Thirteen things about my name

Thirteen Things about my name:"Kahri" 1. My parents made the name up 2. They got the idea from a Norwegian movie called "The Windjammer" which had a girl named "Kari" 3. They thought that by putting an "h" in it, Americans would be more likely to say it correctly. They were wrong! LOL 4. My middle name was made up in honor of my Mother's dad...Edgar. (My middle name is Edra) Michael usually calls me "Ed" or "dra" 5. Strangers usually call me Carey, Corey or Kahari 6. In school, I was called the Sa-kahri Dessert 7. When running for Class Treasurer, I used the slogan "Don't be sorry, vote for Kahri" 8. I tell people my name rhymes with starry 9. I used to tell people to imagine a car putting on it's breaks suddenly...car-eeee 10. There is a little girl (born around the same time as Kaedra) named Kahri Lynn (although Lynn is her middle name, not last) (They found me on the internet and they pronounce her name the same as mine.) 11. Michael can usually tell when people are calling me, if they are a friend or stranger. My friends say my name correctly! 12. My name in Hawaiian is Kali 13. Kali is a hindu goddess, so I don't much care for my Hawaiian name!

Thirteen Things about my kid's names 1. My husband and I came up with Brittany's name by writing down our favorite girls names individually first. Brittany was the only name on both lists. 2. We kept going between Brittany Morgan and Morgan Brittany. I wish we had picked Morgan Brittany just because Brittany is such a popular name. 3. Brittany prefers Brittany as her first name. :-) 4. Michael and I had no girl name ideas for Emily. 5. Brittany picked her name while watching "Little Bear." 6. We thought it was nice and old-fashioned and wasn't too popular. HAHAHAHA 7. Her middle name, Daryn, come from Michael's middle name, Darren. 8. We got the idea for the spelling from an anchor on CNN. 9. Jacob's name was picked out before I even knew Michael. He always wanted a little boy named Jake. 10. Kaedra's name is made up. I took my first and middle name and squished them together. 11. Her middle name, Noelle, is a hybrid of my Maiden name, Noll. I wanted a Jr. LOL! 12. Our future kids are already named: Samantha and Layton. 13. Layton will actually be: Phil Layton Lynn II, but we will call him Layton. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Brandi's 13 Boy names And her kids' picks too!

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Ketchup

Sorry it has been so long since I posted.....I got the flu, my parents came to visit, the rest of the family got the flu, our internet wasn't properly connected and then we had a very busy week (and I had gotten used to not being online during that week of no internet!) Anyway, we are back and we are all good! Everyone is healthy and everything is going very well.

Our pool will be delivered on Tuesday (barring weather), we take Kaedy to the hospital on Friday for a nasal swab to make sure she doesn't have RSV (which she doesn't) and then we go to San Antonio next Sunday. I fought our doctor to keep her out of the hospital for the two days before our trip and I, finally, won. I couldn't understand taking a perfectly healthy 16 month old and putting her in the hospital for two days. She would have needed full time nursing in the hospital or Michael and/or I to keep her occupied. You can't just put her in a crib and expect her to be happy for 2 days!!!! Anyway, I will get off that soapbox, it is taken care of.....Hallelujah!

We have been really enjoying studying Egypt again. We have been doing some different projects than we did last time and learning different things. We have been studying history from the Bible, anyway, which puts a different emphasis on our information. I love the curriculum we are using....From Adam to the Messiah, in fact, we are going to take one more semester to finish it than I had originally planned on. It is just too good to go through quickly. We will just squish Medieval into 6 months and do it more completely next time around. We also started Latin again last week, using Latina Christiana. We love it. We love the fact that it has prayers and songs to learn right away and I like the way the teacher's manual is set up better than Latin Primer. Brittany is doing great in Math, she is halfway through her 5th grade book, which she only started in January. She really took off on it. The ironic thing is that she doesn't realize she is good in it and she still gets frustrated very easily. I need to make her realize how good she really is. Spelling is even getting better with the new book (which was finally found in Kaedra's room on her bookshelf).

