Christmas Day Highlights

So what was in all those packages?

Well, there was lotion!

Joseph.  Yours is not lotion; it's soap.

One of the most exciting presents came from Mr. Jim (and Mrs. Pat)!

Didn't matter what was inside.  It was from Mr. Jim!

But the inside racetrack was great fun.

A toolbox.  Can you feel the joy?

Joseph had picked out some shoes for me to give him.  He was all sarcastic-y surprised to open the box. 

...and find that I'd wrapped something else in it.  Surprise.

Some books that were re-gifted from Joseph's youth

... still captivating. 

In fact, G sat happily and played with each gift he opened.  It makes me wonder about exchanging the "Christmas morning flood" next year for some kind of "Advent (Hanukah?) one-gift-each-night celebration."  Has anyone done that?  Thoughts?

After gifting, we were off.  My family was all out of state, but we got to celebrate with Joseph's relatives.  So fun!

And it involved G wearing a tie... You know he was thrilled to look so handsome.

And then the day was over.  A blur.  A fun blur.

Hope you had a fun blur too.

Gifting

Will I ever figure it out?

Back & forth; back & forth.

My boys already have more than they could ever need.

     I like to see them smile.

Do I want them smiling over "more stuff"?

     Christmas is a celebration of a gift.

I don't want them unfocused on the important gift.

     I have the ability to buy gifts for them.

Or I have the ability to give my gifts to others who might have nothing.

     This is the family God made me responsible for.

God warns me: "This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment." (from James 5)

I tried for moderation.  A celebration of gifting and of my family, while still being responsible.

Fail.

After my anguish, Christmas morning arrives.

G wakes & comes to see me.  "Mama, you see dose presents?  Now, can I have da orange juice?"

Yes, the orange juice that I had been saving for Christmas morning.. that was the big hit.

Well, that and the Teddy Grahams.

Sheesh.

Merry Christmas

On this day of Christmas...

My true love gave to me...

a PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD for my baby!

(April 2007: Referral received;

January 2010: Arrived home;

December 2011: Party)

Home

I wake early.

With G asleep, I remember the coffee cake my friend sent to us.

Home-made deliciousness.

A little too much sugar to be a wise breakfast choice for G.

This is my perfect opportunity.

I head to the kitchen

and remember that Joseph is home.

"Guarded"

While behavior has been improving, the eye.... not so much.

A cataract has formed and is blocking G's vision in that eye.

Yesterday we met the cataract doctor.  Our retina doctor asked him to take G.  Multiple people have told me he's "the best."  He seemed kind & knowledgeble.  I liked him. 

I didn't like what he had to say.

We must be guarded about G's chances of recovering vision in that eye.  We are uncertain what kind of vision will result.  It has been a long time since G has been able to use that eye.  The brain begins to ignore vision from an unused eye.

Much will depend on the retina's health.  At this point, due to the cataract, we cannot see the retina.

The cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens.  It's like a cellophane bag, with protein inside.

G's cataract is not the usual situation.  His doctors suspect that there is a hole at the back of the "bag."  The problem is that when the surgeons enter from the front, then the lens material could fall to the back.. through to the retina.  Of course, G's retina does not need any more damage.

The lens material could be small & thin, and absorbed on its own.  Or it could get inside and cause an inflammation.

Once the lens is out it will need to be replaced with an artificial lens.  Lenses have different powers.  G's eyeball will need to be measured to determine the correct lens, which is not easy in a little boy.  9 times out of 10, the hospital will have the correct lens in stock.  Occasionally, they will have to order the lens and complete the surgery without it (requiring another surgery).

We need to set small goals.  Our first goal is to get that cataract out.  After that, we can reasses.

The cataract surgeon is booked through Christmas and is out of town the week after Christmas.  He had seen two other children yesterday, but will get G in for surgery before them.  We are probably looking at the first week of January.  I'll learn the date this Friday.

That is the total of all I know.

So many people are saying they are praying for G.  I hope they really are.

Delight

Our home has moved a little closer back to normal.

It is wonderful to watch this boy playing,

encouraging his trucks to "Push with all your MIGHTY!"

It is wonderful to laugh.

