Kaedra pic

This red box is actually our cat Zoegirl's little house. However, Kaedra is fairly certain we got it as an accessory for her!

Facing the Giants

I went out and bought this movie today. We hadn't seen it yet but I knew, even if it wasn't a favorite of Michael's and mine, that at least the girls would be watching a good message.

Well we loved it! At least Brittany and I did. Michael and Emily went to bed early because Emmy is "taking a healing" tonight. (she's not taking a cold, she's receiving her healing! HALLELUJAH!) Anyway, I highly recommend it. The story is great! It is awesome to see faith proclaimed and lived in a MOVIE. WOW. I didn't realize it could be done. Maybe that large screen contraption in our den isn't so bad after all. LOL (I'm a TV despiser, for those who don't know me well!)

And, of course, I cried. And although I am very pregnant and I am prone to cry even when not pregnant, I think I saw a tear shine in Brittany's eye who doesn't cry at ANYTHING!! (But, Kim, it is a good cry, not a bad one! ;-)

Here is a preview of the movie:

Ethan's arrival date!

Well, we have a date for Ethan's arrival....they are going to start inducing me tomorrow night at 7pm. Dr. Aikman thinks he will arrive on Friday, Feb 2nd...aka Groundhog's day! Let's hope that he doesn't peak out, see his shadow and go back in. (Ethan, not Phil!)

And just as a side note, in my last blog about having him I had said we had prayed and we were not going to induce. The other part of our prayer was that God would let the Doctor know when/if to induce. So today it was the doctor that chose to induce, not us, and we consider that another answer from God. :-)

Kaedra LOVES chocolate!!!

Okay, she may be the only 26 month old that has never tried chocolate, but we hadn't even thought of it! I mean, she doesn't eat by mouth...so it never crossed our mind!

I have these WONDERFUL mint chocolates meltaways by Fannie May that my hubby got me. I just had Britty bring them to me and Kaedra grabbed one and put it in her mouth. No big deal...she does that with everything. But she left it there!! Not only that, she took it out, licked it and put it back in her mouth. Unfortunately, she kept taking it out and it was getting everywhere, but we didn't care!! She probably let about 1/2 of it melt in her mouth! WOOHOO!! And she LOVED it!!

Hopefully this will be something she continues to love, instead of like the tamales which were a one day deal. :-)

3 Envelope Roast Recipe

Recipe Name: CP 3 Envelope Roast

Ingredients:
3 to 4 Lb. beef roast
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1/2 c warm water

Instructions:
Place roast in crockpot. Mix contents of all 3 envelopes and water and sprinkle over roast. Cover; cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM this makes the best gravy!! I usually throw in carrots and potatoes too. :-)

Car Seat Safety

I have always thought I was a great mom for having my kids in their car seats. I am one of those people who gets VERY upset when I drive next to someone whose kids are not properly belted. (I have even been known to call the police) Buckling a seat belt is such an easy thing to do to save a life, why would you be casual about it? (I also think it is silly that adults won't do it, but that is their own life)

Watching this video has made me realize that buckling isn't always enough. Please check out this blog and comment on it. The blog owner is donating money to help The Kyle David Miller Foundation provide 5 point harnesses for children up to 80 lbs.

Menu Plan Monday #2

Monday: Spaghetti Carbonara
Tuesday: Meatloaf (recipe below)
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Manicotti (from oamc book) make 2, freeze one
Friday: Breakfast for Dinner
Saturday: something grilled (whatever hubby wants)
Sunday: 3 Envelope Roast

I don't like most tomato sauce based things. In fact, unless it is the Marinara that I make out of the oamc cookbook, I don't eat anything tomato based. (I like raw tomatoes, just not anything with cooked tomatoes) So I have a hard time with a lot of meatloaf recipes. This is a recipe my hubby found somewhere online and it is DELICIOUS!! We love it!

Cubby's Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp emeril
1 med chopped onion
1 cup grated cheddar
2 tbsp worchestshire sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Instructions:
Mix all together and put in loaf pan or pat into loaf shape.

350 degrees for 45 minutes

We tried the new recipe for Baked Ziti but I didn't like it much. Hubby and kids said they loved it, but hubby later said he liked my old recipe better. Now if I could only find it......

Our Chicken Marsala came out wonderfully! We couldn't find the Marsala cooking wine at Walmart, Reasor's or the Target super center. Michael finally went to Albertson's and found it there! YEAH! He bought me 2 bottles, which should last me 4 months of having marsala chicken once a month. Anyway, it is sooo yummy and came out so good (as usual). I highly recommend the recipe, if you like Chicken Marsala. The only problem: I don't like restaurant Chicken Marsala as much anymore! LOL

To see other participants of Menu Plan Monday, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie's Blog.

Tom Cruise

"Tom has been told he is Scientology’s Christ-like figure."

Okay, all you '80s kids. Check out this article about Tom Cruise and tell me how ironic would it be if TOM CRUISE were the ANTI CHRIST!!! Not that I think he is, mind you, but I do find it an odd thought. hmmmmmmm........

Breaking my water (closet)

So the other day, I was talking to my friend Tarry on the phone about how I am waiting for my water to break. The girls were in the room with me and, no doubt, overheard the whole conversation. A few minutes later, Emily kept trying to tell me something. I have been trying to teach her not to interrupt me when I am on the phone unless it is an emergency (aka BLOOD) so I kept shhhing her. She finally went over to Brittany and I overheard "I threw a quarter in the potty." THAT got my attention. I asked her to come over and tell me what she did. She said "I threw a quarter in the potty to try to break your water so you can have Ethan today." Up until this point, apparently "my water" was the toilet to her!!! I tried to tell her, very sweetly, thank you, but that wouldn't work but she broke down in tears. I had to hang up with Tarry and love on my sweet little misguided girl.

As a side note, I did take her to a couple of internet pages and show her the bag of waters that Ethan was surrounded in. She understands a lot better now! LOL

Speaking of breaking my water.... My hubby asked me the funniest thing the other day. He said, "are you SURE you can't have the baby without your water breaking first?" (it was the night he was worried Ethan would just end up in bed with us)

Apparently my family needs some good old fashioned lessons on baby birthing around here! (HEATHER!!! WHERE ARE YOU??? LOL)

Born Again

Just finished reading Born Again by Charles Colson.

The funny thing is, some friends of my mom gave me this book when I was a teenager. I never read it and eventually gave it away. Now, 20 years later, I had to order it from the library and read it and I LOVED it. I learned about history (the Watergate era), politics and one man's very dramatic conversion. If you haven't read it, I highly suggest it. It was very good!

I am reading another of his books at the same time: How Now Shall We Live? about having a Christian worldview. It is very challenging in some areas and has quite a call on me at the moment. I have been working on a lot of the things that he talks about in the book, on my own. But it is good to hear the Holy Spirit reaffirming what you have heard by the Spirit, by reading it in the flesh.

