Well, the cleanup from the combined birthday parties is still on-going. Caitlyn and Andrew had a combined birthday party yesterday. Quite a few people showed up and it was a rather enjoyable day. The biggest problem now is the left-over meals etc we will have to go thru.

I will post a few pics here in the next few days. Wasn't able to take many pics as things where always happening. Hopefully some of the others who attended might have one or two pics as well.

I can't believe it is almost 1 year since the birth of my special little girl. There are a lot of things that have happened in the year and only some of them have been posted here. I really do need to thank a lot of people who over the past 12 months have provided the support network that both my Wife and I have required to get thru as we have.

Firstly I obviously need to thank my Wife who without her none of the joy and happiness of Caitlyn would have been possible. She has been beside me all the way as I have been beside her. Not saying it has been easy in any way. We have both at times blamed ourselves and each other for Caitlyns condition. We also have asked on a number of occassions why this wasn't detected in all the scans we had prior to her birth. This is something that we have found appears to be a common question from others affected by Microph/Anophthalmia.

Secondly I need to thank my direct Family. Their support and encouragement has not only allowed us to get thru all the hurdles but allowed us all to grow as a Family. It certainly has brought out the needs of each person within themselves. It shows how hard it is to accept yourself for how you are. People often Judge each other by their first impression or appearance. With Caitlyn we have all had to learn how to judge people by how they react to you rather than how they look to you. Vision Impairment has show us that sometimes as a Human Being we often make the mistake of judging someones appearance firstly before we know anything about that person. Watching Caitlyn judge people by touch, smell and hearing has taught me to value what we do have.

Thirdly, Several people have been of a great support simply by knowing that they are there. Tim and Judith from Jethro Consultants as well as the entire network of readers from Real Live Preacher who supported us not only with their words of support on their websites and by email but also by their prayers and thoughts for all of us.

Lastly, and certainly not least of all, I need to thank my friends who have helped in any way possible. We also need to thank the fantastic people at Narbethong Special School, RIDBC, Vision Australia, Guide Dogs and Seeing Eyes Dogs. The network of all these specialists and friends has helped us in many ways. Our next biggest hurdle is to start the construction of our new house. It has been specially designed and built on a family members property to allow us to provide the best environment for Caitlyn. It is quiet yet not too far from main roads etc to allow us to get her to her hospital and specialists visits. We will have specially designed sensory gardens as well as marked pathways and fully fenced yard so as to ensure her security and safety. I have designed and will implement a complete video surveillance system so that she is able to walk around the yard and yet be watched at all times by my wife and myself.

At no point have I ever asked for support in the past however due to recent price increases and decrease in our general family earnings i am asking that if anyone can donate to help keep Caitlyns-story.com going i would really appreciate it. This website has been not only a source of information for myself and my family but it is now also beeing used as a reference by many other families who are affected by this condition.

Caitlyns-story.com will continue to grow in the future but may require additional funding options such as additional advertising banners. At this point i would rather not put them on until absolutely required. If you are able to help with any donations please register yourself and make a comment here for this post. I will then contact you personally to arrange for the paypal donation details to be passed onto you.

Please also keep an eye out for a post i will put here shortly. I am about to upload a video sequence that i have made. It is a collection of the photos we have taken of Caitlyn over the last year. Please once this post is only feel free to pass this onto your friends as well.