Just the 5 of us

"Mommy"

2011-03-08T05:31:00.000-08:00

Being a mommy is hard work, on many different levels. Right now my kids are at pretty good ages and not too difficult most days. I mean yes I have to stop them from fighting with each other, make sure they get their homework done and make them clean their rooms, but it's pretty "easy" most days. What I am currently struggling with is just being on everyone else's schedule. Nick's job has been VERY busy lately. Plus he is in a Spanish class, and a few times a month he is on worship team (although he is taking a break from that), and then the occasional "other" meeting/practice has him away from home most evenings these days. So everything falls to me. So between homework, baths, dinner, dance lessons, soccer practice, Awana, school activies, and soccer games, I don't have much of a life. My job right now is just to take the kids to each of their activies. And even on nights when we don't have after school stuff (Monday and Thursday), it's still filled with homework, cleaning rooms, cooking dinner, and getting showers done. So there is not free time. It's just going from one thing to the next. And unless I am in the car or at an activity I rarely get out of the house. During the day it's laundry, and cleaning house, feeding Capri, and playing with Capri, grocery shopping, planning groceries/couponing etc.... Now let me stop here and say that I don't want to change what I am doing. I LOVE being a stay at home mom. I wouldn't want to go to work and put Capri in daycare. I love that I am home when the girls get home from school. I love that I get to take them to their activies and don't have to do all that on top of working full time. So I do understand that it could be worse. But it's still just really hard on my emotions sometims. I'm not Lindsay right now. I'm a wife, and a mother, and a cook, and a chauffer, and a maid, and a teacher. But I'm not Lindsay, and that's hard.

Sorry for my ramblings. Just had to get it out. :)

Weight loss commercials

2011-03-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

I am finding weight loss commercials to be very funny these days. "Eat this, lost weight, don't eat this lose weight..." Special K cereal says eat 1 bowl for breakfast, and 1 for lunch and then a healthy dinner. Slimfast says drink one shake for breakfast, 1 for lunch, and eat a healthy dinner, and today I saw "eat one grain, 1 fruit, and a yoplait light for breakfast and lunch, and then eat a healthy dinner." The truth is you can eat ANYTHING you want for breakfast and lunch as long as it's around 250 calories, and then eat a dinner of around 500 calories, with 1 100 calorie snack, and you will lose weight. You can eat a donut, for breakfast, a snickers, for lunch, a granola bar for a snack, and a bowl of soup for dinner, and you will lose weight. Because the math behind weight loss is simple, burn off more than you eat. If you eat around 1000 calories everyday no mater what it is, you will probably lose some weight. But the problem I see is that most of American isn't fat because they don't know the right things to eat. So just saying "drink only a shake, and/or only a bowl of cereal" isn't helping. That works for a few days or weeks maybe, but it's not going to help them in the long wrong. Because even eating a snickers everyday would get old after awhile. I think weight loss is more mental than physical, and until we start to address those issues, I am not sure we are really helping anyone by telling them what to eat or what not to eat.

Half Marathon

2011-03-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

I did it! I ran in my very first Half Marathon. I ran almost all of the 13.1 miles. I only walked during water breaks, and once on a road that was at an angle because it was hurting my ankles. Other than that I ran the whole thing. It was so much fun! I felt amazing all the way up to around mile 8, and then I hit a wall. But I kept going. It felt so great to see and cross that finish line. And 2 days later I feel perfect. Just a tiny bit sore, but no worse than when I do strength training. I am still in a bit of shock that I did it. It feels so nice to have reached a goal that I set for myself over a year ago. Here are a few pictures.

Nick too this picture around mile 4.

I stopped on the side of the race and asked a Disney worker to take this picture with my cell phone. :)

At the end with my medal.

Buckling down AGAIN!

2011-02-18T09:41:00.000-08:00

With swimsuit season quickly approach in the sunshine state I am realizing more and more that I have a little extra weight or more importantly jiggling than I would like. So I am once again buckling down. I really think it's important to do from time to time. Sure it would be better if I just ate healthy and got regular exercise all the time, but as most of you know, that just doesn't happen. So I am buckling down again. I'm saying good bye to sugar and "white" foods and embrassing, lean proteins, veggies, and fruit. I will add back in healthy carbs after some time, but really it's best for me to just purge them completely for a bit so that I can detox from them and not crave them so much. This will not be the case on my long run days, I will eat higher level of healthy carbs on those days for the energy but for the most part it's lean meats, and veggies, with fruit as a "treat" each day. I know it's what best for me, and I see results every single time I do it, but it's still not "fun".

On the running side of things. I do my half marathon in 9 days. I am excited and a little nervous. I have come to learn that I don't really like distance running because of the time it takes so after my race I will go back down to running for an hour or less at a time. I also want to increase my strength training and add in biking just for variety. So give me a couple months, then bring on bathing suit season. :)

Running

2011-02-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I set out to do my weekly long run. I have learned in the last few months that I HATE long runs. It's not so much the running, it's that I just get so bored. And to make matters even worse my Ipod wasn't charged. So I ran for 2 hours and 30 minutes with nothing but my own thoughts. But I did complete 12 miles, which thrills me. Actually I ran 11 miles, and ended up walking the last mile, but I'm still okay with that. I've got 3 more weeks before my half marathon. And I am just happy that I am going through with this experiance. I don't care anymore if I have to walk a small amount of the run (although my goal is to not stop), and I don't care how long it takes me (although my goal is to do it in under 3 hrs). I'm not a fast runner, I am still a little bit overweight and I just don't care that much anymore. I just want to do it to say that I CAN do it. I'm not breaking any records, and I am pretty sure this is the only one I will ever do, but it's still something that I can say I trained for and completed. After this I will go back to shorter runs, and I may add biking one a week just for some fun. But no matter what I do I'm just going to keep moving.

