Kadi doing something that doesn't happen too often ... just kidding!!!!! Good job Kadi ... notice that she has the head off of her toothbrush .... silly. 

Kennedy and her baby brother ..... Isn't she so pretty? 

Koel got himself stuck in a box .... too funny! 

Here are my boys. Keenan has his ever present Gameboy ... which by the way he defeated his Sponge Bob game yesterday!!! And Koel wanted to be like his brother, so he grabbed the McDonald's 'gameboy' and laid down to play like his brother! 

I bought a large canvas for Keenan and let him create his own artwork for his room. Here is what he did. 

Koel's bed is just on the floor ... he doesn't sleep in it yet, so we haven't really put it together yet ... just a mattress on teh floor .... see the curtain???? I love it! It's all planets and stuff! 

Here is Keenan's side of the room ... it looks like it has always been this way ... a bit of a mess .... ah well .... he loves it!!! 

Keenan and Koel's room ... the door ....and Koel's toy area ... 

Here is Kennedy really seeing one of the flowers on the walls ... Chrissy is behind her ... 

Kennedy and Kadi loving their new bedspreads too! 

Here is Kennedy seeing it for the first time ... the little dots on the walls are felt bugs ... dragonflies, butterflies, ladybugs and bumblebees. They love it! 

The girl's new room ... the end of the bed, which has shelves under the stairs is now the barbie house!! Fabulous! 

The Barbie Corner 

Sitting at the desk with Mommy ... Koel 

Okay, now on another note ... I haven't written in here in 7 days! Yikes! That amazes me. Well ... there are reasons ... our anniversary was this past week ... the 24th. 9 years. We celebrated by going swimming just the two of us at the Tiemeyer pool. Then we sat in the hot tub for a bit ... mmmm ... then we ate Dinner at Casa Gallardo. Very nice evening. Without raised voices and totally pleasant. Yeah! I really enjoyed my evening.

AND ... my house is now painted the way it was meant to be ... well mostly ... Keenan's room needs more red paint. I was unaware of the need to use 3 or 4 coats ... or atleast a primer. I will add pictures of it soon.

AND Kennedy and Kadi's room is FABULOUS! Laura and I worked hard from 9:00 a.m. to around 5:00 p.m. yesterday. We painted and painted. Listened to instrumental lovesongs from the 50's and 60's. Then a little Etta James. So nice. We talked and laughed. I enjoyed it thoroughly. AND we were being artistic! What a great way to spend the day ... What made it even better was that Chris and Eric kept the girls while the work in their room took place. They had lots of fun with Chrissy. They even went to the Mills. Kennedy has decided that she LOVES Malls! Oh my.

Chrissy brought them home around 6:00. I went in the room and shut the door ... then I took pictures of their faces when they saw their room for the first time! Hee! What fun! They were so excited. They love it! I'm so glad, but I knew they would. I will put pictures on soon of their room too!

Keenan, Koel and I spent our Friday evening with Jenny. That was fabulous. Keenan was happy to have Jenny around with his sisters occupied elsewhere. That sounds nicer than saying he was happy his sisters were gone ... same meaning though. We went to see Jenny's new apartment. Very nice!! And we went to Walmart. Walmart with Jenn is always a nice time. She seems so much more relaxed now that an apartment is found. I'm glad. Routine come and settle us all in!!

I'm very concerned about Keenan's mumbling. Give me feedback please. Should I seek speech therapy for it? It's only been in the last year or so that it has started. I can't understand him because he mumbles so much sometimes. I feel like I'm nagging him ... I tell him to open his mouth when he speaks and to use his lips. He doesn't and he ends up talking through closed lips and through his nose. It frustrates me. I told him today that since it was not something he used to do that it is a bad habit that he can conquer. I just don't want to hurt him if it really is something he can't help. I think he can though. I think he's being lazy. He did not mumble two years ago.

Koel said "Mom" yesterday. Wait, let's go further back. ...

