Winter Driving Conditions Scare: Thanking God

M had four teeth pulled yesterday and two spacers put in her mouth so it was not a stellar day in her book.

Even the fact that she got to miss out on a day of school didn't make up for the fact she was fearful and in pain. She was a real trooper throughout, but I think she's glad it's finally over!

The roads yesterday weren't stellar either. We had some freezing rain, mixed with about 1/2 inch of fresh snow before school. C was disappointed that they didn't think to "call it off " and have yet another snow day. Driving to Preschool was a little dicey. M and A couldn't believe all the traffic and the slow moving cars going up the hills near our neighborhoods.

Being my father's daughter, I quickly decided that neighborhood streets were the best choice from the pharmacy to Preschool and if I could have made it all the way to the Dentist by neighborhood streets, I would have. However, slow and steady, we made it on time for our "Dental Dread" appointment.

M came thru the "surgery" well, and why she looked like a chipmunk with the gauze in between her lips and talked like one too, we were ready to get A from school and get back home.

About 1 mile from the Preschool, we had to drive down a street that is a four lane divided major thoroughfare. It is, however, surrounded by farmland and tends to get a little slick due to the wind whipping across the prairie grass. (Yes I do want to break into song about a OKLAHOMA, but that's not allowed in these parts, my husband despises OU. He's a UT man remember)

I was going about 25 miles an hour and the next car nearest me was quite a ways ahead. The car behind liked slow and steady too and keep her distance. We were traveling northbound in the curb lane.

Suddenly a car traveling Southbound and in the curb lane (going about 40 plus mph) lost control slid over the next lane, jumped the huge median in the middle and starting coming right at my mini van. Never before have I seen such look of terror in another's person face; the air bags deployed on that car, they came within 15/20 feet of my front end but...All Glory to God I was able to stop the car without hitting them and move over enough into the far lane to miss their rear end as they went up the embankment on my passenger side of the street.

I thanked Jesus right there that He'd spared M and my life. He did. Had I been going just a fraction of a kilometer faster at any time in my journey I would have been directly in the path of that Toyota 4 Runner. I know without a doubt I would have been killed, and most likely M, too. It was coming that fast, with so much gusto that we would not have been able to stop it's force.

Praying and Praising all the way to Preschool pickup, I told the Preschool teacher that I would gladly pay any late fee for being 15 minutes late for Miss A. While I had told them I would most likely be late and they were very willing to help out, I wasn't really grateful for the ability to be late until that exact moment that I didn't know if I'd be showing up at Preschool ever again.

Poor Miss M I think the look of terror on her face at the moment was worse than the Dentist could ever have been.

At dinner, we were thanking God for His protection and His provision that allowed us to see death, but not taste it. Never before have I felt so grateful for those "moments" when you can see clearly the hand of Jesus. Protecting us, keeping us calm and allowing us just one more "moment" this side of heaven.

Really I need nothing more this Christmas. I've just gotten the greatest gift.

We're Now A Five Glasses Family: Why I No Longer Blame the Doc for our $500 Test

A in her new glasses finger paints

Today was a big day for A. She's wearing her first pair of glasses. They are Purple and Adorable with a Purple Pez Case and a snazzy attitude to match.

A few weeks ago, we went in for A's five year old checkup with our pediatrician. Since she's not in kindergarten, this was not a "big" visit, just a yearly exam. Everything checked out great. She's tall and skinny, smart as whistle and she has great reflexes.

I noticed however that he took a little longer than normal looking at her eyes. The lights were out in the room and he looked and looked at the pupils and had her move her eyes right and left.

He told me he thought that she was not seeing the same out of both eyes, that the light was not reflecting the same in both eyes, and that he'd like to do an exam in the hallway and then thought we should go see our Pediatric Optomologist

Yes, we have a pediatric Optomologist and have in fact for 9 years. M was only two weeks old when our pediatrician sent her to a specialist for a droopy eye lid. It was a God thing that we went then because, by the time M was two, she was not seeing so well. Her astigmatism was really bad and she needed glasses. I might have cried a little that day. However, when she came home from picking up the glasses a few days later and looked at a basket of books for over two hours devouring each page, I cried tears of joy. Poor little girl was living in a fuzzy world. She has never complained and wore those adorable blue glasses without a fuss.

So back to last week. Off we went to the Pediatric Eye Specialist. Guess A has a lazy eye. The toughest of all "lazy eyes" to catch. It is the one where her astigmatism in one eye is significantly different than the other. As a result, A's good right eye is working hard to cover her bad left eye. If left as is, the brain would send a signal to the left eye to shut off. Yes, that's right, she'd lose sight in that eye completely.

Our eye doctor said it was a "great catch by our Pediatrician." His thorough exam saved A's eyes.

Guess I can cut him a little slack for ordering the H1N1 test for our son C back in July. A test that originally came back negative and then two days later was positive for Influenza A and then finally for H1N1. C was never really that sick. None of us caught the bug from him. By the time the test was positive, he was back to full strength. Yet, because of it, we were under house arrest on the lookout for symptoms.

How much for the test you ask. Five Hundred dollars. It was a test for nothing but statistical averages. Poor C was hoping that his name would be in the paper at least. Nada.

I'm no longer holding that grudge against our Pediatrician, however. You see that same thoroughness that lead him to order that flu test, made him look twice at A's eyes. That's worth well more than 500 dollars. It's priceless.

I told my husband last week that I was sad for A. Here she has to have ear surgery in October to repair a huge hole inside her ear, left from tubes years ago. This whole that should cause her to have no hearing in the right ear, but by the grace of God she only has 10% loss that should be corrected. Now, she has a left eye that could have been blind. But for the grace of God and great set of doctors, she will probably be stronger than ever. Sad that she has to go through so much, yet grateful that God has place in our lives the right set of doctors to allow all this to be corrected.

What a big God we serve who cares about our eyes and ears. He really does love every inch of us doesn't He!!