WOW! 3 years since I've posted on here! Been busy! Well, that and Facebook! So to catch everyone up...if anyone is still reading this...the girls & K are doing great in school! M & K were on swim team this season & both did wonderful! They are little fishes for sure! S is coming up with more and more words and sentences all the time! She is doing soooo good with so many things! She rides her bike, climbs trees, runs, sings, etc...She's pretty awesome!!! As are the other 2!!!

K & I just got back from a ski trip to Wolf Creek, CO! It was so much fun! A little mommy-son trip with one of my best friends and her son! K learned how to snowboard - you should see him go! He did great!!! I discovered that my "good" knee that I hurt playing racquetball about a month ago & am having a scope on in 3 days did NOT care for moguls...so I had to stick to greens & really it was great to just watch K go! So I didn't get too frustrated not being able to really ski. Now I have to get ready for my surgery...ugh!!! (My knee Dr would probably shoot me if he knew I went skiing but I figured I already had the scope scheduled so if I hurt it worse I was already set up for a surgery! I know, I know...not good planning but there you go!)

Steve has a new job now & is flying for a guy out of Norman (of all places!) He is really enjoying it - although we miss our previous family he flew for too! I am working p/t with my Dad which is really great! I've got to find a way to do more work & less other things but it's so hard with so many other things going on!

Guess that's it for now...will try to do better about posting here again! So hard though w/FB...

The funniest thing...

I was talking to Karsten about his daddy coming home tomorrow and asked him if he was excited about that...he replied NO! I asked him why not and he said "I don't want Daddy to come home because you love him more than me & I want to be your favorite!" I called Steve & told him & then when Steve tried talking to Karsten - Karsten said he didn't love Daddy anymore because Daddy was Mommy's favorite! After talking to Steve & me for a while and reassuring him that Mommy loved him so very very much, he eventually reconsidered and decided he loved his Daddy after all and wanted him to come home tomorrow even if Daddy was my favorite! 

pics of the water slide!

more pics!

More Sea World & vacation pics!

Sea World 2008!

We had such a great time at Sea World! It was a very long drive to get there, but interesting all the same! We had Karsten, Rob, Nanny, Poppy Uncle Greg & me in my SUV and Aunt Suz, Uncle Steve, Taylor, Katie, Makenzie & Sydney in Suz's car...We made a pit stop at Baylor University & Suz showed us the sites (she graduated from BU) the best was the Bear Pit where they keep a pair of  bears. It was so hot that we really could only see one of them - the other was hiding in a nice cool cave! Oh well! Dad drove my car & almost ran out of gas in the middle of Austin on I35 in the middle of rush hour traffic! It was a little dicey, but we made it and over $100 for the gas bill! Ouch! 

Friday morning we made it to Sea World only to realize that 4 of the 6 adults left their ID's at the hotel...(with tickets printed from home you must have a DL!) so after dropping off Suz & Lefty with the kids (yes, all 6) the 4 of us drove back to the hotel to get our ID's! In the mean time Suz found out that the cabana we rented has a 8 person limit! So she was trying to get another cabana rented and try to get them together (it was first come first serve...) and keep an eye on the 6 kids! After making it back to the park and getting in...we made it to our first long line...the one to get into the water park area - the Lost Lagoon - fortunately it opened at 11 so we didn't have to wait that long! We snagged our cabanas only to find out that we were to have gone to a different area of the park to check in for them & someone else had already reserved one of the ones we laid claim too...so after getting that straight & finding 2 cabanas in the same area we proceeded to have some serious fun! The kids all rode this one water slide - one person on one tube - and after sending dad & then all the kids down I went - it was a wild ride! Dark all the way down with lots of drops and I thought I was going to flip over several times...all I could think was that I was going to run over Sydney any minute as there was no way she was going to be able to hang on! And that Nanny was going to run over Karsten in the other chute! After making it out, I saw Karsten & Sydney laughing their heads off! They loved it! Sydney gave it 2 thumbs up and pointed to go up it again! I couldn't believe it! 

