Christmas

Early Christmas at my parents...

Great Grandma Shirley (Maddie's only living great grandparent)
Spiderman & Transformers, yeah!
Stewart grandkids with Nany and Ba
Christmas Eve at our house...
Grandma Nany & Maddie

Christmas morning...

Maddie's favorite was the candy canes!

Christmas Day at Grandma & Grandpa Allred's

Maddie & Grandma Allred

Cousin Jillian & Maddie (they're 6 weeks apart)

Auntie Lesa & Maddie bonded this Christmas

Jace & Mooms, Cade was napping and missed the photo

Our family get-togethers began on the 22nd and lasted until the 27th! We've been so low-key this year, it was a busy week! Luckily, everywhere we went is less than 10 miles from our home so we didn't have to travel with the bad weather and roads. Christmas was wonderful and watching the boys relish the "magic" was so fun. When Jace woke up on Christmas morning, he came into the living room and saw his gifts and stocking under the tree but didn't go over to it right away...he had to first see if Santa left any cookies and milk, his first words were "Yep, they're gone, Santa came!"

I was emotional this Christmas and just entirely grateful for His grace in our lives. Isn't it amazing that God sent His son to save us, as a sweet, helpless infant? What HOPE a baby brings, symbolizing new life and new beginnings. We know of this first hand. With each of our babies, our lives have become more enriched. But a whole new world opened up for us with Maddie, one we didn't even know existed, and I feel so blessed for this...what hope Maddie's life has brought to us all...that a baby can be born with only 1/2 of a functioning heart is a miracle in itself. Through this journey I have experienced the most heartache and the most joy I've ever known. But on Christmas, my heart went out to all of our heart friends and I couldn't help but feel some guilt that we were home spending the holidays with our healthy daughter and family while many of them were in hospitals or at home with empty arms, their baby was spending the first Christmas in heaven. This sure makes us keep perspective, knowing that life can change quickly and that we should relish every minute. Even though Maddie's heart can never be fixed, and it feels terminal at times, I wouldn't trade this. The blessings we've learned through her are immeasurable and life is much more amazing than ever before! This first Christmas with her will be one I'll forever cherish.

Our Christmas gift this year...

Maddie, our miracle, at 9 months

Twas the night that you joined us...all eyes were on earth.

Awaiting with joy for a most special birth.
The angel's stood ready...for each need and care,
But all of them knew... that the Lord would be there,
And I labored on... and daddy was scared,
We waited...and wondered... and hoped we'd prepared.
We knew you were special...but so very sick,
Yet hope had grown in me... with every kick.
And soon it was time...into this world you came,
I heard a soft cry... then I called out your name....
And God held your hands...while the angels stood by,
Since I could not hold you...they hushed your soft cries.
One small angel looked to the father and smiled,
"Can you truly teach hope... through such a small child?
An infant so helpless...a baby so new...
Oh please tell me Lord...is this what you will do?"
God looked from the angel...to the baby's sweet face,
"Through her my young charge... they will learn about grace.
I penned this child's journey...quite a long time ago,
And through her great courage...such true love will grow.
Every hair on her head has been numbered you see...
It's my hope that through her... they will learn to see me.
Oh my little one with a special heart...
Great love will see you through...
See look that is your family...They've been waiting for you...
I send you to their waiting arms...for a time we'll be apart...
But I'll always be with you...for I live within your heart."
And so we held you in our arms...And thanked our Lord above...
In you...we see the miracle, of His undying love.
So when it's Christmas morning, And I watch my children play,
I'll need no great reminders, For I see my gifts each day.

Written by Stephanie Husted (Mommy to Braeden, HLHS)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Some highlights & happenings...

December is flying by and we've had some fun along the way. Only 3 more days until Christmas...yikes, let the festivities begin! Here's a few of our recent highlights & happenings...

Jace & Cade's Preschool Christmas Program (cousin Kate in the middle)

They said their lines, sang their songs, jingled bells, and kazooed...all while smiling to the BIG crowd!
More cousins...Jett & Boo

Our fun baking day at mom's. She made us these cute Christmas aprons...boy are we festive!

Miss Maddie & Miss Kylie in their adorable matchy-matchy gingerbread outfits...courtesy of Aunt J
We'll be having a WHITE Christmas after being dumped on this weekend. The boys are loving the snow, especially being pulled behind the 4-wheeler, even in the freezing temperatures (low teens!)


And Maddie has been enjoying the Christmas tree...pulling off lights, garland and ornaments. She's keeping busy!


She's also enjoying table food these days!

Blood Drive:Part 2 was Friday, with another great turnout! This was organized by the Red Cross for the people who weren't able to donate back in October. Another 29 units of blood were donated (Bry & I included). Our little town is amazing and our thanks go out to all that volunteered and donated.




Finally, it's our anniversary today. Here we are 8 years ago, sealing the deal...seems just like yesterday!

Maddie...