Pete moved out this week. On Monday this past week, she and Greg came to get lots of her stuff. They drove Kyle's truck and trailer. When they pulled into our driveway, Koel saw the truck and ran waving his little hand .. "Hi Dada" ... "Hi Dada" ... "Hi Dada". It was sooo neat! He wanted so to see his Daddy and say "Hi".

However...when the door opened it wasn't Daddy who stepped out ... it was Greg. Koel just stared. For three minutes, no exaggeration, he stared at Greg. He had to be thinking "Who are you and where is my Dad". It was so funny. I have witnesses. Marty and Karen were outside with me. Greg said Hi to Koel and Koel smiled, but was still highly disapointed ... you could tell.

That is our first real "Dada" story.

Now ... to the "Mom" story.

Saturday morning Keenan, Koel and I ran to Walmart ... me having forgotten a couple of things the night before .... While walking around Walmart Koel started saying "Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom!". I said "What Baby?" And I got a big ol' hug! Ah ......

Then, later that day after painting had subsided, Koel said "Mom!" "Mom!" "Mom!" and brought me a little board book. Not being able to resist hearing my name from his lips, I sat down immediately and read "The Going to Bed Book" (by Sandra Boynton) to him. He loved it! He smiled and laughed. He even let me turn the pages. That's another first! When I was done, he got up and wandered away. It was sooooo wonderful!

Today there has been more "Mom!" ... he's quite demanding ... :)

Kadi and had a great past few days with only a few minor bumps in the path. And would you like to know why it was so good? A swimming pool. Yep. A swimming pool. At the pool she and I played and played. It was so fabulous. On Thursday I showed her and Kennedy how to put their feet on the wall and push off. They had a ball. Kadi laughed and giggled so much more than ususal. She usually is more concerned about bugging other people. She was so happy. And today we all ended up in the indoor pool (it was only 80 degrees outside) ... the indoor is of course a heated pool .... Kadi and I played and played again. It was so much fun. I enjoyed her thoroughly. Maybe we should get one of our own ... a pool that is. But no ... we have indoor/outdoor pool passes for the whole year! It is such a great deal. So close and we don't have to clean it!

My most fun thoughts of Kennedy this week ... Her face when she saw her room. She loves it. She was so happy. It is so girlie.

My eyes are burning ... somewhat from Chlorine, but also ... I'm just wiped from painting and swimming.

This sortof catches me up for the past week ... the rest is the stuff of memories in our minds.

Katherine Bishop, who is 3, said the sweetest thing today ...

Darla Speck and Wendy Lankford were leading the children's worship time. I was there too ... observing more or less until time for my class to start. They sang "You're My All in All", with sign language, and then asked the children how they could honor God today.

A few responses were "Obey parents", "Be nice to sisters and brothers" ... typical answers. All good, but normal Sunday school responses.

Wendy then asked Katherine what she thought would be a good way to Honor God today ...

Katherine smiled and sweetly said ... "Smell the flowers".

Wow.

What a beautiful thought. Honor God today by taking the time to 'smell' the world He has created for us to enjoy.

So, why is it that I wear an 8 in Tennis Shoes, a 7 1/2 in sandals/dress shoes, and a 7 in flip-flops??? Funny.

AND .... Koel just has selective hearing! His hearing test went very well! He pretty much heard everything. The boy just ignores us. The audiologist did suggest though that we have him get a speech evaluation. Just to be sure there is not a problem. I'm fine with that. And, because of Kyle's hearing loss, she suggested that when he gets older that we get his ears tested again with headphones on. They don't use those on kids his age ... naturally. She said because of the test yesterday we can know for sure that he has normal hearing in atleast one ear. More than likely in both ears, but to know for sure .... I'm relieved just to know he can hear me.

I need more time to spend with my children. I'm so much in the office. That is making me sad today ... of course, now I'm on here, but I'm getting off of here immediately to do more work ....

So, I went to change Koel's diaper before going to Walmart and I ...

REMEMBERED!!

