Photo Shoot

Some family pictures! These were taken back in November (so the kids have grown up a little bit since then) but they are still as cute. It was also SUPER cold that day, so the kids were pretty cranky and a little runny/red nosed. However, thanks to the talents of Carrie Stroud, you can't even tell!

Waxing Philosophical

It just occurred to me that I have a wonderful life. My two 'babies' are great little people with their own budding full-blown personalities that I am privileged to shape and teach to be honest, obedient, good people who love the Lord and can be a force of good. I am also married to a wonderful and loving man who is a good father and works to be a better person. I have a good job where I have advanced quickly, have been given new responsibilities, and get to help people every day.

I am usually so stuck on "life will be better when..." or "I can't wait until...
Cam finishes school, we move somewhere else, we get a house, the kids are older... blah blah blah blah blah " No matter how perfect life is there is always something you can find to complain about. Lately I have been a complainer rather than a optimist that counts her blessings and does the best with what has been gifted to her.

Hopefully this post will remind me (and maybe all of us) of that when I want to be a downer.

New Year's Resolution!

I am horrible about New Year's Resolutions. So bad that I gave up making them years ago. Apparently deciding I am going to do something simply because a new year started and everyone else either does it or says you should do it, isn't a good motivation for me.

But I have seemed to found a good motivation: my kids. Cam and I are planning on having more kids (not anytime terribly soon, but probably being pregnant within the next year). I don't take the best care of my body. I tend to skip meals on occasion just because I get too busy and sitting on the computer or in front of the TV is so much easier than working out and pushing myself. When I was pregnant with Dallas and Chelane, I would get motivated to get in shape, but (especially with Chelane) the morning sickness/all around blah-ness really detoured me from wanting to do anything. I didn't start feeling good until I pretty far along, and by that time the only work-out that is feasible (for me) is walking. So this time I figured, why not be pro-active and start early?

So, this last week I have decided I will start working out, and guess what? I have actually stuck to it. Usually my goals like this fizzle out after a day or two (seriously, that is all the longer "working out" has lasted in the past if I am doing it on my own). But this time I have been sticking to it. My legs and arms have been achy from squats, lunges, and push-ups; and I have been running on the elliptical until my legs burn, and then running some more. Luckily I have my parents' elliptical and Weight Watchers work-out videos (I recommend these).

Since the kids are around when I am doing this (I do it in the morning when Cam is at school after the kids have breakfast... I could wake up when Cam does and be done BEFORE the kids get up, but as we have stated earlier: I seem to lack in the self control area sometimes...) so I either barricade off the elliptical side of the family room and put on a movie (awesome parenting skills!) or I get a little set of weights down for Dallas and try to get the kids in some degree of participation (this doesn't work at all... unless having Chelane run into my leg and not let go while I am trying to do squats counts...)

Before anyone feels that I am bragging too much these work-outs have only been 20-30 minutes a day, hardly anything amazing, but it is amazing what 20-30 minutes can do for how you feel about yourself.

If you feel motivated, try it with me. Don't have an indoor cardio-machine or workout videos? Just do a few sets of push-ups, sit-ups and squats. Even these little things make a difference!

Dallas and Books

Dallas has always been a go-go-go sort of child. Even when he was little(r) he wanted to be down on the floor moving, not held and cuddled. He started rolling over, crawling, and walking fairly early. In fact his speech delay could probably be fully attributed to his lack of slowing down. He wouldn't sit still and watch us when we talked to him, he wasn't figuring out how to make the sounds with his mouth (plus the signing - talking by moving - was right up his alley).

Now-a-days he is still a go-er and do-er with one exception: books. He really loves books. And he sits still to look at them. Naptime and bedtime, better known as "quiet time" around these parts, always includes books for Dallas to look at, and often me reading to him as well. His taste is leaning towards longer and longer books.

The other day I read him Pooh's Heffalump Movie Book word-for-word and asked him questions about the pictures ("Who is hiding?" "How is Tigger feeling?") making the book take close to fifteen minutes. He wasn't the slightest bit ansy, even at the end. If you have had the pleasure of experiencing Dallas first-hand, you know him sitting still that long is a pretty big deal.

I hope when I check on him at night in the future I will be greeted by more scenes like this.

That Test

I figured I would put a little update in about that test I took a month ago that I was complaining about over two months ago.

Apparently there was a need to complain and not a need to worry.

I passed.

The scoring was 100-300 with anything over 240 passing. The test was broken up into three sub-tests: reading, writing, and mathematics. I passed all of them by a wide margin, acing the math portion.

After I got my scores in the mail I just had to show it to Cam. Then, like a little kid, I had to go tell my mom and dad how well I did. I guess you are never too old for some parental praise.