our real live snow day!!! 3.07

well, we didn't believe the hype...it never snows in memphis! but, it really happened this time! we had 6 inches! it was so pretty and so much fun for the kids!!!








the kids really enjoyed the snow for about 10 minutes. then they were too cold. it was pretty miserable out there...it was still snowing pretty hard and windy. so, we went inside, dried off, popped some popcorn, lit the fire, and pulled out the sleeper sofa to watch cinderella! i think the kids were more impressed with the "after-party" that the main event!!!

sarah's first day of tumbling class...3.05

i signed sarah up for the last tumbling session of the school year at church. sarah LOVED her new outfit. i think that was her favorite part :) but, she really seemed to have fun in class too. the class was great! only 6 little students. and the class was set up like an obstacle course so the kids were entertained the whole time. little drew was SO sad that he wasn't in the class too! too hard for him to understand that despite his best efforts, he is NOT as old as sarah!!!

shout it from the roof tops!!!

sarah had her 8 week follow-up visit with dr. byrd, her opthamalogist today. we are FINALLY seeing some improvement in her vision! hallelujah!!! at her last appointment, sarah's corrected vision in her left eye was 20/30 and this time it was 20/10 corrected!!! and the BIG NEWS...sarah "bad eye", her right eye has improved from 20/80 corrected to 20/40 corrected! tim was able to come to today's appt, so i felt like we got a lot more answers. its just so much info to absorb...

sarah's vision is "poor"...but not worse than other glasses wearers. as dr. byrd put it, "we are shooting for the stars" and looking for perfection. sarah could go on her whole life with vision like she has. we just want her vision to be better. and at sarah's age, it is correct-able.

at some point in sarah's infancy, her right eye wasn't working as well as her left. so her brain quit trying to use her right eye. this is what happens in almost all body parts. its a "use it or lose it" thing. so, we are trying to convince sarah's brain to use her right eye again.

dr. byrd kept referring to sarah's patch wearing as "brain-vision training". again, this means we are trying to strengthen the messages/pathways that send info from sarah's brain to her eye. this is the same thing i do as an occupational therapist with muscle groups. the saying "practice makes perfect"? that's so true! i hear lots of people refer to "muscle memory" these days...its like a new catch phrase for golf and other sports. same basic concept. we are giving sarah's brain a "work out" when she patches.

so we are still patching 3 hours a day/7 days a week. the "goal" is for sarah to have 20/30 corrected vision in her right eye. dr. byrd said we can back off a little on patching once we hit that level.

a few other interesting tidbits i learned today...
babe ruth was completely blind in one eye! and he was babe ruth :)...
lots of people have mentioned to me that when they were kids, they had to patch all waking hours. dr. byrd said as science has progressed, they have realized that patching can be "too much of a good thing". so, all of you out there who suffered with your patch all day, nowadays, you would probably be on a schedule like sarah!!!

so we are immensely grateful for the progress that sarah has made! all day i've been on the brink of tears thinking about how amazing it is! we are so thankful for all of the prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf! we go to see dr. byrd again in 8 weeks. please continue to join us in prayer that sarah's little eye will continue to improve. i know its vain, but i really hope that sarah will be through patching before she gets to the age that kids will pick on her for it. glasses are enough, right?

you might be a redneck if...

"go fish" concert...2.29

on leap year day, mary, griffin, sarah, and i went to a "go fish" concert at hope presbyterian church in cordova. it was a really fun, high energy concert. except sarah thought it was a movie. and still calls it that no matter how many times i tell her it was a concert. sarah was a dancing machine...it took her a while, but she finally got griffin to join her on her own personal dance floor! look how red faced and wet headed the kids are from movin' and shakin'!!! after our big concert, we went to mcalister's for dinner. its amazing how calm and relaxed a meal is with just the "big kids"...

drew's real birthday...2.26

as i've mentioned before...my kids fade FAST after preschool. and drew's real birthday was on a tuesday/preschool day. so, right after preschool, mimi and poppy came over to have a quick "party"! we sang happy birthday and had cake and ice cream. shortly after that, little birthday boy went to sleep for the night! i don't even think he stayed awake long enough to see his daddy! there aren't many things drew loves more than a good night's sleep! happy birthday sweet drew!!!

another night at sarah's dance class...2.25

its really amazing how much sarah has learned this year in dance class. just her ability to listen to the teacher, follow directions, and filter out all the distractions is fantastic! of course, she still has her moments, but its greatly improved!!! the class is deep in preparations for the spring recital. sarah's class is performing a ballet number and a tap number...both to songs from the lion king. after just having seen the lion king show at disneyworld, we were all excited to hear the music on the day after we got back! drew had to get in on the dancin' action too!

a few final pics...from mimi's camera...disneyworld

while mimi, sarah, and mommy were eating with the princesses, poppy, daddy, and drew met a few characters...

the whispering canyon cafe had this awesome table set up in the lobby to keep the kids entertained...my kids were mesmerized watching the bigger kids build huge log cabins!
mimi, drew, and daddy outside magic kingdom...
drew, daddy, and poppy at the wilderness lodge...i think...possibly the animal kingdom?!?


mommy and the kids in animal kingdom with the tree of life in the background

so long, farewell...travelling home...2.24

we had such a magical time!!! the trip was so much better than we expected with two toddlers! the kids were in good moods MOST of the time. and the crowds were really low. we didn't wait in any lines longer than 20 minutes. it was great! i would highly recommend going to disneyworld in february! the temps were in the 70's during the days and the lower 60's at night! i am already ready to go back...well, without the flights with drew :)

our last night at disney...day 3...magic kingdom...2.23

our last night, we headed back over to magic kingdom for some final memories...the kids were really still enjoying themselves despite this picture. i can't remember why drew was upset in this pic! who really knows?!? he's two!!! enjoying some popcorn between riding aladdin's magic carpet and the jungle cruise...

watching the parade...

again, we didn't take too many pics that night...we went into a lot of shows and rode a lot of rides back to back! we actually ate dinner after 10 pm that night!!! at dinner we asked sarah if she could do anything one more time, what would it be?!? and she said riding cinderella's carousel. who knew? we can go on carousels in memphis! anyway...with about 20 minutes left before the park closed, tim and mimi took the kids to ride the carousel while poppy and i ran over to toontown to get a few last autographs from the characters! we all met up at the boat launch to head back to our room for one last sleep!!!