My battle with weight

2011-02-02T05:45:00.001-08:00

I started this blog a long time ago to share pictures and stories of my girls with my friends and family, but then facebook got going and now I don't have a need to do that anymore. So I have this blog open, but haven't really decided what I wanted to do with it, if anything. I am not very good with words, I'm not all that interesting, and I don't really have anything profound to say. However I am dealing with my weight and so many people today are. Being healthy is important for me not only as a person, but as a mom to 3 little girls who I want to teach proper nutrition too. We are bombarded everyday with the "right" way to eat. Only eat organic, only buy locally grown food, become a vegan, eat low fat, stay away from carbs etc.... But what happens if you are a picky eater? Does that mean you can't still be healthy? What happens if your husband has a very high matabalism and needs to eat high levels of protein at each meal (my case?) What happens if you are packing lunch for 2 kids, and a husband, and following a "diet plan" and you are doing all of that on a budget? Do you use coupons.com to save, or follow e-mealz.com or just wing it? There are a million different plans programs, and books out there to tell us how to eat healthy in the right way.

So I've got all that bouncing around in my head as I try to decide what is best for my family. And it really comes down to the age old, eat less than you burn off. It's a mathmatecial thing, which for those of you who know me know I am horrible at math. ;) But I've learned in my getting healthy journey that it even goes beyond just eating less than I burn off. I can eat a cinnamon roll for breakfast (200 cal), and a candy bar for lunch (200 cal), and a small fast food burger for dinner (500 cal), and have rice cakes for a snack (130) and drink no calorie drinks throught out the day, and I've only reached 1030 calories for the day. I can burn that off by getting 30 minutes of exercise in and just moving throughout my day from point A to point B. But the problem with that is that I would be hungry or think I was hungry all day long. I would crave more sweets, and I would feel sluggish, and grouchy. Because even though I ate less than I burned off, I didn't eat well. And there is the key for me. It is simply a math thing, but it's also about feeding my body what it needs. The problem for me is that I AM a picky eater. I am not one of those people who has a wide variety of fruits and veggies that I just love. I try to like them, but I just don't. So somehow I have to figure out how to make what healthy food that I DO like to eat, work well for my body.

So my current goal right now is to lose about 15 more pounds, and maybe even more than that depending on how I am feeling. While running 20+ plus miles a week. I have a half marathon in about 3.5 weeks. After that I will drop my running down to at LEAST 10 miles a week, and add in some other kinds of exercise to keep it interesting, and to get me through the hot summer.

So this is what I am going to blog about. The ups and downs of my weight loss and eating healthy journey. Some days I may come on here and write about what I have learned and some days I may get on here and complain and feel sorry for myself. Because that's all part of the journey. There are good days, there are bad days, and everything in between. Read it if you want to, or don't if you don't want to. :) This is about me, and what I need to do to help me. If I can help someone along the way, great, if not than at least I have helped myself.

The ups and the downs

2010-11-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

Since I am sharing some of my weight loss journey with you I thought I should share the not so great news right along with the great news. With Halloween, my daughters 8th birthday, soon Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. I need a new plan. In the past few weeks I have put on about 5lbs. That's not earth shattering or anything but for someone who has always struggled with my weight it is a red flag. It's just a reminder to me that I can't let my guard down. But at the same time I can't start into this Christmas season knowing that I will not eat any of those special once a year treats. So I thought I would share my plan to make it through the holidays.

For me the low carb thing seems to work the best. I have been unsucessful at other plans before. But the true of the matter is that I am addicted to carbs. They are my biggest weakness. So I found on things like Weight Watchers I would just eat all my points in "junk" because that's what I really wanted. But with low carb I really had to just say no to everything white/yellow and that did the trick for me. Now that I am done (for now) with the losing part I can add those back in on a small scale, but still avoid them when I can (ie don't keep them in the house). So my plan is that when I am home and cooking for myself and my family I will stick with a high protein, low carb (meaning only fruits and veggies, no breads, beans, or pasta....no matter what color it is) foods. Then at a holiday function or dinner I will allow myself protein as far as the food goes, and I will induldge in a treat. Notice I said a treat and not "all treats". With my running (I am aiming for at least 10 miles a week, with 1 long run a month). I should be able to keep things under control. That's going to be hard. That means when I bake something for the girls, I will remove it from my house ASAP. I won't make my treats days before I take is somewhere or I will want to eat it. I won't keep plates of it around the house. I will cook right before each holiday. If I am giving it as a gift I will make it the day before (or day of), giving it to that person.

So that's the plan. I don't want to come through this time of year with an extra 10lbs. I already want to lose another 10-15lbs once the holidays are over, if I add to that it will just be that much worse. So here is to a happy healthy Christmas season!

Celebrating Christmas

2010-11-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

Every year at this time I get just a tiny bit frustrated, and I know it's a silly thing to get frustrated about, but it still bothers me.

As a family Nick and I decided not to teach our kids that Santa is real.....he's not. I know some people don't think it's a "lie", but I don't tell my kids that Barney is real, or that The Beast (as in Beauty and the Beast)is real, so why would I tell them Santa is real? Why would I tell them that a big fat man sneaks into our house in the middle of the night? Why would I tell them that Santa brings them toys? I really don't get it. We have wonderful memory filled Christmas' with our kids. We give gifts to each other, we buy gifts for others, we buy gifts for those who don't get any other gifts. We put up a Christmas tree, we read Christmas books (including those about mythical Santa), we watch Christmas movies (inlucing those about Santa). We look at Christmas lights at night, we bake Christmas goodies etc.... The ONLY difference is that we just don't make Santa a part of it (other than the books and movies). In fact I go one step farther and we research how other countries around the world celebrate Christmas (they don't belive in Santa either). This year each week leading up to Christmas we are going to learn all about one country, bake their Christmas dishes, and desserts, make their tradisional Christmas crafts etc.....

During Christmas we put 100% of our focus on Jesus' birth. Yes I know that this wasn't really the date of his birth, but it is the time that the church has set aside to celebrate. We read the advent, we sing Christmas songs, we read from the bible, we talk about the birth of Jesus and the meaning that has for us. It's a very special time for our family. We give gifts to each other and others because the wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. We read the story of St. Nicholas and the impact that he had on others.

We make it about Jesus and giving, and love, and family, not about a big fat man who sneaks into our house at night. I know it sholdn't bother me what other people choose to do with their family, just like I hope they don't have options on what I do with my family. I just get sad when I here Christian families get so stressed because their kids are starting to not belive in Santa when we have a truly wonderful reason to celebrate apart from all of that. And I just find the statement "If you don't belive you won't receive" so very very sad. Belive in Jesus and receive his love, and his mercy, and his blessings, don't encourage your kids to belive in something false.

