100 Things about me

100 things about me

This was supposed to be in honor of my 300th entry, but I didn't get it done until my 305th...

(I wrote this in bed while nursing over a couple of days. I had plenty of time on my hands, I guess..let's see if you have enough time to get through it all! LOL)

1. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico
2. to Virgina Anne Herndon, an unwed 16 year old
3. adopted at birth
4. had a horse named Lady when I was young
5. moved to Colorado for 1st through 3rd grades
6. was taught to speed read in 3rd grade
7. moved to California for 4th and half of 5th grades
8. tried out for a game show called Joker's Wild
9. when asked what was the most interesting thing about me - I accidentally mispronounced the word pianist (you figure that one out)
10. moved back to Albuquerque for rest of schooling
11. took piano lessons for 12 years...had plenty of learning, but no natural talent
12. ran track for 9th and 10th grade
13. got shin splints
14. kept running, got stress fractures
15. switched to throwing shotput and discus for last two years
16. went to state as a thrower
17. knocked out most of my two front teeth with a shotput
18. skiing was one of my major hobbies while in NM
19. taught calligraphy to both adults and kids in community ed program for about 10 years
20. wanted to be a youth pastor but my parents were concerned about the lack of income
21. decided to be an architect
22. applied at Cornell (great architecture program)
23. and Lehigh (my grandfather and great uncle's alma mater)
24. was accepted into both
25. couldn't afford either
26. tried to get into the air force in the officer's program
27. didn't make it
28. went to UNM on a full scholarship (academic, not athletic)
29. almost married a guy named John Hancock (he is now a pastor of a Baptist church)
30. started out to be an architect but didn't like UNM's program
31. was actually told I needed to search for my "inner darkness" in their art school
32. skied to school once during a snow storm
33. graduated with a degree in English literature, minor in biblical studies
34.. worked at Walgreens in management after college
35. went back to school to be a police officer
36. dropped out when I got pregnant with Brittany
37. searched for birth family after complications following Britty's birth
38. found birth mother's side of the family
39. they were quite unhelpful in finding out who my birth father is
40. They are all dark skinned
41. I was truly "the fairest one of them all" heehee
42. my birth great grandmother was black
43. petitioned the court to open my records
44. birth father was not named in records
45. became big lobbier for adoptions with medical updates given throughout the years (whether the adoption was open or closed)
46. also was NM contact for an online site created to search for your birth parents or children.
47. helped several people come together!
48. knew I was going to homeschool my kids since I was 15 years old
49. went to my first homeschool conference when Brittany was about 2 months old.
50. met Brandi online when our oldest girls were about 6 months old, on a Christian homeschool board
51. went to California to meet her in fall of that year
52. worked as a professional organizer when Britty was a baby
53. when I got divorced, got a long term job at a fertilizer plant -- organizing, decluttering and computerizing them
54. after that job, went to work at aol as tech support
55. met Michael on a tech support call - he had a virus
56. my roommate and Michael's roommate also fell for each other (this turned out to be handy when she and I moved to Oklahoma together soon afterward)
57. worked in insurance in Bartlesville and hated my job
58. got a job working for IBM doing TCP/IP support for companies trying to go online
59. quit work to be a stay at home mom on Dec 31st of 1999.
60. we did not prepare for y2k
61. Michael quit Phillips and went to Walgreens after I told him how great they were
62. we moved to Tulsa
63. I don’t listen to any secular music anymore and hardly read any secular books
64. my favorite type of music is Christian hard rock, although I listen to all sorts of different styles
65. I like my music loud
66. tried one homeschool group before FAITH, they were anti-Christian
68. went to FAITH's first meeting and joined
69. that was the day I found out I was pregnant with Emily
70. that night I thought to myself that I'd like to become friends with Melanie
71. was sick the next 4 months and did nothing with the group
72. was baptized Lutheran
73. switched to Methodist in my late 20s
74. then went to non-denominational Christian church with Melissa
75. then tried another one, this time with Paula
76. kept thinking I was missing something
77. changed to a Spirit-Filled, charismatic church about 2 1/2 years ago
78. don't feel like I'm missing anything now
79. am ambidextrous
80. taught myself to be that way
81. learned to write backwards when I heard about da Vinci doing it
82. took most of my notes in college that way
83. that made it hard for friends to borrow my notes
84. I was 5'7" when I was in 5th grade
85. I was, by far, the tallest child at school
86. I was also taller than my teacher
87. I am now 5'10"
90. my mom wanted me to be a model, but she said I had to be 6'
91. I love/d school and learning, I would be a professional student if I had the time
91. I am still interested in architecture and after my children grow up, I may draw up plans for remodels (unless The Lord directs me elsewhere)
92. used to be an avid camper and fly-fisher woman
93. used to own many different kinds of guns and loved target shooting
94. haven't done that since I got pregnant with Britty
95. used to hike and rappelled once
96. I broke a window of a car once to let out a dog in heat over 100 degrees (I was not prosecuted)
97. my only ticket ever was "attempting to run over a pedestrian" which was not true. the snarky cop didn't show up in court and it was dismissed.
99. I like to dance in the rain
100. I sleep with a stuffed animal, when not sleeping with a baby. I can't sleep without one and Michael has had to take me to Walmart and get me one if I forget it.