From there we hit the wave pool, a few more water slides & the lazy river...all of which were a big hit with my kids! Karsten even took a short nap with Poppy in the cabana! Around 4pm we headed over to the dolphins, sharks, ski show. All the kids are ready to learn how to water ski now! Then it was off to the Shamoo rocks Texas show! It was great and the kids were going nuts! Of course, we sat in the splash zone & got completely soaked with salt water but it was worth it to see those little faces lit up like a Christmas tree!  Later we went back to the hotel and cooked out & made s'mores and then went to the hotel pool & lazy river - no lazy to that river...it was smokin' fast! I have the shredded fingernails & scrapes on my knees to prove it! 

Sat morning after my brother & I worked out - yes, I worked out on my vacation! I'm so proud of myself...but I digress...we went back to Sea World to see the animals & other attractions. We loved the pirate show (well, all but Katie she didn't care for that at all!) and then went to the Happy Harbour where the kids all rode the Shamoo roller coaster (except Katie - she didn't care for that either! Reminds me of trips to amusement parks with my sister when we were little!) Sydney was NOT crazy about the roller coaster & gave it 2 thumbs down! Karsten & Makenzie liked it so much they wanted to go ride the big roller coasters! Unfortunately for them, they were too short to ride the big ones...in the mean time, Greg & I got to ride the Great White Shark (a dangling legs roller coaster with lots of loops & twisty cork screws! Very fun!) and then we all had lunch - the kids got commemorative Shamoo lunch pails with lunch so they were happy! We then saw the seal show - excellent! - and then got to feed the seals! I thought my kids were going to fall into the pool while feeding the seals! They loved that! Then we saw a show that starred rescued animals - ducks, geese, dogs, cats, kangaroos, pigs & skunks! It was very amusing & a hit with the kids! Then Suz, Greg, Rob, Mak & I rode the Journey to Atlantis ride while the others saw another Shamoo show. I was a little nervous for the kids, but as it turned out Suz turned the greenest (thankfully Greg was sitting in front of her! LOL!) but Rob was the most upset! He didn't like that at all! Mak was not crazy about the height but loved the ride! Then it was back to the hotel for more pool fun! They had 2 water slides & we finally made it back in time to ride them! Couldn't keep the kids off them! They LOVED those water slides & the fast lazy river! It was so much fun to watch them!

Sunday morning, after Greg & I worked out AGAIN - yea me! We packed up and hit the road. This time with Taylor, Nanny, Poppy, Greg & me in my SUV and Suz & Lefty with the other 5 kids in theirs! About half way home Karsten moved over to our car so he could nap next to me! We finally made it home and after getting them all to bed Karsten actually stayed in his bed all night! It was so great! I got 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! What a great way to end vacation! The only way it could have been any better was for Steve to have made it! Unfortunately, he was flying and didn't get to come with us...

Another surgery...

Syd & I went to OKC today to re-map her cochlear implants...everything was great except for one thing...there were 2 different manufacturers of one of the parts - one of them is good and one is not...the one in her right ear has the defective part. So, long story short, we will be replacing the right implant sometime soon - at the manufacturer's cost - but that adds one more surgery to her total...

I guess that's it for now...I'm off to the pool with the rest of the family! Enjoy your Wednesday!

Today was a long day as it rained off and on all day! The kids all dressed up in their superhero outfits and saved the world! It was so cute to watch and to see them getting along so well! 

Sydney actually said "Momma, Sydney needs shoes" usually she would just say shoes or even Sydney shoes...but she actually made a complete well understood sentence! Very exciting! She is learning new words every day and putting together new words for whole sentences...it is just so amazing to watch and listen to! She is so incredible and such a blessing to us! (Not that our other kids aren't amazing and blessings also, it's just that her baby steps are so hard fought...hard to explain if you aren't right in the middle of it)

Makenzie & Karsten are both doing running/jumping dives into the pool - they are just little fish! Syd too but she refuses to dive at this point! She does however count to 3 and jump in! 

