Tonight was the first night of a new ministry program called teen mom choices offered through Stillwaters here in Kaufman. God led me to the ministry of teen moms seven years ago. I was the leader of teen mops and we met with our teen moms on a weekly basis every week until I delivered Luke. I stepped out of the role to take some time off. I felt that I needed to focus on my children and family. Now God has told me it is time to get active with teen moms again. I had to pray really hard for this calling this time around. I get so attached to the young moms and they become such a big part of my life that I wasn't sure I was ready to step into this role again just yet. I had wanted to wait until my children were completely grown or maybe not go this direction of ministry again. Working with teenagers is a challenge in and of itself but throw in a baby and this can create some speed bumps. But of course my plans are not what God has planned for my life. I had to learn a long time ago that when I'm called to do something I need to go with it and not fight it.
We had five young moms at the first meeting tonight. I was so blessed meeting them. These young women are so passionate about being moms and are eager to learn how to be a mom. That is my passion too, to teach them how to be the best mom they can be. They may have made a mistake that led to this path but I feel that one of my roles on this earth is to teach them that even though the decisions they made in the past impacted their future, it doesn't have to destroy them. They can be the best mom to their child if they so desire. And all of the girls that have gone through this type of program have made that decision. They honestly want to learn how to be good moms. I had the fortune with the last group of girls to witness several of them be baptised. I cried each time.
This time around I will be leading some workshops several times a month. Each one of the girls has a mentor mom that is partnered up with them one on one. What a wonderful idea! This helps the teen mom to bond with an experienced mom for help, advise, etc. Even though these girls have their own moms, this is another support system for them to be successful. I am the product of two teen parents. And I honestly believe that if a program of this type could have been around for my mom things may have been different for her. She had no support system in place besides her mom. If a program like this could have taken her under their wing, imagine the difference it could have made for her when she struggled to learn how to be a mom. Even though I turned out pretty decent (: there are many kids from teen parents that do not. Perfect example, studies have shown that a huge majority of folks in prison were born to teen parents. Their lack of knowledge and skills of parenting tend to show through the children they raise. I'm not saying all teen parents don't know what they are doing but there are a huge number of them that have no idea on raising a child. Programs like teen mom choices and teen mops take teen moms and help to shape them and mold them into responsible parents.
Wrapping this up, I feel extremely blessed to be a part of this new endeavor. Ketra and Melissa, the ladies in charge of setting up the program, have worked countless hours getting this program off the ground here and I am blessed beyond words in my awe of them. They are wonderful Godly women that I am proud to know! And I'm very thankful to have them as a support for my life too!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Revamping this thing
So finally tonight I had some time to just sit and work on this blog. I was so frustrated with it earlier in the summer that I just gave up on it. I created a new blog where I made a challenge for myself. Read below if your interested to learn more. After being so frustrated with one blog I thought I must be insane to try to keep up with two blogs at one time! And especially after school starts who am I kidding, I will barely have time to keep up with one if at all possible. That is another one of my goals for this school year, to write here more. I love looking at other people's blogs and catching up with their thoughts and lives. I found a new blog tonight searching for blog templates and the lady is an interior designer here in Dallas! I want to get in touch with her and have her come talk to my interior design students in the spring. Too cool! Ok, so I teach interior design...but please don't look at my house :) It's a mess! It is definitely lived in I must say!
I have spent time this summer working on Paige's room. Last summer was Leah's room and I had promised Paige I would do her room next. She wanted pink walls with zebra stripes. I opted to do a zebra stripe border in the middle of the room because I didn't want the impossible job of having to cover black stripes at a later date. When we moved into this house she was 4 and wanted a flow garden. I painted the walls a sky blue on top and green grass on the bottom. We painted wooden flowers and attached them to the wall. They came off easily but covering that blue and green paint about killed me! I had to cover them with three coats of pink paint. A friend of mine did her daughters border with zebra fabric so I have borrowed that idea for Paige's border. We bought some fabric today at the store and I want to get that finished this week. I recovered her bulletin board with hot pink and zebra fabric tonight and it turned out so cute!! Also I covered her night light with zebra fabric. It's cute too until you turn the light on and you can see the blue/yellow stripes shine through the fabric. Oh well, at least it's cute sitting there on the wall :) I plan to make her a zebra fabric valance and do make some letters spelling her name on her wall. She doesn't know that part yet, she will be surprised!
