A New Addition...

We're going to be adding to our family again it seems. But...this time I don't have to endure morning, noon and night sickness. Oh, and the new member will probably never talk...at least not in human forms.

Mark received a call the other day that they have found a suitable dog for his guide and they are probably going to have her (yea! a girl dog!) trained and ready to meet him/us by the end of September or so.

I am thrilled for him as I know this is something he's wanted for quite some time, buuut, I hope it doesn't result in an increase in my responsibilites as I feel a bit tapped at the moment.

His business, Nicholas an my business are all keeping me on my toes. As for mine, I had part II of my grand opening this past weekend. It was a much better showing than my first. I'm hoping that the next one which will happen in my home town next week will be at least this successful and hopefully more so!

And now I am going to get ready and climb into bed. A teething baby doesn't seem to result in much of a great night's sleep!

T-9 and Counting...

Still no news. I doubt we'll have an early bird here...which is fine, I guess, though my back would really appreciate it. It isn't really responding to the chiropractic adjustments Mark's been giving to make it behave. We may just be at that time when the back says "I've had enough." Maybe it will give the sprout some added incentive to vacate.

Last night's appointment, at least, did have an upside. As I've mentioned previously, I think, Mark goes to school with the wife of the pediatrician we've chosen. Last night he was in for his adjustment, too. So, I went out and visited with him for a little bit. I went with the express intention of not "talking shop" with him since I think it's just polite not to take advantage of such situations, but you can tell he loves his job! :) As soon as he saw me, he started asking about how the pregnancy was going, etc. We ended up having a light-hearted little chat about various baby and pregnancy-related topics (the funniest was when we were discussing how men miss out on the squirming and wiggling that we women get to enjoy...he proposed that maybe if men could contract a really big parasite they could understand. It was too funny, but maybe you had to be there!). He really is just a stellar guy and I'm looking forward to him taking care of our little sprout!

Other than that, I have been very good and have kept my activity light today. I've worked on baby's blanket and straightened up our bedroom...especially the "nursing nook" I've created for myself. It was jut a little too disorderly for my liking. Now it is quite relaxing and user-friendly. :) In general, all the crazy cleaning is over with and I plan to just do a little bit on the areas that bug me each day and then keep them in order so that when our little man arrives I can come home to a nice clean house (I might as well enjoy it while I can, I figure!).

In other news, Mark has heard back from the guide dog organization and they have all his paperwork and will be setting up an interview with him soon. That involves them having him show that he can basically get where ever he needs to on his own. Then they also give him a demonstration of how working with a guide dog would be like. We're still hopeful that maybe he'll be able to do his training during his three week break in June.

More details to follow on all the excitement in our lives tomorrow as I continue the countdown to the sprout (despite my hunch that he's going to be like all of my friends' babies and arrive fashionably late!).

Surgery Results

Well, Mark is recovering from yesterday's surgery - the poor dear. He is in a lot of pain which is unusual. He actually took Tylenol. MeLissa actually had to go buy Tylenol! We don't usually even have this sort of thing in our house...and he's never had to take anything after a surgery, but then, this is a different surgery than all that have come before.

It's different because it was performed on an eye that is giving up. Yes, you read right. Mark's right eye, according to the doctor, is in the beginning stages of decline - it is changing shape and has begun to shrink in size. So, we are now facing a future together that is nothing like we expected. We're both doing our best to be strong for each other.

We visited the doctor this morning for his first post operative visit and he confirmed that there really wasn't anything more that could be done for Mark's eyes. He was very apologetic - it was apparent that he wished he could do something, but that he'd run out of options. We actually feel compassion for him in addition to gratitude - he made a great effort. He mentioned that maybe doing nothing at the beginning would have let Mark have vision for longer, but I think we all agree that being proactive was more our style. To sit idly by and wait for a negative outcome is just not something we could have done.

Mark is being referred to a low vision/blind individual organization that will help evaluate and train him for the challenges he'll face as a fully blind individual. The dog he's been interested in having may be joining our family sooner than expected...we're already amusing ourselves considering how our dear kitty will react - she is deathly afraid of dogs that are half her size. We had planned to get one as a puppy and let it grow with her, but it looks like that plan may be scrapped. Everybody will have lots of adjusting to do...