I have many changes that I am making in my life in reference to my "peculiarity." I know I have been called out of the world's system and I am seeking to follow that call with every part of my being. I have made changes in the last few years to reflect that, but have not shined a light into every area in my life, as of yet. Actually, I have shone the light, just not followed up by completely cleaning those areas out. I am seeking to do that more all the time.

SMART Habit Saturday #4

I'm a day behind for Saturday, but I hope y'all will forgive me! I started it last night, but ran out of time before having a "date night" with hubby. We don't actually get to go out much, but we try to have one night a week where we watch a movie together quietly. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...okay, we did watch a movie. It probably took 3 hours for a 1 1/2 hour movie! we had Kaedra with us...enough said. :-)


I had a pretty good week for last week's goals. I had prayer time and/or bible time almost every day. I did not have prayer or bible time with Hubby. I am going to shelf that one for right now. I referred to my household journal through Thursday, and then forgot for Friday-Saturday. As far as my computer time went, I did really well. I got off the computer on Monday and Tuesday by 9 o'clock am and had great days those days. On Wednesday, I got a little sidetracked and that messed everything up! I got back on track on Thursday and hardly got on the computer at all on Friday and Saturday. Actually, I loved how much I got done in the rest of the house by getting off the computer early, but I missed having time to blog, commenting on blogs and answering emails. I still have a few emails that need answering and I never did get to do my Thursday Thirteen,(I couldn't think of a WFMW) so I want to figure out when I can do those things.

I got most of my "to dos" done this week...YEAH! I also got my new Polestar Calendar in the mail yesterday! WOOHOO! I haven't had a chance to start it yet, but that is on my "to dos" for tomorrow. Actually tomorrow is "Office Day" so that fits perfectly in my schedule!

So, my habits for this week are:
1. Prayer/Bible Time Daily
2. Refer to planner daily
3. Off of computer by 9am
4. NEW HABIT: make sure/help implement laundry being put away daily. Also use new laundry schedule.

I liked having my to do list up here, so I am going to do that again too...

Here are my weekly to dos:
1. Get Ethan's car seat base cleaned and put cover back on it
2. Re-do "landing zone" in our house and paperwork system
3. Make at least 1-2 more freezer meals
4. Get Emily's school stuff ready for when Ethan comes, to help her be more independent
5. Finish working on Britty's school stuff
6. Send blockbuster movies back, make sure good ones are next in que. :-)
7. Library
8. Get kids to bring sleds in before next snow!
9. Clean car

To see more SMART Habit Saturday posts, check out The Lazy Organizer.

See you next week! Hopefully on time! :-)

update on Ethan's arrival

Some of you knew I had a doctor's appointment this week and you have been wondering what happened. I'm sorry I haven't been online to update you! Soooo here is the update....

We went to the Doctor on Tuesday morning. We had prayed a lot the night before about whether to induce Ethan or not. (for those that don't know, I lost a baby boy, Jacob, at 36 weeks due to an umbilical cord "accident." Because of that, my doctor has given us the option to induce if we feel that we should.) We both heard from God not to induce, just slightly different messages. We were a little disappointed because it would be *easier* to induce and not have any worries anymore. It would also be so wonderful to have Ethan here to hold! But, we completely trust God, so we went into the appointment without any plans to induce.

Ethan hadn't been moving much the prior week so they hooked me up to a fetal heart monitor and monitored us for awhile. Then they sent us for another biophysical profile from the ultrasound. Everything came up good on both tests. We came home feeling better that he was doing well and that we could see him. :-) They set us up for a fetal heart monitor and ultrasound again next week. (Dr. Aikman had previously said no more ultrasounds) Next week our appt is on Wednesday, so I will let you all know how he is doing then. As a side note, he has been moving a ton this week, since the appointment, which has been very reassuring!

As for his measurements - he was reading about 7lbs and 37 weeks, 5 days. (which is almost two weeks earlier than our "due date")

We had excitement on Thursday night. The girls and I went out in the afternoon to run a few errands and go to a park, since it was going to be such nice weather. We ran all the errands, went by the park (which was still all icy!) and came on home. By the time we got home, I was cramping really bad, had a headache, backache and started contracting. This started at about 5pm. At 8pm, I remembered what Heather said and decided to take a shower to see if these were *real* or not. I still had contractions in the shower; in fact, one of the hardest ones was while I was in there. I actually started getting excited. :-) My contractions were very close together and happening extremely regularly, however they were not hard at all. They were probably in between a 2-4 on a scale of 1-10. There were just a few that were about a "6". At about 10:30, after our nurse had gotten here, I was VERY tired and just told Michael that we were going to have to stop timing them and go to sleep. I assured him that we wouldn't wake up with Ethan in the bed with us. heehee

Alas, we didn't wake up with Ethan in bed with us, nor did I wake up from my contractions getting harder. They went on all night, all the next morning and stopped sometime in the early afternoon yesterday. I kept cramping all day and am still cramping some today. I am still very tired and hubby and I were VERY cranky yesterday and last evening. We made a pact to not get excited again until my contractions are hard or until my water breaks (which is the sign we are praying for) but hubby is not doing good with it yet. I have to keep reminding him. ;-)

Sooooo that's the news. I haven't felt too good since Thursday, which is frustrating after having some really good, energetic days. I am hoping to have some more of those, or have Ethan. Either one is great! :-) (okay, I am leaning toward having Ethan of course, but I am trying to stay positive!!)

Cleaning Sponges

I obviously get excited about the weirdest things now! But check this out:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two minutes in the microwave can sterilize most household sponges, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

A team of engineering researchers at the University of Florida found that two minutes of microwaving on full power mode killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as spores, on a kitchen sponge.

"People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave," said Gabriel Bitton, a professor of environmental engineering who led the study.

"To guard against the risk of fire, people who wish to sterilize their sponges at home must ensure the sponge is completely wet," Bitton's team wrote in an advisory.

"Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Last, people should be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot."

Hola!

Kaedra's new word is "Hola!" I didn't know where it actually originated, but this morning when Dora came on TV, Kaedra started yelling "HOLA, HOLA" so I am guessing she first heard it there! I guess there is some value in TV afterall. LOL!

Looking to be a great day!

Today is looking like it is going to be a great day! Do you ever wake up in that kind of mood?? Kaedra woke me up at 630 this morning which I wasn't too thrilled about at the time, but has really gotten my day off to a great start. I already gave her a bath, did her treatments, picked up her room, checked my email, updated my blog from yesterday and made breakfast all before my other girls even got up!

