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!

Well, I am stirring up the pot again...we are trying to get everyone we know to attend the school board meeting this coming up Monday...more school bond talk...fun stuff! NOT! I just wish we could come together as a town and get excited about fixing up our schools!

Other than that, not much is going on. I am helping to plan our Youth Valentine's banquet so that is fun and just the regular school/therapy/toddler stuff!

Another first...unfortunately, not a good one...yesterday on the way home from Duncan, our sweet little girl Makenzie asked me a question, I answered it and she responded (imagine attitude & head bobbing...) "daaaaamn" I almost lost control of the vehicle! I tried to remain calm and ask her what was that you said sweetie??? and sure enough, she said it again! Inside I was freaking out but I just calmly asked her where she had heard that word - as Steve & I don't use it - and she says "Ice Age 2" Again, I about lose control of the vehicle...I asked her where in the movie they said it and she said something about a beaver and his house...so I explain that yes, beavers build dams, but it is not a nice word to use in any other way and that I expect to never hear her say it again unless she is talking about beavers! Later this morning I was telling Steve about it and he tells me a story about her using the word "ass" the day before!!! She was watching Ice Age 2 and a preview for another movie came on and the character asked if the jeans made his a** look big...he then heard Makenzie saying the phrase and then saying a** and giggling! He calmly told her we don't use that word and gave her the words we do use...

It is just so bizarre to hear these words come out of your sweet babies mouths! Especially when we don't use them and to our knowledge the kids have never heard them...I know all kids go through it - I was just hoping it would be later rather than sooner! Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I'm sure something else will be crazy by then!

The sweetest thing...

Tonight while putting the girls down for bed, we read our little devotional which talked about how we are all different and special to God who made us all different. Makenzie pipes up and says that there was a kid making fun of Sydney today and she told him to stop because "it's not nice to make fun of others who are different and besides, God made her special." I told her how blessed Sydney was to have a sister like her; someone who looks out for her and loves her no matter what. That's when Makenzie tells me she thinks Sydney is the most beautiful girl she has ever seen...yes, I am crying just writing it out...you could tell she totally meant every word of it too. Sydney really is blessed to have Makenzie for a sister and Makenzie is the most remarkable girl! We are so totally blessed to have them both! And Karsten too, even if he won't leave the eggs alone!

More fun and games...Karsten has discovered how much fun cracking eggs can be! Unfortunately, he likes to do it with no adult supervision! We have to keep a close eye on him as he gets into the refrigerator and sneaks the eggs out and carries them all over the house! ARGH! The good news is that most of the time he doesn't even break the yolk, so he's getting pretty good at it...however, as you can see, he's also trashed one of the game room chairs and the carpet in the game room!

I picked up Mak from school yesterday and asked her how school was, she replied "I don't want to talk about it Mother!" It was just too funny and it wasn't that big of a deal, she has gotten in trouble 2 days in a row for talking when she's not supposed to be talking! Imagine that! HA!

Sydney had a good therapy day earlier this week but is having a little bit of a rough time getting back into the swing of school after being off for so long...we are in the process of appealing a denial by the ins co to pay for some therapy from last year...if they refuse again we are hosed! The total bill is over $6000 and we don't have it! Oh well, God will provide!

What a fun week! The girls didn't have school until Friday last week due to the weather and we had a blast hanging out at home as a family with no "have to go do's"! Well, except for therapy...rain or shine we take Syd to therapy! She had new AFO's made for her feet and was a champ from what Daddy said...they actually make casts of her lower legs & feet and then cut them off and then take the casts back to the labs, make the AFO's and then in several weeks we'll get a new $1600 set of inserts! Fire up!

Wednesday, Steve & I took the caravan to Wichita for some maintenance and what should have been an overnight trip! Instead, we wound up getting stuck there and having to DRIVE home late Friday night! UGH! We did however have a great time hanging out together and got to do some shopping (got a great pair of boots on sale at the mall, along with a new pair of pants, jeans & a jacket & 2 sweaters! Yeah for me! Steve got in on the action too and ended up with new jeans & 2 new shirts!) ate out, watched a movie - non animated! and got to sleep and read books - with no pictures & big words! It was really a nice trip out! And even the drive home was a great visit so I didn't mind that either, but I know it totally annoyed the pilot to drive home!

The kids had a great time with their grandparents (yes, it actually takes a village to raise our kids! HA!) And Thursday Nanny got to take Syd to see Dr. Matt as she had 2 ear infections and a nasty cough...so once again we have a kid on antibiotics! She has been trying to get rid of these ear infections for several months now and it just keeps coming back...I wonder if that means we will end up with another set of tubes for Sydney...

Guess that's it for now, I've got to make a pie for mom's bridge group tonight and finish cleaning up the house from all the laziness of last week! Tonight is bedlam - GO POKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things to do in an ice storm!

What to do when you are stuck in your house (sometimes with electricity and sometimes without electricity!)...

10. Eat

9. Sleep (yes - I am actually "caught up" on sleep for a while!)

8. Read a book

7. Wrestle with Poppy

6. Ride the Airplane with Daddy

5. Play hide & seek (naked when possible! HA HA! He actually decided to take off all his clothes after peeing in the potty and go hide!)

4. Play outside in the 20* weather

3. Watch a movie

2. Play new video games

1. Eat black magic markers!

Brrrrr...ice storm is hitting us as I am typing this post! The temp is already in the low 30's and dropping rapidly! They expect most of the state to be without power all weekend as they say we will be getting 2" ice in the next day or two! It was 65 yesterday! Got to love Oklahoma weather! At least it keeps things interesting! I think we have enough food and stuff to get us thru it - I am worried a little about some of our eldery neighbors...

On a lighter note...the other day Steve was watching Karsten and he got quiet, so he went looking for Karsten and found him in the bathroom, sucking on toilet paper he had dipped in the toilet! ICK! Honestly, what made him look at the paper & the toilet and say "Hey - I wonder what that tastes like!" I've decided that must come from his side of the family as his sister used to get water out of the toilet for Steve to drink! HA HA

Got the pictures back from Dad's birthday party - all black/white with a cool ragged border around them...that was such a fun party! And I still can't believe that we totally surprised him!

I guess that's all for now...I'm assuming we'll be picking up the girls from school in an hour or two as the weather is deteriorating rapidly! Stay warm!

Girls' 6th birthday party!

The girls turned 6 a few days ago! We can't believe they are already 6! How time flies when you are having fun! And not much sleep! HA! We had kind of a tea party and they each had an individual heart shaped cake with their names on it, heart shaped ice cubes, heart shaped homemade candy...they also dressed up and made a 'stained glass' sun catcher unicorn - so everyone had a ball! Besides the girls, we had Taylor, Katie, Alli, Rebekah, Lindley & Aubrey over for the party!

Dad's 60th Birthday Party!

We managed to surprise dad for his 60th birthday with a surprise Sock Hop at the Opera House downtown! It was so much fun plotting & planning and it went off beautifully! He never had a clue! Everyone dressed in their letter jackets/sweaters or other 50's/60's gear and we played all the hits from '55 to '65! It was a blast! Uncle Mickey still looks stylish in his jacket! He was one of the few that could still button his jacket up! HA We made a 'cut out' for party pics from a picture of mom & dad from a highschool homecoming long, long ago! That was fun for everyone too!