So, we're sorry for such a "bummer" post here, but we thought you'd all want to know what was going on. Mark is again in the face down position for a week or so. The doctor wants to do everything possible to prolong Mark's visual capabilities.

For those who may be wondering, MeLissa still plans to pursue her new career and her chance to perform with the big band (though this may be postponed for a bit). Mark wouldn't have it any other way. In the long run, we believe it will actually afford us a level of flexibility that a standard 8 to 5 job does not allow.

We thank you for your thoughts and prayers over the past few months and hope that you will continue to pray for us as we travel down this newest path that has been set before us. We're hopeful that despite the adversity we're experiencing. And, we're trying to stay focused on MeLissa's favorite movie quote:

"It's the character that is the strongest that God gives the most challenges to. You can take that as a compliment." (from the Movie Return to Me). Blessings and love to you all - we appreciate your standing strong for us during this difficult time.

Maui Madness

We've updated this post with pictures! We had a tough time weeding out great shots so they may not exactly line up with the text they accompany. You'll forgive us for that won't you? Have a look at all the fun we had! :)

We're back from an unplanned, spur of the moment suprise visit to Maui (how about them adjectives!). We went to visit Mark's family to help them (and us) cope with some rather sad news we received last week at Mark's eye appointment.

We're sorry to report that Mark's eyes are not cooperating as we had hoped they would. They retinas in both eyes have detached and the left eye is actually degenerating. It is not expected to hang in there much longer so he'll just have one viable eye left. For this reason, the doctor (and we!) decided our best course of action is to try to save the right eye and "sacrifice" the left. So, tomorrow will be retinal surgery number 3. With each surgery, the likelihood of a positive outcome decreases. Consequently, we've been advised that we should plan for Mark becoming fully blind or at least much lower vision than he is currently.

On Saturday, we took a little respite from dealing with all of these heavy things and went to the Hawaiian Festival in Pleasanton. We had a great time visiting with friends - Penny, Nola, Nerisse and family! - and eating Hawaiian Shave Ice and even shopping for a few choice Hawaiian books including one on how to properly use Pidgin. Hee hee! It's actually a pretty intersting book with a lot of history. Maybe we'll treat you to a lesson some time. :) Once we'd had our fill of Musubi (well, actually, only Mark eats spam treats), good music and Ducks and Squirrel eating Cheetos (seriously, we have pictures - you just wait!), we headed to the grocery store.

On the way, MeLissa told Mark that since she'd saved a lot of money (to help out when she pursues her business full-time), he should choose where in the world he would want to visit just in case he does lose his vision and she would make it happen. She had suggested going to Hawaii earlier, but at that point he didn't say yes. After thinking about this for a while, though, he realized he really wanted/needed to go home and that his parents probably needed to have him near, too (what a good son, eh?). So, on the way home from the grocery store, he asked if we could go to Maui this weekend.

The next morning (Mother's Day) we were on a plane headed to beautiful Maui where his unsuspecting parents were enjoying an "ordinary" weekend (is any weekend truly ordinary when you live in Maui?). We had let his brother (who is currently at home learning the mortgage business from his dad) know we were coming to make sure that they'd be home when we got there.

We arrived that morning at their house and made quite an entrance (once everybody recognized who we were!). Everyone was shocked and thrilled to see Mark and give him hugs....and they were thrilled with MeLissa for making it happen - especially on such short notice! We're guessing this will go down in history as one of Mom and Grammy's favorite Mother's Days!

We made good use of our time while we were there. We visited Mom and Dad Rocco's new house in Kula which is still a work in process but is sure to be fabulous. It has some great views for them to enjoy if nothing else! We also were able to take a peak at another almost finished home that has the neatest entry way tile. On our way back to the house, Mark posed for us on the "surf board" road divider - he was one knarly dude! That evening, we enjoyed a Mother's Day feast at the Makawao steak house as well as a visit from a couple of friends - Keola and Angelique.

On Monday, our big adventure involved the beach. First, though, we went to Queen Ka'Ahumanu Center for a a little shopping and to get our wedding rings cleaned. We finally were able to get a duplicate of a little Hawaiian statue Mark's parents had purchased for our wedding reception home safe. This was the third attempt - previous ones by MeLissa's parents and Mark's parents had failed. So, we're thrilled to have it home safe!

