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complaint free week
Okay, I admit it. I complain way too much. Most of my complaining is done in the form of sarcastic statements (i.e. “Oh, wow! You mean you actually managed to put your very own dinner plate into the dishwasher? Wow!”). I can complain in the form of making a joke about something, but it’s still complaining.
I do that with God, too. I remember very distinctly praying, every single day for well over a year, “God, why did You put us here? I HATE where we’re living. Couldn’t You send us to Alaska? You know I like the mountains. Why do I have to live in such a hot, humid, nasty place?”
I know I groan every morning when Attison wakes me up ~ it’s before 10am; that’s how I know I groan. Even if I don’t necessarily remember it, I know I complain in some way. I’m not a morning person.
Sheila Gregoire at To Love, Honor and Vacuum is hosting a Complaint Free Week. You can go here to read her post and find out what it’s all about. I’m going to participate. I’m posting so everyone knows I’m participating. There are things I say that can seem like complaining even when I don’t mean to be complaining. So there’s going to be a whole lot of watching my tongue going on around my house this week!
comment moderation
Due to the personal nature of this blog, I’ve had to turn on comment moderation. That means all comments will have to be approved by me before they will be displayed.
I would rather not have to do this, but it seems I must. For some reason, certain people just don’t want to play nicely. And since this site is MY site, since I pay for it, we’ll consider it my backyard. If you’re going to come to my house and play in my backyard, you need to follow my rules. My rules include things like play nicely, think of others before yourself, don’t do anything here that you wouldn’t do at your own house or in your own backyard, and the golden rule of “treat others as you yourself wish to be treated.”
There have been a few people visiting my “backyard” recently who haven’t wanted to play nicely. Because of them, I’m employing the comment moderation.
I have also adopted some rules to play by when visiting my blog. The rules are available through The Rules link at the top of the page in my nav bar. Or, you may click here to be taken to that page.
I’m also going to stop posting pictures of my granddaughter. That’s a shame, because she’s really a beautiful baby ~ but since certain people don’t want to play nicely in my backyard, they won’t be allowed to play with my family, and they won’t be invited into my home.
I’m sorry to have to do this to those of you who have played by the rules just because of a few who wouldn’t. It’s true that one rotten apple spoils the barrel. If those who haven’t played nicely want to confess, repent, and change their ways, I will reconsider posting photos and information about Attison. But until then, there will be no more information shared about her, or the rest of my family.
If the harrassing behavior continues after this, I will feel forced to either start blocking IP addresses or make this blog a private blog that is available only by invitation.
baby knees
Gracious, look at Attison’s knee ~ there’s just a little bit of chubby-ness!!
easter’s on its way
I bought Atti’s Easter basket today. I’ve never bought an Easter basket for a little girl before. As much as I love having sons, there are just some thing that are much more fun to buy for girls; for example, pretty spring baskets with cute liners embroidered with a child’s name. Especially when the cute liner has tulips on it, and the child’s name is embroidered in bright pink!
I will probably fill the basket with toys and books. Attison is too young for candy. I love all of the plush baby animal toys that are out for spring. And Atti is a fan of books ~ she lets me read to her, as long as she can chew on the book at some point. I don’t mind; that’s what cardboard books were created for, right?
no appointment yet
Attison was supposed to see a pediatric ophthalmologist today, but the appointment clerk called earlier in the week and said that the doctor Atti was to see no longer works there. Someone in the ophthalmology office is supposed to call me and make a new appointment with one of the other doctors. I haven’t heard from them yet.
It’s very frustrating, because I know Attison needs to see an ophthalmologist. Her left eye has turned slightly in since birth. For the first few months our pediatrician told us that it could just be a stage where the eyes have not learned to work together. So we waited. When Attison was 4 months old and the eye was still turning in slightly, the doc said ok and referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist. We have waited almost 5 months for that appointment. And now we’re going to wait some more…
Our son Patrick has ambliopia. He didn’t really show signs of the ambliopia until he was 17 months old. Once he saw an ophthalmologist and was prescribed glasses, his world changed. The first time I put his glasses on him he fought with me about it ~ he most definitely did not want to put those things on his face! Eventually I had to hold his face between my hands and tell him to open his eyes. The look on his face once he did that was priceless. He has terrible vision. But with the glasses he could actually see, and it made a huge difference for him.
Attison has trouble looking us in the eye when we’re holding her, unless we hold her a bit farther out from our faces than we normally would. To me that’s a sign that she doesn’t see well upclose. As I have gotten older, I’ve found that I need reading glasses. I don’t see well upclose ~ I find myself holding bottles and things with directions written in very small fonts at arm’s length just in order to make out the words. I think Attison might have that problem as well.
On a brighter note, Atti was in an unusual mood today. Yesterday all she wanted was to be held constantly ~ she didn’t feel well because she has a new tooth coming in. Today started out that way, but by the afternoon she was acting goofy and wanting to play. I put her down on the carpet and grabbed my camera. Here’s a link to the photo album of pictures I uploaded: just click on the photograph…
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| Atti, Mar 5, 2009 |
running on autopilot
For the past few weeks, I have felt like I’m running on autopilot. I do what needs to be done every day, but I’m not thinking past that. I don’t know what God is doing with this season of my life, but I know He’s doing something. I’m concerned that running on autopilot will cause me to miss the things He’s trying to point out to me, but try as hard as I may, I can’t function beyond the basics.
Taking care of Attison is a joy for me, but it’s also tiring. Anyone who takes care of a baby and says it’s not tiring isn’t telling the truth! Babies can be taxing. I’m so thankful that Atti is an easy baby. I know she’s an easy baby because our sons weren’t easy babies; they were both colicky, fussy, and they cried a lot (probably because their tummies didn’t feel well). Attison is usually content to play in her Pack ‘N Play long enough for me to clean the kitchen or fold and put laundry away. For that I am more than thankful.
