Happy Birthday Sweet 16

Today is my first born child's birthday. Not just any birthday. It's her sweet 16. And I'm not there with her. It's kinda sorta breaking my heart.

Ok, it's really breaking my heart.

When I agreed to go on the Haiti mission trip it was going to be during the week of March 14th. There were some things going on in Haiti during that time that made the area more volatile than normal so we discussed rescheduling. When talk of changing the dates came up I knew exactly when it would be. I just KNEW. I somehow knew it was going to be during this important time in Madi's life. I've said that if the trip had originally been planned during her birthday I don't think I would have signed up to go. You know what though? I think there is a reason it happened this way. Because I truly feel that God has called me to be a part of this mission. And He knew it would be hard for me to be away today and so in His great wisdom He made it happen.

Because here's the thing, being a follower of Christ isn't the easiest thing. You'd think that after you accept Him as your personal savior it would all be smooth sailing. But it's not. At all.

So here I am. On my baby girls 16th birthday, and I'm not there to give her a big hug and remind her in person how incredibly special she is to me. How blessed I am that God chose me to be her mother. How proud I am of the amazing woman she is becoming.

What's the next best thing? A blog post of course! I'll try to call her today and I'll undoubtedly think of her and pray for her throughout the day. But because I may not be able to call and I'm not there in person to say these things, this blog post will be the next best thing.



My dearest Madilee Elizabeth,

I will never forget the day that I found out you were on the way. I wondered why I wasn't feeling so well and just on a whim decided to take a pregnancy test on my lunch break. I was home alone with our dog, Inu. So I took the test and it sure did look positive and I came out of the bathroom and just stared in Inu's blue/brown eyes. I said, "Inu. I'm pregnant. What are we going to do?" And he kinda cocked his head to the side and stuck one ear up in the air. I think he wanted a treat and didn't really care about what I was telling him.

Whatever.

So, I sat down and called Shannon who told me, "Ok. Don't freak out. Those tests can be wrong." Bless her heart. She knew how frightened I was. Daddy and I had just been married for 8 months and were so young. The thought of raising a baby was a little overwhelming. Actually, it was a lot overwhelming.

However, in the next few days the thought of life growing inside of me grew more and more appealing. By the day of my first doctor's appointment Daddy and I were both nervous. He went with me and sat in the waiting room while I went back to take the "official" test. When I came out I found him anxiously waiting for me. He looked up at me and with sad eyes and a frown he said, "You aren't pregnant are you."

You see, at this point the idea of you had already consumed us so much that the thought of not having you was heartbreaking. We realized that no matter how new our marriage was God had a plan and we couldn't control it, but we sure did hope you were a part of it. And you were.

Madilee, you have been more than I could have ever imagined. God certainly blessed us with a bright, caring, beautiful daughter. You make me laugh every day, whether or not you mean to. *wink* Your generosity and caring nature take my breath away. Knowing that you desire to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father is amazing. It's something that I unfortunately never comprehended at your age. God put your Daddy in my life which lead me to Him in a more intimate setting and now I'm more than thrilled to have children who desire to know Him. You are an awesome example for your younger siblings.

Basically Madi, you ROCK!

Today I'm in Haiti and I'm praying that I can be the hands and feet of Jesus. However, a part of my heart will be with you my sweet girl. This is the first time in the last 16 years that I haven't been with you on your birthday. I definitely wouldn't have chosen for your 16th birthday to be this way but I know you have lots of people around you today who love and care for you.

Thank you Madilee Elizabeth for being you. I love you more than you'll ever know. Happy birthday baby girl! Here is a recap of every single birthday!

     April 3, 1995     Madilee Elizabeth Stewart     5:41 p.m.    7 lbs 11 oz      21 inches

Madi's 1st birthday.  A nice simple celebration at home with family. 

Happy 2nd birthday!  We celebrated with a Sesame Street themed birthday party.

3rd birthday celebration at Chuck E Cheese in Tulsa.  Fun!

Madi says this is her favorite birthday memory.  Madeleine themed birthday #4!

Happy 5th birthday sweet girl!

In her Sunnybrook school uniform.  Happy 6th birthday Madi!

