Peace, Prayer, and People

I mentioned before that I am currently participating in a ladies Bible Study. We are currently working through the study "the Frazzled Female, Finding Peace in the Midst of Daily Life" by Cindi Wood. I have really been enjoying the study. God has really been teaching me. It was kind of funny last week that while I was on vacation the focus of the study was living at peace with other people.

Romans 12:18 says "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

I really felt like that I was and have been doing that. On day 3 I couldn't even think of anyone that was driving me nuts that I need to be praying for! Well, I kept praying about that and God showed me someone this week! I'm really glad I did this study last week and had some time to pray about it before I got annoyed! Apparently God knew that I needed processing time in order to be able to control my mouth!

At the gym there is this woman (I need to learn her name), that drives me crazy! In the group fitness room there are two big fans in the front right and left corners and above the fans are where the sound speakers are mounted. This woman always sets up right in front of the fans. I think she thinks that they are specifically there for just her. I always think, if you would wear something other than sweat pants and maybe put your hair up then you wouldn't have to set up just short of actually getting INTO the fan!

Okay, I know you are thinking....seriously, why does this bother you? Well, my problem comes in with her NON-stop complaining to the instructors about the volume of the music. HELLO, LADY, if you weren't on top of the fan then you wouldn't be standing there with your ear practically against the SPEAKER!

I know, still not enough? Apparently I forgot to mention that she always smokes a cigarette or twelve before she comes into the gym to work out. And then by setting up on top of the fan then fills the room with the secondary smoke on her clothes! I mean, I understand that everyone needs a way to die, mine will probably be saturated fats that kill me, others are clean eaters that are uber fit but they tan so skin cancer will kill them, and smoking will probably kill her. But my point is that I DON'T WANT TO SMELL YOUR SMOKE! I can handle her being a fan hog, I can tolerate the unnecessary complaining about the volume, but my sinuses get irritated every time I accidentally end up on your half of the room!

I know you are thinking, just set up on the other half of the room. Yeah, that would be great except she is usually a little late (probably because she is getting in one last cigarette!) and I never know which side of the room she will choose! I would hate to be THAT obvious as to pick up my step and move to the other half of the room!

I am praying for her so that I can adjust my attitude. I need to learn her name and I need to make sure that I don't end up saying something tacky to her. Who do you need to be praying for? Oh and please tell me that you have a gym pet peeve too!

Learning

So, here I am again with a huge gap in my blogging. We have been on vacation and recovering from vacation.

We spent 2 nights in San Antonio, then 7 nights in a condo on the beach in Port Aransas, then one night with my aunt in Corpus Christi, and then we drove home with a stop in Johnson City to see my uncle. Whew. Exhausting at times but worth every. single. minute!

While I was on vacation I had big plans that included books to read but the truth is when I had a little down time I was playing with my camera. I so wish I had taken my camera book with me to help me out. Here's hoping I have time to take a photography class or two before next year's vacation.

I thought this picture was kind of fun. I was standing on the condo balcony with James waiting on some sea gulls to fly over the roof so I could get a cool picture (never happened when I was ready...) Anyway, I turned around and saw a fun opportunity to capture me in the window with the ocean in the background. I even managed to snap one when James can be seen too!

There was a full moon a couple of nights so I was really wishing that I had a tripod to capture a better night shot... I am still pretty proud of these shots though. It was gorgeous in person and these pictures do not do it justice at all!

Then one morning we were down on the beach in time for sunrise! WOW. God's creation is amazing!

So, any photography tips for me? Or maybe blogs that will help me learn to get along with my camera even better?

Momma, hellll me... PWEESE!

So, I have to know.... Do any of you have this little Rotten Ronnie's Happy Meal toy? (Thanks Kami....thanks to you that is what David and I have been calling McD's for a while now!)


