Sledding our Sunday afternoon away...

We received a warm welcome to join our friends the Hutchins and the Lee's for a Sunday afternoon of fellowship and fun. We enjoyed a warm bowl of chili and a hot cup of tea. We spent time around the lunch table sharing stories and making memories. The girls sat at one table, the boys at the other and Marcus joined the adults as we broke bread together. This is the kind of family and fellowship I dream of for our own family. Wayne reminded me that we'll be this kind of family for our own children and grandchildren as they grow up and have families of their own. You don't realize what your missing until you enjoy a time with others who truly love the Lord and one another. We are invited to join them anytime. I'm sure there will be many more Sunday afternoons enjoyed by our families.

After our warm invite and warm meal we headed outside for an afternoon of sledding. I was only going outside with the guys to take pictures of the kiddos while the ladies watched from the indoors. I was having so much fun watching our kids enjoy the snow and their friends. This was our first time sledding as a family. When I say family I mean I actually got on and slid down the hill myself. I laughed all the way down, twice. It felt so good to have so much fun. Macey was a joy to watch as she enjoyed the snow for the first time. Each time she would ride down with Taylor and before they would get to the bottom of the hill she was already signing for more. She was a real trooper. She was even brave enough to go down all by herself. Tanner had a great time with the boys. They went up and down literally hundreds of times, ALL afternoon. We called it a day when Macey went down for the last time. Let's just say she wiped out, lost a glove and couldn't see a thing. We quickly went inside were we were greeted by a warm fire and something warm to drink. Our family had such a great time together. We thank the Lord for good friends who love us and our children, all of them. (Marcus enjoyed his afternoon indoors taking a nap).

Snow Days...

We have been enjoying the indoors as a family for the past 2 days. Yesterday brought, sleeting rain while today the snow has been falling for hours. We don't normally have this kind of weather here in central Oklahoma. Maybe 2 days a year do we have such weather. Christmas Eve brought a blizzard. We were in for days then too. So this is our second round of winter weather here. The kids love it! Tanner has been outside on and off all day. Marcus and Macey have enjoyed the snow from the indoors. Macey goes over to the window and signs snow and cold. Marcus just loves watching the snow fall. He was very distracted at breakfast this morning. By lunchtime he was more than ready to eat. Since these pictures were taken it has probably snowed another 3 inches. It's just beautiful. Wayne made the comment about loving being able to stay home with all of us and getting paid to do so. The base closed early yesterday so he was home before noon. He didn't have to go in at all today. So we all have a 4 day weekend! We have cleaned, watched movies with our new neighbors and friends, I'm sure Uno attack will be played tonight, Wayne has made a great pot of chili and I'll be scrap booking tomorrow. We're all home safe and warm. I couldn't ask for more. This IS the life!

How do you keep a toddler in his crib?

What do you notice about this picture?
Yes, I had to turn his crib around backwards to keep Marcus IN his crib. I was working in my office when I turned around and noticed Marcus standing in the entry way. What are you doing in here? More importantly HOW did you get in here? It was Marcus' nap time, Macey and Taylor were at school and Tanner was in the dining room. All was quiet! I didn't hear a thing; no thug, crash or bang. I swooped him up to make sure he was OK. No blood, no scrapes, no bruises of any kind. He was just standing there as if to say, here I am. I did pick him back up and put him back to bed to finish his nap. Later that evening I had the brilliant idea of turning his crib around so he could no longer escape. So far, so good. Geeesh!

BL week 3 - I'm not giving up!

Let's just say I don't feel very inspiring. After having a double ear infection and not exercising one time it shows. The scale does not lie. I gained 1 pound this week. Yes, you read right, I gained 1 pound. I will not be defeated! Like I said the first week, it's a matter of prayer, less food and more exercise. The more exercise is were I failed this week. I have now learned that exercise has got to be a part of my daily routine in order to loose these unwanted pounds and then be able to maintain a healthy weight. Boy do I learn things the hard way. Yes, I have been sick and could not have walked one minute on a treadmill without loosing it, literally. But today is a new day!
Over the weekend my husband bought me my own personal treadmill for the house. This means I can walk morning, noon or night. I am so grateful he believes in me and supports my efforts. This will make all the difference to me. It's here, I see it when I wake up every morning. It actually feels good once I'm walking and see the calories I'm burning. I wouldn't say I love it quite yet but I am glad to have it.
Thanks Wayne, I'll make you proud!

How do you keep TWO kids contained?