So hopefully next summer I can tackle the living room. I want to paint the walls in there. It's boring and bland right now, white walls staring at me! I did paint the walls next to the fireplace last summer chocolate brown. They look good next to the white fireplace. Yes, white fireplace! Whom ever remodeled this house painted the bricks white and I haven't tackled trying to paint over them or remove the paint. Another project for another day. Then next I need to tackle the playroom walls. They are also a boring white. But then Luke will probably want me to redo his room in there somewhere. His walls are a blue denim wash right now. It took me so long to do his room I just hate to cover it up yet. He keeps telling me he wants spiderman on his walls right now but who knows what he will want next year or next month for that matter.
This is the start of my last week off for summer 2010 vacation. It has been fast and furious but thank God I didn't have to go to school this summer to take classes like the past two summers!!
I have spent time this summer working on Paige's room. Last summer was Leah's room and I had promised Paige I would do her room next. She wanted pink walls with zebra stripes. I opted to do a zebra stripe border in the middle of the room because I didn't want the impossible job of having to cover black stripes at a later date. When we moved into this house she was 4 and wanted a flow garden. I painted the walls a sky blue on top and green grass on the bottom. We painted wooden flowers and attached them to the wall. They came off easily but covering that blue and green paint about killed me! I had to cover them with three coats of pink paint. A friend of mine did her daughters border with zebra fabric so I have borrowed that idea for Paige's border. We bought some fabric today at the store and I want to get that finished this week. I recovered her bulletin board with hot pink and zebra fabric tonight and it turned out so cute!! Also I covered her night light with zebra fabric. It's cute too until you turn the light on and you can see the blue/yellow stripes shine through the fabric. Oh well, at least it's cute sitting there on the wall :) I plan to make her a zebra fabric valance and do make some letters spelling her name on her wall. She doesn't know that part yet, she will be surprised!
So hopefully next summer I can tackle the living room. I want to paint the walls in there. It's boring and bland right now, white walls staring at me! I did paint the walls next to the fireplace last summer chocolate brown. They look good next to the white fireplace. Yes, white fireplace! Whom ever remodeled this house painted the bricks white and I haven't tackled trying to paint over them or remove the paint. Another project for another day. Then next I need to tackle the playroom walls. They are also a boring white. But then Luke will probably want me to redo his room in there somewhere. His walls are a blue denim wash right now. It took me so long to do his room I just hate to cover it up yet. He keeps telling me he wants spiderman on his walls right now but who knows what he will want next year or next month for that matter.
This is the start of my last week off for summer 2010 vacation. It has been fast and furious but thank God I didn't have to go to school this summer to take classes like the past two summers!!
Off to Camp!
Original post 7/11/10
Time for camp!!! Paige left this afternoon for church camp with tons of other kids from our church. She was soooo excited. The cool part for me was to see all of the girls her age that were going. I was excited to see that. I hope they will all stick together through the years and stay together through youth. Leah hasn't been that fortunate. There aren't very many girls her age in her youth group and she is always saying how she wished there were more girls her age so I'm glad that Paige is fortunate to have this group of girls. She was all "zebraed" out with her bags. I think she was a little bit nervous this afternoon. I'm hoping that she will jump off the bus and come running up to me yelling "I'm going back next yr mom!" like she did last year... I'm hopeful at least.
Time for camp!!! Paige left this afternoon for church camp with tons of other kids from our church. She was soooo excited. The cool part for me was to see all of the girls her age that were going. I was excited to see that. I hope they will all stick together through the years and stay together through youth. Leah hasn't been that fortunate. There aren't very many girls her age in her youth group and she is always saying how she wished there were more girls her age so I'm glad that Paige is fortunate to have this group of girls. She was all "zebraed" out with her bags. I think she was a little bit nervous this afternoon. I'm hoping that she will jump off the bus and come running up to me yelling "I'm going back next yr mom!" like she did last year... I'm hopeful at least.
Movies with my Dad
Original post 6/28/10
Awww, movie time with my dad. Today my dad took the kids and I to see Toy Story 3. What a cute movie!! I think I loved it as much as the kids did. Listening to Luke laugh at the different scenes was the best part. He was cracking up! It was priceless.
The best part, my dad leaned over and said I sure do love your kids and you too. Aww, he said he enjoyed that so much. When I was a young teenager my dad use to pick my brother and I up from school every afternoon and go to the movies. It didn't matter what was showing, we saw it. We went so much that we got to know the lady working there so well that she gave us free drinks, popcorn and movie posters. What I didn't know then was that my dad was in a severe depression and one of the only things keeping him pulled out of it was taking us to the movies. I wondered why we were going to the movies so much and after a while it did get tedious because I would have homework or something to do but had to wait and do it after going to the movies. Maybe that's why I have such a love for movies now. I love going to the theatre, the smell and taste of movie popcorn and an ice cold drink. Times were different back then and movies were a lot cheaper then they are today. I bet I saw every Clint Eastwood movie made in the 80's at the theatre.
