Answer to prayer.

I went to see my retinal specialist on Monday for a regular check-up. Although at this point, I should probably only be seeing him every 6-8 months, I've been 3 times in the past six months. My vision has been deteriorating rapidly in my eye, thankfully not because of the tumor (which still appears to be dead), but because of residual damage that is occurring from the radiation. I knew this was a possibility but still seemed worth the risk since my alternative was just to remove the eye entirely. Each time I've gone to the doctor lately my vision has been worse, to the point that I am now legally blind in that eye and there is fluid that has accumulated.

However, things has not gotten any worse in the past 3 months so it looks like hopefully my eye may be stabilizing. This is really good news because sometimes pregnancy can have an adverse effect on the eye--especially with my situation. So, we will just continue to watch and wait. I will receive an injection of a new, somewhat experimental medication into my eyeball after the baby is born (they don't want to take the risk during pregnancy). It is supposed to help remove some of the fluid and there's a small chance I could get a little vision back. Either way, it will most likely help the overall "health" of my eye which is our new priority, since the tumor is under control. The goal is to be able to keep my eye for a long, long time--decent vision or not.

So, we are thanking God and have been so blessed by the MANY of you that are praying for us!

An evening at the park.

The ballpark that is. Thanks to some very generous people at church (and some other very generous people for babysitting the boys), Zac and I enjoyed a great baseball game at Coors Field last night. We were given four tickets and so we invited Phil and Kelley (brother and sis-in-law) along. It was a BEAUTIFUL night outside and they actually won! After being in the World Series last year, the Rockies haven't quite lived up to expectations this year but we were lucky to attend a really good game. It's always fun to do something different and we enjoyed it!

Did I mention our seats were only 14 rows from the field, right off of 1st base?!?! And I tried to take a picture of us but I was reminded where the kids get their difficulty with being serious for pics. We had to do a take #2.

Church picnic

Sunday our church had a service outside at an amphitheatre and park, and then had an all-church picnic afterward. It was a really great time and the weather was perfect--not too hot or too cold. God answered some prayers because it rained a bit overnight and was overcast when we woke up.

Here are the boys, in their booster seats on the lawn, waiting for the service to start. I was wondering how long they would last in sitting through the service. About 25 minutes. Joel could have made it longer but Jesse was being a negative influence :). It didn't help that they saw Zac on the stage and continually asked to go see him. During a time of silent prayer, Jesse yelled out how cute he looked in his own sunglasses (yes, still the glasses) and Joel loudly asked if it was time to go in the inflatable bounce house...I tried to be stern but inside I was laughing...these days will go by so quickly.

And yes, if anyone is especially observant, Joel's booster seat is pink. We just got another one since Jesse decided he's too old for a highchair now and when I picked up the blue one at the store, they both insisted they wanted the pink. Zac tried to protest but I told him we could sure use a little pink around our house. Plus, maybe a little Hicks' girl will get to use it some day!

Jet pops

While I was at Bible study on Friday, Zac took the boys to an outdoor mall that has what they call "jet pops". Little fountains that randomly pop up and are quite fun for little people to run around in. On a side note, I would like to say how much I appreciate Zac's willingness to take them on special little outings. I know it's a lot of work to do by yourself--especially when your not used to the "routine"--but it is really special for them to have that time together (and for me to get a little time to myself).

And here's a little picture of Jesse from when I took the boys swimming last week. Does he look like a 75 year old florida sunbird or what (well, except for the pacifier). I love summer and the ability to do lots of fun things outside...it really opens up a world of new activities for us! And yes, as you can see he is still into the sunglasses (see previous post :).

This kid cracks me up.

So Jesse is in a glasses wearing phase. He's transferred his love of wearing hats in the winter to sunglasses now. I'm actually surprised it was Joel who broke my glasses last week since Jesse is the one who's so into them. I got him a new pair of sunglasses to wear to the pool and he's been wearing them non-stop. He takes them to bed with him, wears them in the car, and wears them while playing. It's hilarious. When Zac went to get him out of bed the other morning, I heard him start laughing and he said Jesse was just standing there holding his blankie and wearing his sunglasses. If he doesn't have his glasses, he'll settle for mine or my mom's (see above pics).

Jesse is really a pretty reserved, laid back child (but he does have a fiery streak--that would only make sense coming from us). When we are outside of the home, he's really quite quiet. I have people ask me all of the time if he's talking yet. I say sort of quietly, "Um, yes, he's speaking in full sentences" and I know they are thinking I'm a liar. But when we are home, he can certainly be a little chatterbox. It's fun for me to spend time with him alone because his personality really comes alive. Joel's personality tends to overshadow Jesse at times so when I get a glimpse of Jesse alone, it's really special. Yesterday he decided not to take a nap and so we spent the afternoon alone while Joel rested--so fun.

Can I have a little cooperation, please?

It is difficult for me to get ready in the mornings even though I have hastened my routine (shower, dry and curl hair, make-up, and dress) to a mere 30 minutes. You should see me flying around the bathroom. The problem is, I spend almost as much time refereeing fights, finding toys, getting drinks of water, distributing snacks, and starting little movies for the boys during that time. It truly hinders my progress. So this morning, I had a chat with the boys at breakfast about how I needed to hurry and get ready and how wonderful it would be if they could just play quietly in the playroom until I was finished. Inside I was rolling my eyes.

However, they surprised me and not one fight or bout of tears did I have to attend to. Eventually they found me in the bathroom and fiddled around in my bedroom until I was ready. Joel called out that they were "sure doing such a good job playing nicely". And yes, they were! This is how I found them when I was done--sitting on my comforter just staring at the dresser and chatting...so cute. I had to document it.

Success.

Well, the hike that Zac took Joel on went well. He hiked up hill for over a mile and then Zac carried him back down on his shoulders. Zac thinks his feet fell asleep while riding because he kept telling Zac that he had pokey rocks in his shoes and wanted to get them out. Cute. :) The last picture is them at the top of the hill.

This little man also had a big developmental evaluation today. We are taking part in a study done by the CDC looking for possible indicators of autism. It's been a several month long process and today was our evaluation at Children's Hospital. The CDC is partnering with 6 Children's Hospitals across the nation to do the testing and research and today Joel just happened to be evaluated by the same psychologist who did his orginial evaluation and autism diagnosis a year and a half ago. It was really nice for her to be able to compare him then and now and to see the changes. She was so encouraged by his growth and development and really thinks that he is on the right track. It was great for me to hear so we will just stay the course and continue to do what we have been doing. I was able to sit in on the eval (4 hours) and so I could see firsthand the things that Joel still needs to work on so we can tweak some the things we have been doing accordingly. Overall, it was a good experience and we will await the official results (she has to tally scores and do evaluation summaries). We are so grateful that God is continuing to work a miracle in this little boy!!