TODDLER GATE!
A big Thank you to Aunt Jennifer. The toddler gate is a life saver. Really, it is. It keeps the kids contained, I mean entertained in their room where it is safe and fun. If the gate where NOT there Marcus would have opened their bedroom door and would be playing in the toilet by now. See what I mean by a life saver? Who would have thought he would love the water so much, any water. Remember when we brought him home, it took a month to get him to take a bath without crying. I never want to forget just how far he's come in just a short amount of time.
Thanks again!

B is for Bear

A dear friend of ours, Ansley brought over the greatest gift for the kids. This BIG, brown bear. I wasn't sure who would love it more Tanner or the littles. This was a great lesson in sharing. Each one of them have taken turns snuggling, wrestling and lovin' on this BIG, brown bear. Thank You to our dear friend for thinking of us.

Biggest Looser Update - Week 2

I promise this is not a weight loss blog. It's just an update to my weight loss goals. This week I lost 6.75 pounds! That's a total of 12 pounds in 2 weeks. I am so glad to have shed those unwanted pounds. My current goal is to get under 200 pounds and maintain that for life. Only 14 more pounds to go. Of course that won't be the end of my weight loss but I have to set small goals so I don't get defeated. I have been under the weather all weekend. I didn't work out Friday and our gym is closed on the weekends. I would love to have a treadmill for the house. It's on my "list."
I have been congested and just not feeling myself. I went to church Sunday morning and felt so bad that Wayne had to bring me home right after service. I slept until 3:30 that afternoon. I woke up to a throbbing ear ache. I went to the Emergency Clinic that evening to find out I indeed have a double ear infection. Later that evening it burst! Talk about pain. After the second pain pill I was out. Fortunately Wayne was off work yesterday, due to the federal holiday and was able to take the kids to their therapy appointment. I rested most of the day. I took a shower which just about wore me out. I decided I better go weigh in with my team and I'm so glad I did. Good results! I pray I get to feeling better soon. I have a family to take care of and a goal I have to reach.

Biggest Looser Update - Week 1

I lost 5.25 lbs. the first week of Biggest Looser. :)
How did I do it? Prayer, Ate Less and Exercised More.
Really, I just cut the portions I was use to eating by probably half in some cases. I have also committed to 4-5 days a week of exercise. I have a love/hate relationship with the treadmill. :) Thank You for your words of encouragement, keep them coming. This is truly the hardest thing for me to do on my own. I continually pray for the Lord to deliver me from this food addiction. I know He can and believe He will. Today was a new day of exercise for me. I had the same routine but a different attitude. I learned that caring for our bodies is an act of worship. I pray that what I am doing is pleasing to Him. I will have to remind myself of this, moment by moment then hour by hour then eventually day by day. This is a process. One week down, many more to go, a lifetime.

Biggest Looser, that's me!

Beginning tomorrow Monday, June 4th I will be joining the Biggest Looser program at our church. Yes, it's a new years resolution to loose weight but to do it for the right reasons. This program is designed to make us accountable to our partner, weigh in each week, share in a time of devotion and receive a nutritional tip too. I have lost weight before, many times. This time I pray it is for good. I didn't know I wanted to actully go public with this adventure until this past weekend. So here I am throwing this out to each of you for a few reasons. Most importantly for your prayers. Please know that I take this very seriously and need to know that God is in control and I am not. When I have done this on my own I have failed. I need Him to deliver me from this addiction to food that I have. I love to eat. I love to eat whether I am happy, sad, mad or glad. I don't need a reason to eat. I would also like you to pray for discipline for me to excercise also. I know I can not afford to buy diet/low-fat food, join Weight Watchers or pay for a gym membership. This journey can not cost my family. What I can do is walk or learn how to run. More on that later. I will post my progress as it occurs. I would like to make a blog for this personal journey but haven't quite figured out how to do so. So for now, know that I am taking caring of ME. In the meatime, I will be taking care of my supportive husband, 4 precious children, home schooling, keeping up with the house work, paying the bills, getting the kids to and from activities and therapies, Bible Study Fellowship, church activities and committments, scrap booking our lives and serving where God calls me (these are in no particular order and I just know I'm leaving something out). So please pray that God opens up the TIME I need to put towards this goal of mine. I want HIM to be glorified in ALL that I do. He will have to help me balance this "new normal" life of mine. I am having the time of my life. I don't want to miss out on any of it. Thanks for the support!

Snuggies for some of us

I had no idea when my parents gave me and the two older kids Snuggies for Christmas that we would be leaving anyone out. Macey saw daddy taking a picture of me with Taylor and Tanner and immedaitely ran to her bed to get her very own blankey. She brought back her fleece blanket that the Parker family had made her, she sleeps with it every night. We all laughed and got a big kick out of her wanting to be a part of the Snuggie picture. She sure makes us all laugh. She is so very smart.