5dB

Courtney has a profound hearing loss. When she was diagnosed in June of 2008 she had no responses at 120dB. She maxed out the equipment. Now, however, with those amazing "ears" Sassy Pants can hear speech sounds at 5dB and can hear at 15dB across all frequencies!!! I am so excited I don't know what to do with myself!!! I never thought normal would be so amazing!

3 Reasons I am Thankful for CI's

1. The kids and I were at a fun indoor/outdoor restaurant yesterday for lunch with a friend and her kids. As my friend, Erin, and I were chatting away I heard the loud speaker, "Will the mother of Courtney please come to the front." I wasn't sure if Courtney was hurt or what. I walked in to see Courtney standing in front talking to a worker. As soon as she spotted me she said with both hands out to the side, "Mommy, there you are! I couldn't find you!"

While I am so happy she can say all of that, I am most thankful that my profoundly deaf little girl can say her name. No signing. She can tell someone when she is lost. She can tell them her name! She is independent. Something 2 and a half years ago we didn't know if she would be able to do. I love it!

2. This morning Courtney comes running into my room and says as she points to both of her ears, "I want my ears on." I tell her to go get a battery. Without her ears on she says back, "Get a battery?" I sleepily nod my head yes. A few minutes pass and she bolts back into my room and yells, "I can't find my cochlear implants!" Yep, at 3 1/2 she knows she wears cochlear implants and knows they are different than hearing aids. She knows when they work, when they are on the wrong ear and when they need a new battery. And she can TELL me all of that! She amazes me! I love it!

3. I love the sound of her sweet voice. Something she wouldn't have without CI's. What is funny is when I tell her, "Oh Courtney I love your voice!" She always says, "Mommy, I'm not a boys I am a girl." I guess voice and boys sound similar! It cracks me up every time! Her sweet voice the other day saw mine and Bryan's wedding picture. She told me I was a princess and Bryan was the bad guy! I love it!

Love Bug Logan

Oh I just love this little boy! He is 100% boy. Let me share a story - WARNING - this is a little graphic. Mom came to visit about a month ago. We were doing our normal thing getting the kids bathed and ready for bed. At this age Courtney and Logan still shower or bathe together so we were shuffling them out of the bath and into their rooms to get their jammies on. I was drying off Courtney and Logan was standing in front of Mom facing me. He was, you know, playing with himself. I give him the look and tell him, "Logan, stop touching your penis."

He quickly responded with his head tilted to one side and a glint in his eyes, "I'm not Mom, I'm touching my balls."

Trying not to laugh, I said, "Well then stop touching your balls."

Right as I said this his naked self leaps by me. He whips around and says, "You stop touching your balls Mom!"

I looked at Mom who could hardly keep a straight face and we just all started laughing. I couldn't even discipline him. Who says that?! He is always saying funny things like that. I can't remember if I shared this one before, but it is worth repeating if I have. At our old ward (church) there was an older gentleman who always gave candy out to the kids. The first Sunday of every month is fast Sunday. One fast Sunday we were on our way home from church. The kids were talking about different things they learned, etc. Logan then proceeds to tell Jeremy, "Jeremy, we didn't get any candy today because the "Candy Man" only gives us candy on slow Sundays." It still makes me laugh!

Logan has a sweet spirit about him. He is all boy, but still loves to snuggle up and come in for a fix. I am going to be so sad when he stops wanting to cuddle. Every night we have to do a hug, kiss and a nose fight! He has such a tender heart and is sensitive, but in a much different way than Jeremy. The time apart from Jeremy is killing him. He misses Jeremy so much. I asked what he missed about Jeremy and he told me, " I miss everything about him."

He is playing T-ball and loves the fact that Bryan is coaching. Bryan just bought him a new glove so he has been practicing catching. If he could, he would do nothing but play baseball. He still wants to sleep in his baseball pants every now and again. At his opening ceremonies last weekend I couldn't help but envision us being at those ball fields for many years to come!

