Warning: This is a post all about me and myself as I am apparently having a very self-centered day. There are no comments about children or pictures. I promise in the next days to come that I will include posts from Dustin, and awesome pictures.

I went to my last ENT appointment today! Yay! Okay, so not really the last one forever; I should go back in in about 6 months for a check-up, but I am healed! I did a hearing test today. (Which, BTW, if you have never done a full-fledged hearing test, it's like this: you sit in a really tiny, dimly-lit room all by yourself, facing a wall (probably the size of a bathroom). The room is padded and shut up by two hefty doors, of which there is more padding in between. When the doors close, you hear NOTHING. It is superbly quiet so that if you tried hard, you could probably distinguish the rumbling of the Earth's gravitational field. There's a window that separates your room from the audiologist's room. The audiologist sits in his room, and you hear his instructions through the various headsets that you wear. You raise your hand accordingly, becoming increasingly aware of what a big hand you have, then the audiologist comes and opens the door to your room, and when he does so, a wave of sound comes washing over you. So, anyway, Lara came to my appointment with me today, and stayed in the sound-proof room with me. It was then that I realized I would give ANYthing to have one of these rooms in my house!!!! It would be fantastic. You just shut the doors, and hear NOTHING-no crying, no whinnying, no telephone ringing, no appliances humming, just complete and utter quietness. I explained this concept to Lara and laughed when I had to explain to her that NO, she couldn't come in the room, it would ONLY be for mommies. To some, this room might sound rather dangerous to a claustrophobic person. But to a mommy, it's pure heaven.) I am hearing at 35dB, whereas before the surgery, I was hearing at 55dB. If I understand this correctly, it means that, before reconstructed hearing bones, I could hear nothing quieter than normal talking in my left ear. For instance, I could not put the phone to my left ear because I could make out some sounds, but not well enough to hear words. Now that I am hearing 35dB, it's like I can hear whispers in my left ear. I can put the phone up to my left ear now. 35dB is still not good hearing, but titanium bones do not conduct sound about as well as the ones God made for us, so that's just how it is.

Also, my ears feel so great. Sorry if I have already mentioned this, but it is so true. Wow. They just feel so stable and healthy. Before tubes, my ears popped ALL the time-and sometimes it was like putting your head in a seashell. Usually, it was fine, but some days, my ears would pop just from talking. So I'd make sure to keep my mouth closed the whole day. Can you believe I lived with that? Come to think of it, I have discovered over the last several months that talking feels much more enjoyable now. Wow. Mommies, if your children ever have to be up for tubes, rejoice!! They are wonderful things! They make people happy! They will make your babies feel so much better! Do it as soon as you can!

Sorry, I am just really happy about my ear progress.

Now, before going to the app., I stopped in town and visited with a friend from college. She has two children, the same ages as my two. Jennifer and I lived on the same floor in the dorm, and oh! I am just reminded of an absolutely humiliating thing the two of us did for a Christmas production one year. There's a movie out there, floating around, who knows where...Jennifer #1 runs around stage as Raggedy Andy and Jennifer #2 runs around as Raggedy Anne, and they are dancing and being silly, and suddenly boom! they smack into each other, confused about what they are supposed to do. I was able to redeem myself later in a very pretty, well-choreographed dance in a later music number in the production, which Jennifer always pointed out to me. But Jennifer did not have this, and upon gathering in the dorm room to watch ourselves on tape stumbling around stage in front of hundreds of people, Jennifer #2 buries her face in her hands and says, "Omg! Omg! I can't believe we did that! Turn it off!" I am laughing so hard remembering it, but I'm sure you had to be there. Imagine me wearing a big red wig and bulky overalls, and that might help. Soon after, a friend gave me a little Raggedy Andy doll that I hang on my Christmas tree every year. I put it up because it reminds me to be humble. ;D The best memory I have, though, is a little group I was invited to join, I guess, after I made myself worthy. ;) I mention this here, because Jennifer was a part of that as well. It was short-lived, but we'd gather together every night and SPILL IT. We'd talk about our secrets we'd share with noone else; we'd lay our problems out there on the table for all to see. And then we would pray for each other. It was pretty raw, as I remember, but amazing in its therapeutic healing. It is very very rare to find friends like that-who are serious about taking care of each other like that in the way of accountability and prayer, and I think more than anything in my past, I miss that the most.

After lunch and a quick play-date, Lara and I suffered through an almost 2-hour doctor appointment. I was so glad to be home. And glad I do not have to do that for another 6 months!

Next up, my friends, wisdom teeth!