Kennedy Rocks!

Kennedy had her first gymnastics competition on Friday night and she won first place!! It was called Mini-Nationals and it is for all Level 1-4 gymnasts. (Levels go up to 10, then Elite, which are Olympic levels.) Kennedy is a Level 2. She competed in all four events: vault, bars, beam, and floor. We were surprised because we thought she was only competing on floor and beam. On her bars routine, she did a new trick called a pull-over for the second time! Kennedy had four girls in her group, all of whom have been doing gymnastics longer. Two of the girls are at least a year older and the other is about 6 months younger. So all the time and money we've put into her gymnastics is definitely worth it.

Bits and Pieces

Ok so its been awhile. . .

I hate computers! We've been having problems with the computer and/or the internet so its been a pain in the you know what to use. We have broadband internet and its been running slower than diap-up. Don't know if its the computer or the internet. I am planning on buying a new computer soon, hopefully on the day after Thanksgiving.

So other than that, not much new is happening. Tim's been working and we have the usual hang-ups with that. AS far as we know, Tim is scheduled to deploy again in April or May. His company is the 4th Stryker Brigade. Whether he goes or not will depend on his next MRI and couple of doctor appointments.

Gymnastics is going alright for Kennedy. She is getting ready for her first inner-gym competition on Nov. 10. Its not a big deal. Everybody gets a medal/trophy/award. But she is excited about it and is constantly practicing her routines in the living room. She has two more skills to master and she gets a blue belt (the third level).

I am starting to actually gain weight now. The doctors aren't on my case as much anymore. Tomorrow I will officially be in my 7th month (27 weeks today) and I 've gained a total of 6 pounds, not counting the 23 pounds I lost in the first trimester. But the baby seems to be normal sized. From the front, you can barely tell I'm pregnant still. I expect that time will start to move quickly now with Thanksgiving coming and Christmas right after that.

Flips and Flops

Last week, Kennedy earned her white belt in gymnastics. They start with a red belt, then progress to white, blue, pink, etc. when they acquire new skills in each event (bars, beam, vault, tumbling, and trampoline). She is absolutely thrilled to wear her new belt. Today she had to get a new leo because her old one "somehow" got a hole in the front. I think it had help with her scissors, but I'm not certain. Oh well. That one was a year old so she needed a new one anyways. This was just an early birthday present.

Tim is in the field again. He left last Friday and won't be home until the 15th. He is in Yakima. And since he has back problems and can't wear any field gear, he is assigned to KP the entire time he's there. Yippee. So I haven't had a break from the kids at all and its starting to wear on me. My patience is shot that's for sure.

We have had to institute a new policy at home with the kids because neither one of them wants to listen or do as they are told. And Kennedy wants to be the boss of everybody and everything. So each day they start with a new paper that has their name and three empty boxes on it. When we have a misbehavior incident, they get an "X" or a sad face. If all the boxes get filled, they do not get a reward. This may be dessert or a story at bedtime or staying up an extra half hour. So far its worked very well. I know that you are supposed to focus on good behavior, not bad, but getting sad faces instead of happy faces seems to work better with Kennedy. And TJ goes along with whatever.

According to Kennedy, 5 days til her birthday. She is not letting me forget and she is telling everybody else. I think she's a little exited.

More Sad News

When Mom died, Aunt Sue and Uncle Dan took her dog CoCo home with them. She had been doing well until last night apparantly. When Aunt Sue came home and tried to take CoCo out, she was kind of lethargic. She went out peed, but had trouble pooping and trouble coming back in. So they took her to the vet. The vet did some tests and x-rays and found fluid in CoCo's lungs and abdominal cavity. Their diagnosis: lung cancer. Just like Mom. So they had to put CoCo to sleep last night.

All of us in the family are wondering if this is a coincidence or not. There are several other isolated incidents too that may or may not be related. We are wondering if there is something in either the marsh behind the house or in the house itself. I called my friend Abby to tell her and she told her husband, who happens to be a heating and cooling guy. He thinks that there could be something wrong with the furnace or something and will be checking it out very quickly. I know that we need to know, but I don't want to know if it means that Mom's death could have been prevented.

Its too early for Christmas!

