Changes and Miracles

We have been making a lot of changes in our house the past few months, but these past few weeks have been crazy.  I decided that I *have* to let the house go.  I mean seriously, it IS a big house, and there is a lot to clean, and A LOT of laundry.  I just cannot keep up.  I have a new standard of what I consider clean.  It used to be when everything was clean, EVERYTHING was clean.  Baseboards, walls, and all the like.  But now, I am happy if the house LOOKS clean.  Meaning, dishes are done, floor is swept and rooms are picked up.  If I can vacuume, that is a bonus. I simply cannot seem to get it all done.  And when I say that I am letting the house go, what I really mean is that I have finally decided that it is okay when I cannot keep up with it.  I am doing the best I can and spending lots of quality time with my kids- more than I used to, because it is needed!  And now those days when the house is nice and clean, they are BLISSFULL!  And now that the kids are out for summer, they can pitch in more and help more.  But they can also mess up more, so i figured it might end up being about the same.

Now with all this new profoundness of me excepting the fact that my house is mostly messy most of the time, also comes a new understanding of my children.  We have made a lot of changes with them too- and I am really focusing on giving them all individual time and playing with them more.  Why am I always in a rush to get something done when what I really need to focus on is spending each precious day with my kids.  I am trying anyways- we are all trying to be a more united family.

Another big change that has happened in our household is that our little man Paxton got glasses.  One of the MANY MANY Miracles we experienced in the NICU and with Paxton is regarding his eyes.  I will never forget in all my life the day I learned that Paxton would go blind if he did not get eye surgery on his eyes. I was devestated. Everything in his eyes looked great for so long, but then they started developing ROP (retinopothy of prematurity).  It's where vessels form on the outside of the retina and start to grow to the outside of the eye.  Once they hit the outside of the eye, they start to leak and the leaking is what causes blindness.  Paxton went from stage 1 to stage 3 (out of 4) in 2 weeks.  They did a laser surgery where they zap the vessels that are growing.  After 2 weeks recovery they determined that it worked in one eye, but not the other.  They did the surgery again.  Better results, but not what they were hoping for.  Then they did a vetrectomy, which I probably spelled wrong.  It is where they take a tool and hand scrape the vessels.  OUCHHHHH.  My poor POOR sweet baby and all he has been through.  Thankfully this surgery worked.  They could not have been happier with the results.  They told me that eventually some kids with eyes that were as bad as Paxton's will end up near-sided.  I was surprised it was so soon, but at his last eye exam, they determined he was near sided in his left eye.  His right eye looks great.

So off we went and picked out the most adorable tiny glasses you have ever seen! 

Move over Harry Potter!  Paxton Potter is taking over!!

I will say that I know without a shadow of a doubt that we are so lucky to live in a time where they can find things like this before it is too late and fix them!  What an incredible miracle!  We have seen countless miracles in our lives, especially when it comes to Paxton.  And it makes me extra grateful for modern technology. It makes me grateful that there are doctors out there who devote their lives to helping babies like mine be able to SEE!  We are so lucky.  And I am so grateful.