SMART Habit Saturday 6

recap of all my habits:

wk 1: praying and bible reading
have been praying everyday and reading bible almost every day. Would like to spend more time reading bible

wk 2: referring to planner everyday
not been consistent with this

wk 3: get off computer at 9am and off for rest of day
had no problem with this since having Ethan (not necessarily off by 9, not even necessarily on before 9...just have been good not being on it much at all)

wk 4: new laundry schedule and laundry put away every day
had a bad week with this, week before last. This week we have been making up for it.

wk 5: stopped caffeine
still haven't had any

wk 6: added fruit to breakfast
did it every day

wk 7: added veggie to lunch
every day but one (we ate fast food one day and I didn't even think of getting a veggie)

wk 8: portion sizes
mostly did well

wk 9: writing down what I eat every day
missed two days

wk 10: walking every day
One day we couldn't walk because of rain and we did pilates (aka torture). I missed two days of exercise this week

As you can see, I wasn't really consistent with all of my habits. This week I am going to work on the same 10 habits, concentrating on exercise, laundry, planner and writing down what I eat. I want to get them really down before adding more.

I want to take a moment to say that this SMART Habit Saturday thing has REALLY been a blessing in my life. I want to thank Lara for her wonderful idea. It has not seemed like too much at all to add one habit a week. Things are REALLY starting to become habits, I don't have to think about everything anymore. The rewards have been many! Things are starting to calm down around here and I feel like I am in control of my life. I have always been a person who evaluates my life quite frequently, but I wasn't always able to make the changes I wanted. Now the changes are coming easier, especially the eating habits. Even my hubby has noticed. Thank you Lara!

If you are interested in seeing other people's habits or joining in with SMART Habit Saturday, check out Lazy Organizer's Page.

My non-accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The South
The Inland North
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Kaedra's story (so far)

This is the story of Kaedra, our miracle girl!
(I am just going to keep adding stuff to the bottom of this so it is somewhat updated, regularly)



While pregnant with Kaedra, we tested positive for Trisomy 18, a typically fatal genetic disorder. We opted for a second level ultrasound (rather than an amnio) so different parts of Kaedy could be measured and we could find out what we were dealing with. Thankfully, she showed no signs of Trisomy 18 or any other disorder. Later in the pregnancy, our doctor saw what he thought was a sac of fluid around her heart. We went back for another 2nd level ultrasound and the doctor did not find anything wrong, although she said she couldn't get a good view because "the ribs" were in the way.

Our doctor had scheduled an inducement 2 weeks before our due date on Nov 9th. I awoke just around midnight of Nov 5th with my water broken. I was so excited! My water has never broken naturally before. I showered and we got the girls in the car, my mother in law called to meet us and get the girls, and we headed to the hospital. The labor was uneventful and Kaedra was born.

They put Kaedy on my belly for approximately 10 seconds until they realized she was not breathing. From then on, everything went extremely fast. They whisked her from the room, intubated her and gave her xrays before I even knew what was going on. When born, she looked like she had a tumor on her left side, right underneath her armpit. It turned out that she was born without most of her ribs on the left side and the thing that looked like a tumor was actually her little lung poking out the side. She was also born with hemivertebrae. Here is her first picture.



Right after this picture, she was taken across town to another hospital. Michael went with her while I stayed in the hospital where I had birthed her, wondering what was going on.

We were told at first that she would not make it. I am not sure if they gave us a time limit on her life or not, but we refused to accept their diagnosis anyway. At 6 weeks she was given a trach, which broke my heart, but made her much easier to hold. At 3 months she was given a stomach tube and two tummy surgeries. She was diagnosed with Jarcho-Levin disease and accepted into a program in San Antonio, Texas called the Vertical Expandable Titanium Rib Project (aka VEPTR). We had to wait until she was at least 6 months old for her to be big enough for the smallest titanium rib. We had the surgery scheduled for when she was 7 months old but we couldn't get her on a portable vent so we had to reschedule for a later time. After a few more months, through the help of a GREAT RT named Aaron and a wonderful person from the manafacturer of the home vent who came all the way to Tulsa, we got her onto the portable vent.



We finally took her to San Antonio 9 months after her birth and had 2 titanium ribs implanted. They also took one rib from her right side and implanted it on her left side. They moved her large intestine back down where it was supposed to be (it had migrated up into the left lung area because her diaphragm was not attached) and they reattatched her diaphragm to the rib implanted from the right side. While there, we were told that she did NOT have Jarcho Levin. Her problems were not genetic in anyway just "a series of anomalies." Praise the Lord!! We had hoped to be in San Antonio for a week and ended up staying 28 days. When we got home, we went back to the hospital for about a week and she was FINALLY, after 10 months, allowed to come home!!! HALLELUJAH!



Once home, she made great strides in her development. She started walking and learned sign language. We started out with 24 hour nursing and have cut back to 12 hour nursing. She has had another surgery in San Antonio and a surgery in Kansas City. She will need to keep going back for rib expansion surgeries every 6 months until fully grown. Her last surgery she also had tubes put in her ears. What an incredible difference! She went from being able to speak about 5-6 words in November 06, to having a vocabulary of over 60 words in March 07.

