We don't "do" Santa

We don't "do" Santa", and what that means is that we don't teach our children that Santa is real. He doesn't come to our house on Christms Eve and deliver presents. To some that is a surprise, they think we are "radical" and some even say we are mean. So let me explain why we choose this and see what you think.

We choose not to belive in Santa at our house, and instead we choose to totally make Christmas about Jesus. We celebrate Christmas because it's the day that Christians have set aside to remember Jesus birth. We bring gifts to each other because the wise men brought gifts to Jesus. We make a cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve, his birthday cake. And we even sing happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas day.

I guess my thinking is that it's his special day, it's birthday, why not give him all the glory at this time of year. I personally don't really remember beliving in Santa so it's not that big of a deal to me. I don't understand why we take our kids to see movies and tell them it's pretend so that they won't be scared, but yet will tell them that a big fat man comes into their house at night....that's just me. :)

We also talk a lot about giving to others at this time of year. God gave us his son, and we can set aside money, toys, and food to give to those who don't have any. God thought of us when he sent his one and only son, and it's important to focus on how we can help others instead of just focusing on what we "want".

We still teach about St. Nicholas, and as the girls get older we will talk about how other countries celebrate during this time of year. But everything will be centered around Jesus' birth. That's the most important thing that I want my kids to remember at this time of year. Plus I get credit for all out gifts. :)

We still do stockings (like St. Nicholas), we still watch Christmas movies about Santa, and read books about Santa, we decorate our house with "Father Christmas" figures, and sing Santa songs. It's just all pretend and fun. But each night before bed we hang an ornament on our advent calendar, and read a story out of an advent book reminding us about God's love and the wonderful gift he gave to us. And that is the trume meaning of Christmas at our house.

Decorating for Christmas

Here are some pictures of us decorating our Christmas tree. I didn't put out a lot of Christmas decorations this year since we are in the rental, but we still made it look festive. The girls had fun hanging the ornaments.

This week

This week has been awesome! Nick took off all week and we have just enjoyed spending time as a family. We went to the Renniger's extraviganza in Mt. Dora and did some shopping. I went to a Girl's Night out and watched New Moon. We took the girls to the Orlando Science Center. We had a cook out with friends. We celebrated my dad's birthday with another cook out and card games. We slept in, watch TV and movies, and just relaxed and had fun.

On Thursday we took a picnic to Highlands Hammoch State Park. Not your traditional Thanksgiving day, but it was so much fun. The weather was perfect, slighly cool but still very comfortable. There were a ton of people there all having fun together. The girls played on the playground while we set up our lunch. Then we took a hike. My grandparents came with us and we enjoyed their company. Then we headed home and played cards at my parents house. It was a really nice day.

Today was Black Friday. I don't like to get up early so my mom and I had plan to leave around 8 a.m. and head to Lakeland to do some shopping. Capri woke me up at 6:30 (which she NEVER does), so I decided to head out early. I went to Toysrus, and the mall before I met up with my mom. Then we went to Kohl's and Micheals. We got some really great deals, and saved lots of money. I am pretty much done shopping for the girls! :) Then tonight we went and got our Christmas tree. It's soaking in water and we will put it up sometime tomorrow.

I am thankful for....

I have so much to be thankful for, so I though I'd share it on here.

1. Most of all I am thankful that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiviness of my sins so that me and my family will someday spend eternity in heaven with him.

2. I am thankful for Nick. He supports me, loves me, and is fun to be around. In just a few months it will be our 10 yr wedding anniversary and I am still in love with him, and so thankful that we have each other.

3. I am thankful for Avery (first because she's the oldest). She is such a sweet smart girl. I love to watch her learn about new things. She gets so excited when she tells me about what she learned in school or read in a book. She loves to read which makes me so happy. She is a fun girl to be around, and she's growing up so much!

4. I am thankful for Sage. She is trully unique in a way that I can't even put into words. She brings so much joy to our family because she marches to the beat of her own drum. I love to watch her be herself. She has a unique style about her and a confidence that makes her who she is. I look forward to watching her grow each day.

5. I am thankful for Capri. What can I say about my baby? I am sad to watch her grow up but I am enjoying every minute of it. She has always been a very happy baby. She learned to say "love you", which just melts my heart. She loves to be a big girl and follow her sisters wherever they go. She is just so much fun to be around.

6. I am thankful for Nick's job at Bok Tower. I am thankful that his job has provided for us in a way that allows me to stay at home with the girls. They have been good to us.

7. I am thankful for my parents. They do so much to help us, by watch our kids for us, going places with us, and just helping us out in all sorts of ways. We love having them live near us and are just so thankful to get to spend time with them.

8. I am thankful that they will be starting on our house sometime this week, and that in just a few months I will have a brand new house!

9. I am thankful for all my friends both near and far. All my friends share a different quality that I am thankful for. Local friends who have playdates with me, or watch my kids, and just listen to me. Far away friends that listen to me vent over the phone or internet, and who I love to visit with when we get to see each other in person.

10. I am thankful for my church. Christ Community Church has been great for us. We love to worship each and every week. We love the people, and love all the activies that our church is involved in. Plus the girls love going to everything which is just so wonderful.

I live a really great life, and it's nice to take the time and think about all the things that I am truly thankful for.