Our other finds include MeLissa's favorite glycerine soaps, and a couple of shirts at the Ainokea (pronounced I No K-Uh) shop which is owned by a friend of Mark and Michael. MeLissa's shirt has a definition of the term which we'll try to remember to add to this post when we add the pictures. We also found a cool pair of shades for Grammy and one for MeLissa. Once we'd finished shopping and had enjoyed some lunch, we had a little tour of Grammy's new daytime home and then it was off to the beach!

We went first to Makenna beach to frolic and play in the water and sand with Mark's brother. Michael practiced skimming with his new board which features a picture of the Maui flag - it was custom made just for him. Skimming involves "surfing" on the wet sand and tides as waves come into the beach. Later in the day, we were joined by Mark's parents, Keola and Angelique's son Kye. Once we'd had our fill of fun at Makenna, we packed up our gear, grabbed some snacks and headed over to our favorite beach for a wonderful Maui sunset. This is Ulua Beach and it is the place where Mark proposed at sunrise on July 5, 2003 (We're standing there in our picture above)! A visit to Maui just wouldn't be complete without setting foot on it! For dinner that night, we ate in. Michael grilled some steak and MeLissa made some yummy Mexican Crab and bean dips for everyone to enjoy. Then we enjoyed looking at the stars in the hot tub.

This morning, we headed to Kula Lodge for breakfast and a beautiful view of the Maui coastline. We highly recommend this spot! We enjoyed a short walk in the gardens while we were waiting for our food to be served and then savored every bite! :) MeLissa's only regret is that she couldn't have her favorite - Macadamia Nut Pancakes with coconut syrup. You can eat them for her the next time you go!

Once breakfast was over, we went back to the house to finish packing and enjoyed a quick visit with our friends Betsy and Louis (we were actually engaged on the day of their wedding!). And, then it was off to the airport to catch our plane and return our rental car....

We made it home safely to a neurotic and lonely kitty who will probably drive us crazy for a few days with non-stop meowing - her form of scolding us for leaving her home with "unfresh" food while we enjoy beautiful beaches, great food and more fun that it should be legal to have! We're sure she'll appreciate it that Mark will be home for the next week or so laying face down because it puts him in perfect position to pet her. ;)

Please keep Mark in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow. He goes in for surgery at 9 a.m. PST. It will probably be another 4 to 5 hour surgery. MeLissa's got a stack of wedding and other magazines to keep her company....

One Year Anniversary....

No, not our wedding anniversary! You mean you've forgotten already that it is on July 31? ;) If so, we'll give you a little hint - there is a count down timer at the bottom of our webpage! Feel free to cheat as much as needed (of course, to do so, you probably need to do some math or have a calendar nearby)!

Today is the one year anniversary of Mark's first retinal eye surgery. On this day in 2005, MeLissa was a bit of a basket case. She wasn't used to this eye surgery "thing" like Mark sort of is. She was scared that the doctors wouldn't be able to help, but she was praying non-stop that they would. She was reminded in the hospital waiting room that day as she conversed with a mother and daughter who were patiently waiting to hear about their husband/father who was having a cancerous tumor removed, that no matter how bleak it seems, there is always someone with worse problems/concerns to deal with.

She forgets this sometimes...not because she doesn't care about anybody except herself, but because she's human. Humans sometimes get caught up in their own drama and forget that there is a whole world out there dealing with drama, too. :) In MeLissa's case, there were some other factors that contributed to this inward view. She's so proud to say that this year, she's made great strides in focusing on others' issues. She's still not perfect, but at least she's grown. :)

Based upon some news we had the other day at Mark's eye doctor appointment, our year-long battle with detached retinas may not yet be over. It appears that a portion of Mark's retina in his right eye (the one that just had the oil removed and that we were hoping would be out of the woods) is slightly detached. The doctor is hopeful that it will not detach further, but if so, it will be back to the operating room for Mark. We are thankful that we have excellent health insurance coverage...we'll make sure to maintain it if MeLissa decides to pursue her wedding and event business full-time.

Speaking of the business, MeLissa received her temporary business cards yesterday. They're quite attractive - pink with a green border and should make an excellent first impression on her guests! She's also been speaking to many graphic and web design folks and hopes to have her print and web plans squared away very soon!

