I can see clearly now.....

my glasses/contacts are GONE!!!! I can happily say that I am no longer legally blind, in fact, I have 20/20 vision that continues to improve!

Thursday morning, I had LASIK. I have been "visually impaired" since I was about 13 years old. Once my vision started to go, it went at a rapid decline....by the time I graduated high school, I could not function without the use of contacts or glasses. For the past 5 years or so, my prescription has remained stable and I have often thought of "taking the plunge" and going in for corrective surgery, but never actually took the steps. I mainly wore contacts, and was a fan of extended wear disposable lenses. I could put in my contacts and leave them in for an entire month without having to take them out for cleaning, etc. For the most part, my impaired vision wasn't too much of a hassle.

The day before we left for Long Beach for the CFA seminar, I was starting to have some issues with my contacts...I think I must have scratched one of them or something....anyway, I went to put on a new pair and realized that I was wearing my last pair! So, for the week of Seminar, I had to rely mostly on my glasses. I could only wear my contacts for about 5 hours before my eyes would start watering uncontrollably. After having to wear my glasses for so long, I decided to go ahead and "take the plunge" and seriously look into LASIK. So, when we got home from seminar, I made my appt. I first saw my regular eye dr. who referred me to Woolfson Eye Institute. This just happened to be the same place that a friend of mine had his surgery done. I went for the consult and found out I was an excellent candidate and scheduled my surgery! I had to go a minimum of 2 weeks without wearing contacts (they change the shape of your eye). Wearing glasses full time was probably the hardest part of the waiting game. Finally, the big day arrived!!!

My appointment was at 9:00 and by 12:00 I could see! The actual surgery only took about 10 minutes. I was awake the whole time...they simply numbed my eyes with drops. It was a strange experience...and I must say, if you are the least bit squeemish about having someone touch your eye...you might not want to try LASIK! I'm not sure what my vision was immediately post surgery, but I was able to read my post-op instruction sheet at arms distance easily when prior to surgery, anything I wanted to read had to be within 5 inches of my face! At my one day post-op appt., my vision tested at 20/20! My surgeon said that my vision could continue to improve over the next 2-3 weeks.

I'm amazed at the technology available these days! If you are considering eye surgery, let me know....I can recommend a great doctor!

A good reminder....

Cherokee Legend

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of Passage? His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.

He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.

We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him. If you liked this story, pass it on. If not, you took off your blindfold before dawn.

Moral of the story: Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there.

'For we walk by faith, not by sight.'

A love for Chick-fil-A

Socks.

So, last night, I was trimming the girls toenails. I started out with Amy's....and I was tickling her feet as I did it. Of course, the other girls saw this and wanted in on the fun. I did Emma's next (and had to tickle her feet too!). Finally, as I got ready to do Audrey's, I was tickling her feet and told her that she had the softest feet in the whole wide world. (She really does have amazingly soft ~and dainty~ feet). She looks at me and with all seriousness replies, "That's because I wear socks."

Who knew the secret to super soft feet was to just wear socks. Smile.

What my kids think....

I posted this survey on my Facebook page, but thought I'd put it here too. I asked my kids these questions separately so they couldn't copy each others answers.

From Emma (8), Audrey(5), & Amy(4).

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Emma: You love me and you wish I wouldn't be bad sometimes
Audrey: I love you
Amy: I love you

2. What makes mom happy?
Emma: Daddy
Audrey: When I do the right thing
Amy: When I give you a gift

3. What makes mom sad?
Emma: When we yell
Audrey: That we don't do the right thing
Amy: When I hurt

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Emma: By being funny
Audrey: When you say something funny
Amy: Doing funny things

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Emma: How am I supposed to know?
Audrey: You had blond hair and pigtails on both sides
Amy: What does that mean?

6. How old is your mom?
Emma: 32
Audrey: 32
Amy: 15 or 17 or 52

7. How tall is your mom?
Emma: I don't know
Audrey: Huge big (I can only imagine how tall she thinks David is!)
Amy: Big

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Emma: Be with Daddy
Audrey: Play
Amy: Play

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Emma: Sit on the couch and watch TV and work on your laptop
Audrey: Watch tv
Amy: I don't know

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Emma: Singing great
Audrey: I don't know
Amy: Me! (Love it!)

11. What is your mom really good at?
Emma: Helping me with homework
Audrey: Talent show
Amy: Sleeping, you're SO good.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Emma: Drawing, no offense (None taken!)
Audrey: Juggling
Amy: Putting up pictures

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Emma: You don't have a job
Audrey: Work somewhere
Amy: Clean up the house

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Emma: Hickory Chicken
Audrey: Salad
Amy: Rice and chicken and green beans

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
Emma: Being nice
Audrey: Don't know
Amy: You fix me a drink

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Emma: SuperWomanl
Audrey: Hannah Montana
Amy: A beautiful one and a diamond one because I love you (I think she's trying to be my favorite!)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Emma: Talk
Audrey: Play
Amy: Play

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Emma: We agree on stuff
Audrey: I don't know
Amy: Our hair and our skin and eyes

19. How are you and your mom different?
Emma: I don't look like you
Audrey: We don't have the same color hair
Amy: Our glasses and your shirt and shoes and socks

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Emma: Because you say it and you really mean it
Audrey: You always tell me
Amy: Because....I don't know

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Emma: That he loves you and he's funny
Audrey: That he kisses you (She whispered that in my ear!)
Amy: You love him

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Emma: Angaw & Nanaw's house
Audrey: Chuck e. cheese
Amy: A playground and Chick-fil-A

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

It's Snowing!!!!!

Yesterday afternoon, the temperature was about 65 degrees. Today, we have snow...and accumulation at that!! It's been snowing here for several hours and I am just overwhelmed at the beauty! I am hoping the temperature stays low so that everything freezes overnight -- maybe then the schools will close for a day! (I'm already looking forward to sleeping in!)

We took the kids outside for a while to play. Even Molly went out for a little while! It is very cold so we didn't last long! We have plans to make hot cocoa (what's a snow day without cocoa?) and watch movies together. What a great day! :)