Ok, back from memory lane, Toy Story 3 was adorable. I loved the theme of the toys pulling together to help each other out, team work. And the end, when Andy's mom walks into his room broke my heart. Leah is only a few short years away from leaving home and going to college. I'm not ready.
Afterwards, dad took us to a soda shop where they make old fashioned ice cream floats, shakes and malts. YUM! The kids and I really enjoyed it. We had to wait there for some time after eating because a storm blew in and it was raining really hard. On the way back to dad's house, I let Paige drive up to dad's house and then let Leah drive us out. They were cracking me up until Leah almost hit a truck that came around the curve and ran into a ranch fence. Where that truck came from I have no clue! But it scared both of us to death and Leah said she was done with driving and stopped the van in the middle of the road and got out. I yelled at her to get back in and at least drive to the SIDE of the road and lets trade. And she stopped ride at the edge of the turn, scared me half to death. Think her driving days are a way down the road....get it driving a ways down the road....hahahah, crack myself up.
We came home and Maw-maw's and Paw-paw's were here from Colorado. The kids were excited. We ate dinner, enjoyed our time together and went for a long walk at the park.
Awww, movie time with my dad. Today my dad took the kids and I to see Toy Story 3. What a cute movie!! I think I loved it as much as the kids did. Listening to Luke laugh at the different scenes was the best part. He was cracking up! It was priceless.
The best part, my dad leaned over and said I sure do love your kids and you too. Aww, he said he enjoyed that so much. When I was a young teenager my dad use to pick my brother and I up from school every afternoon and go to the movies. It didn't matter what was showing, we saw it. We went so much that we got to know the lady working there so well that she gave us free drinks, popcorn and movie posters. What I didn't know then was that my dad was in a severe depression and one of the only things keeping him pulled out of it was taking us to the movies. I wondered why we were going to the movies so much and after a while it did get tedious because I would have homework or something to do but had to wait and do it after going to the movies. Maybe that's why I have such a love for movies now. I love going to the theatre, the smell and taste of movie popcorn and an ice cold drink. Times were different back then and movies were a lot cheaper then they are today. I bet I saw every Clint Eastwood movie made in the 80's at the theatre.
Ok, back from memory lane, Toy Story 3 was adorable. I loved the theme of the toys pulling together to help each other out, team work. And the end, when Andy's mom walks into his room broke my heart. Leah is only a few short years away from leaving home and going to college. I'm not ready.
Afterwards, dad took us to a soda shop where they make old fashioned ice cream floats, shakes and malts. YUM! The kids and I really enjoyed it. We had to wait there for some time after eating because a storm blew in and it was raining really hard. On the way back to dad's house, I let Paige drive up to dad's house and then let Leah drive us out. They were cracking me up until Leah almost hit a truck that came around the curve and ran into a ranch fence. Where that truck came from I have no clue! But it scared both of us to death and Leah said she was done with driving and stopped the van in the middle of the road and got out. I yelled at her to get back in and at least drive to the SIDE of the road and lets trade. And she stopped ride at the edge of the turn, scared me half to death. Think her driving days are a way down the road....get it driving a ways down the road....hahahah, crack myself up.
We came home and Maw-maw's and Paw-paw's were here from Colorado. The kids were excited. We ate dinner, enjoyed our time together and went for a long walk at the park.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
First week = -2 lbs!
Original post 7/25/10
Woo-hoo! 2 lbs lost for my first week of this challenge! This may not sound like much but I'm shooting for baby steps here. And baby steps it is! Thursday was the end of the first week and I think that was one of my hardest days. I was sick with a sinus infection and didn't feel up to par that day. Didn't feel like messing with all of this stuff and didn't really pay attention to what I ate. I found that this will be a challenge in and of itself. Once I go back to work in August I'm going to have to make myself be dedicated to this if I'm going to be successful. Thus making this more of a challenge. I like to set goals, but I'm not always necessarily great with the follow through. This is something I want to accomplish and no one is going to do it for me, although I wish they could! I may need to revise some things. I signed up on Julian Michael's website and she offers a meal plan. Great idea, IF you use it. I found that things happened that I hadn't planned on during the day and this would make me get off course for my plan. I also found it challenging with my family. They didn't want to eat what I had planned to cook for the meal that day. I expected my kids to say yuck and not want to eat but it will be a challenge with my hubby as well. He likes to be spontaneous and eat whatever he is hungry for that day. Hello, this is one of the reasons why I am in the jam I am in! I on the other hand like to plan out my day and know what is going to happen. Can you tell I'm a teacher?
