How many eyes in the family?

Since finding out at the age of 2 months old that Jackson had Down's Syndrome we have been told time and time again how lucky we are to have a healthy boy. If there is such a thing as typical, you could say that many children with this genetic disposition have heart problems, sometimes eye disorders, breathing problems, increased risk of leukemia...and the list continues. They were right, we have been lucky. Jackson is a tough little man. For the most part he's been very healthy except for the twice a year breathing treatments he's had to endure since he was about a year old. When he see's the PA she remarks at how healthy he is, when he saw an eye specialist at the age of 1 she remarked at how healthy his eyes were. Considering the rocky start the first 6 months of his life he has been on a role. Though not much has changed, I have been noticing his eye beginning to cross in quite often. I can't say this is unusual because M and A have also had this problem, had glasses and now do not need them any longer, so I knew what to expect...(Not that anything is that easy with Jack!) LOL

Taking Jackson to the doctor is always an interesting adventure. He likes to explore, know his surroundings and meet everyone in the office, making sure he doesn't miss anyone! This week I chose to try and get Jackson's eye's checked by someone local in hopes that we would be able to get everything we needed without having to go to Houston. Dr.P. was great. I wasn't too sure at first, but he had amazing patience with J. Of course it would be great to say that he was able to look into the computerized machines and we were able to figure out everything we needed, but alas it is never that easy. Between me, Dr.P and one of his helpers we were a regular dog and pony show trying to get Jack to look in certain directions so Dr. P could look into his eyes.

After about an hour we pulled it off. However the doctor wanted to really see in his eyes and requested we come back in a month for dilation (which means Darren will have to be in attendance!). So he gave a prescription for J stating that this was only half of the required prescipt that had he given him the full script, J would never have worn them because they would be too blurry for him. WOW! Just 2 years ago, the specialist stated J would need glasses once he started to read because of the structure of the lens. I just never realized he would go this drastic this fast, though I must admit his older brother's script has changed tremendously in just a year due to growth. Considering J's growth over the past year, I guess nothing is out of the realm of possibility.

So after the appointment we went to Eye Master's to get his script filled....He looks soooooooo cute! I know that I am biased, but man he is even more adorable than ever!

Here he is getting fitted for his first pair!

Jackson now sporting his glasses. I can't say he keeps them on all the time, he is doing a great job getting used to them. He is far-sighted so it is important he wears his glasses while he plays or looks at tv up close. I am hoping that he'll begin wearing them most of the day, but I figure a few hours at a time is better than nothing.

So just when we thought all of us would be in glasses, we had A who did so well in hers that she no longer has to wear them....We will find out too if M will need to continue wearing them. So for now we have 5 in glasses.

Sometimes spontaneity is the spice of life!

Sometimes the spontaneity is the spice of life! We have tried to do things on the fly which is very difficult for us because of our families special needs plus for many years we have struggled! We tend to travel the opposite way for example we got married, had a bunch of kids (not your normal 2 is enough), then chose to go to school in order to ensure that we could give our kids a better life. We knew that we would never be rich or famous. Darren and I knew early in our marriage the importance of family that we wanted to share with our children. To be able to understand and trust each other with the hopes that one day there will be a very strong connection once they have lives of their own. We wanted our kids to know who their parents are and not just the paycheck that was provided. Growing up we remembered all the good times we had either going places or doing things around the house, like me watching "Looney Tunes" with my dad on Saturday mornings, or Darren white water rafting with his dad and his dad having to roll out his cigarettes because they were water logged. Those memories are precious and long remembered and endeared long after the stuff we had during that time in our life.

Now that things are beginning to settle down we chose to show them the world...Texas style! ...even if it's a quick day trip. So about once a quarter we have taken a quick trip around Texas and hopefully the rest of the U.S. During Spring Break we went to Arkansas for a family reunion which allowed our kids to experience 600 acres of living. They were able to run around, explore, fish, talk to cows, etc. Plus they were able to play with their cousins, which is a rarity considering we do not live in the same state. They could be kids without the adults continually asking where they are and what they are doing....they had a blast!


We then chose to elaborate our Easter trip. We went camping as a family which then led to going to the first amusement park that catered to all abilities..."Morgan's Wonderland" (http://www.morganswonderland.com)  Here are some of the pictures.
  Here is the entrance to Morgan's Wonderland

 Here are the kiddos under the hands

Some of our favorite play equipment~~












An awesome slide~

A swing where we don't have to worry about Jackson falling out!

And finally the train that encompasses Morgan's Wonderland...There were no tears shed the entire trip!






Although we try to find new things for the kids to see, Darren and I are also foodies, so if there is a cool restaurant to see or a vineyard to try, we'll make an extra trip...So while we were in San Antonio we also stopped by the Big Lou's Pizzeria as shown on Man vs. Food: http://www.biglouspizzeria.com/

 Our pizza was only 24 inches! As if that were not enough we also had to go by LuLu's bakery which is also home of the 3lb cinnamon roll! It was delicious and all 6 of us were able to eat on 1 roll with some still left over!! http://www.luluscafeinsa.com/

Zachary was also studying Texas History this year at school so we got to see the Colorado River and also took pictures of our tour of the Alamo! It was a great trip!!

Darren and I also took some time to ourselves yesterday and saw the Broadway Across America "WICKED"!!

I was so excited...it was excellent! Hopefully we'll be able to see it again!



As we were coming home we decided to surprise the kids and go on another family adventure....to Wimberley, TX. Now I will admit there was a purpose of going and that was to surprise a very long time friend...but when we found out it was the oldest and 2nd largest open market in Texas we thought it would be a great experience. So we woke them up and got in the car and traveled 4 hours to see Denise! It was wonderful to see her face in amazement. We wanted to support her and her family's new business of Gourmet Tamales http://www.gourmettamalekitchen.com/ We had an opportunity to test some of their tamales and they were awesome. The kids got some Old style German Kettlecorn and freshly roasted peanuts. After spending some time there we also chose to go to a winery near by. After going to several wineries in Arkansas, we have become drawn to the vineyards and tastings. So we headed to Driftwood vineyards http://www.driftwoodvineyards.com/ the view was breathtaking! So we go the kids together for a photo!

It was a beautiful day in Wimberley and so thankful we had the opportunity to see something new!

Since Jackson wanted pizza (his favorite) we also stopped at a nearby pizzeria which was housed a brick oven pizza. To top it off we treated the kids with Dairy Queen ice cream. They were such troopers during this long drive and got along great!

Not sure where we'll go next time, but I have really come to love these little mini-trips! I look forward to showing them more of the world as they become age appropriate and can handle the long trips. They may not see all the glitz and glamour, but at least they'll see parts of the world where they can make a difference. For now, we'll serve our community as we get ready to volunteer with the backpack program. I love doing things with my family and watching their faces light up as they see things they've only seen in books or photographs. I look forward to what the future brings and how the kids remember what we did and how they grew as a person!