They say...

The mind is the first thing to go...

(Photography by Cupcake)

A few weeks ago, I signed Daddy and me up for a Beyond Consequences Live seminar. It is given by an author (Heather T. Forbes) who deals with parenting kids who've lived through trauma. I have been SO excited for this. I just got her book in the mail yesterday, and I can't wait to read it.

So, I signed us up for the March 7th seminar and put it on the calendar for February 7th.

I promptly made babysitting arrangements for February 7th. I had to change arrangements at one point. The boys have the annual Boy Scout Freeze-Out Campout on February 7th. One of my best friends has a baby shower on February 7th.

Yesterday, I checked the email confirmation and looked up the map of the location. It was sponsored by the Churchill Academy on Municipal Center Drive. I know right where it is. It's the brick building right there on the frontage road (10 minutes from home)

We've been preparing Cupcake all week that she would spend the WHOLE DAY Saturday with Grammy and Grandpa.

I had plenty of opportunities to double-check that date...but I didn't.

So, this morning, we wake up early to get the boys off to their camping trip. We pop the girls out of bed and rush them around to get ready. As we're pulling into Grammy's, I realize I forgot the email confirmation. "That's okay," I think. I'm sure we're signed up and I know right where it is.

We get out the door a little late, but arrive in plenty of time for the seminar. A month early, in fact.

We wait around, because the doors are locked. There are people going in, but they obviously work there, because they have the code to get in the door. Finally, I ask a lady going in. She didn't know anything about it, but maybe I was mistaken and it is next door at the Municipal Center, which also happens to be a brick building on the frontage road. By now, I'm pretty much mad that I forgot the email confirmation. I'm second-guessing what I remembered about the email. Was it sponsored by the school, but located at the Municipal Center on Municipal Center Drive... or was it? ...argh!!!

So we go next door.

No luck there.

We call my father-in-law and ask him to look it up on the website.

That's when I realized my mistake.

OOPS!

So, we proceed to Wal-Mart, where I need to get a pair of glasses. I picked up my prescription yesterday, so we're all set....I thought. We spend an hour looking and deciding. Then the lady begins to write up the papers. Then she notices my prescription expired in November. I was sure it was a new prescription in June. I always write the date I change my contacts on the box, so I know how long it's been and when to change them. The first date on the box was July, so I got them in June....right?

Duh...

It was the second box of my prescription. Each box lasts 6 months.

So, now I need a new eye exam. And I'm desperate for glasses. My old ones broke in half about 2 weeks ago, but I just haven't had time to find new ones.

Anyway, I left Wal-Mart totally deflated and terribly insecure in my brain's ability to get anything right.

On a positive note...I love my husband. He just shakes his head and smiles.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

A Commercial Worth Watching

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32



I'm not Catholic, nor did I vote for President Obama, but this video is a powerful reminder of all that has been lost since 1973. (Roe v Wade) NBC was too queasy to play it during the Superbowl - stating that it was "too political". This commercial does not explicitly state an opinion on political matters at all. It merely displays the truth, with some thought-provoking dialogue displayed on the screen. But where it leads is troublesome for many.

President Obama was once a fetus.

I am so thankful that a black man could be elected president in our country. I believe this breakthrough will bring about significant cultural change and racial reconcilliation.

What tears me apart is that we finally have elected a president who is a minority, who should be able to identify with those who were crushed and oppressed by the cruelty of slavery -- one people group holding absolute power over another people group. He was once weak and fatherless...and yet, he refuses to defend the weak and fatherless, now that he is in power.

Please join me in praying for our president.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Hearing Update

Last Thursday, we took Cupcake back down to Children's Hospital for a hearing re-check. This was the 3rd hearing test they had performed on her. Each time before, she was finished with the test before they were finished with the test, if you know what I mean. And when she was done, there was no amount of pleading and coaxing that would draw her back in for more testing.

As a result, they were never really sure they got a good reading on her hearing. It appeared to be a moderate loss the first time and a severe loss the second time. They wanted to try again to see if they could really determine what she could hear with her right ear.

Thursday, I was SO PROUD of Cupcake. She sat still and paid attention for a full hour of testing. She followed directions and let them test her 20 different ways. She let them poke her ears several times. They finally were able to have an accurate understanding of what she can hear.

And the answer is...virtually nothing. She is profoundly deaf in her right ear. Her left ear is normal and she scored 100% on differentiating words that sound alike with that ear. Unfortunately, the right ear is so bad that they do not even recommend a hearing aid. It would have to be so loud, it would be distorted beyond recognition.

So, where does that leave us? In a classroom, she needs to sit in the front, with her left ear nearest the teacher. She does that automatically. Background noise should be kept to a minimum...not so easy with three big kids playing Guitar Hero and generally making noise. (Also, restaurants and public places are hard.) We need to talk to her face to face, so she can begin reading lips. We need to speak loudly and clearly. She needs to be extra cautious about traffic noise, since she can not locate the direction a sound is coming from. Parking lots are very dangerous for her. (She's better with streets than parking lots.)