Why is it that Christmas comes to the stores earlier every year. Last year it was before Halloween. This year there is already stuff up! Can we get through one holiday at a time? Wal-Mart actually had there Christmas aisles up before they had any Halloween stuff out. I am dreading Christmas this year. All my childhood, Christmas was my least favorite holiday. It seems that for one reason or another, I was always disappointed. Then the last five years or so its actually been pretty good. Maybe I let go of my expectations or whatever, but I've actually enjoyed it. It has also been nice to do things our own way and to try to start our own family traditions. This year will be really hard though without Mom. Especially because I'll be remembering last year, when she was with us. I know, I know, at least I had last year. But it still won't be the same. We (the Murrays) will be spending Christmas out here in Washington because I'll be too far along to be able to travel. All the rest of the family, including Matt, will be spending Christmas together, presumably in Michigan. We asked Dad to come out so we wouldn't have to spend it alone, but he won't. And now, Sara wants to do away with gifts for each other. She wants to do a secret Santa with a limit of $20. That would be between her, me, Tim, Matt, Ricardo (who is not even officially a part of the family), Sue, Dan, BLake and Vonne. I HATE that idea. We have such a small family as it is. I could understand if we had a large family, but we don't. I usually gift in couples (Dan and Sue get a joint gift, Blake and Vonne, etc.) so I basically only have 5 gifts to do. Its not much. Besides, I usually make the gifts. And I already have this years done. Sara doesn't think that's fair if I make and she buys. I just don't understand why its such a big deal. Somebody tried to start that last year (probably Sara) and it got kiboshed by Mom. She hated that idea too. I think it sucks!

On to other news. . .

Had a garage sale on Saturday and made out awesome! $140 and it wasn't pay fay weekend. I sold my table and chairs and the old sofa set. Now I actually have room to put my stuff from Mom when I get it from Moose's.

Just as the yard sale was ending, TJ fell off the neighbor's 4-wheeler. Kennedy was driving and when she took off, he wasn't holding on good enough. He had a goose egg the size of a golf ball on the back of his head so I rushed him straight to the ER where they didn't do a thing for him. They said "oh he has a minor concussion. You can go home now." Gotta love the military's version of health care. Top notch.

Tim leaves for Yakima on Saturday for 2 weeks or training. That will suck.

I haven't had a great week. A lot of stuff about Mom has really been hitting me hard this week for some reason. I've found myself in tears just about everyday. (maybe its due partly to pregnancy hormones) I know its okay to have bad days (weeks?) and its okay to still cry. But nobody really wants to talk about it. Matt is gone and wouldn't talk anyways. I have tried to call Sara when it gets really bad since she's about the only one who should completely understand, but she won't talk. She always says she has to go and will call right back, which ends up being 6 hours later.

And so here is my journal of feeling sorry for myself lately. Oh well. Take it or leave it, I guess.

Clean Teeth

Kennedy went for her first official visit with the dentist today. She had her teeth cleaned. We are proud to report no cavities. She thought the dentist was cool, especially his tooth brush that went "Brrrr". TJ is excited to go too, but I think that's just because he wants a toy and a new toothbrush like Kennedy.

Its a . . .

I had my ultrasound today and yes, we know what we're having. We didn't want to, but the doc told Tim and then when we asked him to write it down, we wrote it in thick black pen on a thin white paper that he only folded in half. So when I picked it up, there it was, glaring back at me. So we know. If you want to know, you have to ask us though. I am disappointed to know, I really wanted that surprise. But it does eliminate the need for only green and yellow.

We are still floundering trying to find the right gymnastics class for Kennedy. They got rid of the level she was supposed to move to. Abilitywise, she can move to the level (Aces) after that, but she doesn't have the attention span that those kids do so it really isn't a good fit. The other class she can go into (Nova) is kids 5-7 but they are a mix of beginners and not beginners. A class with too many beginners in it isn't good for Kennedy because she is bored and goofs off. We are thinking of putting her in a Nova class twice a week with one coach who is really good. Most of the kids are not beginners in that class, but aren't quite up to the same skill as Kennedy yet. A few are though and one is from her old class too. We shall see, I guess. We go back on Thursday.

Well time for naps. TJ is already laying down and I think I'll go lay down with Kennedy for a bit.