This week Logan will be sporting a look he left for a while - glasses. We went ahead and got a second opinion since his right eye still turns in a little after two surgeries. His eyesight is the same in both eyes which is good, but is 20/30. Not too bad. The plan for the next month is to see if maybe his eye will straighten out with the glasses. The doctor isn't too hopeful since he is only a little farsighted. So we should be scheduling a third eye surgery in the next month. I will keep you all posted!

As you can see in his picture he did lose a tooth. Well, he had it pulled because a long time ago he fell and killed his tooth (I am not sure if that is how you explain it?). It was fine for a few years, but then it became infected so out it came. He was pretty excited because he was the first Kohler kid to lose a tooth and have the tooth fairy come!

That just about sums up my little love bug. I sure love my boys! There is definitely something special about them! Keep us laughing Logan, we love you!

My Sweet Jeremy

It seemed like it would take forever until I would be standing at the airport watching an airplane take off with my sweet Jeremy in it. We told him when he was seven he could fly alone to California. A week ago tomorrow I was there in the Austin airport squeezing him goodbye and packing his bags with extra gum, candy, books and movies. Where has the time gone? He seems all grown up!

He is having the time of his life out there. He spent this first week with Bryan's grandma and grandpa (Gigi and Grandpa) and next week with my parents (Momo and Bobpa). I was so nervous no one would be at the gate for him when he got there, but of course Gigi and Gpa were both there with plenty of time to spare. I am not sure who was more excited, them or Jeremy? They scooped him up and got him pizza from one of our favorite pizza places in CA. I asked him tonight what his favorite part so far has been. He told me, "Watching the first three episodes of Star Wars over and over." Gigi has truly spoiled him rotten with games, toys, movies, and milk shakes!

One treasure Jeremy may not realize until later in life is the opportunity he had to go with Gigi and Gpa to the Pearl Harbor Survivors meeting last Sunday. Gpa has been doing several speaking engagements at different schools, parades, political gatherings, etc. recounting his experience at Pearl Harbor. Here is one of his amazing stories. They meet once a month at Fudruckers. Gpa is one of the youngest survivors and we are so thankful for his dedication and service for our country.

Next week Jeremy is going with my parents to Monterey to camp. It is supposed to rain so we shall see what happens. He's excited and definitely looking forward to playing with his cousins. Can't wait to see pictures!

Jeremy is an amazing kid with a heart of gold. He continues to always help us with anything as well as his brother and sister. He is so smart, and truly loves to learn. He just started piano lessons and is loving it. His teacher told him he has a bright future in music! Jeremy loves playing, writing, legos and Star Wars! That kid knows every character, planet, scene from those movies. I can't keep my own kids' names straight let alone movie characters!! He has had a rough few months between pneumonia, strep throat and a double ear infection. I think before all of this he has only had to have antibiotics once or twice at the most. I don't know what happened this year!!

He did finally start losing teeth. About a month and half ago he lost his first tooth. Amen! His second one fell out about two weeks ago. I came in one morning to wake the boys up for school and he was so upset because the tooth fairy didn't come. I asked him where he put the tooth and he said under his pillow. I asked him how come he didn't tell me he lost his tooth. No reply. Then I had to turn on the light to find the tooth. I reassured him that the tooth fairy surely came, she just wasn't able to find the tooth like we weren't able to. Whew! So the next night the tooth fairy came!

He is growing up so fast, in fact, the doctor said he is the average size of an eleven year old! He is definitely a Kohler! I am so thankful for my sweet Jeremy. I miss him tons this week while he is in CA, but I know he is having the best time and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Have fun Jeremy, we love you!

Merge

I'm getting my mojo back!! I realized today how much I love to write and how it helps me process through things. More importantly, it documents what is going on with my amazing kiddos! So, here's the latest of what's been going on for me.