Emily is doing great in school right now, too. We are doing 100 Easy Lessons... to learn reading and she is doing wonderfully. She is much easier to teach reading to than Brittany was. Brittany didn't like the rhyming part, but Emmy picked right up on that. Emmy is also practicing letters and numbers everyday, reading a bible story and learning a bible verse. I am very proud of both girls and how well school is going right now!

Kaedra is also doing wonderfully! She is completely healthy (Praise God), she is pulling herself up in the crib constantly, she will walk with us just holding her hands, she is trying to crawl (although she goes backwards) and she can get anywhere she wants to, as long as her circuits are long enough. Dr. Carey agreed with us that her circuits needed to be longer since she is getting more independent. After her surgery we are getting 12' circuits! YEAH!!! She is putting food in her mouth on her own initiative now, too, which is a HUGE leap. She started out by putting it on her tongue to tease us, but now she will regularly put the food in her mouth and roll it around. As far as swallowing, though, it has only happened as an accident so far. She is learning more and more everyday and has a wonderful sense of humor and is very quick to pick things up. Our physical therapist came on Wednesday and we were "bragging" about how well Kaedy was doing. We said the only problem was that she had stopped using signs to communicate. Almost as soon as the PT left, she started using signs again and has been, ever since. She is down to 8 breaths a minute and is on 3/8 of a liter of oxygen.

Shooky Doo is a bit of a challenge. I was not prepared for a puppy and I constantly am having to deal with him. He drives me crazy.

Our church is getting closer and closer to getting done, which is very exciting. You can go to www.ourfinesthourchurch.org to see the wonderful pics! I am hoping Kaedra will be able to go consistently around the time the new church is ready! I really miss going as much as I was. I can't wait until we can all go on a regular basis!

Okay, I better get busy doing something productive!
Mel - I am still working on the squid post! :-)

FREEDOM!

I finally got some "doors" on my schoolroom. Actually, after talking to my dad about installing doors and the different options I had, I decided on putting curtains in the doorways instead. I got sheer curtains with silky stripes. The one in my kitchen is a dark red (to match the chilies) and the one in the living room is a mossy green (to match my eventually-to-be garden room). They work wonderfully. I now have freedom to leave the schoolroom in a bit of disarray without it being an eyesore to the rest of the house. Sometimes we have a big project or a science experiment going on, or something, and you used to be able to see straight into my school room as soon as you walked in the house. Now I have a bit of privacy, when I need it. So far I like the look on the kitchen side, better, with the deep red, but I think the mossy green will look great once I get the living room looking like I want it to. I also picked out some paint colors that will fit what I want. :-) I got a mossy green and a light yellow that coordinate. I am going to stripe them, probably, and then I found a lovely wallpaper for another wall. Eventually I want to put a wicker rocker and a wicker table in there along with a bird cage and a lot of plants. I want to try to bring the look of a closed in patio, into the room. Eventually I will actually have a beautiful patio and I will already have the furnishings for it! :-)

Just talked to my mom on the phone. Emily had accidentally spilled the secret about Shooky Doo and so my mom was asking what she was talking about. She said "Does Emily want a little dog?" I told her "Yes" and she said "that is ALL you need." LOL. As I said.....

Well Kaedra is up now, so I am going to go hang out with her. See you later alligators!

Trying not to "crash" again!

Tonight I am having an Usborne Party at my house. Just my homeschool group. I didn't think I was going to sell Usborne anymore (because nobody has bought in about a year) but at the recent seminar my friends mentioned it during their speech, so I did get some "bites." I am having tonight's party to see if there is still enough interest to sell. I spend about $20 every 6 months to keep my business running and if I am not making any money, there isn't any point! I am really not interested in a busy party schedule so I have to rely on word of mouth for me to sell. And repeat customers! I am going to make yummy gooey brownies and some other snacks and I am just excited to have my friends over! LOL. As you can see, selling isn't my forte!