I wanted to write Tonya to let her know I need candles! So ... I'm going to have a Gold Canyon Candles party very soon ...... Yeah!!!

You know those moments when you had something in mind to do ... and then you get to where you think you're supposed to be ... and you don't remember what you were doing???? I am in that situation right now! I set out to do something from the kitchen to my room ... and got into the hallway and forgot what it was. I'm so sad. I'm just SURE it was important. Oh well ....

We're on our way to Walmart this morning. Kennedy has made a list. She is so funny! She wants fruit and batteries. Hey, atleast it's not candy and barbies!

BTW ... she really likes My Scene Barbies for anyone wondering about birthday items. She's on the website constantly. I'm also thinking good ideas for her are ... girlie playstation 1 game ... Craft projects from the craft isles of places. Maybe a small sewing machine of her own ... she's very into doing the things Mommy does.

Alrighty ... going to go round up my troops ....

Still haven't remembered what I was up to a while ago ................

Here is a picture of their quilts that they don't know they have yet! It really is brighter in color. The pink is deep and the purple is really purple. The green in limeish ... it is sooooo pretty! They are getting the sham and the quilt each! I can't wait!!!! 

This is the plan for the girl's room. Isn't it FUN? I'm very excited. They don't know what I'm going to do, they just know I'm going to do something. It is really very exciting! 

Okay, so not only did I paint the office and put it together today ... we also took the bunk beds apart and moved them into my old room. THEN, after the office was all finished up ... Kennedy, Kadi and I struggled and were able to piece back together the bunkbeds. IT was tricky!!!!!! That's not an easy task. Here are Kennedy, Kadi and Koel sleeping quite nicely in a new room....well, it still has yet to be taken care of .... the next picture will show what they're getting ..... 

I recovered the Glider rocker. It looks so much better in person ... but still better than it did!!!!! It matches my pillows, my ottoman, and my piano bench. Nice. 

And here's my pretty rug ... its sole purpose is to cover over a phone cord ... it's quite pretty too. It is a bit larger than it appears in the picture. 

The view from the kitchen door ... The color is Summer Pecan ... isn't it scrumptious?? I just love how Rich the roof feels with this color! 

Here is the office. In front of the curtain is Keenan's dresser which is still waiting to go downstairs. The curtain is TWALL!!! I love TWALL!!! And I love that rod. And I love my big black bookshelf.  

Here is the desk area. Notice my I Love Lucy sign! He,he ... Vitameatavegamin is THE best episode ever!!!! 

Here is the other window/dresser and small lamp. It is sooo cute way up there. I know it looks really dark ... but it is lovely. I just feel so peaceful in there. Like I can really relax. I'm very pleased! 

Here is the foot of the bed and the closet. Again ... I just LOVE it! 

Here is my new bedroom. Yep it's navy blue. I LOVE IT! 

Sometimes things just need to be told ....

There is a new "Jenn Reedy Fell Down" story. Soeyun you must know about this!

This past Friday night ... we had girl's night at my house. It was also to be a camp-out night for the kids. Lauren brought her tent over and we set it all up. Fun stuff for the kis! They all put their sleeping bags and pillows out there ...

Darkness came.

Jennifer decides it is time for a hide-n-seek in the dark game ... similar to Hide-the-Baby I'm thinking. She runs off into the darkness saying "Find Jenn Reedy".

THUMP!

"Oh, Jenn Reedy is Hurt" says Jenn Reedy.

Lauren looks to see what is the matter ...

Jennifer comes in, nice gray t-shirt now decorated with large grass stains ... grass embedded in her wrists and in her watch ... nice jeans now also adorned with the markings of green green grass. She also was bearing pain between two of her small toes....

This sight caused such hysteria it sent Lauren running to the bathroom to ... for lack of a better word ... pee.

I repeatedly asked Jenny if she was okay. Jenn Reedy didn't reply, just sat in my glider rocker ... stunned from her fall.

I told her the new look to her clothes could be a fashion statement.