I'm back! It has been a long time since I've posted so here goes...

We have had a very busy week with Youth Council Camp & my sister's twins being here & Steve being in NYC! The girls (Mak, Syd & Katie) got to do Arts & Crafts, Sand Fun and Swimming while Rob got to play some basketball & fear factor and learn karate! Taylor didn't make it as she was at a special camp at OSU where she won an award for Most Outstanding Actress! Yea Taylor! Next week the girls will be doing Makeovers, puppets, outdoor games, water games & swimming! Katie & Rob will be back in God's country...Karsten has been jealous about not being old enough to attend camp, but has had fun hanging out with Mommy all by himself! The kids also had additional swimming lessons this week and all did outstanding! 

Syd has started horseback therapy again and is doing wonderful with that! Mak is getting to do riding lessons at the same time and is in hog heaven! She is patiently (?) waiting for her Daddy to build a fence at Grandpa's so Grandpa can get her a horse! LOL! Hope she's not holding her breath! LOL! 

I am gearing up for VBS - Carole & I are co-directing it this summer! We are expecting somewhere between 200 & 250 kids so pray for us!!! So far everything seems to be going well - if you want to sign up your children, give me a call/email! It will be the week of July 7th! 

We signed Karsten up for a pre-school for 3's program in the fall...every time we drive by the school he lets everyone in the car know that's where he goes to school! It's so cute! He thinks he is so grown up! He is actually reading some words - random words, not stuff like "cat" - it's kind of wild! It catches me off guard every time he does it! 

Steve is going to be home most of next week! I don't even know what we will do but I am so excited about it I can hardly stand it!!! Guess that's it for now...

Finally! Have my computer back! Ye hah!!!! I am hoping to download pics tomorrow...we'll see!

Funny story on Mak...last week we were on the way to school when she says that Sam & Walker are her new best friends (they are the sons of some guys that I went to school with...) and that she showed them her underwear! I tried to keep the car on the road and said "I'm sorry baby, what did you say you showed them?" And she says "my underwear!" I said "baby, you do not need to be showing your underwear to anyone, much less boys!" to which she replied "But mommy, it's ok, they showed me their's first...that's how we got to be best friends!" AAAGGGHHHH!!!! After I dropped her off at school I sat there trying to remember how many times during the last week she wore a skirt! AAAGGGHHH!!!! Thankfully I know it was all totally innocent and therefore funny!

I had a minor procedure done last Friday and as a result am not allowed to lift, pull or push anything and no housework for 2 weeks! Fire up! Actually, it's really hard not to lift the kids up for a hug and kiss! I am actually missing Karsten's flying tackle hugs!

Makenzie had a huge bike crash yesterday due to a muddy puddle...busted her lip and cut up her gums, her upper lip swelled huge! My poor baby! But she got back up on that horse today and she and her friend Ali rode bikes all over the block this afternoon! And the swelling has gone way down, so she's feeling better about the way it looks too.

Sydney is dong good. She got some new inserts and we have to break them in according to a schedule. She wore them tonight and at first could hardly walk after not being in inserts for almost 4 weeks! But by the end of 2 hours she was doing much better...She is learning so many signs and her words are getting clearer and clearer! The other night afterr we had taken her cochlear implants off, she signed and said to her Daddy..."I want Daddy kisses" and then she grabbed his face and gave him a big kiss! It was too precious! And totally amazing! We have another meeting at the school tomorrow about her placement for next year. Ought to be interesting...

Karsten is doing good too! He is such treat! He and I curled up on the couch this afternoon and watched Nemo - it was just precious time together! He reaches over and pats my face and says "I love you much Mommy" I could just eat it up for days and days! Currently, he is crying in his room (he went to bed almost an hour ago and has decided to get wound up now...sigh...) guess I'd better go!

