Is there something my cat Maddie isn’t telling me? 

Found this as well…could be a sign of things to come.

Hey Everyone!  Check me out on Dogster!  Under:  Springer Spaniel, Maddie Fields! http://www.dogster.com/dogs/508187 

Well thanks to my great friend, Lauren, and my sister, Katie, Maddie’s birthday went off without a hitch. The night before, I was sick as a dog. I felt 98% better in the morning. :)

We had a rock n’ roll birthday party. There was a guitar pinata, cereal box guitar projects, cupcakes from my friend, Heather’s bakery, Something Sweet Bakery in Galt.

It was a perfect five-year-old celebration. I swear she grew inches this week….

Enjoy the few pics I could shoot off. (being a hostess is hard work…) And check out Lauren’s blog, the Urban Hippie and what she was able to capture. For Maddie’s birthday portraits, click here.

For the longest time I wanted to start a blog. Not because I wanted to become famous (good thing, right?) or discovered, but, because I wanted a place to transcribe my thoughts and feelings. I have a lot of those. On a daily basis. Anyone who is close to me, knows this to be true.

I had a hard time getting started though. It took me about nine months to come up with a name for my blog (appropriately) and then I hit a wall of writer’s block. Oh the irony. Finally, I had a place to record all of these aforementioned thoughts and feelings but couldn’t get started.

And then one night, thanks to this wonderful little girl, the block melted away and the words and tears flowed with what turned out to be my first real post. I wish I never had the overwhelming need to write that post. I truly wish that Maddie was still here.

Today would have been Maddie’s second birthday. On her first birthday, she ate cream puffs. On what would have been her second birthday, today, her parents, family, and Moms everywhere are eating cream puffs. And wearing purple.

Maddie – you have changed the lives of so many. Your contagious smile and intoxicating eyes are forever burned into the hearts and souls of many Moms like myself. You’ve made us laugh. You’ve made us smile. You’ve made us stop and appreciate the moments with our little ones.  You’ve made us better mothers.

Thank you for being you and thanks to your Mommy and Daddy for sharing you with all of us.  

We will never forget you.  Happy 2nd birthday, sweet girl.

i woke to see heather’s post about maddies’ birthday when jilly came over to me & sighed, “she’s cute!”

indeed she is, my dear.

i remember the first time i saw her glorious face, i was struck dumb by her beauty.

and that beauty will remain forever.

in the hearts and minds of those who love and miss her, she will remain, for she is no longer here.

she’ll miss this birthday with her mama & daddy. she only had one with them and it was spectacular. full of cream puffs and love.

heather and mike love her with such fierceness, longing, and grace. i wish contented peace for them today while the celebrate such a beauty.

happy birthday, baby girl.

(click over to heather’s page to see pics of maddie. i couldn’t find one that i had permission to use.)

Service for our country has been strong in my family.  My father was in the Air Force and developed his love for photography, as he was in charge of the film on the recon planes.  Both of my brothers were in the Marines.  Not to mention the fact that the majority of my cousins were or are in all branches except for the Army.

Today though?  I want to honor my little brother specifically.  This is most likely going to get long….

He is three years younger than me, and growing up, we fought.  Constantly.  Yelling, screaming, hitting, kicking, biting.  You name it, we did it.

I broke his leg when he was about 1 year old.  Mom told me to fold a blanket and he insisted on crawling onto it and would. not. move.  Even then he was stubborn.  So I tossed the blanket over his head and jumped on him.

Karma came back to me when I got attacked by the neighbors dog and had scratches all down my face.  There is a picture floating around somewhere of the two of us passed out asleep on the bed, me with my face all messed up and him with his little cast.  We look like victims of a car wreck or something.

In high school, I was always active in Dance Team and theater.  Even though I was what could be considered an awkward geek, my brother was much worse.  He was like many teenage boys and rarely showered, barely washed his hair when he did shower and was most often seen reading or behind a computer.