Soooo since I am starting off in one of those "conquer the world" days, here are my plans for today:

1. Start my oamc marinara sauce cooking
2. make my 2 wild rice chickens (using the chicken that was in the cp last night)
3. grind up the rest of the chicken for Kaedra's food
4. pick up the school room and top of TV (two "hot spots")
5. get today's laundry going and Kaedra's laundry put away
6. pantry cleaned
7. keep working on school schedule
8. My friend Teri Kelley is coming this afternoon with her kids to visit, so I want to be able to relax by then.
9. I have my OB appt tomorrow, so I need to get everything ready to get out tomorrow. (Brandi- I will be sending the Munchkin tomorrow and Logan's card. I know it will be late, but at least it's the same week this year!!! (or at all!!)
10. Tonight we have a nurse, so I am going to sleep! WOOHOO! :-)
11. Forgot this: I need to make an inventory of what's in our freezers and clean out the old stuff!


Hope you all have a great day too!

Menu Plan Monday (on Sunday)

Since I seem to be using my blog to organize and plan my life, I thought I'd contribute to Menu Plan Monday as well!

Monday: Wild Rice Chicken (make 2, freeze one)
Tuesday: Baked Ziti (going to try this new recipe)
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Chicken Marsala (if I can find Marsala wine) (see below)
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Hamburgers on grill
Sunday: Dinner at church

Chicken Marsala Recipe:

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breast halves without skin
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp basil, dried
3 tbsp butter or margarine
3 tbsp olive oil
4 to 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (1/2 to 1 cup sliced)
1/2 c Marsala wine

Instructions:
Pound chicken to 1/4" thickness between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and basil; mix well. Heat oil and butter in a heavy non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour mixture.

Cook chicken until lightly browned on first side (about 2 minutes). Turn chicken and add mushrooms around the chicken pieces. Cook about 2 minutes more, until lightly browned; stir. Add Marsala wine to pan. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Serve with hot cooked pasta or rice.

For other menu plans, check out Organizing Junkie's Blog.

addendum: got lots of comments on the Marsala Chicken. This is actually one of our regular recipes. I just haven't found Marsala wine in a couple of months, since our nearby Albertson's closed down. The three Walmarts I have checked don't have it. I am going to see if Reasor's has it, if not, I can send hubby to the Albertson's near him!

SMART Habit Saturday #3

Well I didn't have a very good week as far as my new habits. I DID find my prayer journal and then never looked at it again! Go figure! I did not have any time with hubby for bible reading and did no bible reading during the day. I am reading a Kenneth Hagin book on prayer and I did look up bible verses from that on several days, but that was the total of my bible/prayer time.

I did decide on getting the Polestar Family Calendar and ordered it while I was half asleep on one of the overnights with Kaedra. (in fact, I forgot I ordered it until I got the confirmation the next day! LOL) Last week Lara asked why I didn't just always print out my pages. I have tried that several times before! But I decided I like to have them all bound together and professional looking and pre-made. I spend a lot of time making and not so much time using. I am trying to tip the odds in the other direction!

So of my 4 habits:
1. prayer time/bible time (during the day)
2. prayer time/bible time with hubby
3. keep using household journal and remember to refer to it daily!
4. Figure out what system I am going to use and pare the other ones down.

I only got #4 done! I did use my journal the first few days of the week. Then hubby took off Wednesday and I lost my focus for the rest of the week! LOL

So here were my to dos for this past week: (I'll cross off the ones I did)
1. organize Ethan's clothes and put away in our room
2. put up our Munchkin cart
3. get carseat out of attic and wash cover
4. pack my hospital bag
5. get out (after ice melts) and buy the few things I need before Ethan gets here
6. get diapers out of the attic and test them to see if they still work! (I bought about 4-5 packs of diapers for Kaedra but, since she was hospitalized for 10 months, never had to use them with her. I don't know if the tape on them will be any good after 2 years of hot and cold in the attic...I was talking to my friend Denise and we decided I could just use duct tape all the way around his belly!! LOL)
7. Clean up, declutter and organize living room. [STARTED]
8. Get laundry done! (even if it means taking it to a laundromat) [ALMOST]
9. get school schedule made for next few months.
10. Get Emily's school put into individual daily sections.
11. Girls clean school room. [STARTED]

This coming week I am going to work on:
1. prayer time/bible time (during the day)
2. prayer time/bible time with hubby
3. keep using household journal and remember to refer to it daily!
4. My new habit is to get off the computer at 9am and only get on for 1 hour during the rest of the day. (this will be a major change for me!)

My to dos are:
1. get diapers out of the attic and test them to see if they still work! (I bought about 4-5 packs of diapers for Kaedra but, since she was hospitalized for 10 months, never had to use them with her. I don't know if the tape on them will be any good after 2 years of hot and cold in the attic...I was talking to my friend Denise and we decided I could just use duct tape all the way around his belly!! LOL)
2. Clean up, declutter and organize living room.
3. Get laundry done! (even if it means taking it to a laundromat)
4. get school schedule made for next few months.
5. Get Emily's school put into individual daily sections.
6. Girls finish cleaning school room.
7. thank yous done (today)
8. Get Kaedra to bed earlier (requires changing her whole schedule and habits too).
9. Clean "pantry"
10. I have LOTS of other stuff I want to do and I don't know what/when. So my last thing is to make a master list of to dos and prioritize it and start implementing it.

To see other SMART Saturdays, go to Lazy Organizer's Blog.

7 weird things about me- meme

I wanna play, I wanna play!

Okay, I am going to participate in the 7 weird things about me meme, because I want to weird like my friends! Wait, I AM weird, I just want to prove it! hee-hee

as a side note, I asked both my hubby and my kids to tell me something weird about me (since they are ALWAYS saying how weird I am) and they couldn't come up with ANYTHING. Does that prove I am actually normal??? Or that they are so weird that my weirdness has no affect on them???

1. This is just on my mind for some odd reason (haha) but I ALWAYS lose weight while pregnant. With Brittany I lost 60 lbs (which was the most of all the pregnancies) and this time I am hovering around 30 lbs and have lost in between 2-3 dress sizes! WOOHOO!

2. I was taught to speed read in 3rd grade (in Denver) in a special program that tracked how speed reading helped children do in school.

3. I used to be a professional organizer. (If you saw me now, you would definitely know that is WEIRD - although I am trying to get back on track. Not as a professional, but as a person who can at least keep her OWN house in order)

4. I like all insects, animals, or critters. I save all good spiders and put them outside. (I do kill the brown recluses.) I try to relocate snakes, if possible, as well. However, I do not like large amounts of any insect, animal or critter. I do much better one on one. :-) As a child, my parents were remodeling our dining room and they knocked down a stucco wall in the house. It was infested with flying ants (I think that's what they were - maybe termites?) and they swarmed me. I REALLY don't like to be covered with bugs! (no Fear Factor for me, I guess!)

5. I have some odd things I want to do in my life: go to Nascar driving school, restore an old truck, learn to fly a plane, build us a house out of an old barn & own a pygmy goat.

6. I have seen (and own) every X-File. Opposite of my hubby, my favorites are the ones that do NOT have to do with the government conspiracy of covering up the aliens.

7. I was an architect major who turned to a Biblical Studies major who finally got her degree in English Literature only to work at Walgreens as a manager and then in computer technical support until staying home to be a homemaker/homeschooler.