• is 9 months old!
• loves to rock on all fours
• just started crawling backwards
• rolls where she wants to go
• has 2 bottom teeth
• yells "AHHH" super loud to get our attention
• says "ma ma", "da da", "ba ba"
• is a little shy and hides her face to others
• thinks her brothers are so funny!

Sky-high Synagis

Maddie started her Synagis series yesterday. We drove to Ephrata to Dr. Allred's for the appt. and the minute I laid her on the exam table paper, she started crying. Pretty much the entire time we were there, she fussed. Amanda, her nurse, is quite the "bad guy" in Maddie's eyes! It took 2 pokes, one in each thigh since she got a dose of 1.6 ml and her legs are a little too puny to handle that much vaccine in one spot. Her shots are shipped from Central Washington Home Infusion up in Wenatchee to Dr. Allred's office and she'll have her Synagis shot every 28-30 days until the end of April. Our insurance company covers the shot from Nov-Apr but the state of Washington didn't consider us in RSV season until December 1st. The shocking part of this is that it is $1350/50 ml = $4050 for Maddie's shot EVERY MONTH!!! How ridiculous is that!?! I'll be anxious to see what the EOB says and if its price reflects what the home infusion company says it is. Luckily we've met our deductable but starting in January, we're going to have a costly co-pay until we meet our deductible again. We'll do anything though to keep this lil' girl healthy and RSV could be life-threatening if she caught it. We also weighed her while there and the little stinker weighs 16 lbs. 14 oz.!!! She's up 8 oz. in 16 days. That's a great gain for her and needless to say, I'm ecstatic about it!

Sus & Teags

On Monday, my mom, Maddie and I went Christmas shopping down to the Tri-Cities while the boys enjoyed a fun day with Grandma Allred. I got quite a bit of shopping done and enjoyed getting out of the house. We met Susie and Teagan (our heart buddies) for lunch and enjoyed catching up with them...even though Susie and I talk on the phone a couple of times a week! Teagan is so cute and watching her grow up has been so fun. These two girls are pretty amazing cardiac kids!

Gingerbread house experts

We had a great time eating candy & oh ya, decorating Gingerbread houses last night! The kids were so excited for this little tradition with the other Allred's (Bryan's cousin Derek's family)and to have people over! Yippee! We can count on one hand how many times we've had company this year, I think we've deprived the boys trying to keep "germ free"! They were so psyched for having people over. The houses turned out really cute and we had a fun time catching up with our cousins. Even Maddie got in on a little piece of the action!

Frosting may have to take precedence over baby food...she ATE it and loved it! Extra calories are good for her, right?!?

Carly and the kids decorating away, it was serious business!

Poor Kate is the only girl...she's used it though with all these boys. Someday soon Kate, give Maddie a few years, although she'll probably prefer Thomas the Train too! First course=Candy, Second course=hot chocolate & cookiesThe daddy's really did help, especially in the construction of the houses. They must have learned something from last year because the houses didn't collapse! They love pictures, don't they?

The finished project with a smeared candy faced boy!

Kids+Christmas = Good times

Each year Christmas (and the getting ready for) gets better. The "kid" in us shines through with our little guys and gal. Clark Griswold, aka Bryan, did a wonder on the house. Our lights can be seen from miles away, he totally outdid himself! No really, it looks great and the boys and I LOVE it and it looks much better than when I've put them up in the past! He even brought us home a beautiful, fresh Christmas tree...usually we don't put up the tree until mid-December so we're really early this year. Our house smells so good and Jace and Cade are still waiting for Alvin, Simon and Theodore to race out of it! Here's the kids opening their ornaments this year as well as Jace decorating the tree, he really got into it. Even making a few paper transformer ornaments!

As usual, I had no luck getting Xmas pictures of the kids...what's the trick for getting three kids under 5 to all look at the camera, smile, not blink or make a weird face or gesture, cry, or turn away? Really? This year our card will have to do, minus a smile from Maddie...she's pretty stingy with them. The funny part of taking these shots was having the boys yelling "CHEESE" in unison while Maddie joined in by saying "EEEEEE"!

Thanksgiving Pictures

We had a great Thanksgiving this year at my parents. Normally we juggle going to both of our parents' houses for dinner, on the same day, which is too much turkey and way too much running around. So we simplified things this year and started the "switch off" for Thanksgiving dinner. We did miss Bry's family but caught up with them the day after with left overs and games. We had a fun, relaxing Thanksgiving day at my folks' and just enjoyed spending time with one another. Here's a few pictures from turkey day at Nany and Ba's... of course I didn't capture everyone on the camera (couldn't interrupt the guys from watching their football!)

My sister-in-laws & all of our kids...whoa, when did this happen?!?

Maddie really does smile...just never for the camera!

A very exhausted Nany with her wild grandsons, still going strong!

Mooms & Nany just kicking back after all of the action of the day!

