How Does a 4 Year Old Spend $46,000 a Month?

Are you kidding me?? $46K a month in order to provide for him “in the manner in  which he’s grown accustomed” ? I have an 8 year old. She has gone to private school her entire life. And she enjoys several extracurricular activities. And she dresses well. And eats well. And I GUARANTEE you it didn’t cost me $46K a month – or even a year!

Absurd…

Our decision to homeschool has been a long time in the making and isn’t one we’ve taken lightly. A lot of research and prayer went in to this choice and I really feel like God has guided every step we’ve taken that led here. Jaidin went to a private, Christian school (a ministry of our church for 30+ years) beginning in pre-school. When that school closed at the end of her 1st grade year, we were devastated. Not only was it a fantastic school – but everyone there, from the administration to the janitorial staff was some someone we considered family. When I dropped Jaidin off at school every morning, I not only knew that she was receiving an excellent education, but that she was being cared for and loved like a family member. But alas – all good things must come to an end ( at least that’s how the saying goes), and at the end of 2009-2010 school year we had to make a decision about what her educational future would hold.  We checked out our public school system, as well as several other Christian schools in the area and made a decision to send her to another local Christian school.  We had a great experience there this past year, but it just never felt like home. She made friends, I connected with some of the other moms, and she had an amazing teacher, but we always just felt “out of step”. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t best.

At the end of this year, we had to decide what we wanted to do about 3rd grade. She had sailed through 2nd grade without much of a challenge, and dare I say, was bored much of the year. So when considering what we would do for 3rd grade, an excellent cirriculum was high on my priority list. I had been hearing advertisementa on  the radio for the K12 Virtual Academies, but honestly, wasn’t sure if I was cut out to be a homeschool parent. Never the less, I began researching several homeschooling and school-at- home cirriculums and began to see how this could be a really good option for us. I am blessed to be able to work from home, but wasn’t sure how schooling at home would fit in to my work  schedule. The K12 program really appealed to me not only because of the excellent, mastery-based courses, but because Jaidin would have an actual teacher. I am considered the “learning coach” and will be guiding her through both the hands on lessons and the online coursework, but there is a teacher assigned to us that we will be accountable to, and who will be the instructor. Very cool.

The best part of all of this is that Jaidin has been on board with this from the get go. It was actually at her prompting that we first attended a K 12 information session. When we left the meeting, she was so excited and said “That’s it – that’s what I want to do.” We talked a lot with her about the responsibility of being motivated each morning to get up and start school, the importance of being cooperative with me as her learning coach and what homeschooling would mean as far as social activities. She has continued to be enthusiastic and was beside her self with excitement when her cirriculum, school supplies and new computer equipment arrived on our doorstep.  We opened everything tonight and she must have asked me 10 times “Can we start school this week?!?”

School actually starts on August 29th, and until then, I am furiously searching for ideas on how to decorate and organize our “school room”. Jaidin will be sharing my home office in the basement and I want to make sure her “area” is kid friendly and fun, so I’ve been bookmarking online sites with cool ideas and will be shopping for desks and all the other fun stuff soon.

I’ll keep you posted on how this new adventure goes. Stay tuned…

Jaidin and her science cirriculum and equipment

But just in case you haven’t got a clue how to bless your wife and the special momma in your kids life this Sunday, allow me to help.

E-Mealz is a pretty spectacular website who’s services I’ve been using for about the last month or so. This week they are offering a FREE menu and grocery list for Breakfast in Bed to help you earn some major brownie points on Mother’s Day. So stop on over to the website and download it (it’s in the left side bar half way down the page), take the kids to the grocery store, and surprise mom on Sunday morning with a terrific breakfast that’s easy to make (and fun for the kids, with minimal preparation and clean up!)

While you’re over there, order mom a subscription to E-Mealz so that she can stop stressing over what’s for dinner every night and YOU can do the grocery shopping because they provide a weekly list that even Dad’s can follow!

In all seriousness, I hope my male buddies put some special thought and effort into blessing the mommas in their life this Sunday. She deserves it!

For thousands of teens across the nation, THIS IS REALITY.

A reality that I was all too familiar with. Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 9, I spent much of my childhood in the hospital. When I was 15, I had my diseased large intestine removed, leaving me with a condition called an ileostomy. The ileostomy is a surgically created opening in the abdomen through which doctors bring a portion of the small intestine. I now wear a prosthetic (called a pouch) on my abdomen that my waste is collected in. There are other types of ostomies,too, depending upon the type of bowel or bladder diversion the person is in need of.

When I was 17, I attended my first Youth Rally. It was there that I met young people from all over the country who shared my very same experiences. For the first time, I didn’t feel alone, and the support and camaraderie I received through Youth Rally shaped my life’s work.

