I went to Wetaskiwin to see my very special friend Miss C and her Mom. We finally exchanged Christmas gifts and had a very nice visit. I got her flowers and a bath towel set in her favourite color of BLUE! It was very nice to see her. I hadn’t seen her since last summer. We need to see each other more.

Last week I got to stay in a hotel in Sherwood Park with my Mom and go to the Carrie Underwood concert. Runaway June, Maddie & Tae were the opening acts. They were ALL amazing. My favourite part was Carrie’s last song, I was waiting all night for it… I feel Pretty from her new album! She sang lots of songs, some of them I forgot she even sang!

It was a little work to get to our seats. We had to take 4 elevators and go through security. Sometimes it is hard to get tickets because I need a wheelchair spot and there aren’t that many. So I was very thankful that I got to go.

The next day after the concert we spent the day in Edmonton. In the morning we went to Greenland Greenhouse and I bought my Dad his Father’s Day Gift…SHHH!

We went to Sherwood Park and met my Godmother Kim for lunch. My birthday is coming this Friday so I got to pick out some of my own gifts! It will be very hard to be surprised on my birthday!

The first weekend in June is Jaywalker’s Jamboree! I LOVE going to Jaywalker’s. I went on Saturday with my roommates and my staff. We walked around and did rides. Darby (my staff) was really nice and went on rides with me. I got to go on almost every ride I wanted to. Darby would carry me up the stairs and then I would be secured in the seat with the seat belt so I was safe. It means a lot that she would do that for me. Thank you DARBY and MELISSA for helping me experience Jaywalker’s!

 

Thursday May 9th

We started Bocce Ball with Special Olympics. We got Special O t-shirts to wear to show off Bocce Ball. It was too cold to wear it…next time!

Rose Club had an event at the Clubhouse Virtual Golf. I went to participate and when I got there I couldn’t get in. It wasn’t wheelchair accessible. It got me so frustrated because I had signed up for a fun event and wasn’t able to participate. So my staff Kathleen decided to go for a walk around Mirror Lake and do a photo shoot! While we were on my walk I saw my Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Johnson! I haven’t seen in in forever! That was a nice surprise. The night turned out to be fun after all.

On Saturday we went to Jubilee Park for a wiener roast and I used the workout equipment, it was a lot of fun! I also got to have cheesecake! My staff Marianne took me on the circle swing, I enjoyed that a lot.

Mother’s Day we went to the Lois Hole Greenhouse in St. Albert with Joel & Ashley. After we went to their new house. I had to take my other wheelchair to Edmonton because I wouldn’t have been able to get into their new house. I gave Mom some homemade gifts that I made at Centra Cam for Mother’s Day and I had special photo cube made for her that she really liked.

That night I had to go to the Emergency department again because I had really bad cramps. I have been referred to a Specialist in Leduc…hopefully we get some answers. I am sick of feeling like this.

Tuesday May 13th

Rose Club had a games night. Some people were outside playing basketball and inside there were board games and Wii. I played UNO.

Saturday Ashley and I went and got our nails done.

Sunday May 19th I went to my parents and use watercolors to color butterflies. It looks like stained glass when you are all done.

Monday May 20th of the long weekend I colored my hair black with Darby’s help (What do you think?!)

Monday afternoon we celebrated my roommate Craig’s birthday! I bought him a gift card for Subway & Booster Juice. For his party we BBQ’d  hot dogs, and had chips & black forest cake. Kyle, Joel & Craig went outside and played soccer. It was a really good birthday.

 

On Wednesday the 24th my Auntie Donna came to visit from Unity Saskatchewan! She is my mom’s sister!!! It’s a hard thing to see the family because they are so far away from Camrose. But also their houses aren’t wheelchair friendly or able to get into because they have steps , so if we want to see them they have to come to see us.

It is always special to see loved ones… this isn’t a recent picture but I thought I would share it anyways.

Thursday evenings we have Girl Power. We are learning how to figure out our emotions, our rights and what is important to us. It is a really good group of girls and I feel it is helping me a lot in my life.

On Friday night I watched Sex in the City the second movie on Netflix and it was really good. I think this weekend I will watch the first one!

Saturday afternoon everyone from my house and my friend Nicole went to the Avengers movie. It was an amazing movie to see and the theatre was so busy. Good thing we went early we might not have been able to get in.

Saturday night I painted my nails purple with sparkles.

Sunday I went to Costco and the new outlet mall in Leduc. It was really fun. I didn’t buy anything but my brother got some stuff.

Every month at Centra Cam we have a workbook that teaches us different topics. This month we learned how to vote. It was very interesting to learn new things about Centra Cam and how to vote in our community. Maybe next time I will vote!

Monday I went back to the library to do my job. I haven’t been there in awhile because of all my school presentations. It was really good to be back.