Just how did this happen you ask? Ah ... rememeber the part about the tent being put up? Well, lots of tents have ropes that stretch out past the tent to secure it to the ground ... Yep ... that rope. And remember it was dark outside. Yep real dark.

Jenn Reedy did not see the rope. Jenn Reedy tripped.

She is okay though. She wanted to go home and change, but we made her stay. Grass stains could be a new look. No pattern is really ever the same. Grass green is a nice color ...

Okay, enough .... :)

Kennedy just said a VERY funny thing .... She came in the room in her nightgown to get a pair of undies. Now, in my house that usually means 'uh-oh', unless it is time to bathe or change our clothes. So I looked at her funny .... She said ...

"I didn't pee Entirely, just on my panties".

Ha! I giggled outloud! She said "Entirely". I love it when kids use big words, especially so early in the morning!!!

I am sooo proud of Mr. Koel Thomas Wilkinson at this moment! He brought me a diaper when he pooped his pants!!! He's sooo smart!!! I'm so excited! Of course I had to get his sisters in on the praise too. He's so proud of himself. We clapped and Woo-Hooed for him. He,he. I love 1 year olds!!! I mean, this stage is great! I love all my kids no matter their age, but 1 is fun!

Keenan is spending the night with Zaine or he would have been in on the fun too.

I gave Keenan a hair cut today. My oh my he is handsome if I do say so myself.

Death is a thief.

I just found out from my friend Jackie that her dad is dying. My heart aches for her. It is an expected outcome, but still hard, so hard. She asked for prayer for peace for her dad. I'm asking prayer for her peace too. She realizes it is time to let him go, but how to ... that is the question.

Jackie is one of those 'friends for life' of mine. I have a few of those and I know I am a very fortunate girl! Jackie and I lived on the same street in McAlester, Oklahoma for 6 years atleast. We rode bikes and played hard. That is a bonded friendship that will endure. I love her. I hate to hear that she is hurting. She lives in California ... in the Napa Valley area. We haven't seen each other in 8 years. Keenan was a baby I believe ... maybe he wasn't born yet ... it was either right before or right after when she moved from New England to California. She is my "Jax". My keychain is a gift from her. It is the only keychain I've ever had. It is a hand doing the "I love You" sign. It is very special to me. You know what makes me happy ??? Jackie loves Jesus! She and I have eternity to look forward to to spend together! THAT IS AWESOME! Thank you Lord! And please bless my friend and her family in this oh so trying time!

Childhood friendships are so special. These are also some people who should be aware that I have bribery photos of each from childhood!!!!!

Rhesa Michelle Crosby Storms
Lana Michelle Sanders Williams
Jackie Rae Collier James Reese
Kiley Michele Pahdoco Taft
Gretchen Elise Hinkle Davis
Kristen Sprague Efurd

First of all ... let me say this ... MOM, I would love it if you and Daddy would start leaving me comments! You tell me you read this ... but do you really?? Now, I'll know!!! He,he.

Pray for Kyle and I. We are in a rut. A business rut that complicates our marriage. I find myself being okay with him being gone all day. I don't have to listen to him when he's not here. And I'm sure he likes being gone so he doesn't get frustrated about "what isn't getting done". We just don't see eye to eye. I'm trying to follow instructions from Karen the Counselor about how to handle myself in our squabbles so that I don't lose myself and retreat. It just isn't fun to try to stay in the moment and express myself too.

I'm like that in so many of my relationships. Think about it ... if you know me well ... how often do I really truly express my opinion? Usually I don't. Peace is kept better that way. Of course, there's the flipside where I often am the giver ... and I get 'pushed' around in a sense. Do I mind? Sometimes. Usually peace is better than getting my opinion stated though.

I have lots of opinions. I believe most of them to be solid. However, there are some things I try not to have an opinion about. It just isn't worth it to me. I'm a peacemaker ... to a fault Karen says.

I just want to get along with everyone. I like most everybody I know. Truly.