I haven't written a whole lot about work, but the time has come that I do. For the past 5 1/2 years I have owned my own business with a friend of mine. In a nutshell we work with an outside evaluation company and write federally competitive grants for school districts. We then write our services into the grant; professional developments, educational coaching/mentoring, and we wrote a parenting curriculum that teaches parents of pre-K students the hows and whys of literacy. Now we are merging with another company and it is so exciting. A little fact someone shared with me is that only 2% of business owners ever sell their company or are profitable enough to be merged/acquired by another company. The percentage of women owned businesses that accomplish this is even smaller! Never thought about that, but it made me feel good!

We will become the education arm of this company. We are already planning bigger and better things than we eve would have been able to do on our own. We have the manpower to do it, we have the strategic plans to accomplish the lofty goals we have set and the passion behind all of it. However, the process and change that is coming along with it all isn't easy for me. I value stability and structure. This merge/acquisition will provide me that, but in the interim it's tough.

Today I finally accepted that it is completely okay that I am having a difficult time with it and it is hard. I also realized writing it all out will help me through this process and provide the structure I need. I am being challenged to grow professionally, to learn something new and that excites me. I don't ever want to be complacent. So, with all of that said, I am going to get back to writing, processing, telling my story, sharing my kids, my family, my life. And, I want to do it on a regular basis. Tomorrow is Jeremy's day so hold on for the ride!

Happy 3rd Birthday Courtney!

The Texas Move

I had to post my mom's version of the big move to San Antonio. Thanks for helping Mom and Dad - we definitely couldn't have done it without you guys!

We should have known that things would not go as anticipated when the phone message from Southwest Airlines came through as Bob and I were driving across the Richmond/San Raphael bridge on our way to the Oakland airport early on July 20. The automated voice cheerfully told us that our flight from Oakland to Los Angeles had been cancelled and to call back for more information. Frantically digging through the car’s center console, I located a scrap of paper and a pen to jot down our new flight information. Southwest had put us on a later flight, making the connection time in Los Angles about 25 minutes. Luckily we arrived at the Oakland airport with time to spare and were able to make an earlier flight to Los Angeles with a longer layover there, which enabled us to make the connecting flight to San Antonio without a hitch.

Karen, Jeremy, Logan and Courtney met us at the San Antonio airport and we headed directly north to Clear Springs for dinner. Bryan and Joey met us there with Julie Allen who was presenting a volleyball camp not far from there. Bob and I had been visiting with Julie’s parents and brother at Clear Lake, California the day before! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal consisting of the best onion rings, fried shrimp and sweet tea anywhere! After dinner, Bryan and Joey took Julie back to Kyle, TX and the rest of us piled in the minivan and drove back to New Braunfels. Once home, we immediately started bubble wrapping and packing, still not sure exactly when escrow would close and the keys to the new house would be available.

Wednesday, July 21 escrow finally closes! We spent the entire day packing as the movers were scheduled to call the next day between 11:30 and 1:00 to let us know when they could come to load up. Bryan picked up his cousin Jamie, at the San Antonio airport at 11:30 that night. She was coming for an extended weekend to attend a conference with Karen’s company in San Antonio.

Thursday, July 22 the movers called around 9:30 AM to say they were on their way! Needless to say, we were not ready for them as we thought we had more time and still did not have the keys to the new house. Bryan and Bob filled the minivan and pickup with miscellaneous stuff from the garage and headed to San Antonio. On the way they learned the keys were available.

Jamie went with Stacey for Education Alliance training and Karen, armed with cleaning supplies drove to the new house to frantically clean the kitchen before the movers arrived. That left Joey, all three kids and me at the house to finish packing and direct the movers. Once the movers arrived and looked at all the furniture and boxes they said they would have to make two trips. It was hot, humidity was high and the kids had all their toys packed with the exception of one small box full of cars. They went outside to play and it was not long until we heard Courtney crying. Apparently she and Logan got tangled up in the swings and Courtney landed in the dirt. She was not hurt, just covered in the powdery soil.

