My outting!

I KNOW I live a sheltered life. I KNOW that I hardly ever get out (actually just to church and to Walmart for groceries). Today Michael needed some new pants from JC Penney and I JUMPED on the chance to go and get them for him! I went to the MALL. Yes, I said the MALL. That place I haven't been in who knows how long....definitely over a year!! I had a blast. I was all by myself and I went into tons of stores and just looked as quickly or as leisurely as I liked. I found a TON of presents at a place called Kirkland and also got Michael's pants and a few more things at Penneys. It was SOOOO much fun. I loved the Christmas music, the scents and sights, the crowds didn't bother me and I got lots of shopping done. It was WONDERFUL! On top of all that, there were still some GREAT deals out there. Everything I bought I ended up spending less than I thought I would. I had priced everything up in my head at Kirkland's at about $50 and then when I got rung up it was $21!!!! I thought it was wrong!!! But, no, everything was just on sale!! WOOHOO!!! Okay, enough about my outting, it was just SOOOO nice to be able to get out and browse and not be hurried or stressed - I just had to get back by 6 when Linda was going to leave. That was okay, because the mall closes at 6 anyway!! :-)

Update on nursing situations

I forgot to update you on our nurses!

My friend, Tarry, DID take the job!! WOOHOO!!! She is going to be Kaedy's night nurse on Sundays and Wednesdays. I am VERY excited for us and for Tarry. She will be able to work only a mile from home!

The nursing agency did hire another lady, Renee, to be a nurse here as well. She will be working Thursdays (so Linda won't have overtime), Fridays and every other Saturday. She is still training now, so I don't know much about her.

School on the brain

Sorry I haven't written in awhile, again. Life just keeps getting in the way of reporting life. LOL! I am in the midst of working on a school schedule and deciding what we are going to be studying for the remainder of the year. Because Brittany was in Albuquerque for most of October, and because we take off two weeks in December, she won't be done with school until around June 30th. I hadn't really had a chance to make a plan yet, I was just flying by the seat of my pants. But you know the saying....."if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!" I wasn't happy with how things are going. I finally took the time this weekend and have been working on it. I have the "three Rs" scheduled...now I just have to put in everything else. The biggest chunk, of course, will be history. Most of our school revolves around history. And that is a pretty amazing thing, considering that I really didn't like history in high school or college. Actually, I think THAT is why I like it now....I am learning so much more as I teach Britty!!

My parents are coming to visit this week...probably on Wednesday. I don't know how long they are staying. It will be a good time. I am looking forward to it. I even have decided not to clean for it!! Isn't that amazing?? ROFL. I just mean, I usually get so stressed when people come to visit, and I am not going to stress this time. I am what I am. My house is what it is. Linda was laughing at me on Thursday because I was TOTALLY not stressed about Thanksgiving being at my house. In fact, at 9am, Thanksgiving morning, when we finished eating breakfast, the house was a mess, nothing had been cooked, none of us were dressed or showered. By the time people came at 11, we were clean, the house was picked up and the oven was emitting yummy odors. And no stress. :-) It was amazing. Of course, I wasn't cooking the turkey, so I don't recommend that method to people in charge of making the whole meal!! LOL

Well back to school planning now.....Many blessings to my readers!!!

Great New Book

I just had to sit and write really quick. I have A LOT to do today, but while I was eating breakfast I started a new book and I have just read ONE chapter and it was AWESOME. It was the best first chapter I have ever read. It is called When the Day of Evil Comes by Melanie Wells. It is a Christian Suspense novel about spiritual warfare. It sucks you right in and leaves you with questions and a general feeling of uneasiness which makes you want to keeeeeeeep reading. However, I have LOADS of things to do, so it will have to wait until lunchtime. :-(

One more thing..I am really excited. One of my friends may become one of Kaedy's nurses!!! She is a NICU nurse at a local hospital and she would be perfect for working some of Kaedy's shifts. She would be doing some of the overnights so Tonya would not be working 7 days a week anymore and that would also mean if Tonya needs a night off, we would have someone else!! WOOHOO!!! The worst part of it would be wanting to hang out with Tarry while she was here overnight, just to talk to her. LOL. I will have to force myself to go to bed. Also, she is going to come here on Sunday night to be here in case Linda needs any help during the Harvest Dinner at Church. HALLELUJAH!