I know, I really have all but banned fast food, but last week my kids had happy meals, not once but twice! Agh, it adds to my ongoing case of Mommy guilt. Anyway, it was a hard week with VBS in the mornings and David's dad having what was supposed to be day surgery on Thursday but turned out to be much more extensive than planned. He actually got out of the hospital today but your continued prayer is appreciated.


Anyway, thanks to one of those happy meals, this little guy joined our family. He is one of my favorite characters from Ice Age and James just loves him. I am, however, not as in love with the little guy.


These pictures are not the best because I was too lazy to get my real camera took them with my iPhone. But can't you just see the love that James has for him in this first picture?

Oh and in the second picture can you see the drool running down James' chin? That is because he is making a noise that sounds like "shhhhh shhhhh shhhhhhhhkkkkk" right before he fires the acorn at me! You see, he has a tiny button on his butt that makes him shoot his acorn across the room! James is grinning at the thought of inflicting pain on me! Good thing it doesn't actually hurt because James has gotten very good at shooting it across the room with precision!



What I love about the toy is the endless amounts of laughter that James has enjoyed because of this little squirrel and his "nut nut".

What I loath about this little toy are the 546 times yesterday afternoon that I heard "Momma, helllllllll me." Because they made this little guy very difficult to reload. James is getting better at it, but still today ALL DAY I have been hearing, "Sissy, hel pweese", "nut nut, oh nooooo, nut nut", and "Momma, helllllll me".

I wouldn't trade the deep belly laughs coming from my kids for ANYTHING right now, no matter how poorly designed the toy is!

So, what toy is in your house that your kiddo loves so much that you can't bring yourself to get rid of it but don't feel too bad about hiding it on occasion either?!?!?!?

Roots

You know, the last few weeks there has been much going on in our little part of the world. We have had a friend diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a friend several friends dealing with crumbling marriages, a friend preparing to move to another state, a friend working toward reconciling friendships after 10 years, a friend opening his own business and yet another friend getting married. Oh and David's dad had another heart surgery! Quite frankly I am thankful to be participating in a ladies Bible Study called "The Frazzled Female, Finding Peace in the Midst of Daily Life"!


If you are wondering about my weight loss, there is nothing new to report.... and with all that is going on, I have to say that I am VERY proud of that! I may not be dropping weight but I am still working out and I am not gaining weight!





Well, as you can imagine, on the list of all that is going on right now, the most fun was the wedding that I mentioned. Last Saturday David and I got to get all dressed up to go to Jonathan's wedding! We were so excited to be seeing lots of our college friends all in one place. I was reminded of how special all of these people are to me!





See, when I moved from a tiny town in Arkansas to the DFW Metroplex in Texas to go to college, I never imagined that I would find a HOME and a family away from home. These college friends became my family. They taught me what it meant to be a brother and sister in Christ. They loved me and encouraged me and helped me learn about myself.








I met all of these guys plus several more at LABC when I joined the college department. They welcomed me with open arms and made me a part of their family! I discovered this church and this family because Jonathan (the groom!) was being obedient to the calling that Christ had put on his life to be set apart on his college campus.




See, Jonathan had spent a year praying for a Christian friend for his college campus that would help him grow the Baptist Student Ministries on campus. God chose me. He prepared me. He provided scholarships and then the much needed courage for me to move away from everything familiar. I was also praying for Christian friends and was seeking a closer relationship with my Jesus. I had to choose to be obedient. Then, another year later my friend Carey (pictured above holding the baby) was obedient in one of her college classes and invited a couple of guys to come visit our college group Bible Study. One of those guys was MY David.





One of the things I will forever be grateful to Jonathan and his family for is how they taught me about prayer and its POWER! (In the picture is me between Jonathan's sisters...Deborah and Liz). His mom Candy is what I would call a prayer warrior. I admire her dedication to other people's prayer requests. I also admire her ability to have a conversation with our Savior about all the little details of her day. She understands and practices the scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:17 where we are told to "pray continuously." Even at the wedding she was praying for her granddaughter to continue behaving nicely even though she had missed her nap. (Something I probably would have been worrying about rather than praying about. Convicted? Yes.... Lesson learned? I hope so!)




