As soon as Stacy uploads all the VBS pictures, I will post pics of Liz wearing her teeny pink glasses. She does a pretty good job wearing them, but when she wants them off - she wants them off right now!

VBS was great! I have what's called Bible Drama. I tell the Bible story to a group of kids while two teen helpers act it out. The children get to interact with us as well. It's a lot of fun, but it also helps them to remember it. One of my teen helpers was my brother. He took great pleasure in spraying me with water. Too much pleasure for my liking. However, like any good sister, I got him back! The girls all loved VBS. Katelyn and Sarah each invited a friend. Lizzie hung in there like a trooper. She did a lot of snacking and napping, but overall had a good time:)

Wow! So much has happened since I last updated the blog!

First we had Church Camp which was a blast. We have the best bunch of kids at our church. I love going as their sponsor. We had a few children respond to the messages. The Camp Evangelist did a great job. The worship leaders did an awesome job too. Lizzie loved the singing part of the service. After that, she would eat or sleep during the preaching.

We came home for the weekend and basically did laundry:) My family was able to come and spend the weekend with us. Then on Monday Lizzie got her new pink glasses! She has a sort of love-hate relationship with them. They really help her to focus better, but she gets the nose pieces up her nose and the ear pieces on top of her head. Then she gets angry and tries to rip them off.

After getting Lizzie's glasses, I took the big girls to the dentist. Then we headed to OKC to stay the night. Tuesday morning was Lizzie's ERG. The results proved normal, with only a slight retinal dystrophy that should not affect her vision. But we all know Miss Elizabeth and how she works:) Lizzie had trouble coming out from under the anesthetic. Her airway became swollen and irritated. She needed oxygen and suctioning and morphine and steroids and other meds to help her overcome the breathing difficulties. We were transferred via ambulance to Children's PICU for overnight observation. But we all know Miss Elizabeth and how she works:) Lizzie woke up at 8:00 that night as if nothing had ever happened. She was laughing and talking, but we had to stay all night, with the little night owl, b/c she was definitely having severe breathing difficulties earlier. God took awesome care of her and us as well:)

We made it to Ada Wednesday afternoon and stayed until Friday. Lizzie did a lot of eating and sleeping. The girls did a lot of swimming and helping in the garden. Stacy and I just marveled at this fact: God is ALWAYS in control. Tuesday's shenanigans by the Princess did not catch Him off guard. It did not interfere with His day. He did not scramble for peace to pass on, wisdom to give or His presence to be with us. It's in those somewhat catastrophic moments when I can actually "feel" Him. It's not a peace that says, "Oh la-de-da, this is a wonderful thing. Everything is going to work out the way I want it." It's a peace that says, "Oh me - Oh my, this is absolutely awful. Even if it doesn't work out the way I want it, God is with me... and Lizzie"

Now we are home and enjoying VBS. It's a Waterworks theme this year. Lots of kiddos getting wet and learning about Bible stories with water. We have learned about "Moses vs. Pharaoh - the Parting of the Red Sea" and "Jesus Calms the Storm." I love VBS and this year Lizzie is really enjoying it too! Hopefully the next post won't be like 10,000 words:)

We are back from Church Camp. It was a great week, but oh so tiring. Lizzie and Katelyn are still napping. We have lots of pictures and stories to tell, but right now laundry is the most important:)

Mom, Dad, Bubba and Kayla will all be here this weekend. I love it when that happens! I probably won't be able to put up the pics from camp until next week.

Pray for Lizzie. It seems that the soy milk and Zantac combination are not working as well as I thought. Lizzie had two really bad reflux spells at camp. Maybe it was the reflux and fatigue, but it was pretty scary. Please pray that God will heal her of this. We are still on for Tuesday at OKC. We might just have to add an appt. to see the ORL as well. ORL stands for otorhinolaryngology. Ten dollars to whoever can tell me what type of doctor this is! JK - He's the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. ENT was just too easy I guess:)

Leaving for Church Camp in the morning!!! All packed... except the Supreme Commander. He likes to wait until the very last minute and throw all his stuff in a bag. Literally:) I've organized, made a list and checked it twice. All we have to do is get up and be at the church on time.

