Maddies day camp

Anyone who knows Maddie knows her love for being a cowgirl. She still desires to be a cowgirl when she grows up. Own a farm and have horses. She has a pair of cowgirl boots that she wears with almost everything and anything. I'm sure she's squeezing her feet into them by now, but refuses to not wear them. 

I came across this adventure camp site and noticed that they offered a horseback riding camp for a day during Thanksgiving Day break. There was not a chance I wasn't signing her up for it. She would be in heaven for a day and get a glimpse of what her future life would be if she stayed on her cowgirl kick. 

I dropped her off with so much excitement in her, I wasn't sure if she was going to burst or not. She got right in line with the other kids and listening to the lady. I had her teacher conference to get to, so I didn't get to stay and capture many pictures as I would've liked. 

About an hour and a half after I dropped her off, I received a phone call saying she wasn't feeling good. Her tummy was bothering her and she felt nauseous. She asked for me to come pick her up. I got back on the road and within two minutes after the first call, I received another. She laid down and drank a little water and was feeling better. 

I showed up a little early to see if I can snap some pictures of Maddie and see if she is really enjoying her camp. They were watching the girls show them how to ride around barrels. While all of the other kids were playing around or wanting to leave as soon as their parents came around, Maddie paid attention the whole time and encouraging the girls. Once class was over, I was able to get some pictures of her on the horse and learned all she did that day. Although she didn't get to do her craft, we were able to take it home. She was really bummed that she wasn't able to show me all of the things she learned.

She was able to ride three different horses. She learned how to groom them, learn what they ate, ride them around and so much more. It was a really cold day that day with it being a high of 43* and strong winds. She didn't mind at all though. She would have spent several more hours out there if we had let her. 😃 

 Once we got home, I could tell she was really exhausted. She kinda munched on her lunch and asked me to lay down for a nap. I woke her up after 2 1/2 hours and asked her if she was feeling ok. She said no. Turns out, she had a stomach bug....that has lasted days. We missed Thanksgiving with friends.  She's back to eating food, but not like before and she's still exhausted. 

Here are some pictures of her day. 

She is even more convinced she wants to be a cowgirl. She's already asked for a horse. She doesn't care how much work it would be or how much it would cost. She's ready to go. I love her passion for things in life. 

Guess I should be looking for new cowgirl boots for her. 

Until next time.... Have fun, be safe, and, enjoy life. 

Lori 

Christmas Child Shoe Boxes

We are always trying to show Maddie that it is always better to give than receive. This month, I really focus on it and explain how lucky she is to have the life she does. Between the house she loves in, the abundance of clothes and toys she has, a family who loves her so much more than she can imagine, and over all the wonderful life she has. 

Chick fil a was giving boxes out for Christmas Child Shoebox project and asking people to take a shoebox and fill it full of things kids in another country could use and enjoy. It is a wonderful way to show Maddie how truly lucky she is and to give to those who are less fortunate than us. I picked up two boxes one day and we sat down that night and explained what the boxes were for and what we are going to do, and had her watch videos on kids receiving the boxes and the pure joy in their face. We watched another video showing how it brings the kids and families closer to Jesus and brings so many positive aspects to their life. 

I know this was a very eye opening thing to her. She didn't realize that there were kids who didn't have much, a home, a family, or the joy of knowing and loving Jesus. She asked so many questions and wanted to go to the store that night and pick out things. 

I had done a bit of research ahead of time and found out what they needed most, what was the most popular gifts for the kids, and what to do. 

One day, I took Maddie to the store and we picked out a bunch of things to put in the two boxes. She even wanted to spend her own money to buy something. I let her buy a pack of pencils. She was so excited to tell daddy about her good deed. 

We couldn't find everything at one store, so I went the next day and picked up the rest of the items. Once I came home, we put it all together and told Maddie it was time to pray around the boxes. She got over the boxes and said a prayer for us. She was so excited to have these ready to go. 

The next day, we gathered the boxes up and took her to chick fil a to drop them off. 

She was very excited to hand them over and knew what an amazing thing it was to help others. 

What I didn't tell her was that if we took a box and returned it in a certain day, she would get rewarded with a gift card for a free sandwich. 

You could see by her face that she was surprised. 

She was so happy to do a good thing and couldn't wait to tell me all about it. 

It's things like this that I hope she continues to love and get excited about. I hope she remembers these moments and knows what kind of impact her small gestures make to others. She's always trying to help others, make people happy, and do good things just to do so. She has such a good heart. She makes me so proud and I'm honored to call her mine :) 

Until next time... have fun, be safe, and enjoy life. 

Lori