It's a wonderful peaceful rainy day here in OK...Makenzie is home from school today as she threw up all night and we canceled therapy for Sydney today so we are a little excited about NOT driving to OKC today...and we've decided we either have to make a major effort to get the kids sleeping in their beds all night long (again) or we are just going to have to buy a kingsize bed! By 4am we had all 3 kids in bed with us this morning! Mak was the only one with a valid reason (she'd puked all over her bedding and it was all in the washer) the rest are just spoiled!

Karsten has been such a big boy today helping his daddy put down fertilizer before the rain started and just general helping daddy outside stuff. Too cute, again, once I get my computer back I will post some pics...He has also been a sweetie with Makenzie, making sure she has a blanket and soup and something to drink.

We are meeting at the school today to discuss Sydney's next year placement so that ought to be interesting. I really have no idea what they will recommend. I'm not sure what I would recommend in their position. If she repeats kindergarten, do you keep her with the same teacher so there is stability and security in the routine, or do you change teachers to see if a slightly different style will trigger something in her brain? Do you go to T-1 where she may or may be getting the information needed to understand the work? So many questions. These are the times your faith grows as you do not have the answers and you have to trust that HE will provide - and HE will!!! It is so awesome to know He will never fail us!!!

Anyway...we are debating between an apple and a pc and if we go with a new pc, do we go with vista or stay with xp? We keep flip flopping and can't make up our minds...lots of different opinions and everyone is so sure they are right...I guess we'll keep thinking about it, but not for too much longer! I can't stand not having a computer of my own! Totally spoiled! I know!

It's been another whirlwind week for the Terrell Clan! Thurs night we left around 9pm to head to the kids' cousins house and spend a few days with them! We had a great time (of course, Karsten did NOT sleep well - ok, not at all...) and the kids had a blast hanging out at their house. The big news there is that the Bomhoff's are moving to Stillwater! We are so jealous but so excited for them! To add to the fun, when they put in their criteria for a house search, only one house was found and it happened to be the house that my parents built in 1974 in Sangre Ridge! What are the odds! Some of the fixtures were the origianl fixtures! Taking the virtual tour was like walking back in time! Crazy!

Sunday Steve gave his testimony to the youth group. He did such a good job and they seemed to really listen. We have had such a great time working with the youth! We have a great group of kids!

Monday Sydney went to OKC for a pschological exam (they needed her IQ & functioning age for a program that we are applying for that will hopefully help us out with medical expenses.) That was an interesting experience. She wasn't really able to do the standardized tests, so it was more an estimate but what do you do? I'm sure they occasionally have to deal with that with other kids too. Tuesday was another therapy day and then Wednesday I had a Dr visit in OKC...nothing like driving to OKC three days in a row when gas is almost $3 a gallon! Thursday Steve & I dished up ice cream for the grade school kids as part of the PTO...always fun but very exhausting! Friday Steve was in OKC and then that night I took the kids to Granny & Grandpa's and caught the chruch bus to OKC (the youth were going to the Hornets game, and so were Steve & I, so this way only one car to drive home!) So we got to see the last OKC Hornets basketball game! It was fun and sad too. Somewhere along the week our computer wound up being so slow we couldn't even work on it anymore, so our computer is getting checked out and I have been having to borrow computers the last few days to get things done! Can't live with them, can't live without them!

The kids are all doing great! We had a parent teacher meeting with the girls' teacher and Makenzie is going to go to T-1 next year. (It's a transitional 1st grade...it's really a great program to have available, not many schools around here have it yet...) While Makenzie knows the material, she is still just a little immature (from being premature) and is so tiny compared to the other kids. SO this will give her a year to grow and mature before heading to 1st grade. We still don't know whats going to happen with Sydney. We haven't had that meeting yet. I don't know if she will do T-1 or repeat kindergarten. She is really picking up on signs and the words she knows the sign for she speaks clearer than those she doesn't. We have been having some play dates and it's so fun to watch the girls play with other kids.