Off my soap box........

Pictures from Lindsay

2010-10-27T10:18:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

WOW Before/After

2010-10-19T19:24:00.001-07:00

Today after looking back at some old journals I realized that from my highest weight to my current weight (lowest in over 8 yrs), I have lost 70lbs. 45lbs of that has been since Easter of this year. I don't know if this picture was taken at my highest or not, but the beach picture was taken about 5lbs above my current, so it's pretty close I'd say. I am AMAZED at the difference in how I look(ed). I never want to be that girl again. I feel so much better now that I ever did then. It's almost embarassing to post, but at the same time I hope maybe it offers some encouragment to anyone who is currently struggling. This change didn't take place overnight. It was something I struggled with for over 8 yrs, and even now at my lowest weight in a very long time it's still a daily, sometimes minute by minute struggle. I know I will be dealing with my weight for the rest of my life. So all I can do is lift of a prayer for anyone dealing with weight issues, and pray that God gives them the motivation to find success in their weight loss journey. God gets all the glory from me, because without him I wouldn't be where I am today.

Running

2010-09-27T05:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday night I ran 8 miles without stopping, except to drink some water. I kind of had a "break through" as far as what I think about while I'm running and it was a huge help to me. Normally when I go run it's either getting dark, (because I run in the evening when it's a little bit cooler), or I have to get back because Nick needs to leave, or it's getting ready to storm ect... you ge the idea. There just seems to always be a reason that I can only go 4-5 miles before I need to stop. But Friday afternoon it was cooler, and Nick was home from work that day because his dad and brother were here. So I wasn't in a hurry to get back for anything, I could just run.

About 3 miles into my run I was trying to decide if I wanted to do 4 miles or 5 miles. 5 miles had been my longest up to that point, so that was still a big thing for me. So I took a personal check of myself. I was breathing okay, my legs were tired, but not too bad, I wasn't hot, I had water ...... So I decided to go for 5 miles, but while I was running that 5th mile I did that body check again, and thought I'd go ahead and go for 6 and beat my record. And I did that every mile after that. At mile 8 I briefly thought about doing 10, but I really was tired, and by that time the hamburgers that Nick and been grilling for us were done. So ended up stopping at 8 miles. But still I am AMAZED I was able to do it.

I am training for a half marathon in late Feburary. And I really never dreamed I would run the whole thing, but now I am thinking that I can. If I run 9 miles in October, 10 in November, 11 in December, and 12 in January, then I'll be ready for 13 in Feburary. So I will keep doing 5-6 miles 3-4 times a week, and once a month I will go for a "long run" with that mileage.

Who knew I would actually enjoy running? :)

Weight loss

2010-09-17T08:32:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted on here in a very long time. Life gets crazy. :) But I did want to come on here and announce that after 5.5 months of hard work I have reached my goal weight, with a total loss of 47lbs. I now have a BMI of 23.8 I started at 33.4. I have also lost 5 pants sizes. From my highest point I have lost 60lbs. I feel amazing!

Many people have asked "how" I lost my weight. Here is my short answer. I cut out processed carbs. I am now eating mostly lean proteins (with the occasional high fat protein), and fruits and veggies, with the occasional "healthy" carb. I dont eat potatoes, white rice, white bread, pasta...anymore I do on occasion treat myself to a small dessert, but it's rare. I have also started running and I am up to 4 miles without stopping 3 times a week. Now that it's starting to get cooler I will increase my mileage. My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon in the Spring.

Now that I am at my goal I really still want to lose another 5lbs or so, but I am not working super hard at it right now. I need a break, so I am just trying to maintain for awhile and be happy with where I am up. I still struggle with my body image. I still look in the mirror and see fat on my body and get discouraged and so I am working on my self image. I've had 3 kids, including a c-section, and I'm not on my 20's anymore. My body is not going to be perfect. I need to be happy with what God has given me.

So that's about it. It's been a long journey. I know I'm not done. I hear all the time "I lost weight and gained it back and then some", which gets discouraging sometimes. I am determined to not let that happen to me. I have changed my way of eating and I am not going back to the Carbs like I use to. This is my new lifestyle.

Some pictures

2010-05-24T06:24:00.001-07:00

Our new house

The kitchen

The livingroom

The Family Room

Easter 2010

Capri sleeping in her "big girl" bed

Capri's birthday

Sage's dance class

Daddy and Capri

The girl's at the Easter Egg Hunt at church

Swimming in Grandma and Papa's pool

Capri at a t-ball practice

Sage playing T-ball

Preview of the girl's dance recital

Wow time flies.

2010-05-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

Lets see since my last post.

1. We have been in our new house for almost 3 months, and LOVE it! We have been having people over like crazy which is so much fun. I love sharing the blessings that God has given us with others.

2. I started a new "diet" and have lost almost 20lbs, and I am so much healthier. I feel great, and am looking forward to losing another 20lbs.

3. I started running again. I am on week 6 of the C25K program and am running 3 times a week.

4. Sage is almost done with VPK. She has her graduation on Thursday night. She can't wait to be a kindergartener.

5. Avery is almost done with 1st grade. She has 13 more days of school.

6. Capri is now 2, and talking a whole lot more. She is every bit of "2" ....which has prooved to be a little bit challanging in all of our end of the year activies. Although I can say that being the 3rd baby she is much easier to deal with even when she's in a "mood". But even though she has her moments of being "2" she is still my sweet baby girl most of the time....just don't take her shopping.

7. Sage has started playing t-ball at the YMCA

8. Both older girls have 2 more weeks until their dance recital so we've been busy with that.

9. We're planning summer activies like crazy.

10. Nick and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. We're busy busy busy. I feel like we are rarely home these days, and when we are we are getting ready for some kind of party or gathering. But I wouldn't change anything about our life. It's great and I am loving every minute of it.

I gave up soda

2010-02-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

I am on day 6 of giving up soda. Last Thursday Feb. 18th 2010 I decided that I needed to overcome my addiction to soda. If I can get over that I can do ANYTHING. There have been LOTS of days that I drank a glass of milk for breakfast and then drank nothing but soda the rest of the day. I would make special stops to get soda. I spent LOTS of money on soda. I thought about soda all the time. Not like dreamed about it, but I was always trying to remember if I had some at home, or if I needed to stop and get some. I would ask Nick to bring some home on his way from work. You get the idea. An addiction. So I gave it up.