Have a great day everyone!!! This is the day the Lord has made, REJOICE and BE GLAD in it!!!

This and That

Well the bad news is our insurance has handed down their edict about our coverage. They want strictly 20 hours a day, not 140 hours a week which means that we cannot have Linda work for 16 hours on Sunday, like she has been. She will have to go back to a 10 hour shift, which, unfortunately, will not cover both church services. We will have to go back to me going on Wednesday night and Michael going on Sunday mornings. Brittany has to get there every time because she is going to be in a play for Christmas so we will have to figure out how to get her there. And I just realized that I need to ask Linda to come this Sunday night, instead of Sunday morning so we can go to the Harvest Dinner. I feel horrible going to the dinner and not going to church in the morning, but we are doing a play for the dinner and I am reciting my poem, Talitha Cumi. Well....this is a conundrum. Hmmmmm this will require some thinking and finagling on my part. My mother in law is not available to help because she just had knee surgery. Sherria can't help because she has to be there too. Same with Timmy and Hillary, my other babysitters. ARGH!!!

We had an Egypt co-op at my house today. It has been a long time since I have had 11 kids in my house all doing projects. It went very well, though, thanks to Paula and her keeping things under control and moving. Although it was FREEZING outside today, we sent the kids out, too, to keep them busy part of the time. They worked on painting their homemade paper, making invitations to Egypt night, painting their mummy masks and designing their menu for the party. Reminder: I need to get a babysitter for that night too, and see if Linda will switch her hours. ARGHity ARGH ARGH.

Kaedy is doing some new things....she learned to hold her cup all by herself and drink from it starting today. She also started playing tug of war with her circuits (which is not a good thing!!! although it is funny!) She is making some sign that none of us can figure out. I wish we knew what she meant, she does it quite a bit.

Well, I never did finish reading Expiration Date. I was FORCING myself to get through it and I thought that was silly. I ended up reading about 3/4 of it before I quit. I did not care about he characters at all or what happened to them. Instead I read Tested by Fire by Kathy Herman. It is first in a series she is starting. It was not my favorite book, but it was a quick read. It was more like what I thought Christian Fiction would be like before I actually started to read Christian Fiction (thanks to my much-missed, good friend Mary!). I want my books to be focused on characters living victoriously through the promises in the Bible and the abundant life that Jesus has given us.

Okay, I had better either get to bed or get started writing. Hasta!

The first day of the rest of my life

That's what today is!!! WOOHOO!!! HALLELUJAH!! I am a new creation! I'm a brand new woman!! Old things have passed away! I am born again!!

I have been REALLY tired lately and had some problems getting going. Mostly been wanting to rest. Unfortunately, with 3 girls, a husband, and a house, resting isn't really an option for more than one day. SOOOO today I am starting anew.

I have a bunch of new ideas about school (thanks to Paula). I have some new habits I am cultivating (with Sherria) and I am trying to stay on track with my list (ala Flylady). I have lots of ideas and I just need to start implementing them. I am more organized and in better control now of my life than I have been for a year but I still have lots of room for improvement.

I was just going to say that I needed to find time to write them all down. Well, no time like the present! Here are some of my changes (not in order of importance):
1. no more pop
2. spending time every night writing
3. more time with God - Bible time, prayer time
4. Eating to a "5" (see Thin Within)
5. Going to bed by 1030
6. Getting up at 6am
7. Getting a new meal plan going
8. new rules for B and Em:
a. no "big" breakfast unless Britty is completely ready for school by 7:45
b. cereal if she is not
c. Emily will be put in time out everytime she interrupts.
d. Emily will no longer be allowed to get out her own clothes...Mommy will have to help her.
9. Different load of laundry every day
10. New Flylady list because of new nursing hours
11. Making Britty a weekly list of school assignments.
12. Making Britty and Emmy chore lists
13. Cutting down on people coming over to 1-2 a week, or doing it after school hours. (that doesn't include Ria, of course!)
14. Cutting down on nap time for Mommy (at first in minutes, then in days)

Well that's all at the top of my head. I will see y'all later....Tschuss!

A Day out of her room

On Friday, when we had Kaedy without a nurse, we started off by taking her to the dining room for a lovely breakfast of plums. She loved them so much that she picked up the bowl and drank them!! LOL After that, we took her to the tub and she and Emily took a bath in the tub. It was Kaedy's first "big girl" bath. After drying her off and getting her dressed, I did the rest of her medical care: trach tie changes, omni flex change, HME change, etc etc. She was so exhausted after such a big morning, she fell asleep for a few hours.

