Out with the Old--In with the New

As I looked back and began to put my favorite photos of the year together I couldn't help but think about the decade as a whole. There is so much to reflect back on. The changes for the good and the bad mixed with the sadness and disappointment was trumped by the joys and triumphs. They they all seemed to be thrown in the big pot of soup we call life. As I go through the time line of this decade it almost seems overwhelming to wrap my head around it. I am going to break it down in to big events...not by years. I......
bought and sold 4 houses & 4 cars, have remained debt free with the exception of my home, divorced--ugly, ugly,ugly, my mother committed suicide, started a new business, had a crazy stalker that tried to kill me...seriously, remarried :), staffed 2 Cursillos, got pregnant(immediately!), Hurricane Katrina hit, my first born child passed away-the worst time of my life by far, brought Mike's mom here to take care of, built a playground for Sophie, rediscovered my passion for photography again, went to Vietnam, got pregnant and had Landry- the joy of my life, became the mother I dreamed of, got pregnant with my son(can't wait to meet him!) and met and made some of the best friends I could have ever dreamed of. I have volunteered countless hours for the Jr. League of Jackson, The Symphony League, Stew Pot, Candlelighters, St. Philip's and many others. I have tried to be the best wife, sister, friend, volunteer, mother and Christian that I can be because I truly believe that you get back what you put into any relationship. I have been failed by people and I am sure I have failed people. I have thrown more than my fair share of parties, get togethers and organized social events to have earned my title of Social Chair. This was the decade that I worked really hard to not live with regrets. That was the last lesson my mother taught me and she didn't even know it. I always pray that she is taking care of Sophie and that the two of them will be waiting to greet me one day. I know there will be lots of catching up to do. I miss them both in ways not measurable. Needless to say, my life this past decade has been more than colorful. There have been many days of deep, deep sorry and fortunately, more days of God's grace blessing me. I have learned that your odds of happiness are better if you have God in your corner and when it comes to HIM, it is better to follow than lead. I learned that the hard way because I am a natural born leader and a take charge kind of person. It doesn't work when it comes to God. I still have to make that a 'note to self' on occasion..HE LEADS. I FOLLOW. I have chosen to make the saddest days of my life learning lessons and times of reflection. It hasn't always been easy but it's also allowed me, along with a few others, to appreciate the good things in life with a little more gratitude.


Back to 2009~
Fun places I have been this year and things I've done"
Hawaii-Mike won Winners Circle, New Orleans-GNO Trip & Whispy Girls trip, Dallas-Market with Pam, Orlando-Disney and our family vacation, St. Augustine, Jacksonville Beach-Kelley's 40th and family vacation, Lexington-shot AL vs UK, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa-Bama!, Mobile- 20th HS Reunion and family visits, Destin- BEACH!!, Augusta-The MASTERS!, Atlanta-Catalyst and visit with Alani and Jack, Las Vegas-WPPI and vacation with Mike, Gulf Shores-Beach with Kelley and a few other places.

It's been a great year and the coming year will be twice as much fun(and exhausting!) with the addition of Baby Brother. This decade is sure to be full of change and wonderful surprises. I look forward to the challenges and the blessings that are sure to come with God's greatest gifts....my husband, my children, my family and my friends. For now, we'll work on one year at a time so bring it on 2010! I'm ready for you!

2-Year Old Check-up
Today, we took the Bug to see Dr. Sethi for her 2 year old check up. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and height. Intellectually, she seems to be far more advanced than normal two year olds. She can count to twenty with help, knows her colors, can differentiate between her left and right, has an extremely large vocabulary, knows and uses ME, I, YOUR, MINE and time tenses in correct form. She always says please, thank you, yes mam, no mam and sir(sometimes) and can show you how she has patience. She is also starting to exert more independence and opinions on things. She can certainly show her stubborn side but more times than not she is very compliant. She is very, very loving and rarely shows an aversion to people. She is starting to understand that she is going to have a brother soon. She acknowledges my belly and knows that he is going to sleep in the baby's room because she now has her big girl room. That kid amazes me every single day with her desire to learn and her genuine sweetness. She can be possessive at times but she also understands the concept of sharing and does a really good job at instigating the practice if it. All in all we had a very positive visit and she is on top of her two year old game. I love that sweet girl and her smile melts me. What a lucky and blessed Mommy I am.