It hasn't been easy. I get tired of drinking water, and I don't really want to add in artificially sweetened drink mixes because that's not good for me either. A friend gave me some ideas to add fruit (not a fan of lemons), to see if that would be better. So I am going to give that a try. I do like unsweetened ice tea, and when I get settled in the new house I will make more of that. But until then I will carry my reusable bottle of water with me everywhere I go and hopefully my cravings for soda will lesson with time, and I'll learn to like plain water better.

10 days to go......

2010-02-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

We close on our house in 10 days. 1 week from today (Tuesday) we have our first walk through at the house. However the days seem to be crawling. For our room we have a new bed, new bedding, new bath towels and mats. For Capri's room we got all new bedding, for her queen size bed that she will move into after she moves out of the crib. The girls have new bedding for their bunk beds. They also have new stuff for their bathroom. We got new lighting, and ceiling fans, for every room of the house, and a new rug for the livingroom. I have all my paint color picked out for the walls. In other words.....we are ready!!!! I have had a blast shopping for all this new stuff, but now I am ready to decorate with it all. We are ready to move out of our small rental house and be able to put things away instead of just "somewhere". We are just ready to spread out. It's been a very long time coming.

I am sure I am boring all my friends with the day to day talk about the new house, but I am just so very excited!!!!! So until then I am doing a lot of reading, and we are keeping netflixs busy. :)

Getting excited!

2010-02-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

Now that we know that we don't have much longer until our house is done Nick and I are getting super excited (and the girls). We know there are a lot of things that we want to change or add once we move in. Paint, lighting, shelving, new bedding....... So we are having so much fun looking for all of those things. I finally bought some bedding last night after spending lots of time online browsing different websites. Tonight while the girls are at Awana we are going to go to Home Depot and Lowes to look at lighting. We need ceiling fans, overhead lights, bathroom lights, kitchen lights, lamps.... It's really a lot of fun. Unfortanatly with all of that fun shopping comes a large price tag. We are thankful to be getting a decent tax refund this year as well as the government tax credit for buying a new house. I know that overtime we will make this house be perfect for us! After 8 yrs of living in a "fixer upper", and 5 months of living in a small rental house I am VERY ready to move into our new, bigger, house.

It's been a long time.

2010-02-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

Since everyone I know is on facebook now I haven't blogged nearly as much. But I really should because it's kind of fun. Although I am not a very talented writer.

A quick update on the house. Our house is about 45 days from being finished. We have had so much fun watching it be built. We got by every single day after school to see what they have done that day. We are also watching all the other houses in the neighborhood go up. Right now there are 8 houses being built. It's amazing how quickly they are being built. They really change from day to day. Up until about a week ago we went inside every day, but now it's all locked up and we can only go inside when someone is there. Otherwise we just have to look in the windows.

The outside is painted and the stone was being put on today. The driveway is ready to be poured but it rained most of the day today so they haven't done it yet. On the inside the walls are painted, the bathroom cabinets are in, as well as the kitchen cabinets and counter tops. They were working on something inside today but I didn't see what that was.

Here are a few current pictures.

We don't "do" Santa

2009-12-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-10T15:55:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

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....

2009-11-27T16:52:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-05T17:24:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-01T10:22:00.000-08:00

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......

2009-10-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-25T05:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-08-05T17:45:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-14T07:22:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-06-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-09T13:55:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-05-26T04:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-28T14:38:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

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......

2009-04-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-16T08:15:00.003-07:00

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

2009-04-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-27T04:56:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Happy Birthday Capri

2009-03-12T16:57:00.001-07:00

I can't belive that my "baby" is one today. It doesn't seem possible. My life as a mom of babies has come to an end. I soon will be the mom of elementary schoolers, then teenagers, then empty nesting. How quickly it really does pass. So in memory of 1 yr ago here are some pictures to enjoy.

At my baby shower

Minutes after the c-section
Our new baby girl!
Meeting Avery
Meeting Sage
Getting ready to leave the hospital
1 month old (April)
1 months old (May)
3 months old (June)
4 months old (July)
5 months old (August)
6 months old (September)
7 months old (October)
8 months old (November)
9 months old (December)

10 months old (January)

11 months old (February)

.......................coming soon birthday pictures.

Enjoy the journey!

2009-03-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the Journey! That's my new motto for life. I actually had in engraved on Nick's Road I.D. tag (that my mom got Nick for Christmas). It's just a great thing to repeat to myself on long hard days. Just stop and enjoy the journey because it goes by too quickly. Sure changing (and in my case washing) dirty diapers day in and day out doesn't sound like an adventure, but it is part of my life's journey. A journey toward heaven that God has called me to be on. And so much of the time I forget to "stop and smell the roses". The same ole same ole, mondain activies in life, repeat themselves. But then you blink and you realize you have a 6 yr old, a 4 yr old and your "baby" just turned one (new post coming soon), and you realize that if you don't slow down and enjoy each stage of life it's going to be over before it really even starts. So "Enjoy the Journey" is my new motto. The good the bad, the ups the downs, the ins the outs, just enjoy it!

My vent

2009-03-05T07:41:00.001-08:00

A little over a month ago Capri, Avery, Sage, and I got sick with the stomach bug. Capri threw up at church, I got sick the next day, Sage got sick the next day, and on that same day Avery got sent home for throwing up during P.E. We also passed it along to my mom, and Uncle Roger who was down visiting for the superbowl. Then we went about a week where everyone was feeling pretty good. Then Avery came home from dance one day with pink eye, and missed a day of school. But then all 5 of us came down with a "cold" (for lack of better words). We all have a nasty cough. Avery ran a high (102+) fever, and we took her to the doctor and they gave her antibiotics and breathing treatments, and Sage gets the breathing treatments also. Capri has a cough her nose runs constantly. So we've all been dealing with that for a couple weeks now. Then last night on the way to gymnastics (after feeling great all day), Sage threw up in the car. So much that I just through the carseat away, it wasn't worth trying to clean. She then got sick several times last night and slept in our room. Then this morning I woke up with a quesy stomach and some not so great side effects from that, and Nick just came home feeling the same way. So we are back to the stomach bug. I am so very tired of being sick. For a healthy family we've really been hit hard this year.