Once she woke up, we brought her into the den and Emmy cuddled with her on the couch for awhile. Then we put her on the floor where she played with toys for awhile. When she started to get tired, I cuddled with her on the couch for awhile and then we put her in her new walker-thing and she played. We fed her dinner and then played a little more and then took her back to her room. It was so cute. It was like she had never seen the things in her crib before. She was picking them up and looking at them one by one. She soon went to sleep and I am sure she dreamed of other parts of the house she hasn't seen yet! LOL

What I am reading

Right now I am reading a book called Expiration Date by Eric Wilson. I just started it but it seems very good. I am also reading The nearly perfect crime : how the church almost killed the ministry of healing by Francis MacNutt and The Gospels in our image : an anthology of twentieth-century poetry based on Biblical texts.

I have just recently finished:
Storm gathering / Prequel To The Splitting Storm Rene Gutteridge.
The splitting storm / Rene Gutteridge
Nowhere like home / Mary Higgins Clark
Boo : a novel / Rene Gutteridge.
Life management for busy women [large print] / Elizabeth George.

I forgot how much I don't like Mary Higgins Clark. I used to love her books, but then, after a few of them, I realized they were pretty much all the same and pretty much all silly, so I stopped reading them. I ordered one at the library this last time and read it very quickly and remembered again why I don't like her.

Rene Gutteridge's novels are WONDERFUL!!! She is a Christian Fiction writer. The Storm Gathering and The Splitting Storm are both suspense novels and they are very very good. Boo is a hilarious book which is a quick read and has you loving her quirky characters.

Kaedra's 1st Birthday!!!

This was written to a friend for her to pretend she was at the party...it will give everyone an idea how it was! Enjoy!

Okay, so you got here about 12:20, straight from church and you probably followed Michael and the girls. I wasn't quite ready, so you sent the kids outside to play with the girls and you came upstairs to talk to me while I curled my hair. Sherria came about 15 minutes later and she came up to talk to me too. Melissa (one of the hostesses) came while we were upstairs, so I finished up and we all went downstairs. I came to show you and Sherria Kaedy's very first picture because I had put it as the computer desktop. Then we went into the kitchen and looked at the cake which was HUGE - a FULL SHEET! And Beautiful!! It was different colors and flowers and butterflies.




Paula got here about that time and set up balloons and decorations. Then some people from our church arrived and we sat down with them on the couch in the living room, since Kaedy was still asleep. She woke up soon after, so we came into her room and Linda was holding her. We all sat and oohed and aaahed over her! She seemed a little disoriented and shy, but happy. More and more people started to come, so people started switching out who was in her room and who was in the rest of the house. Sherria, you and I stayed in her room with her most of the time. I had her on my lap when they decided to bring in the cake and sing to her. We sang and blew out the candle and she put her hand in the cake a little.



I think she was more overwhelmed by everyone being there with her and singing to her, so she wasn't that interested in the cake. A few people said "is it okay if she opens our present?" so we told them yes. So, she opened a few at a time. Melissa held her for awhile and then someone asked if she could sit up by herself, so I put her on the floor and let her play with some of her new stuff. About that time, Brent and his family showed up and met her for the first time. I left then to go talk to the people in the rest of the house, but Ria stayed in the room. My Pastor was here with his wife along with LOTS AND LOTS of people from church. Only one family showed up from my homeschool group - but I was so excited to see them because they had adopted a baby from Korea and she had finally gotten here about 2 months ago and I had not seen her yet. She was also about 8 months. Two good friends that I NEVER get to see showed up - Alison and Terri, but I didn't get to spend much one-on-one time with anyone. It was SOOO busy. It wasn't really crazy yet, that was the nice thing. Most of the time the kids were outside and noone really crowded the baby or hogged her or anything. About 3:30 everyone started to leave and Melissa and Paula had to leave a little after 4. Kaedy was in my lap, but dozing on and off. They brought in their present for us, which they, plus one other lady from my homeschool group, pitched in on. It was a large play yard (like the one the rugrats use). We were so excited!! I have never had one before, but we needed something to contain Kaedy and how far she could get from the vent. Linda is THRILLED! no trying to chase Kaedy around the house with oxygen and her ventilator!! LOL

Kaedy had a new trick, as of Saturday, so I showed it off a few times. She is now able to stand up with me just holding her hands!!! :-) We are SOOO thrilled. She loved showing off and everyone clapping for her. She LOVED the attention she got and just "ate it up." She was not at all overwhelmed or freaked or anything. She took it all sooooo well!

