Gratitude, Graduation, and Grandeur

Another school year has come and gone, its hard to believe so much has happened in the last few months. I'm really not sure where to begin. I suppose I can start with Landon and see where it goes from there.

Landon has graduated from 6th grade, yeah! We will not have any children in elemantry school, ever again, which is really weird... he is very excited about moving on to Jr. High and the masses of pre-pubescent teens with acne, body odor, and a perpetual awkwardness that will accompany him and most of his peers for the next few years. He was involved in ballroom dance this year at school and also had a part in the school play "Honk" a musical version of the Ugly Duckling. It was sure fun to watch him and his friends as the play came together. Landon is also looking forward to scout camp and will be attending Space Camp in Alabama this month. He is now taller than his mom and seems to grow in his sleep.

Hillary just graduated from Layton High, can I get a Woot! Woot! She is very excited to move on to college, she will be attending BYU - Provo this fall (Go Cougars!). Hillary was very involved in school this year with Key Club and the Science Olympiad Team. The Layton High team took state this year and she got to travel to Wisconsin to compete in Nationals. We are very proud of all her hard work and we know the things she has learned will definately bless her at the next level.

Lindy and Cameron are in Logan attending Utah State, Lindy has been accepted into the Elementary Education program there, she and Cameron are both working hard and learning together about the struggles of married college students.

Madey continues to make a difference in our home and we have been blessed by many that continue to remember her. Last month Fairfield Jr. High retired Madey's basketball jersey. It was a tender moment, our hearts were full as coach Ron took a moment to honor her and present us with her jersey. We are also trying to continue the difference maker legacy. This year we started a scholarship. "The Difference Maker Scholarship in Honor of Madeline Slaughter". The scholarship was offered at three high schools here in the area, Northridge, Davis, and Layton. It was a rewarding and emotional experience to be involved in the process of selecting recipients and awarding the scholarships. But we felt it was what Madey wanted us to do and that she was pleased. Our hope is that we can continue to fund the scholarship for many years to come.

Now that the school year is over we took the time to go to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and check out Grand Teton National Park. We had a wonderful family vacation and enjoyed time together as well as the beauty of the park. We were also reminded of life lessons learned. While hiking to Hidden Falls in the Jenny Lake area of the park, we found that much of the trail was still covered in several feet of snow. Landon didn't have on very good hiking shoes and struggled to get good traction. We were just about 30 yards from achieving our goal of the falls when Landon decided we should quit and go back. I aked him how he would feel if when we got back to the lake he realized we missed the waterfall by a few yards? He still didn't want to go on, but with some urging he continued and we all got to see the splendor of this magnificent scene. It made me stop and think how many times in my life I have wanted to quit when I was just short of a desired goal or needed blessing. I guess I was reminded that sometimes the blessing comes solely by completing the journey.

As we move forward on our journey we hope that we will have the courage to continue even when the trail is difficult and we feel like turning back. Knowing that the Lord will bless us along the way.

Thank you, Miss Madey!