End of my vent!

Avery lost her first tooth!

2009-03-03T12:30:00.001-08:00

Avery lost her first tooth today. It's been barely hanging on for a week so I knew it would be soon. She came home from school and was playing with Sage and bumped it. The tooth started bleeding and I told her it was time to pull it. She didn't want me to do it so I gave her some toilet paper to wrap around it and she yanked it out. Now she's running around the house singing.........

"My tooth came out, my tooth came out" She is so very excited!

Disney 5K

2009-03-03T09:34:00.001-08:00

Nick ran in the first ESPN weekend 5K this past weekend. We went up the night before had spend the night in a hotel and had a date night. Tammy watched the girls for a bit and then my mom took them and they spent the night with her. Nick and I ate at the Big River Grille on Disney's boardwalk. We then went back to Corando Springs resort where we stayed and checked out their hot tub. It was really a nice weekend.

The next morning we were at the race by 6:15 a.m. Nick ran the 5K through Disney's Hollywood studios (formally MGM). He came in 10th overall (out of 1400 runners), with a time of 19m 28sec. I am really proud of him! Here are a few pictures from our race, and he has a few more on his facebook.

Disney's boardwalk

You can see the Epcot ball

The 5K before it started.

Nick finished the race

Nick with his medal.

Yes I was there too. :) This is me at our resort.

Random pictures

2009-03-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pictures of the girls from the last month or so. I will add captions to explain the pictures better. :)

We got a new chest freezer (love it!), and the girls have been having a blast in the box.

Sage just being cute!

Capri having a morning snack.....these make such a huge mess.

This is what happens if the girls leave the candy basket down where Capri can get into it. Capri's first Twix. :)

Avery playing with Capri at the playplace in the mall.

Capri looking cute!

Sage, Capri, and Max on a typical day at home. :)

Avery doing her homework after school.

Capri playing in her "toy corner".

Sometimes Sage just gets super tired and falls asleep wherever she falls......lol

That's pretty much my life. :)

I can push it!

2009-03-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

Capri learned that she can push her little car all over the front yard and she LOVES doing it now!

Kindergarten V-day style

2009-03-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

Avery had a Valentine's day program up at her school. Each class sang a couple of songs, then all of the classes sang a few songs together. The next day they took a field trip to a nursing home and sang the songs for them. Here are a few pictures from that night. Pardon the blurriness.......
This is all the kids in the 5 kindergarten classes (at least the ones that showed up for the show).

This is Avery's class. She's the blonde on the front row, in the pink dress.

Park

2009-03-03T06:10:00.001-08:00

These posts won't be in any kind of order just group with different activities that we've done. And please pardon any spelling errors, I'm trying to post fast today. :)

We have a new park close to our house. We have a walking trail that goes right behind our house that goes down to the lake, and the park is at the lake. So we can walk or ride our bikes right down to the park. It's really nice and it will be perfect this summer. So here are a few pictures from the park. I think they might have been taken on a couple of different days.

Capri loves the new park

Capri is learning how to climb on things.......oh boy!

Avery's favorite playground activity hands down. She LOVES monkey bars.

Sage going down the "bumpy" slide.

Sage being sweet and pushing Capri on the swing.

Capri practicing her walking skills.

This is the only pictures I have of Avery because all she did was play on the monkey bars until she had blisters on her hands.

Sage on the swing.

This is Sage riding her scooter on the trail that leads down to our new park.

Hello

2009-03-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I've gotten on to post some pictures. We've been very busy and in the past month or so we've all been sick with either a stomach bug or a cold. Avery even had pink eye. We've taken motrin, gone to the doctor, been on breathing treatments, antibiotics and Rx eye drops. So it's been a crazy month! :) I am way behind on posting pictures so I thought I'd get a lot of them posted today. On Tuesdays we are home with no extra activities so I'll add more in between loads of laundry and nap schedules. :) Enjoy

Busy

2009-02-20T05:07:00.000-08:00

We've been busy. Work, school, church, dance, gymnastics, YMCA, bible study, birthday party......the list goes on. All good things, just busy. I really need to take the pictures off my camera so that I can put some on here. But this week I have totally been hooked on reading the Twilight series (thank you Tammy). So in between loads of laundry, cleaning, and take care of my children I am trying to cram in as much reading as possible. So I promise I will have some pictures on here soon, but for now you'll have to excuse me while I go read. :)

My 4th

2009-02-06T20:00:00.001-08:00

I got this game off a friend of mine and I thought I would post it here to be funny.

Here's how you play!
1. Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.
2. Select your 4th picture (no exceptions)!
3. Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger4. Tag 4 people (or as many as you want) to do the same!!

LOL This picture was taken in April of 08. The girls wanted to play with make-up and I had just had Capri a few weeks prior so I was too tired to argue. So I let them have at it. Avery did pretty well except she got it all in her hair (which is why it is sticking up and plastered), and Sage looks like a clown, oh and notice that I made her take her shirt off.....lol

Feel free to post your photos to share.

Liferenewal

2009-02-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

I joined a bible study last week that meets every Thurs morning or evening (I go in the morning except on MOPS week, then I will go in the evening). I LOVE this group. The women are just so kind and loving. You can really tell that they are doing their best to follow Christ in all areas of their lives. I was in a small group with other mommies who's mission in life is to be a good Christian wife, and raise good Christian kids. That is such a rare find in this world today. The study is all about building relationships both in community with others and a stronger relationship with Christ. I just feel so refreshed after going and really look forward to going each week. Sage and Capri go to the child care area and they seem to have a really good time also. God really knew that this was something that I needed at this time in my life. Between this, my really awesome MOPS group, church, and French lessons (other MOPS moms), I am really meeting some other great Christian women. And don't we all just need to surround ourselves with that as much as possible. Good Christian friends encourage us, love us (despiter our faults), are honest with us in a loving way, listen to us, don't judge us, and really just understand where we are coming frome even if we don't always agree.