I think it is pretty fabulous how everything always comes together. This week in our Bible Study we were told to make our "to-do" list for the day and then take a moment and pray over each and every item on the list. Yes, even the laundry (This brings a smile to my face because I think of Candy, Jonathan's mom, praying aloud for focus and direction as she searches through a pile of mail for a specific piece of paper... I remember how at first her doing that made me uncomfortable and then how I learned that God really does care about my 'little' things). It has been a great way to remember that I should be thankful for clothes to wash and a washing machine to do the washing rather than being annoyed that my family can't seem to find the dirty clothes hamper! It has helped my attitude and has helped me keep my eyes focused on Jesus rather than my circumstances.




All of that to say, that I am thankful to have been reminded that this is home and I am where I am supposed to be. And well, I have been at our church for more than 10 years, I met my husband there and I am especially thankful that as I am growing as a Christian that I have ROOTS!

Focused

Focused.... on everything else.


I have to say that I have been missing all of my friends here in blog land! I haven't posted in a while and even worse, I am something like 575 posts behind in my google reader!


Last week was pretty crazy as we wrapped up Kirstyn's final days in Pre-K. I can't believe I am going to be a Kindergarten momma... how did that happen so fast?!?!?


Here is a picture of her dressed up for their Letter Parade. Kirstyn was thrilled to be going to school dressed as Quilla the Queen. We borrowed her skirt from my grandmother and found the cute crown at a local costume shop.

Other friends were Daisy the Doll and Zippy the Zebra...a very cute and a clever tradition from her preschool. James will be enrolled there in the fall so we will still be doing lots of fun things like this as long as the little mister will play along!

This week Kirstyn is in Arkansas taking swimming lessons and spending some quality time on the farm with my mom and dad. While she is there I have been enjoying lots of one on one time with James.


We had friends over the other night that have a little boy just a few months older than James and it was so much fun to see him experience a play date with HIS friend without his usual big sister supervision. It was too cute to see them running around and giggling non-stop. They were so busy they could barely stop long enough to shove a bite of food in their m

ouths and take off running and playing again. Finally they both sat down and ate a few bites because we taunted them with the promise of some yummy black bean brownies!

David and I have been watching 24. We have a tradition of recording the entire season and then watching it all together all at once. The very first season we watched one hour at a time with everyone else but we think it is much more exciting to watch it together as fast as possible. I can't wait to finish it so that I can get some more sleep! That is my main reason for being away from the computer. He isn't working upstairs in his office so I am not booting my laptop. We have enjoyed the time together curled up watching Jack Bower try to save the world!


Keep checking in on me. I am still working out and eating very clean. Inches are coming off but the pounds haven't changed in the last couple of weeks. I have several posts on clean eating and exercise that are swimming around in my head. I hope to catch them and get them out on the blog in the very near future.... but until then it's 'Bauer Time'!


What have you been doing the last few weeks? What would I be missing if I give up on playing catch up and just mark all as read in my reader?


Are you a huge fan of Jack Bauer and 24 like me?

Birthday Weekend

I honestly cannot believe that James is now a TWOYEAROLD! It seems like I was just announcing his arrival and we were all getting used to being a family of four. Now I can't imagine life without him! Here are some fun facts about our little mister:

• He says "da-do" (thank you) all of the time! He doesn't say much else because he doesn't have to... he has us all trained and I'm pretty sure that's what he thinks big sisters are for!


• He rarely goes anywhere (including bed) without his baseball cap! Although, he did trade in the paci in exchange for being able to sleep in his hat and as far as I'm concerned, breaking that habit can be left up to his wife. He is holding a sucker in this picture because I exchanged it for his hat for long enough to take a picture!


• He loves to play pretend.... especially loves to pretend to be a puppy or a cat. It is way too funny when he gets down, crawls around barking and then licks your leg...okay, that's not funny its kinda nasty but still very cute!