Baby sister Teagan arrived just 2 weeks ago.  I was so busy I couldn't plan a big party so we went to the local ceremic store with Olivia and Paris from Madi's class.  Fun!

Birthday #8 at the Best Western in Stillwater.  Hello Luau!

Birthday #9!  We had a jewelry party and everyone got to make their own necklaces and bracelets.  Then we took some pictures on the stairs.  I love this group of girls!

Birthday #10.  We sent out invites for a party on April 1st...but it was a big joke!  April fools!  We "kidnapped" all the guests after they thought that the party would be a different day.  They had to wear whatever they were wearing when we woke them up and weren't allowed to take anything with them.  This was the best!

Their shirts say, "Pssst...I was fooled!"  And Madi's says, "I fooled them!"

Birthday #11 was celebrated by making fun Hawaiin tops and lots of doing the limbo!

Happy birthday #12 sweet girl!  No big huge special party tonight but we went to Kyoto's for dinner as a family and then had a nice evening at home celebrating.

Birthday #13.  We had so much fun for this special birthday.  Teenager!!  A fun BBQ & games with friends.  Over the years we've learned that friends come and go but memories are special and we cherish them!

Another bash for birthday #14.  BBQ and volleyball in the yard.  Plus, some delish cupcake style cake pops via Bakerella.  Can you beat that?  I think not!

Happy birthday #15!  Wow.  Fifteen?  Seriously?!

Madilee Elizabeth, I love you more than you'll ever know.  Happy 16th birthday sweet girl.  You're one of the absolute best things that has ever happened to me!

Busy Busy Busy

It's been a super busy week around here. I, of course, had plans for some blog posts that haven't happened. What's new, right?

We celebrated my baby Teagan turning 9 on Monday. She had a great birthday and didn't want it to end. I'll have to share pictures once I edit them. So, maybe expect them sometime next year.

Seems like every day since then has been full of appointments and stuff trying to get ready for my upcoming trip. Which is sooner then I realized. And I might be starting to get a wee bit nervous.

Or maybe a lot bit.

I'm choosing not to think about it too much today. Because today all I can think about is my house for sale. We have a showing this afternoon at 1:30. Which means I'm supposed to be cleaning like a mad woman and not updating my blog. But this is just sort of how I roll. Wheee!

Praying that we get an offer this time. We NEED to get this house sold so we can move onto the next chapter of our life. The chapter where we don't spend money on stuff like big houses and fancy cars and maybe just maybe includes a new sibling.

And just like that...

...everything changes.

Right after Madi got home this afternoon with her new car, a few friends started showing up. Her friend Zach came over as well as a car load of friends who live in the area. Zach was still here when the other car left. Blade was driving with Kellie, Kiley and Tessa. I'd just met Blade officially when he was here but I know all the girls really well.

If Zach hadn't been here visiting I'm sure Madi would have gone with them. If she had, this evening would have turned out so differently.

Shortly after leaving here they were in an awful car accident. Apparently Blade swerved to miss hitting a deer and in swerving he hit a boulder, which propelled them into the air. They came down evetually rolling the vehicle several times.

Another Stillwater student who was longboarding in the area found them and called 911. He snapped this picture of the accident before the rest of the emergency vehicles arrived.

Blade and Kellie were both wearing their seat belts and although they are pretty banged up and obviously shaken up beyond belief, they are ok.

Kiley and Tessa weren't wearing their seat belts and were both ejected from the vehicle. Kiley has a broken collar bone and lots of cuts and scrapes. Tessa was thrown through the front windshield and suffered major injuries. I'm not 100% sure what injuries were sustained. I've heard broken collar bone, broken shoulder blade, fluid in a lung, punctured spleen, a "something wrong" with her spine.

These are 15 and 16 year old children. My heart just aches for them and their families as they have to endure this. Please help me pray that they will fully heal and thank God that no lives were lost today.

How'd this happen?

I'm only 25 so I'm not sure how this happened but somehow I have a child getting ready to turn 16. So weird.

(2 of my 4 kids just read this over my shoulder and said, "Why did you say you're only 25?" Psshh. I totally am.)