Our greatest struggle right now is getting her to eat by mouth. She receives all of her food through her gtube at the moment, but we are working with a speech therapist to "teach" her to eat.

We are also working to get her off of her vent. She is now off of oxygen and off of her vent all day and 5 hours at night. We can't wait until she is off the vent completely! Other than her equipment, she is a totally normal, healthy toddler. She likes to get into everything, climb everything, make big messes and be the center of everyone's attention.

OKAY, that is all the medical stuff....the "natural" stuff. Now for the TRUTH.........


Kaedra is the Body of Christ. She is redeemed from the curse, because Jesus bore her sicknesses and carried her diseases in His own body. By His stripes she is healed. We forbid any sickness or disease to operate in her body. Every organ, every tissue, every bone functions and is formed in the perfection in which God created it to function.
(Gal 3:13, Matt 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Cor 6:20) found in Prayers that Avail Much by Germaine Copeland

Please join us in agreeing with The Word that she is healed and that her healing is manifested. We are rejoicing that she will soon have no tubes, machines or surgeries.

This blog actually started while she was still in the hospital. You can see her story begin here.
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Update from 5/21/07





Explanation of the surgery: Kaedra has vertical expanding prosthetic titanium ribs. (aka VEPTR or titanium ribs) Here is an idea of what they look like:



(however Kaedra does not have as many natural ribs as the picture) She has two of the VEPTR devices (just like the pic). Approximately every six months she has to have them extended vertically so she can keep growing. She will grow in between 1-2cm this expansion and then she will also have some growing room until the next surgery. The surgery for the expansions is laproscopic and fairly quick. The longest part of the procedure has more to do with ventilating her, rather than working on the "ribs." She has to be switched to a different trach and put on their ventilator before they will begin the surgery. Every few years, they have to change out the VEPTR devices and put in a larger one (until she hits around 13 and her trunk is considered fully grown). Those surgeries are far more complicated and are much longer. The "expansions" are really fairly easy and relatively painless, from what we can tell. She usually does not stay on pain meds for more than 4 hours post op.

Another note:
Kaedra's Respiratory Therapist, Kent, came out the other day to give her a lung volume test. When he hooked the device up to her trach, the device would not pick up any breaths. (I could have told him that she barely uses her trach to breathe!) He said it would be "no problem" to decannulate her. (decannulate = get her trach out) HALLELUJAH! Another answered prayer. I believe that as soon as we can get her off of her vent 24 hours a day, we can take that trach out. HALLELUJAH! (I am REALLY excited! God is SOOO Good!! He's a mighty working God!) We are very close to getting her off of the vent 24 hours. She is ABLE to do it now (and has done it on occassion), however she might be tiring herself out a little while doing it. We are still weaning her off of the vent slowly to get her body used to it. Right now she is only on it 5 hours a night. If we do 1 hour a week, after giving her time to recover from surgery, we could have her off of it by the end of summer and decannulated by her birthday!

God has big plans for this little girl and the enemy will not rob her of them! I thank everyone for your prayers! God is working through them and Kaedra is the evidence of it all! HALLELUJAH! Thank you Almighty Father!


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update from May 08

Kaedra had a rough summer concerning her ribs. She had the expansion surgery but then one of the ribs broke through her skin. Although we attempted to treat it in the body, we eventually had to have it taken out. She was on IV meds most of the summer and was in the hospital the greater part of 3 months.

She had a good fall and most of winter. She graduated from speech therapy in November. She was also not accepted into therapy at the school level because they said she was "too normal." She was off of her oxygen on and off over the fall and winter. In January she got pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week. She went back on the vent while in the hospital and took awhile getting off of it. She finally came off of it completely in April. She is on a low amount of oxygen and doing great. She loves to go outside and play, ride a tricycle and play with bubbles. She talks incessantly. We go tomorrow (13th) to Kansas City to see if she is ready for an expansion. She hasn't had one in a year, so I am guessing yes.
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Update January 2009
Kaedra is doing fabulously! She is completely off oxygen and we are working on decannulating her (getting her trach out). We cap off her trach every day and let her get used to the feeling of completely breathing on her own. I think she will be able to be decannulated in the next few months. She is doing great! Developmentally she is completely normal for a 4 year old. She runs, skips, jumps, does dare-devil acts...all the things that drive mom and dad and sisters crazy! She is doing PK4 with me at home and loving it. She is still not eating by mouth but she does drink water throughout the day. That is a huge step! We are still believing that she is eating everything by mouth and able to get her g-tube out. We have a confession we say over her at our meals:

Kaedra knows that food created by God is good, and is not to be rejected. She eats and is satisfied. Kaedra is blessed because she eats. She eats her food with gladness and simplicity of heart. Hallelujah!
(taken from 1 Tim 4:4, Psalm 22:6, Luke 14:15, Acts 2:45)

We are constantly blessed by Kaedra. We are amazed that the doctors wanted us to "put her in a home" and said she would have "no quality of life." We were told she would never walk, talk, she would be a midget and there was no reason to prolong her suffering. Sometimes I want to take her and leave her on that doctor's doorstep, after a really long and typical 4 year old day of her running, jumping, yelling, testing every limit. He shouldn't mind, right? I mean, she is SOOO disabled! HA!