He is smart.  Like, really smart.  He was taking college courses his junior year in high school.  Japanese, in fact.  Along with being super smart, he was also lazy like me.  He wouldn’t want to show his work and homework was stupid and a waste of time.  So he’d get A’s on his tests and almost fail the class because he refused to do homework.  The low grades meant he didn’t qualify for most colleges, even with his SAT and ASVAB scores off the charts.  So instead?  He decided to join the Marines.

My overweight, stinky, lazy brother joined the Marines.

It was probably the hardest thing he’s ever done.  But he finished.  He succeeded in growing into a man.  My baby brother was no longer a child.

After some time in the states, my brother was sent to Okinawa, Japan.  He was there during my wedding and they wouldn’t let him come home because he was going on deployment.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to come to the wedding before then and so bought our wedding rings for us.  It was so special and I always think of him when I look at it.

We were able to see him a couple months later under horrible circumstances.  Instead of being deployed to Iraq, he was deployed halfway down the island while their boats were in dry-dock.  When my grandmother died, he was able to catch a flight home for the funeral.

We then spent a weekend down in Southern Oregon with family.  As horrible as the event was, it was so great to see him again.

He then went back to Okinawa and finally went on deployment, kind of.  He was sent with his group to the Philippines.  A year later, he was able to come visit for Christmas.

As he was getting onto the plane to head back to Okinawa, he passed out.  He had had some issues (involving falling down stairs in fact) with his heart but the doctors said it was just heartburn.

It’s been more than 2 years, and the doctors are still stumped.  He’s been retired from the Marines for almost a year, at full disability because of these heart issues.  Coughing hurts.  He has a cane for walking around on campus because he gets tired.  Retired and old at 24.

Don’t tell anyone, but I love my baby brother.

Happy Veteran’s Day.

_____________________________

It’s also Maddie’s Birthday.  A little girl who touched the whole world.  She would have been two today.

Are you a Friend of Maddie?

I am sad today, but today is not a day for sadness.

Today is Maddie Spohr’s 2nd birthday.

Today is a day to love too hard and too fast. A day to snuggle our puppies and eat too many cream puffs. Today is a day to squeeze our mothers and our daughters. A day to paint our nails purple and play the piano.

Today is a day to celebrate that light that continues to shine so brightly over all of us.

Happy birthday, Madeline Alice. You are in our hearts forever.

Please go visit Heather and Mike today and leave them some love. I also encourage all of you to become Friends of Maddie via the button in the right sidebar.

Calado pela Justiça, antigo inspector colecciona apoios online

Cidadãos querem levar à Assembleia da Republica e ao Parlamento Europeu texto em defesa de Amaral

Sob o nome “Projecto Justiça para Gonçalo Amaral”, um grupo de cidadãos lançou uma petição de apoio ao ex-coordenador da Policia Judiciária cujo livro “Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira” se encontra proibido por injunção do Tribunal Cível de Lisboa no âmbito de um processo interposto pelos pais da menina inglesa e no qual reclamam 1,2 milhões de euros.
A petição – disponível na internet AQUI – ainda não foi lançada oficialmente, mas já contava ontem com mais de meia centena de signatários, na sua maioria portugueses, e deverá ser entregue à Assembleia da República, ao Tribunal Europeu dos Direitos do Homem e ao Parlamento Europeu.
Segundo os autores do projecto, a iniciativa visa apoiar Gonçalo Amaral, que se encontra proibido na providência cautelar de expressar “uma opinião, baseada em factos de uma investigação policial, uma conclusão racional, responsável e adulta.”
“Tal providência cautelar era apenas a ponta de um icebergue. Na acção principal a que se refere, os pais de Madeleine visam extorquir ao Dr. Gonçalo Amaral a soma de 1.2 milhões de euros – um valor astronómico e fora de qualquer proporção, seja legal, seja ético” acusa o manifesto dos autores do projecto que se identificam como “Cidadãos pela Defesa dos Direitos e Liberdades”.
Gonçalo Amaral, assim como as editoras Guerra e Paz e Valentim de Carvalho, estão proibidos por uma providência cautelar da juíza Amélia Puna Loupo de “procederem à reprodução ou comentário, opinião ou entrevista” acerca da tese defendida pelo ex-coordenador da PJ no caso Maddie, mas que, segundo o ex coordenador da PJ, apenas reflecte o que se encontra no processo da investigação.

