the way, he has slept 6 of the last 7 nights!!! Yay! Thank you for your prayers!

yep...we went to the zoo again

Maddie Grace talks non-stop about the animals at the zoo. We had a quick girls trip this weekend with Mamaw and Hailey. Our days of warm weather are numbered, so we are making the most of the ones we have left.



The boys stayed home and watched football!!

My mommy keeps sticking a paci in my mouth, but I am going to be a thumbsucker like my sissy!

Maddie's 1st prayer

Tonight when I tucked Maddie Grace in, I layed next to her to say our bedtime prayer. She told me that she wanted to say it. I held her hand and closed my eyes. This was her prayer: "Thank you for make-up. Thank you for everything. Amen. We love you Jesus." I have to believe that Jesus enjoyed that as much as I did.

Watching Dora together.

Back to the patch!

Mamaw, Papaw, and Hailey came for a visit!! We took them to the Pumpkin Patch. The weather sure has cooled down since last week! It was quite crowded today, but we had a great time.

Waiting for our turn on the hay ride.

When our hay ride ended, Maddie screamed "we made it!"

Thank you Aunt Anya for my puppy dog hat.

Fall festivities

Halloween is my least favorite holiday. I don't like spooks or creepy things. I don't like the sense of evil that is associated with the day. However, I do enjoy dressing up my kids and the dog. Neighbors have told us that Halloween is a big deal in our new neighborhood. I want Maddie to have fun, but I have been very careful in picking decorations. I found this great pair of shoes to use as our candy bowl. Look at my giggly boy.

Our 1st lawn art. My mom will appreciate this picture. I remember coming home from high school one day to find these 2 huge Christmas light covered moving reindeer in our yard. I was mortified! I took them down and tried to hide them from my mom. I begged her not to put them out. I have hated "lawn art" ever since. Well, my little ones have apparently made me a little more relaxed about the subject, but there will be no riendeer in our yard this Holiday season!

Making pumpkin and spider suckers with Olivia. I think Maddie squeezed more in her mouth than she did in the trays.

Enjoying their hard work