So much to be thankful for

When I think about what I'm truly thankful for, FAMILY is the first thing that comes to mind...not only my our family of Bryan, the boys and our baby girl, but both sides of our families: The Allreds and The Stewarts. We have been blessed with wonderful parents, awesome siblings who've married such great people, and we have the best nieces and nephews. Family is the greatest gift that we have received and we have so much to be thankful for.Jadyn, our oldest niece on Bryan's side, is a sophomore and just recently wrote a paper for her English 10 class. The topic was to write about an event that's changed your life and she chose to write about her little cousin Maddie. With her permission, I'd like to share what she wrote. We were very touched and honored that she chose Maddie to write about. I think you'll agree that she's a brilliant young woman with a very bright future. We have loved watching her grow up and we are so proud to call her our niece. How fortunate is Maddie to have such an extraordinary role model to look up to! We love you Jadyn, you are a blessing to all who know you...

Here's her paper titled: Maddie by Jadyn Allred

One of every 100 babies born in the United States is diagnosed with CHD, or Congenital Heart Disease. I never imagined that one of those babies would be my cousin. My aunt Katie, who was six months pregnant, and my uncle Bryan went to the doctor for a regular check-up when they found out that the right ventricle of the baby’s heart was exceedingly smaller than the left. At the next appointment, they found out that they were having a baby girl. They already had the perfect name picked out for her, Madison Grace Allred. They also received some bad news. The doctors confirmed that their baby girl was diagnosed with Hypo Plastic Right Heart Syndrome, and Pulmonary Atresia. The day that we found out about Maddie’s heart changed all of our lives.
Maddie’s CHD came as a shock to our family; we were all completely incredulous. I didn’t know what exactly it meant. I tried to discard all of the worst possible scenarios I had heard from my mind, but to no avail. Before Maddie arrived, there were eight grandchildren in our family, including me. We were all completely healthy at birth with no major health problems, and so were our parents. Bryan and Katie’s two boys, Jace and Caden, have the cutest personalities and can always make anyone smile. Katie didn’t have any major problems with either of their pregnancies; they were both healthy babies. Bryan and Katie are amazing people who are a ton of fun to be around. Katie has always been a big role model for me; she was my third grade teacher, and ever since then that is exactly what I want to be too. When we found out that Katie was expecting, we were all hoping that they would have their first baby girl! I have never even thought twice about complications arising, because I’ve never had to worry about it, but when we found out about Maddie, we were all filled with anxiety. She definitely made everyone open their eyes a little wider.
It was a big surprise when Madison was born on March 13th, 2008. Katie went into labor very early around 2:30 AM; about five weeks earlier than the due date. The most terrifying part about getting that phone call at 3 o’clock in the morning, was hoping that they would make it to the Seattle Children’s hospital on time. We were all so excited to finally meet baby Maddie, but so scared at the same time for what would happen next. All we could do now was wait. When they reached the hospital Maddie’s heart rate decreased rapidly, so the doctors decided to have an emergency c-section. Then, we waited for the surgeries. At six days old, Madison had her first major surgery called a Cardiac Cath Balloon Atrioptastomy. Maddie was a true fighter and came out of the surgery well. The doctors explained that there were two more surgeries to take place, the last one being postponed until she reaches a healthier weight. Even after all three surgeries Maddie’s heart will never be completely healed, but just enough to keep her growing and living.
The second surgery was called a BT Shunt Surgery. Maddie was only seven days old when it took place, and she recovered wonderfully. She was discharged soon after the second surgery, and finally came home. I got to hold her for the first time during our family pictures; it was very consoling for our whole family knowing that she was tangible, and not just a baby in a picture. She is absolutely adorable with her bright blue eyes, spiky blonde hair, and beautiful smile; proving to be just as sweet as the pictures had shown. While they were in the hospital, Katie kept us updated on their family blog that she set up to help people learn more about Maddie’s condition. Madison’s final surgery won’t be for a few years. Having the whole family together after what felt like so long, and finally meeting the little miracle we had been rooting for, made me so thankful for everything that I have.
Who knew that someone so small could make such a huge impact? Maddie has changed so many lives in a million different ways. She has shown me to be thankful for my family, and that we should all live our lives to the fullest because anything can happen. Before Madison, I think I took life a little for granted. I never thought twice about all of the terrible things that happen to people every single day. I am so proud and lucky to be the cousin of Madison Grace Allred.
The day that I heard about Maddie’s heart, significantly changed my life. She was born on March 13, 2008. Born with Congenital Heart Disease, Maddie has undergone two major surgeries, and has one more to go. They were performed by brilliant doctors we are so thankful for who used advanced equipment and needles the size of an eyelash to save her. Even though her heart is a little weaker than the rest of ours, she is still going strong. Maddie has already tried sitting up and rolling over, which is a huge accomplishment for any infant. Even though she doesn’t know it yet, Madison Grace Allred is the bravest little girl I know. I look forward to watching her grow stronger and more beautiful everyday.