Karsten on the other hand is a mess! All the excitement of Easter has started up his egg fetish again! He cracked a doz eggs in our game room the other night. Steve thought he was with me and I thought he was with Steve! Boy, were we wrong! Then, 2 days later...he does it again at Nannys! I do not know what the deal is with cracking eggs but I wish he'd get over it! I have tried so many different ways to keep him out of the fridge - from locks to different discipline actions and nothing seems to work! UGH! He is such a BOY!!!!! After talking last night with several other parents who each have 3 boys, I feel much better though...apparently he is a totally normal BOY!!!

I will download pics as soon as I get my computer or a new computer!

The Church Youth trip was a blast! We went to the Ft. Worth zoo which was great and saw an IMAX movie (only one of the kids almost threw up, so that was good too!) And you can't go to the Dallas area without shopping - we hit the Grapevine and Frisco Malls and shopped til we dropped! The kids were all great to hang out with and then as soon as we got home Steve & I raced to OKC to meet up with our family at the Circus! It was a pretty good Circus and the kids loved it! They got to ride elephants so they were in hog heaven! Until it was time to say goodbye to their cousins, then things got quite sad and whiney! Fortuantely, 2 of our 3 were asleep within 5 minutes of the drive home! Mak had to stop and get something to eat! Then she passed out too!

Sat was a great lazy day for us all! We barely moved until noon! Makenzie asked a few rough questions about Sydney - Why did God make Sydney like that? I hate that Sydney can't be more like us. Will Sydney ever get better? Why can't Sydney talk? etc...I sometimes struggle with these same questions and why we can't get any answers, how can I expect her too? I just told her that I don't know all the answers but I do know that God has a plan for each of our lives and that He gave us to each other for a reason too. And one day in Heaven when God has given us our new bodies that she will be able to run and talk and do all the things eveyone else will be doing and she will be able to tell Mak thank you for being such a great sister and for standing up for me when I couldn't do it for myself and for loving me when it was hard too. Mak thought about it for a little bit and thought that was ok and said she was looking forward to going to heaven so she could play with Sydney. We talked about how much God loves each of us and he made each of us for a very special task that only we can do for Him. So God made each us of very special and He knew what He was doing. Our job is just to love Him and let Him love us!! We also talked about praying for Sydney and asking God to help Sydney, so ever since then she has been praying for God to help Sydney learn to talk better and be able to run without losing her balance and to be able to play better! Too precious!

We have been enjoying the better weather and spending most of our time outside again, at least until this little jag of rain and storms! Which has been ok as Karsten has been running 103* for a few days now...the rest of us are fine, so it must be something we've all already had! Thank you God! Of course, while he was sick I let him sleep with us and last night we paid the price for that - trying to keep him in his bed was a nightmare! He is such a momma's boy! He's just so cute and sweet! At least he has finally given up getting eggs out of the refrigerator! (Again, THANK YOU GOD!)

Guess that's it for now...I'll try to get my pics downloaded sometime soon!

Especially for Mrs. Julian & Ms. Wilkerson

I owe you both such a huge apology! I allowed my emotions and a few well-meaning people (who like me did NOT know the whole story) get me all riled up and I threw around some thoughtless words when venting and I hurt you. I am so sorry. I should have known in my heart that you two would never do anything not in Sydney's best interests. You both have gone out of your way to take care of Sydney and why I jumped to conclusions without seeing the obvious (Sydney is a mike hog & wouldn't give it up without a major meltdown, so it would be better for her to go off the stage than to throw a fit in front of everyone - duh!) anyway...I am so sorry and hope that you will forgive me. I have no excuse except sometimes it is just so hard to be a mom to a special needs kid - as wonderful as she is, and I know she is! - plus, we had my sisters' kids all week and you don't mean to, but it's hard not to compare the "normal" twins with my twins when they are the same age and all. And it's not just what Sydney can't do, but what Makenzie is missing out on too. Most of the time I am fine with that. I know that I know that I know that God has a plan for all 3 of my kids and God gave them to us for a reason and vice versa, but occassionally you have a moment, day or week where you know this in your head but your heart just cries out at the injustice of it all. Then I pour it out to God (literally with tousands of tears) - and He comforts me and He takes away the pain and I feel His peace lift me up again. And I have joy again in the raising of my 3 kids. But in the mean time, I hurt you and I am so sorry. Please forgive the overly emotional, in the heat of the moment, don't mess with my bear cub, etc...words and know that we think you are the best! We love you and can't thank you enough for your kindess and the love you give our girls.