3 states in 4 days

In September my mom and I made a quick weekend trip back to the midwest. We took Capri with us on our "Girl's weekend", but left Avery and Sage at home with daddy and Papa since they had school. We visited my Aunt Pam and Uncle Ron in Arkansas, our good friends Tim and Lori Dees (as well as my inlaws....and G/G Baker, and Uncle Gary) in Oklahoma, and then end the trip spending the night with my Grandparents in Missouri. Here are some pictures from our trip.Capri and I with my Aunt Pam at a park in Bella Vista, Arkansas Capri and I :)Capri giving Nana a kissCapri giving Great Grandpa Baker a big hugI love the smile on Great Grandma Baker's face. :)

Capri reading a story with Great Grandma Storms

Capri and I looking at some family pictures

Capri playing ball with Great Grandpa Storms

Capri and I with Grandma and Grandpa Storms

Capri fell asleep on the airplane ride home. :)

Halloween

These pictures are from the week leading up to Halloween. I left my camera at a Halloween party at school so I had to use a disposable on Halloween night. I'll have those back soon. But for now these will do. Avery and Sage with Callie (Avery's "BFF") at the FPC Fall Fest.

Sage as Wall-e (who else :) )

The family, Trunk-or-Treating at High Pointe church

Avery the tap dancer

Capri as Tinker Bell......she wouldn't let go of her bag. :)

Capri's cute smile!

The girl's a our friend's house

Churches

Here are the websites for the churches that my family is on staff at:

http://www.chandlercc.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44760
Chandler Christian Church in Chandler, Arizona. My Uncle Roger Storms is the Senior pastor here

http://www.bellavistachristian.com/site/default.asp?sec_id=1746
Bella Vista Christian Church in Bella Vista, Arkansa. My Uncle Ron Carter is the pastor here.

http://www.cotinyc.com/new-to-incarnation/welcome/
Church of the Incarnation in New York City (Manhattan). My Sister-n-law, Rhesa Storms is the worship pastor here.

http://www.hope-church.ws/
Hope Church in Springfield, Illinois. My Cousin Blake Carter is the Senior pastor here.

http://www.placervillefirstchristianchurch.org/
Placerville Christian Church in Placerville, California. My Uncle Gary Washburn is the Senior pastor here.

http://www.reallifechurch.org/index.aspx
Real Life Christian Church in Santa Clarita, California. My brother Andy Storms is the family life pastor here.

http://www.thecrossing.com/
The Crossing, in Costa Mesa, California. My Cousin Brett Detkin is the Adult Programming Director

http://aplacetobelong.com/
Christ Community Church. This is my church here in Winter Haven, Florida. My dad Tim Storms is part time care pastor.

http://www.orchardgroup.org/
This is Orchard Group a Church planting organization based out of New York City. My Brother Brent Storms is the President.

http://www.occ.edu/
Ozark Christian College. This is the college that most of the the above people attend and got their Undergraduate degrees. Including my parents. My Grandfather Dale Storms was on staff here for MANY years, working in the financing department.

I just wanted to share a bit about my family and the work that they are doing to serve God with all their heart. I am very happy to call them all my family!

A month later......

It's been a month since I've posted on my blog. We have been busy! We moved into our rental house.....slowly. We moved all the stuff we needed to live with all at once, and then moved the rest of it over the next few weeks. We now have everything.

We were suppose to close last week, but it didn't happen due to a paperwork error. So we are now waiting to find out when we will close for sure.

We love living in our rental house. We live next door to Avery's best friend, and a friend of mine. The girls spend a lot of time playing outside, and I have enjoyed having a friend to talk to while we watch out kids play. The dad is the youth minister at the presbyterian (sp? I'm too lazy to look it up), church. So we parent a lot alike and have the same values. That's so very nice!

Our 95lb black lab is now pretty much an inside dog. He does stay in our yard when we are gone, which is amazing. But he spends a lot of time, inluding nights, in the house. He loves it, and I don't mind, but there is dog hair EVERYWHERE!!!

We live on the water, which is beautiful, and have a great view of Bok Tower (where Nick works), but the 1100 sq ft is already feeling small. :) We are looking forward to the move to the "new" house whenever that may be.

Here is the view from the back porch.....

Clutter

Clutter seems to be the norm around here these days. Everything is in place for our house to close on Oct. 20th, so I have been busy packing, sorting, throwing things away. I am having a garage sale this weekend to get rid of what I know we no longer will want/need in the new house, plus all the stuff Capri has outgrown. I have a pile of garage sale stuff, a pile of stuff to go into storage for the new house, and a pile of stuff that will be moved into the rental. We got a stoarage shed last night and started putting stuff in it. We get the rental on October 1st. But for now my lack of garage means, that all those piles are in corners of my house. Between all the packing, and pricing, taking the kids to the varies activies, cleaning as best as I can, keeping up with laundry, and just normal day to day stuff, I am TIRED!!!!! I love it, I really do, but at the same time I just want to relax in the evenings. But with a very active toddler, at night when she is in bed is the best time for me to get stuff done.

I am ready for the next few weeks to be over!!!

New house

We signed the contract on our new "to be built" home. They should break ground on it sometime in late October or early November. It should be completed sometime in March. I am SUPER excited. It's 2023 sq ft, and has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a 2 car garage. To the left of the house is a grassy area that will remain open, and behind us is about 2 acres of pine and grass that is preserve so it won't be built on, and is public land so the girls can play on it. Here are the house plans, and the lot pictures.

House plans

This is my standing on the lot.

This is what we will see from our backyard. The grassy area will remain unbuilt.

Another view from the back of our lot.

1st day of school

Avery started 1st grade yesterday, and say started VPK (preschool). Sage goes from 8:30-11:30 5 days a week, and the YMCA. They both had a wonderful first day. Avery's teacher is Mrs. Richards who we have been friends with since we moved to Lake Wales almost 9 yrs ago. I am thrilled to have her teaching Avery this year. Sage has Mrs Shanta who was also Avery's preschool teacher. I am happy with both teachers. It should be a really fun year.

Sold

We sold our house!!!! Well I guess it's not sold yet, we signed a contract to sell it. But the lady who is buying it was preaproved so it should go smoothly. The plan is go close on Oct 20th! We are super excited, and have already began to look for our new house.

