Sock Hop and a Post, Post Op

What joy!!! Does it get any better than a Dads and Dolls Sock Hop? Our church put on this precious event last Friday for all the little girls 3 - 6 yrs old and their daddies. It was to-die-for cute! Ice cream served by classic old-timey fountain hops, glitter time with the older girls, hula hoops, dancing, and fun! Plus, they got to take a pic next to a pink Cadillac- how cool is that? And make bottlecap necklaces and the cutest little message board. I was in tears of joy when she came home (moms not allowed-i.e. pedicure time at home!) and she was non-stop chattering about the fun she had with her dad and of course her sweet buddy in crime, Rebecca! In case you were not wondering, I made her bubble-gum poodle skirt. I had to get some color on there since she picked out dark blue. I shouldn't have let her choose the color. So I made a bubble gum applique with polka dot fabric and wonder under and felt. All with one eye mind you!


That Friday afternoon we had to jet home from the post,post op asap- well after gorgeing ourselves at the Chocolate Bar on University. OH MAMA was that goodness!!! We all 3 got ice cream. So yeah, Leelah had 2 ice cream servings in one day. Yikes.
The post, post op went well.
Dr. Yeu (know it) was overjoyed at how stable it looked on her end. Now me, I'm still not seeing clearly out of it- stupid half drop of blood dissolve already! Get this, Dr. Hamill- doc I switched from- came in and admitted to John, Leelah and I how he was wrong! Whoa. Awkward. I just sat there thinking WWJD? So I just was quiet. But that was nice of him to concede to the lady! YOU GO GIRL!
So procedure number 7 has been set- May 14 next YAG laser. Then, clarity we pray. Oh man would that be nice. I have to admit, sadly I did see the left eye wiggle a little yesterday. Drats! Hoping that was just the blood droplet messing with things and not the lens dropping yet again. I think God gave me googly eyes by mistake. Like the craft ones that jiggle. "Here, use these for her eyes from Gabriel's art project. He won't miss them."

New Orleans: Food Trip 2010

the fabulous food trip 2010: New Orleans.
Guys we as stated in my last post we tore up N.O. with the Vining Family and we had a Cajun Food-a-thon in extreme proportions. Sure our cover was the National War World II Museum which was awe-inspiring and knowledge enriching and the New Orleans Zoo which was FANTASTICally better than the Houston Zoo- hate to admit. But make no mistake we came to eat. Cajun Style.
Food Stop One: Beignets ("French Doughnuts" aka all I ever want for breakfast now) at Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter:




Holy Sugar! That was divine!
Oh wait back up- there was the stop the previous night we landed in Metorie- spelling?- Thanks Nathan Hinkle for the rec to- Acme House. All I got to say was it was SO good we went back and hit it up again on our way out for some more Jambalaya and "Boo Fries"- Fries covered in cheese and get this, Roast Beef Gravy- I know don't hate me! These fries were so stinkin' good we almost had a Hatfields and McCoy thing going on over them! Boy Howdy!
Stop Two: Hot Diggity Dawg- French Quarter after the WWII museum.
Note that there were not any hot dog pics due to the fact that if I were to have taken a pic of them you might think it to be lewd... Needless to say they were boiled and NOT good looking. I think it was actual dog. But that's okay because we were ready to pig out for dinner.




No we did NOT attempt to walk down Bourbon Street. I have been traveling to NOLA since I was little on the way to Disney World. So I knew this was not an ideal street for our families to hit up. We did however drive through it since somebody wanted to see what all the fuss was about... Let me just say, they have special mannequins we just don't have in Katy Mills Mall!
Stop Three: Just get me a Redfish @ Oceana on the corner of Bourbon St and I forgot?
Ahh jeez. Does it get any better than Redfish? Okay, some foodie is all "yeah actually it does" but I'll never know so hush it! And yes, I got some more jambalaya. Are you seeing a theme?
Next day. The New Orleans Zoo.
This was the most prestine, stink-free, chock full of animal zoo I've ever been to. It was GREAT! Highly recommend!!! The girls got to pet: a bearded dragon, a hedgehog, a rat, and a goat.







Thank you Vining Family for letting us hitch along!!! You dat!

Eye'm Tired

Thank you so much for your treasured prayers! They were felt this past Thursday as I underwent eye surgery no. 6! Hey you've got to be proud, right? THe prayers were needed and felt, particularly the hungryness issue. I didn't feel that hungry prior.