We hope you'll continue to keep Mark in your prayers. He's really been through enough at this point (we both have!) and could use a little respite from surgeries, doctor visits and the added challenges these bring to his educational pursuits (which are going very well!). MeLissa is so very proud of him for being so strong-willed and not letting any of this get him down. And, we're both thankful for the opportunities these struggles have given us to strengthen our bond and craft a marriage and relationship that is sure to stand the test of time. Thank you all for being there for us during this time! :)

Our Weekend....

We had a pretty nice weekend! Mark has bounced back pretty quickly from this last surgery (not having to be face-down all the time probably helps!) and so we were able to do a little more than hang around the house (though, we did plenty of that as well!).

Here's a quick run down of our weekend activities:

1. We went to Ikea. We try to avoid Ikea as much as possible because it is just a bit too crazy for our liking, but we need something to organize and store all of MeLissa's craft, quilting and entertaining supplies and Ikea has a lot of affordable options so off we went. By the end of our shopping expedition, we had found what we were looking for, but MeLissa was feeling kind of "out of it" (one of the many reasons we tend to avoid Ikea!) and Mark isn't supposed to be lifting anything heavy so we'll have to return at some other time to pick it up.

2. We watched a lot of X-files episodes. We enjoyed just sitting together and being couch potatoes on a few occasions this weekend. We're about finished with season 3 and then we'll move on to season 4. We haven't been watching these things in order so we'll have watched all the episodes by the time we finish seaon 4. Crazy wacky stuff.

Aside from these things, MeLissa worked on our taxes (which are pretty much done and just need to be filed.) and finished up her Event Planning course. She passed her final exam with flying colors! Now it is on to a real world training experience where she will help someone plan their very special event on a pro bono basis. Once she's completed this task, she'll be one step closer to opening her own wedding coordination business in July 2006 (Yes, we have a tentative date!). With any luck, MeLissa will have time this week to go pick up her business license...

If you know any good graphic designers who can help her with her logo and website design, please let us know! :)

Very Cool Stuff....

So, we visited Mark's doctor today for his post-op appointment. Looks like everything went very well. The coolest thing, though, is Mark actually has a pupil in his right eye now! It looks pretty neat! It is from the hole that the doctor put in the membrane that formed behind his eye. So, it is all very encouraging. If possible, once Mark has recovered and is a little less sensitive to light, we'll try to get a picture so you can see how his right eye looks now.

Of course, Mark has already determined that this is great material to tease classmates (and whomever else) that he has one cyborg eye now. He's such a silly goose that you just can't help but adore him....

Good News!

For those of you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering how Mark's surgery went - according to the doctor it went very well!

His retina is still attached (Praise the Lord!) which is super since that means it's not detached in about 9 months! Woo hoo!

So anyhow, the doctor took out the silicon oil in the back of his eye and then cut a hole with the laser through a membrane that had grown in the front part of the eye. This will serve as an artificial iris for Mark - regulating the amount of light that goes into the eye. He then put a shot of steroids in Mark's eye to discourage the membrane from growing back in. Thank you all for your prayers - please keep praying that everything heals up nicely. :)

Oh, and the best thing about how things went today? Mark gets to sleep face up. He just has to use a couple of pillows. This is way better than face down, don't you think?

In other news, Pixie has adopted a new hobby. She's decided that it is tons of fun to pull our dirty laundry (primarily socks, but there have been underthings and even a pair of pants!) from our room into the living room. We believe this confirms that she's neurotic which is good because so are we! ;) At any rate, should any of you come to visit us and see Pixie's handy work (which is bound to happen unless we remember to shut the bedroom door!), please forgive us...and her!

Please Sir, May I Have Another?

So, apparently, Mark's surgeon (and Mark) felt that the operation on his left eye the other day to remove the silicon oil and repair his retina were so much fun they want to go and do it again in a couple of weeks to the right eye! How exciting! :)

Well, okay, actually the real reason is that it is past time. We were supposed to have had the oil removed from the right eye in January, but due to the left eye not behaving so well, it was postponed. Now, though, the doctor is having a difficult time seeing in Mark's eye and so he's unable to really see if everything is behaving and what not so it's time. That coupled with the fact that Mark has a break the last week of March led to the surgery being tentatively scheduled for March 22. Keep him in your prayers, please.