So I'm on the start of a new week and baby stepping it right now. I need to focus and stay on track. And I need to figure out a way to make this be successful when my life gets chaotic with work and school schedules.
Woo-hoo! 2 lbs lost for my first week of this challenge! This may not sound like much but I'm shooting for baby steps here. And baby steps it is! Thursday was the end of the first week and I think that was one of my hardest days. I was sick with a sinus infection and didn't feel up to par that day. Didn't feel like messing with all of this stuff and didn't really pay attention to what I ate. I found that this will be a challenge in and of itself. Once I go back to work in August I'm going to have to make myself be dedicated to this if I'm going to be successful. Thus making this more of a challenge. I like to set goals, but I'm not always necessarily great with the follow through. This is something I want to accomplish and no one is going to do it for me, although I wish they could! I may need to revise some things. I signed up on Julian Michael's website and she offers a meal plan. Great idea, IF you use it. I found that things happened that I hadn't planned on during the day and this would make me get off course for my plan. I also found it challenging with my family. They didn't want to eat what I had planned to cook for the meal that day. I expected my kids to say yuck and not want to eat but it will be a challenge with my hubby as well. He likes to be spontaneous and eat whatever he is hungry for that day. Hello, this is one of the reasons why I am in the jam I am in! I on the other hand like to plan out my day and know what is going to happen. Can you tell I'm a teacher?
So I'm on the start of a new week and baby stepping it right now. I need to focus and stay on track. And I need to figure out a way to make this be successful when my life gets chaotic with work and school schedules.
Accountability
Original post 7/20/10
Ok, this blog is making me stay accountable. I don't think anyone is reading it but just the thought of the challenge and wanting to succeed is holding me accountable. I was in Athens today for a job interview. It was lunch time and I was driving around looking for somewhere to get something to eat and all I kept seeing were fast food places, Braums, Taco Bell, you name it. I knew what I needed to eat for lunch but didn't find any place that I could stop to purchase a healthy lunch. I broke down and stopped at Taco Bell. I did choose a lighter fair from their menu. But knowing that I have to report on here makes me stop and really think, do I want to eat that? I'm shooting for weight loss here and if I'm going to make that happen then I need to pay attention to what I'm putting in my mouth. Calories in = calories out, or something like that...
Ok, this blog is making me stay accountable. I don't think anyone is reading it but just the thought of the challenge and wanting to succeed is holding me accountable. I was in Athens today for a job interview. It was lunch time and I was driving around looking for somewhere to get something to eat and all I kept seeing were fast food places, Braums, Taco Bell, you name it. I knew what I needed to eat for lunch but didn't find any place that I could stop to purchase a healthy lunch. I broke down and stopped at Taco Bell. I did choose a lighter fair from their menu. But knowing that I have to report on here makes me stop and really think, do I want to eat that? I'm shooting for weight loss here and if I'm going to make that happen then I need to pay attention to what I'm putting in my mouth. Calories in = calories out, or something like that...
Why is healthy eating so expensive???
Original post 7/19/10
I took my shopping list from my Jillian Michaels meal plan and hauled off to the grocery store this afternoon. I waited for Mike to get home so I wouldn't have to take children in tow. Much better grocery shopping without them! But oh my goodness, healthy food is expensive!!! I know why poor people are overweight, they can't afford to buy the good healthy foods. Junk food is cheap in comparison. Someone needs to do something about this. I know I'm shouting to the air here but I am a huge tightwad!! I don't like to spend money at all. I only buy what I need to bye and that is it. And usually at the grocery store it is store brand only, whatever is the cheapest. Healthy foods are not cheap! They need coupons for the produce aisle and the meat aisles. Just sayin. So I need to figure out a way to make healthy eating affordable for my family of five who are picky eaters to say the least.