So far we haven't found anything already built that we like. The prices seem to be the same if we buy old, or build new. So I think we're going to build new. We have been talking to several different developments and pouring over house plans........lol We go talk to someone again on Wednesday. We are leaning toward one area right now because the lot we like only has neightbors on one side and is open on the other 2. Plus the sunsets are beautiful from the top of the hill.

We aren't set in stone about anything yet. It's all just a process. But we are having a lot of fun with it.

So say prayer that it all goes smoothly and I'll be able to pack everything up in the next 8 wks.

One more week

One week from today I will have a 1st grader, a child in Pre-K and one still at home with mommy. Where did the time go. As a child I always wanted to be a mom. But I always invisioned myself as a mom of babies. I guess I never really though past the diaper stage. Now I am still in the diaper stage as well as the preschooler stage and the "classroom mom" stage. I guess I'll find out what it feels like soon enough.

I have mixed emotions about school starting up again. I have loved this summer. It was just so fun going places with the girls, seeing family, and just hanging out. But at the same time I am looking forward to the routine that comes along with school. By the end of the year I will hate it and be ready for it to be over. But now I am looking forward to dropping the girls off at school, going to the gym, going grocery shopping with just one, and having the girls in bed by 7:30 every night (that we can). I am not looking forward to the rushed schedule of getting Capri to nap between picking up Sage, and picking up Avery. The driving to Winter Haven for gymnastics, dance, and church. Plus doing homework, and bath time all before bedtime.

I am however excited because I loved going to school when I was little. I love the small of crayons and elmer's glue. I love seeing all the backpacks and lunch boxes in cubbies. So I am excited for the girls, because so far Avery has loved school as much as I remember liking it. Even better because so far she hasn't come home crying over anything (like so and so won't play with me). She enjoyed every day. And I am sure Sage will too. Plus I get some great one on one time with my sweet baby Capri who is growing up way to fast.

So like I said, I have many mixed emotions. :)

Thank you

I went on a walk last night feeling sorry for myself. I was feeling unappreciated which I am sure all Stay-at-home mommies feel frequently. Being a SAHM is a thankless job. Capri doesn't say Thank you for me changing her diapers, Sage doesn't say thank you for taking her to weekly gymnastics classes, Avery doesn't say thank you for me teaching her hot to read, and Nick doesn't say thank you for me washing his clothes (or at least not as much as I would like).

I then proseeded to make a mental list of all the things that I do, to validate my feelings of unappreciation. I cook, clean the whole house, grocery shop, change diapers (and wash them since I colth diaper) do all the laundry for 5 (washing, folding, and putting away), take care of the girls and do fun things with them...... The list goes on. Also while having 3 small kids at home all summer and entertaining them, I have had to keep the house as clean as I can because it's on the market. Which has included frantically cleaning to show the house (which I have done several times). I could keep making a list, but I am sure you get the idea. ")

Then I realized I was being selfish. I WANT to do all these things for my family. I WANT to be a SAHM. Which lead me to some guilty feelings. Do I tell the people in my life thank you for all that they have done for me. Have I told my parents thank you enough for all the things they did for ME as a child. Do I tell Nick thank you enough for working so hard and supporting our family so that I CAN stay home. Do I tell my friends thank you enough for listening to me on a hard day, do I say Thank you enough to my friend Tammy for the countless hours that she has watched my children for me.............. No I don't. So why can I whine about feeling under appreciated when I have made others feel the exact same way.

At that moment I stopped at the top of a hill along my trial. It's a point in my town where you can look down apon part of the town and see a play park, a skate park, a soccer field, a baseball diamond, and a running trail that goes around a lake. I saw families playing games, dad's pushing their daughters on the swings, a bunch of teenage boys playing touch football, and some teenage girls watching the boys at the skate park. :) I also saw the beautiful sky, the clouds, birds, flowers, and a beautiful pink sunset. It's at that moment that I realized even more important that forgetting to tell my friends and family thank you. I often forget to tell God thank you.

I wouldn't be a SAHM, have a family, have friends, or have the trillions of other blessings in my life if it weren't for him. What a humbling moment. God created all of this for me at that moment. God loves me even though I forget to say thank you. He continues to bless me even though I don't deserve it. Wow!

So today I encourage everyone to say Thank you to God and to all of the people in your life both past and present.

Psalms 9: 1-2
"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

The last days of summer.....

We have had so much fun this summer. We've been to the movies, the mall, the park, Bok Tower, the Orlando Science Center, the beach, been to playdates, pool parties, birthday parties, church activies, had family visit....... Lots of fun stuff. But I still can't believe it's August and school will start in just a few short weeks. We are all prepared. Avery went to "Blast off to first grade" last week. We've gotten new clothes, backpacks, shoes, socks, and school supplies for both girls. They are super excited!

Avery will be going into 1st grade at Hillcrest Elementary. She loved kindergarten and is even more excited for first grade. She spend most of last year in the 1st grade reading class because she was reading so well, and completed the book, so my guess is that sometime after school starts they will move her into the 2nd grade reading class.

Sage is going to VPK (voluntary pre-kindergarden) at the YMCA. She goes 5 days a week from 8:30-11:30. She is super excited about going to school for the first time.

So it's just me and Capri at home in the mornings. I am going to be sad. I've had fun with all my girls home this summer.

My drop off/pick-up schedule looks like this:
7:45 Take Avery to school
8:30 Take Sage to school
11:30 Pick-up Sage
Hopefully Capri will take a nap during this time
2:30 Pick-up Avery from school

Wed nights we have Awana for both girls, Thursday nights we have Gymnastics for Sage, and some night we will have dance for Avery, I don't know what night that is yet.

I'm going to be busy..........

1-2-3

The number of kids each family has is always a hard desicion, and sometimes not even made by us....in our case. We knew we wanted more than one. I always wanted three. My hubby was fine with two. We were in the middle of "figuring out" if we were stopping with 2 when God said "surprise" and sent us #3. And of course we were happy and love her to peices.

