Maddox's Story: 2012

A new school year has started for everyone.

Bryce started 8th grade. Last year in junior high. Big man on campus! until next August when he will be the little fish in a big pond.

Marissa started 2nd grade. She is the little woman. She is only 7, but acts as if she is 21 or older. I have to say, she is really coming into her own. She is still extremely whinny, but such a tremedous help to me!

And last Maddox. He has reached a huge milestone. I have to admit, I was totally freaked out about him being away from me for 5 hours a day. And thought he would be totally freaked out. But it is just the opposite, he loves school. I really think on Friday, Saturday and Sunday he said "go chool". His teachers say he loves it too. I guess he really is a big boy. Which makes me happy that he again has gone against the Dr.s diagnosis and reached not only 3 (refer to my first post) but has started school and is loving every minute of it! I wanted him to look like a super cutie so I made him one of those shirts with a tie on it. He would have been cute if I sent him in a paper sack : ).

Wait till next week, when he gets his new glasses. He will be so cute you will want to eat him!

I volunteered to be the room mom in his room really more for me and my spying that I need to do. I know he is in good hands and loves it, but mommy is lonely and I need to be around him more then he needs to be around me. Daddy keeps telling me to cute the chord : (.

I am not only going to talk about Maddox in this blog, I will also speak of my other children and stuff that happens in our lives. Hope you enjoy.

So much has happened since our walk, which was a huge success. We managed to raise over $1033 for Maddox's Ball alone (our shirts were lady gaga themed) for the event all together in Houston they raised $10,292. The goal was $10,000 for Houston so it was a great accomplishment.

We continued with our Hydrocephalus support groups which didn't get anyone attending until the very last one for the year (2011) but boy was it a great meeting. Santa even decided to visit : ).

Our best friends Tim and Fran got married. I made her bouquet and stuff for her wedding. I am not good but I am cheap : ).

We entered 2012 ready to go . Even though most of us were sick from the beginning of December until probably the middle of March, we were still going to Mississippi for our annual spring break vacation, when something horrible happened in our family.

I have never said much else about my family except for mainly about Maddox. So I will try to make this short and sweet an easy enough to follow. I have 4 kiddos. Devon, Bryce, Marissa and Maddox. Devon's dad is Mikey. Bryce and Marissa's dad is Edwin. Maddox's dad is Michael (not to be confused with Mikey). I married Mikey very young and we just out grew each other but we have a great Son so no regrets for anything. We are still very close and great friends. Edwin and I married after being together for 8 years and 1.5 kids. Bryce was 5 almost 6 and I was pregnant with Marissa. We were married a little over a year and a half and I found out that he had a girlfriend. So we divorced. I was devastated and truly thought there was something wrong with me until Michael. We met in 2001 and just kind of kept bumping into each other at work. I applied for another job in the company and I had to interview with him, but before we had our interview he called me and as soon as I answered the phone he said "oh, your that Vanessa" I guess I left an impression on him. Hope it was good : ). We started working together but only briefly then just ended up on the same floor together. And when I was going through my divorce and being really sad an pathetic, he was there every step of the way. And the rest is history.

Anyway back to why I started to tell you a short bigraphy. We picked up Devon from Mikey's house. Mikey recently remarried Charlie and she has two kids. Sydney and RJ. We all hung out and chatted for a while before we packed up everyone and headed for Mississippi. We were not even an hour away from Baytown, TX. When Devon got a call that RJ had been hit by a car. We immediately turned around. That was the longest hour ever. When we got to their house it was horrible. Just as we pulled in, Devon got a call that RJ had not made it. The impact from the SUV running him over had killed him instantly. It was the most horrible event I had to be part of. Trying to console my son because he was so confused. Trying to console his girlfriend who is like a second daughter. Having to hear Mikey sob on the phone because of this devastating event. And then trying to console and explain to my children what had happened because we didn't say anything to them when we got the call. I will be honest, I did not know RJ that well. He had come to our house a few times and a birthday party and we had just played with him that morning. But I still cried for him today. When you hear of stuff like this happening on the news or in the paper, it is so sad. But when it is so close to home, it really freaks you out. I don't take any day with my kids for granted since that, because you never know what is going to happen. You are loved a bunch sweet one and will be missed RJ.

Now for some happier news. Devon graduated High School. He now has enlisted in the Air Force. I am so proud of him, but also worried, but again still so proud. Bryce will be going into the 8th grade. He is doing so great in school and is doing well even with being involved in Football, Basketball and Orchestra. Marissa will be going into 2nd grade. She is keeping herself busy with Hip Hop class and swimming lessons in the summer. Maddox will be starting PPCD this August. We have had many meetings for this awesome milestone for him. One of the meetings we went to I was so surprised as to how he was actually interacting with the teacher and playing with her. Not that I don't know he is a smart little man, but I never thought he could communicate that. So after our meeting I did a little experiment with him about showing me his eyes, nose and mouth. And would you believe he knows where they are. It is definitely a raw expression on how he shows me, but hey, we will take anything he can give us and celebrate it over and over again. He also now has showed me where his foot and hand are, and can tell me the difference between Maddox and Mommy. SO PROUD!!!!! We met with the genetic Dr. again. They are determined to label him with a syndrome. Even though they told us when he was 4 months old he did not have Walker Warburg syndrome, now they are saying, their testing is only so good and they still think he has it or Joubert syndrome. I asked my number one question, is it life limiting (will he die at a young age) and I was told no. That is all I need. We are all prepared for a long, hard, slow progression, but as long as he is here with us, we all have nothing but time. And so does he!

Every one's birthday is coming up with the exception of Devon his was in June. Happy 18th baby.

Here are some pics of all the stuff that has happened