I took my shopping list from my Jillian Michaels meal plan and hauled off to the grocery store this afternoon. I waited for Mike to get home so I wouldn't have to take children in tow. Much better grocery shopping without them! But oh my goodness, healthy food is expensive!!! I know why poor people are overweight, they can't afford to buy the good healthy foods. Junk food is cheap in comparison. Someone needs to do something about this. I know I'm shouting to the air here but I am a huge tightwad!! I don't like to spend money at all. I only buy what I need to bye and that is it. And usually at the grocery store it is store brand only, whatever is the cheapest. Healthy foods are not cheap! They need coupons for the produce aisle and the meat aisles. Just sayin. So I need to figure out a way to make healthy eating affordable for my family of five who are picky eaters to say the least.
Goodbye Donut Holes...I will miss you!
Original post 7/18/10
We have this family "tradition" I guess you could call it that at our house on Sunday mornings. Several years ago we started getting donuts for breakfast on Sunday mornings on our way to church. Now Mike goes and picks them up for us while we all get ready for church. I LOVE donut holes!! They are one of my faves! But if I am going to do this challenge and do it the right way, then I must say goodbye. Ta-ta. I will miss you. Your warm, sugary, sweet, tasty goodness. Oh my I must stop now!! Why do they have to be so yummy yet so not good for you???
We have this family "tradition" I guess you could call it that at our house on Sunday mornings. Several years ago we started getting donuts for breakfast on Sunday mornings on our way to church. Now Mike goes and picks them up for us while we all get ready for church. I LOVE donut holes!! They are one of my faves! But if I am going to do this challenge and do it the right way, then I must say goodbye. Ta-ta. I will miss you. Your warm, sugary, sweet, tasty goodness. Oh my I must stop now!! Why do they have to be so yummy yet so not good for you???
Planning or lack there of...
Original post 7/17/10
Ok, so day 2 didn't go so well. I'm realizing I need to plan my meals. No plan, no do so good. Not that I ate bad today, just didn't really eat much. Maybe that is one of the reasons why I retain my weight so well. I don't really eat bad everyday, I just don't eat very much. I know you body will hang onto the fat reserve thinking it is in a famine if you don't eat enough food. This must be one of the things going on with my body. Today was Saturday. I got up made breakfast for everyone. I ate according to my meal plan that I researched online but didn't follow it the rest of the day. I didn't eat lunch. Ate some popcorn and a dollar hot dog at the movies this afternoon and then ate a half of a quesadilla for dinner. That's it for the day. But I'm hungry right now but its to late at night to eat. Eat after 8, gain weight....it's almost midnight. So I need to plan better for my meals.
As a side note. I did some online research the other night for free menus for weight loss. There isn't much out there online that don't charge you. In fact none at all. So if I follow through on this journey, maybe that is something I can do next is make a website with free menu plans on it for folks to follow if they are looking for a weight loss that is not expensive. I found Jillian Michaels website. She charges four dollars a week for her menu plan. I did the seven day free to see if I like it. Seems easy to follow and foods that my family will eat too.
Ok, so day 2 didn't go so well. I'm realizing I need to plan my meals. No plan, no do so good. Not that I ate bad today, just didn't really eat much. Maybe that is one of the reasons why I retain my weight so well. I don't really eat bad everyday, I just don't eat very much. I know you body will hang onto the fat reserve thinking it is in a famine if you don't eat enough food. This must be one of the things going on with my body. Today was Saturday. I got up made breakfast for everyone. I ate according to my meal plan that I researched online but didn't follow it the rest of the day. I didn't eat lunch. Ate some popcorn and a dollar hot dog at the movies this afternoon and then ate a half of a quesadilla for dinner. That's it for the day. But I'm hungry right now but its to late at night to eat. Eat after 8, gain weight....it's almost midnight. So I need to plan better for my meals.
As a side note. I did some online research the other night for free menus for weight loss. There isn't much out there online that don't charge you. In fact none at all. So if I follow through on this journey, maybe that is something I can do next is make a website with free menu plans on it for folks to follow if they are looking for a weight loss that is not expensive. I found Jillian Michaels website. She charges four dollars a week for her menu plan. I did the seven day free to see if I like it. Seems easy to follow and foods that my family will eat too.
1st official day!
Original post 7/16/10
Ok, so today was my first official day with this new challenge I have set for myself. I need to some how remind myself that I am doing this challenge. I kind of forgot! So much for a challenge if you can't remember! But I was busy today. Couldn't sleep last night so ended up staying up way to late and sleeping in. Went to Arlington to my cousin's house and swam with the kids. That felt good, not only because it was like 120* today (just kidding but it felt like it), I worked out in the deep end. I use to love water aerobics in college. I would still love it today if I didn't live in a little town that doesn't offer a community pool. Guess I could crash at some friends houses to use their pools every day. Wonder if they wouldn't mind seeing my smiling face everyday :) Then we ate at chick-fil-a. I only ate a chicken sandwich and drank a glass of water. Much better than what I normally would get, the potato fries and a large sprite. By passed the fries and soda so I guess that is a start to my challenge? Had a protein shake for breakfast and taco cabana bean and cheese nachos for lunch, with a sprite. So not so healthy in the nutrition dept as I should be yet. I will get there. It is a challenge after all!?!