The doc said the surgery went really well. My sight doesn't show it at this point as a drop of blood has hindered me from seeing anything. It's all freaky-deaky-microscopic looking at this point. The doc said it did need to be stabilized since all my zonules (little strings holding lens in place) had weakened, thus the wobbling. So she sutured in another anchoring point this time on the right side of the lens in the left eye.

When I woke up I was a bear. I cried and cried when I got home. IT WAS PAINFUL TO THE EXTREME. The suture was apparently sticking out and not buried far enough. So imagine that "something in my eye" feeling magnified by a 1000. Ouch. But I couldn't touch it or remove the patch until Friday. When I saw the doc on Friday for the post op she get this- clipped the suture on top of my eyeball with a pair of little sharp scissors while I was sitting in the chair!!!!?!?!!!! Whoa. She must be killer good at the MB game of Operation. For real. I was praying silently- PLEASE DON'T MOVE. PLEASE DON'T MOVE, SNEEZE OR BLINK. over and over again. IT worked! That drastically reduced the pain level- whoop!

Today: still seeing blood vision, but it has improved as now I can see shapes and light.
So I go in for next appt this Friday. The blood should be gone in 2-3 wks. Yay.

Thankful that it is over... For now. I'm struggling with infection fears since the vision is not clear. Please pray I would not "give way to fear". Thank you!

Oh and good news we got to leave for a sweet vacay to New Orleans with the Vining Family. It was some good food and fun!! Pics to come...

Number 6 Surgery...

Tomorrow!!! Eek gads! Not really. I'm cool. It's cool. I mean, come on, it's my 6th surgery in that eye alone. Like how I'm keeping track?

Thanks in advance for your prayers. Please pray for no infection (do NOT want this again) and that if it's God's will- this lens stabilization will return that awesome, glorious vision I had for a month. Oh wouldn't that be nice! Since Righty is pooping out on me. So glad God has steered me in this direction tomorrow with my fantastic new surgeon, Dr. Yeu. Should this not work, please pray for me to be accepting and content in every situation. Oh and did I mention the surgery is at 12:15- or at least that's when I go into get prepped! Yeah. I'm going to be one hungry mama by then.

See you later wobbly vision!

We should have "No"-own!

Disclaimers: Do NOT judge our parenting. Sure, we're laughing because she's blatantly saying, "NO".
Sure, we're teaching to sing obscure movie songs from the 80's- Ghostbusters is a classic, comedic cinematic gem!
Cut. Us. Some. Slack.
And enjoy!



Leelah first said "no" to us in the elevator at church at 9 months old. We should have known! THis is one of our favorite videos of all time. It was taken shortly after her 2nd birthday. Love it!

Testify

It's never too late to believe.
Some of you might have a family member or close friend that does not have a relationship with Jesus. 2 years ago in April I was in that boat with my father. 1 year before that, also in April, I was there myself struggling. We came to SEcdoned Baptist West Campus and after testing it out for about 5 months we joined.

In April of 2007, John and I got baptized together. I came to Christ and felt the Holy Spirit make me walk the talk. It is a glorious feeling. To no longer worry constantly, but to put my faith in the Lord. It had always been a huge fear of mine that I would lose my parents. My father especially, to cancer. He had cancer when I was young- 4 yrs old. He was young too! Since that first bout of cancer he never missed a day of work. Never. Not one day. He was more machine than man. A Hoss- spelling?

In June of '07 we started seeing my dad lose his balance. He started being distant and laying down and even missing a day of work. We had no idea he had a brain tumor. None. It was as if the Holy Spirit was testing my heart. I'm not saying my new faith was the reason for this - no way. I just know this was the time. You want to not worry anymore? Here's your chance. Let's face that biggest fear of yours. My dad had cancer that had spread from his lung to his brain.

Less than a week later he was having brain surgery- on my husband and I's 3 year anniversary to be exact. I remember it clearly. There was a family in the waiting room we got to talk with. They were waiting on a gallbladder removal patient (been there, done that- y'all know I can rock a surgery) and they asked us so sweetly, "what are y'all waiting for?" our reply, "Oh my dad's having brain surgery." I really felt no worries. The Lord was in the seat next to us, holding my hand. I knew he would be fine. And he was. An hour after the 6hr ordeal, my dad came out smiling on the gurney?sp? and said, "how did I do?" I will never forget it. Once they wheeled him back to NeuroICU- not a fun place- all he said was pointing at me first, "Gillie" and I said, "Yes daddy, you're right." And then pointing at my mom, "Momma". "Yes John". He then smiled. The next day he was ready to go home. He had a big ol' head scar to match his abdomen scar from his first cancer go-round, but those were the only indicators that he'd battled cancer. The next week he was at Leelah's 1st birthday party holding her on his lap.