Okay, so I'm not so weird....I tag anyone who can beat me in their own weirdness. ;-) Please comment, so I know to check your blog!

Another great post on Socialization (yes, I said a "dirty" word!)

Check out Spiritbees blog on socialization (she got it from Dr. Phil's site)

Thursday Thirteen -

I have been reading If you Give a Moose a Muffin to Emily for the past two days.



It has inspired me in three ways!
1. It reminded me of my friend Paula - I may have to buy it for her. The moose decides to put on a play and makes a beautiful backdrop! I don't have to worry about Paula reading this, though, and ruining my surprise because she thinks blogs are silly (for both the writers and readers)
2. It seems that the Moose has the typical problem of moms - a type of ADD we develop as a way to cope with all the multi-tasking we have to do!
3. So it inspired my Thursday 13 for today!

If Kahri checks her email:
1. If Kahri wants to check her email
2. She has to click on any My points links to get her points.
3. While checking out those links she remembers to check the library to see if any books are in or due.
4. While waiting for the page to load, she goes to bloglines to see if anyone has updated their blogs
5. After reading and responding to any of the 33 blogs she keeps track of, she remembers that there are about 4 blogs listed on her blog that don't have RSS feeds so she goes to her blog to click on the links and look for updates.
6. After reading and responding to those blogs, she remembers her mail and goes back to finish reading it.
7. While reading it, someone suggests some great book or resource for school, so she goes to amazon or half.com to see if she can find out more about it.
8. While checking it out, she checks in with the 3 people she usually IMs: Sherria, Kim and Heather
9. While talking to them, she decides to listen to some music, so turns on Windows Media Player (and probably plays the song from her last post)
10. While she is listening to the music, the girls all crowd around to hear it too and Kaedra inevitably wants in her lap.
11. While Kaedra is in her lap, she
a. pushes closed the keyboard drawer and knocks Mommy's drink everywhere
b. types on the keyboard not caring which of the 10 screens that Mommy has up that she is contributing too
c. Kaedra wallers Mommy until Mommy says "PLEASE take her somewhere and keep her busy just for a MINUTE! All I wanted to do was check my mail!"
12. So Kahri decides to blog about it and while she is there
13. Wants to check her email one more time....

To check out other Thursday Thirteen-ers, click here....

Our family song

We heard this song first on the Zandi's annual family DVD. We loved it so much we decided to claim it as our family song! I tried to find video or streaming audio to put it on my blog, but I can't find it! If anyone knows where to find it, please let me know.

Anyway, here are the words:

Newsboys: Wherever We go
From the album GO

Wherever we go, bluebirds sing
And the flowers bloom
And the grass gets green
It’s a curious thing
But it’s just our thing

Wherever we go, the bees behave
In the treetops, squirrels smile and wave
It’s a curious thing
And it’s humbling

Where we go, little glow-worms glow
Little roadrunners run ahead
Gonna tell their friends
Little mice, little men
Get ‘em all excited
All invited

Chorus:
Hands up
Holler back here
Let’s throw this party in gear
We brought the welcome mat
Wherever we go, that’s where the party’s at
Hands up
Holler back now
We don’t claim any know-how
We’re giving God all that
Wherever we go, that’s where the party’s at

Wherever we go, the dumb get wise
And the crime rates drop
And the markets rise
It’s a curious thing
But it’s just our thing

Bullies make nice, crooks repent
And the ozone layer shows improvement
It’s a curious thing
And it’s humbling

Wherever we’re led
All the Living Dead
Wanna leave their Zombie Mob
It’s a touching scene when they all come clean
God help us, we just love our job

Chorus

update on friend (new one!)

Lisa had her baby girl! Everything went wonderfully! Thank you for those that prayed.

:-)

WFMW- Meal Planning

I didn't know if I had a WFMW this week. I wasn't sure I could think of anything that works for me that would work for a lot of other people! So here I am ready to do my menu plan for the next few weeks and I realized, hey, this might be of benefit for other people!

So....my WFMW is about Meal/Menu Planning.

I don't like to grocery shop very much. My hubby only gets paid once a month, so, for a long time I shopped once a month (for everything but produce and milk.) Michael picked up the milk and produce on his way home when/if we needed it. To do that, I had to come up with a month full of meals, so I knew exactly what to get.

Since being very pregnant, I have increased my shopping to two times a month. I just can't push/pull two carts around Walmart anymore! I still have the menu plans and they are a huge help. This is what I did to get my plans:

1. Make a list of all your family's favorite meals
2. Separate them into categories (ie chicken, beef, fish, vegetarian or crockpot, quick, grill, long bake (or lots of prep) or a mix of both)
3. I chose 2 crockpot meals, 2 quick meals, 1 grill, 1 long bake and 1 night for leftovers for each week. Also include side dishes.
4. After you get each week figured out, make a grocery list for all the recipes, including side dishes and desserts, for the week. (If you shop for 2 weeks at a time, do this for a 2 week period, same with a month)
5. Now when you are ready to go to the store, you just need to grab the grocery list for that set of recipes and you are all set with a pre-made meal plan and pre-made grocery list!

Anyway, it works for me!

If you would like to peruse other WFMW please check out Rocks in my dryer.

update on friend

Well Lisa got sent home from the hospital. She was only 1cm dilated. :-(

Sooooo we are in the same condition, now. But she is actually due around this time.

Thanks for everyone's prayers!

I'm much too early to feel this darn pregnant...

Well last night was interesting....

First we had planned on watching "One Night with the King" which we had taped on New Year's Eve and hadn't watched yet. I have a list of things that I want to get done before Ethan gets here, though, and I told the girls that we could watch the movie after he gets here, but I can't do some of this other stuff once he gets here. So I had already backed out of that, but I had a list of other stuff I wanted to do...organize and declutter the living room, do my school schedule and get Emmy's school stuff organized and finish up thank yous. Okay, so that's the *plan.*

Michael came home from work early (around 4) and I had made stew and wanted to make homemade rolls so I was in the kitchen making rolls. While I was there, the girls asked if I would make apple cake. While the roll dough was rising, I whipped up an apple cake, put it into the oven and decided to blend Kaedra's chicken and get her feedings ready. I got her chicken all beautifully blended and into canning jars, got the dough put into roll shapes and then started not to feel good. I had the girls doing chores so I came and sat on the couch and talked to hubby while the apple cake finished. By the time the cake and rolls were finished, the girls had set the table and we sat down to eat our nice cozy warm meal.