Ok, so today was my first official day with this new challenge I have set for myself. I need to some how remind myself that I am doing this challenge. I kind of forgot! So much for a challenge if you can't remember! But I was busy today. Couldn't sleep last night so ended up staying up way to late and sleeping in. Went to Arlington to my cousin's house and swam with the kids. That felt good, not only because it was like 120* today (just kidding but it felt like it), I worked out in the deep end. I use to love water aerobics in college. I would still love it today if I didn't live in a little town that doesn't offer a community pool. Guess I could crash at some friends houses to use their pools every day. Wonder if they wouldn't mind seeing my smiling face everyday :) Then we ate at chick-fil-a. I only ate a chicken sandwich and drank a glass of water. Much better than what I normally would get, the potato fries and a large sprite. By passed the fries and soda so I guess that is a start to my challenge? Had a protein shake for breakfast and taco cabana bean and cheese nachos for lunch, with a sprite. So not so healthy in the nutrition dept as I should be yet. I will get there. It is a challenge after all!?!
Setting Goals
Originally posted 7/15/10
Ever since graduating last August, almost a year ago now, with my master's degree I have been trying to find myself and figuring out where and what I am doing with my life. You see, attaining my master's degree was one of those bucket list goals. A hard to reach, determined kind of goal. I conquered it and then I thought, what else? What else do I need to do with my life? Where am I going? What do I want to do next? Well it has been a long year now and I have been at a loss as to where I'm going. So I decided I needed direction. I need a goal that will be long term that I need to work hard to attain. Focus I guess you could say. I am focused in my life. God first, husband second, children next, then family and friends...oh and throw work in there too. I turned 40 this January and the one thing that has been nagging at me is my weight; how sick and tired I am of being overweight and fighting this battle. It is a battle, a constant struggle. I have been overweight for the past 20 years. Yes, I have lost weight but only for it to find me again. Currently I weigh as much as I did when my son was born and he turned 5 years old this week! Not a baby anymore and no reason for me to be carrying this baby weight around. So I am equipped with my Julian Michael's Shred video, my Body for Life for Women book and my Potatoes, Not Prozac book. Let's get this party started!
Do you think it would be alright to eat some Blue Bell Cookies and Cream Ice Cream first??? Just wondering.....
Ever since graduating last August, almost a year ago now, with my master's degree I have been trying to find myself and figuring out where and what I am doing with my life. You see, attaining my master's degree was one of those bucket list goals. A hard to reach, determined kind of goal. I conquered it and then I thought, what else? What else do I need to do with my life? Where am I going? What do I want to do next? Well it has been a long year now and I have been at a loss as to where I'm going. So I decided I needed direction. I need a goal that will be long term that I need to work hard to attain. Focus I guess you could say. I am focused in my life. God first, husband second, children next, then family and friends...oh and throw work in there too. I turned 40 this January and the one thing that has been nagging at me is my weight; how sick and tired I am of being overweight and fighting this battle. It is a battle, a constant struggle. I have been overweight for the past 20 years. Yes, I have lost weight but only for it to find me again. Currently I weigh as much as I did when my son was born and he turned 5 years old this week! Not a baby anymore and no reason for me to be carrying this baby weight around. So I am equipped with my Julian Michael's Shred video, my Body for Life for Women book and my Potatoes, Not Prozac book. Let's get this party started!
Do you think it would be alright to eat some Blue Bell Cookies and Cream Ice Cream first??? Just wondering.....
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Adventures at children's camp
Paige made it home safe and sound this afternoon from church camp. She is exhausted, has pretty much laid around the house all day. She even took a nap! This is abnormal for her so she must have been worn out. She has been quiet most of the day so I'm sure I will hear all of the stories tomorrow. In the meantime I will download the info the camp put on their website that told of the day's activities. They even put a picture of Paige on their camp website! I would personally like to thank all of the sponsors that went from our church and our children's minister is awesome!! And so is her husband!! FBC Kaufman ROCKS!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
And he's 5 now!!