I’ve gone on to be a Rally counselor over 12 times, helped to start a support network for young adults with ostomies and diversions, and have  led the ostomy community in the U.S as the president of United Ostomy Associations of America. I now work for an amazing company that makes undergarments for people that have had ostomy surgery, helping them regain their confidence and active lifestyle.

My passion is to let others know that no matter the trauma a person has been through, there is always a purpose for the suffering, and a light at the end of the darkness. I want others to recognize that they too can rise from the ashes of disease and live life to it’s fullest, something I have been doing since 1993 when I first attended Youth Rally as a camper. Rally taught me that I was not alone, and that is what made all the difference.

By returning to Youth Rally as a counselor, I have the opportunity to use my experiences (with Crohn’s Disease and 14 subsequent surgeries and as a leader in the ostomy community) to bring a message of hope to other young ostomates who may not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Would you consider making a donation to help me share the hope of Youth Rally with teens from across the country?

Thank you in advance for your support!

*** To make a donation, you can click on the Sponsor Me link on the right side of this page, or navigate to my Youth Rally Fundraising page ***

For more information about Youth Rally, see their website located here

Me & former camper turned CIT counselor Kristen K. Two KK's = twice the shenanigans!

“Oh yeah”, I said. “What was it about”?

“It was about Palm Sunday”, she replied. “About how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, and how the people were so happy to see him, so excited they were waving palm branches and laying down their coats for him. Pastor Riley brought palm leaves, and each of us got some. It was pretty neat. But then he talked about how the same people that were so excited to see Jesus  were the exact same people that a week later were yelling ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ “

Then she said the most amazing thing to me.

“You know mom, I hope I’m never one of those people who praises Jesus and says I love God, and then turns around when things get crazy and does something like deny him, like those people did.”

Wow! I was blown away. And convicted. Because how many times have I totally been on fire for God, praising Jesus and following after Him, and then BAM! one little change in circumstances or a bad influence from someone else and my tune changes. In my years as a Christian, certainly I’ve gotten better about not being swayed by the wind or tossed about by rough seas. But I still strive to have the kind of faith that is not shaken, no matter the circumstance.

I told Jaidin that I would pray for her to always have faith, to always do the right thing and to never deny Jesus. But I also told her that there will be times when she will probably doubt, and not do the right thing, but God gives second (and third, fourth, fifth…) chances and as long as we’re truly sorry about whatever it was, He forgives us.

She said she knew that and was so glad that Jesus gave us a second chance through the crucifixion. Then she said “Do you think me & you & Daddy could watch the Passion movie?”

I hestitated, because while I think it’s a tremendous movie, I also think it may be a bit too much for an 8 year old.

“How do you know about the Passion of the Christ?” I asked

“Some of the kids in my class were talking about it at recess”‘ she said. “They said it was a movie about Jesus and that it made Riley’s mom cry.”

So I told her, “It made me cry too. I’ll talk to daddy about it. That movie might be a little too graphic for you.”

She was quiet for a minute, and then said “By graphic, do you mean real?”

Then I got quiet. Yes, REAL. That’s exactly what I was thinking.

As I drove quietly for a minute, the Holy Spirit spoke to me.

“The crucifixion WAS real. She’s asking for more than a movie. She’s asking you to help her understand exactly how much her sin cost.  To see what all sin cost. Show her.”

I was floored.

So… we’ll be watching The Passion of The Christ soon as a family, and I know that God will prepare her little heart to receive the full message of the Cross (and hopefully not not have nightmares!) If you have kids – have they seen The Passion? What was their reaction. What kind of a discussion did you have as a family afterward?

I had been “preparing” planting subliminal messages Jaidin all day – talking about our yummy dinner and how much she was going to love it. When we sat down at the table, she apprehensively took the first bite…..and then completely demolished everything on her plate! About half way through dinner Jon turned to me and said “Are those slivers of onion in the gravy?”  A look of terror shot across Jaidin’s face as I shot her father the death look. “No”, I lied. “It’s the same mix I use when I cook pot roast”, which isn’t a lie, but she loves my pot roast and has no idea there are onions in it. “Ok ” she said. Back to eating. Crisis diverted!

For dessert, I made a strawberry cobbler that a friend had recommended on Facebook.  Here’s the link to the recipe. I didn’t have any fresh strawberries, so I used frozen (thawed) and it turned out fine. Will definitely be making this again

Monday was pretty uneventful – school, work, dinner, TV, you know the drill. Only exception to this Monday was that I discovered E-Mealz through a friends’s Twitter feed and signed up lickety split! No more “what to make for dinner?” stress?? Hello! No-brainer!

