Living it up!

Leelah's reached her 10 sticker goal which allowed her to go to the Merry-Go-Round. We thank you to our playgroup mommies who suggested this reward system! Leelah loves that sticker chart!!!







I don't know about my fellow Katians (Katyites?) but I'm lovin' this weather! And like I always say- "I feel like a puppy when fall starts!" It makes no sense but neither do I! Leelah's been loving it as well.
Where in the medical center is Gillian this week? Memorial City Mem. Hermann- okay not true medical center locale. And this week is time for.....

Not the film but the medical procedure. Not too worried. Got 21 tubes of blood drawn at the same time this past week and that was a breeze. The lady was super nice and funny. It's amazing the people that God places in your life. I had been in the waiting room using all my free kleenexes (kleenexi?) from HEB because I was crying about not being able to see well anymore, and I go into have my blood taken and my Mom and I meet a hilarious lady who cheered me up. It's hard to laugh and simultaneously have your soul essence sucked out intravaneously but I did it!

I have come to the point now where I'm no longer afraid of what has been happening. Should God choose to clear my vision- great. Should He decide otherwise- great. I may not be able to drive, but at least I can see my precious 2 yr old wear crazy hats, dance to R&B at Ross, and laugh with her head back. I can still "chillax" with John. I can still sew and scrap. Should any of you be afraid of what God has or doean't have in store for you please know the best is yet to come and it isn't here on Earth. Blessed are we!
Please know this in your day to day dealings, "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes."- Psalm 112:7-8

SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS

Yes. Leelah got her very first Scholastic Book Order Forms sent home with her today. To me there was no other greater thing sent home and no other greater decision to make than - what to order!?!?!!!! Tell me you did not love these when you were little. The best part: ordering something which was inevitably awesome, forgetting you ordered it and then having it come in and basking in the forgotten awesomeness that was now in your hands to read or sticker with. I Heart Scholastic Book Orders. Thinking about starting a facebook club of the same name.

Freaky Deaky Eye Exams

Today was another day of dialation!!! But I'm getting used to it. Did have some pretty freaky deaky tests run though which FINALLY showed something! Praise God! Today they ran an ERG and a VER- passed the VER well which tested the optic nerve so that was good news! However the ERG which tested retina and brain stuff (not quite sure) showed my retina has stopped working on my left eye. Right eye- good! Left eye- bad. So next step is to meet up again with the neuro-opthmalogist to see what to do about that. If anything can be done. The retina is very "don't mess with me" in terms of eye mechanics. So we will see. The streaks in my eyes might be from the gel in my eyes coming loose- gross- and they will have to fix that with the surgery upcoming in October. This surgery might have to be tweaked with this new informaiton.

I'm happy. As long as I have some info! God has got my back! Will let you know how MRI/MRA tests turn out. I do think this was a huge breakthrough today. Of course my Mom - the proactive doer - says "Now what!?"

Much love and thanks for your friendship and prayers!!

More MRI's

What's rectangular, enclosed, and full of buzzy sounds?! That's right, Gillian's favorite hang out spot: the MRI machine!!!

Today I had an MRI of my back and neck and a MRA of my brain, which is a look at the arteries inside the brain. I know - why have we not have that one done already? I get results from these next Thursday. Are you detecting a pattern here? Thursdays are let's order more tests days and not "results" so don't get too excited. Put down that huge magnifying glass and put away your plaid tweed hat, this mystery's still not solved!! Meanwhile, still having crazy spaghetti noodle vein vision and feeling all out of it (more than usual), but can walk and talk better. Also going to my 6th or 7th opthamologist to do even crazier eye tests this Monday. I can't tell you how many "Hmmm...s" I have heard once they look at my eyes. Seriously!? I mean what is going on in there a flea circus? I wanna see in there- my turn!

But first (Julie Chen until next season!) I am loving Leelah's sassy short haircut. She is so now. We also have a new project around here: Halloween costume! I'm super excited because Leelah told me she wanted to be a "Ladybug" yesterday only problem is that she thought I meant yesterday so I had to explain the concept of a calendar to her. It didn't take. It is a pretty simple idea and not too "out there and puns-y" but I knew the day when she would tell me what to put her in would come. Oh well. I really wanted to dress her up as Palin, as overdone as that would be!

Camera Suggestions Anyone?