→ também no 24horas

Why hello Bloggers!

I’m sittting here listening to Maddie, my best friend, type away at the keyboard as I think about my wonderful weekend. Finally, Calgary had some weather that was actually pretty great! On friday, I slept over at my other best friend, Jamie’s house as her mother had a Jewlery Party. We were exilled down into the basement where we stayed playing Rockband. I have to admit, I am sort of terrible at Rockband.

In the morning, Jamie, was moving her horse, Deputy, to our friends house because he is old and he needs extra care. We trailered him over to Priddis where their house is. We stayed there for a while, playing on the haybales and in the barn. I met their new dog Kaya, she is beautiful! That night, Mom and I started to work on a puzzle! There’s nothing like good Mother-Daughter bonding!

On Sunday, Maddie came out with Mom and I to the horses and I rode my horse Treasure, as she rode my mom’s horse Buck. We went for a nice ride out into the cow field!  Alot of the snow is melting, but I don’t know how long that’s going to last!

I just figure that I’ll savor the nice weather!

Erin

On Saturday, I took Madaline to see Peter Pan. It was put on by the Charleston Light Opera Guild (CLOG), and it was a great show. I have gone to those shows all my life, and since my Nana died last year, my mother and father-in-law have taken over the tradition of taking me, and we’ve since added Maddie to the mix. It’s something I’m definitely looking forward to sharing with her as she grows up!!

She was so excited to see Peter Pan. She was most excited about Tinkerbell, with seeing someone fly coming in a close second. At the end of the first act, she was trying to act like Captain Hook:

It was so funny watching her at the end of each act (there were three, with two intermissions) because she kept asking, “Is that it, or is there another show?” She thought that there were three different Peter Pans that we were going to watch, and she kept asking if one of them was “Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure” She finally seemed to grasp the point of intermissions and acts, and was a pro at leading the way to the bathroom and water fountain every time there was a chance to get up!

All in all, we had a great evening at the show. Madaline really enjoyed it, and even had some of her very own pixie dust to bring home. We are taking her to another show in December, and she is already looking forward to it!

Desaparecimento de Younes intriga investigadores

Younes, 4 anos – Foto do grupo Sud Presse (Belgique)

Menino de 4 anos terá saído de casa de madrugada, ao ouvir os pais discutirem. Nunca mais foi visto. O mistério do caso e o comportamento dos pais traz à memória o desaparecimento da pequena Maddie.