I’m kind of walking on egg shells here. I’m usually very forthright; at times I can be blunt. But because our “situation” involves many more people than just me, my husband, our sons and Attison, I’m still not clear on how much information I can or should give out. The basics of what has been going on are these:
- In October, Ashley encountered some health problems, and was in hospital for a few days.
- Because of Ashley’s illness, Roger and I felt it was necessary for us to seek legal guardianship of Attison.
- Permanent guardianship was given to us by the Court in February.
- Since her hospital stay, Ashley has not lived with us. She stayed here for a few days around Christmas, but that was a temporary living arrangement.
- Roger and I have had physical custody of Attison, without any significant help from Ashley, since her hospital stay in October.
- Ashley now has prescription medication for her condition. It seems to be helping, but since she’s not living with me, I can’t say 100% that the medication is doing its job.
- Just after Christmas, a friend of Ashley’s asked her if she wanted to move to Dallas. It’s a little over 5 hours from where we live ~ close enough that she can come to visit over a weekend or a holiday. She is presently living in Dallas, and has just this week found an apartment to live in (as opposed to continuing to live in a hotel).
- The few times Ashley has come to visit so far have not been overly positive encounters. Roger and I have not been impressed with the way she is (or isn’t) interacting with Attison.
- Roger and I feel there are certain milestones that the average adult needs to reach; getting a high school diploma or GED, a driver’s license, health insurance, a place to live…those kinds of things are on our list.
- Ashley recently requested that Attison come to live with her. Roger and I made a list of milestones and necessities that Ashley is required to meet before we’ll consider letting Atti go to live with her.
- We are currently waiting for Ashley to acknowledge receipt of the accomplishments list we emailed to her. Once she has completed all of the items on our list, we will begin talking about when Attison can move to Dallas with her.
Roger’s and my job here is to take care of and look out for Attison’s well-being. It even says so on the court ordered guardianship petition that has been granted and signed by a judge. There are so many other factors involved in this, other people, situations and nuances, that I’m not sure I can even list them all.
We have been on an emotional roller coaster ride since last February. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much drama, stress, disappointment, new-found joy, or back-and-forth emotions in my life. And I’ve been through some pretty dicey experiences!
All of that to say, Roger and I covet your prayers. We are well and are handling the situation as best we know how. We’re on Attison’s side, and no one else’s. Please pray that we will be able to resolve this whole thing to the benefit of everyone involved, but most especially for Attison.
I wish I could publicly go into more specific details, but I think what I’ve written today is good enough for now. I’m praying that we will continue to seek His face in everything we do ~ I know what He has planned is for our good, to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I am resting in that promise.
baby calves
It’s calving time for the farmer who owns the land just behind our property. Every year the babies make their way over to the section of grazing land that is adjacent to our backyard. They’re very curious! Jake (our dog) loves to play with the calves ~ if I didn’t know better, I would swear the 1 year olds tell the new babies to head our way and play with him!
I couldn’t resist adding a picture of Attison…
you know you take too many pictures when
this is the response your 8 month old granddaughter has when the red-eye reducing flashes on your camera go off:
She’s laughing (although I guess that look could be mistaken for crying) ~ actually, she’s more like laughing while saying, “Nana, that’s enough pictures already!”
Attison makes this face on purpose. She does it every single time the red-eye reduction flashes go off. E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.L.E. T.I.M.E. (the little stinker!)
ambliopia?
This week Attison will finally have her opthalmology appointment. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t see well up close, and she may have ambliopia as well. Ambliopia is a vision problem where the brain ignores the signal from one eye, using the other eye predominantly. The under-used eye then begins to turn in. My oldest son, Patrick, has ambliopia. We noticed it in him when he was 17 months old. With Atti, we noticed her left eye tends to turn in when she was still a newborn. Patrick’s uncorrected vision is +400 and +600, so he’s extremely far sighted. He has been wearing glasses since he was 17 months old; when he was 8 we found a pediatric ophthalmologist who gave Patrick a prescription for contacts. I’m glad Atti’s appointment is soon ~ I’m hoping there’s nothing wrong with her eyesight, but I’m also aware that her left eye really does turn in.
Her appointment is Thursday. Then next week Atti will have her 9 month well-baby check. She has grown like a weed since we saw her pediatrician last. I’m pretty sure she’s right where she should be height and weight wise.
a few retirement pictures
Roger’s retirement ceremony was held yesterday. His retirement’s not official until June 1, but he’s taking paid leave until then. I don’t know when he’ll start his new job, but we’re guessing somewhere around the middle of April. Roger will continue to receive AF pay through June 1, so if he starts his new job before then he’ll receive two paychecks. Not a bad deal, especially since he’s taking at least a month off.
Roger’s mom and step-dad, as well as his dad and step-mom, came to Arkansas for his retirement ceremony. It was wonderful to have them all here. I haven’t seen PeeWee and Brenda (Roger’s dad and step-mom) for probably 6 or 7 years. They have “animals” (cattle, chickens, etc.), so it’s hard for them to leave their place for an extended amount of time. I’m glad everyone was able to make the trip.
I love this picture of Roger, Attison and PeeWee. This was taken Thursday evening, after I had given Atti her bath and put her pajamas on.
Roger received a couple of certificates, one for meritorious service and the other his official retirement orders.
I also received a certificate. It’s pretty cool, actually ~ a “thank you” more or less from the AF for supporting my husband during his 20 years of service.
Roger’s squadron gave him a wooden propeller with a clock in the center. This is going on a very large blank wall in my dining room!
