Desafios

'Desafios' is the word in Spanish for 'challenges'. Yesterday was a day of challenges for me, but also of the adjoining blessings. Yesterday morning, Devin and I went to the dentist to get a few fillings. Devin had one. I had three. The problem with my three, was that they had gone undetected for many years. They were underneath some VERY old fillings, and since every time I had previously been to the dentist in the past 5 years or so it happened upon a time when I was pregnant, I hadn't had x-rays of my teeth for quite some time. Oh dear! So, the doctor started in on my poor teeth. I must say that I think it the funniest thing when you're at the dentist and they are drilling...as water and pieces of teeth/fillings are flying through the air. Disgusting. The dentist gets to wear a nice face mask. Why don't I? My glasses were plastered. I thought that was pretty gross! Anyway, the first two teeth were fine...for now. But, then she got to the third. Then came the verdict I had been dreading. Root canal. I am not looking forward to this. But, there are blessings with this: There was only ONE instead of THREE! That's a fantastic thing, since they are SO expensive. Also, I'm getting it done now before I had to suffer from terrible pain in Africa and not have any help there! Another blessing is that this is the first time in our married life that we actually have to funds to be able to pay for something like this. Still more blessings: I wasn't pregnant, so I could actually get the x-rays to get this done. They say that a very high percentage of miscarriages/premature labors and births are due to infections in the teeth/mouth! Isn't that amazing? So, what a blessing to have that found now instead of maybe having terrible complications during a later pregnancy. Lots of blessings from something that I deem to be pretty terrible. So, I'm grateful. Not for the root canal itself, but for all the things I'm learning lately about counting my blessings about every single little thing! I've always been a fairly positive person anyway, but this is making me even more so! :) Yea! Happy!! :)

Also yesterday, I went to the eye doctor. They had some specials going on at my eye doctor, so I thought it was about time to go in for my routine yearly exam, get my present pair of glasses adjusted (since Andrew fell on my face one day and bent them slightly...whenever I look down they tend to slide off my nose) and get a backup pair of glasses. So, I went in. I had my eye exam--my eye doctor is a crack up! Very nice guy, and I would recommend him to anyone. If anyone is ever in the area (Fairfax, VA) and need an eye doctor, let me know! :) So, I went to pick out my glasses, and with the help of the girls out on the floor, I got some very trendy ones. I never thought I'd get the dark plastic frames...well, I did. I think they actually looked really good on me, too. I got the transition lenses, too, which will be pretty handy on sunny days...(thankfully Devin thought that was a pretty cool thing, too...) and I got a free pair of sunglasses with my eye exam! :) That was my big blessing from the eye doctor. Because I am leaving the country, he went ahead and did the major overhaul eye exam--where he dilated my eyes, and took pictures--he even showed them to me, and it was fantastic!, and did lots of extra things with my eyes, checking for glaucoma, diabetes, high blood pressure (I didn't know you could check for diabetes and high blood pressure in your eyes....interesting, eh??) or anything else that might be out of the ordinary or of concern. Thankfully, my eyes are healthy and happy. Thank goodness! So, after spending my next 7 Christmases worth on glasses, I walked out of the eye doctor, and lo and behold, thought I was going to pass out!! I had forgotten that he had dilated my eyes! The sun was out and shining as brightly as possible!! I could barely get to the car! I finally found my clip-on sunglasses by feel, and attached them to my glasses, but it wasn't enough! I had to get to the grocery store to fill out some prescriptions (I'm on antibiotics, and Josh needed some more eczema cream), but by the time I got to the second stop light, tears were streaming down my face. I could barely keep my eyes open! The sun felt like it was burning my eyes straight through! I didn't know what I was going to do! Then, I remembered that I had just gotten another pair of sunglasses for free! Luckily, they were super dark! So, I put them on, TOO, and with the doubled up sunglasses, I was finally able to see! Ha!! I probably looked pretty funny--I had 3 pairs of glasses on! :) But, who cares? I could see, and was no longer a hazard on the road! Good grief! So, I was able to get the prescriptions, and some ice cream to make myself feel better! :) Then, I went home and collapsed! :) The nice thing is, after the dentist, I dropped Devin and the kids off here at home so I could go to the eye doctor and the store by myself. The whole time I was gone, Andrew slept, so the kids watched a movie! So, Devin didn't have to stress out! I'm glad. What a day!! Full and fun and tiring.

Today, we took our family picture. Any votes on which is best??

It's a little off-center, but we can fix that later...

The back drop was falling apart by this time...

Aren't they just so cute?!?