Christmas 2009
I learned a few things this Christmas season that I don't think I was prepared for. Since I have been on limited duty and bed rest I realized that life goes on even if the checklist isn't complete. I have a pretty definitive idea of what I have always wanted to provide my family in the way of holidays and traditions. This year I had to allow for exceptions to the rule. If you look back at last years Christmas day I left nothing to chance in the way I executed Christmas morning and all of the events leading up to it. This year was a bust. No matching pajamas, no big dinner, not nearly as many finely wrapped presents under the tree, no video and not nearly as many pictures. My Christmas card was nothing like I planned for it to be and the only reason poor Bella got anything this year was because Mike remembered to get her some treats. I had great intentions of using the weeks after Landry's birthday party to finish the details of the perfect Mader Christmas but it wasn't meant to be. I'm starting to get over it but I am not one to settle for less than 'the plan' to be executed fully and without kinks. Most people who know me know that my favorite saying is 'It is what it is' and this Christmas my unborn son taught me a lesson that I wasn't prepared for. He told me in a matter of kicks, jabs, contractions and swishes that I need to slow down and get ready for him. He said 'Hey Mom, it is what is...and everyone is still happy, safe and full of Christmas spirit. Appreciate that Jesus was born on this day and try to enjoy some part of it yourself.' Thank you my precious unnamed son. I think I will do just that. I can't wait to meet you....in February.

Jail Break!!
I have been given about 35-40 percent more freedom! I scored 8/8 on my BPP test and so far I am feeling pretty good. I am rested up and ready to conquer this week with a vengence~ ok, not really but I am ready to get out of the bed...even for a little reprieve. We went to PF Changs to celebrate and I ate till I was sick to my stomach. It was so nice to be with civilization again! Landry enjoyed having a little normalcy and getting out of the house was a treat for her too. She was so good in the restaurant and had a great time entertaining us. I have to take it easy for the next few weeks so we can ensure a safe arrival for Baby Boy Mader. I'll do whatever I have to do not to be on full bedrest again!

Bed Rest-Day 7
I don't think I have ever been so excited about a doctor visit in my whole life. I hope that I will be given a little bit of freedom after Tuesday, even if it's just to go to the store for a few minutes by myself. I am so grateful that after yesterdays quick trip to the doctor that Baby Boy decided to hang on for just a little longer. I hope he continues to grow inside me and get big and strong. He will have a lot of catching up to do to keep up with his big sister! Speaking of which, Landry has absolutely cracked both of us up lately. She is talking up a storm in complete sentences and using contexts of words appropriately. She understands my, mine and I. The funniest thing she has started doing is singing. She started singing Happy birthday out of the blue and I can't begin to describe how cute and funny it is. I just hope that she hones that skill better than her mama has! I would love it if she could play a musical instrument and sing. It is something that I always wished I had been able to do. I played the violin for about 5 years but I was never that great at it. Anyway, our time together at the Mader house hasn't been bad. I have actually enjoyed the lack of stress of getting Christmas done. I did a lot of shopping online and just decided that it is what it is in terms of Christmas. I am choosing to enjoy my family, my time and not get too wrapped around the axle about things left undone. It's really not a bad way to go. I may try it again next year....sans a pregnancy!

Hospital Run
I woke up today with a little surprise. I had a little spotting so trying not to panic, I did a quick photo shoot with Santa and called the doctor in the mean time. I was instructed to come on in and to my surprise they kept me over night. I started having contractions 3-4 minutes apart and they gave me something to calm them. I am only 30 weeks pregnant so we are not ready to have you yet little guy! Momo and Pawpaw came and picked up Landry...they're angels I tell you, ANGELS!....and I had a not so restful night of sleep. Dr. Bush released me the next day after two rounds of steroid and an order for bed rest. Fortunately, Mike is off for the rest of the year and we are going on a week to week basis on my condition. I am not a good bed rest candidate but I will do whatever I have to do to ensure the safety of this baby. One of the things that I am having the hardest time with is the fact that I was on bed rest with Sophie and it brings back a flood of memories for me. The doctor on call when I went in to the hospital just happened to be the same one that had to deliver her when we lost her. It was a long hard night for all of us and I know as a physician that he went home with a heavy heart the next day. It was hard seeing him come to my room and relive even a few minutes of that life changing event but we got though it and I am thankful to have had someone there that was as compassionate and capable as he is. Another hurdle...a quick road block. I'll get through it as long as I keep my eye on the prize and trust that God has great plans for this little boy I'm carrying. Now if we could only name him.....