For me personally, going from zero children to one child was easy. I wanted to be a mommy for as long as I could remember. We hadn't really planned the timing (well we actually did for my first born but I miscarried right before her and that one wasn't planned). But it worked out great. Avery was a super easy baby, and just a whole lot of fun.

Going from 1 to 2, was much harder. They are 2 years 2 months apart. Sage was a gassy baby so because of that she was upset a lot, not colicy (she didn't scream for hours or anything), but she slept great. I don't know if it was the stress of having two kids or what, but I went through MAJOR post pardum depression. It was worse that most people, other than myself and my hubby, will ever know. I wasn't me for what felt like years and years. It didn't start really until Sage was about 6-8 months old, but it lasted until she was about 16-18 months old. It really was just a hard time emotionally for me, and our marriage. And still to this day is something that I am always aware of.

Going from 2 to 3, knock on wood, has been easy and so much fun. Capri is a happy little thing who rarely cries. Although lately at 16 months old she is showing a bit of a temper when she doesn't get her way. But she sure is full of snuggles and kisses. And with the other two being 6, and 4 it's really pretty nice. I am really enjoying the ages and stages they are in.

But what I have learned from now having three kids is this.

1. For some, like me, having three kids isn't any harder than having two.

2. Each child is different

3. If you haven't had a "difficult" child, you really don't understand what some of us have had to deal with.

4. PPD is real, and VERY hard to deal with

5. I love my kids more than I can express

6. There is nothing better in the world than to see your hubby snuggling/singing to/dancing with, one of your kids.

7. The quickest way to bring tears to my eyes is to listen to my kids say their prayers at night

8. I love being a mommy as much as I thought I would.

9. Being a mommy is the most difficult and rewarding job in the world.

10. Grandparents are lifesavers. :)

The highest point

Capri is a climber. She tries to get to the highest point that she can get to. Her three favorite places to climb are the kitchen table, the computer desk, and up to Avery's bunk bed (on top). She can pretty much get to the top of the ladder now. For some reason she just wants to be up high. Maybe it's because she sees the girls sitting at the kitchen table coloring, which she also likes to do), or because I sit at the computer desk a lot (not as much now that I have my netbook), or because the girls like to sit on Avery's bed and watch movies. Who knows? All I know is mommy is getting gray hairs from all the times I have to pull her down from one of those high places. :)

Summer

Summer is really fun! Sage has had a blast having Avery home to play with everyday. And although they fight like cats and dogs some days, they really do have fun together. We have been going to the free movie at the mall, the YMCA (the girls go to childewatch), or the YMCA to swim. Avery has been to church camp twice. They are in their second week at VBS, the first time at the Presbyterian church here in LW but now the one at our church. They LOVE it! We've been to the lake to swim with friends, had a few playdates, and just had an all around fun time together. Oh and the best part is that we sleep until 8 a.m. every morning. I am really going to miss this time when they go back to school this fall.

Happy 4th of July

On Saturday morning I ran my 5K. Avery ran a 100 meter dash, and did awesome and got a medal. Sage choose not to run, and I wasn't going to make her. Nick hurt is back while stretching and couldn't run (he is at the doctor as I type this). It was a great morning.

We kind of just hung around the house in the afternoon. Nick's back was really hurting and the girls played with the neighbor boys. Then we went to Saturday 5:01 church. After church they had a Tailgate party. We came home and watched the lake fireworks from our backyard, and did the sparklers. It was a fun day.

Here are a few pictures.

My 5K

I ran my 5K yesterday. My goal was to do it in under 40 minutes. I did it in 37 minutes 58 seconds. Yes 2 minutes faster that my goal and almost 3 minutes faster that me previous best time. I had to walk some of it which I was annoyed with, but I think I ran faster when I was running to make up for the walking. It was hard since I didn't know where the half point was or anything, so I was a bit dissappointed while running, but when I got to the end and realized I still had pleanty of time to finish under my goal I was thrilled. I foud a little extra energy and sped up at the end. Then I was so happy when I looked down at my watch and saw that I did indeed reach my goal. I will be doing more of these in the future. It really was a lot of fun!!

For anyone wanting to give it a try, I say go for it. It's a great feeling of accomplishment.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is "the run". Tomorrow and 9 a.m. I will be running my very first 5K. I am a bit nervous. It's not really about the running. I know I will do fine with that part. I've been running for a little over 4 months now. I might now run the whole thing (there in a nasty hill that I might walk up), and I might now run it in less than 40 minutes (my goal), but I know I will do just fine regardless. I think my biggest issue is that I want to enjoy it. I've kind of been working toward this goal for 4 months now, and I want to like it. When I finish tomorrow I want to feel a sense of satisfaction. I want to WANT to run another one. I really want to make running part of my weekly life. That thing that I just "do". So I know that if I have fun tomorrow I will want to do more of these races. Maybe even a 10K someday. So I have been praying about it, and asking for prayer about it. Tonight I am going to get pleanty of rest and do my best tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

I woke up grouchy

I woke up grouchy........do you ever have one of those days? No reason to be grouchy. My house is clean, my kids are happy, we are getting some rain (which I like). No real stresses in my life. Lots and lots of blessings in life. Yet I'm still a bit grouchy. Maybe I'll stop reading my "self help" book and read a novel for a bit today and see if that will help my mood. :) Or do something else just for me. The girls are at a great age for a little bit of me time. I can put the baby down for a nap and get the girls started on an art project (playdoh, painting, beading....) and I can usually get an hour or so to myself. :)

So I hope today will get better..............

Think like a thin person.....