We went to spend the night with the in-laws on Thursday night since it was spring break. Brad's brother and his family was visiting and we take all the chances we can to get together when they are around since they live in the Houston area. Unfortunately, I had a photo shoot and a meeting on Friday.

So we took two cars and I came back Friday with Sadie to be my assistant and Brad stayed there with the other kiddos.

So today before heading home they went to Tulsa to do some car shopping since Madi's birthday is quickly approaching and our little town doesn't have a whole lot to offer.

They started out this morning and found something at the very first lot. Kind of like a wedding gown, where girls so often fall in love with the very first one but keep trying them on just to make sure there isn't something better out there, Madi found a great one right off the bat.

We told Madi (and all the kids) years ago that we would match whatever they saved for a car. Save $4000? You'll get an $8000 car. About a year ago Madi realized we were serious. Thank goodness she didn't realize it sooner. We woulda been in trouble!

So after an afternoon of looking, lots of talking and thinking and a little bit of uncertainty...Madi bought her very first car.

WOW

Her birthday is April 3rd so right now she only has her permit. But since I was here and they were there with 2 cars she got to totally be illegal and drive home from Tulsa. Eli rode with her and manned the cell phone for any calls from Daddy who was right in front of her.

And then of course I made him call me when they were close so I could run out with my camera to be sure to capture her coming home with her new baby.

Did I say wow? Cause really. My baby just bought a car.

WOW

Haiti or bust

So remember that meeting I went to a few weeks ago? Well, we decided to postpone the Haiti trip because we originally had it scheduled right after elections in the country. Which could have made for some extra hostile conditions during our time there.

So we are going. Just not next week when we originally planned.

We are now going the first week of April. Which is fine except that it's my baby girls 16th birthday. Her sweet 16. Kind of a big deal, right?

When I realized that's when the trip would be I told her about it.

Me: They rescheduled the Haiti trip. It's during your birthday now.

Her: That's ok.

Me: But it's your birthday.

Her: So. I'll have another one next year.

Me: But it's your SIXTEENTH birthday. It's a big deal.

Her: Mom. Seriously. It's fine.

It's hard to think that I won't be here for her 16th birthday. I won't even be in the same COUNTRY for it. It's kind of a big deal. Right?

Although maybe if I'm not here she won't turn 16. Does it work like that? Is that a way to keep her frozen at 15 forever? Yeah. I think I'll go with that.

There's something wrong with me!

Most people probably aren't happy when they find out that there is something wrong with them. Me though...THRILLED. Because finally after all the testing and trying to figure out why I just can't seem to get better I have a diagnosis.

Woohoo!

Turns out I have a bacterial infection:

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus): A type of bacterium that comes in pairs and is shaped like a lancet (a surgical knife with a short wide two-edged blade).

Pneumococcus is the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia and otitis media (middle ear infections) and an important contributor to bacterial meningitis. Pneumococcal infections are the most common invasive bacterial infections in children in the United States, causing about 1,400 cases of meningitis, 17,000 cases of bloodstream infections, and 71,000 cases of pneumonia every year in children under 5.

Vaccines now exist for those individuals at high risk of infection with this bacterium.

The formal name of the bacterium is currently Streptococcus pneumoniae. (The "strepto-" means twisted and "-coccus" comes from the Greek kokkos meaning berry.) Because of its coming in pairs, it has also been called Diplococcus pneumoniae. "Pneumoniae" refers to its propensity to settle in the lungs and cause pneumonia.

There. Everything you ever needed to know about it. My doctor said that it's generally treated with one of the two antibiotics that I already took. You know, the ones that didn't make me better.

So I went in yesterday and today and got Rocephin injections. Ouch! And then I'm on a Z-Pack as well. I can't WAIT to start feeling good again!

Well lookie there!

I was going to do a quick post to let all my fans know that I was getting a facelift.

And by fans I obviously mean anyone who just happened to accidentally land here.

Obviously.

So I found this awesome girl who is my new friend (cause she thinks I'm funny!) and commissioned her to do a makeover and was super duper excited when I pulled up my blog this morning and found that she's almost done with it.

Oh my goodness. How cute is this?! SO much nicer than it was. Now I'm going to have a hard time not hanging around here all the time!

Woohoo!