Lately

Summer of 2012 is winding down, and we are staying busy and time is flying by us. A few things we've been up to lately.... We had a big storm roll in as we were driving back from running errands. We all climbed in the back of the car and watched the rain and winds.

I don't know how or when this happened, but Maddi is going to sixth grade which means Junior High School! The thing Maddi is most excited about it having a locker, and in particular, she is excited about decorating it. She has spent lots of time watching you tube videos about decorating ideas and she has looked at the locker stuff at every store we've gone to. Here she is with her decorated locker. It looks cute, but even better, she was able to open her lock every time she tried. Whew! She was really nervous about that, so hopefully she can check that off of her list of things she's worried about for junior high.

Another great thing is that her bff, Jane, has the locker right next to her. The knew they'd be close to each other because they are both "Mc" names, but even better, they are locker neighbors. It looks like Maddi has a great schedule with PE first in the day and Study Hall at the end of the day. She knows people in several of her classes and knows a lot of people with the same lunch. She also has a teacher that I really was hoping she would have for Read 180 and for Study Skills. I thought the whole sixth grade orientation went really well, but Maddi left in tears, mainly because she feels overwhelmed and is afraid she'll never find her classes. She's going to sixth grade survival skills on Monday and I think she'll feel better about everything after that class. It's hard to believe Maddi is getting so grown up but I think this will be a good next stage of her life and she will mature and become more responsible.

We met with Maddi's friend, Jarid, at the bowling alley for a photo shoot for a special needs calendar. The theme is friendship and Maddi, Jarid and Jarid's sister, Grace, will be the picture for March. Maddi wrote this to go along with their picture:
I met Jared at school during recess. When I first saw him I knew he would be a good friend. He does sign language and that encouraged me to learn it so I could talk to him. Ever since I met him I would play with him at recess. In the summer we got together to play. I am so glad I met him. He is such a sweet friend! -Maddi

It's so cute to see Jarid and Maddi together. His whole body literally lit up with excitement when he saw her. He started his CP squeal and almost fell down because he couldn't control his excitement. I know that Maddi has touched this boy's life and I couldn't be prouder to be her mom. When it was time for us to go, Jarid signed "miss Maddi" and almost cried. Maddi gave him a hug and then he pointed to his lips for a kiss but Maddi gave him another hug. We thought that was so funny that he wanted a kiss! Jarid's program has been moved to a different school than where Maddi will go, so she won't see him at school this year. I do hope they can get together now and then during the year on the weekends. There is something very special about this Maddi girl and I can't wait to see what she does with her life!