We have a new addition-meet 'Belle'

Surprise! Isn't she a beauty?! I named her 'Belle'. (From Beauty and the Beast) Sorry the pictures are not clearer as I am not the greatest photographer in the world! Too much glare. It has a nature pictures of waterfall, etc. Sorry you can't see it!

Why that name? Computers for me are a 'beauty' to use and a 'beast' when things go wrong! Usually I am the one with the problem and not always the computer. :o/

We got our income tax back and dad brought this home for me. Wow!

Some facts--

HP notebook pc

Intel Core 2 Duo processor

17.3" Digital HD widescreen

500GB (ooohhhh!) (250GBx2 - 5400PM) Dual Hard Drive

4096 MB DDR2 SDRAM (2Dimm)

802. 11a/b/g/n (draft 802.11n WLAN & Bluetooth

LightScribe Super Multi 8XDVD+RW with Double Layer Support

High Capacity 8-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery

HP Media Smart

HP Mobile Remote Control

5-in-1 Digital/Media Reader

Express Card/54PC Card Slot

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 Graphics with 1024 MB

DDR3 dedicated graphics memory

Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) with Service Pack 1

HP Webcam

Expansion Port 3

WOW! WOW! WOW!

I told Neil the other day that when he retires we are going to need '2' computers because of our own competition to see who gets there first and how long we stay on there. That is not to say that I spend frivolous hours on it. I do my little routine thing and then I'm done. When he gets on he is much longer! He does a lot more than I do. Me, I just check my e-mails, blogs, facebook, research and a few other things.

He is setting up stuff for me on my laptop as I am 'clueless' in that category. It's a little different using a laptop. I need to create some kind of angled stand as I don't do well looking straight down with a neck injury from years ago. It's fun to use! I can put anything on there I want.! It's mine! :o)

The first thing I did was put all 'my favorites' on there! Wahoo! My blogs, and pccrafter, which I love and use a lot! I love using to creates notes, etc. I have also discovered a 'lot of patience' on my part is required using a laptop and learning all the new functions. However...this old dog loves learning new tricks!!! :o)

PS-Thank you Michelle and Doug for tutoring me through X-cel-wow! Love that program!

Thank you to all my 'techies' who help me, Neil, Chris, Michelle, Bob, Doug....just so you know, you'll probably be hearing from me again! Love ya! :o)

Yard Work! Oh My!

I worked out in the front yard just outside the front entry and oh my am I tired! Sorry about the duplicate picture. I tried to delete it, but failed. Oh well. We had the builder put in all rock. All the other houses had bark dust. I am terribly allergic to bark dust. It drives my allergies c-r-a-z-y! I like the rock and it's so easy to keep up when weeds pop up! I just check once a week and take any out! Some of the other houses liked ours and had it put in. Bark dust is nasty and has to be replace yearly. I put in brick borders to add a little color. I love yard animals, etc. and put them out there. We had them from our other house and I brought them with us. Several people have commented how cute they are! :o) I've added some new ones. If you look really hard in the bottom picture under the reddish tall plant, there is a little gnome and I also have a little frog under there too!

The scalloped brick lining the sidewalk is going on the other side of the front yard. You can't see it in any of the above pictures, but I put in that scalloped brick as a border between the lawn and the rocks. It keeps the grass out of the rocks and the rocks out of the grass!

Neil and I also finished staining the inside of the back yard fence and now we are waiting for 5 days of sun so we can do the outside of the fence on the street side. The fence has to be dry for 3 days before you stain and dry 2 days after you stain. Come on sun!

Kirsten's Feeling Soooo Much Better!!!

You can't tell too well, but Kirsten is 'smiling' while she is sucking her thumb!

I'm afraid Kirsten will forever suck her thumb. She's been sick for so long. This week has been the 'turn around' point for her. It's been a long 4 months. I love her in pink! She wears that color so well! The shirt is one I bought recently. I bought 2, one in pink and one in lime green. She couldn't take her eyes off the bright green one, so we had to buy both of them! Next time she wears it I will take a picture of her and post it! :o)

Kirsten ate 3 days in a row! Only once each day, but what an improvement! She still sleeps in until 1pm each day, but she's getting better and she's happier and feeling much, much better than a week ago!

Kirsten has 2 days left of her antibiotic. It's supposed to stay with her for 3 weeks when she finishes that last dose. I sure hope she does not get sick any more! We like seeing her happy and well! :o)

Sewing curtains...hmmm

David took this picture with his blackberry. It is a picture of the curtains I made for he and Angela.

I hope to get a clearer picture soon. I was happy to at least see this one! :o)

David works for a furniture manufacturing place. They will have left over cuts of fabric that they can't use. The employees can take whatever they want from their discard pile. David brought home the red fabric in the picture. He asked me if I would make some curtains for their living room. Angela wanted the loops for the curtains to hang rather than the standard ruffle.

The curtains were easy to sew. However, those loops were a challenge! I had to make '40' of them. If I ever see another one, it will be too soon! I am glad that David and Angela love their curtains! They did turnout nice. I am 'not' a professional by any stretch of the imagination.

45 DAYS - I Did It! I Did It! Yippee!

Don't these looked oh so yummy? YES!!!