Landry's Birthday Fiesta~

When I was trying to get Landry's birthday party figured out I was at a complete loss as to what I should do for her party. I am not a huge fan of character parties mainly because they are hard to do without looking cheesy. After much pondering, I finially decided that there really wasn't a decision to be made. Her favorite thing in the whole wide world is a Dora the Explorer and that is what she was going to have at her party. I found a company that would make a customized video with her in it and ordered it right away. Once I found that I decided that I would have a concession stand complete with Dora Dollars and Boots Bucks so each child could purchase their own snacks for the Saturday Matinee at the Mader house. We had a nacho bar, chimichangas, taquitos and a HUGE Dora cake with Landry's picture on it and a lifesize Dora and Diego mural to help celebrate. We had life size Dora balloons, a coloring activity and tons of people to celebrate with us. It was a wonderful day and she loved her Mexican Fiesta Dora themed birthday party. I never thought she would be so attached to something as she is Dora but she wants to watch her EVERY day....several times a day. We have had to cut down on her viewings because I think she would watch 10 episodes a day if we would let her! We now have a library of 88 episodes on the DVR....and she has seen them all. I am not a huge fan of her watching TV at all but she did come to me one day and could say all of her numbers from 1-10 in SPANISH without messing up once. She still hasn't mastered the English version yet without skipping a number or two so she must be getting something out of it.

The other part of her party was that I decided to have a Book Party to benefit the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital. I asked that each child bring two books. One for Landry's library and one for the children at the hospital. We are going to have a play date and deliver the books to the hospital. I don't expect her to have to share all of her birthdays but she is so blessed and has so much right now that I thought it was a great way to share with those who are less fortunate. It was a great success too! We have about 30 books to take to the hospital and I couldn't be more proud of the friends that helped us make this such a wonderful occasion.

The day was capped off by my alma mater, Alabama, getting their first Heisman Trophy so I was just beside myself with joy on this long, wonderfully fun day. I am so proud of the things I have witnessed in her over these last two years. I am amazed at the love I have in my heart for this wonder of mine. I thank God every day for giving me the greatest gift I have ever known...my sweet Landry.

BIG GIRL BED!!
Landry officially slept in her big girl bed for the first time last night. She absolutely did a fantastic job and was so excited! She slept all night in her bed and never tried to get out.
UPDATE*** Dec. 24th
Landry has done a great job in her big girl bed. She runs back there when it's time to go night night and climbs up in her bed. You can see how proud she that she has bed like Mommy and Daddy. I have found her on several occasions in her bed playing so peacefully like she didn't have a care in the world. Up until a few days ago, I had not purchased her bed rails yet and lo and behold, she fell out of the bed one night. The pile of pillows didn't work...obviously. I ran back there and put her back in her bed and she never missed a beat. The next day we had rails. I am so proud of her! She is growing up way too fast!

A letter to Landry on her 2nd Birthday

My Dear Sweet Landry,

As I think about the second year of your life I am baffled at the thought that I could love you more than I did this day last year. I think about how much you have grown and learned in this past year and again, I find myself in awe at the things you teach me every day. I have spent the better part of this year trying to instill in you the basic foundation of knowledge that you will use for the rest of your life. While you are so smart in learning your colors, numbers, letters and the basics, I have concentrated far more diligently in your prayers, manners, kindness, and your behavior. I know that the work that your Daddy and I have done in these early years will serve you well in your bright future. Your vocabulary is far superior to most children your age and you have a comprehension for problem solving, time, space and distance that blows me away. Your favorite things are your baby, Elmo that your Uncle Roger sent you last year for your birthday, two plastic baby bottles and your Dora blanket. You won’t go to sleep without them and they seem to give you a great sense of security. You take inventory of all of them before you go to bed and you are quite methodical about it.

You are also quite the Daddy’s girl. When he is home, you usually want him first and give him most of your attention and surprisingly enough, I am great with that. He has this spell over you and you absolutely love it. When I ask you who Mommy’s favorite girl is you answer ‘Buggins!’ and point to yourself. You are told how cute and/or pretty every time we go out so I decided to teach you something that if combined with your beauty you will be unstoppable. When I ask you what’s more important than being pretty you say ‘Being kind and SMART!’

Tonight, you are sleeping in your big girl bed for the first time and surprisingly enough, you stayed in your bed like the sweet girl you are. You are the most adaptable child I have even known and I love how flexible you can be when I need you to be. I wish I were more like you in so many ways. I pray that I have given you some of the same joy and contentment that you have given me. I could never be more proud of you and your accomplishments this past year and I love you in ways I didn’t know I could. As your baby brother grows inside me, I know that I will find room in my heart for him but you sure make it hard to imagine there could be more. You are truly my dream come true and I love you so much more than I ever dreamed was possible. Thank you for shining a light in the darkest corners of my heart and being everything you are to me. You are so much better than the dreams I have dreamed about being a mommy because I am YOUR mommy. Happy 2^nd birthday, my sweet angel.

I love you, Landry.

Love,

Mommy

Today is my BIRTHDAY!!