Except I felt AWFUL! All of a sudden my back was hurting, I had a horrible headache and I felt like I could just fall asleep on the table. Michael got VERY excited, thinking I was in labor, so he rushed me upstairs to bed and packed my hospital bag. I kept trying not to get caught up in his excitement and tell him that it was just because I had been working so hard the last two days. He wouldn't fall for it. (Michael LOVES this stuff! REALLY he does! He calls about every hour and asks if I'm ready to have the baby yet. He is so excited. He is usually REALLY hard to handle the last month, but he's so cute about it!) So he left me upstairs and came down to watch the baby until A. Miss Tonja got here at 10 or B. I called him to tell him to go to the hospital. He had his cell phone downstairs and he called up about every 15 minutes to see if there was any change yet. (I was having contractions, but they weren't at all regular) I finally told him I was going to sleep and I would call him if there was a change!

For a quick recap of overnight: I woke up when Tonja came in (she fell down trying to get in our house 3 times!) and Michael came up and bugged asked me about the contractions and how often, etc. I finally got him calmed down and snoring and I ended up not being able to sleep until 2AM! Every time I rolled over or moved all night long he'd ask me if I was okay. Yes, he is VERY sweet. Just a little too excited for being a month out! To make a long story short (wait...too late, this is already long, sorry!) I am still pregnant this morning.

He asked if I wanted him to take a vacation day today and I told him to wait until something exciting happens like my water breaks or something! He was disappointed and he has already called twice from work to see if anything has changed, but I think he'll be okay! LOL. I sincerely hope this baby comes soon, just so we don't have to do this for a WHOLE MONTH!!!

And, as a wonderful side note, albeit very ironic, my friend Lisa is on her way to the hospital this morning to have her baby girl! She sent an email saying her contractions are regular and they were heading off. So please pray for them to have a quick and easy delivery! :-)

Ice Storm January 12-15th

Productive Day

Wow I got a lot done today! Now I know why Pastor doesn't ever want you to miss church....your flesh will realize how much you can get done in the natural! However, I realize that the Spirit is the part of me that needs the most work, so, no worries, I will be at church again next week. ;-)

Our whole town was shut down today because of the ice storm. Almost every church in town was closed and the news couldn't even get all the churches listed on their crawler by the time their program was over! We got an email and a call from our church last night not to come in, so we knew already, although we got a big thrill (yes, we are simple folks) seeing our church's name on the crawler! LOL

We had a GREAT day! I let Michael sleep in and cooked a big breakfast for everyone. After breakfast I put away a few loads of laundry, sorted laundry upstairs and started a new load. We organized Ethan's clothes, put together the Munchkin (which we love) and finally cleaned up the living room which had been a holding area for all the shower gifts. We then took a nap and when we got up I did more laundry, Michael put away a few more loads of laundry and we got the car seat, baby bouncer and baby bath out of the attic and started cleaning them all. I had given Michael a new Bible for Christmas and some tabs for it, so I put all his tabs on it for him, too. We made a quick frozen pizza dinner and watched a movie. Michael went to bed and I whipped up another day's worth of Kaedy's food in our new Magic Bullet (love that thing too!) Now I am thawing a chicken in the microwave (enough to get the packaging off) so I can put it into the crockpot overnight and grind it up tomorrow for baby food. (Karen - the big blender you gave us works GREAT for the chicken!!! It makes it smooooooooth as baby food! Just what we need!! Thank you sooo much!) Brittany is chasing after Kaedra so I have a few minutes to blog and then I will try to get Kaedy to go to bed. (no nurse tonight)

Michael cancelled school tomorrow (since public school is cancelled too!) so we are going to have another great, productive day tomorrow! I plan on getting the living room organized and decluttered, school room cleaned, school plans made and my thank you notes finished! I still haven't found my prayer book, but I haven't given up looking. I am hoping to find it asap!

Heather - Michael asked me if this "counted as nesting." ROFL!

Hope you all had as great of a day as I did and have a great week!!

(UPDATE: I FOUND IT!!!!!)

SMART Habit Saturday #2

Well this week didn't go as well with my praying. I kept praying at night when I woke up but I had also planned on adding regular prayer time back into my day and I didn't get that done. I also can't find the prayer journal I have been working on!?!?!? I am determined to find it tonight and finish up my plan.

Michael and I have not had a chance to do our nightly bible time yet, but hopefully tonight. I will only be sleeping with him 4 nights a week (because of nursing issues) so I am hoping we can definitely do our bible time those nights. We do need to work on our timing. He usually goes to bed around 9 and our nurse won't be coming in until 10 on the 4 nights she works. Kaedra doesn't go to bed until after 10, usually, so I don't know how we are going to juggle her and bible time.

I worked on a new habit for this week, too. I got my household journal done including my morning and evening routines and the girls' chores charts. I also made a list of things we need to do on Saturday nights to make our Sunday mornings easier. I saw a planner on WFMW that looks really great. It is called the Polestar Family Calendar. Because I am a planner junkie, I decided not to rush in and buy it but to make a page similar to it on my computer and see if it works for me. I did that for this week and it was very nice. I just need to look at it more often! I am getting closer to buying it. I will give it one more week. :-) I wish it had one more column, a column for school, but, of course, they are not tailoring it for me! I could use the "to do" column for school and put to dos along the top or something.

I have too many systems I am trying to use. As I said, I am a planner junkie, but I am also an organizing junkie, scheduling junkie, etc. I have a PDA, Outlook on my computer, a family calendar, the household journal, a homeschool planner, homeschool planner software...and the list goes on! I KNOW (in my head) that I need to have one system and stick with it. My problem is, I haven't figured out what works yet!

So, my goals for next week:
1. prayer time/bible time (during the day)
2. prayer time/bible time with hubby
3. keep using household journal and remember to refer to it daily!
4. Figure out what system I am going to use and pare the other ones down.

I also want to put my to do list on here every week. If I get confused about which system I am using, at least I know I can check on it here! LOL. I will also be held accountable by all of you!

So here are my to dos for this week:
1. organize Ethan's clothes and put away in our room
2. put up our Munchkin cart
3. get carseat out of attic and wash cover
4. pack my hospital bag
5. get out (after ice melts) and buy the few things I need before Ethan gets here
6. get diapers out of the attic and test them to see if they still work! (I bought about 4-5 packs of diapers for Kaedra but, since she was hospitalized for 10 months, never had to use them with her. I don't know if the tape on them will be any good after 2 years of hot and cold in the attic...I was talking to my friend Denise and we decided I could just use duct tape all the way around his belly!! LOL)
7. Clean up, declutter and organize living room.
8. Get laundry done! (even if it means taking it to a laundromat)
9. get school schedule made for next few months.
10. Get Emily's school put into individual daily sections.
11. Girls clean school room.

I have two "play dates" this week. Both for me and the girls! On Monday my friend Teri is supposed to come over with her four children, since they don't have school because of MLK Day. However, because of the ice, I am fairly certain she will cancel. Wednesday we have planned to go to Alison's house and have lunch with them after my weekly ultrasound. Hopefully the weather will be better by then (although the meteorologists aren't being very optimistic).

Okay, that's my week past and ahead.

To see what other people are working on for their SMART Saturday, go to Lazy Organizer.

What artist should paint your portrait

Got this from my friend Kim's daughter's page...