Tuesday was our last school presentation for the year! We went to Killam School for the the first time and we rocked it! The roads were scary when we left Camrose but they cleared up right away. Thank you Cherilyn and Paulette for helping me do 16 school presentations this year! It was amazing. I can’t wait til next year.

 

Saturday Karli (my staff that is on maternity leave), Alex, Wren & her new baby Kingsley came to visit. I got to hold the baby. She is soooo cute! Wren was walking around the living room he is sooo busy!

After they went home my roommates Craig, Teresa and I decorated Easter Eggs with food coloring and vinegar. It was fun, you are never to old to do kids stuff!

On Sunday I went to my parents and the first thing we did was go for a walk on the berm it was very nice out.

Then Luke and I tried to decorate eggs with shaving cream and food coloring. It didn’t work very well. We went back to the old fashioned way with food coloring and it was successful.

My brother Luke is in art school in Calgary and he is home now until September! He made a coffee maker, spoon, ring, necklace and a plate all out of copper. They are pretty amazing. I am so proud of Luke 🙂

This was the first Easter Joel wasn’t home he was in Moose Jaw with his girlfriend’s family. We missed him but hope he had fun. My Mom made pineapple & ham for Easter Dinner and strawberry cheesecake with chocolate crust for dessert. I tried everything. It was very good.

Every year Mom buys us chocolate Easter Bunnies and Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs.

I hope your Easter was amazing like mine.

Sunday night I watched American Idol and my favorite Singer Brett young was on. He is so DREAMY!

I hope you saw my blog last week about Random Acts of Kindness check it out if you haven’t seen it and help me change the world!

Every month I research a different topic for a poster board at Centra Cam. Cherilyn and I are going to use some of these topics and my research to share on my blog. I did an activity and asked the staff and individuals to participate. I asked them to draw their hand and write down some ideas to pay it forward. This is my hand.

I recently watch the movie Pay it Forward and decided that would be a good topic to share with everyone. I think it is important to think of others before you think of yourself.

Here is what I learned from the movie, I recommend you watch it. But make sure you have a box of kleenex you will need them really bad!

The main character, Trevor McKinney had some hard issues to deal with in his life. These problems in his life made him feel uncomfortable because he didn’t quite understand them. Trevor was inspired when his social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet gave him an assignment to change the world.

Trevor’s idea was very original. He wanted to help three people. His idea was that if someone does something nice to you, to turn around and do something nice for someone new. He called this idea Pay it Forward.

Trevor’s assignment made a big difference in the lives of many people. I recommend this movie, it was inspiring for me to watch it, I hope it inspires you too!

Doing something good for someone else without expecting anything in return is known as paying it forward, and it’s a great way to stay on the right side of karma. While this is a good idea every day, April 28 is International Pay It Forward Day.

The message is simple: do something nice for someone and ask nothing in return other than they do something nice for someone else. Part of the beauty of this idea is that it doesn’t have to cost a cent.

I want to help people learn about how they can make a difference in their community through paying it forward.

Think of it as the ultimate anti-bullying strategy. By raising awareness and having conversations about kindness, then following through with our actions.

Doing good for others can have a power, positive effect on the immune system.

I want to encourage you to find a way to pay it forward and try to change the world to make it a better place! I challenge you from today until April 29th the day after International Pay it Forward Day to do something kind and share it with me! I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Some ideas that you might want to try:

• If you know someone that can’t do something like shovel walk, mow their lawn, take out their garbage…. offer to help them
• If someone you know doesn’t drive or can’t right now offer to go do errands for them or take them to their appointments
• At a drive through, pay for the car behind’s meal and give the cashier a Pay it Forward card to pass on…You could do this at the train station, at a coffee shop – anywhere you like.
• Tell the manager of a restaurant how great your waiter/waitress was. This can happen in any store / business you visit. Aim at brightening someone else’s day.
• Cook a casserole for a new mother or a family that is going through something and just needs a help.
• If you are washing your own car or mowing your own lawn, do the same for your next door neighbor
• Do some work for a client or one that can’t afford your services free of charge – just ask that they Pay it Forward
• Next time you go grocery shopping buy a little extra and take it to the food bank.
• Go through your closet and donate clothes you no longer need.
• Donate your gently used books.
• Smile at someone. Give someone a smile. You’ll see that many people will quickly loosen up and return the smile.
• Donate blood. By donating your blood, you can potentially help another person to live. What could be more beautiful than doing something that helps someone else to stay alive?
• Listen to someone’s story. Many people don’t have someone who listens to them, someone who cares about them. You could be that someone. You don’t even have to find a solution to all their problems, sometimes it simply takes someone who is willing to listen.
• Give some words of encouragement. There are many situations in life where we see the most ludicrous things happen to strangers. Don’t be the one who just stops to stare, be the one who helps them to get back up.
• Spend some time with the elderly. There are many people in retirement homes that have no one who comes visiting. You could drop by your local old-age home and ask if there’s someone whose day you could brighten.
• Offer to take a photo.  If you see someone taking pictures of their family, offer to take the picture so that this person can be alongside their family on the photo.
• Leave your change where kids will easily find it. Remember that awesome day when you found some money when you were a little child? Well, now it’s your turn to pay this wonderful feeling forward to another child. Leave some of your change somewhere you know that kids will instantly spot it.
• Pick up garbage. Many people are so careless about nature that they simply throw things away right where they are. By picking up some garbage, you can relieve the burden these ignorant people place on nature.
• Carry someone’s bags. If you see an old lady struggling with all her bags from the grocery store, offer your help.
• Help someone take off their coat if they are unable too.
• Let others in the line go in front of you. If you’re standing in the line at the supermarket and you see that the person behind you is buying only a couple of things, let them go in front of you.
• Say “yes” when someone asks for help. If someone asks you for help, see if you can help in any way shape or form. You may not always be able to solve the problem, but you can at least help to alleviate its effects.
• Write a positive review of good businesses. Local business owners need all the support they can get. If you’ve come across a business whose owner does an incredible job, it’s time to spread the word.
• Tell someone they made a difference in your life. There are many kindhearted people out there who give without asking for anything in return. If you’ve ever benefited greatly from someone’s kind actions, writing a letter is a fantastic way to thank your benefactor. Doing so will encourage them to continue giving freely.

