For the Love of Ivey

It is our family tradition to put our tree up the first weekend in December. That is only days away and I am still not one hundred percent sure about how to decorate. I know we will need lots of things with strong scents. We will have a live tree, so the earthy smell of the season will fill our living room. I am gathering a collection of jingle bells to hang from every moving object in our house. Our MAPS group (microphthalmia anophthalmia parent support) has constructed a list to come out in our winter newsletter with suggestions for bringing the magic of the holidays to our children, but I wonder if there is something out there we have not thought about? I am calling on you all for help!!! Maybe you might have an idea that we all have not thought of. So, put your imagination cap on CLOSE your eyes and…IMAGINE what you would need to feel the magic of Christmas with every bodily sense that you have – EXCEPT YOUR VISION. Send me your suggestions – the tree goes up this weekend and I wa...

Antonia, I would love to speak with you. If you could leave me some means to contact you, email, etc...that would be great!!!! Can't wait to hear from you. gwen

Four reasons to be thankful + Knox, Walker,Ivey and Cappie

Fingers Beware---- Watch out if Ivey's teething, and currently she is! She has a little habit of sweetly taking your hand and then with lightning speed jams it in her mouth. Upon her agility, she bites down with the trauma and force of a snapping turtle or maybe its a shark. Pain will then surge through your poor finger- there is no hope. The more your wiggle your traumatized finger to remove it from her mouth the tighter the vice turns! I am tempted to hang a sign around her that says 'Fingers Beware' until the tiny tooth ruptures through; however, it is kinda comical to watch the unsuspecting victim in agony. Ivey may be small, but she is packed full of punch. Obviously I am not about to sacrifice my own hand for a little video, but I did get her ripping into her book this morning. If you look closely, you can see her little nose crinkle as she tries to rip the cloth right to shredds. Thank you 5 Minutes for Mom for posting Ivey in the Spotlight this week. Just click on...

A small shoe fetish Polka Dots Kitty cat shoes These are not only cute, but they squeak. We are trying to encourage Ivey to pick her feet up in in preparation for walking. She loves it when she makes herself squeak. No, she is not pulling up or standing alone yet . She is STANDING. One more milestone accomplished- She can hold on and balance herself. This is a modified play set that we are borrowing from another family. Ivey LOVES it. The play set does not have your standard children's gadgets. There are various household items with different sounds and textures. Notice her cute shoes. Oops- got a little off kilter. We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible. Chretien Malesherbes

Go here............ HOW DO YOU SEE?

I was sitting here thinking, yeah I know, blondes do that too. Anyway, it’s Wednesday morning and Ivey and I are here in our house alone. She is asleep and it’s quite! Can you believe it? Actually, I don’t know what to do with myself and I am revolting against cleaning anything – I did put a load of laundry in, but that doesn’t count because if I didn’t we would be swimming in laundry. How is it that two small boys and one tiny baby can wear so many clothes? Who’s changing them? Normally my dad is here on Wednesdays, but Christa will be here later on today, so he is coming over tomorrow. He does that. My dad comes over a couple of mornings a week to help me with Ivey so that I can get boys to school and on occasion run to the gym, or some other errand(s). Emptiness in our home is rare. And since Ivey and I have both been sick this week on top of the four, no five, trips to Atlanta for doctors and hospitals, well silence is nice. Obviously, I am not good with it because I c...

Good work!

I thought about putting some pictures from Halloween up for you all to see, but I think you get the gist of our trick-or-treating from the picture in the post below with Ivey and the boys. Oh my how wasteful it is to have predetermined expectations. These four pictures are priceless. One, they show Ivey’s estranged mickey button only hours before she pulled it out. Ivey did not get the memo that we were planning for thisHalloween to be her first real Halloween. So, Ivey spent her second Halloween again in Scottish Rite. She can’t get enough of the place. Don’t be surprised if we are all out marching around the neighborhood one day trick-or-treating in the middle of December. We are going to have a first Halloween at home for Ivey if it kills us all. Two, the pictures show how much Knox loves Ivey. Just look at his face. Ivey loves her brother, but looks to be a little peeved, that may be because she just got up from napping. When I look at the pictures, I can hear Knox’s sweet voice as...

Dear Roman Community, Most of you I have never met, many of you are part of our lives on a daily basis. I have marveled at your support for our special little girl and our family. Our community has taken the oddities and special needs of our daughter and found the positive and good attributes in her. I have personally witnessed strangers approach Ivey on the street to embrace her. Our community has accepted and allowed our special daughter to thrive in a world where once she would have been hidden. I am proud to call the Rome community Home . Please take a moment to read the following email that was forwarded to me from Sandra Humphreys, a leader in our community and advocate for special needs children. As you all have embraced my daughter, Ivey too will grow up one day. Her needs will remain. Often we have been asked “How can I help?” Today I ask you to join the members of your community with special needs, both youth and adult, and advocate for their placement in Our community. Ways ...

Lesson 1: Never make plans or arrangements with any member of our family. They will in evidently change at the last minute. Lesson 2: Do not panic when you see a mickey button lying on the floor next to the baby, especially if the baby is SMILING. Lesson 3: Wash mickey button with soap and put it back down – tape it to baby’s tummy. Lesson 4: It is possible to resume modified Halloween plans. Lesson 5: You will drive to Atlanta for the third time in one week, this time to the ER. Lesson 6: No one is available in radiology on Halloween evening – to replace the noted mickey button. You will be admitted; you will spend the night; and you will wait….and wait….and wait. You will be bored and you will buy things in the gift shop not really needed. Lesson 7: If you are my husband, maybe now you have learned why I always take an overnight bag – even if the procedure should only take 10 minutes. I assume there will be no more eye rolling from now on? Lesson 8: Always take the PINK NOTEBOOK! Les...