Love is a Jello Salad

Justin had his annual visit to the ophthalmologist last week.  It was the first time they could actually do a real vision test.  They gave Justin a sheet of paper with 4 letters on it and the they put one of the letters up on the screen.  They patched one eye and had him say which letter it was.  He did SO good at identifying the letters!  Until they got too small.  As it turns out the eye with the myelinated nerve fibers (his left) has poorer vision.  So the doctor offered patching the good eye as a solution to bring the poor vision back up even with the other.  So now we have to patch Justin's eye for 2 hours a day every day for 3-6 months.  For some reason that just put me over the edge.  One more thing to fit into my day.  I might have whined a little.  I asked for other's opinions to see if it's worth it.  Because if the poor vision is caused by the nerve fibers, patching won't help.  But there's no way to know without trying.  And can you believe that Justin does not enjoy having his eye patched?   The first day I heard low whining interrupted by the occasional "it hurts".  It was a long 2 hours.  For everyone.  I may have whined too.  (I just want to interject and say how awesome Travis is with everything we have to do for Justin.  He gets in Justin's face with the enthusiasm of a sports trainer and encourages Justin through every blood draw, every tough physical test, and every mental challenge.  And there's always a hug at the end!)

So I was feeling a little blue when I got a call from a friend asking if I was coming her way that day because she had a jello salad for us.  When I told Randy he kind of looked at me funny and said, "A jello salad?"  But you women understand, right?  It was a jello salad full of love!  That jello salad was perfect!  And the boys loved it.  Travis even used the word "awesome".  It was something for Justin to enjoy while he endured his time.  (We might have had one of those hand washing incidents that day too, thus the lack of shirt...)

Did I mention Alaina learned how to say "cheese"?

So to the DeCarlo family, love is a jello salad.  Thanks Glenda, you made our day!