Who Should Paint You: Pablo Picasso

Your an expressive soul who shows many emotions, with many subtleties Only a master painter could represent your glorious contradictions

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

Quick updates

I feel like it has been FOREVER since I blogged! I missed Thursday Thirteen, I haven't been able to comment on my favorite blogs, I haven't answered emails.....it's like I have a life outside of the computer!?! What's up with that??? And really, the only reason I have a moment to sit down right now is because I have the girls cleaning up the kitchen before we put Christmas stuff away. (yup, that means it's time for the annual Zandi video!!) (and, Mel, I am re-doing my Christmas boxes this year...I went upscale and bought some totes at Target. But, yes, they will still be C1, C2 and CO1, CO2, etc! LOL)

Okay, here are some quick updates:

1. Our nursing hours were cut down to 40 hours a week. We have Tonja 4 days a week, 10 hours a day. We are blessed to have nursing at all (our new insurance doesn't cover nursing or most of Kaedra's supplies) and our doctor is carrying the charges himself. However, because of that, we are not getting any overtime.

After not having Tonja for 8 days I can tell you that I REALLY appreciate her! A large part of me was ready to get rid of nursing altogether (nothing wrong with Tonja, just tired of the hassle with insurance, the nursing agency, and Kaedra doesn't sleep through the night when Tonja is here) but Michael wanted us to keep it as long as possible. I submitted to his will, although I did not wholeheartedly agree with him. When Tonja was gone, we weren't able to move Kaedy's crib up to our room (it needed to be taken apart and that seemed senseless for 8 days) and Kaedra was too freaked out with all the changes that she would not sleep upstairs with us. ( If we had no nursing, we would work on it a lot harder! ) So we brought all her stuff back downstairs and I slept on the futon in her room. Anyway, after not getting a good sleep for 8 days, I was THRILLED to have Tonja back!! I just have to make the best of the 4 days we have her.

We should be eligible for help from Social Security after Ethan is born. If we qualify for Medicaid, we will put Kaedra on it and that should pay for her nursing and supplies. We are also looking into TEFRA a supplemental help for families in Oklahoma with a special needs child that aren't eligible for Social Security or Medicaid.

2. Kaedra is talking up a storm! In the last two weeks she has probably tripled her vocabulary! (if not more) Some of the time she just repeats what we are saying but more often, now, she is saying things and MEANING them! This morning she got herself a cup, went to the frig (we have the kind that dispenses water and ice) and help up her cup and said "Water" as clear as could be. I asked her to say "please" and then gave her the water. She was so thrilled! It is so awesome how well she is doing now! I remember when they said she would never walk, talk, get out of her crib, etc. Look at her now! And besides eating orally, she is on target with all of her other developments! Anything that she was lagging in, she has caught up in and, in some cases, surpassed. HALLELUJAH! God is SO GOOD!

3. At my ultrasound on Wednesday the tech said Ethan is measuring about 5lbs 11 oz and his projected due date is Feb 10th. Everytime we go in, his due date moves up by 2 days! LOL. Everything looks good with him and he is still kicking up a storm, especially when it is time for me to nap or sleep! LOL

4. Michael's silly season is over at work and he is almost back to normal. His truck broke down yesterday in the middle of the ice storm and we had to go rescue him at his buddy's Walgreens. His car will have to stay there until the ice storm is over...no point getting it towed now when people probably actually NEED to be towed. He is just using our van until further notice. I don't plan on getting out in this! His store was robbed last weekend and we are praying that the perpetrators will be caught soon. So lots of excitement for him!

5. We are in the midst of an ice storm. (as mentioned above) We have about 2 inches of ice and the backyard looks like it has snow but it is actually all ice. It is sort of funny to see the dogs out on it! We are supposed to have two more days of freezing rain and then start thawing around Thursday. So we will probably be home bound for a few days. :-) The girls originally wanted to play in the snow, but, after realizing it is all ice, they are just praying for "real" snow now.

6. Brittany has asked to be held back a grade. Yes, that's what I said. It's okay, you can read it again... yup, SHE asked. She said she doesn't like being so much younger than all of her friends! I think the age gap is starting to show in their interests. They are interested in boys, makeup, hair, etc and she just isn't there yet. (She really isn't much younger, I started her in 1st grade at 5, which is when I started) Michael and I prayed about it and had Brittany pray about it several times and we have agreed to let her re-do 6th grade. I am excited because it gives me a chance at a whole other year with her! (and I have felt like we haven't had a really good year since Kaedra was born) She is a little behind in spelling and grammar, too, and she wants to get on grade level. (however she is ahead in math and reading, so I guess we'll just keep going ahead on those!) I told her that whatever she is done with her senior year of high school she can take in college or via correspondence courses. Since she is home schooled, redoing a year of school is no big deal and no one would probably know if I hadn't just shared it on my blog! She will stay in jr. youth at church one extra year, but that doesn't seem to be an issue at our church - they let the parents choose when/if they want them to go to the next level.

7. Emily doesn't have too much new with her. She is spelling up a storm, but still isn't reading. For some reason the two don't equate in her mind! She loves to spell everything, all day long, and usually gets it right, but we haven't had any breakthroughs in reading yet.

Okay, I had better go. Lots to do today. I will be back to write about SMART Saturday.

Have a great day!

Just a quote to sum up my day

A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

(However, the truth is, a lack of planning on other people's part has made me jump through hoops all day. I WISH I could have told them the above....but I am too nice. LOL)

Okay, off to jump through more hoops. Hopefully I will have time to relax and catch up on email and blogging soon. (y'know, priorities!)

WFMW - Eating Well Edition

This is one of my favorite Weight Watcher Recipes Ever. I have no idea how many points it has or anything like that...it has probably been 15 years since I got it, but I still remember it and love it! (Just don't eat too many of them! They are SOOOO good!!)

Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil

6 oz thinly sliced sweet potato (1/8" thick)

1 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

dash cinnamon

Instructions: In small mixing bowl drizzle oil over potato slices and using 2 forks, toss to coat.on baking sheet arrange slices in single layerIn cup or small bowl combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle evenly over potatoes; back for 10 minutesReduce over to 350 degrees, turn potato slices over and continue baking until crisp, 15-20 minutes (check frequently)

Transfer potato chips to small serving bowl, serve immediately or let cool to room temp.

Be sure to check out everyone else's healthy tips this week at: Rocks in my dryer

Noah Steven

I can't say this any better than Melanie, so please read Melanie's blog for today:

Blog: such a silly name for such a powerful tool

and then pray for Noah and his family.

Melanie sent me their link around October of last year and she and I have been praying for them. And, like Melanie, my relationship with God has changed because of Noah.

Their story is heartbreaking, but it is inspiring too.
Please keep them in your prayers, especially this Friday afternoon.

And, for the record, I am still expecting and praying for a miracle.