• His favorite cartoons are Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, and Handy Manny.


• His favorite foods are mixed nuts, corn on the cob, popcorn, and broccoli.


• He is a fun kid to cook for.... almost everything he takes a bite of is followed by "yummm"


• He loves to play trains, cars, and any sports although sometimes he mixes up the terminology. Today he was hitting a baseball off of a tee and kept screaming "touchdown"!

I know for most it was a Memorial Day holiday but this weekend, at our house, was all about our youngest family member turning TWO! Birthdays are a big deal at our house and fun is always had by all. This weekend was no exception. For James' "Birthday Eve" we loaded up and headed out for an afternoon of fun at Six Flags. It was great because the park was not crowded at all. There was a slight threat of rain but the weather turned out to be perfect and we had a great time. We even splurged and had "eeee-zzzzzza" (pizza) at the park for dinner.

Sunday, for James' actual birthday we celebrated again. First we took donut holes with sprinkles on them to his Sunday School class. Then after church and naps our friends from down the street came over and we had the ice cream cone cup cakes that Kirstyn had made for her bubby.

Our Healthier Cake Recipe: Devil's Food Cake Mix + Can of Pumpkin + 1/2 cup H20 (your welcome.)

Today we went as a family to the local Movie Tavern for lunch and a movie. This was James' first time to go to a movie theater. He did great! It helps that at this movie theater you also eat lunch while watching the movie. We saw and enjoyed Night at the Museum 2. James really liked the dinosaur bones that acted like a puppy. He would laugh and hang his tongue out. Funny. Then, after naps today we turned on the sprinkler in the back yard and had a great time splashing.



All in all it was a great weekend and I couldn't be prouder of my darling little boy that is not so little anymore...

Our Broadway Baby

Kirstyn's debut performance was Saturday night at her first official dance recital in front of LOTS of people! She did amazing and looked very pretty and much too grown up! Her height was even more obvious when she was on stage with her peers. Yes, my 5 "AND A HALF" year old daughter is 48 inches tall! Anyway, she did a great job and she can't wait for the DVD of the recital to come in so that she can watch it "over and over"!



I joked on Facebook about how putting on a little makeup and pink lipstick made her walk rather sassy and about how it seemed to scare her father to death! It was pretty funny.

Her daddy really does love her so much. See, I have proof! He agreed to and participated in the finale at the Dance Recital... their "traditional" Daddy Daughter Dance! This year's theme was DISCO! Kirstyn was so proud of herself and her daddy for putting on such a great show!



You can't tell from this picture but Kirstyn performed in only one shoe! See, they ran in on the isles for this performance and the daddy behind her stepped on the back of her shoe and she lost it. She was so proud of herself that she didn't stop or worry about it! When the dance was over she said to David, "Daddy, I need to go over there and get my shoe." David asked her why she didn't get it when she lost it and she said, "because they told us even if something goes wrong with our costumes, like if a feather falls off, then just keep going and no one will know until we tell them and then they will think we are a REAL star since that didn't even matter!"

We couldn't be prouder of her! And yes, she is a REAL STAR!

Oh and I have to share this one last Kirstyn funny...
I have been asking her now for two months if she wants to take dance next year and she has been adamant that no she did not want to do dance anymore. Finally, on the way home from recital I got to the bottom of it. I said, "Kirstyn you were really good tonight, don't you want to keep taking dance?" She said, "No Mommy, didn't you see that I am really good at Broadway Baby? I don't want to practice that dance anymore." Ha. Poor kid thought that if she took dance again that she would just keep doing that same routine over and over! When we explained to her that she would get to learn one of the other "big girl" dances she was over the top excited! So, I guess we will be taking dance again next year!!!

This is definitely a WordFUL Wednesday!

Tuesday Tribute - Siblings

Welcome to my first time to participate in Tuesday Tribute....