I challenge you to do some of these pay it forward ideas and share them with me! Send me what you did or take a picture so I can share it on my blog. Cherilyn will collect your emails csharkey@cafcl.org or post on my Facebook page. I can’t wait to see how this turns out!

Here are some Random Act Of Kindness Cards we made. Please print them and use them with your Random Acts of Kindness!

Kelsey's Kindess Cards

For the month of March we did a St. Patrick’s Day Theme Birthday Bash for Rose Club. For those of you who don’t know what Rose Club is… Read this!

The Rose Club is an adult drop-in centre where members plan and participate in social, recreational, and educational activities. The Club officially meets approximately six times a month for Club night. This Club is run by the members. Camrose Association For Community Living) CAFCL  provides the Club with a part-time staff person who assists the executive in planning activities. The executive is elected each year by the members. A person does not need to be part of CAFCL services to join. – It is so much fun…. if you know anyone you should really come and try it!

Their was a band that played guitars and piano’s and they sang Irish songs. We had lots of fun dancing.

For my brother Joel’s birthday and his girlfriend Ashley’s birthday we celebrated them together because their birthday’s are a week a part. First we went to Costco and I got some new clothes. We then went to an Italian Meat Shop and they had so had many choices for meats and new cheeses. We bought some to make pizzas for supper. I tried some of the meat and cheeses at the shop and they were REALLY good! Mom made a Cherry Cheesecake for both of them for their birthday cake. It was really good food and a good time.

Family Friends that are really close to us Mel and Murray came for a visit. Mel used help me at Kandu Summer Camp for lots of years and when Mom & Dad would go on holidays Mel would stay with us. They have twins Jack & Zoe that  are almost 2 years old. I got to hold Zoe….she is sooooo cute! The kids were so funny. Zoe likes to push her brother. I enjoyed watching them. Joel and Mel’s brother Josh were in school together. Josh is very nice to me. He was always one of Joel’s friends that made me feel special. This family means a lot to us.

The End of March Special O Bowling is done for the year. We always have a bowling tournament and a banquet in the evening. This year I got 3 ribbons, first game I got second place, second game I got first place and the third game I got third place! The Banquet was held in the City Lights Church. We had a supper, a dance, Karaoke and awards. Everyone got a take home gift, this year it was a Face Cloth that said Special O on it we can get our names on it if we want to. I’m going to miss bowling until next season. But I look forward to Bocce Ball starting in May.

On Saturday March 2nd we had only one staff on so we were housebound! We made chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. I have a mixer that I LOVE using. Theresa and I put the ingredients in the mixer bowl and then I mix it up! We both make the little cookie balls to put on the cookie sheet. We watch them bake in the oven. We put the cookies in baggies and freeze them. We share with everyone in the house. I also took some cookies to my parents on Sunday.

That afternoon we Facetimed with Nancy (my staff that moved back to New Brunswick). She showed us her house and she told us what she has been doing. She got new things for her house. She is still unpacking. My iPad died so we didn’t get to say good bye.

All my roommates were able to talk to her. This a picture of all of us talking to Nancy!

On Sunday my AWESOME brother Joel was home so we decided to change my feeding tube. When we change my tube it is kind of uncomfortable. I have to lay down, you have to put 5mm of water in a balloon that goes in my stomach to keep my tube in place. But you have to do it super fast if you don’t it might close up and I would have to go for surgery.