The movers left with the first load and Joey and I held down the fort with the kids. Bryan ordered pizza for us and he and Bob returned for another load. It was sometime during the time the movers were making their second loading when Logan found the small frog by the open front door. We had to do some fast talking to persuade him not to bring the little frog inside!

Stacey dropped Jamie off late that afternoon and we boxed up the master bedroom while Joey tried to entertain three tired kids with no toys. Bob and Bryan arrived around 6:00 PM for one more load. Bryan took Joey and Jeremy while Bob and I had two exhausted little ones. They were asleep before we got out of the neighborhood!

We had Rudy’s for dinner and hauled the mattresses upstairs for the boys, Courtney, and Bob and I. We could not put any other furniture upstairs as new carpet was being installed on Monday, which was three days away. That meant almost everything was piled to the ceiling in the garage – furniture, boxes, bicycles, etc. Bryan and Bob did manage to get the new TV stand assembled and the TV hooked up in the Great Room.

Karen and Jamie did not spend that night or the next two nights at the new house as they were staying at the River Walk Marriott’s for the conference. We staggered upstairs to sleep on our mattresses on the floor to get ready for the next day. However, our rest was short lived. Logan was up at 1:30 AM sick with the 24 hour bug that Jeremy had before we arrived on Tuesday. I bathed Logan, Bryan washed bedding and Joey staggered around wondering what in the world he had signed up for! Logan was sick all night until close to 5:30 AM.

Friday, July 23 Logan was limp and tired and just wanted to be held most of the day. However, Scott, the electrician was scheduled to arrive at 9:00 AM to install six ceiling fans and repair several outlets in the kitchen. We were glad to see Scott as it was very HOT upstairs! We all started unpacking what we could. Logan was sick one last time.

That afternoon a Time-Warner cable technician came to turn on the HD service and check the Internet cables. Bryan wanted to add two more cable drops, but the worker said it was too hot to go up in the attic and to call to schedule an appointment in the morning when it was cooler.

Later that evening we walked down to the community pool to cool off and relax a little. By then Logan was feeling fine.

Saturday, July 24 we continued to unpack. Bryan and Bob made a run to the dump. We were amazed at all the trash we had accumulated in such a short time. Then we had to reshuffle all the furniture and boxes in the garage as Rachel decided to take the extra set of living room furniture – two couches, a sofa chair, and ottoman plus all the pillows. Of course all that big furniture was stacked in the back of the garage. Bryan made a run to HEB for chocolate cake and ice cream as it was my birthday. We were too tired to celebrate!

Sunday, July 25 Bryan went back to work and we continued to unpack all that we could. Karen and Jamie arrived home around 9:00 PM – just in time to snuggle Courtney, who had come down with the 24 hour bug and had thrown up earlier. Naturally, she only wanted her mom. Courtney and Karen were up all night.

Monday, July 26 the Lowe’s carpet installers arrived around 9:00 AM and began working upstairs. Bob and Joey were hit with the 24 hour bug and were down for the count. Once Bryan got home he and I began unloading the garage and carrying all the bedroom furniture for the boys room, Courtney’s room and Joey’s room upstairs. Karen had to work and Jamie went to the airport for her flight back home, so it was mostly Bryan and I. Later Bryan admitted that he did not feel 100% that day either!

Tuesday, July 27 the roofing insulation team arrived in the morning to blow in insulation in the attic, located in the boy’s room. We placed flattened boxes where we could so the workers would not track dirt and insulation on the new carpet. Thankfully, no damage was done! We decided to take a break and walked to the swimming pool for a dip.