Thank you Lord for putting all these wonderful women in my life. Help me to be a friend to them, and help them meet my needs for friendship. Bless my MOPS group, and my new liferenewal group. Help us always to do our best in serving you. Amen

Hello

2009-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted here much in the last few weeks. Last week our family was sick. Capri started it a week ago Sunday, then I got it, then Sage, then Avery. Nick felt sick one day but still went to work. My mom watched the girls for me while I was sick and a few days later she was sick. My Uncle Roger and Aunt Nancy were in for the Superbowl (my uncle had tickets), and he ended up getting sick Sunday morning. Thankfully he was still able to make it to the game. So it's really been around.

Other than that we're just living our normal lives. Going to the gym, dance lessons, gymnastics, school, work, church, Awana, bible study........ Sage started her French lessons up again and a friend of ours is joining us this time around. So we're all doing great!

Hopefully I'll get some pictures up from Sage's birthday party soon.

Too cold

2009-01-22T05:23:00.000-08:00

I was going to brace the cold and take the girls to the gym yesterday morning so I could try out the cardio class, but when I mentioned it to Sage she said it was "too cold". I didn't argue with her because I agreed that it was too cold. :) So yesterday during Capri's nap I brought my Gazelle inside and did 45 min on that while watching a DVR'd CSI episode. I'll try the cardio class when I don't have to drag the girls out in 30 degree weather.

I am however headed out to MOPS this morning and the current temperature is 32.

My thoughts on running

2009-01-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Running is still hurting my knees, plus it's been super cold. So I am getting good hard exercise in 3 times a week some of those days I try to run some days, I just walk, some days we go to the gym. I think I am going to put the Couch to 5K thing on hold for a few months. I need to drop a few more pounds, and get into a better exercise routine before really committing to it. Tomorrow morning there is a cardio class up at the YMCA that I am going to try and make it to. So I'll let you know how that goes. So I am keeping up with exercising at least 3 times a week, but I'm just not quite ready for running.

I don't like cold weather

2009-01-16T04:14:00.000-08:00

Actually I don't mind it when I am snug in my house looking at it out the window. But last night was my night to run, but it was 55 degrees outside when I was suppose to go and I just can't do that. Any of you "northern" readers may find that funny, but I am sure most of the Florida reader's will agree. Nick went but he has special spandex pants he puts on and I just won't be caught dead wearing those.....lol So I stayed home and did the Wii outdoor challendge instead. Not as effective but it's going to have to work for these cold days. Thankfully we only have a few.

The Beach

2009-01-13T06:49:00.000-08:00

While Nick's mom was here we headed over to spend the afternoon at Vero Beach. It was in the 70's that day so we told the girls they couldn't bring their swimsuits because the water would be too cold. But the call of the water was too strong and the girls got in clothes and all. They had a great time. Luckily I did have a change of clothes in the car for the ride home. :)

Week one complete

2009-01-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

I ran 3 times this week. On Monday, Wed, and Friday. I'll take a day off and start again on Sunday. I think I am going to repeat week one. I am having some pain in my knee (probably due to my extra weight), and I think I am going to take it nice and slow. This week wasn't easy for me so I know that another week at it will just help me improve. Hopefully the pain in my knee will go away. I'm probably going to call the doctor or see if their is a trainer up at the YMCA to talk to. So say a prayer that I can work past the knee pain and reach my goal.

Disney boat

2009-01-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

A good friend of ours drives a boat for Disney and he took us out while Nick's mom was here. We had a wonderful time. We parked the boat right in between France and England (at Epcot). We were so close that we could feel the heat from the fire and fireworks. It was beautiful.

The happy families. :)

Me and two of my beautiful girls (Sage was sitting with daddy).

The girls watching the fireworks

Avery driving the boat
The fireworks

Epcot from across the lake

One of the Epcot countries from across the lake

This is hard to see but it's the entrance into Hollywood studios

Couch to 5K

2009-01-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

I started a running program. You can learn about it at coolrunnings.com Basically it takes you from no running to running/jogging a 5K in about 9 wks. I run/walk 3 times a week. I started it today and was happy with it. I ran a total of 6 minutes, and for 24 minutes. I had a hard time running the last 2 60 second time blocks but I didn't let myself stop and I was glad when I was done and had completed the entire day's plan. I haven't worked that hard in a long time.....lol My plan is to run on Sunday, Tuesday and Thur.

Christmas morning

2008-12-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

On Christmas morning I got up and made Monkey Bread, out traditional Christmas morning breakfast. The girls woke up and started pulling the stuff out of their stockings. Then we waited for a few minutes unil my parents arrived to watch the girls open gifts.Avery with her stocking

Capri with her stocking Sage with her stocking

Christmas morning candy, while waiting for Grandma and Papa to arrive. The long awaited horse house. What's funny is that Sage has been telling us for weeks that she wanted a "horse house" and that Grandma and Papa were going to get it for her. But when she started opening it we asked her what it was, and doubt entered and and she wouldn't say. But of course she was thrilled when she opened it up and got her (preassembled) horse house.

Capri with wrapping paper and bows......doesn't get much better than that.

Helping Capri open some gifts.

Sage's other most asked for toy, her Crayola light brush paint set.

Avery opened her Guitar from daddy.

Sage started opening these animals over in the corner of the room, we weren't really watching her, but all of sudden she started squeeling. She was so happy! :) It's the wild animal set that go with her "horse house".

Mommy's surprise gift from daddy :) Have I mentioned I have the best husband in the whole wide world.

Capri opening gifts.

Sage got Avery this Barbie swimming poop. It was really fun this year for them to pick out gifts for each other. They really seemed to understand the giving, and had fun doing it.

After we opened gifts, my parents went home we cleaned up and headed over to their house. My grandparents joined us and we opend gifts and ate dinner. Then we played the Wii for a bit. There isn't much better than watching for 82 yr old grandfather playing Wii golf. :) Hopefully I'll get some of those pictures posted soon.

Then the next day Nana came to visit and we opened gifts again.

Open a horse that Nana got Sage.

Avery opening some art supplies from Uncle Jesse and Aunt Kate (perfect gift for her).

Capri checking out her new walker/stroller.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-30T18:04:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we baked a cake for Jesus and hung out at home listenen to Christmas music and reading all our Christmas books. Then when Nick got home from work we got dressed up and went to our church (Christ community http://www.aplacetobelong.com/ ) for the Christmas Eve service, which was wonderful. We then went to Denny's to eat some dinner with my parents and then took the girls home. We let them open to presents that night. They got PJ's for their american girl dolls and matching PJ's for them to wear. It was a big hit!
Openning the gifts

Avery knew right away what it was.

