The weeks are flying by! It was a SUPER cold week in chicago, but we managed to get out everyday to either walk, hang out with friends, or run errands. I have found ways to seriously bundle Maddie up to the point of wondering where she went:o) So even though it has been bitter it is always nice to get some fresh air and see the sunshine! A picture of us both taking a walk this week. That is a positive of our neighborhood is that you can walk every where and pop into a store to warm back up. My friend Christine has a 4 month old, so we took a walk 3 days this week and ran some errands together. Going to be our last winter in the city, which seems so weird to think about.

I forgot to give the news that Maddie's eye exam went so well. Her eyes were perfect and they see no problems. We will have to re-visit CMH in 1 to 2 years. The eye exam was totally different than the weekly ones when she came home from the NICU. No clamps to hold the eyes open, so she smiled and made her usual funny noises through the check-up.

Have a good weekend!

Power of Prayer

I love sharing stories of how God was there through everything that was happening with Maddie last year. I was remembering last year around this time my parents came to visit Maddie in the NICU. Starring into this glass incubator was this very tiny 2 pound baby hooked up to so many different monitors, and Iv's. It was a very scary and unknown time, so we spend lots of time in prayer asking God to watch over little Madeline's life and to send his angels to watch over her. During that visit we took lots of pictures with each of our hands around Madeline in her incubator. Right before my parents left the NICU to head back to Rockford my mom wanted one last picture. The last picture that was on her iphone was a picture of my mom with Madeline by her incubator. After my Parents left, Bob I spend some more time with Madeline just praying God would protect her. About an hour later I got a call from my mom telling me she was flipping through the pictures on her iphone, and the last picture on her phone was now a black and white sketch of an angel kneeling and praying. At the time I didn't quite understand and thought maybe it just looked like a picture of an angel but it really wasn't. So She sent it to me. This was the picture that somehow appeared on her phone-I was stunned to see that it was VERY Clearly a Picture of a kneeling angel. There were so many times like this where God just kept sending us signs that he was watching over Madeline during this time she was in the hospital. I am amazed by the power of praying, and will never forget all the things God did during this time. It truly is through struggles we grow so much more in Him, and rely on him the most. Those times were very, very tough, but I spend more time praying and relying on God more than I ever have. For that I can only be Thankful.

Some fun pictures:o)

Maddie's Birthday Weekend

It's my Birthday today!This balloon is bigger than I am!!Me and My ParentsIs this all for me?YUMMY!!!!Are we going out today?Yes, To the Aquarium!I think I like it!!
Quite A LOT actually!

1/13/09 Journal Entry

I have been meaning to look at my journal entries for quite some time from when I was in the hospital for those 3 weeks last year. I happened to open my journal and sure enough there was an entry dated 1/13/09; Here is what I wrote one year ago today:
"My grandpa had a VERY vidid dream that Jesus was holding baby Madeline in my uterus. Just picturing Jesus holding Madeline makes me cry and feel so much comfort knowing the Lord's hand is over her and that she is his child. This gives me comfort for when she is born that he is going to carry her through all the ups and downs and never let go of her. Thank you Jesus for loving Madeline more than I ever could, and knowing her future. Thank you God for sending me pictures that you are right there with her.I feel so much peace, and I am very thankful."

I am so glad that I journaled for those 3 weeks while in the hospital and also all 3 months she was in the NICU. Keeping a journal was a way for me to record all my feelings and focus on the positives when looking back at what the Lord did. It is amazing to see all the prayers God answered through very scary times of not knowing what was a head...

After my grandpa had that dream she was born 2 days later, on the 15th. What a comfort that he would have dreamt that just 2 days before. Pretty Incredible!

Just a little Update

I thought we would let you know how Maddie is adapting to her new prosthetic. It is actually something we are all getting used to. The morning after we got the prosthetic I completely forgot to put her arm on until later in the day. I imagine it will take a few weeks to make it part of our daily routine. When she does wear it, which is about 3 hours a day, she seems fine with it on and is able to move it fairly well. She looks at it as if to say, "what is this over here on my left side?" I am hoping to teach her how to use it to balance herself on furniture, but know this will take us all time to get used too. She is still scooting around the condo with or without her arm on, and continues to surprise us each day. This is such a fun age because their brains soak up so much and everything is new to them. I'll continue to keep you updated with pictures as well on how she is doing:o)

Maddie's Birthday is this coming friday, so that will be a very, very special day to celebrate! She is still a fighter 1 year later!

Have a good week!

Prosthetic Take Two!!!:o)

Today ended up going so well! We are very pleased with her prosthetic!!! It only weighs 5 ounces, which is 7 oz lighter than the previous arm. WOWZER!!!!!! I guess I won't be needing to take this one to the supermarket to weigh it:o) She is able to move it all the way up to chin level and it is much more proportionate to her other arm. Better skin color, weighs much less, less bulky, and all around BETTER!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! Here are some pictures of the new prosthetic:o)
Just sneaking around the corner
I thought this picture was so precious
"Hey look! I got a new arm!!"
On our car ride back home from the RIC. Once again a happy camper!!!!
Daddy and Maddie (For some reason she likes to sick her tongue out in almost every picture:o)
Mommy and Maddie
I wanted to show you a picture without her shirt on so you could see how much more proportionate it is than the last prosthetic.
What the prosthetic looks like
"I am such a big girl!!!"
Somehow I will train her to use her left arm to balance her weight, but I wanted to show you how well she stands up and plays with her toy.
WE are so HAPPY that RIC was able to make something SO MUCH better for Maddie. I feel so filled with JOY and SO THANKFUL!!! Thank you for all your prayers, as we know they were answered!!!! I think I just need to shout out a HALLELUJIAH!!!!

Matthew 7:7-8
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Picking up Prosthetic

Tomorrow we will be going back to the RIC for another visit to see the end result of her prosthetic. If you could just be praying for that visit we would really appreciate it. We are just praying that it will be something she can use, would be much less bulky, and lighter. We are very hopeful this time since they showed us some examples a week ago. We were pretty discouraged the time before, so I pray it would be a different experience tomorrow. I am excited to share the details and pictures with you tomorrow!

Little Blue Snowflake

"Currently in shock by this weather,
...but I'll roll with it."

Maddie on the GO!

She is a Mover, and very determinted to get to her destination! Today I found her in a ton of different places- Time to baby proof!