HEE HEE HEE

My darling Hubby wants me to download him a copy of "Funkytown" and make it into a ringtone for him.

As a joke, I am downloading the Veggie Tales version.....

hee hee hee. I can't wait for it to ring tomorrow. :-)

(Update: well, scratch that. I downloaded the song from Walmart.com music downloads but our ringtone maker says it is a "protected file" and it won't turn it into a ringtone!! DRAT...off to search for it on cingular.com...I'll pay for this one!)

(update to the update: well, they only have the "real" version on cingular. drat. all my fun just whisked away like that....)

Our amazing, super-abundant baby Shower

My friend Becky had a shower for me at our church with friends from my old homeschool group, my church, family and most of my closest friends. We ended up with over 30 adults! (she didn't receive very many RSVPs so she started praying that it would be large. WOW, Becky....the prayers of the faithful!) It was amazing and we were super-abundantly blessed. Ethan is not going to lack for clothes.

Thank you Becky!!

Ain't that the truth?

From The Free Lance Star at Fredericksburg.com

"But while the American Christian church is more alive than the church in Europe, [Pollster George] Barna believes, "Americans are not as devoted to their faith as they would like to believe. They have positive feelings about their faith but faith is rarely the focal point of their lives or a critical factor in their decision making." "

But the problem is.....does anyone want to change? I think the Americans that they are talking about, who have the "positive feelings" think everything is a-ok in their life. Why should they change?

Here is more of the article:
"I wonder what would happen if the 80 percent of Americans who identify ourselves as Christians would begin deeply practicing our faith--if we studied until we understood sound doctrine, and prayed until we began to see God all around us; practiced service and, yes, solitude, meditation, and fasting.

Would our conflicts diminish? Would there be less road rage, fewer bitter political campaigns, a greater commitment to marriage, more quality time spent with kids? Would we be less depressed and more full of life?

Would the American Christian church of 2050 then be found vital and vibrant, a powerful force for good in this world? Would atheists bite their tongues because they simply could not argue with the reality of all those changed lives?

I'm thinking that would be the case. I'm thinking it begins with me. And maybe you."

What would it take to become sold out?

My opinion is, if you believe in God, than why not all the way? What will you lose by believing him 100%....and on the opposite side, what are you losing by not believing His Word 100%?

I don't want to miss out on ANYTHING He has for me.

"What will people think
When they hear that Im a jesus freak
What will people do
when they find that its true
I dont really care
if they label me a jesus freak
There aint no disguising the truth
Kamikaze, my death is gain
Ive been marked by my maker
A peculiar display"
Jesus Freak by DC Talk

Good Friends

Okay, I horned in on this picture. It was supposed to be the facilitator and pronouncer at the Wagoner County Spelling Bee. But it is two of my favorite people...Alison and Kim, so I couldn't help myself.

And, if you look all the way to the small person on the left, apparently horning in on pictures is a family trait! LOL

SMART Habit Saturday

Well the first habit I am working on is bible reading and praying. I have done really good with my praying this week.

Okay, I will be honest now... Our nurse is out of town for 8 days, so I am sleeping with Kaedra every night. I don't sleep well on the futon on the floor, so I spend many hours a night awake. The good news is: I have spent that time praying instead of playing games on my palm pilot or getting up and getting on the computer.

So I am doing really great in the prayer department, I just need to make sure it is a habit I will keep after I get to sleep in my own bed (and through the night) again.

and, just to explain myself, because I am embarrassed I would have to "work" on praying, I pray all day long, little prayers and thanks to God, but I hadn't spent any dedicated "prayer-only" time in the last month or so. I got very interested in making a prayer journal and got so interested in the journal that I stunted my actual prayer time. I was trying to make a "perfect system" and perfected myself into not having a dedicated praying time! I am still working on the system, but I am not going to let it stop me from just doing it!

As for the bible reading... Hubby and I were doing great reading the bible together every night and a book by a lady at our church about praying for our children. Since our sleeping habits have been interrupted by me sleeping downstairs with Kaedra, we have not had our bible time. I have also been napping in the morning to catch up with lost sleep overnight, so I have not had my morning bible time. I need to work on that one this week.

To join SMART Habit Saturday or to see other posts, check out Lazy Organizer's blog.

Thirteen Resolutions for the New Year

Although I haven't looked at everyone else's Thursday 13s, I am assuming quite a few are resolutions. I hadn't had a chance to write mine down yet (yes I "do" resolutions, no matter how trite it seems...I love new beginnings) so I thought this was a good excuse. :-)

1. Bible Reading and Prayer Time everyday. (by myself and then with Michael in the evenings)
2. Consistently speaking The Word over situations in our life and claiming our victory rather than resorting to wallowing.
3. Making our home notebook and keeping up with it - including chores, laundry, meal planning and meal making.
4. Planning ahead for school after Ethan's birth. Making notebooks for the kids with their assignments and worksheets already ready for them.
5. Keeping the pregnancy weight loss and adding to it. (yes, I LOSE weight while pregnant. So far in this pregnancy approx 40 lbs) Check out this blog, I don't know her, but she is one of my heroes. :-)
6. Seeking(and following)God's will first in every situation and opportunity.
7. Teaching and encouraging my girls to do the same.
8. Submitting myself and family to a budget.
9. Staying on top of thank you notes, birthdays, anniversaries and such. At least acknowledging with a card.
10. Making sure I am submitting my will to God's in what I watch, listen to and read. (Phil 4:8-9)
11. Encouraging and guiding my family in being more proactive, rather than reactive.
12. Looking at my to do list and calendar every day. (doing it would be nice, too, but it would be nice if I'd remember to look at it!)
13. Be less of a consumer (One that consumes, especially one that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing), more of a declutterer and simplifier.

I realize some of these are going to be hard to quantify and measure, but I will work on that tomorrow or this weekend. With only an hour left in Thursday, I better get my 13 posted. :-) For other Thursday Thirteen blogs click here.

For help keeping your goals, check out one of this wonderful blog and her idea for SMART Saturdays: The Lazy Organizer

My Christmas Letter (if I had one)

I didn't have time to get a Christmas letter out this year. Who am I kidding? I have NEVER had time to put out a Christmas letter! Have I? I vaguely remember, possibly having one, but Brandi would be the only one who would know....Brandi? (Isn't it nice to have friends who can be your memory for you??? LOL Brandi has been my friend basically my whole adult life, so I can just rely on HER memory! But wait, she's had more kids so she has less brain cells...hmmmm this might not work!)

ANYWHO.... I was going to try my hand at a Christmas blog/letter this year! However, I am re-dubbing it our New Year's Letter. :-)

(And, although I started this days ago, I got the idea for the format this morning from another blog I love to read.)

This has been a very exciting year for us...let's see how much I can remember...

January 2006:
We got a new puppy...a boston terrier that Michael named Shooky Doo. I had forgotten how much I don't like puppies, but, trust me, I have since remembered. ;-)

February 2006:
February wasn't very exciting for us except we had good friends over on Superbowl Sunday and Kaedra took her first steps that day.

