Maddy's Make-A-Wish...

I just realized that I never wrote about this! Call me brain-damaged...sorry, y'all! We're still unpacking here, and then the Holidaze snuck up on me...I just haven't been keeping up with my blog at all.

Maddy's 10th birthday was Wednesday, 11/22. The following Wednesday, 11/29, the MAW Wish Granters arrived at about 4 PM, just as Maddy was getting off the bus. The Big Day had arrived. We'd been telling Maddy all week that she had a really BIG surprise coming, but we didn't tell her what (mainly because we didn't really know! lol We knew it was a TV, but that was ALL we knew.) When the ladies came in (I'll call them J & S), they had a large bag in hand. We opened it together and it was a flower-shaped pillow, a Little Mermaid blanket, a pink fleece nightgown, and some cozy socks with Ariel on them. J & S told Maddy that these items went with her Wish.

About 15 minutes later, the doorbell rang, and in walked two gentlemen from Starpower. SP is a local home theater place ~ they were absolutely awesome. They do "home theater to the stars" in the area...people like Cowboys and Rangers players, the extremely wealthy, etc. (The kind of people who have movie-theater seating in a separate room...the kind of people that live a really luxurious lifestyle, compared to ours ~ we'd never even walk into SP, unless we won the Lottery! lol) They brought in a large TV stand and started assembling it. (An aside ~ we got to talking to one of the installers, who told us about his son, who has arthrogryposis and is in a wheelchair! J & S made a MAW referral for him right there...so his son will be receiving a Wish, too!)

After about 30 minutes of that, they carried in Maddy's Wish ~ a big screen television! It's 61" and is a high definition, rear projection TV. There are a bunch of other letters, too, of course, but I have no idea what they mean. The installers got it all hooked up, showed us how to operate the thing, and left. The Wish Granters stayed a little while and watched some television with Maddy ~ who was in absolute AWE. She loves her new TV. No more glasses to mess with when she's playing at home! She can see the screen without them! Her shows on Noggin are so cool, now ~ and she gets to watch her DVDs on what seems like a movie theater sized screen. It's simply amazing.

I cried. DH teared up. Maddy laughed. I am forever grateful to Make-A-Wish for making this happen for our little peanut. This is something that she can enjoy in her own house, no matter what the weather, and she can enjoy it for as long as she lives. Now I'm tearing up again. *sniff* It was hugely expensive ~ something that we never would have been able to do for her ourselves. I am forever grateful to the owner of Starpower for the discounts that he gives to MAW to help offset the costs, and to everyone who supports our local MAW chapters. They are all angels on earth. Our Wish Granters are such awesome ladies ~ they've both called to check and see how she likes it in recent weeks.

So, there you go. Maddy's Wish was granted, and it was a huge blessing for her, and for us. When she goes to bed, we get to watch our "grownup" shows on the DVR in Hi Def. We've watched the Little Mermaid at least a dozen times in the last few weeks (maye more...) and she loves it more each time. Her favorite part, though, is watching the Cowboys with Daddy and Mommy. We snuggle up together on the couch (or with Daddy in his recliner) and cheer and holler at the 'Boys, and she just laughs and shrieks along. Too fun. What great memories we're making there ~ brings back some of my favorite Sunday afternoons with my family growing up. All that's lacking, really, is her ability to learn to catch a spiral pass in the backyard after the game. We're hoping that will come someday....

So, there's the Make A Wish update. Thanks for reading.