Company Girl Coffee 05.8.09

Welcome! Can you believe it's Friday already? This week was so busy! I wanted our time together to be a quiet one, so grab your coffee from the kitchen and let's head out to the den and relax!
We had one of those week's where everything came at us at once! Financially we had over $1400 in unexpected expenses this week, ouch! Lack of money is the one thing that can make me quiver! Thankfully we have a pantry, a freezer, and things paid, so I can work on working extra to help out! We work very hard to live on one income, then any income I make pays for debt payoffs, ministry expenses, travel for ministry work, and sometimes extra's like prom. I usually have a pretty good idea of what to prepare for, but this week took on a life of its own. $1400 worth of things that had to be dealt with....but God is God and I'm sure that He will show us where its happening...He already is! We tithe, and I have to admit, writing our tithe check this Sunday was harder than other weeks, because I knew we were so far under the gun if I wrote every check needed at once! Tithing is the one area that God tells us we can test Him in. I know from years of experience that when you are faithful to tithe God 10% of your first fruits, He will overwhelm you with the ways you are blessed.
An exciting thing happened at the eye doctor's this week. I have had low vision since I was 5. I have a contact lens index that is -12 to -14. When they do correct me, its often a choice of seeing well close or far, never both...and then there are the methods we use like glasses over contacts to overcome different needs. For many years I have had to change contacts during the day to use the kind I needed, I love to read, but its very taxing for me. There are times I cannot focus at all because of my eyes. My retinas are thinning on the attached edges, so I am warned to not overdo or do rollercoasters, there are congenital cataracts, but none that can be repaired without other issues, and none that are directly in my vision line. For many years if I played "field" in the sun after batting with my brothers I got this blinding headache, I never understood why....they teased me alot about being only interested in batting...not playing my turn catching!
Anywho....my new doctor spent 2 hours looking at something in my eyes. It kinda got scary...in that it seemed he had "found" something. He called a doctor in, then got on the phone with another doctor....and then tried some other tests. Later he asked more questions that all seemed interesting, but without telling me why. Then he said the sweetest news "I'm going to get you seeing better than you've seen anything in 40 years"

And.He.Did!

He figured out that because my eyes don't focus vertically in the same area, my eye strain and huge correction is really magnified. My eyes get really strained at times, sometimes I lose all vision except a 2-3" circle of focus for hours or days....other times they simply don't work to focus at all without warning. He played with prism lenses for a long time with my right eye and then put a pair of temporary glasses on me (with the coke bottle lenses I used to have to wear) and said, "blink 4 or 5 times then tell me what you see" I did and it was like taking a kalidescope into shake mode then it became brilliantly focused...I saw his freckles...I saw carpet color specs on the floor, I saw veins on leaves out the window...I saw things I haven't seen since I was about 5 years old....literally....but it was also like sliding into the perfect temperature bath...my eyes just went "ahhhh" as they relaxed into focus without straining, and saw things they haven't seen in years except in my dreams! He also explained that when I am looking towards the sun, because my right eye looks upward slightly, its like I am looking towards the sun directly if I don't protect it....that's what caused the blinding pain headaches of my childhood most likely!

They had to order special lenses and new contacts. ...but I am so excited that insurance paid for almost all of it! I am more excited to pick up the new lenses today and see how they work in reality....my whole world will change if they work as we expect them too! I'll be able to pick up books and read again, I'll be able to see movies at the theatre! I'll be able to read assignments my children have instead of them reading to me! I can turn off speak on my computer and simply read your blogs by myself instead of some days having to use that abominable program!

So that was my week! Isn't it amazing how Spring just creeps in and then it fast forwards through each day?! Today Les has taken off and we get to do a family trip to the Botanical Garden to get more compost they offer for free and then we're taking Miss Madison to Birmingham to catch a plane to Dallas to see Uncle Bob (my oldest brother) and his wife M.
She is so excited to fly to Dallas! We think of Dallas as our home too since we lived in Allen for a decade and I taught there, sold Mary Kay there, won cars there, and loved many children in schools there!

My college boy moved home last night unexpectedly, I am thrilled to have my stepson here for the summer! What a nice surprise for us all! Les Jr is 19 and my red headed step son, and he enjoys many of my favorite things as well, so how fun to have him home to share the summer!

Be blessed, I am so thankful for your friendships! This is one of my favorite times of the week because of you! I so love knowing you, praying for you, and knowing you are raising your families and walking this walk with me too!

God is good!

Sweetie

Addition! It is 10:44 Friday night, and I just have to share. First of all, this morning we were notified that Alabama had misapplied our taxes and had an additional $874 coming by direct deposit TODAY, and then I opened the mail for an additional $679 in very unexpected blessings when I got home later in the afternoon....can you believe it? God sent $1553....we were not only short, or tight, but we had money left over! Yay God! The new glasses worked too! Its been a red letter blessed day!