My kiddies aren't feeling well. I'm experiencing the beginnings of a sore throat myself. Ned and Kadi are passed out asleep after the antihistimine I gave them. Koel is better ... he was sick most of the weekend. Sore Throat and Fever. But he is eating and drinking. Happy today.

Keenan is having a quiet day today. I've been working and taking care of the yard. The girls have been on the couch alll day. Koel has been wandering and not really bothering anyone. So, Keenan's been having a lovely time for himself. Drawing, watching cartoons, eating Chicken Noodle Soup ... his favorite. I'm glad for him.

Now he wants to get on the internet ... so I'm going to let him .........

Okay, so I didn't go to the Strawberry Festival. I called Lauren at 7:45, woke her up and she sounded like this ... "Whaddyou want?" ... He,he ... I found out the Strawberry Festival plans were later than I thought, so the kids and I went Garage Sale-ing with Pete. Hilarious!

This one house ... lots of stuff. We stopped because there was a couch. It was infact not so nice. One of the ladies told us there was more inside ... She wasn't kidding! The living room, the kitchen, and two bedrooms .... ONLY GARAGE SALE STUFF! CRAZY! I did make one GRANd find there! An Oster Blender for $2.00. Made sure it worked! Yippee! My big ol' find of the day. They had sooooo much! Too much. Jami and I were overwhelmed! So we quickly left after the blender. Keep in mind people ... too much can be just as bad as too little when it comes to garage sales!

Here is my list of purchases for the morning:

Oster Classic Blender .... $2.00
5 Navy Cafeteria trays like new ... $1.00 ... perfect for eating outside!
Tupperware Old Popcicle Sets ... $ .75 total
Rubbermaid Insulated Lunch Box (like new) for Kyle .... $2.00
3 Pairs of Electrician Gloves for Kyle ... great for using when he's doing Tree work!!! They were a total of $3.00!!!
Like new Cookie Sheet ... Teflon ... $ .50.
Baby girl ruffle butt panty for babies ... like new ... for Brandi ... $ .10!!!!
5 kids books for a total of $ .50.
3 Shelf organizer/bins stand for Keenan ... $2.00
Lawn Chair/Recliner .... $1.00
Soup Thermos for Kyle for winter ... $ .50 (like new)
Keenan got a Transformer Semi-Truck for ... $1.00
Kennedy got a rainbow slinky for ... $ .10.

We did fabulous!!!!

Pete found a tool set/flashlight New in the Box for $5.00.
AND a Metal Shelf unit for her laundry room ... for $4.00 NEw in the BOX!
At another sale she found ... a $10 Garden Ridge lamp for $1.50! AND ... her find of the morning ... an upholstered desk chair for ..... drum roll .... $1.00!!!

Boom!

We had a fabulous time!

Now imagine ... my Durango with Pete, Myself, my four children and all of the stuff minus the chair in it! Even more fun!!!! Pete went back for the chair later.

OH ... and when we got home there was a funny smell in the house ... so I took the trash out ... forgetting my keys were still in my hand. I felt them fly out as I put the trash in the toter ... NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! So, yep ... Pete and I dug in the trash. We ended up turning it on its side and I had to crawl in and get them ... they were on the very bottom!!!! Naturally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEN ... I went to Shop N Save and filled up my deep freeze for $200!!! I'm very excited!!!!! That's like a month's worth of meals out there!!!! Fabulous!

Now I'm pooped. I originally just now wrote Poopled ... He,he ... Had to make note of that! IF you can't laugh at yourself ...

AND ... I bought PEE WEE's BIG ADVENTURE at Shop-N-Save. I'm going to watch it with Keenan tonight! He!!! Good times!

Okay, so I have some real concerns about Koel.

1) He won't say Mom, Momma, or Dadda.
2) He now has taken to shaking his head and somewhat saying No ... ALOT!
3) He must have selective hearing ... 3/4 of the time he doesn't 'hear' me.
4) Does he really just not hear me or does he not HEAR me?
5) When you want him to say 'please' he just sits down and cries.

