Blogger won't let me post any more photos...could it be because I have over a thousand posts?? Does anyone know what I need to do?

OKC...okay, now I can see you

We went to Oklahoma City this past Friday to meet with an eye doctor. Okay, he's not just an eye doctor his title is Professor of Ophthalmology, Pediatric Ophthalmology, and Neuro-Ophthalmology. Dr. Michael Siatkowski was wonderful.

Friday morning started off so stinking early. If you know myself and my kids, we are not really early risers. Will usually sleeps till 8am, and sometimes even 8:30am. Ella, prior to starting school, has been known to sleep till 10am. So, when Kristie arrived at 6:30am we were all just beginning to move. By the time we got out of the house and got gas in the car, it was 7:15am and we were heading north. Kristie was WONDERFUL and stayed home with Will all day long (and he only took a 25 min nap, so she had a rough day). Ella, Joe and I headed to Oklahoma City. It was a great drive. Three hours straight up 35 and we arrived a little after 10am...and our appointment was at 11am...I love to be early to appointments. The actual appointment took FOREVER. I have to say, without Joe I might have sad down and cried. Three hours in a doctors office will put strain on any child. Add in the fact that Ella can't walk around (or even crawl) to burn off steam and it gets touchy. She actually fell asleep halfway through the appointment when they were trying to run tests...it was actually funny. Eye exams and vision tests usually require you to have your eyes open...and actually care. She literally fell asleep in Joe's lap during the test...then they put in the drops to dilate her eyes and she woke right up...silly girl.

Results...GREAT!!!! It's very rare that we get a great doctors appointment. Usually we walk out with NO idea what we just heard or what to do next. While we feel a little bit that way, we have a lot of clear ideas of her vision. Ella sees the world differently than the rest of us. This is so evident on how she acts, but it's more than that...her brain actually processes the info. Most of us see with both of our eyes and then our brain combines the information and processes the picture (amazing, I know). Ella usually only sees out of one eye at a time, so her brain on processes one eye at a time...so she has to move her head and her eyes differently than we do so that she can get the whole picture. Really, she has adapted her own way of seeing. In fact, we've done two surgeries to correct her "lazy" eye and it keeps drifting outwards, this is because her eye drifting is her adaptation to be able to see more, when she can't get her motor skills to cooperate. All of that to say that the girl can adapt to her situation. She amazes us. So, she sees really well, just differently and sometimes it looks awkward. We can't hold her head still and make her look at us with both eyes, because that keeps her from being able to adapt and see us the way she sees best. That will be hard to get used to.

On the way back Ella and I both slept...and my wonderful husband drove in silence. I think we were all relieved to have had a good appointment.

We have been talking about blessings so much in our scripture memory, Sunday School and both of Dr. Jeffress's services. I know that Ella is a huge blessing. Sometimes, selfishly, I think that she's OUR blessing, but I'm reminded that God has big plans for our little girl. He saved her from death and picked a big road for her...she's filling those shoes nicely and we are so excited to get to be along for the ride.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

My handsome birthday boy.