Renee (one of our nurses) is training a new nurse tomorrow. The new nurse has a patient in the hospital, so she will not be working here regularly...she will just be here when her patient doesn't need her and as a backup for our nurses. She is going to be working this Saturday, which will probably be actually more of a training session than a free day for me! LOL I wish I could move our nursing hours around the way I want them. I would love to have nursing care ALL day Sunday (so Michael and I could both go to church), ALL day Wednesday (so I could do school in the morning and still go to church at night) and have Friday and Saturday without daytime nursing. Maybe just a nurse coming in earlier on Friday and Saturday nights. Okay, scrap the whole idea, I just want her off the vent!!!! That would make it SOOO much easier. But we would have to keep Linda and Tarry...Linda because we adopted her into the family and Tarry because she quit her job to come help us and I like seeing her so much. So we will keep them, somehow!

Speaking of Tarry, she lent me a spelling book by Mcgraw Hill that looks really good. Brittany is perusing it right now. (yes, I did well on the vocabulary part of the ACT) I am praying about using that or Sequential Spelling or Spelling Power. Brittany just decided she wants to try the McGraw Hill book, but I am still praying. Well, not at the moment...but in general. ;-)

I had BIIIIG plans for everything I was going to get done today. ROFL I was going to do a "crash laundry" day and I ran out of detergent. I was going to do a "crash freezer cooking day" and Michael asked me to wait until he could be here too, to help. (awwwwwwww) I was going to do a "crash scheduling day" and I crashed. I REALLY needed that nap though. :-) I stayed up WAAAY too late last night reading. Remind me not to do that again. Read, I mean. I always get caught up in books! LOL. Some people have their soap operas (although I don't personally know any), some have their Survivor (are you reading this Denise????), some people have their wrestling (yes, honey, I am talking about you) but I have my books....aaaaah, my books. Just thinking about reading makes me dreamy. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz No wait, that is lack of sleep.

Okay, off to get ready for my party and find caffeine. heeheehee

Fellow rib-kid

This is a news story about a little boy named Collin. Collin's mommy, Sarah, and I have been chatting online for about a year. I just wanted to share this story...they are such a sweet family.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060117/LIFE04/601170311/1035

Kaedra's baby steps!

YES!! They happened!! Superbowl Sunday Kaedy took a step toward me, while I was holding her hands and Linda was giving her a little support. Michael came to see her do it and she did it again for him!! Yesterday, she was walking towards Michael while I was giving her support and she took about 4-5 steps!! WOOHOO!!! And last night she did it again with Tonya. We are so pleased and thrilled and we thank the Lord for her baby steps!!! :-)

Also on Superbowl Sunday, she put a cheeto in her mouth. (she does not usually put food in her own mouth). We could tell she got a little bite of it because she kept rolling it around in her mouth. Later that night, she put her hand in my Dr. Pepper and licked it off. Then she put it in and offered it to me to lick off! LOL. These are huge strides in her development...usually she is totally against food and it never gets near her mouth. We are so thrilled that she is venturing out.

She is talking more and trying to put words together. Last night she said "Hi Daddy" over and over. She still hasn't said "Mommy" but I know it is around the corner. I am not worried that she will go to college, still not saying Mommy!! LOL. We worked on a lot of signs last night. She really enjoys learning Baby signs and is very attentive when I am using them. She is not using as many as she has in the past, but she does recognize them and react to them.

We are still due to go to San Antonio for surgery on March 21st. We are on the waiting list, though, in case they have an opening. I can't wait for her to have it done. She definitely needs it. I am almost ready to get the 3T clothes out for her...she is getting SOOO big. And she is only 15 months old!!!!

Ramblings of a mom starved for adult conversation. LOL

I have horrible news! My palm pilot died!!!! Michael had left it on the bed and it looks like Madison (our black lab) might have jumped on it and cracked the LCD screen. The glass itself is not cracked, but under the glass is all cracked. It will probably cost almost as much as my palm pilot to just get the screen fixed. :-( We are waiting to find out, though, so I am pilot-less for awhile! AHHHH!!! Reminder to self: I can do ALL things (even live without my palm pilot) through Christ who strengthens me. I feel "naked" without it. No phone numbers, no calendars, no memos, no mp3s, etc etc. :-( Oh yeah, I can do ALL things....

