Discoveries from the World of Hearing-Never Take Things for Granted :)

Barbara Walters here reporting live from the world of hearing!  I am thrilled again to have been given permission to share these stories.  My oldest daughter has actually asked me to blog all of her discoveries about the world of hearing.  She didn't have to ask me twice because it has been such an exciting few days since she got her hearing aids which are called her "little miracles".  Some of the items that she has learned about the world of hearing she thought were embarrassing, but now she has seen how so many have been impacted by her story that she wants to share more :)

I must say that I have learned SO much in the past days about not taking things for granted.  Sounds that I have not paid attention to ever, have been brought to my attention as my girl has heard them for the first time.  Yesterday, I had to take my youngest to the pediatrician and everyone was interested in my story which I was incredibly thrilled to tell.  Our doctor barely began to make mention of a "shoulda, coulda, woulda" thought that he had since finding out about my girl and her new life.  I stopped him before he could even get started because this is God's story and not ours.  God did what he wanted to do with my girl and I wouldn't change a thing.  When you go to a Christian pediatrician, those conversations about what could have been different are not productive.  We can't go back, only forward :)

You grow through what you go through. 


Be thankful for the bad things in life.  For they opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before.  I will forever pay attention to these things because I am thankful I can hear them:

• when you run your hand across a chair arm, it makes a noise
• she heard something whispered to another person when she wasn't looking straight at them
• before, some kids would find it hilarious to walk up to my girl and mouth words with their mouth but not really say anything.  Since we have now discovered she was reading lips all this time, she would say "Wait, what did you say?" to the kids.  Then they would leave laughing at her response basically making fun of her.  When this happened for the first time after she got her "little miracles"(her hearing aids) she shouted and pointed her finger at them and said "HA!  You weren't saying anything!"  TAKE THAT mean kids!!
• when the heat cut on in the house she was a bit frightened having never heard that before
• When the ice maker dropped ice it scared her to death
• on her first day to school with little miracles, the pencil sharpener scared her to death
• now she responds immediately when spoken to
• her eyes are bright
• she is extremely happy and laughs a lot
• she makes noises with her mouth and laughs
• She talks in all kinds of funny voices and laughs at her sounds
• she taps her fingers just to hear the sound
• she "gets" jokes and sarcasm that she never did before because she couldn't hear it
• she hates having to take her hearing aids out at night because she says she can't hear anything and she goes back to a dark world she lived in before and she doesn't like that world anymore  
• she said she feels like she is "normal" with her little miracles in
• when she went to school she was bouncing around telling and showing everyone about her little miracles and one kid said "Aren't you embarrassed that you have hearing aids??"  My girl replied, "NO!  Because I can HEAR!!"
• Before we arrived at the audiologists office, my girl was worried about what the hearing aids would look like, would she look like an old woman, etc.  Once they were programmed and placed in her ears, that was no longer a discussion.  She quickly realized that what they look like did not matter because it was so great to hear
• She says "I hear that!" alot
• last night, she was at her babysitting job that she does regularly, and she told the little doll to stop smacking her mouth when she was eating.  The little doll said, "But I always eat like this and you never said anything before".  My girl said, "Well if I have ever heard your smacking I would have told you a long time ago to stop smacking, so stop smacking please."
• she said the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time.  She knew it, but never knew where they were in it, so didn't participate.  Said it sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher before.
• coming out of church she said she had heard the most beautiful singing.  She knew I always said she had a beautiful voice but she never heard it.
• she has stopped smacking her mouth when she eats even though we have told her to stop for years, but she didn't understand why we told her that because she couldn't hear it.  Now she will smack loudly on purpose and laugh about it

Before I tell my favorite story of them all, I will say that my girl has given me permission to share this.  It is the most precious moment we have had, it is hilarious, but precious coming from an 17 year old girl, almost 18.  At first she thought it was too embarrassing to tell, but I told her what the moral of the story is, and she wanted me to share it.  So read carefully and enjoy, but don't forget the moral at the end.  Enjoy:

We were leaving the audiologists office with her newfound freedom into the world of hearing.  Driving home, she had called my mom to tell her she could hear.  In the middle of the conversation, she threw the phone down and started laughing hysterically, rocking back and forth with tears streaming down her face from hard laughing.  This went on for minutes.  She was laughing so hard she couldn't speak.  I said, "What is going on?"  She said, "Mom!  I just farted and it made the funniest sound I have ever heard!"  Then she proceeded to laugh uncontrollably along with me.

Folks, the moral of that story is this:  May we never again hear the sound of an annoying fart that will stink up the joint without laughing uncontrollably, for we were able to hear the sound. We have  become so immune to the sound that we get aggravated with the scent.  May we all live our lives appreciating how funny a fart sounds from this day forward.  Amen.

Now THAT is a point to ponder.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff AKA A Mouse in a Car

If God can part the Red Sea to allow Moses and the Egyptians to cross on dry land, then He can SURELY place a mouse in a car.

This week has been a real eye opener to not sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff.  My dad, who is my biggest fan, the man who is my first love, who never acted annoyed by my presence no matter how busy he was when I was growing up, the one who loves me unconditionally and is the embodiment of my "glass half full attitude, has been in the hospital with a life threatening problem.  When a doctor says to you, "Your dad could bleed to death in less than a minute.  He needs life saving surgery.", you sit up and take notice real quick.

Apparently, not majoring in minors is a lesson much needed in the Anglin home because God taught it to us in a most unusual way:

The Setting:  the car

The Problem: A protein bar that had been opened but not visibly eaten

The Story:  A protein bar was stored in the car for lunch one day.  When it was decided to be eaten, it was discovered that the package had been opened and when reached for, crumbs sprinkled all over.  A call was received at the hospital while my dad was in a serious condition to explain the opened and partially eaten bar.  The call was very quickly dispelled, upon frustration with such a minor problem being addressed during a grave situation.  Not happy with no solution to the much important protein bar, more Anglins were called and questioned about the protein bar.  Upon arriving home, the bar was produced and shown to the Anglins and the questioning continued since no perpetrator has been found.  One Anglin picked up the Protein Bar and immediately saw the problem.  There was no way that a human had opened, much less eaten this bar.  The teeth marks were way too tiny and the packaging had been chewed off and some was missing.  (Another case solved by the FBI agent in the home)  It was then stated that the "crumbs that scattered from the package were possibly not crumbs at all.  ;)

The Conversation:
Anglin A-Who ever heard of a mouse in a car? And how could a mouse even get in a car:
Anglin B-If God could part the Red Sea for Moses and the Egyptians to walk across on dry land, then I am certain He could place a mouse in a car to teach us what is important in life.

The Plan:
Set a mouse trap in the car with a piece of protein bar as bait.

The Resolution:

The Lesson:  Don't major in minors.

Folks, lets all take a step back and realize what is important in life:  God, Family and Friends-all people.  Not protein bars, not stuff, just people.  Now that is a point to ponder.

I hope you all have a wonderful day, hug your kids and your family a little tighter and hug God by reading His word and talking to Him through prayer.  My dad is going to be ok.  He is home recovering and will have a second surgery on March 27, my daughter's 18th birthday.  I will be celebrating life in two ways that day:  The birth of my oldest, and the gift of life for my Daddy.  I am ever so grateful for both.