Younes como Maddie? – É esta a pergunta com que se interrogam os belgas desde há duas semanas, quando confrontados com o facto do desaparecimento de Younes Jratlou, um menino de quatro anos de idade, que alegadamente terá saído de casa às quatro da madrugada durante uma acesa e violenta discussão entre os seus pais.
Se à primeira vista nada liga o desaparecimento, em Portugal, de Madeleine McCann ao do pequeno Younes na Bélgica, o mistério que envolve os dois casos, a par do comportamento e da reacção dos respectivos pais, tem levado as autoridades e os média belgas a compararem os dois crimes.
Segundo os dados do inquérito, a que o 24horas teve acesso, a versão divergente dada pelo casal não convence as autoridades, mesmo se até agora – como no caso Maddie – o porta-voz da polícia federal continua a afirmar que o casal não é suspeito e que todas as hipóteses continuam em aberto: rapto parental, rapto, assassínio, ou acidente que teria causado a morte da criança. O que é certo é que Younes continua desaparecido e que o comportamento do casal, belgas de origem marroquina, é pelo menos considerado como “muito estranho e irresponsável”.
“Independentemente dos avanços no inquérito, podemos já falar em negligência da parte do casal,” disse um responsável da polícia ao 24horas.
O alerta dado cerca das seis da manhã pelo pai do menino, Mohamed Jratlou, veio intrigar ainda mais as autoridades, já que o filho mais velho do casal afirma que Younes saiu de casa às quatro da madrugada.
Tal como no caso Maddie, a explicação dos país para os lapsos de tempo entre o desaparecimento e o alerta para a polícia – cerca de duas horas em ambos os casos – “é divergente e não coerente,” como disse agora ao 24horas um porta-voz da polícia em Bizet, e como afirmava a PJ em 2007.
Dada a idade da criança e as circunstâncias descritas pelo casal, o desaparecimento foi imediatamente considerado pelas autoridades como “muito inquietante” levando a polícia federal a despachar para o local um número elevado de homens e cães que, com a ajuda da população, iniciaram as buscas.
Mais do que em qualquer outro país – a Bélgica ficou traumatizada com o caso Dutroux e o rapto e a morte de Julie Lejeune e Melissa Russo – as autoridades belgas não olham a meios para responder e investigar o desaparecimento de uma criança. Durante dias, homens e cães passaram a região a pente fino com a ajuda dos helicópteros da polícia e os meios da protecção civil. Também do outro lado da fronteira, em França, a PJ de Lille foi chamada a investigar diversas pistas, entre elas a possibilidade do menino ter sido levado para aquele pais.
Apesar de todas as buscas, o pequeno Younes ainda não foi encontrado e mesmo a hipótese de a criança ter saído sozinha de casa não tranquiliza as autoridades – uma criança poderia sobreviver três dias sem beber e cinco sem comer, no máximo – e o mistério mantém-se.

A reconstituição que os McCann recusaram

Passadas duas semanas, o responsável pela zona de polícia – admirador de Gonçalo Amaral e do livro que este escreveu sobre o caso Maddie, como o próprio confessou ao 24horas – e Marie-Claude Maertens, o procurador do rei, organizaram a reconstituição em presença de todas as testemunhas do desaparecimento. Coisa que a PJ nunca conseguiu organizar no caso Maddie.
“Pedimos aos pais para nos mostrarem aquilo que fizeram durante a noite do desaparecimento de Younes. Eles aceitaram sem que a polícia os obrigasse,” disse Maertens.
Esta diligência – recusada em Portugal pelo casal McCann e seus amigos – decorreu com total normalidade com a comunicação social a aceitar manter-se afastada do local como confirmaram os jornalistas do grupo Sud Presse ao 24horas.
“Todos os gestos foram filmados e repetidos em tempo real. Tanto lá dentro (da casa) como na rua e arredores. O nosso objectivo, é meter em evidência as inconsistências dos testemunhos,” disse ao 24horas o responsável da polícia federal belga, acrescentando que esta diligência, “para além de ser obrigatória, é vital para apurar a verdade”.

→ também no 24horas

Miss Maddie is turning 5 next week. And every year now, we take her yearly portraits. This year she is having a rock ‘n roll party. So she got to dress up a bit cool for her invite photos.

I love this photo… One Way… MY WAY! lol

She is always singing and playing her or her brother’s guitar. She loves music, which makes me very happy.

Look at that mischievous smile….

Onto more party planning…

Enjoy!

Maddie had her final game of the basketball season right after Chase. She usually runs up and down the court with her hands in the air. But Saturday was amazing!!!!

She was up in everyone’s face! Everyone was rolling. Her little feet were dancing all over the place. She got a steal and a rebound. She rocked!

Please enjoy the rest…

Chase’s last game of the season was Saturday. While warming up, he actually got to play running back and actually held the ball. He loves defense and going after flags, but it was nice to see him carry, even if it was just practice. He had his game face on and hustled throughout the game! They lost a heart breaker but tied for first!

Maddie staying bundled with her favorite blanket…

I thought that once Josh started back to school, that life would sort of settle down a little bit. I thought we would get back into a schedule, onto a rhythm, and it wouldn’t feel like we were rushing around everywhere. Little did I know that this fall would be full of things that keep the Bailey’s bouncing around from one thing to another!!