At least with this timing, he shouldn't have to miss too much school for his next quarter, but he will probably have to retake or at least take an incomplete on a few classes from this quarter...which is fine - it just means he'll be even more prepared when he takes his next board exam, right?

Speaking of board exams, Mark will be taking his first round on March 18 and 19. Last night, we did a little practice exam and it was really hard (even though it was the exam Mark figured he was the most prepared for!) so now we're both a bit scared for him. At least if he doesn't pass this time, he can always retake it, but please pray that he's a first timer! :)

As for MeLissa, nothing nearly as exciting. She has 5 rows left of the little blankie she's been crocheting. That's pretty exciting! She also joined a quilting site last night that has quilting lessons over the internet. She's looking forward to seeing how a different teacher does things as well in getting copies of all the nifty patterns that the site gives out for free. Total cost of membership...$15. Having an invaluable quilting resource available 24/7 and getting a lot of cute patterns for free...priceless. The site is called Victoriana Quilt Designs if you're interested in checking them out. They do have a free block pattern every month as well as a wealth of free quilt information suitable for beginners on up.

So Far, So Good...

Well, it was quite a day in the operating room yesterday from the sound (and look) of it. Mark's retinal surgeon came out to speak to MeLissa after the procedure was complete yesterday. He looked like he'd been in quite a battle. So far, it looks like he won....again. :)

He said that when he got his first look in Mark's eye, he wasn't sure he'd actually be able to do anything, but he made an attempt and with a lot of patience and perseverance, he reached a point where he was satisfied. The procedure included clearing fibrous material from both sides of Mark's lens (which is no easy task since he didn't want to scratch the lens. He contemplated pretty seriously whehter to actually take the lens out - apparently, it is more of a hinderance than a help, but it was pretty well situated in there with scar tissue and it would have been difficult to accomplish successfully. So, for now, he's leaving it in.

Apparently, one this that was a little disappointing to see was that the fibrous membrane that had formed has become vascularized (i.e., there are blood vessels running through it) and had actually filled the front of Mark's eye with blood (probably due to the drop in eye pressure that occurs with anethesia) so he had to cauterize those after removing the membrane. He also gave Mark a little shot of steroids outside of his eye to hopefully control their growth in the future months.

Once that was taken care of, he moved on to the retina which he had seen was detached once he got in there. He removed the scar tissue without too much trouble in one piece, cut the retina off about 270 degrees around the eye with the laser and then smoothed it out and reattached it. He filled the eye with gas to keep the retina in place and then patched Mark up.

We finally left the hospital at about 7:45 p.m. last night (we arrived at around 9:30 a.m.) and headed home. As usual, we made our "traditional" stop at Jamba juice on the way home. This pretty much served as supper until about midnight when Mark enjoyed some leftover soup and MeLissa had some very tasty toast.

So, now, Mark is back to his favorite (or so it would seem) position - face-down. It will be the same drill as before only with a twist. This time, since Mark has the gas bubble in his eye, we have to make sure that we don't go anywhere with significantly higher (or lower) altitude - this includes, of course, flying. Breaking this "rule" would essentially guarantee blindness in his eye. So, it looks like we'll definitely not be travelling to Hawaii or the Tahoe/Reno area (a recently considered Hawaii substitute - if you can't have Maui, snow is the next best thing, right?) anytime soon.

Please continue to pray for Mark's complete recovery. :)

For those who might be curious, MeLissa passed her day yesterday rather "eventfully." By this we mean, she read the text for her event planning course. She's almost finished - just about 50 pages to go which she should be able to finish up today. We're moving right along here....

Surgery Day

So Mark has surgery today. He'll be going in around 11:20 a.m. The doctor plans to remove some fibrous material that has grown in his eye which is obstructing the view of the retina. As part of the surgery, he'll have a look to make sure that Mark's retina is doing okay. If so, he'll patch him up and we'll soon be on our way. If not, the doctor will make repairs and then we'll be back to the same ol' same ol' face down sentence.

We'll give you an update on how things went soon. Until then, please keep Mark in your prayers.

Surgery...

Looks like Mark will be having another one next Wednesday. The purpose is to see what exactly is going on with his retina. There is some fibrous material that is obstructing the retinal doctor's view. So, he'll go in and see if the retina is okay. If so, he'll patch Mark back up and we'll be on our way. If not, he'll fix the retina and Mark will have to endure another bout of face down time.

