I Disappeared!

Honestly, I just haven't been motivated or inspired to write anything so I have not. BUT, I have something today!

Of course, most of you know, I'm homeschooling for the second year now. In April after a new baby, and toddler and craziness in the house, I was not really excited to homeschool. (By the end of the year it's normal to be burnt out;-) ) But, I annually go to NCHE conference expecting to be encouraged and refreshed and to hear from the Lord about the future education for our children! I went. It was AMAZING. I was soooo ready to start school again! Getting closer to the end of summer, though, I started having doubts like "Is this really the best thing?" and "Do I really know what I'm doing?" and hearing things like "What gives parents the right to think he or she is a better teacher than the teachers with the actual degree and certificate?" etc. Well, I started 2 wks. earlier than I originally planned b/c the kids were ready for summer to be OVER.

It has been so awesome for God to confirm what I already knew he called me to do! During the first week we talked about Leif Ericsson. Also, during that same week, the kids turned the tv on to Spongebob (which we NEVER let them watch) and Spongebob was dressed up as Leif Ericcson and was pretending for Leif Ericcson Day (in the cartoon)! The second confirmation came during the second week of school. We started talking about Indians. One day for lunch we went to McDonalds and I purchased 2 kid's meals. (This is a BIG deal b/c most of the time we just get a bunch of nuggets to share to save $.) In the kid's meal was a book about an Indian girl from the same tribe we happened to study and look at the previous day! AWESOME!

So, here we are, finished with our third week of school and life is great! I'm sure by May I will be ready for the conference again but, for now, I'm overflowing! I LOVE My Father's World (the curriculum we use) which I know the Lord directed me to! I also, love that when I may have doubts about what the Lord has for us, we just trust in Him and he will direct our paths! The same is true for you! Not that I believe everyone is called to homeschool but, that God will direct you in every area of your life if you allow him!

P90X

SO.....I'm finished with the X. It is truly an amazing program! Your body can do A LOT in 90 days! All in all I am happy with my results. I could have done better eating wise and did miss several work outs during that time and still got results! I think I'm going to mix it up a bit until some One on Ones or X+ are in the budget!

If I can do this with four children, you can to! I would love to help you in your fitness journey! I can support you in whatever your needs are. Visit my website and let me know how I can help you=)

Day 1

130 lbs

31 in waist

39 in hips

Day 90

114 lbs

26 in waist

35.5 in hips

Freedom

I'm am super thankful to live in such a GREAT country! We are so blessed and many times are blinded to how lucky we are to live in this nation! Remember today that FREEDOM is never really free! Many have sacrificed themselves to pay for us to be FREE!

Reminder

I know everyone is talking about the "news"! From Jon & Kate, Sanford, Farrah, Ed Mchanon, Jackson and Billy Mays! My heart is heavy only because all of the news serves as a reminder!

First, I'm reminded that we are all human and all miss the mark and fall short of what God requires which is perfection! Thankfully, Jesus gave himself up for us so we could be seen blameless and pure in God's sight! It's very unfortunate that so many people have to hurt because of bad choices.

Second, I'm reminded that we are ALL terminally ill. We do not know how much time we have left so we need to live each day in light of eternity! There is more to this life than just living and dying.

The Season of #2

I'm calling this post The Season of #2 because I don't like any of the other alternative words such as poop, poopy, sh__, etc.

Right now it feels like the never ending season! How long will it last?! Between work and home I'm surrounded by #2! Two in diapers at home and plenty of incontinent patients at work = unending smelly situations! However, during this season of my life I've learned to be thankful! Thankful for my job that is so flexible and rewarding! Thankful that I'm not one of the incontinent patients! Thankful for my two diaper babes who have been such a blessing to us #2 and all! So....I shall endure this Season of #2 with a grateful happy heart=)

A Tribute to the BEST Dad in the WORLD!

To a dad who is truly amazing...


It started with us liking each other like turned into love then into marriage! Seven months later I was pregnant with our first born! Oh, how that changed things! Our first blessing came and you became a DAD!I never knew you would be such an amazing father but in those first moments I knew! The way you looked at our precious baby, the way you held him, I knew you were going to be the BEST father for our little boy! You were always willing to change the smelliest diapers, give the bath, take him everywhere! You amazed me and I fell even more in love with the man you were! When Elijah was 8 months old I became pregnant with Abrianna! Our second blessing came! I knew when I saw you look at her the first time she was going to be able to melt her daddy's heart at the drop of a hat! I saw her become "Daddy's girl" in an instant! It was precious. Our lives were complete! (So we thought)! Life went on with us and our two babies...
We kept living life you being a GREAT dad every step of the way!