Wednesday, July 28 Bryan went back to work in Austin and the cleaning lady, Daney, arrived at 10:00 AM. Karen had a long list of things for her to work on. She wasn’t there long, when the Time-Warner technician arrived to install the two additional cable connections in the front playroom or Wii Room, as Joey called it, and in Joey’s bedroom upstairs. The technician was supposed to go up in the attic, but as he was 6’8” and the attic floor was hard to see with all the insulation that was blown in the day before, he decided it would be best to run the cable around the outside of the house and then inside. He was in and out, up on a ladder and working hard. In a little while another technician showed up to help him. Karen went outside to deal with the next door neighbor who was unhappy that the cleaning lady’s car was partially in her driveway when she noticed the first technician sitting on the porch sweating profusely. It was hot, but not that hot. Karen asked him if he felt all right and if he would like to come inside for a drink of water and to cool off. He decided to come in, saying he felt a little dizzy. He continued to sweat buckets. His clothes were drenched in sweat. By then the other technician was inside as well and we all decided it was time to call 911. Bob and Joey had gone to Best Buy to look for some CDs and missed all the action.

A San Antonio fire engine roared up to the house, lights and siren on. After checking his vital signs, the technician decided he would have his friend drive him to the ER. When he tried to stand up, he was too dizzy so the paramedics were called and they loaded him up and off they went to the ER.

The paramedics had barely left the house when two men showed up from Lowe’s to install the new dishwasher! It didn’t take them long to move the old dishwasher out to the garage for Rachel and to install the new quiet stainless steel dishwasher.

That evening we decided to go to Chipolte for dinner, but I was hit with the 24 hour bug and remained at home. Afterwards, everyone else watched The Blind Side and ate popcorn while I remained upstairs.

Thursday, July 29 we continued to unpack. Karen and I decided to take a little break while Bob and Bryan were out shopping and Courtney was napping when Logan came running into the Great Room shouting, “There’s a flood, there’s a flood!” The downstairs toilet had overflowed! Luckily, Bryan and Bob walked in the door at that moment.

Shawn came by that afternoon to look at the hot tub and to figure out the best way to remove it and repair the damage.

We were still working our way through the garage trying to unpack all the boxes that are stacked there. That evening after dinner, Karen and I went to Target to shop for school supplies for Jeremy, Logan and Courtney.

Friday, July 30 Bryan was mowing the lawns and attacking a flowerbed in the front yard when he spotted the Rotor-Rooter truck across the street. They came over when they were finished and worked on the downstairs toilets. One toilet has bad plumbing and the other bathroom needs a toilet replaced!

Saturday, July 31 was the night Karen and I killed Sputnik, the wireless router. We were trying to set up the new wireless printer. Luckily, it was only temporary and Sputnik was up and running again by 2:00 AM.

Sunday, August 1 Bryan was back at work. We all decided to go to Mimi’s for breakfast. Karen had been there once before, so we only got a little lost. Breakfast was delicious, but that night Karen was hit with the 24 hour bug!

Monday, August 2 Karen had to work in New Braunfels. A neighbor brought over a box of cakeballs, a delicious treat. Bob and I decided to go to Clear Springs for a shrimp lunch and pick up some plastic chairs for the deck that were on sale at Target. For some unknown reason, I decided to sit on one of the plastic tables. There was a horrible screeching sound. Bob looked over and all four legs of the table were pancaked with me on top! I bounced right up, we loaded the chairs in the basket and shot out of Target. Luckily I did not break the table! We laughed all the way home.

Tuesday, August 3 Karen had to work again and we continued to move boxes from the garage. That evening Karen and I took Jeremy to the mall to the Build-A-Bear Workshop and to buy new school clothes.

Wednesday, August 4 we went to Sunshine Cottage to see the new campus. It is beautiful – a state of the art facility. Jeremy, Logan and Courtney all got to meet their teachers. Bob and I packed our suitcases and Karen took us to the airport a little early on her way to a meeting. We were delayed about 30 minutes in Denver and arrived home at 12:30 AM. I slept most of the way home!

I had to write this down as no one would believe all we went through in two short weeks!