Fourth Birthday

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 Update October 2009:
Kaedra was decannulated (trach removed) in March of this year. She has done fabulously since then! No need for oxygen (although she has nasal cannulas if needed). We moved to Yukon in July and she has been on NO regular medications since then.  She has received albuterol/pulmicort when she had a cough, but not regularly.  Her hole from her trach never closed up and we are hoping to have it stitched up during her next expansion. Because of that, she was unable to swim this summer.  We can't wait until next summer when she plans on swimming all summer long! We are still working on her eating orally, but we know that she will do it when she is ready.  We have a blog we started to journal that journey.

Had to put together a history for a new dr. Here is Kaedy's history in short form:

Kaedra Lynn History

Born 11/06/04, weighed 7lbs. 13oz.


6 weeks: trach

3 months: fundo, pylorectomy and g-tube placed

9 months: two veptrs placed

        spent 28 days in hosp in San Antonio because of wound

                        not healing well

10 months: came home from hospital

May 2006: ribs expanded in San Antonio

July 2006: fifth's disease, regressed on eating, vent, O2

October 2006: came for eval in KC

November 2006: second expansion

February07: fell on tile floor and got 'owie'

May 21, 07: third expansion, did not expand rib under the arm because of 'owie'

May 31,07: took duoderm off of rib with 'owie' and skin peeled up

6/1/07 admitted into Children’s Mercy KCMO

June 2, 07: taken off of vent        

June 4, 07: surgery to clean up skin, elliptical shape cut out of skin, flushed

June 6, 07: picc line placed

June 13, 07: back to CMH/KC for follow-up, she had fever(from cold), admitted into hosp, blood culture, results back in 48 hrs. negative, *started not                          tolerating foods, released on 5th

June 20, 07: Carey: wound good, follow up in one week, add 2tbsp rice cereal to feedings

June 22, 07: Shannon: increace prevacid to 15mg/day

June 26, 07: Sharma: Changed her from penicillin to Merrem aka meropenom

June 27, 07: Rachel: put tegaderm on wound

June 29, 07: Rachel: decrease feeds to 30cc q 1/2hr

July 3, 07: Sharma-good, Carey: good

July 6, 07: high fever, blood culture (res. neg), back on O2

July 10, 07: blood on tegaderm, Sharma: good, prob bump, 6pm go to redress, can see titanium

July 11, 07: admit into CMH/KC

July 12, 07: surgery to take out one VEPTR

Nov, 07: cold, ended up on too much O2, eventually weaned down again

Jan 08: pneumonia, hospitalized for 10 days, back on ventilator, IV Meds

Sept 8, 08: VEPTR expansion in CMH/KC

Sept 08: began blocking trach for decannulation

Oct 08: Pneumonia, 7 day hospital stay, IV meds

March 21, 09: decannulated

May 15, 09: trip to KC, told no expansion until Feb-May 2010

July, 09: all medications discontinued (prn)

July, 09: feedings 1500 cc/day

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We are still thanking God everyday for her healing. She is a miracle through and through. We give God all the glory for her and her health! Hallelujah!!

Another Meme

A. What accessories do you wear everyday? Wedding ring, crown ring, toe ring & earrings
B. What is your beauty routine? shower, hair, quick makeup. Whole thing takes 15 min or less. I am really low maintenance.
C. What was the last item of clothing (for yourself) that you purchased? smaller sized undies and nursing bra
D. Do you use a dresser, closet, or both? closet
E. What type of earrings are in your ears right now? silver studs in three of my holes, two of my holes empty
F. What type of figure do you have? one that's getting smaller, Hallelujah!
G. Do you wear glasses? when I'm tired
H. What type of handbag do you carry? I love purses and am on a quest for the perfect purse. Lucky for my hubby, though, I am cheap so I supply my habit at thrift stores, usually, or by friends who know my habit and give me theirs when they tire of them. At the moment I am using a diaperbag and on a quest for the perfect one of those!
I. What is your ideal style? Casual feminine. (I like Susan's answer, I'll borrow it)
J. What jewelry are you wearing right now? My wedding ring, crown ring, three studs in ears, toe ring
K. Do you wear knee-hi stockings? No
L. Do you "have" to wear matching lingerie? are you supposed to? LOL!
M. Do you wear makeup? sometimes....I am not militant about it either way. If I have time, yes, if not, no big deal. I dont wear foundation though.
N. Do you wear nightgowns? yes
O. What outerwear do you put on when going out on a typical winters day? no outerwear. We are actually known as the" no-jacket family". We do own them, just don't usually use them.
P. What is your favorite perfume? Black by Kenneth Cole
Q. Is your motto "quality over quantity" when it comes to clothing and accessories? ROFL--nope. My motto is "whatever I can get at Walmart or a thrift store" and not too much of anything (except maybe purses)
R. Do you wear rain boots? nope
S. Do you wear socks or slippers when your feet get cold? whichever is easier to find
T. Do you have a set of travel luggage? no, we borrow Brittany's (she does...lol)
U. If you are married, did you wear a veil with your wedding dress? No.
V. Do you wear a watch? occassionally, just bought a new one and I forget to wear it. I always wear my watches facing in, though (with the face on my inside wrist)
W. What do you wear every single day? Bra & panties.
X. What item of clothing always makes you feel eXtremely beautiful? a green blouse I have
Y. What is your favorite type of yarn? ROFL.... I have no idea
Z. Do you prefer zippers or buttons? I like pants and dresses that zipper but of course buttons on blouses. (keeping Susan's answer here, too)