Little did we know God had other plans for our family! He did a MIRACLE in both of our hearts and we had an overwhelming desire for more CHILDREN! Can't imaging our lives without Joseph! What another gift from the Lord! Once again I was captivated by you and the way were with our children! You were more than I ever knew a dad could be! There we were parents of three special blessings!

Twelve and a half months after Joseph you became a daddy for the fourth time! Moses Allen joined our family! What a precious sweet boy!We were a family of 6! Even though you've only been a dad to 4 for a short time you still amaze me! You do so much for our family and for our children! You have added so much to my life and I know there is not a greater dad on earth! Thank you for being my other half! I would not want to do this journey with out you! Our children adore you and you are their hero! Remember what Elijah said he wants to be when he grows up?! I'm sure when Joseph and Moses are talking they will say the same! We love you! Happy Father's Day to the World's BEST DAD!

Men are from Mars Women are from Venus-The Mother's Day Story

Okay. I've totally been trying to write this post since right after mother's day. I'm just finally getting in the mood to finish. So, here's the story...

Let me first say that honestly, I married one of the most amazing men in the WORLD! How many men do you know that will help with everything around the house (except laundry unless out of desperation for clean underwear), do a great job watching 4 children while you're working 8hr or 12 hour shifts, change the smelliest diapers, do bath and bed time without prompting, let me sleep when I need to, and the list goes on for a mile! That being said, this past Mother's Day he totally confirmed that men are from Mars!

The back story....I'm not a gift person. Really, I never care about a present for birthday, Christmas, anniversary ect. However, to me, THE HOLIDAY is Mother's day! It's the one day I expect a card that tells me I'm the best mom in the world, blah, blah, blah! (Even if it's not true, I prefer to be at least lied to on that day!) So....Last year I thought my husband already knew this important fact so on Mother's Day I was waiting and waiting for my card! By the afternoon I still did not have it and finally asked Jose to give me the card. He looked at me with the "deer in the headlights" look and that's when the river of tears started flowing! Jose tried to comfort me but then said he needed to leave. He came back about 30 min. later with flowers and a card to try to make up. I read the card and forgot all the nice things it said because at the end it said HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I was like are you kidding? Is this a joke? Did you even read the card!? Okay. That was last year. I finally got over it but knew nothing like that would ever happen again!

Fast forward to this Mother's Day.... I did NOT want a repeat of the year before, so Thursday before Mother's Day I sent Jose a text msg. saying "Hey Babe don't forget my Mom's day card." I was brilliant. I told him exactly what I wanted and gave several days notice for him to come through! Jose had to be at church super early Mother's Day so I didn't see him in the morning. After church we went to lunch. By the end of lunch he still had not given me "the card" so I asked. "Babe, is my Mother's day card at home?" The deer in the headlights look returned! NO WAY! Right. Is it possible?! I thought he was joking but within seconds knew he did not have the card for the second year in a row! This year I was a little ticked. He knew it so he headed out to get the "make-up" card. He returned and I was thinking this better be good! I read everything and then got to the end.......I swear it said HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It really did. I was in shock! NO WAY 2 yrs in a row did I get a Birthday card for Mother's day!? I opened the floodgates! Saying blah, blah, blah about if I was a good mom I would have gotten a Mother's Day card! I have to admit I was a little dramatic only because I wanted it to be memorable!

The plan....That Monday Jose had to go to Charleston and I was still mad! I wanted him to pay! So, I called one of my friends planning the attack! My first thought was to wash all of his white clothes with a red marker to turn everything pink! Then it hit me! My genius plan! I was going to decorate for myself and get my own Mother's day card and my own gift certificates! Jose wasn't going to be home until Monday night so I had plenty of time to decorate for me! I loaded all 4 kids into the car and headed to target to purchase my Mom's Day decor! Here are the pics from the Monday after Mother's day!

Really, I had such a fun time doing this! By the time I was done I was laughing hysterically at myself and at the fact my husband seriously bought birthday cards two years in a row! Now that's funny! He came home that night with flowers and a real Mother's Day card and felt horrible! Stay tuned to find out what happens next Mother's Day! Will it be a birthday card?!