God is SOOO amazing!! We are back to getting a pool. I am not supposed to say where it came from, so let's just say God has provided one for us. It is a 24' pool! It hasn't been delivered yet, but we are preparing for it. We need to pick the site and kill the grass there and then the Okie people are coming to put flags in where our underground lines are. We should be getting the pool next week. WOOHOO! I can't wait for summer now! I can't even get my mind around having it. It is going to be so much fun. Especially to have cookouts, for the girls to go out and play, and for Michael and I to enjoy in the evenings! WOOHOO! Thank you, Lord!!

School has been going great lately. I have been trying different schedules including putting history first in our day, instead of last. That freed up Brittany to do Math while Emily is napping in the afternoon, so she can concentrate better. It is working out great, still a few little things that need to be tweaked. I am really relying on the Holy Spirit to direct me in this (and all things) and it is so wonderful not having to rely on my self! Our history is Ancient History this year and we are using a Biblical curriculum. It is awesome the things we are learning about Biblical history. We are still only in Genesis, but we have learned so much. There is SO much going on in Genesis, I think some of the other parts of the Bible will go much quicker. Plus, we are actually reading the Bible in chronological order, rather than book order, so we have skipped around some.

My parents are coming to visit in a week. I don't know how long they will be here. They don't know about Shooky Doo yet, so I am praying that will go well. They also don't know about my back, because my mom is a worrier and I hate to make her worry. I am not worried, I know I have the victory!

Teri Kelley and her family came over for the Superbowl. We had a great time. Her family is so sweet and we all get along so well! Michael enjoyed having a guy to hang out with again, it has been a really long time. I wish they lived nearer! Teri wants to start an organizing business but she is nervous starting one on her own. She wants to come and watch me work at Melanie's house and see how to work with people and them maybe work with me someday. She is an organizing "junkie" too! Even though she was here for almost 5 hours, it didn't seem like we had enough time! I feel that way with Tarry Donathan, too. I get to see her twice a week, when she comes to be Kaedra's nurse, but I never have enough time to talk with her. I have always thought she would be a great friend, and she only lives a mile away, but somehow we never had much of a chance...now we do!

Well I have stuff to say about Kaedra, but I will give her her own entry.

New "baby" and new scent...

We got a new "baby" today. Michael has been wanting a Boston Terrier for years (since before I knew him) and since we were once again down to one dog, we decided to get one this year with our tax money. Sooooooooo we would like to introduce our newest family member:

Shooky Doo




He is a 12 week old, full bred male. He is already crate trained and partly paper trained. He is fitting in really well! :-)

Secondly, I am so excited. I, FINALLY, after many years, have a perfume! Michael and I couldn't agree, ever, so I haven't had a "signature" scent or even anything I wore on a regular basis. Today we went and smelled some together and the first two we tried we BOTH agreed on. That was AMAZING. For YEARS we haven't agreed!!! LOL. Anyway, then we had to pick which one and I finally decided on Black by Kenneth Cole. This is how it is advertised: "Black For Her is delicate, yet dramatically feminine and absolutely original. It is a modern, dreamy floral that opens with the unexpected paring of black violet and radiant white hyacinth with a cool contrast of citrus, exotic white flowers, sensuous musk, sandalwood, and sweet amber. " Whatever that all means!!! LOL Anyway, I am TRULY excited...I smell good!!! ;-)

Tomorrow I am speaking in a homeschooling seminar and I am VERY excited. I am speaking about scheduling and organizing. My favorite subjects...well, at least organizing! :-) I was gone from Kaedra 1/2 of today and will be gone all day tomorrow and I hadn't realized how hard that is on me. I REALLY missed her today. It was Michael and my first chance to go out together since she has been home. Sherria came and spent the afternoon with the kids and he and I went out to eat at our favorite restaurant: El Tequila and then went to try perfumes and then got the dog. By the time we came back I couldn't WAIT to hold Kaedy. :-) I am excited about speaking tomorrow but not looking forward to being away from her all day. I haven't had a chance to realize how "attached" I am, now that she is home. (being that I usually only leave the house once a week for a few hours - on Wednesday nights for church)

Well I am off to work more on my speech, Many Blessings!!!