Tuesday is usually ladies Bible study night. We’re currently doing Beth Moore’s The Patriarchs study and I am lovin’ it! That woman can take one verse of scripture and paint a masterpiece with it that brings it to life in the 21st century. But I didn’t get to go Tuesday Jon and a friend had tickets to see Stryper in concert, and Jaidin had several projects for church and school that needed finished, so instead of sending her to the babysitter, I did the responsible mom thing and stayed home to help her complete them. She and I had fun working on a mobile of the “fruits of the Spirit” and doing a book report on Justin Bieber: In His Words, but I sure did miss my ladies at Panera!

Wednesday was full of conference calls at work in preparation for an upcoming webinar with the Bad Tummy Foundation. Patient education is definitely my passion, so I was in my element. Really, really excited to see how we can impact the IBD community with this and hopefully present practical information that will help patients faced with the possibility of ostomy surgery make informed decisions and not ones based on fear.
I played hooky from church Wed. night so I could catch up on stuff around the house, work on the newsletter for the ladies ministry, and get the house cleaned in anticipation of dinner guests on Thursday, then spent the rest of the night helping Jon put together our new kitchen table and chairs. We were up until past midnight, thanks to our lack of skills with a monkey wrench. But we got it together (ok – HE got it together, I just supervised) and it looks great – and I have so much more room in my kitchen!

Thursday we were looking forward to dinner with new friends from church (well – new to me. Jon went to school with the wife), but they had to cancel. Bummer – I was all set to entertain and get to know some new friends, but alas, we had to eat the Crock-Pot lasagna all by ourselves.

Friday started with a work conference call to discuss the upcoming WOCN Society National Conference in June. It’s going to be in New Orleans, which happens to be one of my favorite cities, thanks to the time I spent there planning and executing the UOAA 2009 national conference, so I’m super happy to have a couple more days to enjoy N’awlin’s this June. I’m also really excited to introduce Ostomy Secrets to WOCN’s from across the country. I need to start priming my vocal cords and find a pair of really cute, yet ultra comfy shoes in preparation for 4 days of talking and standing in the convention center.
Friday night we had family dinner at Red Robin. I was totally craving a big, juicy burger, and since it was about 30 degrees outside and we have no propane for the grill – we HAD to go out to dinner. Too bad. I was really looking forward to cooking. NOT.

Saturday started out as a day with no real plans except grocery shopping and ended up with us attending a gun show at the Great Lakes Expo Center with friends. We’ve been discussing gun ownership for a while now, and considering all that’s going on in the world, I think it’s high time to make a purchase. Had a great time at the show and fell in love with The Bodyguard. Think I’ll ask the Easter Bunny to put one in my basket this year
When we got home from the show, I made my first meal from the Emealz program and it was super easy and tasty too. Jon gobbled it up, and although all their recipes are kid-tested, Jaidin was not thrilled with the finished product. However, I doubt it had anything to do with the recipe. She’s become INCREDIBLY picky with her diet lately, and it has me frustrated. She’s pretty much refusing any type of meat – which I’d be totally fine with, if she ate veggies and fruits and some other source of protien. But she wont. And since I wont allow her to subsist on peanut butter and jelly alone, we’ve had some rough food discussions recently. One of the reasons I signed up for Emealz is that I’m on a quest to get my family eating more healthy and to introduce them to new foods. I guess it’s going to be tougher than I thought.
Mom friends out there – how do you handle situations where your kids refuse certain foods? I’m pretty sure this is more of a battle of the wills situation than an actual dislike of a certain food on her part. Should I punish her, make her a special meal (I’m REALLY opposed to this), what do I do???

Today was a great church service, complete with a bake sale to benefit the kid’s ministry. I made brownies to sell, and made a donation, but was a good girl and didn’t come home with any baked goods. Score one for healthy eating!
After drama ministry practice, we headed up to the Great Lakes Science Center to see Tornado Alley on in the OmniMax theater. I’m a hard core weather geek, so I was pretty excited to see this. I watch Storm Chasers and the film’s maker, Sean Casey, is on the show, so I had been hearing about this movie project for a while. Unfortunately, I was kind of disappointed. The film really didn’t feature any new footage that hadn’t been shown in recent seasons of Storm Chasers. I enjoyed myself and would still recommend the movie (if only for the IMAX experience), but if you’re an avid storm chaser or watcher of Storm Chasers, don’t expect to be blown out of the water by the footage.

So that brings me to tonight, and I’m sitting her blogging while Jon snoozes on the couch with the dog and Jaidin’s watching the Kid’s Choice Awards on DVR (she lost the privilege of staying up last night to watch live when she refused to eat her dinner). I love quiet, all-together evenings like this, and find myself thinking a lot about the little girl that’s going to be joining our family through adoption. I don’t know her name, have no idea what she looks like, but I know I love her and imagine ALL THE TIME what our lives are going to look like when she’s finally with us. I imagine it’ll look similar to the week I just described above, probably with a lot more chaos. But when God brings the chaos, it’s all good. Because the benefits far out-weigh the chaos.