March 2006:
-March was very exciting because we got a pool! We were so excited to get one and so blessed to get one. We enjoyed it so much during the summer and had GREAT family time in it!
-One of our nurses quit and that eased some of the stress we had been having with her around.
-We went to the zoo with the Donathans and Sherria. We used to go to the zoo a lot, but hadn't been for a long time. (Emily didn't even remember it) We had a great time.

April 2006:
-We got in our pool for the first time! YAH for Oklahoma weather where you can swim in April! :-)
-Mercy, my beloved cat died after 17 years of being my companion.
-My dearest friend's baby went to be with Jesus - Zoe we rejoice in being reunited with you someday.

May 2006:
-Emily turned 5! It was an exciting day for her...she had a Dora party complete with a map and a treasure at the end. (Brittany even played Swiper) Michael and I missed the party when he had chest pains and ended up in the hospital overnight.
-The biggest thing that happened in May is Kaedra had her second surgery. Kaedy was very unhappy being confined to a crib for so long and we had a really bad experience in San Antonio where they didn't have the room ready and Kaedra de-satted the lowest she had ever been. Most of the experience in San Antonio was awful, but it did go quicker this time.

June 2006:
-Our church opened it's new site. It is beautiful and large and very close to our house. We loved our church in the strip mall setting and we love it even more now! :-)
-Kaedy was off of her vent for a few hours at a time and off of oxygen completely.
-Kaedra started coming to church. I stayed in the nursery with her, but it was so nice to go as a whole family.
-Kaedy is also putting food in her mouth and getting closer to eating.
-We found out I am pregnant! We had decided about 2 months ago it was time to have another one. The timing seemed right with Kaedra almost off of the vent. I took the pregnancy test on Father's day...so it was an especially nice Father's Day for Michael. :-)


July 2006:
-We got rid of our daytime nurse. Although it was difficult adjusting, it has been wonderful to have Kaedy "all to ourselves" everyday. We spent the first few months of no-nursing in her room almost all day long.
-We had a big setback. Kaedra got 5th's disease (which is usually no big deal for kids) but she pretty much laid in her crib for 6 weeks. She had to go back on oxygen, back on her vent all day, didn't talk much in sign or verbally and refused food (orally) altogether.

August 2006:
-I did some home improvement projects including putting a much-needed fan in the den. (which also provided overhead light, which we hadn't had)
-Kaedy came out of her 5th disease funk. She ended up regressing on everything but gross motor skills. She got right up out of the crib and started running around. We had to start at the beginning with weaning her off of the vent, getting her off of oxygen, eating orally and speaking again.
-Brittany turned 11 and we had a great party! It was at Incredible Pizza and had 13 girls. It was a lot of fun for everyone. Britty is SUCH a big help at home and such a young lady. She is a delight to be around.
-Emily started Kindergarten. (of course at home with us.) She was so excited!
-We noticed Kaedra had a large curve in her spine (that hadn't been there at the end of May)


September 2006:
-Our nursing was cut down to 12 hours. We decided to use them from 8pm-8am.
-We started working harder on getting Kaedra out of her room a few hours a day.
-We decided to change Kaedy's surgery location to Kansas City. We got approved to go there for an evaluation.
-Britty had a colored pencil drawing in the Wagoner County fair and won 2nd place!
-We got a new cat - a Maine Coon we named Zoegirl.

October 2006:
-Emily, Brittany and I went to Livesay orchard and had a very nice afternoon picking apples and playing in the corn mazes. Later in the month we went to a large corn maze at night with Brittany's friend Alison. It wasn't as much fun, but part of it was because Emmy was a little scared.
-Brittany, Michael, Kaedra and I headed up to Kansas City for her evaluation. She got approved to be in their program and they scheduled surgery for November 17th.
-We found out our insurance was changing as of January 1st which threw us into a tizzy. Our new insurance does not cover nursing at all and hardly covers supplies. We started our trek into looking into every other available option.
-I went on bedrest for a week for bleeding and cramping. I got an ultrasound to make sure all was well with the baby - which it was - and we found out that we are having a boy.
-Kaedra started coming off of her vent for a little while at a time (at first 20 minutes, by the end of the month almost all day)
-With her newfound freedom, we have some challenges. Silly mommy had the curling iron on in the bathroom and Kaedra walked up behind me and grabbed it. She finished out October with her hand wrapped in dressing.
-My friend, Tarry, who came to be one of our nurses, went back to the hospital (where they would pay her nearly 2X as much!!) So I ended up having Kaedra overnights by myself on Wednesday and Sunday nights.

November 2006:
-Kaedy had her second birthday. It was a GREAT time. And since her birthday and Christmas are so close, she hadn't gotten any presents for awhile. She loved all of her new things!
-Kaedra had her surgery. Brittany, Sherria, Kaedra and I went to KC on Wednesday. We all stayed in the Ronald McDonald House. Britty and Sherria came back Thursday night and Michael came up that night. Kaedy had her surgery on Friday morning (ribs and tubes in her ears) and Michael and I stayed until Saturday when Kaedra was released from the hospital. She was able to stay off of the vent after surgery and is still off of it all day long.
-My parents came up from Albuquerque for Thanksgiving.
-Kaedra had her first trip to a park.
-Michael started working crazy hours in his usual retail holiday season rush.
-Kaedy started putting food in her mouth again.

December 2006:
-We decorated for Christmas which was a lot of fun.
-We started Kaedra off of the vent for 1 hour at a time during sleep. She is also taking her naps without her vent.
-I went Christmas shopping a few times with Sherria which was also fun...hard work! but fun! LOL
-We got the girls dressed up (at the same time) and sitting (occassionally in the same place) for an attempt at Christmas pictures.
-Brittany and I went to a sweet cookie exchange. (not the same one I have done the past few years)
-We went to church on Christmas Eve morning, but couldn't go Christmas eve night when Kaedy got a high fever. (it was just from some shots she had gotten the day before)
-We had a very nice Christmas morning.
-Michael and I switched room upstairs with Brittany. (we are still dealing with the aftermath of that. Hopefully we will be all done today)
-We had a very nice New Year's Eve. We went to church, came home and made up finger foods, played games and then watched the ball drop. Ria came over and hung out with us that night, too.

Well, that's pretty much our year. Unfortunately, I will probably remember that this was the year I was mostly sick with Ethan's pregnancy. It hasn't been much fun, but I am trying to concentrate on the positive aspects! (Soon I'll have baby Ethan in my arms and it will be much easier to remember the positive side! :-))

2007 will be the year that Ethan is born, Kaedra gets off her vent (and hopefully gets rid of her trach - depending on Dr. Carey's philosophy on that), Kaedra eats orally, Brittany's first mission trip, Emily learns to read, Michael gets a new car, Sherria meets her future husband and lots of other wonderful memories I can't wait to experience!