Today our K turned 11 years old! We are so proud of her and love her so much. Let me count the ways:
10. She's a great cook.
9. She has an awesome sense of style.
8. She is great company.
7. She loves her family well.
6. She is intelligent.
5. She gives the best hugs.
4. She's as messy as I was when I was her age.
3. When she knows she has done something wrong she says, "I love you Mommy or Daddy!" And smiles sheepishly.
2. She's always a willing helper with a happy heart.
1. We've been given the honor of raising this incredible child to love, nurture and care for and we couldn't be more thrilled with this privilege!
Happy Birthday to one of the most wonderful people that I have the privilege to know!
By the way - she's growing (see pictorial proof coming as soon as my movie is over)!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Happy Birthday to a terrific 13 year old!
I have been blessed with an amazing family! One of those fantastic people is my son, B - he is turning 13 on Tuesday!
#1 like most people who are entering the uncharted land of teenager-hood I'm a little surprised that I found my way here.
#2 I am excited, because just like every new adventure with B I know that this one will be filled with fun, learning and excitement.
#3 My B is growing up - see the pictorial proof!
#4 One really positive thing about my children growing up - we can share & discuss things, something I couldn't do when I was changing their diapers (at least now I get a response)! B & I were able to discuss the sermon today after church and we agreed that we this quote moved us both, so I wanted to share it with you:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles," 1992 (commonly misattributed to Nelson Mandela, 1994 inauguration speech)
#1 like most people who are entering the uncharted land of teenager-hood I'm a little surprised that I found my way here.
#2 I am excited, because just like every new adventure with B I know that this one will be filled with fun, learning and excitement.
#3 My B is growing up - see the pictorial proof!
#4 One really positive thing about my children growing up - we can share & discuss things, something I couldn't do when I was changing their diapers (at least now I get a response)! B & I were able to discuss the sermon today after church and we agreed that we this quote moved us both, so I wanted to share it with you:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles," 1992 (commonly misattributed to Nelson Mandela, 1994 inauguration speech)
Monday, January 10, 2011
Rainy & Cold revisited!
Since a few weeks before Thanksgiving I started training, to do the Turkey Trot (5 mile strut/trot). Last year I developed allergies and was unable to run, so I walked the majority of it. This year I was going to try to do the opposite, run the majority, knowing that I might have to walk some since I've never run 5 miles before. Anyway - Thanksgiving came and we were in Arkansas, it was cold and rainy, bad combo! As a family we decided that our desire to stay warm and dry was far greater than our desire to accomplish this running goal. Since then I have continued to train. I've been getting up early to make it fit into my day. I was very successful over the Christmas holiday continuing my training but really loved getting up late and running when it was daylight! So after much discussion we decided that K could babysit after school so that I could run after school several days a week. Wow - I love to be able to stay up a little later and I love that I don't look at my clock until AFTER 5am!
Today was a rainy, cold day in Texas - not a common occurrence but it happens. What I would have given for a treadmill!! I really wanted to run, it was on my schedule but I did NOT want to get cold and wet doing it. When I got home, Jason was already here and I mentioned that I was supposed to run. He said, "you should go, it isn't raining right now and I'm here to watch the kids." I whined, I moaned and Jason said, "who is the warrior?!" Me that is who! I am! I ran today in the 39 degree weather (FYI: for Texans that is frigid weather!!), 30 minutes (even though I tried to convince myself between minutes 5 and 10 that I should 'give myself a break'), and I am a warrior!
Sorry for a rambling blog - just proud of myself! Thanks for reading.
Just so you know my goal is to improve my 5K time - I've got some races coming up that I would like to do better on. Front Porch Days, Tough Cookie duathlon AND that Turkey Trot (I'll kick that 5 miles in November!).
Today was a rainy, cold day in Texas - not a common occurrence but it happens. What I would have given for a treadmill!! I really wanted to run, it was on my schedule but I did NOT want to get cold and wet doing it. When I got home, Jason was already here and I mentioned that I was supposed to run. He said, "you should go, it isn't raining right now and I'm here to watch the kids." I whined, I moaned and Jason said, "who is the warrior?!" Me that is who! I am! I ran today in the 39 degree weather (FYI: for Texans that is frigid weather!!), 30 minutes (even though I tried to convince myself between minutes 5 and 10 that I should 'give myself a break'), and I am a warrior!
Sorry for a rambling blog - just proud of myself! Thanks for reading.
Just so you know my goal is to improve my 5K time - I've got some races coming up that I would like to do better on. Front Porch Days, Tough Cookie duathlon AND that Turkey Trot (I'll kick that 5 miles in November!).
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year
New Year's Resolution(s)?