Wow. That is all I can say right now. My little man will be 5 in the morning. Hello, when did I wake up and have a 5 year old little boy???? Wasn't he just 3 not long ago? I was watching him ride his new bike tonight that we gave him for his birthday present and thinking when did this little person morph into a boy? He is so strong, lean and getting tall. He is also very excited about starting kindergarten this year...."tear", "sniff, sniff". I was telling him tonight how 5 years ago tonight my belly was so huge and I was in labor waiting for him to come out and he said yea and I was kicking and punching your insides and then he kicked my belly! What??? Wait a minute! Ouch that hurt.
I asked him the other night, "What do you want for your birthday dinner little man?" He thought for a few minutes and he said "you know how to cook McDonald's food mom"? Hummm, think I can figure out how to make some chicken nuggets little man. The he said he wanted to go to crab shack because daddy like to eat crabs (Joe's Crab Shack). We reminded him it was "his" birthday and to choose somewhere that he would like to go, not daddy. We are still waiting on that decision.
I asked him the other night, "What do you want for your birthday dinner little man?" He thought for a few minutes and he said "you know how to cook McDonald's food mom"? Hummm, think I can figure out how to make some chicken nuggets little man. The he said he wanted to go to crab shack because daddy like to eat crabs (Joe's Crab Shack). We reminded him it was "his" birthday and to choose somewhere that he would like to go, not daddy. We are still waiting on that decision.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wow, time flies by when your busy!
Seriously, I haven't posted since December??? Couldn't be! The spring semester took a toll on me I guess since I didn't post anything on this blog. I love blogging, really need to take some time out to blog during the day. Seeing as how it is June now, and almost the end of June at that, I need to do a lot of catching up.
January: Paige turned 9. Yes, my baby girl is about to hit the double digits on her next bday. That was a huge milestone for me when Leah hit it but I'm kind of looking forward to it for Paige. We had an ice cream party this year. Lots of her friends came to CJ's ice cream shop and helped her celebrate zebra/peace style! We played several games, ate mini hamburgers, and made their own ice cream sundaes. She had a great time. Next I hit the BIG 4..0! Yikes! Really??? 40??? Couldn't be! I feel mentally I am only 25 but my body tells me otherwise. Arthur has come to visit me this spring. Arthritis that is. Has set in on my thumb and ouch, it hurts. Plus my body creaks and croaks every time I get up, what's up with that??? Ankles hurt, back hurts....hummm I seeing a pattern here. Maybe Arthur has visited other parts of my body without my permission. I started January off by seeing a chiropractor 2X's a week for 6 weeks. Apparently when I fell off the school bus and then took a tumble off the ladder while painting Leah's room I dislocated my right hip. Then sitting and laying on a hard concrete floor helping a student with her project pinched a nerve on the same hip. Needless to say I could barely walk for my 40th bday! So I was glad to see 40 come and go, it flew by so fast I could barely keep up...just kidding. My student that had cancer passed away this month. She is not in pain anymore.
February: Kids were busy with school. We received some snow in late February that was quite surprising! I don't remember how many inches we received right now but it looked like we lived in the mountains for how much snow we had! Powder snow at that!! I pretended I was about to go skiing. As soon as school was out that day (it started snowing while we were at school) I ran up into the attic and pulled out our skiing gear praying it would all still fit us. We hurried to Nash hill, took some big plastic lids with us and took off to play. All of us had huge smiles on our faces! The news said it hadn't snowed like this in Texas since 1919 (I think, memory is fading since turning 40 too). The kids and I woke up the next morning to more snow and school was canceled!! Yes!! We walked outside and it felt literally like we were the only people on the earth. Total and absolute peace and quiet. You could hear the snow falling. It was amazing and then I heard this little voice say "hi". It almost scared me. The little boy across the street was sitting in his snow all by himself smiling. We played for along time that morning, Nash hill was over crowded this day. We had a great time though!! One man had brought out his snow board and let the kids go down the hill on it. They had a blast!! Leah also qualified for nationals in archery!! She placed 10th in the state!! 10th in the state of Texas!!! Wow!!! I was so proud of her!!
