Maddy's Dedication

In case you missed it on Facebook, I'm posting the link to view Maddy's dedication on Sunday. Thank you, Jed, for capturing the moments for us. If you don't want to see the entirety of the video, move ahead until you see Pastor take Madeline. It's priceless. :)

We were very thankful to have Glen's parents and sisters with us for the dedication. I wished that my Mom could have been there, and I especially missed Daddy since he had dedicated his other four grandchildren.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to pause the music that is already playing on my blog. And then....Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJsbNLRAlcY

Missing Daddy

A day at the park

Carli and Olivia spent part of yesterday afternoon at the park with our sweet friends, Jed and Alyssa. Jed took along his DVD camera and captured some memories, as well as interviewed the girls on theology. Jed and Glen are constantly discussing/debating/bouncing ideas off of each other, and it's so frequent that Alyssa and I occasionally join in (either that or roll our eyes!). This is definitely a case of "iron sharpens iron." No fighting, no raised voices. Just thoughtful discussion. Isn't that the way it should be?

Anyway. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the playlist and then watch this charming little clip! And thanks, Jed, for sharing.

From clubbed to corrected, casts to braces

On Tuesday, September 15, we kissed these beautiful little feet good-bye for the last time. Technically, I suppose, Madeline Kate still has the same feet, but oh, what a difference surgery and six weeks in casts can make!

Waiting in the lobby for someone, anyone, to call her name! She was entertaining everybody.

Nurse Mike very carefully begins to cut through the bright pink casts.

Not so happy about having to be on her belly!

Peeling away the layers

Both feet unwrapped!

Compare the first picture to this one!!! See how straight?

The butterfly bandages are still on, complete with a lot of dried gunk.

See the pins? 6 total: 3 in each foot.

Wrapped after the pins are pulled out. That was a little weird. I can't imagine how stomach-turning it would have been to see them twist them in during surgery.

All ready to go see Ahmed! She's playing "So Big!"

Ahmed makes moldings of each leg so that he can make braces withing two days. This was a slight change in plans. Dr. Didelot had originally said that she would have a second set of casts for two to three weeks. If Ahmed wouldn't have been willing to speed up the process of making the braces, that definitely would have been the case.

Finished molds

On our way to pick up the braces!

Waiting with Carli (Olivia used to wear the outfit that Maddy is wearing. Carli's tights still fit, so I found another outfit that would go with them.)

Finished product. I was disappointed not to have any solid colors to pick from. Everything was print, and not a lot of choices at that. I tried to pick something with small print that wouldn't be too obnoxiously clashing with everything. This was the best I could do. They are very cute, but won't go with a whole lot. I think I'll have to practice ignoring that issue! I wish I would have thought of that BEFORE I wore brown and purple striped tights on her though, since I took lots of pictures! :) I was very pleased, though, to discover that they didn't go clear to her knees like I thought they would. Aren't they adorable?

Since she doesn't need to wear shoes yet, Ahmed made them with extra padding and a little bigger than necessary so that she'll have some growing room.

Happy Birthday, Stellan! We're praying

Stellan McKinney turns 1 today. After a nice long stint with no SVT, he is in the hospital and not doing well at all. Please join me in praying for little Stellan and for his family. You can read his whole story at www.mycharmingkids.net.

Stay tuned for pictures of Maddy's casts coming off, her newly straightened feet, and braces!

Awesome giveaway by MckMama!

MckMama is doing an awesome giveaway on her giveaway site, www.mckgiveaways.blogspot.com. Up for grabs is a $200 Best Buy gift certificate! Enjoy....

Not me! Monday

Thanks to MckMama for once again having a Not Me! Monday blog carnival.

I am not sitting here thinking of something to type since the drawing this week is for a $100 gift certificate from PURSEnally Yours.

I wouldn't dream of laughing out loud at MckMama's oven mishap that she so sweetly did not confess to today.

I most certainly did not ignore my daughter's fake sounding cry and just assumed that she was not hurt or she would have actually really cried.

I do not have suitcases in my bedroom that desperately need unpacked from our vacation that ended a week and a day ago.

I do not still have boxes and bags of clothes pulled out of the shed and received from various and sundry people, still sitting on the top bunk in the girls room because I can't figure out when to do the nasty job of switching out the clothes.

And who would ever accuse me of being frustrated at my dear hubby for forgetting to bring home the remaining dip that I'd sent to a get-together? I'm definitely not that focused on food.

If you have non-confessions about ready to spill forth, head on over to MckMama's blog to find out how to join in the fun!