Thursday Thirteen - thirteen projects I have conquered this week

I have had so much energy lately -- I think it is the boomerang affect after being so sick while pregnant. My house has been in survival mode since about the time Kaedra was born, so I have quite a task in front of me. I have tackled some big projects this week (with the help of Sherria and Ashton who have come over to just hold the baby for me! I couldn't have done it without you!!) and I think I will list them here to keep myself motivated to keep going. I love seeing "done" lists!

1. decluttered and organized attic
2. decluttered and organized books in living room
3. rearranged living room furniture
4. decluttered and organized school room
5. took down old chandelier in school room and started to install new one (I need one more hand to finish it)
6. cleaned upstairs bathroom and decluttered under sink
7. decluttered medicine cabinet in laundry room
8. decluttered/reorganized file box we use as a pantry
9. decluttered cabinet with laundry stuff
10. rearranged drawers/cabinets in kitchen
11. got rid of a bunch of phone books
12. decluttered and organized washboard
13. thinking, thinking, thinking...there's got to be one more thing..... aaah decluttered area above laundry cabinets. WOOHOO! I did 13!

I keep meaning to take before and after pics, but I forget until either halfway done or all the way done. Oh well...at least it's done!

Here are 13 things I want to get done in the next week
1. front porch beautified
2. back porch beautified
3. desk drawers organized
4. garage decluttered and cleaned
5. fan/light in den repaired
6. light in school room finished being put up
7. drawers/cabinets in downstairs bathroom decluttered
8. drawers/cabinet in upstairs bathroom decluttered
9. upstairs closet decluttered
10. game closet decluttered/organized
11. clubhouse (aka closet under stairs) decluttered and organized
12. carpet pulled out of bathroom before Monday (getting it tiled on Monday)
13. Kaedra and Emmy summer clothes pulled out (Ethan will just wear onesies and Brittany needs me to buy her more)

I read a blog that referenced this blog today. It has a great article about clutter! Check it out!

To see other Thursday Thirteens, check out this page!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 8th anniversary of being married and 9th anniversary of being together (we got married on our one year anniversary of knowing each other). We have had quite a wild ride with many ups and downs but it has been settling down and becoming more and more comfortable (in a good way!).

As you know, he gave me a roll top desk. Then he totally surprised me a few minutes ago with a bouquet of flowers!! I was not expecting ANYTHING else!! What a great guy! Here are some pics:




Susan, you asked about the figurines. Some are angels, some are Willow Tree (which I collect), some are my grandmother's Hummels and others of her figurines and one of them was given to us when Jacob died. So they are a collection of all sorts!

My personality test

I got this from Tarry's site. It was fun! What do you think? Is it correct?

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Desk and FAITH

Got my desk put where I want it today and started filling it up. I also weeded through a lot of books and donated them to the American Vets. I need another bookcase just for what I already have so I had a lot of books laying on top of other books on the shelves. I had a goal of making it so once I get my new bookcase, I didn't have any double deckerred books on the shelves. I am trying something new, the uncluttered look! LOL Here are pics of my desk, before I put stuff in it - very uncluttered!/

On my last update blog I forgot to say that we rejoined our homeschool group. We are thrilled to be back and we're looking forward to participating in something soon. We are going to do the co-op next year, too. It looks great and will be both educational and fun. Going back to the group feels like puting on an old comfy glove. We are truly happy to be back. (though the email loop is so quiet that we're wondering if we're really back on the list! JK!)

SMART Habit Saturday continued

I haven't posted since having Ethan, but we have been participating, nevertheless. Here are the habits we (the girls and I) have done:

first week after Ethan was born- we cut out caffeine (Emmy's never had any and Britt only had one a day but now none of us have it. In fact, without ever making it an issue we don't have pop anymore at all)

second week - we started having a serving of fruit with every breakfast

third week - we added a veggie to every lunch

fourth week - we changed snacks from carbs to protein or fruit or vegetable

fifth week - we started noticing portion sizes on labels and reading ingredients. we also switched most of our products from white flour to whole grain.

sixth week - we started charting what we are eating each day in each food group using the food pyramid. We didn't have to stay under the amt for each group, I just wanted them to see what they eat every day.

this coming week - continue all above and start walking. I am not going to make the girls continue charting their food, but I think they both want to! They think it's fun...go figure. Also, I am going to try to stay within the old Weight Watcher point system for nursing moms.