Long night last night...after a fun filled afternoon at the Hideout and pizza for dinner, Steve & I fianlly got the kids down and got to sleep around 11:30pm...then around 12:30 Karsten shows up in our bed with a little fever...by 2am he is smoking hot! His temp was 103.9! Very hot little boy! Fortunately the Tylenol helped (after 30min his temp only went down .7*! But within an hour he was much better!) Finally got him back to his bed and much cooler around 4am at which time Sydney turns on her lights and comes out ready to play! After putting her back down about 4 times it is now 6:30 or so...then at 7am Mak wakes up and says is it Morning Time yet?!?! I croak out NO and she actually goes back to bed for about 30 more minutes! Bless her little heart! Later when talking to Nanny she tells us they all slept in til around 9am! UGH! The good news is Karsten slept til noon and hasn't had a drop of fever since around 4am! He is bouncing off the walls today and you would never know that kid was so ill last night! Bad news is the blondies came here half way sick themselves and today Katie barely moved...she is now running a fever and coughing a lot. Always something going on at our house!

Steve, Syd & I met with DHS today about a program that helps people pay medical bills beyond what private insurance pays and when they make too much to qualify for Social Security Disability Income...pray that we got all the right information to them and that they will accept us! We spend around $10-12,000 a year on med bills beyond what our insurance will pay for...not cheap! This would be such a huge thing for us!

Tomorrow Steve & I leave to go on our church youth spring break trip to Dallas/Ft. Worth area! It ought to be a lot of fun! Then as soon as we get back home, we have to head straight to OKC to meet the kids & Suzanne at the Circus! Fire up! Saturday is a Brooks reunion in Blanchard and then Sunday Steve & I are getting to go to the Great 8 in St. Louis! Very exciting! Of course it would be better if OSU were playing, but still, it will be some great basketball!

The girls' program at school was too cute! They did so good and were just adorable! They kicked it off with a group song and then each class sang a song and then they finished it off with another group patriotic song and then a goodbye song! After each class sang, each child got to walk to the microphone and say their name (except for Sydney and that totally broke my heart & totally ticked me off but that is another story...) It was so fun to see which kids hammed it up and which ones were shy and which ones were bold & sassy! Makenzie fell into the sassy category!

Yesterday we went to OKC and met my sister & got her kids for the week! We took all 6 to the zoo and we had a huge time there! Steve & I went up early and got some new tennis shoes and Nanny & Poppy brought our 3 up with them and then Uncle Ga met us at the zoo! Freaky twin thing happened in the car on the way up when Nanny was asking which animal they each wanted to see the most...Karsten roared like a lion and Nanny confirmed that it was a lion that he wanted to see the most and then Makenzie said she wanted to see the snakes and that Sydney likes the elephants the best and she knew that for a fact because Sydney told her in her brain that she wanted to see the elephants! And you know, I totally buy that she hears Sydney in her brain! She's just been too right too many times...

Got to go, time to get everyone ready for craft/reading time at the Library...and Sydney ready for therapy in OKC...

Holy cow! Almost 3-4 weeks since my last post! So sorry!!!

The girls have been doing great in school! They have their kindegarten program tomorrow night so that should be fun to watch. Unfortunately Daddy is going to be flying and miss it...Fortunately, there will be a 30min "Kindegarten memories" video they will be showing that night, so at least we can buy that for him!

Steve & I just got back from Phoenix - we won a trip to watch the Hornets play the Suns (lost by one heartbreaking point...) and some fun R&R time! We got to meet a lot of great people and just had a blast! Nanny & Poppy took the kids to Tulsa as it was Katie & Rob's 6th birthday, so they all had a blast. The only down part about the weekend was our Cowboys lost Sat in a gut wrenching game against Texas...

