2010 for MADISON

Is she not completely beautiful? That smile says "you don't REALLY know what I am thinking..."

Madi has a friend or 3 to play with at any given time. Her compassion and outright FUN personality make her very very likeable

Madi's costume for a "Nacho Libre" party; can her outfit exude any more confidence? I don't think so

Meeting a cast member from "Wicked" in San Fransisco. Madi carefully purchased the outfit she is wearing, she donned the fidora every day for weeks!

two girls born only months apart. Madi's long legs put her a full head above her cousin and best buddy Grace, but they are kindred in spirit and have so much fun together

First, a resolution. This year, I must take more photos of Madi. In all her joy. In all her glory

This year, Madi has grown in oh so many ways. Her legs have gotten longer, her heart even bigger, her mind expanded, her spirit strong. She has learned so many things it is hard to know where to start!

When 2010 began Madi was dying for new adventures and activities. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to do, its that Madi does things so well and so FAST she could handle more than we had put on her plate. Now, a year later, she is experiencing almost the opposite. We are so happy on afternoons when she gets to be with us at home! Madi has enjoyed swim team this year, and went from an uncommitted swimmer to a real competitor on her team. She is trying to qualify to compete in our local Junior Olympics, and has a fighting chance even though she has the challenge of swimming with the kids who are a year older than she is (her birthday falls the day before the qualifier, so she has to 'swim up' and race the faster times).

While still in 4th grade Madi's academics were absolutely stellar, but her curriculum not so challenging. This school year Madi has been placed in class with a truly gifted and passionate teacher who requires a lot of academic committment from each of her students-and Madi rises to this challenge with tenacity and grace. She is the first kid in the family to crack the books after school, and is often the last one to close them at night. With her swim team schedule she has had to really use her time wisely both at home and at school, and she does this independent of her parents. Her teachers and coaches RAVE about her, and her parents, of course, adore her.

Madi's talents don't end with the pool or at school, but they extend to the music world as well. Madi enjoys (and is GOOD at) the piano, and we often hear her practicing of her own free will and choice. She is willing and eager to learn new pieces and has performed at church on more than one occasion. Madi also has a beautiful singing voice, and used it to join in the high school's production of the Music Man last fall. She has sung in church with some friends and also in a quartet with John, Mason and me as her back up. It was fun to sing in the congregation's choir with her-after practice each Sunday Madi would beautifully sing the songs at home, again and again, and we loved it.

One of the most enjoyable things this year for Madi has been having her friendships expand. Madi is so FUN and so FUNNY that others want to be around her. She is willing to giggle; never at another's expense and often at her own. Putting on her brother's glasses, dressing up as Nacho Libre, making silly faces or telling funny jokes, Madi is usually working to put a smile on someone's face. She is a light-and she is also light-hearted, which is a wonderful, blissful breath of fresh air with the older teenagers in the house who make things kind of heavy sometimes.

One of the highlights of this year for Madi was a trip to San Fransisco to see "Wicked". It was a great road trip, full of the musical and some shopping. Going shopping with Madi is such a fun adventure. She wants to wear things that are colorful, and bright. She isn't interested in fashion or trend, but in showing the world that she is happy! Her bright blue pea coat and smart black fedora were a favorite outfit for months. Pink jeans and striped shirts, and brightly mis-matched socks all scream "I am Creative, I am fun and I don't take life too seriously"!

This past week or two has been difficult for our Madi, as she has thought about a classmate whose mother tragically and suddenly passed away. Madi has cried crocodile tears for this boy's loss; she is sad for his mother's passing, but she is devistated for him. Madi's compassion has always been her greatest strength. Her empathy and her depth of feeling for others the thing that makes her most beautiful. I am learning from her daily how to think of others instead of myself, and how to bring joy and laughter into this world we live in.