I love our new way of eating and it definitely already seems like a habit. We have so many fruits and veggies around, it makes healthy eating and snacking easy. Because we don't ban any food (except caffeine) we haven't felt deprived at all. And because I am already down two dress sizes (see last post), it has been easy to limit myself on the indulgences. I bought myself those new Hershey's truffles in a tin and I have one a day. It might be my favorite part of the day. Not so much the chocolate as being proud of myself for being able to control how many I am having! WooHoo...Babysteps :-)

If you would like to see other SHS pots, go to Lazy Organizer. See you next week!

Busy, fun week! And we weren't even on Spring Break!

Yeah!!! Brandi's back! Now you know she comes and goes fast enough to give us all whiplash, so let's enjoy her while she is here! heehee JK Brandi! ;-) I am sooo happy you are back! For some reason when you are not blogging, I feel cut off from your life. I know there's email and phone calls, but I like the multimedia updates too!

Happening week for us:

1. We are getting estimates on having our downstairs bathroom tiled and a new potty put in. Hopefully it will be done in a week or so.

2. We found out we might have our nurse Tonja for three nights next week (while her new patient doesn't need her) Although it is a logistical nightmare as far as handling moving the crib and equipment back and forth again, we are thrilled to see her and sleep through the night. (wasn't it nice of me to put those in that order? And she doesn't even read my blog! hee hee)

3. We had friends over on Wednesday afternoon that we haven't seen in quite awhile. It was a very nice and a relaxing time.

4. We went to the zoo yesterday. We hadn't been in a year and Kaedra had never been (you were right, Tarry, Timmy stayed with Linda (our nurse) last year when we went). We all had a great time and we bought a season pass so we will be going lots more this year.

5. My hubby bought me a roll top desk for our anniversary. I am SOOO excited!! I have ALWAYS wanted one. I was at Salvation Army the other day looking for a desk (just any old desk) and saw this one and fell in love. It was a good price but wasn't in our school budget so I didn't even think about it. I told Michael about it, though, and he surprised me for our anniversary! WOOHOO! It is beautiful. I will post pictures soon.

6. Ethan had his first real, big, on purpose smiles yesterday! It was great! We spent about 15 minutes getting him to smile over and over. Today I just got one lopsided one, but it was still cute.

7. Big news: I changed Ethan's diaper yesterday and FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER he didn't cry!! Okay, it only happened once, but it is progress.

8. Today we are going to Jenks to visit with another friend. Brittany is going to spend the night there and she is so excited. It has been a long time since she has spent the night at a friend's house.

9. I am working on decluttering my living room (now that I have this beautiful desk) and organizing our attic (it has gotten to be awful in the last few months). I need to get it done before the hot weather kicks in.

10. I forgot some other big news! I lost a small person! On my body, I mean. Since the day I found out I was pregnant until last week, I have lost 50 lbs and 2 dress sizes. WOOHOO! I weeded through all of my clothes and blessed my friend with them. I also got clothes out of the attic that I had been blessed with a long time ago and had been holding onto, hoping to fit into someday. Now is someday! I haven't been this "small" in over 4 years. It has been easy to make some lifestyle changes now that I have seen this progress (even if the progress was because I was pregnant). I will write more about those changes when I have a chance to get back to Smart Habit Saturday!

homemaking Meme

Aprons - Y/N? If, Y, what does your favorite look like?
No, but I want to make some for the girls and me.
Baking - Favorite thing to bake:
at the moment, Apple cake
Clothesline - Y/N?
No.
Donuts - Have you ever made them?
Once recently, with Tarry's technique. Several times when a kid.
Every day - One homemaking thing you do every day:
laundry
Freezer - Do you have a separate deep freeze?
Yes.
Garbage Disposal - Y/N?
Yes.
Handbook - What is your favorite homemaking resource?
Once A Month Cooking book
Ironing - Love it or hate it? ROFL--if you know me well, you know this is my MOSTdreaded chore. I only do it when hubby has a bigwig coming to visit. And only then if I cant get it to the cleaners in time.
Junk drawer - Y/N? Where is it?
yes, in kitchen
Kitchen - Color and decorating scheme.
chili peppers--red and green and stucco walls
Love - What is your favorite part of homemaking? cooking
Mop - Y/N? Brittany does for me
Nylons - Wash by hand or in the washing machine?
Nylons??? Rofl! Never wear them!
Oven - Do you use the window or open the oven door to check?
open the door
Pizza - What do you put on yours?
I dont much like pizza. If I did make one it would be with alfredo sauce instead of tomato and some veggies.
Quiet - What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Read, pencil puzzles and computer.
Recipe card box?
had to graduate to binder
Style of house?
mish mash
Tablecloths and napkins - our tablecloths are mexican blankets. We usually use paper napkins, but I made chili pepper ones at one time
Under the kitchen sink - Organized or toxic wasteland?
a little of both
Vacuum - How many times per week?
supposed to be twice
Wash - How many loads of laundry do you do per week?
who knows
X's - Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
yes!
Yard - Y/N? Who does what?
last year we hired friend.
Zzz's - What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? feed cat, turn on alarm, lock doors, make sure kitchen is clean