It has been quite the internal struggle to know whether or not to continue updating our blog. For the longest time we thought since Madeline's battle was over maybe the blog should be over as well. But recent events have caused us to rethink our decision and so here we are looking for our "new normal". We really aren't sure what its supposed to look like or if we will even recognize it when its discovered, but we are learning a lot about ourselves and striving to embrace the unwanted changes in our life.
To help us on our journey we were blessed by the Make a Wish Foundation to take a trip to Florida. Madey had been granted a wish last year and just prior to her passing she changed her wish and requested that her family go to Florida on her behalf. When we received the news that Madey had changed her wish and that the foundation had made an exception to send us to Florida we were filled with many mixed emotions. The weeks leading up to the trip were filled with anxiety and fear, 'how can we take Madey's trip without Madey'? We were also informed that we would be staying at the "Give Kids the World Village" with other families that had children with terminal illnesses. We didn't know how we would feel when we saw beautiful bald headed children taking a break from their battle with cancer to enjoy Mickey, Minnie, and all that Disney World has to offer.
When we got to Florida and met the amazing people that run the Village, something started to change for us. We began to realize that this trip existed in many ways to help us heal. There were many teary moments, but they were good tears. We cried because we miss Madey, we cried because of the love and kindness of strangers, and we cried because we know no matter how much we miss our wonderful daughter, sister, and friend she truly is in a better place.
Our trip was truly amazing not only did we get to spend time at several theme parks, we also got to spend time as a family and we had what I guess you would call several "Madey Moments". One such moment came on the day we went to Sea World. We were so excited, none of us had ever been there and really didn't know what to expect. When we first arrived we immediately went to get seats for the dolphin show, it was really fun. We then went to the area where you can feed dolphins only to be discouraged by a long line. So we decided to see some of the other sights and come back later. The kids all wanted to ride the Manta rollercoaster, so while they waited in line Michelle and I went to save seats for the Shamu show. As luck would have it the roller coaster took longer than expected and the kids missed the killer whale show, so we watched it without them, awesome show. We decided we would go see some other shows and ride some rides and come back to Shamu for the second showing, which we did. After Shamu we hurried to the dolphin feeding area only to find out they had stopped feeding dolphins 15 minutes before we got there, bummer. So we hung around the dolphin viewing area trying to get a dolphin to come close enough so we could pet it. All Madey had wanted to do at Sea World was pet a dolphin. Well the dolphins were smarter than us and stayed just out of reach. I decided I should slap the wall to try and get their attention Cameron followed suit and we were reprimanded by one of the workers, embarrassing. Who knew that this one act of stupidity would lead to a conversation with the worker/dolphin trainer. She noticed that we were all wearing our 'Miles for Madey' fun/run t-shirts. She asked about them and Michelle tearfully explained that it was the two month anniversary of Madey's passing and we were on this trip to fulfill one of her wishes, to pet a dolphin. Before we knew it we were quietly ushered into the dolphin feeding area where the trainer got a bucket of fish and began feeding three very active dolphins, Jen, Starky, and Tiger. She got the dolphins to slide up on a ledge so that we could take turns petting them, it was amazing and so fun to hear the excited laughter of the family. Then out of nowhere one of the dolphins, Jen, splashed Michelle, and then stopped and just stared at her. There was no doubt that Madey was with us, and the playful behavior of a dolphin reminded us of the playful nature of Madey. Several scenes from the past returned to our minds, scenes of Madey squirting a different victim each night with a syringe full of water, or her squirtgun camera she had purchased at All A Dollar, all the while laughing because she got you. We left Sea World that night with grateful hearts, realizing there really are no accidents. Whether it comes in the form of being stuck on a ride, missing a show, or a long line at a dolphin feeding area, tender mercies are all around us, just waiting for us to recognize them.
We were only able to take this trip because of the kindness of others, we were blessed by the kindness of others all week. From the amazing staff at Make A Wish to the incredible people at Give Kids the World, to a dolphin trainer named Katie, and three area high schools who texted to bless our family. We anticipate the blessings of paying it forward as we strive to be difference makers, like Madey and so many of you....
Madey, your star will always shine on cloud 9 row 1 star 7

Missing Madeline

On Tuesday January 11th our sweet Madey was taken home to her Heavenly Father. She courageously battled cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma, and was and is an inspiration to all of us. We have often felt that Madey was sent to earth to be a difference maker. She has inspired and helped many on this difficult journey and we will be forever grateful that she is our daughter, our sister, and our friend. We are also grateful that life doesn't begin with birth nor end with death.
A viewing is scheduled for Friday January 14th from 6-8 pm at Lindquist Mortuary in Layton, Funeral services will be help Saturday January 15th at 11:00 am at the Fairfield LDS Chapel 380 S. Fairfield rd. There will be a short viewing prior to the service from 9:30-10:30 am.

We wish to express our love and gratitude to all those who have loved and supported Madey with your faith, prayers, and your kindness. We love you.