One of her favorite presents was the Fisher Price Musical Chair . My parents sent me the money to buy it for her and we gave it to her on Saturday. She just LOVES it!!!



Brent and Kim bought her a Fisher Price Intellitainer. We are going to put it together today. I think it will be her den toy for the evenings when we don't have any nurse and we are cooking and cleaning up. I think she will like it a lot and it will keep her QUITE busy!! LOL. I had no idea they were getting her that.

That is pretty much the story of the day. Did you have fun???????

Not much new

Not much new around here....No nurse today, so I spent most of the day in Kaedy's room with her. We had a good time although Satan is trying to give her a little head cold. We are not accepting it. We have never heard of a "heavenly head cold" and if it's not from heaven, it's not from God and if it's not from God, we don't accept it! HALLELUJAH! :-)

We moved our computer desk today, which was a big deal since it has been in the same place for 2 years. It is amazing how clean the carpet was under it. I love the new place where the computer is: I can see right into Kaedy's room and it is not in the way anymore. I also have a window I can stare out of! LOL. It looked nicer the other way, but this way is more functional, so we will keep it like this. I got to dust all around it and in it, too, which was great and makes me feel MUCH better about the thing.

I don't know if I ever wrote our new nursing schedule. It is awesome. We have nursing 20 hours per day which is basically 10pm one night until 6pm the next night. (We take care of her ourselves from 6-10pm) Linda changed her schedule on Wednesdays to allow me to go to church on Weds nights, so she now works 11-9, instead of 8-6. She also is allowed to work extra hours on Sunday, since we have no nursing at all during the day on Fri and Sat, so Michael and I are both able to go to church on Sunday. He goes to the morning service and I go to the evening service. The girls get to go to both. Our new schedule is great for going to church and having Kaedy to ourselves in the evening. We have been bringing her out in her exersaucer while I prepare dinner and she has been sitting at the table with us during dinner! YEAH!! NORMALCY!!!

Kaedra is signing a lot more now. She even has a sense of humor! Linda asked her for kisses the other day and Kaedy signed that they were "all gone" then smiled really big! She also does the signs for Mommy, eat, drink, and play pretty regularly. It is wonderful to be able to communicate with her!

Talitha Cumi

How do you thank those who have whispered supplications
From their mouth to the ear of the Father?
For those who have been on their knees for us,
Not only asking for miracles,
But thanking Him for the many blessings?
For those who put their hope in His word?
These are the people who agreed with us
The more than two or three
who arose
went with us to the throne
And came back changed.

It’s funny how He does that, isn’t it?
We think we are coming to Him on behalf of someone else,
And yet He changes us. Each of us.
And we arise
become more like Him.
It’s that time spent beyond the veil-
In the secret place of the Most High.
How can we not be changed?

We heard time and again
Even walking into Kaedra’s hospital room
You could feel the anointing.
There was something special there.
After spending time with her
Praying and singing and praising
We arose
With the faces of Moses
Bright and shining with glory.

And He heard us.
Oh, we knew He would
And His Word says if we know He hears us
whatever we ask –
we know that we have what we ask of him.
And we did.
No more Jarcho-Levin.
No disease.
He took it away and healed her.
And we arose
To see that he is not changed.

Within days of her being born
God spoke to us:
Do not be afraid, just believe
And she will be healed.
And she was.
And she is.
And we thank Him.

And we thank you.
You arose
followed us out into the desert
To have our faith tested and tried
By he who is in the world.
And he, the lesser, fled
In all seven directions.

God has plans for her
They have been spoken
And they will be done.
She is a peculiar baby-
Set apart for Him
His treasured possession.

But not just for Him,
But for all of us
We who have grown through her
Who have learned more about Him
By caring about her.
And what Satan meant for death
God used for Himself
That the Son of God may be glorified by her.

And Jesus said, “Talitha, cumi”
“Child, arise.”
And we all did.


Thank you