ABC Meme

A is for age: 36
B is for books: Love them! maybe my one addiction.
C is for career: Wife & Mom
D is for dad's name: Otmar Gustav Alois Noll
E is for essential items to bring to a party: Chocolate
F is for favorite song at the moment: Wherever We Are
H is for hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
I is for instruments you play: Piano
J is for jam or jelly you like: Apricot or Strawberry
K is for kids: 3 Girls & 2 Boys -1 in heaven
L is for living arrangements: 2 story, large house with large yard
M is for moms name: Cynthia Ann
N is for name of your best friends: My hubby
O is for overnight hospital stays: too many to mention
P is for phobia[s]: none
Q is for quote you like: "What are we here for if not to make life easier for one another?"
R is for relationship/friendship that lasted the longest: Brandi
S is for siblings: none, but I have since "adopted" one
T is for best trait: Full of joy
U is for unique trait(s): Ambidextrous and able to write backwards very easily
V is for vegetable you love: lots! esp green beans
W is for worst trait: Loud laugh
X is for x-rays you've had: too many
Y is for yummy food you make: I love to cook and I hope all of it is yummy!
Z is for favorite animal at the zoo: Spectacle bear

FIRSTS:
First job: Gardunos as a bus girl
First funeral: the first I remember was my cousin
First piercing: ears- at about one week old
First tattoo: on my honeymoon
First credit card: in college-Lerner's
First favorite musician/band: Glenn Campbell--Rhinestone Cowboy

LASTS:
Last movie watched: The Negotiator
Last beverage drank: Water
Last food consumed: popcorn
Last phone call: Tarry
Last CD played: Latina Christiana
Last website visited: Susan's blog

Single or Taken: Taken
What do you miss? Blogging, talking to certain friends
Hair color: red/blonde
Natural color: brownish blonde
Eye color: Hazely green
Makes you sad? being lonely

If only I could

So I was in the den feeding Ethan and Michael was in the kitchen, blending Kaedy's food for the next 24 hours. Now we have a wonderful new high-powered blender that can do many things but one thing it can't do is blend quietly. Therefore I was very suprised to see Michael pouring the food into the jars.
"You already blended it up?" I asked.
"Yup," he replied.
Emily came into the den to check into this.
"You didn't hear him blend it up?"
"Nope," I said. "I didn't hear a thing."
She got a whimsical expression on her face and said,
"Maybe your ears came unplugged!"

Three word Meme and new way to blog..woohoo!

I figured out a way to be able to blog a bit more..... I can write on my palm pilot while I am in bed feeding Ethan. Then when I get up in the morning, I can sync to my computer and cut and paste to my blog. I tried a little palm tool from blogger awhile back, but it didn't work well. Maybe I will try it again.

Anyway, I copied some of Susan's memes on here, so now I can fill them out in bed, while nursing! Wow, what multi-tasking! LOL Instead of blogging in my head, some of them may actually hit the computer. Yeah! This beats playing solitaire or pocket gin all the time. I have to wait up to feed Kaedra at 11 so I wouldn't be sleeping anyway.

Three Word Meme
The rules are simple. Answer each question in three words. No more, no less.
01. Where is your cell phone? on my desk
02. Boyfriend/girlfriend? I am married
03. Hair? Red with blonde
04. Your mother? Lives in Albuquerque
05. Your father? funny little guy
06. Your favorite item(s)? Bible, MP3 player
07. Your dream last night? must sleep first
08. Your favorite drink? drink only water
09. Your dream guy/girl? married to him
10. The room you are in? our busy bedroom
11. Your fear? no more fears
12. What do you want to be in 10 years? Where God wants
13. Who did you hang out with last night? Michael, Ethan, Kaedra
14. What are you not? a television watcher
15. Are you in love? Yes, rightly so
16. One of your wish list items? card for mp3
17. What time is it? ten thirty pm
18. The last thing you did? read to kids
19. What are you wearing? smaller sized jammies
20. Your favorite book? The Bible, naturally
21. The last thing you ate? popcorn with parmesan
22. Your life? Blessed beyond measure
23. Your mood? happy, quiet, mirthful
24. Your friends? bless me exceedingly
25. What are you thinking about right now? feeding kaedra soon
26. Your car? green dodge minivan
27. What are you doing at this moment? feeding ethan, writing
28. Your summer? school, swim, chill
29. Your relationship status? Married with children
30. What is on your TV screen? reflection of light
31. When is the last time you laughed? few minutes ago
32. Last time you cried? I dont remember
33. School? totally useless degree.

Homeschool Meme

1. ONE HOMESCHOOL BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED: Educating The Whole Hearted Child

2. ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT: hmmm, I would say my computer, but I *can* homeschool without it. I love my copier, but it isn't working right now and we are still schooling fine. I guess I will say my Well Trained Mind book. I use that several times a year.

3. ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT: HAHAHA. I don't really have any that I wish I hadn't bought. I guess I keep figuring I can use something later!

4. ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST (This) YEAR: Christian Kids Love Biology

5. ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR: Christian Kids Love Chemistry

6. ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY: Apologia Science Marine Biology

7. ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED: a planning program for school that also sync'ed with my palm pilot.

8. ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOG YOU ENJOY READING: Sonlight is my favorite to use as a resource, Rainbow is my favorite to peruse

9. ONE WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY: The library, donnayoung.org, and enchanted learning (oops, it said ONE! HAHA)

10. TAG OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS
anyone want to play?

Stopping in to say "HI!"

Well, I am not permanently back in the blogging world, but I am visiting for the moment! I was going to write "I can't wait until this season is over and I can blog again" but I don't want to say that because I also love babies being little. I am REALLY looking forward to blogging regularly again! My friend Susan has a whole bunch of memes that look like fun, I have a meme from Tarry, Denise and Amelia from a looooong time ago that I want to do and I keep, continually blogging in my head. I have been doing "Smart Habit Saturday" even though I haven't been blogging it, as well as Menu Plan Monday and every Wednesday I think of a WFMW. When I do have a chance to sit down I don't know where to begin!

Okay, a quick update:

We were approved for TEFRA (HALLELUJAH!!!) so we should be getting nursing, right? Well.... they are no nurses for our nursing company with which to staff us. They said it should be between 2 weeks and several months before they can staff us. I can't even tell you my reaction to that.

Kaedra is doing better. She is just on oxygen (although she was off all day yesterday. Today she is back on for some reason). Her back is healing well.

Michael's back was better for one day and then he hurt it again.

Everyone else is the same.

A New Day

I have "put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" so I am doing better.

I am surviving on 3 hours sleep in over 48 hours, so maybe I am delirious as well.

Here are our updates:

Michael: still not doing good. Going to a chiropractor today. Going to a work every day but virtually no help at home. (except for his smiling face and jokes)

Ethan: got sick from Kaedra so he is having trouble eating, especially at night. This is starting to get better though. (and we have help of lots of saline bullets around here!) He has gotten used to the carrier and is doing much better in it.

Kaedra: still sick, still on oxygen. She scraped her back (on top of one of her titanium ribs) so she is having some skin breakdown. We had to take her to the doctor for it yesterday. (that area won't heal like regular skin, and there is no muscle underneathe, so we are watching to make sure it doesn't go down to the titanium) She is on several new meds for that, several times a day and we have to go to the doctor every few days so he can see it. (at least he didn't hospitalize her! Hallelujah!) Her next rib surgery is April 20th in Kansas City.

Brittany: doing great! Started Oklahoma history this week. Excited about an upcoming mission and an upcoming cousin in Albuquerque. Wants to take sewing lessons and get started making some of the clothes she has designed. She is also happy it is spring because she loves playing outside!

Emily: was completely excited about Oklahoma history, but, after starting it, thinks it is really boring! LOL Spelling everything. (can't read yet, but loves to spell!) Loves the weather as well.

Me: about what you would expect. BUT, I asked for help at church and two people have offered to come and help me. Ashton is bringing dinner and coming to try her hand at holding the baby so I can get some stuff done and Miss Nancy is coming Friday morning to do some light housekeeping for us. Tarry is bringing us a meal Thursday night. Sammi brought 3 nights of meals with enough food to make lunches too! And breakfast for Sunday morning...so the last few days has been taken care of. It was a huge blessing! And we loved the food, Sammi, thank you!! I guess I need to live in England where friends/family/neighbors take care of new mommies for a 4-6 weeks!

Brittany was astonished I was asking for and accepting help. I told her desperate times call for desperate measures!! Besides, since you reap what you sow, I am giving all these people a great chance to reap! :-)

Okay, off to take care of screaming infant, tornado of a toddler, grumpy almost-6-year old and sweet, good natured preteen.

Thank you all for your prayers!

(And Denise, I can't wait to see pics of you all in your new house! Sorry the move is so hard, but I am excited for you guys! )

funny thoughts

(this will be more amusing if you are a nascar fan)

the other night I was half asleep, lying in bed, somewhere between 1am and 5am. I was in that state where you are awake enough to know what is going on, but you are sort of dreaming at the same time. Ethan was wanting to nurse and I started to hear voices in my head:

Rusty Wallace: Well I don't know if this is the right move for him.

Darrell Waltrip: No, Rusty, I'm not sure it is either. None of the other drivers are coming in to nurse right now. I think he is really going to lose his track position with this decision.

RW: Yeah, I heard his crew chief telling him it's not a good idea, but he's not listening.

DW: No, it seems that he is determined. Well, folks, it looks like Ethan Michael has decided to nurse and I guess he is not worried about losing his position. My guess, he thinks he can make it up later....

voices fade out...

small update

well Michael's threw his back out again (it wasn't ever all the way better, but now it is all the way worse) and Ethan doesn't like the carrier. I do have an old friend bringing food for us today. (she isn't old...just known her the longest in Oklahoma) Thank you, Sammi!

Trying to figure out how to afford someone to come in and help me. I wish I knew when we were getting nursing, then I'd know how much to budget.

Please continue to pray for us!

Praise Him!

My friend Kim sent this to me today. You have to watch the whole video to appreciate it. But it is awesome. Thanks Kim!!

Last Post

For reasons I am not going to mention, I am deleting my last post.

Thank you so much for all who responded. Today is a better day. The Ergo has given me arms (HALLELUJAH!), I got more sleep, and I had a chance to hang out with Michael some yesterday, which we both desperately needed. :-)