Guess that's it for now, I'll try to do better about posting some pics asap!

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe it's been so long since I've had a chance to post anything, but that's how it goes...

The Youth Valentine's banquet was a hit and the girls had a huge V-day at school and at church that night! Karsten thought it was all very fun and especially loved the bubbles and games he got from Mommy & Daddy! Holidays are so much fun with the kids!

Sydney had a sound booth test last week that went really great and they also remapped her implants - she is doing so well with her CI's! She also had good therapy sessions later that afternoon - she just loves to frustrate her favorite therapists from time to time!

Makenzie is doing so good with her reading! Things seem to have clicked for her and she is now excited about reading and learning new words! She is so smart and sometimes she just catches you off guard cause you're not expecting it and wham!

They take pictures tomorrow at school...these are soooo not the pictures we used to get at school! This company does a really good job and the digital is great as they can just keep snapping away until they get a great pose & smile for each kid! Now if we can just get Karsten's 2 yr pics taken before he is 3!!!

Steve & I are just busy with kids & church stuff. I looked into a media job (part time) at church last week, but decided that isn't where I'm supposed to be right now...I need to be more available for Steve & my kids & my Sunday School girls...so, no paying job for now, besides, they couldn't really afford me anyway! HA HA HA

To recap the last few days...

We had a blast at a few superbowl parties! The kids had a ball! They were after church at our Youth Dept and then at the Children's Dept so lots of kids, noise & pizza! Our Youth director grew up in Chicago area and is a HUGE Bears fan so we all got to heckle him all night just for fun! We really didn't care who won, we just enjoyed the evening!

Monday night I spoke at the School Board meeting about the bond issue...that was interesting...I was even quoted in the Duncan Banner yesterday and I'm sure it will be in the M. Review today...little nerve racking having your name in the paper like that...at least they got the quotes mostly right! Which is funny cause I got one of the quotes from our preacher Sunday night at church! I didn't have anything to write on and wrote on my hand and then told Bro. Joe after church was over that I was going to be quoting him the next night! Here it is "When you don't take the opportunity to make things better, they will always get worse!" SO, there you go...

Tuesday early in the morning, Mak woke up sick to her stomach and wound up not going to school and running fever & throwing up later that morning. Fortunately for all of us, she is fine now and no one else seems to have gotten it...scary to even write down the words...

Sydney had a great therapy day Tue! All of the therapists were totally thrilled with the things she was doing! She seems to be picking things up again...they had slowed done a little but hopefully we're on another big run! She's so funny!

Last night we had to watch our beloved Cowboys bomb out at Norman...we can't win games shooting 20% in the first half! I don't get it...of course, you can always add a little sooner magic (also known as home cooking) when you're at Norman! HA!

I just looked at my calendar and realized I'm suposed to be a judge at a regional academic bowl today! In one hour! I was just getting ready to run to Lawton to pick up decorations for our Youth Valentine's banquet! Oh dear! Better go, I've got to figure out what in the world I'm doing...I also don't have a babysitter right now! ARGH!

The latest Bootlegger!

Makenzie got to take part in a Bootlegger (pom squad) clinic yesterday and then dance before the high school basketball games this afternoon! She did great and was of course the best & cutest one out there! They danced to "Wild Thing" and it was too cute! I asked her on the way home what she thought about dancing in front of all those people (it was also Sr. Day & Honor Society recognition day...) She thought for a moment and then smiled this wry smile and said "I liked it!" She then proceeded to tell me that she was a little nervous at first but then she just started dancing! So, I think it is safe to say that the family has added another official dancer to our ranks! Their Kindegarten class' Outlaw Buddy also plays basketball and he came over and told her she was the best one and really encouraged her! Absolutely made her day! Very Cool Drew! We love you! Tess is the other girl, she is their teacher's helper and also a Bootlegger and Makenzie just loves her too! It is so great to have a program for the older kids to come and encourage and be role models for the younger kids!