Madaline started school this fall, and she is thrilled beyond words. She loves her teachers, her class, her fellow students – everything about school! She comes home from school every day bursting with stories about what she has done that day, and chatters non-stop about her new friends. It is amazing watching her grow and stretch and learn. She is taking field trips, doing homework (!!!) and taking school pictures. I can’t believe this girl who was just a baby yesterday is already in school!

Grant is doing great too, especially considering all that poor boy has been through. At the beginning of September he had a severe lung infection, which led to congestion and wheezing. We had to bring home a nebulizer and give him a breathing treatment every day for about two weeks, and it seemed to clear up fine. About a week after that, Josh and I took Grant to Cincinnati to see an allergy specialist about his allergies – more specifically, his peanut allergy. We learned so much about what it mean to have a nut allergy – because, as it turns out, Grant is allergic to ALL nuts, not just peanuts. In addition, he is also allergic to dogs, cats, dust, mold, leaves, and a whole load of other stuff. We were given all kinds of pamphlets and flyers about what it means to have these allergies, and what to do in case of a reaction, etc. I feel like we really learned a lot there, and I’m really thankful we were able to go. Then, just last week, Grant had another wheezing attack. This time, it didn’t get better, and we had to take him to the Emergency Room, which is scary enough. But the doctor said she felt that even though his numbers on the monitor said that he was doing better, that he was still working too hard to breathe, so he had to be kept for observation, which included medicine through an IV,  and breathing treatments every two hours. I had never had to stay in the hospital overnight other than when I had the kids, and neither had Josh or any of the babies, so needless to say, it broke my heart that he had to stay there. After we were there for a little bit, though, Grant settled down and was a real trooper. He is such a pleasant kid,  and so happy, and he just took everything with a smile on his face. What it boiled down to, though, is that in addition to his allergies, he is now also considered a severe and fragile asthmatic, which means we have to keep a close eye on just about everything. We have to give him a breathing treatment every day for the next few months, in an effort to prevent this from happening again. (He is still a little too young for an inhaler in case of an emergency, so that is why we are doing the treatments on a daily basis.) This happening to a child definitely stretches your faith in ways that are unimaginable.

Gabrielle is growing by leaps and bounds, and is the sweetest baby girl in the world. She is always smiling, and always happy, and she loves her Momma, Daddy, and brother and sister with all of her heart – and it shows. She always has the biggest grin on her face, and she absolutely lights up when Maddie or Grant walk into the room. It is the most miraculous thing to watch the three of them playing together. She has had two sets of ear infections in the past month (a double ear infection each time), so that has kind of thrown her for a loop, but it doesn’t change that sweet little girl’s demeanor or personality. She is such a joy to be around.

Josh is helping coach at West Virginia Tech this year. It was kind of a last minute thing, but it is something we are totally thrilled with. Josh has such a talent and passion for coaching, and I love watching him during a game – he gets so excited, and his love for the game and for the players is so evident.

As for me, I am still staying at home with the kids. It is something that is different than I ever imagined it would be. Watching these kids grow and learn new things every single day is something so amazing, that it must be experienced to be believed. I can’t believe how precious it is to be at home with them – it’s honestly not something I ever thought of. It’s not like I always thought, “I’m definitely working and sending my kids to daycare”, or “I’m staying at home with them until the youngest one is in school.” It’s just something that, for some reason, never crossed my mind when the thought of kids ran through my mind. I don’t know what I thought I’d do with them once they were here, but I couldn’t be more thankful that this is what Josh and I decided was best for our family! We prayed about it, and we both really believe that God’s design for our family was for me to be here with them, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I think of all the sweet, funny, miraculous, amazing, and wondrous things that they say and do every day, and I can’t imagine missing those precious moments. They go by so fast as it is.

That’s a wrap-up of our fall so far! I have to say that even though this has been a crazy, hectic time, that I wouldn’t change it for anything. God has stretched us in so many ways, and shown us just exactly what His saving grace and mercy looks like. I have learned more this fall than ever before that we have a God who is in complete control of everything, and that I can do nothing without Him – and that becomes more and more of a comfort every day!