First... we all have glasses now (except Stephen).
We found out that Clarkson Eyecare offers a 'scholarship' for low-income families. Being self-employed with seven kids we easily qualify. Since we knew that the kids really did need glasses soon, we decided to go ahead and take a little charity (on that subject I may blog later, it'd be more than I want to do now). All our girls are far-sighted and Ellie and Grace both have lazy eye and astigmatisms. All the boys (again, except Stephen) are nearsighted and generally have better eyesight than the girls. Laurel and I are both nearsighted, she somewhat worse than I, and she has an astigmatism, I had a lazy eye (corrected years ago).
So, we all have glasses now, and the family looks vastly different! Kate and Grace have a little trouble with theirs, but we purchased a 'warranty' on theirs and so they're getting repairs/new glasses.
In other news, Stephen has a tooth! It showed up Monday (if I recall correctly) the 21st. He was 7 months, 19 days old when he got his first tooth, and so is by far the earliest of our children in that respect. He is also at this point learning to hang on to furniture and stand... so he may be earliest in some other areas as well!
Business is picking back up... almost to normal now. If we keep this level of work, we should be getting caught up on bills and such by about 4 or 5 months from now. We're hoping to work things out with some of our creditors to make it easier on us.
Finally, you may know that I'm a 'gamer'. I've played online Role Playing Games (MMORPG's) for a few years now. For about the past 3 1/2 years I've been the leader of a 'guild' (a group of players organized into a persistent team of sorts) called The Noble Knights. We (Laurel and I) play Lord of the Rings Online, which is a game built on the 'world' that JRR Tolkein invented for his Middle Earth books. Well, I happened to meet another guild leader who has much the same ideals as we do, clean language, helpful attitude, respectful conduct. Long story short, we decided to dissolve The Noble Knights (a very difficult thing from an emotional perspective) and merge into Blessed Souls.
The result of this for me personally is that I don't have as much responsibility. Play time does not need to be as much or as regular, though as an 'officer' in Blessed Souls I do still have some level of responsability for the other players in the guild.
So, major changes.... anyway, here's a little something to chuckle at:
The Plaque
One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex was staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. It was covered with names, and small flags were mounted on either side of it. The seven-year-old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning, Alex."
"Good morning, Pastor," replied the young man, still focused on the plaque."
"Pastor, what is this?"
"Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."
Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large plaque. Little Alex's voice was barely audible, trembling with fear, when he asked, "Which service, the 9:45 or the 11:15, pastor?"
Have a great day!
JS