Madison Sanders Writes

Today we have Sarah from Life {Sweet} Life in the hot seat telling us more about her. She is pregnant with her long awaited first child, is addicted to The Office, and tells hilarious stories about things that happen where she works. If you don't read her blog, go say hey! You may fall in love with her story about how God worked a miracle to give them the greatest gift--a child. 1. Given the opportunity to play any character from a TV show who would you choose and why? Hmm…probably Pam from The Office because Jim Halpert is adorable! And I think it would be nothing but laughs filming with that cast. :) 2. If you had to live in a foreign country, what’s one thing you would do? I would love to work with orphanages. 3. If you could travel back in time where would you go and who would you take? I think it would be amazing to live during the time Jesus was on earth and doing teachings and performing miracles…people must have been so shocked to see something like this happening in

DISCLAIMER: Do not come off any medications without a doctor's supervision. I'm am working with my doctors to come off these slowly and as my body can tolerate the changes. You may wonder what the meaning is behind this picture. Well, I'm in a battle. A battle that requires determination, faith, and courage. I'm preparing for the long haul. I've suited up in my armor: Prayer+faith=a victory. I've reached a point in my pain management that it's time to come off the medicines. I'm blogging about this for my remembrance , but if it helps someone in the process, that's wonderful. Today you see a picture of all of my medications. They're quite menacing aren't they? While they do help, they do come with side effects, which feel more like side kicks because they keep you down while your body is trying to adjust to the pain. In others words, sometimes pain meds have the opposite reaction after awhile because while some can significantly lowe

Image Credit: Google I sat at my beloved art station with my Etch-A-Sketch in hand. I started out with simple lines swirling across the board. If I didn't like it, I could erase the drawing with the crooked lines and smiley face and start over. I would draw flowers, my house, and my name onto the dark grey surface flecked with little particles that magically turned my pencil marks into something visible. Drawing my name might not seem like a big deal to most people, but I had a hard time writing it when I was little because of my disability. I would practice making a big swooping "M". As I did this, visions of elegant actresses and movie stars flashed before my eyes. I longed for my writing to be simple and elegant, but at that moment it was a sloppy, lopsided mess. Discouraged, I vigorously shook the Etch-A Sketch, desperate to erase the painful reminder that I still had a long way to go. Mama called me from the kitchen, which meant it was time for dinner. I was gratefu

As I opened a box of Raffaello Coconut balls, I immediately envisioned biting through that flaky outside to reveal that creamy white goodness. The picture on the box shows a white ball dusted with coconut, but underneath, it's just a white ball filled with cream. How many times do humans pursue a friendship with someone just based on what they seem like on the outside? Many times someone can look like a caring, charming person. As time goes on, that superficial facade comes off layer by layer, revealing a much different side of that person. Then, we kick ourselves for being so blinded by their outward appearance. When you really get to know someone, you are fully aware of their faults and quirks and accept them anyway. This doesn't happen over night or even a few weeks; it takes a long time to get to this place. In this place, one is vulnerable because they can't hide under jokes or material things anymore. Both people involved have to be willing to reveal the real them,

Recess was in full swing. Boys and girls were playing an intense game of hoops, some were playing freeze tag, but I had my own little thing going on. I guess you could even say I had groupies. I had found my way over to the swings. I loved the feeling of freedom. I grabbed the rusty chains and started pumping. Before I knew it, my friend R had joined me. "Wanna see who can get the closest to touching those tree limbs?" he asked. Sure. That looked so far away to me, but I was willing to try. By this point, I should have known R was up to something. "Will you sing for me?" he asked ever so sweetly. I guess, was my hesitant reply. "OK, I wanna hear I Believe I can Fly." Whoa now! He had been hashing this brilliant plan of his for awhile, probably during math class I told myself. Never skipping a beat, I was still pumping my legs. "I believe I can fly" I sang softly but loud enough for him to hear. I didn't want the whole class hearing because

I'll be back and better than ever after Friday, which means you'll have comments from me. Thanks so much for all your support while I've been spending more time with God. I've learned more about myself, and I have taken the time to reflect on how far I've come. I'm making progress in therapy. Some days are so great, and some days couldn't be over fast enough. Pray for continued strength and grace for me as I continue on this journey. Anytime I reflect, it's two sided because I realize how much further I have left to go. One of my friend's posted an excellent quote on F@cebook the other day that would explain everything: "~Not what I should be; Not what I could be..Not who I want to be, but sure not who I used to be!"~ C.S. God wants us to fully rely on Him. Not our knowledge, our jobs, or anything else. When you really reflect on where you are, there's no denying how utterly lost and helpless we would be without Him. He is my life, my

Mama had taken us down to the Rec. Department to play one afternoon. We played on the big yellow slide and the monkey bars, but what we really liked was the wishing well. I skipped down the sidewalk admiring the well manicured lawn. I couldn't wait for Mama and E to get there. "Can I please have a penny?" Mama fished a shiny brown penny from her pocket. I held onto it so tight. I had read the Wishing Well book, so I was very excited. I didn't know what could happen, but I knew it had to be good. I peered over the gurgling creek, searching for little fish. I didn't think the wishing well would like pushy kids, so I patiently waited on my mom a brother to get there. I thought maybe our twin powers would get us a great wish. Or maybe even an extra wish if the wishing well princess was feeling especially nice that day. Finally, after what seemed like a century in kid years, my brother stood beside me. I closed my eyes and made a wish. I can't remember what I wishe

No, silly, not that kind of addition. I'm talking about a new addition to my ever growing collection of medical supplies. I've often joked that I could open up my own medical supply place. I'm excited to announce something that I've wished for a long time. I'm getting a custom made wheelchair!! My pain management doctor said she never would have thought about that causing my pain because that isn't her speciality. So, just when we thought we were going in circles, we found a doctor who recommended that. Granted, he didn't think about my wheelchair causing my hip pain because it looks like the ones on every hall of the hospital. He said he got to thinking about that though, and I'm so glad he did! We went last week to get measured for it. They even let me try one out. It was so completely different from the one I have now. They added a few more cushions to support my back. I felt like a completely different person. My back felt like a million bucks! The