Today's services were great. I love to hear my husband preach. I have been blessed to have only attended four churches in my lifetime. Each one was a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church. It is great to have a wonderful church family. It's great to feel at home when you go to church. It's great to serve in the local church. But the most important thing is to have the Word of God preached truthfully every time you go to church. I look forward to that.

We are trying Lizzie on soy milk. I have been praying that her acid reflux would go away. I pray daily that she would be made completely well. 100% healed. I also pray that whatever God does in our lives through her I will praise Him for it. It seems that a combination of Zantac twice a day and soy milk are helping. Today she only had four occurrences of reflux. That is a great day for Lizzie. But, have you ever tried vanilla soy milk? Bleck:P I tried a sip and decided I would just do without milk if that was my only option. Lizzie, however, seems to really like it. Well, she does not have to worry about sharing with the rest of her family!

Today is packing day... again. We are preparing for Church Camp this coming week. The entire Ross Family loves to go to Church Camp! Our numbers are down this year, but the other churches' went up. Hopefully, we will have a great time. I also hope the children are moved to make a decision for Christ. In the past, the preachers have truly presented the Gospel at our chapel services. The teachers have taught from the Bible, and the counselors have given devotions each night to those in their cabin. It's great that we can combine a fun, safe environment with the freedom to boldly proclaim Christ!

Here's some advice completely off the subject: Do not mix Chinese food, doughnuts, and a web search of pictures of spider bites before bed. That combination proved the right components for some creepy dreams last night. Gross:)

As usual, Lizzie is in a great mood. She's kicked back in the recliner watching the Land Before Time and kicking her feet. She met with the Speech Therapist on Thursday. We need to figure out what she can understand so we're going to take pictures of familiar things like her bottle, the tub, a spoon, family members, etc. As she learns what the pics are, we can better learn what she understands. Right now, she seems to understand the word bottle and night-night. She responds to her name and I think she probably communicates that she likes her Momma best:)

A Post From Katelyn:
Good Morning! I have to ask my Mom if we're going to the water park today. If two sleepyheads, Jacob and Sarah get up, we can go to the blue school to eat lunch. Elizabeth does not have chipmunk cheeks anymore. That makes me sad:( My summer has been good and for some reason I've been talking about school. Well, last year's school. My dad has to go to the church more often now. Elizabeth is getting better with holding her head up. She can do it for like two minutes. I'll talk about Sarah now: All she wants to do is play on her DSI. She got a new game called SIMS Pets 2. My mother hogs the computer all the time. (Note from her mother: "I do not!") Bubba, my uncle, has been staying with us a lot and aggravating us. A lot. Arminius is shedding a lot. When we got home from Ada, there was hair from him all over the place! And Abigail is not shy now like she used to be. My fishes need their tank cleaned. (Note from Mom again: "Then get to it, sister!") That is how all my family and pets are doing. Have a great summer and go to church!!!

We took Lizzie to the eye doctor today to get fitted for her glasses. They are teeny pink wire frames. She tried to back away from them when we tried them on:) She looks so cute, and brainy. They should be in Tuesday, but since we'll be at Church Camp, we won't get to pick them up until Friday afternoon. The whole gang went for the fitting. Katelyn and I had our glasses adjusted and cleaned. It was practically like a Spa Day for the optically impaired:)

We have watched movies and ate "healthy" junk food tonight. Peanuts, sun chips, salad and jell-o cups. I'm still craving some donuts though:) Katelyn and Sarah are trying to sweet talk me into going out for some. Even Bubba is in on it... telling me I can afford to eat some donut calories b/c I go the gym so much.

As I was looking back through the old photos, I found how much I had forgotten. Lizzie was never that tiny or fragile... yet the pictures prove it. I'm pretty sure I could NOT change a trach now a days:) And I'm certain I could not perform a trach change in a gas station parking lot in Woodward, Oklahoma!

Today is going to be busy. Lizzie has Speech Therapy for the first time this afternoon. Her stander was approved by insurance so it should be here soon. We are so excited about that. Doubt Lizzie will be:) I have to drop off Lizzie's eyeglass prescription, and go to Wal-Mart.

God is in control. As I consciously remind myself of that, everyday annoyances become less annoying. The need for me to be in control is replaced by a knowledge that He is in control. That makes me happy!