Good Books for a 5-year-old

With G's facedown requirement, we read hundreds of books.

Hundreds.

I can't tell you what our MOST favorite have been, because those have become Christmas presents for some special nieces (& one small Malachi).  But here are some others you might enjoy.

Read many times.  A favorite. 

This one has me saying "Terrific" all the time.

As the pencil draws, things come to life.

Has the shortest chapters ever.  Made Joseph & I both laugh out loud.

I could leave this one, but G loved it.  One of the babies is not as brave as the others and needs encouragement.

I don't understand the attractiveness of this one, but G wanted to read it again & again.

A fun book to read out loud.. but only if you can do a terrific Texan accent.

Sweet book. 

Boris' mom puts ice cubes in the bath to cool it down for him.

Velvet is different.  The other all-the-same kids come to appreciate her.

The boy designs an amazing car.  Fun rhymes made it enjoyable to read, which was good, because G loved it.

If you check any of these out, let me know what you think.

And if you have any great tips for a good read, please share.

The Eye: Where We Are

To recap where we've been recently:
1. G's retina was detached
2. Surgery
3. Calm & still.  No being around other children
(including the babysitter's children).
4. Still detached
5. More surgery
6. More calm & still; no other children.  Plus
mandated staring at the floor all day every day.
7. Six miracle days of cooperation
8. Six days of... misery

We had been trying G on a medication to help him achieve "calm & still."  That, along with your prayers, brought about a miraculous post-surgery window. 

Unfortunately, that window closed.  I wrote about the struggles that we have been having.

On Sunday we discontinued G's medicine (and you all prayed some more), and he's now had 3 terrific days!  Terrific in spite of us having to wake early for doctor appointments.  Terrific in spite of us returning to "scrambling for babysitters."

We're back to "scrambling for babysitters" because
(1) I returned to work.  I'd rather be home with G but, you know, a paycheck is nice too.
(2) Our regular babysitter quit.  I understand why.  G hasn't been able to go to her house and I haven't been able to pay her and, you know, a paycheck is nice.  But (sob) I thought we were almost back to "normal!"

This week we have 5 different sitters lined up.
Good news: This covers the whole week.
Bad news: G usually does much better when life is consistent.
Miraculous news: One of the sitters is a prospect to replace the sitter who just quit!

I will die of thankfulness if God provides a new sitter for us just that easily.

Oh - and you wanted an update on the eye -

The retina seems to be ... attached!

Attached, y'all!

We'll see if that continues.  The gas bubble dissipated more quickly than hoped for, which means it wasn't able to press & hold the retina in place as long as we wanted it to.

Also, it's hard for the doctor to see into the eye really well because G's eye has developed a cataract.  I guess that is serious because it's blocking vision in that eye.

Did you know that at age 5, a child's brain is still learning how to receive & process vision from the eye?  Vision is still developing.  Aren't our bodies amazing?

We can't have G's "visual development" blocked - I think because it would risk his brain discontinuing trying to connect with that eye.  Don't trust me; ask your doctor.  Anyway, he will need to have a cataract surgery soon.

Yes, I'm still typing.  Mercy.

SO - we have been cleared to stop the "facedown" (staring at the floor) part of recovery!  Halleluiah!

We do need to continue the "calm & still" part.  This is proving to be a challenge because
(1) He's so happy to be feeling better
(2) He's a 5-year-old boy

The child doesn't sit and play cars.  He bounces & flops and plays cars.

Oh, how I want that retina to heal.

Won't it be amazing if G's eye is saved?!

Thanks - again - for praying.

I Love This Notebook

When G came home, I took this spiral notebook.

It had once been Joseph's Chemistry notebook.. but it had suspiciously few notes in it. 

With those pages ripped out, it became G's Medical Record.  Each time G went to a doctor, I jotted a quick note with the date, doctor; what happened.  Easy.  Done.

The book has been a lifesaver.  I'm surprised at how often I'm asked questions about G's medical history.  I am not surprised at how much I forget. 

Thank goodness for the notebook.

Thanksgiving Break

SOMEONE was happy to see Joseph.

Ok - TWO someones were happy to see him.  I'm always glad when my boys are both at home.