Sage didn't get it as quickly as Avery did.

They both loved their Christmas Eve gifts!

Random Pre-Christmas pictures

2008-12-30T17:45:00.000-08:00

We made a Gingerbread house

We baked a Birthday cake for Jesus

The girls were angels in our churches children's Christmas show.

This is Capri, mommy, and daddy watching the show

We went to Celebration to play in the "snow". This is the girls standing in front a nativity at a church.

The "snow", which is really kind of like shaving cream, plus it was hot this night.

Sage showing us the snow.

This is Capri learning how to stand on a box so she can pull the candy canes off the tree......notice the smile. :) We put our Christmas tree on a table for a reason.

This is Capri sitting with Mrs. Claus, because mommy didn't want to stand in the long line to see Santa.

This is the "snow" in Winter Haven, which is much more realistic, it's ice that they crush up and blow out. It was pretty hot this day so it was really just a big ice chunk but the girls still loved it.

Avery throwing snow ball

Capri sitting in the snow.

Our family Christmas picture.

It's so hard to get a picture of the girls. Avery is usually a statue, Sage has a cheesy smile and doesn't look at the camera, and now Capri wants to crawl away as soon as she get set down. So this is the best we could do.

I have the best husband!

2008-12-27T05:06:00.000-08:00

Nick totally surprised me Christmas morning and I got my Wii! He wrapped up a book because I had also mentioned a cookbook that I wanted so that's what I thought I was getting. And he kept saying sorry that we couldn't get the wii that maybe we could get it for my birthday or something. So I had gotten over my disappointment because I didn't want to be sad on Christmas. So we were all opening out other gifts. I was having so much fun watching the girls open everything. Then Nick brought me out a box and my mom jumped in front of me with a camera and I knew that I had gotten the Wii. I am just so thrilled. I did great!

We played it all day on Christmas. My grandpa Washburn even got up and played golf with my dad and Nick. The girls are having a lot of fun with it also. We have a little extra Christmas money so we can go to gamestop and try to get a few new games for it. Plus Nick's brother sent a couple games with my Mother in law that we can try out for the next week. So all in all I had a wonderful Christmas!

Long walk......

2008-12-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

The story is told of a young African boy listening to his teacher explain why Christians give presents to each other at Christmas. “These gifts are expressions of joy over the birth of Jesus and our love and friendship for each other,” she said. When Christmas came, the boy brought the teacher a beautiful seashell. “Where did you find such a lovely shell?” she asked. The boy told her there was only one spot where such beautiful shells could be found, a certain beach several miles away. “It’s beautiful,” she said, “but you shouldn’t have walked all that way to get a gift for me.” With a smile on his face, the boy looked up at his teacher and said, “Long walk part of gift.”
"Long walk....part of gift"

What an amazing thought. Expecially during this Christmas season when we are all running around like crazy preparing for everything. We don't do it all for our own purpose most of the time, we do it for others. The gift of our time is pricless. The saying goes "it's the thought that counts". The more effort put into a gift the more meaningful it tends to be.

All of that just got me thinking of the word "walk" and the times that it is used in the bible.

Matthew 4:18 (New International Version)
The Calling of the First Disciples 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

Matthew 9Jesus Heals a Paralytic 1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." 3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew 11:5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

Matthew 14Jesus Walks on the Water 22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
34When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

Matthew 15:31The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman 21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"
36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

John 5:8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."

John 8:12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Acts 3Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar 1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

And the most important "walk" ever taken was Jesus' walk to Golgotha for his crucifixion ............

Matthew 27Judas Hangs Himself 1Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. 3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."[a]
Jesus Before Pilate 11Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. 12When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" 14But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered.
22"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!"
23"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"
25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"
26Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus 27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.The Crucifixion 32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.[b] 36And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" 41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 44In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus 45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,[c] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"[d] 47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."
50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son[e] of God!"
55Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
The Burial of Jesus 57As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.The Guard at the Tomb 62The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63"Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." 65"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Over and over the world walk is used. People walking with each other, Jesus helping the lame to walk, hard walks, easy walks, meaningful walks, and these weren't the only "walks" that were taken. So at this busy Christmas season just remember that "Long walk part of gift", is meaningful in more ways than one.

Christmas dessert theater

2008-12-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

Our church put on a Christmas dessert theater last weekend. My grandparent joined us for the evening. It was a really nice show and a great evening.

This next picture was taken from Avery's dance party last Saturday night, I just thought it was cute. :)

Decorating the tree

2008-12-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

We decorated out tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We decided to do a small tree on top of the table so that Capri wouldn't pull all the ornaments off. This was a good decision. :)

Daddy and Avery hanging out before we started decorating the tree.The girls hanging ornaments

The tree.....minus the bow on top and presents. :)

Daddy and Capri checking out the tree.

The final tree with presents.

Camping

2008-12-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

Some of the families from our small group decided to go camping in mid-November. Here we are mid-December and it's 80 degrees outside, but for some reason our weekend in November turned out very cold. It got down to 42 degrees that night. Luckily we had taken our pop-up and had a heater so we stayed warm, but some of the tent families weren't so lucky. But non the less we had a great time. The next morning we woke up and went and saw the Manatee before heading home. We'll do it again sometime hopefully when it's a little warmer.

Avery, Taylor, Sage, and Taryn sitting on a tree.

My beautiful, but dirty camping family.

The manatee

Taking a walk with Capri

The girls checking out the manatee

Capri hanging out in her pack-n-play

Avery climbing a tree.....this is her new favorite thing

Nick played us some tunes.

I asked Sage if she wanted her picture taken, and she said no.....lol

The kids bundled up keeping warm in the tent.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

I took this picture of the girls at church yesterday morning. I of course will take some of them in their Christmas dresses also, but this is a preview. :)

Christmas lists

2008-12-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

We don't "do" Santa at our house, but at school Avery has been asked to make a list for Santa on a couple different occasions. She has the hardest time coming up with stuff that she wants which I think is cute. I gave her a few "suggestions" and she liked those. :) Sage however is very consistant that she wants a "Horse house" aka Stable. If anyone asks her that's what she tells them. She also wants "that color thing on TV", which is a Crayola light paint brush. Capri on the other hand doesn't want or need anything.

