Maddie @ 8 Years old

Today Maddie tried out for the school play, the Lion King. She has no formal acting experience, no formal musical training, and no fear. I am just blown away by this girl's confidence! I watched her during her audition and she gave it all she had! This girl has so much heart. Here is a little bit about Maddie at 8 years old.

Selfies are kind of her jam. She has taken hundreds of them on my phone. 

She planned out this year's Halloween costume all on her own. This girl knows how to make lemons out of lemonade. Instead of wallowing in the fact that she had to get braces, she decided to theme her entire costume around them. So of course she became a nerd. And she won two costume contests in the process. #nerdsrule

She loves all things ocean and wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up.

She loves her brothers and is especially tender with her younger ones.

Full of personality she is.

A couple of months ago, she and I were able to meet up with her kindergarten teacher (who lives in Connecticut). Ms Crocco has really shaped Maddie's educational experience thus far and I will always be grateful for the year that Maddie had with her (and consequently I compare every other teacher to her and they never quite measure up). 

Nathan @ Three Years Old

This Kid. I don't even know where to start. Three years old is just a really fun age. He can dress himself (though he prefers to be in the buff and will sometimes stay that way for hours after a bath or in between changing clothes) and take care of almost all of his potty needs, but he is still so much my little baby that I feel nostalgic just looking at him sometimes because I know he won't stay this way for long.

At three years old, Nathan:

• Adores his older siblings, especially Isaac. He wants to be right where they are, doing just what they are doing. 
• Has finally started to get over his pickiness phase when it comes to food. He is at times (though not always) our most adventurous eater. 
• He loves to flex his muscles and show me how be they are getting because he eats all his vegetables. 
• I was recently called as the Relief Society president in our branch and Nathan is my little traveling/visiting buddy. He goes everywhere with me and I really couldn't ask for a more patient little side kick. Just today we headed out for a visit and he played quietly in the living room of one of the sisters in our branch for over an hour while I visited with her. 
• People comment on his curls almost daily. He also gets compliments on his angelic cherub-like face. I get asked how I ever refuse to give him everything he wants because he has such a sweet face. 
• He often hates to get into the tub and then hates to get back out of it. 
• The Little Blue Truck Leads the Way is his favorite book and he has the entire thing memorized. It reminds me of when Davis was around his age and could recite Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus from memory. I think Little Blue Truck will hold a similar place in my heart. 
• He makes me call him crazy nicknames like "My Sweet Fish" and "Snuggle Bear"---I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.
• Most of the time I am his favorite person. 
• We have been focusing on the LDS church's "Light the World" campaign for the month of December, hoping to remember the true meaning of Christmas in our home. Yesterday Davis gave Nathan a package of TicTacs. He proudly told me, "Mom! I"m lighting the world!" A minute later one of the kids asked Nathan if he would share with them. "NO!" he bellowed! "And...Nathan just made the world a little darker..." remarked Maddie. 
• He has the best smile and the best giggle and we all just adore him. 

Our New Home

In June, just a day before Maddie's baptism, Ryan and I bought our first home together. After 3 other failed attempts to buy a home, this one finally worked out! It must have been meant to be. Here we are in November, and while I'm still trying to find my place in our new town (and in Maine, if I'm being honest), I feel so at home in our new home. I love almost everything about it and feel like it's perfect for our family and this stage of life we are in right now. 

The kitchen is my favorite place in the whole house (no surprise). This photo just represents happiness to me. My family gathered together over food. I love it.

Ryan and Mary-Ann built me this island. When we bought the home all that was in it's place was a tiny mobile coffee-cart-type-counter. This island was a labor of love just for me and I love it so much.

We inherited a bunch of furniture with the home, which was nice to not have to buy a ton of stuff. I love that The living room and the dining room and the kitchen are all so open. 

See that Brian Kershisnik print on my wall? Love, love, love.

I also love the exposed beams.

The master bedroom.

The toy room. This is my second favorite place in the house. I love that the kids have space of their own to be wild and crazy and creative and that it's not right next to my bedroom or the main living area! And it doubles as a work-out room for me in the early morning. Total bonus.

The home lacked a mudroom (kind of essential here in Maine), so Mary-Ann designed one off of the playroom. She's a genius like that. 

More of the play room. 