We had been doing so well. I say "we" because the whole family battles the cancer together. His leg had been hurting. My dad had just driven to Oklahoma and back on it. We didn't know it had a tumor growing on it. They operated to remove the tumor they had found on his hip. THis was unexpected. After his hip surgery in February, he never walked again. For his hospital wall I made a poster with a verse, "For those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will WALK and not be faint."- Isaiah 40:31.

In April of 2008.
My father was raised without a personal, saving relationship in Jesus. He was just about the most loveable person you could meet, but he did not have Jesus in his heart. Personally, I had doubts he would ever be saved. How can a 62 year old person who was a believer in religion and not in Jesus be saved? Our church has this awesome program called "Prayer Pagers" where they gave my dad (who wasn't a member of any church at the time let alone ours) a pager. My mom and dad had to live with us at the time. My friends are the greatest. They blew up his pager day and night. Praying. So many friends brought meals, watched Leelah, prayed and prayed. My dad would keep the pager right next to his chair. Every time it went off. He prayed. We told him, "Dad that's someone praying for you." He couldn't believe that strangers would do this. They were praying for his salvation. It worked. My dad came to know the Lord toward the end of April. I want to say either the 12 or 24th I get mixed up. He started to pray the blessing before meals. He started telling friends that he had, "I'll pray for you." At one point when my parents were selling their home, I got so worried (I'm human). My dad was in his chair and said, "But God will work it out, right Gillie?" He was right. that next day it all worked out and their house sold.

My daddy went to be with Jesus on May 29th, 2008. He was saved one month before he passed. I know my earthly daddy lives with my heavenly one. DO not lose hope in the Lord for your loved one. Be the light for them.

Good News!

This week has been all about hope for our family. Firstly, hope in the Lord as we celebrate his resurrection. I have to say I adore this truth. Easter is my favorite holiday to be celebrated year-round. A time of hope. I love that I get to share the truth with Leelah about our Savior being alive! Talk about a good-ending!?!?! I'm so thankful Leelah knows this story as best as a 3.5 yr old can. The joys of teaching your kids all about Jesus everyday. I must admit, with my background I am having to learn along with Leelah most times and she teaches me too! And that's okay.

John and I had a wonderful trip to meet my new eye doc Dr. Yeu (know it!) at Baylor Eye Clinic this week. She is so great. She's a Christian. She's caring. Sympathetic. Kind. And a whole mess of smart!! She took a look at the ol' googly eyes and determined (after bringing in a big-wig in a bowtie) that my left will benefit from one (two with inevitable YAG laser) more surgery to stablize the eye - meaning no more jello vision and hold on to your hat "have my quality of life restored"! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! And that when my left eye gets stabilized- on April 15th surgery- after that she'll take out the right eye lens, which is now loosening and cataract growing more and implant a new one, - and that wait, wait, "I won't have to go through as much trouble as I did with the left because we have a gameplan." WHAT!?!?!?!! You mean I might actually have BOTH eyes working at the same time!? That I can even be fixed? This is truly the most hopeful news I've heard in a long, long, long time. Joy! So April 15th- lens fixation and I go under for it. Number 6 surgery. Then I will most likely have another YAG laser surgery (number 7) to break the capsule that my eyes like to grow after surgeries. You can betcha I gave her a big ol' hug with a little crying on the side. She probably thinks I'm a hot mess of "4 kinds of crazy" now. Plus, I recommended Captivating to her which she said she'd check out. Which by the way, I got to finish while my eyes were dilated just in time for our last Cookbook Book Club on my Kindle with the text to speech capability- yay!

God is so good friends! That I can even go to the doc's office, that we live so close, have insurance to cover most of it is such a blessing. I don't care that I sometimes wait from 8am to 5pm. It is worth it to see! Such great news. I was preparing myself to live a life of legally blindness and now there is hope that I can get my eyes to see with the help of some surgeries. At the chance alone I am elated. If this healing is not God's will, then God will lead my heart in acceptance of what is. Because you see the true healing of my heart and mind has already taken place. Seeing clearly is just a bonus! What God has shown me with poor vision: friends' love, His love, etc. has been so clear to me.

Enjoy your Eastertime- HE IS RISEN!!