While Joel was doing this I was holding his girlfriend Ashley’s hand and talking on the phone to my Grandpa in Ontario. That helped me not focus on it. Thank you Joel and Ashley for helping me!

Since my last blog I have done 6 school presentations! All at OLMP for the Grade 5 and 6 classes. They have went really well! I hope some of them read my blog and I hope my presentation gave them a good message. One of the students had a question about how I eat. We do talk about it in the presentation but we are now going to put a picture in to show me eating. We thought we share that with you! We are headed back to OLMP on Monday, Daylsand School on Tuesday and then we have 2 presentations at Jack Stuart on Friday. We are SOOOOOO busy!

Here is a picture from OLMP!

We had a Valentine’s party at Centra Cam on the 14th. I decorated a photo booth prop, we had a dance party. There was an activity table with coloring pages and word searches. It was a lot of fun.

We had Theresa’s 50th Birthday party on February 15th. We had black forest cake with cherries. Mary Anne our staff made 40 cupcakes for the party. Tracy a CAFCL staff member painted Theresa’s, Mary Anne & my face for the birthday party. She is so talented.

On a good week I only see my parents on Sunday. Last week I saw my Mom 4 times! (Which isn’t a bad thing!) I was not feeling good and ended up making lots of trips to the hospital. I had a ct scan and ultrasound and everything came back fine. It was really frustrating. It turns out it was just a silly bladder infection but I was in so much pain. I missed a whole week at Centra Cam and all of my activities. I’m happy to say I am finally feeling better.

For Girl Power a class I take on Thursdays we are learning about how to calm down after a stressful day. On Tuesday after Centra Cam we went to buy different things that I can use to calm myself down. I bought  myself some face masks, an eye mask, a picture frame, stress relief roll on. In my picture frame I am going to put a picture of my BFF Miss C and her Mom because when I think of them they make me feel better.

We start school presentations this week! I have 2 presentations at OLMP school tomorrow. I am super excited!

On Sundays I spend time at my parents. My Mom and I made hummus, guacamole & chocolate pudding. They are all healthy recipes the use olive oil from Vinesations. They are all really good, I love guacamole!

I got a new ramp that I take to the bowling so I can use my power chair. Mary Anne is a staff member that works with me. She asked her daughter Brianna to help her find a ramp for me. Brianna did and I am so thankful! Brianna and her son came over to my house and I gave them a thank you card. If feels so good to be able to use my power chair. They have changed my life. Thank you Mary Anne and Brianna for making this possible for me.

My staff Nancy decided to move back to New Brunswick. I made an angel food cake that I added fruit and whip cream to. It was like a trifle. We had a party for Nancy on Monday. I also bought her a cheesecake. It was a really hard week for everyone. Nancy was an amazing person in my life. We will all miss her so much. We have a plan to Face time to stay in touch.

Before she left Nancy and I had went and I had my nails done. I got gel nails and I LOVE them! I think I will get them again.

Staff come in and out of our lives. Some stay longer than others. I am always nervous and excited to meet new people but it is hard when some staff say good bye. I have learned that patience makes everything go smoothly. I have to be open to new staff coming but it is hard on me.

Mary was a staff member that left to another team and she is coming back! I am excited about having her back.

 

 

Saturday, January 19th

Rose Club went to Roger’s Place to a Oil King’s Game. I went in my van with Mary Anne, Monique & Nicole. Roger’s Place was very accessible for me. We got to park underground but we had to go outside and across the street to access the building. This was the first time I had ever been to a hockey game there usually I go to concerts! We had really good seats. I got to eat a Chocolate Brownie & ice cream with Mary Anne. The Oil Kings won the game 2-0 against the Calgary Hitmen. It was a great hockey game.

I have signed up for lots of Rose Club activities in February. We are going Mama Mia on the 10th I am very excited! I seen the movie and it was really good. Brian Dumont works at CAFCL and he is one of the Stars of the show.

Sunday, January 27th

This past Sunday I got to go Costco with my parents, my brother Joel and his girlfriend Ashley. We went to their place for supper, they live in an apartment and it has an elevator so I can go and visit my brother! After going to Costco we stopped by Save On Foods to by a Chocolate Cheesecake! Joel was mad at me because he bought me a new Brett Young CD but I had already bought it the day before!

On Monday evening we go to the walking track with Special O.

I started going to a Women’s Course called Girl Power at CAFCL. We talk about how to handle our feelings and emotions. I really like it so far.

My parents bought a ramp for me to use at the Bowling Alley so I can use my electric chair to bowl. It is so nice. Every Wednesday I used to have to be in a manual wheelchair and had to wait for people to push me around because I had bowling that day. This has made my life so much better!

This weekend coming up I’m going to Wetaskiwin Swimming Pool. There pool is really nice and I get to go in the hot tub because it is a walk in hot tub.

Can’t my next week!