MeLissa's doing a little internal surgery as well. She's had a couple of interactions with her bio-family over the past week and she's currently working on disconnecting. Although we're not going to go into detail (there's some in existence if you're willing to dig in the right places), this is a pretty significant thing in our lives and we believe it is due to Dr. Laura's indirect guidance that MeLissa is ready to take this step. It has been a long road, but MeLissa is really making progress toward letting the past stay in the past rather than letting it influence her life.

Keep us both in your prayers while we tackle these issues.

Also, many thanks to a blog friend of ours for posting the following very timely inspiration:

'Choose now'

Just because you experienced anxiety a moment ago does not mean that you must continue to hold on to it.

Choose now to let it go.

You may have recently been angry about one thing or another, yet that destructive anger does not have to continue.

Choose now to transform the energy of that anger into positive, healing, productive thoughts and actions.

Whatever the past may have held, this moment can be filled with what you choose right now.

Peace, acceptance, joy, forgiveness, and positive purpose are all as close as your decision to choose them.

Think of the most joyful and fulfilling times you've ever known. Allow yourself to feel the way it feels when you're at your very best.

The world is as it is, the people around you are as they are, and this moment is here.

You can choose now to face it all with the best you have to give.

Life is ever filled with all kinds of possibilities, and this moment is no exception.

Choose now to make the most positive of those possibilities a part of who you are.
-- Ralph Marston--

Triangular Triumph

We have made great strides here at the Rocco household today. Believe it or not, the E-V-I-L triangle block called a Dutchman's Puzzle (and it certainly was puzzling) which MeLissa started in her last quilting class is finally complete. It's not perfect, but it is "good enough" - it should make a nice pillow or maybe a framed picture if nothing else. MeLissa learned some information in her quilting class this past Thursday that cleared up why she was having so many troubles with this block. As they say, knowledge is power...and MeLissa now is one powerful triangle vanquisher. Or, at least, we hope so! She'll soon find out when she attempts to make yet another block - the Card Trick. Hopefully it won't be too "trixie."

In other news, our kitty seems to not be coming back. We're sad (well, MeLissa's sad - Mark and Pixie were of the opinion that Banshee was more trouble than she was worth), but we hope that she's found a nice warm and safe place that will make her happy. We still plan to keep our eye out for her.

As for Mark, studying and face-down time are the rule. He visited his retinal doctor this past week and discovered that part of his retina has not yet healed despite nearly 4 weeks of face down time to date! So, he's now face down with his head at a very uncomfortable angle in the hopes that it will heal and he won't have to have a repeat retinal surgery. We are really praying that this won't cause another delay in his board exams...or graduation!

As a side note - let us also send a "shout out" to Mark's parents who celebrated their anniversary yesterday! Congratulations! We hope you'll enjoy many more years of each others' company and success in the coming year!

Preliminary Success

Mark had surgery on his left eye today. According to the surgeons, the retinal reattachment and corneal transplant surgeries both went "very well." So, now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that it all heals up as it should and that repeat surgeries will be unnecessary.

Thanks to all of you who kept Mark in your thoughts - we hope you'll continue to do so!

Surgery Speedbump

Yesterday was an interesting day for us. We travelled to Stanford Hospital in the morning where Mark would be having his retinal surgery which includes a corneal transplant surgery. The cornea surgery is done so that the retinal surgeon can see how the retina is doing after he fixes it. Without this add-on surgery (which, we should mention increases scheduling complexity since two surgeons are now necessary), it's nearly impossible for the retinal doctor to see if the surgery was a success or not.

The report from yesterday's procedure is that the procedure wasn't done. Somehow, the cornea never was ordered. We're sure it was a simple oversight, whether due to the strike that occured at the hospital earlier in the week or for some other reason (we've heard speculation that the corneal doctor's wife might have had a baby which we all know can send the best organized person and the best laid plans into a tail spin), but it was a bit frustrating to have spent so much time in the hospital only to learn that we'd have to do it all again (including the whole IV thing which is, truthfully, more painful for MeLissa than Mark since she's a bit phobic about sharp pointing things going into anyone's skin!), but since it's better to do things right the first time, we understand. And, on the bright side, it did allow us to run a few errands that we've needed to take care of for a while. We'll post an update on Mark's real surgery once it happens. :)

In other news, Christmas preparations for our families are finally done! We packed up the first of two boxes of goodies last night - one is on its way to Maui for Mark's parents and Grandmother and one is on its way to Tahoe City, California, for Mark's brother and his wife. We hope they like what we've put together for them! MeLissa's family's gifts will be wrappped and assembled tonight for mailing tomorrow - although the presents certainly won't make up for our absence, we hope that they'll at least make Christmas somewhat exciting for our families.