I will be taking him on June 17 to get his hearing checked. I did not want to take Paige, Zaine, Keenan and Kennedy with me and have them sit in the waiting room at the hospital by themselves. They can't go in with me. AND I don't think it is fair to Lauren to watch ALL of those kids ... mine ... okay. So, on June 17, Lauren will keep just my kids and I will take Koel. That seems like an eternity away.

AH .....

This morning we are going to the Strawberry Festival. I'm very excited. I've never been before. It's 7:30 and I'm already up and ready to go. LIke a kid. I also am going to register Keenan, Kennedy, Kadi and Koel for the Summer Reading Program at the Library. Koel can even be in it! I just have to log the time I read to him and to Kadi! So cute!

I was in agony yesterday .... I checked out some novels from the library. So I read one on Thursday evening. It was good ... a bit too much detail me thinks. Then I picked up another one around 3:00 ish yesterday evening. Started out good....Victorian era, set in Cornwall. I thought ... Ah, right up my alley .... The story flowed very nicely. Except as I got closer and closer to the end .... the author was just not wrapping up the story lines. Then I reached the final page ... NOTHING WAS RESOLVED! NOTHING! AND, there's no mention of it being a book that is part of a SAGA or anything! Agony! Sheer Agony! What happens to Sprat and Denzil ??? Nice names I know. But I must know! BTW ... Sprat is better than Wilhemina which is her real name.
I finished that novel sometime after 6:00.

I started another around 7:00. A Mail Order Bride Christian Fiction Novel. I should know better. Why is Christian Fiction so often SOOOO cheesy? It's just not real life! The characters are SOOO not believable ... especially the men! I've never come across such a caring lot! Maybe I just know all the wrong people.

I actually check out three of these Mail Order Bride Books ... I just read so fast, that I don't want to keep going to the library ... so I got a bunch of books. Jami picked up one too. Hers is cheesy too. I said mine is Parmesan and hers is Mozzarella.

So, I finished it around 11:30. It was pleasing. And oh that there really were men out there like Dr. Quint Roberts!!!!!!! Tall, Handsome, A Doctor, Whose every WORD centers on Christ. Always sensitive, kind, putting everyone else before himself. If he were ONLY real!!!

He,he ...

June 2 ... I'm about to do a marvelous thing ... crawl into bed with a Victorian mystery romance novel. I just had to make note of it! I've already started the book, so I know I'll be up late ... s'okay though!

Tomorrow is Koel's hearing test. Pray for my baby.

Koel did a big boy thing tonight ... fell asleep in a big bed with his sisters. I'm very excited! For the last three days I've laid him in their room for naps on their beds ... and tonight ... no problem he fell right to sleep! Fantastic!

I just really want him to talk to me. Even 'Mama' would be great! Occasionally we get 'Uh-oh' ... but that's it. My mommy heart is concerned.

June is here! It doesn't seem real. Here are ten fun things about the beginning of June 2004 ...

1. I got to talk to Rhesa tonight!
2. Kimbra and Khiana are here to stay the night, on their way home from Nashville.
3. We had Moose-tracks Ice cream cones.
4. Lauren suggested we eat pizza to celebrate the end of school ... and we did!
5. Kyle made a lot of money today! Almost my house payment!
6. Kyle said he's going to go buy me a dishwasher ... with a check!!!!!
7. Zaine was polite twice today ... he held the door at the post office for a lady without being asked to! And ... he put something back on the shelf at Walmart without being asked to ... the Walmart lady was very impresed! Hoo-rah for Zaine!
8. Paige, Zaine, Kadi, Koel and I had Jack-in-the-Box for lunch!
9. My baby brother called me today! Okay so he's not a baby ... he's a guy with a Master's degree and almost a one year old baby of his own! Can it be???
10. Ned and Keenan are out of school for the summer!

BONUS: Jenny comes home tomorrow!

June ... is good. OH ... AND IT DIDN'T RAIN! For like the first day in a week! No storm today! Hoo-Hoo!