As I sit and type the blog, Katelyn is trying to crowd me off the computer. She's covering her motives with innocent eyes and an occasional pat to my back, but I know the truth. Lizzie was so happy to be back in her church tonight. She giggle and laughed and talked the entire time. I was pretty happy to be back too!

Tomorrow, we are going to the public school to eat lunch. Woo-hoo! When you have normal children, the milestones are pretty much the same: holding head up; sitting; crawling; first steps... but with Lizzie her milestones are different. The first time she ate a free lunch in the public school's summer lunch program is one of her milestones! She ate more than Katelyn and Sarah the last time we went:)

Today we are finally home!!! I love to go travel, but I love coming home too. The girls and I worked hard to clean the house two weeks ago before embarking on a cross-country vacation. This morning, it looked as though we were lying:) However, I did manage to get some control by this afternoon.

I spent the day on the phone with OU Medical Center and the Dean McGee Eye Institute trying to figure out what sort of anesthetic Lizzie needs for her ERG. Lots of phone calls with very nice people. When you look at the contact list in my cell phone, I have the names of lots of doctors, nurses and specialty clinics. It makes me feel important to scroll through that:)

Thursday is picture day for the blog. Lots to add. Lots to compare. Lots of stories to remind us of how good God is every day. He is in control, but listens to our pleas. He is all fairness, but gives us mercy. He created the entire universe, yet wants a personal relationship with us. He is my Lord and I love Him.

We enjoyed a wonderful service at the Center Free Will Baptist Church this morning. The girls opted to stay out in "Big Church" and sat in the pew right in front of us. Shortly after Bro. Earl got up to preach, I had to shush the girls. Sarah's response was "Well, what are we supposed to do?" When I told her to listen to the preacher, she sighed loudly and sank down in the pew beside Katelyn. It made Stacy's vein bulge out on his forehead:)

We are back at the Ross house awaiting another yummy lunch from Jimmy Ross. Hopefully, we can squeeze in a nap, some pool time and maybe a walk in the park. I'm sure we can find a place to watch fireworks too! Happy Fourth of July to everyone! May God bless our troops as they serve; and may He bless those who have served.

Today was filled with rain, rain and more rain. Oh well, this is eastern Oklahoma:) The girls were still able to go swimming with their daddy though. Lizzie and I opted to stay warm and dry in the house. We're heading back to Guymon on Monday to spend one week at home, then it's back on the road again. I really do enjoying travelling in the summer. During the school year, we aren't able to go too many places.

I have plans of uploading more pics on here. I would like to show the progress Lizzie has made, and of course add new ones. We forgot our camera for this vacation. I'm going to place the blame squarely on Stacy. I had four girls to pack for; he only had one bag to pack:)

I have been working hard on vacation to change the blog and add to it. One should not work this hard on vacation:) As I sit here in the air conditioning while my father-in-law prepares a late lunch and Stacy watches the girls swimming, I will have to admit my comment about working hard may be a bit hard to believe.

Lizzie has an appointment for an ERG on July 20th in OKC.
"Electroretinography (ERG) is an eye test used to detect abnormal function of the retina (the light-detecting portion of the eye). Specifically, in this test, the light-sensitive cells of the eye, the rods and cones, and their connecting ganglion cells in the retina are examined. During the test, an electrode is placed on the cornea (at the front of the eye) to measure the electrical responses to light of the cells that sense light in the retina at the back of the eye. These cells are called the rods and cones."

She will be completely sedated for this. There are many disorders of the retina that an ERG can detect. Oh, and Lizzie will be getting glasses to help with her lack of muscle control. Sarah is angry about this. Now she will be the only one in the entire Ross Family that does not have glasses. Stacy is convinced Sarah will bomb her next eye exam just to get a pair:)

This has been a very busy two weeks:) I will elaborate as soon as we get home, but as for today, Lizzie had an appointment with the eye doctor. He thinks she may have retinal dystrophy, but will need to conduct a test on her eyes to make sure. I can't seem to find any information on the internet about retinal dystrophy. Maybe that's for the best:) Anyway, we are still enjoying our vacation, but looking forward to getting home!