How was your week?

Last night I signed up for E-Mealz. I heard about it from a friend’s Twitter account and thought I’d check it out. Working from home, I almost always have time to cook, I just never know WHAT to cook, and I’m certainly not disciplined enough to sit down at make a meal plan every week and compile a shopping list.

So for $1.25 a week, E-Mealz is going to do it for me.  I chose the meal plan that best suits our family (they offer low-fat, portion control, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc), and my preferred grocery store (you can also choose an “any store” plan), and each week they provide you with a list of seven meals and side dishes based on your meal plan and what’s on sale at your specified grocery store. In addition to eliminating my “what’s for dinner” stress, I’m hoping it’s going to save us some money, too.

I’ll keep you posted. I’ve already done our shopping for this week, so I’ll start the plan next week. If you’re interested in checking E-Mealz out, check out this link:

I’m going to try and chronicle our journey here, so I guess the best place to start is the beginning.  Because of all my health issues, I always thought I’d adopt one day because Dr.’s told me from the time I was 18 that I’d probably never have a child of my own. Before Jon and I got married, we discussed having children and adoption, and we were both fine with whatever God brought our way. Then 2.5 years into our marriage, lo and behold, I was pregnant! We were both overjoyed and paranoid, not knowing what this pregnancy would hold for my health. Turns out I had a fairly problem-free pregnancy, with the exception of a hernia I developed because of all the surgery I’d had in the past. I delivered Jaidin via c-section only because she was breech, and it’s a good thing, too, because she weighed in at a healthy 9 lbs 11.5oz!

The problems didn’t come until AFTER delivery. I had numerous, recurrent hernias that required surgical repair, developed problems with the dormant j-pouch that was still intact in my abdomen, and eventually needed 2 major surgeries and some abdominal reconstruction to remove and repair everything.

Because of that, Jon and I pretty much resigned ourselves to the idea that we had been incredibly blessed of God to have one child of our own, and thought we’d go about life as a family of 3.

Over the years, as Jaidin’s grown, we’ve talked about how we’d like to give her a sibling, but always knew it’d have to be God-ordained. The older Jaidin gets, the more she talks about wanting a sister, and about a year ago, we began to give some thought to the idea of adopting.

The more we discussed it, the more the idea began to take root in my heart, and the more it seemed that every where I turned, there were tiny glimpses of confirmation from God that this was where He was leading. I kept “running into” articles about adoption, blogs written by adoptive moms, TV shows featuring adoption – and God kept showing me scripture about believers in Christ being “adopted”.  Then in October of 2010, I experienced some changes in my life that at the time were devastating, but I now can see where they were God’s way of calling me out into a  new season where I was to focus on my family and the coming changes He had for us.

I had done plenty of research on adoption, and we had pretty much decided that we did not want to adopt an infant. Because of Jaidin’s age, and where we were at as a family with commitments, it just didn’t make sense. We also knew we couldn’t afford private domestic adoption, so that left us to consider other options. We began discussing adopting through the US foster care system. Over the years, I’ve heard many “arguments” about why that wasn’t the way to go – including ” you never know what kind of child you’re going to get – what kind of physical and emotional problems they’ll have, what race they’ll be”. Well – I’ve got news for people – even when you have your own biological child, you don’t know what kind of kid you’re going to get. Silly argument , if you ask me.

I started making calls in February to friends of mine who’d adopted through foster care. I wanted the REAL story – the good AND the bad. All of them shared overwhelmingly positive thoughts with me, and I was really encouraged. At the end of February, I called the county to get information about foster care and adoption, and our journey officially started this week when I signed us up for our pre-certification classes so that we can become liscensed foster care providers. We’ll finish our 36 hours of training at the end of May, and begin the homestudy process in June.

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that whatever child God has set apart for us to adopt is already out there in this world, and is currently, or has at some point, experienced great loss, trauma or abuse that caused them to enter the foster care system in the first place. I get a picture in my mind of a nameless, faceless girl that’s a bit younger than Jaidin, and it breaks my heart. I pray that God will reveal His love to her so that she knows that she is wanted and treasured, that no matter what has happened to her in the past, there is a God that LOVES her and wants to give her hope and future. And I stand in awe of the fact that MY family will get to be a part of the rest of her journey.

Please pray for Jon, Jaidin and I. Our lives will no doubtedly never be the same. But I’m confident they’ll be BETTER, and God is going to give us everything we need on this journey to meet the needs of His special child. Some days I feel inadequate as a mom of just one – what happens when I have 2?? But then I am reminded that God doesn’t always call the equipped – but He ALWAYS equips the called.