33 of my Favorite Things About Joe on His 33rd Birthday

1. He's funny. Yes, you may not know this about him, but he makes me laugh out loud to the point of tears, all the time. His humor is a stealth secret that he keeps, but I've seen it and it's greatness.
2. He wears the exact same clothes he's worn since he was a child. If they still fit him and would never wear out...he would probably still have shirts from childhood.
3. He is constant...the man isn't real big on change.
4. His nicknames...that I've heard may explain him: Uncle Joe and Preacher Joe...at both times these were given he was neither an actual uncle or a pastor...but his mannerisms showed for both...oh, and he's "Brother Joe" to KK people.
5. He loves sports. He's not a fanatic, but he's loyal. College Football: University of Iowa, College Basketball: Duke, ProFootball: Cowboys, ProBasketball: L.A. Lakers.
6. He's from the MidWest, but LOVES Texas. I really believe he's a Texan at heart.
7. He wears cowboy boots...almost every day. He would wear them over any other shoe.
8. Joe loves ice cream...I credit that fact to the amount of weight I gained in both of my pregnancies.
9. He's a "no frills" kind of guy. You get him exactly as he is...and he's wonderful.
10. Very little shakes him. He has an amazing faith in our Lord.
11. His favorite meals would be a good steak, Italian food (pizza included) and hamburgers...the man lived off of these for almost 9 years before I met him.
12. He has no need for a lot of friends, but he has GREAT close friends.
13. Joe loves to be outside. He love to take Will to the park, play in the yard, or just go camping with the guys.
14. Joe spent 5 years on Kanakuk staff...I believe this was huge in the friendships that were created.
15. He was dear friends with Becky Meredith Page LONG before I ever met her...and she is now one of MY best friends. So we have good taste in friends.
16. He likes to decorate in western motif...okay, not one of my favorite things about him, but since he contains it to his office at home, I don't complain.
17. He loves to snuggle with Ella.
18. Will thinks that Daddy is the greatest man alive.
19. Joe accepted me right where I was when we met, and it wasn't a very pretty place. He fell in love with who the Lord showed him I was, not what the world said about me.
20. He will go straight to the bible in any hard situation. First he'll pray, then the bible comes out.
21. He is SO good with our finances. He manages them so well, it's so easy to let him be in control of them.
22. He laughs at me...not in a bad way, but because I'm very silly, and he gets that I'm a little off and thinks it's funny.
23. He gives the kids a bath every night...and enjoys that as their time to catch up.
24. He won an award called "I am Third" at Kamp...this shows the kind of person he's always been.
25. He prays over every meal that our family eats...even Will knows to bow his head and hold hands...priceless.
26. He always grabs my hand and holds it when we pray. Even if we are across the room from each other when a prayer is given, he will usually come find me and take my hand. We love to pray together.
27. He loves his family. He said that's what drew him to me, was my love of my family, but it's been wonderful to see how much he loves his brothers. They are each so special to him. His world of aunts and uncles is precious too. His family is now our family and I like that.
28. He was overwhelmed with joy the day Ella was born and overcome with grief when we thought we would lose her. He thought to pray the second they told us that something was wrong and hasn't stopped praying for a complete healing for her. He is faithful to her and her future.
29. He is a wonderful man for my son to get to look up to...I so blessed that Will loves his daddy and that his daddy makes him a priority.
30. He loves me. The way God called him to love me. The way that Christ loves the church. He loves me and the protects us...he does more, but he does these two so well.
31. He's a simple man who married a complicated woman...he's done pretty good so far.
32. He has shown grace to me and extends it to others...as Becky once said...Joe is evidence of God's grace in my life.
33. Above the 3 of us and everything else. He loves the Lord, His Savior, Jesus Christ. Nothing comes ahead of his relationship to Christ. He amazes me daily. (sometimes moment by moment)

Stole this from another blog.

1. Somebody else always has it worse than you.
2. Somebody always has it better.
3. Better or worse has no effect on happiness. None.
4. The scariest thing about raising a kid with special needs isn't the limitations--it's the potential and how to unlock it.
5. Nutrition is incredibly important.
6. Vaccines should be treated with the utmost care.
7. Your kid is more typical than you may think.
8. There is no magical piece of equipment that will make your child walk/talk/pick up their head/crawl. That stuff takes hours of hard work on the part of many people.
9. The best wisdom comes from people who have been there/done that/bought the t-shirt.
10. The best wisdom does not come from your doctors.
11. Doctors work from generalities and your child is specific--don't forget that.
12. Always look at the kid--even if the tests look bad--look at the kid.
13. Go with your gut.
14. IQ is a measure of what you should know versus what you actually know--potential is immeasurable.
15. I no longer believe that brain damage=intellectual deficit. There are exceptions to this, but go ahead and assume that your child understands, explain consequences, and talk to them through out the day. Their bodies may belie their true understanding. Giving them the benefit of the doubt is free.
16. If a doctor tells you that you child will never be normal, ask them for the definition of normal.
17. Your kid is worth it--if a doctor cannot see you child's worth, get a different doctor. Yesterday.
18. Your child is normal. Disability is a normal part of the human condition.
19. Don't worry about whether or not you're making a friend uncomfortable talking about therapy or equipment or whatever. If they're any kind of friend, they'll figure out how to listen. Some people will be uncomfortable until they know the right language to use so use words like "disabled" and "special needs" around them so they know it's OK.
20. Looking at someone else's kid and being jealous is kind of like staring at somebody else's apple pie when you've got a slice of rhubarb right in front of you--time to figure out how to like rhubarb because that, my friend, is the slice you've been given.

http://www.includingsamuel.com/trailer/subtitled/