I am reading a book called "The Dr. Beck diet solution"......learning to think like a thin person. I am also going through it with my Wellness coach each week. It's been wonderful so far. I have to read my reasons for losing weight every morning. I have to follow her tips daily, and plan my eatting and exercising. I can use any "diet" I want, along with her program. It's been simple to do and a lot of fun. I lost 6 lbs in the first 3 weeks so it's working. :)

As of this past week I have lost 36lbs, and 3 dress sizes. I went shopping on Saturday with birthday money and got some really cute clothes. It was actually fun to go shopping for the first time in a long time.

I am running my first 5K on Saturday. I am totally nervous because I am afraid that I won't do as well as I had planned. I am doing so much better than I was when I first started running, but when I begin to compare myself to others I realize how far I still have to go. Which bums me out. That's true with most every aspect of weight loss. The "it's not fair" syndrome. Which I talked about a few posts ago. Each day is a new day and I am taking one step at a time. And honestly I am really enjoying myself along the way. It's just a struggle that I will deal with for awhile.

So please keep on praying. I know that I have asked that a lot but it's all I know to do in a time of struggles. I want this to be a permanent change in me. I know I will always have to keep in in check, but I want a thin active lifestyle from her on out. For both me and my family.

Single parents

I am a "single parent" this week. Nick left this morning for a work trip to St. Louis. He will stay in a fancy hotel, and get up early and stay up late, going to work meetings, tours of gardens, and "networking" with other Horticulturist. I will be home with 3 little girls who want to be contantly entertained (and yes I am sure they get that from me.) :) Tomorrow is my 29th birthday and I will spend it going to the free movie at the mall with the girls. I think we are going to go see the Veggie Tales movie. :) Then tomorrow night my parents are taking me out to Olive Garden (my pick), and I will end the day with a run. The rest of the week we have MOPS swim day at the Y, gymnastics lessons, MOPS playdates, a beach day with my parents, shopping for clothes (my gift from my parents), and 3 services of church. And you know what I am thrilled. I am happy that my dh has a job that sends him off to learn more and meet new people. I am happy that I get to spend so much time with my kids doing stuff that they enjoy. I am happy that I have family and friends to hang out with while he is away. I am just feeling very blessed.

Oh I am also happy that my dh bought me a netbook before he left. :) I am using it right now.

And tonight when I ran to the store Avery wanted to pick out a birthday card for me from her and one from Sage (Sage was at gymnastics at the time). And they spent an hour coloring and writing me notes that I will get to see tomorrow at dinner. For that I feel incredibly blessed!

I hope today you have had a chance to find the blessings in your life.

Avery

My grown up girl went to her first day/night of camp yesterday. She was so very excited. A friend of hers went with her and they had top bunks next to each other. They were about as giggly as two little girls can be. And I think I was just as excited as they were. :) I had such fond memories of my own summer camp days. I went to Sunset Bible Camp. http://www.sunsetbiblecamp.org/ Yesterday while preparing Avery for camp I had to look it up and see what was going on. Other than expanding and adding some lake activities it hasn't changed much. It was neat to see the pictures. :)

The first thing out of Sage's mouth this morning was "when do we get to pick up Avery". I think it's cute that she misses her sister. :)

Life's not fair

Life's not fair........
I say this to my girls, especially my oldest, frequently. However I also need
to hear it frequently. Why can my husband eat 3 huge meals a day plus snacks
and still struggle with putting on a few pounds while I drive by McDonald's
and smell the French fries and gain 3 pounds. Why do your kids wake up with a
fever on the day you have plans to get a sitter. Why does the car break down
when you finally have a little money in the bank? Life's just not
fair.............but our pastor today at church told us that life doesn't
"seem" fair. God sees the big picture, we see through our own eyes a
tiny little blurb of the picture. God doesn't make bad things happen to us,
but he does sometimes allow them. Even Jesus himself prayed in his last days on
earth asking God to spare him the pain of death on the cross if at all possible.
But also asking for "not my will but yours be done". I am sure that
Jesus wanted to stomp his foot and whine and cry and yell "life's not
fair". It wasn't fair that Jesus died on the cross for OUR sins, and
it's not fair when nap time runs short on the day that we need it the most.
The good news it that God gives up hope when life doesn't seem fair. He
uses bad for good, he loves us more than we can even imagine, and he uses
adversity to help us find hope. Romans 5:3-4 (NIV) "Not only so, but we
also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
So today or this week or next month when faced with a "life's not
fair" moment, I hope we can all stop and remember what Jesus has done for
us.

Summer

Today feels like the first officialy day of summer break. We had a crazy weekend that just kind of meshed with last week, so it didn't feel like summer break.

So this morning I took Avery and Sage to VBS at the Presb. Church. Avery was super excited because Callie was in her group. And Sage's little friend from MOPS was in her class. So I had happy girls. They really had a great time. While they were there I put Capri in the stroller and walked the lake trail. From start to the end and back it's 5 miles and I did the whole thing. I plan on doing this every day this week.

After I picked up the girls from VBS we went to the library. Avery got her very first library card, and she got a summer reading log. We checked out some books for both girls. If they read 10 books a week they can turn in the log and get a prize. I also started Avery on her summer homework packet which she is having fun doing. :)

So I'd say our summer is off to a really great start. Exercise, friends, fun, warm weather, school work, books, library....... Doesn't get much better than that.

Great day

Saturday: Saturday I went on a 3 mile walk, and 1 mile run. It was super hot outside but it was still really nice. I've got 4 more weeks until my 5K and I am working super duper hard on my weight loss right now too. I am feeling great! After lunch we headed to some friends of ours for a nice afternoon swim and cookout. After dinner we played Phase 10 and just had fun laughing with them.

