A lifetime of Christmas cards

In a heartwarming gesture, the participants in Saratoga Elementary's Friday activities made Christmas cards for a 6 year-old Utah girl who is not expected to live to see next Christmas.

The Utah girl's name is Addie Lynn and she lives in Fountain Green. A Facebook community called Little Addie has been created to share her story.

Tiffany Herring, Friday Coordinator for Saratoga Elementary School (SES), saw the community page and "It made me bawl, because my daughter is 6 years old and I can't imagine what that family is going through."

According to the Facebook page, Addie has an undiagnosed brain disease from which "her brain is basically shrinking and filling with fluid (diffuse atrophy) this is causing her loss of motor skills." The disease will eventually kill Addie, and the family has said they will lose her mentally before they lose her physically. "Every morning we pray that she hasn't forgotten us in her sleep."

In the face of this adversity, the family has asked for "a lifetime of Christmas cards. Enough to cover every wall in her house."

Herring had the children at SES make cards during a Friday activity where they were also making presents for their own families. About 50 children participated. "The kids are so focused on what they are going to get, it's really good for them to think about giving," Herring said.

Addie has been getting cards and gifts from around the world. These gifts include hand drawn portraits of Addie, donations to her medical fund and even a Bronze Star given by an American serviceman.

For more information on Addie or to participate in her Christmas you can find her Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Addie/495996650542271?sk=timeline or send her mail at Addie Lynn and Sisters, Box 162, Fountain Green, UT, 84632.