Lark Danielle is my baby girl. She is my world, one of my main reasons for living. I would do anything for her; I love her that much.
Lark is seven. She has long, thick blonde hair, big blue eyes, and freckles dancing across her nose and cheeks. She is pudgy, but not too terribly so. She usually wears her hair in pigtails that hang down well past her waist. She is very cute.
Lark is also legally blind.
She was born with a rare condition known as achronomatopsia, which, simply put, means that she cannot see colours, and what she can see is very blurry at best. She is legally blind and depends on a cane (or hanging on to someone's arm) to get around.
Lark may be blind, but she has a happy life. She loves to read (Braille; she uses her fingers to "see" words, since she can't see them visually), sing, dance, ski, swim, play baseball (using a special ball that beeps, so she can find it or know where it is at all times), and talk to her friends on the phone. She also uses a special computer that allows her to write and play games.
In addition to the above, Lark loves to go to church. She sings in the children's choir every Sunday; she loves singing about Jesus and telling others about Him. She accepted Christ into her heart when she was six, and she's the one who led us to the Lord. We are now a complete Christian family, thanks to her.
Lark has never really let her blindness/colour issues get the best of her. She has one of the happiest personalities we have ever witnessed. If our other children (ten-year-old Maxmillian and 13-year-old Jade) could be as happy as their little sister, then we'd all be a lot better off!
Anyway, back to our story. My name is Haven Ridgeway, and I have been married to Dudley (my husband) for the past fifteen years. As I steted above, we have three beautiful children: two girls and a boy. We live in the countryside here in Nottinghamshire, England. We are a very proper British family, and we delight in taking the children to the park or doing things with them as often as possible. I just wish we could deal with Max and Jade's sullenness; I'm so worried that Lark might pick up on it, and then I couldn't handle three surly children!
That would be the worst!
I am a homemaker by trade; Dudley, meanwhile, works as a camera operator for a local television station. He makes very good money at what he does, so we are comfortably well off, which is an answer to prayer. I also counsel other parents who have visually-handicapped children and try to raise awareness of achronomatopsia or other visual problems. I enjoy what I do; I have met many wonderful parents (and children) through my outside work.
Well, the phone is ringing again, so I'd best see to it before the ringing drives me up the wall! I will write in here again; I hope you enjoyed learning about my daughter Lark and why she is so special to us in more ways than one! She is an answer to our prayers; we can't imagine life without her! Take care and God bless!
~Your new friend in England, Haven. :)