We're in the market (right John?) for a new camera that's easy to use and takes clear, almost professional pictures. Please share with me your thoughts on what is good to look for or any cameras we should check out! We have our Kodak Easyshare which is super super easy, but doesn't take the best pics. Would appreciate any comments on this! Thanks!

Ike Can't Believe We Have Power Again!

Thank the Lord we are with power! Thanks to Centerpoint for their huge efforts!! We were without power from Friday at 7:00pm (hmm.... storm hadn't even hit yet?) until today at around 2:00pm. What was it like living without ice, electricity, cold drinks (save, the ones from sweet Lesly's and Callie's houses), light at night, AIR CONDITIONING??? Not too bad really. I have absolutely no complaints. We were blessed to have only 5 shingles missing and just the power out. With the weather being so cool now- having no power was really not a big deal. I really didn't miss T.V.- note we did not make it to Wednesday- "Project Runway Night". I relished the time spent with John. That was probably my favorite part. We played Mad Gab every night by flourescent lantern. So things were good. We got to witness true sweetness by our awesome friends who loaned us their home and ice!

We are now praying for John's family's power to be restored! Granny is doing better after transitioning from bed to wheelchair which is great news! And our sweet nephew Ryan is 9 lbs!!!!

What I learned from Hurricane Ike:
I've learned that bloomers can also make great shorts/leg coverings for hot and savage toddlers.
The first hour is "cute" when you're in "survivor" mode and you make a "buff" out of a kitchen placemat.
The 48th hour of where is my flashlight so I can use the restroom is NOT "cute".
Generators (which we didn't purchase) make your neighborhood sound like "a lawnmower".
Buy a $10 tent at Academy for a toddler and they don't care if you have electricity or schmelectricity.
You can still have brain problems with no power.
Waiting in line an hour for Taco Cabana can be fun and you meet new friends!
I like books!
It's fun to make "This house is armed (mas muerte)!" signs to post on your daughter's window to prevent burglarizations. Hey we had to leave windows open 24/7 and I was a little paranoid!
Matches also light candles.

See pics for Hurricane Hilarity! And Leelah on her bike.

Leelah's First Day

Leelah went to her first day at preschool/mother's day out today! It was a great day for her and we LOVE her little school. Even though I was wobbly and stuttering (people probably thought bad things) I made sure I went and sent my baby off for a day of play! She loved it and her shoes were evidence. Note to self: Self, don't take shoes off indoors after child has been playing in sand all day... Our Roomba will never be the same...

Medical update- more MRIS this time of "enlarged pituitary gland". Will get my results on Thursday. Meanwhile, having trouble walking, talking, seeing, etc. Hey, I'm almost 30! Teasing of course. Don't hate post! Okay go ahead. Somebody post something! Will also see awesome cardiologist that saved Father-in-law's life (PRAISE JESUS!)tomorrow to see where he would send me or what to do. Meanwhile, still have not had Freebirds burrito intake.

Please keep John's Granny in your prayers as well as John's Mom, Carol and John's sister Amy.

I have no title for this.

Well friends, countrymen I don't really have too much to post. That sentence was so lame sounding- I almost want to heckle myself! But I did have a powerful experience in the MRI yesterday. I felt prayers. Big time. So thank you so very much for the constant feeling of peace and even joy I felt in what could have been a somewhat uncomfortable ordeal. I mean it was a closed MRI and felt very "tomb-y". I kept my eyes shut and had a wave of memories of my dad to occupy my brain as well as some one-on-one time with the Lord. So if it took an MRI to have that then I'm glad for it! I don't have the results yet, but we will see the neurologist again tomorrow.

We saw the eye surgeon today- the new one- thank God we found someone here in Houston who has confidence and experience to handle my googly eyes! He even said we should leave the right eye alone until it goes haywire. So looks like I'll just have to have 1 surgery now since he can take out the lens and put a new one in. It's amazing what surgeons can do with technology. The new lens won't last but 10-15 yrs but I will be able to see again out of left eye which is AWESOME! Praise God!

And now for low-brow humor with Gillian: My favorite part of today, besides some person belching loudly in the waiting room, was when my doctor said "So your right eye seems to be holding up, while your left eye isn't working worth dookie." Yes. Dookie. I'm a simple person. I have a 2nd grader's humor at times. I cannot help this.

Weekend Fun-nessity