On Sunday: I got to sleep until 8 a.m. Then we went to an awesome worship service at our church. They did a "Celebrate Recovery" service, and we got to hear some amazing testomony about God's grace, and changed lives. We had a nice lunch with my parents, and then came home and I got a load of laundry started. Then a friend picked me up, we picked up another friend and headed to the movies. The movie was funny and we got a great laugh. Then we went to dinner and just got to sit and chat.

I really just had a nice weekend. Every once in awhile it's nice to just slow down and spend time with our family, friends, and get a few things done around the house. It's a nice break from the weekly chores and errands that need to be done. It's refreshing. Praise God for giving us some really great friends to enjoy weekends like this with.

Wellness Couch

This spring I took a bible study led by Kim Avery. She is a Life coach by profession. Starting today she became my Wellness coach. For the next 10 weeks we will be talking on the phone once a week as she guides me in making some lifestyle changes for a healthier life. I am super excited. We are going to read through a book called "The Beck diet solution", which is about retraining how we think about food. Please say a prayer for me, that through this book, the talks with Kim, and my own personal choices I can make some real lifestyle changes that will improve my health.

Me again.....

It's been forever since I've actually sat down and posted on my blog. I appologize for that for any of my followers.......lol Life has once again gotten a bit crazy. It's the end of the school year which brings all kinds of activies. Avery's dance recital is this Saturday. The girls are both taking swimming lessons, plus it's been Mother's day, our 9th wedding anniversary, end of Awana program, running, going to the gym, church, friends, family.........you get the idea.

A couple of "new" things. As of today our house will be officially back on the market. We had a realtor come by yesterday and take pictures. We are using Sandra Fackender from Coldwell banker here in L.W. We really like her, and feel that she was a great choice for us. She came recommended. We dropped our price by a lot, and are really just hoping to get some bites in the next 6 months or so. So please say a prayer for us. We really could use some more space, and now seems to us, to be a great time to move. We hope God agrees. :)

I took my first spinning class last Thursday night and LOVED it! I am going again tonight. I think I was getting bored with my running. I was fine when I was doing the C25K program, but when I finished it and was just running 25-30 min each time I got bored. Which is totally my nature so it's not really a surprise. So thanks to all the rain we got I decided to give the spinning class a try and it was great. So I will be adding that to my running and hopefully that will keep things interesting.

On Thursday I start something "new" in the wellness department. Kim Avery who is a bible study leader from a recent class I took, and a life coach by proffesion is going to start doing a weekly "Wellness" phone confrence with me. I don't really know exactly what we will talk about, but it's along the lines of weight loss, eatting right, exercise...... so I am hoping that this will really help me, because I need a little push in the right direction again. :)

I also need to give God some major glory. We have had a very expensive spring. Like many of you I'm sure. Some of it has just been fun stuff that we have done (Nickalodeon hotel....pictures coming soon), Nick bought a new road bike..... but some of it has been some expenses like major car repair. I prayed that God would watch over our finances and help us be able to pay for everything. And like always he has blessed us. My church is doing a 12 week class that I am doing paid childcare for on Monday nights, and LACC (Lake Aurora Christian Camp...the camp I use to work for), has needed someone to fill in both doing some cleaning and working in the kitchen. So I am working about 10 hours a week right now and it's been a huge blessing. Even better a very GREAT friend of mine watches the girls while I am out at camp, so Capri still gets her nap, and I don't have her under foot. :) I can't say enouch great things about her.

Thankfulness ABC

I totally stole this idea from my sister-in-law Amy's blog. :)

Avery
Bible
Capri
DVR
Everlasting life
Family activities
God
Heaven
Ipod
Jesus
Kindness
Love
Money
Nick
Outdoors
Parents (my)
Quiet
Running
Sage
Time
Umbrellas
Vasectomy (I stole this from Amy also, but I had to agree) :)
Windows (preferably when they are open)
X-rays (okay so I couldn't think of anything else.....lol, but when Sage had her toe x-rayed I was glad to have them)
Yesterday
Zoo

Motley moms

Some friends of mine have a blog called Motley mom's. It's several different mom's posting on the same blog, stories about parenthood, and then opening it up to discussion, or ideas about things etc..... You can find the blog at.. http://motleymoms.blogspot.com/ I posted over there today for the first time. Feel free to stop by and check it out. And read it whenever you get a chance there is some really great women who post over there.

I timed myself

Yesterday I worked at camp for about 3 hours sweeping and mopping large rooms (along with a few other things). My arms were sore last night from pushing the sweeper around the rooms. I really wanted to ignore my run and do it today but I knew it would just hang over my head until I got it "out of the way". So Nick took the girls on a bike ride last night (Avery rode and Sage and Capri were in the trailer), and while he was gone with them I decided to run. I started out with my 5 minutes warm up walk and then started running. Normally I don't go to the end of the 5K point I stop where it's about 3 miles (instead of the .1 miles left) But last night I wanted to go the whole distant and time myself even if I had to walk some on the way. So off I went forcing myself to keeping going. I ended up running the rest of the way (except to stop and walk across a road because of a car). I finished in 42 minutes........which means I ran for 37 mintues. I am still a bit in shock.

9 1/2 weeks ago a 60 second run was too hard on me. I hated every minute of my runs. My legs hurt, my knees hurt, and I just never though I could be a runner. I didn't even think I was going to be able to run the 5K in July. So many times I wanted to quit and give up. Sometimes I felt like crying because it was just too hard. But I forced myself to keep going. Praying for God's strength the whole time (and I couldn't have done it without him). I kept reminding myself of all the reasons I was out there doing this. I have lost 12lbs along the way, and still have about 30-35lbs to go. But now I know that I can actually do it. Come July 4th when I actually run my first 5K I will be able to run the whole thing. I have just over 8 weeks to get a little faster. My goal is to finish in under 40 minutes.