Taking Care of Business...

We had quite a few bits of "business" to take care of this weekend and we definitely made a dent! Mark's major challenge was studying for finals which he'll be taking this week. Due to his surgery which is scheduled for Wednesday (we're assuming that it will go on as planned since the Stanford Hospital workers are striking only for 24 hours), Mark had the extreme displeasure of studying a ton of information so that he could take all of his tests in two days instead of four. We're sure he'll wow them!

MeLissa busied herself with a few other tasks while he studied. Primarily, she focused on Christmas preparations (which are behind due to our cancelled trip to Colorado). We can say that the female gift recipients will be coming out very well with all the little goodies MeLissa made for them...she's even contemplating saving some of the goodies for herself! The guys are a bit harder to buy for (though MeLissa did do a pretty good bit of shopping for Mark yesterday), but they'll be treated royally, too, once all is said and done. Once everyone has had a chance to see what they've received, we'll try to post some pictures here!

In addition to Christmas "stuff," MeLissa worked a little on her wedding planning certification course. Things are going smoothly and she expects to finish the course up by mid-January at the latest. If possible, she'd acutally like to finish by the end of December - she plans to use a good portion of Mark's surgery time reading and studying to bring her closer to this goal. She's really enjoying her studies so far - they definitely are helping her to remember how much work (and fun!) it was planning our wedding. Her studies are definitely tapping into the creative side of her brain and are leading to some nifty ideas for the 5th Anniversary party we're hoping to have in 2009! Mark your calendars the evening of July 31, 2009, is sure to be fabulous!

Finally, thanks to a bit of shopping MeLissa did on Friday night, Pixie had a very fun weekend. She now knows the pure joy (and frustration) that a laser pointer can bring a kitty. She and MeLissa spent a good portion of the weekend playing with her new toy (which was supposed to be her Christmas present, but MeLissa was too anxious to have fun!). Both MeLissa and Mark get quite a kick out of seeing Pixie try to catch the red light - it is especially fun when she runs in circles or tries to catch it when it's on her paw!

As for Banshee, she wasn't too impressed by the light, but she also enjoyed her weekend. She primarily spent it in her typical fashion by hiding (either outside in her home or inside under the couch) and, in short spurts, viewing the neighborhood from oh high (she enjoys going up on our roof to look over the land). She also enjoyed some really pleasant petting sessions.

A Change in Plans....

Our trip to Colorado is now cancelled or at least postponed to no earlier than June 2006. We're very disappointed, but due to discovering today that Mark's left eye has followed in the right eye's footsteps by having a retinal detachment, we are simply unable to travel at this time. The change in status of Mark's eye is also disappointing, but due to the number of surgeries Mark has had on his eyes, it is not terribly unexpected.

We are sorry that we will miss seeing MeLissa's family whom we've not seen since the wedding in July 2004. We're also disappointed that we'll miss seeing our friends during this time. We were really looking forward to visiting with all of you. Hopefully, we'll be able to make the visit up next summer and with any luck, our stay in the Bay Area will be coming to an end in December 2007 at which time we'll more likely than not return to Colorado.

Until then, we hope you'll keep us in our prayers....especially Mark whom we hope has a quick recovery from this health issue. We are thankful that he's approaching a school break so that the many days he'll spend face-down will not interfere with his studies...especially since his next quarter will end with his first part of the chiropractic board exam.

Public Health Here He Comes!!!

We have exciting news folks!!! Mark's public health paper that we've been telling you so much about is in its final stages. Mark finished his first draft on Thursday night and MeLissa began reworking the draft on Friday during her lunch hour. MeLissa, for those of you who are unaware, is quite the wiz when it comes to writing and grammar -- so much so that she was asked by professors at her high school to come help grade English compositions after she graduated for several years (it was an *awesome* way to make a little spending money for Christmas break!).