Baby Steps

No no no, not Kaedy Baby Steps. Not quite yet. I will let you know!!

No, I am talking about my baby steps!! WOOHOO!! I am on the right track. I have gotten up at 7am every morning this week, taken a shower and gotten dressed (without the shoes, for you flybabies! LOL). I have made my bed before coming downstairs and picked up the bathroom and bedroom. Then, as I come downstairs, I have been sticking with my morning schedule with the girls. I am so excited!! I still have more work, of course, a whole other half of the day, to be precise....but baby steps, baby steps!! YEAH!

Today I am working on my schoolroom. I have big plans for it, but the big plans would take money so I have to wait on those. Instead, I am going to be boxing up a lot of the books in my schoolroom that I don't need (It was VERY hard for Sherria to convince me that I don't need my middle school and high school books out all the time! LOL), getting rid of a behemoth of a file cabinet, switching tables with the kitchen table (I want a square table in the schoolroom now, so it can go up against a wall, instead of the oval one in the center), putting the computer on the table and putting away the side table that the computer was on, and organizing all my other books. WHEW. I am tired. Can I quit now? ROFL!

Well Kaedy is scheduled to go to San Antonio March 21st for her next rib surgery. We are also on a waiting list in case they have a chance to get us in sooner, which means we are basically "on call" right now. We need to be able to leave at a moment's notice!

We ended up not being able to get the pool. It was going to cost us $1500 to get it moved and get it a new liner (which everyone that could move it said we would need). Michael didn't want to spend $1500 on that right now. I understand but I am very disappointed. I had already envisioned our summer by the pool this year. :-( I am not giving up yet, though. God gave me that pool within 24 hours of me saying I wanted it, I don't think he is going to fail me now. There is some kind of provision out there. :-) Anyone an expert on moving pools out there? And levelling land? and setting pools up? C'mon I know you are out there....Angels....go get these people for me!!

My cute kids

Starting Saturday, Kaedra made up a new game.  She waves her hands in the air (as if she is conducting music).  Those of us who are with her wave our arms too.  When she stops, we stop.  When she starts, we start.  She thinks it is hysterical.  It is even funnier when you keep going after she stops.  She gives you a look like "what is wrong with you?  We are stopped!"  She had the whole family doing it last night at dinner.  She would even occasionally hit the table and we would hit the table, too.  It was making us all laugh really hard, it was so cute.  Now she starts "conducting" us, even when she just sees us at the door! 

Emily was praying tonight for Kaedra.  She said "And I hope her foot is healed soon so she won't have the trach anymore."  When she was done praying  I asked her if I had heard her correctly and she said, "yes, her foot."  I asked what was wrong with her foot and she said "well she has that red thing on it (the pulse-oximeter) and when she can get that off she won't have to have her trach anymore."  Well……I hadn't really thought of it that way! 

Brittany kept spelling the word "science" wrong today.  I first had her write it 3 times and write it in a sentence.  She spelled those 3 times and the sentence wrong.  Then I had her write it 6 times and a sentence.  She only spelled it correctly 2 of the times.  So, finally, I told her to write it 12 times and write a sentence.  (by the way, her sentence each time was "I love science."  I thought for sure by the end it would be "I hate science!" LOL)  She wrote it 12 times and her sentence and came to show me. I was teasing her about it saying I hoped she had it correct this time and she burst out in tears!  I asked her what was wrong and she was soooo upset that she had to write the word 12 times.  She thought she was being ROYALLY punished.  LOL!!! I told her that Christian Marshall just recently reminded his mom of how she made him write a word 100 times!  Twelve is nothing!!!