Landon's Surgery

Landon and Daddy playing Mario in the waiting room!

Landon in his super cute Vandy hospital scrubs!

At home recovering!

In January at Landon's 6 month checkup at Dr. Donahue's, Landon was prescribed glasses to wear for four months to see if it would help correct his crossing and help him use his eyes together. He chose Diego glasses and wore them like a trooper, but when we went back in April we were told that Landon wasn't really using the glasses; he apparently knows how to use his eyes together on his own, which is a good thing, but he drops his chin to do it, which meant he looked over the glasses. So, Dr. Donahue said we needed to go through with his second surgery. So, in May Landon went in for his second strasbismus surgery. It was successful. Dr. Donahue said that he now not only has great vision, but he is within one degree of perfect alignment.

The surgery was much more difficult this time than when he was 9 months old, but he still did terrific; much better than any adult would have done I'm sure. He slept most of the day that he had the surgery and when he was awake, he only wanted to hold a wash cloth over his eyes. The next day after surgery, he did great. We went to the park and played a lot; he never slowed down. His sunglasses were a hit, and he wore them for a solid week.

Now, he is doing great and we only hope this is the final surgery at least for years and years and years to come!

Celebration on Lawn

Dr. Seuss once said, “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” Although I have shed many tears since finding out that WHCA was closing and since our last day of school, I will always smile because it happened. We had a Celebration on the Lawn the first weekend in May to celebrate all that WHCA has meant to everyone. I was reminded of the many reasons I have to smile. First of all, the students whom I have taught over the past 11 years will always make me smile and on Saturday, I got to see so many of their faces. I was thrilled to see so many former Eagles. Adam and Nick Oden, Clark Beckham, Emily Williams, Kale Nash, Raleigh Brooks, Casey Tomes, Sydney Henry, Travis Batista, Nick Garner, Kristen Wagahoff, Cameron Berry, Daniel Anderson, and Anthony Nelson all came back to play alongside many of our current Eagles in a soccer game. I also saw several other former Eagles such as Blake Collins, Bradley Edwards, Charli Bray, Matt Korfhage, Taylor Bennett, Keah Duley, and one of the twins (I never could tell them apart) who had come to cheer on their beloved Eagles. I enjoyed seeing all of our students past and present laughing together and enjoying the day. All of these students will always hold a special place in my heart. Because of them, I have laughed A LOT and learned a lot. They have all made me a better person. Secondly, I was reminded just how wonderful our WHCA parents are. The parents of WHCA definitely “let their lights shine before men.” Karen Ballentine, Julie Balthrop, and Christi and Shawn Everingham once again stepped up to help make this a great day by organizing a bake sale and by helping with concessions. I And as always, many of our parents helped behind the scenes by making yummy goodies for our bake sale. Thirdly, I have been blessed through the years to work with talented people who care deeply about their students and their school. Each current faculty and staff member at WHCA stepped up to help on Saturday (Mrs. Rose even played in the soccer game); this event couldn’t have been possible without each of them. A few former faculty members even came back to celebrate with us. Larry and Joni Nesbitt, JT and Jana Thomas, and Christy Brown came to see everyone, and we were all glad to see them.

All in all, it was a great day, and it gave me many reasons to smile. My boys had a great time jumping on inflatables ALL DAY, and I do mean all day. I even enjoyed sitting in the COLD watching Horton Hears a Who on the lawn with so many of our Eagles and snuggling withe Landon. I have so many reasons to smile as I look back over the last 11 years of my life.

Garden Party

Lofton's preschool class had a garden party for all of their moms for Mother's Day. It was a great day; we had a picnic lunch on the lawn together. Lofton had made me some special presents. Again, he was made to answer questions about me, and the best one this year is, "How much does your mom weigh?"

His response, "I can't tell; she is pregnant!" I don't know if he literally meant he better not tell anyone or if it is hard to judge. Either way, the best Mother's Day gift was him keeping his mouth shut about that one. ha ha

For Mother's Day on Sunday, the boys got me a heart charm for the charm bracelet that they had bought me for Christmas. They were so sweet and so excited to give it to me. We had a great day together. I am one lucky momma!

Redneck Water Park is Officially Open!

Over the past four or five summers, we have set up what we refer to as our redneck water park in our front yard. It consists of a plastic pool, plastic slide, and usually a slipe n slide and a sprinkler. Last week, we set it up minus the slipe n slide because I haven't gotten one yet this year. The boys love it and played for over an hour.

Please Don't Go, Mimi

My mom came to keep the boys the weekend of WHCA formal, and she stayed for most of the following week because one day we had 3 doctors appointments between Landon and me. The boys had a great time with Mimi. They played in the creek several days and found what Lofton believes to be Indiana Jones's camp. So, of course, when Mimi left, the boys made me contiue to take them to Indy's place. As we were nearing the camp, Landon jokingly said, "Uh, oh, Indy Jones there is a snake." I looked and saw a tree branch that did look like a snake, but when I looked a little higher there really was a snake. Being the terrific mom that I am, I refused to walk past it even though the boys had already passed it. I found a safer route and stood in my safe place and directed them to safety. When they got to me, Landon wanted me to hold him to see the snake, but Lofton said, "No, thanks. I am good." Luckily, I think we won't have to go back to see Indiana Jones's camp! Even if they beg and plead, I know I won't go back; we'll save that adventure for the next time Mimi visits.

Making the Best of a Bad Situation

Well, we were very fortunate in that we didn't receive any damage to our home in the Nashville flood of 2010. In fact, White House, Tennessee was not affected too much by the flood. We were warned one day to conserve water, and White House residents took it very seriously; Walmart and Kroger ran out of bottled water. The scare didn't last long because within hours we were called and told we could resume normal water use.

However, Nashville and other surrounding areas were tragically affected by it, and we have friends who lost a lot. Our prayers go out to everyone affected by the flood. Lofton was glued to the tv for awhile and couldn't get over some of the images shown of the flood.

Sunday, the second and last day of the non stop rain, the boys begged to play in the puddles. I was getting cabin fever and relented once the rain died down. They had a great time as always playing in the creek and the puddles.