The loss appears to be sensory-neural (nerve damage). They do want her to have a CT scan and have an opthamologist look at her eye structure - to see if there is any deformity or disease that might have caused this. Otherwise, we will just keep a close eye on her left ear, to make sure her hearing stays good in that one.

Even though the news was not great, I was so very pleased with the progress she has made in so many areas that made her testing go smoothly...understanding English, sitting still, cooperating with the testers, patience, endurance, and following directions. I am so grateful that she has come this far in 8 short months. So proud of my baby.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Like a Weed

Cupcake is growing like a weed. It really hit me when we were looking back at some old pictures. Here is Cupcake and I when she had been home 3 days.


Since then, she's gained 4 inches and 9 pounds! Take a look at this visual...she's on the same chair hugging me today. (I know the date is off by one day.)



Isn't that amazing?

And while we had the camera out, here is some fun interaction with Daddy.



And finally, with Cupcake at the shutter, here is her lovely and exhausted :-) parents. She's a decent photographer.


PS. Please ignore the bright purple eye shadow. She was home all day.

Blessings to you,
Mamita

I'd like to introduce to you...

Drum roll, please...

This is Lu Lu. Isn't she a beauty?



Blue is the new red, you know.

Seriously, I had a lot of fun reminiscing about all the fun we had with Bessie. My cars are really like friends to me. Maybe it's because I spend SO MUCH time with them. :-)

One story I forgot to mention in my poem was our 20th wedding anniversary. Daddy and I got dressed up nice and went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Now, in our house, that's a once in a lifetime (maybe twice) pricey, pricey dinner. So, we drive Bessie down to Clayton and realized that we have to use the valet parking. UGH! The van is not only embarrassingly old, but it is totally messy! So we hand the valet the keys without making eye contact. At the end of our wonderfully delicious meal, we come out right after some businessmen and right before an elegant couple. The businessmen, jump into the new, sleek, black BMW with the leather seats.

Then, up from the garage emerges Bessie! What a sight! She's covered in filth, missing a hubcap, has an odd squeal coming from underneath, and the transmission is jerking. We were trying to hold our heads high as we stepped up, tipped the valet, and climbed in, but secretly we were busting a gut. The couple behind us was clearly not impressed. I laughed until I cried.

It's funny how our memories are all tied up in things. Maybe that's why I hang on to so much stuff.

Anyway, I am so thankful for this new van and all of it's features. After having an old one for so long, I really appreciate all the new innovations...things like working windows and door locks, for instance. Yesterday, I bought groceries and realized that when I opened the back hatch, I wouldn't have to open it slowly to catch the rolling jars of spaghetti sauce - because it has a well in the back. WOOHOO!!! AND - Lu Lu has a compass!!!! It is imperative that I know which direction I'm heading whenever I'm in a strange city. I am SO PSYCHED about the compass! And don't even get me going on the CD/MP3 player! Bessie has a cassette player - those are little rectangular things that played music back in the day.

So, I'm a happy camper. I want to drive everywhere now. I think I'll run up to Walgreens right now for no particular reason. ;-)

Blessings to you,
Mamita

Ode to Bessie

Oh Bessie, Oh Bessie,
Shiny and red,
We drove you until,
You're almost dead.

You've been a good car,
We're thankful for that,
Except for the transmission,
the A/C and the flat.

Fourteen years
You've hauled us around,
Now is the time,
For a new car in town.

Our memories are clear,
We'll never forget,
You kept us all safe,
And we got where we went.

You've been up to the Dells,
And down to the border,
And we've always kept you,
in good working order.

Remember the Rockies,
When we slept in the back,
Afraid of the cold,
and that bears would attack.

We loaded you down,
You barely could make it,
In the mountains,
40 was all we could take it. (MPH, that is)

You've lived through two homes,
And kiddos times three,
Three churches, two trucks and a car.
Oh, how can it be?



Remember the date,
In the church parking lot.
Remember the glare,
of the officer's spot!

We really just stopped,
to talk and to plan.
We were shocked at the siren,
the lights, the knock on the van!

I'm giggling now,
as I laugh through the tears!
Imagine getting caught "parking",
At forty-two years!

Thanks for the memories,
Bessie, my friend.
Try not to think,
That this is the end.

This is the start
of a brand-spanking new deal,
You get to be driven,
by a teen at the wheel!

We're back...

Didn't know I was gone, huh?

I've been here all along, but our computer was SICK. We "had" a nasty virus ever since January 2nd. I say "had", because I'm not entirely sure it's gone for good, but, at least I'm able to get on the internet now. :-)

Phew! I was going into withdrawals!

Cupcake is mostly back to her normal happy-go-lucky self. Thanks for the prayers. I think the lack of schedule over Christmas was too hard for her.


Now for a little silliness...

Pat Benatar was in town today and stopped in with her band to give me a free concert. She sang "Heartbreaker". It was an excellent rendition. I wish I had gotten a video.




Guitar Hero - Bringing families together since 2007. :-D

Blessings to you,
Mamita