Looking Back - Leaning Forward

Where to begin...December seems like a blur. With all of the wedding preparations and the usual hustle and bustle of the Christmas season it seems like time has once again slipped quickly away from us. We will start with the wedding...what a great day! Lindy and Cameron were married on December 18th in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. It was a cold day, but we were definitely kept warm by support and love of family and friends. It was especially awesome because Madey was feeling good enough to come to the Temple and she also participated in the wedding dinner and pictures. Lindy was a beautiful bride and Cameron cleans up pretty good too. It was heart warming to see so many family members in attendance, thanks especially to those that traveled long distances to attend. Lindy And Cam are now living in Logan UT, and will start back to school at Utah State in January.
In addition to the wedding we really enjoyed Christmas. We had a memorable Christmas Eve with all of the children in attendance. Landon and Hillary helped us review the Christmas story from Luke 2 and we enjoyed the warm feelings that come as you take time to think of the birth of our Savior. We also laughed a lot as everyone shared their Christmas memories, it was heart warming to hear all of the kids stories about Christmas's past, even about the 'regular orange and a peach too.' Christmas day did not disappoint either. Hillary started waking people up around 7 am, once we got everyone into the living room and Madey settled into her lazy boy recliner we began opening gifts. It was sure fun to see peoples reactions to their gifts. I think everyone got something they wanted and there was a definite feeling of gratitude present. I am always amazed at the good feelings that accompany Christmas and the giving and receiving of gifts. We were especially blessed by many Christmas elves who took a special interest in our family this year and shared timely gifts that will help ease the burden of our battle with cancer.
With all of the good feelings of the holidays still in our hearts, we were again reminded that we cannot escape the challenges of mortality. Madeline has been experiencing more pain than normal lately and having difficulty walking without assistance. We met with her Dr. on Thursday and found that the chemotherapy treatments she has been undergoing are not working. Madeline's cancer has continued to grow and advanced to the point that any treatment she has from here on out will be solely for temporary relief of pain. We are obviously heartbroken and disappointed. The unfairness of it all feels at moments as if it will crush us, and yet we find comfort in our family, our friends, and our faith. Thursday morning before we met with the Dr. Madey wanted to have prayer with us, in the prayer she was promised that we would receive answers to her lingering questions even if those answers were not in line with our personal desires. The answers were definitely not in line with what we want, but we know that God has a plan, and that each of us are part of that plan. Although we don't understand our role in that plan right now, the time will come when we will. We also know that regardless of what happens our family is an eternal family. Our hearts are hurting, and yet we still laugh, we still smile, we still play, we still plan, and most importantly we are still comforted by the love we have for each other and the pure love that God has for each of us.
We wish you all the happiest of New Year's, and thank you for the many prayers, gifts, hugs, smiles, and warm wishes you have sent our way this year.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Wow, where does the time go? We made it happily through Thanksgiving and started off December with a new type of Chemotherapy. So far Madey seems to be handling it well, she does have to take a type of steriod during the second week which causes her muscles to ache and seems to make her a bit weak. She goes to clinic once a week for an outpatient treatment, after two treatments we get a week break before starting another cycle. Once she has completed 3 cycles we will run more scans to see how it is impacting her cancer. We feel like we are on the right track. We love having her at home and being able to spend time together as a family. Madey misses regular interaction with her friends and is grateful for those that still text and visit her. It is hard trying to be a normal teenager under abnormal conditions, I guess it allows her to become better friends with her siblings.

We have been working on the final wedding preparations for Lindy and Cam. We made it a girls day out and went to watch the bridal shoot in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Lindy looked beautiful, and Cam wasn't to bad either...

After a transfusion on Friday, we were able to go with the youth in our ward to look at the lights on Temple Square. It was fun to bundle up and let Madey's friends take control for awhile and ooh and ahh at the wonderful sights and sounds of Christmas.

Madey, like the rest of us, is really looking forward to Christmas. The tree is up and George actually put lights on the house this year, something he has neglected for the last couple of years, mostly because of his dislike of high places. We are also anticipating Lindy and Cameron's wedding which is only a week away. It will be a very different holiday with a married child trying to start her own holiday traditions.

Once Landon and Hillary get out of school this week I think all we will need for Christmas will be snow! Which Madey prays for daily...