March: Started out cold and wet. I could barely wait for spring break! It seemed like a long time between Christmas break and spring break. I was dealing with some knuckleheads in one of my classes that makes this thing called teaching more difficult. Finally one of the students was removed from my 4th period class and wow, what a difference it made for the whole class. They turned out to be my best class when it was all said and done to my surprise! I loved them! During spring break, the kids went to visit Mawmaw and Pawpaw in Colorado. They went on a trip to see Mt. Rushmore. They had a blast. At first I wasn't so sure about them leaving so far from home. I was very sad and cried a lot. But by the middle of the week I was content to be home and enjoy the peace and quiet....which doesn't happen often! The end of the week came and we were going to meet them in Childress to pick up the kids. I had told Mike I think we need to get them a day earlier than planned because they were forecasting bad weather. Mike didn't want to do that and needless to say we woke up early the morning to pick them up and guess what? Snow! And LOTS OF ICE! Texas is known for its ice on the roads during bad weather. I wanted to yell at Mike and say, "See I told you so" but I didn't. I did say, see we should have left a day earlier when the roads were clear! It took us forever to reach Ft Worth. Once on the other side of Ft Worth, the roads were clear and melting. I can't remember how many wrecks we witnessed that morning. We had a few close calls ourselves. I remember being extremely tense in the van. We did see one really bad wreck. I heard later on the news that most of the people involved in it passed away. When we went by it I thought it would be a miracle for anyone to survive that one. It was sad. I was sooooo glad to get my chickies back to my arms. The ride home was uneventful, which was a good thing considering the ride up there. I almost forgot to mention Mike started a new job in March. He was hired on as an aide in the behavior unit at the alternative campus here in town. Real estate market was stinky. At the end of March, Luke started playing t-ball. This was soooo much fun to watch. He wasn't to sure about it at first. He told me he didn't like it because it made his legs hurt (from running). But in the end he loved it. Leah attended her first dance. It was a Marde Gra themed dance for the junior high. I cried seeing how grown up she was in her dress.April: My oldest turned 13 this month!! I think I cried the whole week leading up to her turning 13. I hit two milestones in the same week this month, Leah turned 13 and we registered Luke for kindergarten. I couldn't believe it. I remember thinking this is all a blur, its going by to fast. Life was a little hectic and chaotic this month. Mike and I had, well for the ones close to us, you know what happened this month. Life is definitely better now. And to top this month off; Lucky our little puppy, ran away. I had moved the board that was keeping the wood set up for his doggie gate out of the way while we were cleaning up outside. I forgot to set it back up. The next day we came home and the board had been blown over by the wind and Lucky was no where to be found. He is gone, he never came back home. Luke was devasted and I was torn up inside that I didn't put that stinkin board back in place.
May: May started off with Leah and I riding the charter bus to Kentucky for her trip to nationals in archery. We had a great time and spent some much needed mother-daughter time together. The trip was fast and furious though, 36 out of 72 hrs on a charter bus makes ones butt kind of numb and sore! The girl shooting next to Leah was playing head games with her and she let her get the best of her. She placed 600 out of 3500 students though. Not bad I think! I was kind of anxious this month too. I applied for several jobs that I would have liked to have but wasn't blessed with one of them. I know God has another plan for me, just have to wait a little longer. Waiting game is soooo hard for me! Leah was blessed with being nominated into the National Junior Honor Society and was elected secretary for student council for next year! She is going to have a busy 8th grade year next year. The school year ended with all of the end of school parties and field trips. And the last day of school came along with Luke's last day of daycare. It was bitter sweet. I thought about crying but I was kind of excited. 13 years of paying for daycare has come to an end! Wow! Didn't realize I had paid for daycare that long until then. So I will get a raise when school starts from daycare money. It was bittersweet in the since that Luke is sooooo excited about going to kindergarten next year so it made me excited for him. Funny thing is, he thought he was going to kindergarten the next day.
So that pretty much gets us caught up to today....whewwww. That was a busy spring! June has started and the last day of school was June 4th. Our church held vacation Bible school the next week. I helped with preschool music. I love preschoolers, they are soooo much fun! I love their energy. Paige asked Jesus into her heart the third day of vbs! Mike and I almost cried. What a monumentous moment for a parent to realize their child wants to become a Christian. I think as a parent, this is one of the greatest gifts we can teach our children. Jesus is the way, the light and the truth. HE is the only way!
And today, it is a scorcher outside. 101 degrees already and its only 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Kids have built a tent in the living room that just might take it over. We have been swimming and pretty much taking it easy so far. Mike has started a new summer job doing air conditioning. It is long hours and hot work but he is loving it and our plan is to pay off his car by the end of the summer. That will be awesomeness!!! I am thoroughly enjoying my summer off. I didn't realize it until the other day that this is my first summer off in two years. The past two summers I was taking classes and didn't have much down time. It has been kind of strange to have "nothing" that I really have to do right now but I am making peace with it :)
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