MOHS Surgery

Because I was diagnosed with Melanoma 6 years ago, I regularly see a dermatologist who checks my skin for anything suspicious. It is extremely rare for me to leave her office without having done a skin biopsy. Since my melanoma diagnosis, all biopsies have come back benign (yippee!). But a couple of weeks ago when I went in for my semi-annual checkup, my Dr. noticed a teeny tiny mark on my right cheek. She immediately said, "I'm 99% sure that's basal cell carcinoma. We are going to have to biopsy that." Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer. It's super slow-growing and not likely to metastasize. That being said, it's still cancer and my Dr. (and I), wanted it gone. So she took a sample of it (along with 2 other suspicious marks) and I was on my way. 

Now I like to think that I'm not a particularly vain person, but the truth is I care about my face! I even caught myself being self-conscious of the tiny circle-band-aid-sized biopsy on my cheek, so I was anxious about having to remove more skin there once the biopsy results came back. 

Sure enough, my very competent dermatologist was right---the biopsy showed basal cell carcinoma just below my right eye. The good news was that the other two suspicious-looking marks both came back negative (phew!), so I only needed further treatment for the one on my cheek. 

Yesterday morning in a minor surgical procedure, I had the cancerous skin removed from my face in what is called MOHS surgery. It took most of the day because they remove thin layers of skin and then send them off to the lab while you wait in their office for the results. Once enough layers have been removed that the tissue is declared cancer-free, they stitch you up and you can be on your way. My particular surgery took two layers of skin to remove all the cancerous tissue (not the one layer we had hoped for, but definitely not a worst-case-scenario). These two layers of skin being removed landed me a puffy soon-to-be black eye and the proud owner of 20 stitches front and center on my face. 

Here I am awaiting the results of my first layer of tissue. I kept Ryan posted while I was in the waiting room with pictures and texts. He was at home taking care of Nathan. Notice the puffy, hard-to-keep-open right eye. 

Here is my battle wound right after being stitched up but before getting bandaged. My Dr. is optimistic that, given 2 or 3 months, no one but me will be able to notice the scar on my face. I am so thankful for her cautious care with my skin and especially for being so perceptive to notice the tiny cancer spot in the first place. She was so sensitive to my situation and took a lot of time to make sure she stitched me up as flawlessly as possible.

I know that this probably wouldn't be a big deal to most people. It was nothing as scary as the Melanoma I dealt with 6 years ago. But for some reason every time I find myself in the dermatologist's or oncologist's office, I get anxious butterflies in my stomach. It's hard to keep all those tender feelings buried and not worry a little bit about getting bad news again. But even though I was anxious and nervous and had knots in my stomach, I was able to feel peace through my nerves. I knew a lot of family members and the few friends who knew were praying for me and thinking of me, and I felt their prayers and support.

If I have learned anything from all of these skin cancer scares, it's the importance of sunscreen. It really does make a difference. And it only takes a second to apply. My kids get doused in it every time we spend time in the sun. I'm relentless about it and hopefully always will be. So here's my friendly little PSA--Wear Sunscreen!! And make your children wear it too.

Maddie's Baptism Day

I meant to record my feelings about Maddie's baptism shortly after the ceremony, but obviously that didn't happen! So here we are, months later playing catch up. We had a family home evening lesson last night on the importance of keeping records/journals, and I vowed to start updating this family blog weekly again. Wish me luck. 

Maddie was baptized and confirmed on June 11, 2016. It was such a pay-back day for me as a parent. Her primary teacher, Jennifer Arbour, spoke on baptism, and she asked her cousin, Carson, to speak about the gift of the Holy Ghost. They both did beautiful jobs and brought the Spirit into the meeting. Then she and Davis and Isaac sang "When I am Baptized." This was the highlight of the meeting for most people, I think. There were a lot of tears shed as the three of them sang so sweetly and innocently (I bribed them with lollipops or some kind of candy and they totally delivered!). I was also impressed with how many people from our branch came and supported Maddie. It was so touching. She invited a few friends from school, and one of them came and brought her mom with her. It was special for Maddie (and me) to teach them a little bit about our faith.

Ryan's parents were able to fly in for the week and it meant so much to us to have them there. 

When Maddie came out of the water, I was waiting between the font and the dressing room with a towel for her. As I wrapped her body in the towel, her face was beaming and tears just started streaming down my face. I tried to explain to her through tears that I was just so happy for her, the decision she had made, and the chance that I have been given to be her mother.

Not only did Lynn and Mary-Ann come into town, but so did Shannon, Matt, Natalee, and Carson! It was extra special to have them with us.

Playing around with her brothers and Carson...

oops.