Avery is really getting into the giving of gifts this year. She got Nick and I something at her school Christmas shop, those things are both surprises. And last night at Awana she came home with a set of "hangy down" earrings for me (she knows she can't wear them), and a seed set for Nick since he "knows about plants and stuff". She has a very sweet heart.

I want, and I mean really want a wii. We aren't getting one of course but if there were a Santa that's what I'd be asking for.

Nick is getting a couple of small surprise gifts from me which I am very excited about.

All in all Christmas morning is going to be a blast around our house! I can't wait.

And best of all if you ask Avery (or Sage but she's 3) why we celebrate Christmas and give gifts she says "It's Jesus' birthday, and God gave the best gift of all, his son Jesus". So no matter what is wrapped and under out tree Christmas morning I am happy to say that as best as they can at this age, I do think my girls "get it", which is a pretty great gift for me.

Avery's 6th birthday party

2008-12-02T07:54:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday my sweet Avery. I can't belive you are 6 yrs old. You are beautiful both inside and outside. Daddy and I love you and are so proud of the sweet, kind, Christ loving, girl that you are.

We had a birthday party at the bowling alley. She had 9 friends come to her party. We really had a wonderful time.

My sweet birthday girl!

Blowing out the candles on her cake.

Avery and her cake

They had pizza for lunch

The girls eatting their pizza.

Opening gifts

Avery's gift from Grandma Becky and Papa Tim--An American girl, Julie.

Capri was a big hit also. :)

Sage bowling

Avery bowling--she's actually pretty good.

The girls chatting while waiting for their turn to bowl.

Standing in line for the bumper cars.

Mommy and Avery on the bumper cars

Ski ball

Happy Birthday!

Halloween

2008-12-02T07:31:00.001-08:00

On Halloween night we went "Trunk or Treating" at our church. They had a dunk tank, inflatable slide, and games to play.

A few nights earlier we went up to Highpointe church for their trunk or treating. These are the pictures from both nights.

Silly daddy :)

Grabbing up the candy.

My cute butterfly

Daddy and the tiny butterfly

We decorated our car at the last minute. Thank goodess for the Winnie the Pooh characters daddy got mommy when we were in high school. :) The girls posed in front of the car with their friend Cassie.

Trying to get a good picture of three small girls wearing costumes is impossible. :)

Capri enjoying her first sucker. :)

My small butterfly

My beautiful flying butterfly.

And last but not least Hannah Montana. I have a feeling we are going to have our hands full in a few years. We didn't tell her to pose. :)

Homecoming parade, Pioneer Days

2008-12-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

Lake Wales has an annual "Pioneer days" which takes place at the lake. They have activites for the kids, games to play, food, and a canoe race for local businesses. Bok Tower entered the canoe race and came in third.

Sage making rope.

Avery making rope.

Nick in the canoe race. He's on the back of the boat with the blue life vest and orange hat.

The girls at the Lake Wales Homecoming parade. Avery is sitting next to her friend Callie. They are wearing OSU stuff because Lake Wales colors are orange and black. :)

Waiting on the parade with daddy.

Avery's first field trip

2008-12-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

Avery took her first class field trip to River Ranch. I road with her on the school bus, which she thought was very exciting. They went to a petting zoo, road a horse, and had a picnic. It was a fun day.

Posing next to a turkey.

Avery and I :)

Riding a horse.

Avery's kindergarten class, with her teacher Mrs. Smith.

Oklahoma

2008-12-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little late, but I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from the last couple of months. Here are some from the trip the girls and I took to Oklahoma for a quick weekend visit.

On the way home we had a chance to spend the night with my grandparents, and my aunt came us for dinner. It was really nice spending some time with them.

Sam, Avery, and Sage had a great time playing together. This picture was taken after a "fun" trip to Target, with 3 adults and 5 kids. :)

Capri enjoyed standing up and playing with toys. About 2 days after this trip she learned how to pull up and now I can't get her to stay in one place. :)

Avery and Sam playing in the backyard. Sage was taking a nap. :)

Eli and Capri enjoyed playing with each other too.

Nana treated Sam, Avery, and Sage to a trip to the circus. I went with them, and Jennifer stayed home with Capri and Eli. We really had a nice time.

This was taken right before the trip to the circus.

Eatting some yummy dinner!

This was Eli's favorite thing to do with Capri. :)

Up next pictures from Halloween...........

The Weight of the World

2008-11-30T15:49:00.000-08:00

My dad did the sermon at our church today, and of course I though it was great! :)

The Weight of the World
The "Atlas" is a well known statue at Rockafeller Center in New York City. Atlas was a greek god known for bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. The statue is of a man straining to hold the world on his back. (I am sure if you googled it you could find a picture but I'm too lazy). The Atlas shows us a good example of how we as humas, view the world. As something that we struggle to carry for ourselves, bearing the burden on our shoulders. But across the street in NYC is Saint Patrick's Catherdral, a well known and beautiful Catholic church. Tucked back in a corner, off in the side of the church is a small statue of a child, one hand out showing "blessings", the other hand outstreached. In that outstreatched hand is the world. The world as God sees it. As something he holds in the palm of his hand. The bible teaches us a much different way to view the world.

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

God doesn't promise an easy life void of burdens and struggles. He promiese a life that has struggles, but he also promises us help for our struggles. The "yoke" is a tool used on the back of an ox or other farm animal to help that animal to pull the weight that he is burdened with. So when God is offering his "yoke" he is offering to shoulder some of the weight so that we don't have to do it all alone. Not taking away the burden, just making it easier for us to carry.

1 Peter 5:6-7 "Be humble in the presence of God's mighty pwer, and he will honor you when the time comes. God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. "

How do we get the weight of the world off our shoulders and place it into the hand of Jesus?

1. Accept that you are not "Atlas".
-admit that you need help. You can't do it alone.

1 Corinthians 1:25 "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

2. Rely on the bigness of Jesus
-God's worst is better than our best.

Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

3. Be strong enough to turn loose.
-Let go

Phillippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Romans 12:3 " But I say to every one of you, through the grace given to me, not to have an over-high opinion of himself"

The World's "EGO"- Edging God Out
The bible's "EGO"- Exalting God Only