Lets start with baby Braylen. Madison and Ellie welcomed a new cousin in the would on October 13th. He is so sweet and they are in love with him. The exciting thing is another new cousin will be here within a week or so. They are so excited to have new babies in the family.
Halloween has come and and gone and before we know it the Holidays will be here. Madison was what every 5 year old girl wants to be Hannah Montana and Ellie was the cutest pumpkin. They had so much fun at our church Halloween festival and Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood.
This past weekend was Ellie's 2nd birthday. I can not believe she is 2 years old. Where has the time gone? I am go thankful that God has blessed me with 2 beautiful girls who just adore each other.
For those of you that know me, know how much I adore my animals. They are like children to me. Right after Dan and I got married we decided to get a dog, so in April of 2004 we welcomed Daisy into the family. I am a HUGE animal lover, and fell in love with her from the first time I laid eyes on her. Daisy has had her fair share of health problem (mainly allergies), but has been the sweetest dog and loves to give kisses. At the end of July she began peeing in the floor, which wasn't that unusual for her, because when she gets mad that is how she retaliates, but this kept going on. We took her into the vet and all her blood work came back normal, so they treated her for a UTI. Fast forward 2 weeks later, and she was acting very lethargic and not eating, so we took her back in. Again all her blood work came back pretty good, so they thought it was a tick disease. She began to get better, and I got her annual wellness reminder in the mail. She started acting not so well again so I called the vet again and talked them into taking x-rays. They showed fluid in her lungs, and the plan was to get on med to flush the fluid and call the specialist to get an appointment just in case. It ended up the specialist could get us in the next day (Fri August 27th), so we went and it turned out to be infiltrate in her lungs, so they had to stick a needle in her lungs and test it. We noticed she began limping on her back leg, so they x-rayed that and it turned out her bone had deteriorated and had actually broken. We found out on Monday that her lung test came back inconclusive, so the next plan was to take a sample of her broken toe. Well the bad news came Wed. It was bone cancer. I was completely devastated. It has already spread to her lungs, and there was not much we could do. After much praying we decided to put her down, because her condition began to deteriorate very rapidly. On Friday we took her to the vet and as we set her down on the table she passed away before they could even inject her. It was the hardest goodbye of my life and she will live on our hearts forever. We had her cremated and the vet actually sent me a card with her paw print and a lock of her hair. It was so sweet.
It's already time to pick up!
It has been a very busy few weeks for us. We took Madison to the ENT about her tonsils on July 9th knowing we would probably be scheduling surgery in the future. What we didn't know was that it would be just one week later. I was an emotional wreck all week worried about her being put to sleep and going under the knife. I prayed every night for God to give me peace about it, and I knew everything was in his hands.
I know it is a simple surgery, but when it is your child it seems worse than it is. As we waited to go back to the pre op room I prayed, and I could feel God wrap his arms around us and I knew it was going to be okay. I can not say enough about the staff in the Brenner's operating area. They were so kind and helped put our mind and her mind at ease. She had the most amazing and sweet doctor anyone could ask for (let me know if you ever need a reference). 
Wen we finally got home you would have never thought she had surgery. She acted perfectly normal with the exception of eating. I am so thankful she got through this with such ease.
This past week we went with my family to Smith Mountain Lake. Of course Madison gets strep throat the week before and is on antibiotics the whole week, but it turned out to be a fun week. This was Ellie's first summer where she could actually do stuff, so we were excited to see how she would like the water. She loved it and wanted to do things on her own. She even got her first ride on a jet ski! Where we stay there is a double decker dock, and my little dare devil Madison jumped off the top deck which is very high. I was so proud of her. Of course when she did it she made mom do it, and it wasn't very pretty and hurt for a few days. 
We have been referred to an ENT due to Madison's recurrance of strep throat, and learned today that she is going to have to get her tonsils removed. We are still waiting on the date, so just pray that all goes well.
This past Thursday Madison graduated from preschool. I have to say it was very hard. She has grown up way too fast. I was doing just fine and thought when they danced to "Come to Jesus" I would totally lose it. Nope I held up through it. It wasn't until the end I completely lost it. I am dreading the first day of Kindergarten, but at least I know she will be in good hands since she will be at Daddy's school.
Daddy's birthday was a few weeks ago and we had the pleasure of helping his school plan a little surprise for him. He had no idea, that when he got up to the mic to do the sports awards the lights would go out and all 300 people would sing Happy Birthday to him along with show a slide show of him. It was a fun night. 
We decided to join a pool this summer, and it finally opened this weekend. We were so thrilled that Madison has some classmates from preschool going to the same pool. It is going to be a fun summer.
And gave you your first bath.
You started 
When you were 3 1/2 you accepted the role of big sister, a role I know God planned for you because you are so good at it. You are the perfect big sister as you are a good role model and love and protect that little girl like no other since the day you 
These five years have flown by way too fast. I am so blessed to have such a special daughter. I am honored to have been there to say your first words, take your first steps, to laugh with you and cry with you and to comfort you when needed. I am so honored to be your mother and pray that God will guide you through life as we watch you grow. I can't wait to see what God has in store for you in the years to come.
We went to McDonalds for lunch ( I had promised Madison she could get an ICarly toy), and even brought it home and ate outside. Ellie took a nap and we went out for more fun on our swing set. 
We have been couped up in this house for weeks because of snow or sickness. Madison just got over strep, and her tonsils will not go down, so we have to really watch her for sleep apnea. It is very scary. I just hope this weather stays around for a while. I am so sick of the snow!