MeLissa spent a good portion of Saturday and Sunday "grading" Mark's paper and providing suggestions for its improvement including a pretty substantial effort on the introductin and conclusion sections. We're sure that between the two of us, Mark will pass Public Health with flying colors, but keep him in your thoughts as he wades through all the comments and suggestions over the next few days. The paper is due on November 18!

In other news, MeLissa has made great strides toward completing the EVIL Dutchman's puzzle block. She is fully convinced still that triangles are E-V-I-L, but she also thinks they can be beat into submission after her recent successes. She'll post a picture of the finished block when she manages to finish it. Her final quilting class is coming up this Thursday. She plans to register for next quarter's class as well so that she can eventually claim her "Quilting Goddess" status.

And, one final note - a public service announcement, if you'll indulge us - please be sure to receive regular eye exams to prevent potential blindess from glaucoma. Check with your vision specialist to see how often you should be screened based upon your family and personal health histories. We want you to be able to see and enjoy all the world has to offer for many years to come!

Each Time I Leave - Chicago 7/17

On Sunday, we enjoyed one final lecture on artificial iris implants. This was a fascinating topic presented by Dr. Francis Price about technology that has emerged which will definitely make an impact in aniridics lives if approved by the FDA. The iris comes in brown, green or blue and has a stationary 4mm pupil all of which serve to provide better light filtering and focus in many cases and which, as an added benefit, also improve the cosmetic appearance of those who receive the transplant. We're hopeful that Mark can take advantage of this technology in the future!

If you would like to learn more about people who have had this procedure, please visit the following articles:

• www.nyee.edu/highlights-2003h.html
• http://pricevisiongroup.com/cruz.html
• http://pricevisiongroup.com/zorn.html

Once we finished packing our things, we passed the remainder of our time in Chicago visiting shops along the Magnificent Mile after enjoying tasty hamburgers at Mike Ditka's restaurant!Unfortunately, "Da Coach" wasn't in the house when we stopped by, but the food made up for it! One of our favorite shops was the Hershey Store. You can see some of what they have at. We enjoyed some yummy brownies for dessert here which had caramel kisses and junior mints in them! We also bought a yummy Hershey cookbook so that we can make some yummy brownies (and other treats) of our own at home!

All too soon, the time for fun was over and we jumped on the train to rush to the airport to make our flight home. We were soon home in California. Our bags didn't join us immediately, but, thankfully, they were delivered by the airline the next day!

Art and Da Cubs! - Chicago 7/16

Saturday's conference "menu" didn't really pertain to us so we took the opportunity to visit some of Chicago's sites. In the morning, we ventured through Millennium Park and watched a ton of people doing yoga. This led us to the Chicago Art Institute where we spent the next few hours looking at all sorts of things. Some of the most memorable were the Chicago Stock Exchange room and various paintings by Manet, Renoir, van Gogh, Cezanne and Monet. By far, the coolest thing we visited were the Thorn Rooms which are mini replicas of rooms from the 16th to 20th centuries. Any girl who dreamed of the "perfect" dollhouse as a child, would absolutely LOVE these rooms....and they're pretty neat from a guy's perspective, too. If you ever travel to Chicago, you must go see these!

Although we spent nearly 3 hours wandering around the museum, we missed a lot of the exhibits...including the American Gothic painting by Grant Wood which MeLissa didn't discover was in the museum until after they left - doh! So, we have yet another excuse to return to Chicago!.

After seeing what we could of the museum, it was time to hop the El Train and make our way to line anyhow because a friendly and helpful Chicagoan told us that the box office usually reopens a couple of minutes before the game to resell the players' tickets which won't be used for that game. Patience is a virtue and it definitely paid off when we got to the box office and were offered seats behind home plate in the shaded terrace area especially since the sun was in full force. Unfortunately, the Cubs lost to the Pirates that day, but we had a great time anyhow!

That night, we joined the other conference attendees for a banquet which featured a silent auction, dancing and lots of tasty food. The silent auction raised over $6000 to help discover new treatments for aniridia and to support the efforts of the USA Aniridia Network in educating the public about the condition. We enjoyed ourselves for a while and then returned to our room to begin the chore of packing for our trip home the next day!