I really just want to encourage anyone who is reading my blog and wants to start some kind of exercise program. I didn't think I could do it. I thought I was too overweight, too out of shape. I thought I need to lose the weight first and then start running. I though my knees hurting meant that something was wrong and I needed to stop. I didn't think my lungs could work any harder. I though my heart would beat out of my chest. And I still do.....lol Last nights run was so hard. I wanted to give up and walk. I didn't "have" to keep running. But I did, and I survived. And my legs aren't even as sore as I thought they would be this morning. So even if it's not running that you want to do but some other kind of activity, I just encourage you to get out there and do as much as you can, and add a little on each week. Do it 3-4 times a week and get pleanty of rest on the off days. You will get better, and you will be amazed.

10 wks to go

I have 10 weeks before I have to run in my first 5K. As of this morning Week 7, I no longer get to run in my C25K (except in my warm up and cool down). I will be running for 20 minutes without stopping. I can't belive that I have gotten to this point. Next week is a 25 min run, then 28 min, then 30 min, then 35 min until my 5K. It's still very hard, and I run at a snails pace, but I guess I will just keep getting better with time.

Now if my weight loss would just be as successful as my running is, I'd be in great shape.

Funny Sage story

This morning Sage drew Grandma Becky a picture. She used a pad of paper that is shaped like a rabbit that she got for Easter. She colored it and showed it to me. She said "look mommy this is a boy bunny because it has something sticking out down there". So without cracking up into fits of laughter I looked and sure enough there was a drawn on penis "sticking out down there". :)

I had my doubts......

Today was C25K week 5 day 3 run for me, which was a 20 minute non-stop run. I really had my doubts about it when I started but I thought I'd give it my best shot. There are 2 small hills on the route that I prefer to walk up (to save my ankles and knees), and other than those two hills (that added up to 45 seconds), I ran the whole way. Then on my walk back home I ran down one of those hills so I really ended up running about 30 seconds shy of 20 minutes non-stop. I really really really thought that I was going to have to stop early or take a break, so I am so amazed that I was able to do it. Now I must stop right here and say that my prayer through most of the run was "I don't have the strength Lord so I need yours". So I do have to give all the glory to God for allowing my body to do what I was so hoping it was capable of doing. He created it so of course he knows what it's capable of doing. :) 7 weeks ago when I started I ran for 60 seconds, and walked for 90 seconds and repeated that 6 times. My first day back I said "that was the hardest thing I've had to do in a long time"..........and 7 weeks later I was able to run for 20 minutes non-stop. So for anyone out there who wants to get into any kind of shape and things it's impossible then I say go ahead an give it a try. Start slow (I run at a snails pace), but don't let that stop you. I am still 40 lbs overweight, and it's still the hardest thing I've done in a long time. But I am still in shock that I am making progress.

Pictures

I just posted lots of pictures on my facebook account. If you don't have a facebook and would like to see the pictures please let me know. :)

Exercise

I never really thought I could say this and I am still a bit hesitant, but I finally belive that I have a routine going with my exercise. In the past 6 wks I have run 14 times. I haven't missed a day except for when I was sick and running a fever. I have had to rearrange my schedule to fit it in. I have had to work it out with my mom to watch the kids when Nick was out of town. I've even run as the sun was setting. I started week 5 tonight and was actually able to complete it without stopping (3- 5 minute runs). And although I am going to repeat week 5 day 1 again on Tuesday I think I might be able to do week 5 day 2 soon.

Now the second part of this is that I need to get the eatting undercontrol. I am in a new "weight decade" as my friend calls it. I haven't seen these numbers in over 7 years. But as Nick pointed out to me today (and he was joking with me, it was in a very nice context). I am always coming up with reasons I should be allowed to eat more. For example my excuse from today was that you can't count calories on a holiday (Easter).......lol And although I am not going crazy, thus my continual weight loss, I am still not doing the best that I can. I know if I keep up with the running, AND watch what I eat I will find sucess much quicker. It's still easier said than done. Plus a friend on facebook even pointed out that "When I exercise and eat well I feel better". It's possible to KNOW this but still not follow it. So I know a lot of you are praying for me and I really appreciate it, and I still need the prayers when it comes to the running, since I still have a long way to go. But I could also use some special prayers for my eatting habbits. It's no fun to say no to sugar, and eat more fruits and veggies, but as I tell Avery all the time "sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do".

Good Friday

Happy "Good Friday" to everyone. Today at lunch I took the opportunity to talk to the girls about what good Friday was. They know the story of Jesus crucifiction, and Resurrection but I think it really sunk in when I told Avery that this was the day many many years ago that Jesus died. It scary and exciting at the same time when I think about the "job" I have of helping my girls find their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They know that Jesus is God's son, and if asked they want to spend eternity in heaven, but I am not sure they truly understand yet. What an amazing blessing I (we) have to teach them what that truly means. So on this Good Friday I am lifting all my friends of small kids, or any children who haven't made the choice, up in prayer as we teach our children about God's gift to us.

Friends

I am so very thankful for my friends today. For years I have (and still do) pray for friendship. People to come into my life and help me along through the trying times, celebrate with me through that happy times, and just chat with me when life is "normal". My prayers have been answered through all kinds of people throughout my life. Some friends who come and stick around while others come and fit a need for a specific time and then fade away (although always remaining friendly). I have great friends who I can call on to help watch my kids when needed, to come and play cards with, watch a movie with, go to the beach with, and go to the park with. I have a great group of friends that I go to MOPS with, some great French lesson mommies, great playpark mommy friends, and some awesome friends from church. So today I am just lifting up a pray of thanksgiving for all of the wonderful friends that I have in my life. You know who you are. :)

Me

Here's a little information about me that you may or may not know. I tend to get "depressed", in most cases I don't mean chemical depression, I just mean "blue". Something happens where I am sad, doesn't even have to be a big event, just a bad day or even a bad moment, and I tend to get wrapped up in it. I let it pull me down. I will mope around and feel sorry for myself, and have the "Eeyore syndrome". After Sage was born I did have self diagnaoses chemical depression. It lasted months and months, I couldn't break free from it. I didn't feel like me...... But most of the time that's not the kind of feeling I get.