From March 1st through April 14th I put myself in 'Time-Out' for 45 days. The math is correct, 31 days in March plus 14 days in April = 45 days!

My problem is that I like junk food desserts too much! I like cookies, brownies, cake, (pie not so much), candy, root beer floats, ice cream and the list goes on and on. For a snack I would choose the above over 'healthy food' such as vegetables and fruit, etc.

What is my most favorite food in all the world? You'll be surprised to find out it is NOT chocolate!

I do love chocolate, but I LOVE SALADS! All kinds! I'm not much of a meat eater. Some people just love meat and potatoes. I could survive on salads! I love them! I love it when we go out to eat (which is not often) and they have a salad bar. Most of my plate will be salads!

My 2nd favorite food is dessert! Well, our body is a temple and we only get issued just '1'. At my middle age, having a healthy heart is important. Although I do not have high cholesterol, I really need to watch what I eat. Well I did just that! I watched myself eat too much dessert stuff! So I gave myself a firm lecture and put myself in 'time-out!'

Catholics have their '40-day lent.' I am not a Catholic but the thought was that I could do that, give up something for 40 days. But this inner little voice promptly raised itself and said, "Ah, make that 45 days!' It was a voice that was adamant, not warm and fuzzy. Yikes! That made me commit all the more! I didn't dare stray. I was totally obedient. I wanted the Lord to know that I 'was trustworthy.'

The 45 days actually passed pretty fast! The closer it got to the end though, I have to admit I thought more about when I was going to be free of my 45 days! Then I quickly got busy with other things to think about. But today I am free! I am going to proceed with 'moderation' and have a bowl of ice cream with a nice big fat brownie! :o)

Our Sweet Little Kirsten!

This is Kirsten on her '19th' birthday.
She is throwing up sick and 'out of it!'





This was taken on April 10th. Her class made her birthday
cards and a Get Well card. She was feeling a little better.
She had just come home after a CT scan on her sinuses. We
had other appts. and she was pretty much exhausted!

This is her over the weekend and she sleeping sweetly and peacefully.

This was taken over the weekend and she was feeling better

and playing with her toys and had actually made some clutter!

This was taken today, April 13th, after having another

CT Scan on her abdomen. She has gall stones. We hope

they are behaving!

Happy 19th Birthday Kirsten!

April 2, 2009 - HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY! KIRSTEN KIMBERLY ANN GUPTILL

The smilebox below is our tribute to our daughter Kirsten for her 19th birthday!

It's hard to believe that 19 years have passed! In some ways it seems not that long ago. Then there are times when it seems like it was forever ago. A lot has taken place in her 19 years.

Kirsten's life has been an adventure! We have grown a lot in taking care of her. She is a sweet princess. Why we were lucky enough to be chosen to have her is beyond me. We were green as green in taking care of a special needs little girl. Her family welcomed her with open arms. They love her tenderly and warmly.

Kirsten is a full trisomy 18-Edwards Syndrome and one of a very few living in the USA. Kirsten was born 7 weeks premature and was in the NICU for 3 weeks and then in the intermediate nursery for 3 more weeks and then came home. At birth she weighed 4 lbs. 2oz. and was 17 inches long. When she came home at 6 weeks she weighed 1/2 an ounce under 5 pounds. At one year, she weighed 7-1/2 pounds. At two years, she weighed 10 pounds. Those first 2-1/2 years were quite a struggle. We almost lost her 3 different times. Kirsten fought hard! She had congestive heart failure, a stroke, pneumonia twice. Not fun times. At age 3 she was the weight and size of an 18-month old. We literally had a baby for 3 years!

Kirsten had corrective eye surgery when she was 5. Both of her eyes were crossed. She had C-Diff really bad and was hospitalized 6 times over one year in 2002. She had a G-tube placed to feed her nourishment. It's been 7 years and she still has it. Five years ago she had her first VNS implant. Vagus Nerve Stimulator for her Myoclonic seizures. She is now on her 3rd battery. She had drop seizures so bad that they debilitated her and she lost over 1/3 of her functions. Two years ago Kirsten had brain surgery, a corpus callosotomy, and no longer has drop seizures. Unfortunately the functions she lost will never come back. Once she walked with a walker and independently around furniture and rode a special trike. Those are now in her past.

Kirsten is so courageous! She never whines or complains. She takes illnesses as if they were just part of life. She is such an example to her family. She has such strength. Kirsten loves to laugh! She has her 'silly' moments! She has giggle jags and we have to tell her, "Kirsten come up for air!" Kirsten has the sweetest smiles! We love to see her smile! She has a very 'special spirit.' People are always drawn to her. As her mom I cannot stand to be away from her for very long. If I am running errands while she is at home with her papa, I can hardly wait to kiss and hug her when I get home. She gets bushels of kisses and hugs on a daily basis.

God allowed her to come to us and she has taught us many things. She is a gift from Him. We tell her that when she is ready to 'go home' to please 'put in a good word for us!' :o) Right! She has her salvation assured. We have to 'work out ours!'

Here's to you Kirsten - a sweet daughter of God. Our little princess! May He always bless you and keep you close in our hearts forever!

WE LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Kirsten's 19th Birthday!

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