I heard a guy on TV today say, don't make 'em if you aren't going to keep 'em. Therefore I tend to steer away if possible. This year is no different... there are lots of things that I think need to be done but when, where and how always make me hesitant to commit openly to tackling BIG goals. Here's what I'm going to do instead - continue to live my life to the best of my ability, continue to strive to be a good mother, a good wife and a person that makes others proud to call me their friend. How am I going to do this? I'm going to continue to fit exercise into my life, avoiding eating out and work on making meals that are healthy for my children, I'm going to encourage my spouse and children to do these things as well and I'm going to make small goals that are achievable and measurable. For example this Saturday I did a "long" run - 45 minutes (this is excellent for me) and I committed to myself that I will improve that and be running an hour by my 17th anniversary (March 5th), I'm adding about 5 minutes per week to my long run so this is an achievable goal as I continue to do those things that I've set forth above. How's that for a wordy response to New Year's Resolution!
If you have read through this then you deserve the next thing - pictures from our relaxing Christmas holiday!
Enjoy!
Sunday before Christmas was Pancakes & Pajamas at church. The children (3 of which are members of Jason's Clan) helped to share the story of the birth of Jesus with us. Very sweet and fun.
A little time at the park, especially with weather so mild in Texas!
Our gifts to KZA were relational. We took each of them on a date, just Mommy & Daddy time with them alone. A went to build-a-bear and I was able to capture a couple of pictures of that. Z went to Gatti-Town where we played bumper cars and all the tickets we earned were given to the boy of the day - Z.
K went to Cafe Monet and we painted pottery. K painted a sock monkey "piggy" bank, Jason painted an orange love bug "piggy" bank for Z and I made a pen holder cyclops (above). Thank you to my mother for helping us to give these gifts to our children.
Cookie decorating! Sadly these cookies tasted like sponges, but they were fun to decorate!
Much of my time this holiday was spent sorting through 5 LARGE boxes of stuff that I gathered at my grandparents house over the Thanksgiving holiday. Oddly this "job" was cathartic - I found treasures, puzzles and wonderful genealogical finds. The above pictures are two of the puzzles that I uncovered. German medals, appear to be new, still in envelopes and not assembled with ribbons. Things that make you go hmmm.... (and then followed by my new favorite thing to say, "G'ma/G'pa what is this?!")
This was Z's first year to get to stay up and celebrate the new year. This picture was taken at 9:45 and shortly after he woke up briefly to tell us he was just pretending to sleep.
This picture was the first picture I took in 2011. He was OUT! Not a night owl!!
I heard a guy on TV today say, don't make 'em if you aren't going to keep 'em. Therefore I tend to steer away if possible. This year is no different... there are lots of things that I think need to be done but when, where and how always make me hesitant to commit openly to tackling BIG goals. Here's what I'm going to do instead - continue to live my life to the best of my ability, continue to strive to be a good mother, a good wife and a person that makes others proud to call me their friend. How am I going to do this? I'm going to continue to fit exercise into my life, avoiding eating out and work on making meals that are healthy for my children, I'm going to encourage my spouse and children to do these things as well and I'm going to make small goals that are achievable and measurable. For example this Saturday I did a "long" run - 45 minutes (this is excellent for me) and I committed to myself that I will improve that and be running an hour by my 17th anniversary (March 5th), I'm adding about 5 minutes per week to my long run so this is an achievable goal as I continue to do those things that I've set forth above. How's that for a wordy response to New Year's Resolution!
If you have read through this then you deserve the next thing - pictures from our relaxing Christmas holiday!
Enjoy!
Sunday before Christmas was Pancakes & Pajamas at church. The children (3 of which are members of Jason's Clan) helped to share the story of the birth of Jesus with us. Very sweet and fun. 
A little time at the park, especially with weather so mild in Texas!
Our gifts to KZA were relational. We took each of them on a date, just Mommy & Daddy time with them alone. A went to build-a-bear and I was able to capture a couple of pictures of that. Z went to Gatti-Town where we played bumper cars and all the tickets we earned were given to the boy of the day - Z.
K went to Cafe Monet and we painted pottery. K painted a sock monkey "piggy" bank, Jason painted an orange love bug "piggy" bank for Z and I made a pen holder cyclops (above). Thank you to my mother for helping us to give these gifts to our children. 
Cookie decorating! Sadly these cookies tasted like sponges, but they were fun to decorate!
Much of my time this holiday was spent sorting through 5 LARGE boxes of stuff that I gathered at my grandparents house over the Thanksgiving holiday. Oddly this "job" was cathartic - I found treasures, puzzles and wonderful genealogical finds. The above pictures are two of the puzzles that I uncovered. German medals, appear to be new, still in envelopes and not assembled with ribbons. Things that make you go hmmm.... (and then followed by my new favorite thing to say, "G'ma/G'pa what is this?!")
This was Z's first year to get to stay up and celebrate the new year. This picture was taken at 9:45 and shortly after he woke up briefly to tell us he was just pretending to sleep.
This picture was the first picture I took in 2011. He was OUT! Not a night owl!!
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