Fast forward to last night. I really had a great day. I went to MOPS yesterday morning and had a great time. My kids were in a good mood all day. I got some cleaning done, cooked the girls dinner, watched a little DVR TV (which I don't do often), really just a good day. But last night when the kids were all in bed and it was just me, I got sad. I missed Nick, I was lonely, and I let myself be dragged down by that. That poor pitifull me attitude. So I feel back on my old stand by........food. I made cookie dough at ate it. I'm not proud of that, and now it makes me mad at myself, but that's what I did.

So today I woke up and gave myself a talking to. :) I have been doing great on my weight loss and running. I am 25lbs below my pre-pregnany weight with Capri, and although I am on a plateu right now (I think due to the starting of my running program), I am really doing well. I am eatting healthier, and making good choices. I have pretty much kicked my soda addiction. I do on occasion still drink it but it's almost always diet (I know that's not great either, but I take it one step at a time). I am drinking a ton more water. I am doing my running program 3 times a week, and usually 2 other days in the week I am doing some kind of walking (like my playdate where I get to walk at the lake with a mommy friend). So I am really doing well. So why did I let myself get pulled down last night? I think it's because I forgot who I was doing this all for. I am not working this hard for other people. I am doing this for me. Which means that even in my lonelyness I need to remember myself. I am losing weight and getting healthy again because I want to, not because I have to. I forget that sometimes. So even though today I have cookie dough in my fridge I am not going to eat it (I will probably cook the cookies and make them a little hard because I don't like crisp cookies but my kids do) :) I am going to go run today, or do some kind of other exercise (depends on if I can get someone to watch the kids). I am going to remember why I am doing all of this. And I'm not going to beat myself up over yesterday.

Today is a new day!

Books

Still going off my post from yesterday I thought I would chat about books. And I really would like a response from anyone reading my blog. What's your favorite book from your childhood? That's the basic questions I wanted answered. You can also add your current favorite childrens book, or your favorite adult book. But really please share your favorite book from childhood.

My mom has the "Book house" book series that she read growing up. She ordered them off of ebay a while ago and now reads them to my children. They love them. We also (thanks to my sister-n-law) have an incomplete set of the "Valuetale" books, which are books about historical figures teaching different "values". I was a huge fan of the babysitter club books, Superfudge, Hatchet, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables........ As I have established before I like to read. :)

So please share with me your favorite books.

Reading

I love to read. I really always have loved to read. Thanks to my parents. Both my parents have always been readers, and as I was growing up my mom was great about taking us to the library, and reading books to us while driving on vacation. I think all of those things made me love books. I like to read all the "hype" books, like the Harry Potter series, and the Twilight series. I like to read feel good books, Christian books, mysteries, love stories, crime drama......... Some of my favorite authors are Luanne Rice, Jodi Picoulti, Kristin Hannah, Linda Fairstein...... I also love reading books to my kids. However recently I've learned something that's even better than that........

On Sunday after church we went to the mall and went to the bookstore (we go in a lot while at the mall, we weren't really looking for anything). There was a shelf of children's chaper book mysteries at the front that were by 2 get 1 free. Avery asked if she could buy some books, and I told her yes as long as she used her own money. So she picked out 3 books and was thrilled. She finished the first one tonight. Avery loves to read. She read the Junie B Jones books in a day, she reads complicated signs, papers, TV adds, really just anything. She doesn't sound things out anymore she just reads them like she's been reading for years. She's 6, and I'm just so proud of her. And I am so happy that Nick and I have passed our love of reading on to at least one of our children. There is just nothing better than at the end of the day to soak in a hot bath with a good book.

I hate running

Last night I completed my third week of running the C25K program that I have mentioned before. It's a 9 week program but I am doing it in 18 wks, so each week I do twice. So I have done "week 2" once and will do it again starting Sunday. I run on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I finally realized that I am never going to like it. It's just not something that I enjoy doing, but I am not going to let that stop me. There is something great about knowing at any time that I can give up and walk home, but I force myself to finish it anyway. I ordered myself a roadID tag last night, which is a little bracelet with your name and a phone number in case something happens to you while you run. On it I wrote "running for me", because that's what I am doing this time around. I'm not running because someone wants me to, or asked me to. I am running because "I" want to do it. It's good for me. I hate it while I am doing it, but I am SO glad when I finish. I need lots and lots of encouragement, from everyone around me because it's not easy, and sometimes I do feel like quitting. But this time I am determined to finish what I started. On July 4th I will be running in my first 5K. I don't care how fast I finish, my goal is simply to be able to run the whole time. So wish me luck, and if you see me, tell me it's worth it. :)

Birthday party

Here are a few birthday party pictures. We had a family/friends backyard BBQ to celebrate Capri's first birthday. I of course charged the video camera, got a whole package of AA batteries for my digital camera and was ready to go. However as the party started Nick and I looked all over and could not find the camera (I later found it in the stroller, in the back of the car from our recent Bok Tower trip). So these pictures are from my dad's camera (thankgoodness for grandparents). I don't have all of them yet, so these will have to do for now. :) Enjoy. Capri eatting a birthday hotdog.

Capri sitting like a big girl at the kids table.......we didn't put her there she climbed into the chair by herself. :)

Singing "Happy Birthday"

The whole time she had her hat on her head she had her head tilted to the side. I'm not sure she really liked the hat....lol

Yummy cake!
This way is easier..... :)
Why they put blue icing on a baby cake I have no idea???


The final pictures before Grandma gave her a bath. :) ........have I mentioned how great greandparents are.