LindaVTaylor.com

   I've had an incredibly fun time the last 3 days. Sue Patten and Jon are here and Sue is filming her new DVDs (which will also be posted on the quilting school for members).  We always have a great time when she comes to visit. We laugh so much and they are just like family. Of course, we all eat too much too!  Sue's DVD's are going to be so good; she has so much knowledge to share she has gained over her quilting career.  And they both get along so well with Wendy.

  My husband, Rick, took Wendy to the sleep lab tonight. One of us had to go and stay with her. He can usually sleep anywhere. I, on the other hand, need at least 3 pillows and my wrist thingys on because my hands are going numb every night.The chiropractors say it is my neck,not carpel tunnel, but I am going to have to have it checked out very soon.  I also don't do very good driving at night anymore.  Well, there you have it, he was the best choice.  i hope all goes well.  Wendy was excited. She took her pink Care Bear which she takes with her to all her surgeries, etc. and her pink slippers. And she had a long talk out in the cold with her dog.  Told her where she was going and when she would be back.  She is so funny.

Where does the time go?  It seems like the holidays were almost here and then they were gone. Does anyone else feel like I do?

I also thought I would have more time this month to relax a little and just quilt, but already one week is gone and I haven't been quilting. I will be filming this week and I am prepared to do a little table runner as well as a large quilt. I'm happiest when I'm actually quilting, and that's when all the ideas come.

   Sunday night we are doing a sleep test for Wendy, my daughter.  They are going to see if she has sleep apnea.  She sleeps best when she is sitting up.  Of course, if any of you know her, she says she never sleeps. It might be true.  We take her back to the eye doctor January 20 in Salt Lake.  Thank you all for your prayers, she seems to be doing good right now as long as we keep every obstacle out of her way.

  Bethany Pease will be here in two weeks to film with me. She just got married (I don't know her last name now)  and is such a good quilter.  She also makes me laugh a lot, so I am looking forward to it.

Seems like so many of my friends are having some health issues; let's all take better care of ourselves - okay?

 

  I can't believe it's almost Christmas.  Is anyone else in this boat with me? I haven't even done any baking or candy making (although that doesn't stop me from eating it).  When friends come over with their treats, I give them a manicure instead of a reciprical treat. They seem delighted. Mostly, it's because I don't have anything to give them.  Maybe my homemade treat days are gone.  That's okay. I don't have anywhere left to wear them.

  My sister-in-law, Valory, has a blog now on thequiltingschool.com. She will be talking about a lot of quilting and embroidery issues so be sure to check it out.

  I'm filming on a SunBonnet Sue tomorrow.  It is awesome. I have done some quilting on it that has made it very unique.  It will be taped in two episodes because I have so many techniques to show you.  It will first be shown on the new episode with Gina Perkes.

  The opthalmologist called from Salt Lake City.  He is worried that Wendy's eye lens may continue to slip.  We have an appointment to see him in January unless we notice her eyesight getting much worse.  He said if we have to have surgery to recover the lens and put it back in place, it will require two surgeons.  For now, he just wants to watch it and see what happens.  Wendy is getting along okay, although her level of frustration seems a little higher.  Actually, come to think of it, my level of frustration is a little higher at this time of the year too.

  I have decided that Christmas will come and go whether or not I'm "ready."  I think I will really try to focus on making sure Christ is in my Christmas.  I am so blessed and grateful for the knowledge and talents I have been given, and for all my family and friends.

  Wendy stayed in her room almost all day.  Her pyschiatrist says that's okay.  I used to try to coaxe her out to mingle more with the family but he says her room is her little world, sort of a cave, and it is a safe place for her to be.  She likes old magazines. She sits on her bed and cuts them up into a million, no billion little pieces - I'm not kidding.  Sometimes she colors them.  She listens to her music and sings along. I taped her once and If I can get Todd to show me how to put it up, I will. It is so cute.  She gets the main words and makes up the rest.  She can't carry a tune at all, but she does know Fortissimo! 

  When she did come upstairs to eat, I noticed she tripped on every little thing the kids left out.  We really have to have  a family council and talk about that. They can play upstairs with all the toys, but not down here because she absolutely cannot see anything on the floor in front of her.  Actually, she is very very brave to walk around like she does. I would be clinging to the walls and sliding my feet.  She still tries to play her DS.  I have ordered a bigger one but it isn't here yet.  She has it about 3 inches from her eye and still talks to the little dogs she has bought in that program.  She didn't have any tantrums today, the doctor talked to her yesterday about that - we'll see how long that lasts. We just never know what will set her off.

  Still waiting for doctor to call and let us know what he can do, meanwhile it's day to day.  Thank you all again for your support and for your prayers, everyone of you. Your notes have really touched my heart and I feel so close to you.   -Linda

Our oldest daughter, Wendy, has Williams Syndrome. She lives with us. She will be 42 years old this December.

We visited the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City yesterday for an eye appointment for our daughter, Wendy.  Wendy has had 2 detached retinas. One occured when she was in a group home in Texas where she lived for 4 years. When we brought her to Wyoming to live with us again, it was too late to fix her left eye (after too long a time, even if the retina is repaired, it will no longer reconnect and communicate with the brain).  That eye had formed a cataract and no one knew the retina was detached until the surgeon found it when he removed the cataract to put in a lense.

  Not more than a month later, we found her stumbling around the house one morning and took her to the doctor here in Wyoming. He sent us immediately to Salt Lake (University of Utah Moran Eye Center) and they did surgery that day on her retina. It also had a giant tear in it. She said she fell down in her room against her night stand. She had to lay face down for 3 weeks for the retina to heal properly. This was soooo stressful because it is hard to get Wendy to even sit still, but we did it, mostly due to my husband's patience and loving care while I had to teach at 2 shows.  After surgery, that eye formed a cataract (we knew that would happen). So they did cataract surgery 6 months later and put in a lense for the best vision they could give her.

  Now, the lense has slipped (probably due to her hitting her face when she has occasional tamtrums). The doctor isn't sure what he will do. He will call us later this week after consutations with several other doctors. If they can't save that eye, she will be blind.

  I would sure appreciate all your prayers in our behalf. The thoughts of poor little Wendy living in darkness is almost more than I can bear. There are also additional risks in surgery for people with William's Syndrome, even though she has had 2 open heart surgeries. We have been lucky and feel very blessed to have Wendy. She makes life real for us and keeps our feet on the ground. When people get caught up in the pettiness of life, we always have Wendy to remind us what's really important.

I feel like I have new friends in San Antonio. Those ladies were so excited about the classes today. I taught technical skills and feathers. Tomorrow I will be teaching my new stars class, which students have raved about. It has so many ideas that will work on nearly any quilt.