Mother's Day weekend in my family is a huge get together with my grandparents and all of my grandpa's siblings and their families. I grew up looking forward to big family reunions on the farm every year. I am closer to some of my second and third cousins than others are to their first cousins. I value family and the importance of making time for each other and I think that is rooted in the traditions started by my grandpa's mother to get her children together every year, especially when one of her boys came home from war.

In this picture my Papaw is on the far left and he is 83. Their dynamic is interesting, but at least they have been able to age together and watch each of their families grow. They also seem to have defeated so many odds. My Papaw has a Purple Heart from WWII, his youngest brother served two tours in Vietnam. They also all attended college...

I'm glad we thought to get a picture of them all together this year.

Then, since I am talking about siblings I have to introduce you to my younger sister, Neida. She is holding my darling nephew Bryton who is giving me his best ever "CHEEEEEEESE!". Neida and I are only two years apart and it amazes me sometimes how much my daughter Kirstyn reminds me of her Aunt Neida. I've heard before that the older sibling helps raise and influence the younger sibling therefore many of the younger sibling's traits show up in the older sibling's children. I have to say that I am a believer!





And of course my favorite pair of siblings are the two that made me a mom. Kirstyn and James sometimes think that fighting is an appropriate pass time but most of the time they adore each other. I pray that they will grow old together remembering how lucky they are to have a sibling that is there to support and love them no matter what challenges they have to face!



So, tell me about your siblings...

I'm still here...

So I guess I should have announced that I would be taking a little bloggy break but honestly it wasn't really planned...life just took over.

If you are a single mom I would like to take a moment to say.... I HAVE NO IDEA HOW YOU DO IT and at the same time I AM IN AWE! See, David took a class this last semester toward finishing his MBA (only 2 more to go) and this particular one was an advanced finance class that required tons of work! The last 3 weeks he went straight from work to campus to study and work on a group project. Then half of their final was a take home that he literally spent over 40 hours in one week working on in addition to going to his real job! Crazy.

His final was the Monday night after Mother's Day weekend so I actually took the kids and went to Arkansas for my family reunion by myself. The drive alone was a little intimidating but it actually went really well and wasn't as stressful as it could have been because I drove fast the kids did great! Of course I had lots of family around when we got there to love on my kids so that was nice for me. It would have been better if it had not rained the entire weekend, because my kids LOVE to be outside at my parent's house on the farm.

Since David's final was over at MIDNIGHT on Monday night (yes the final was a 3 hour final that started at 8:15!) he has been spending this week trying to catch up on sleep and on work at the office. And this past week has been about the kids!

Kirstyn had her first ever Science Fair on Thursday at pre-K. We had to put together and display a collection. She did a great job decorating an egg carton and arranging her favorite sea shells that she has collected the last few years on our vacations to the beach. Then Thursday night she had dance practice, Friday night she had dress rehearsal for her dance recital and then Saturday night was her debut performance and she did fabulous! Pictures to come!!!

Saturday morning was also James' 2nd Birthday party with our playgroup (real Birthday is May 24th). We did a combined party with my friend Elaine's little boy Gavin that just turned two on Friday. They had a great time that could have only been made better if it had not been pouring down rain and we could have gone on the planned nature walk.

Oh and ME... I finally made it to a Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday morning before the birthday party and was down 2.4! That is a two week total but either way I am proud of it! David and I went on a date last night (mom and dad came for the weekend and stayed an extra night so we could go out!) and we ate Mexican food so HOPEFULLY I didn't blow it too bad!

Thanks for checking in on me and if you read all this then you truly are a fabulous friend! More to come this week.... PROMISE!

Wash Your Hands...

Just a friendly reminder to Wash Your Hands!

The last couple of weeks our news has been talking about all things Swine Flu related along with numerous school closing and plenty of reminders that we all need to be washing our hands! Check. James LOVES to wash his hands! He is very much in a stage of doing everything by himself.

The other day he took off to the bathroom, went potty, and then this is the site I saw... He already had the water on and the soap bubbles all over his hands by the time I got back with my camera! I mean, who wouldn't want to capture a shot or two of those cute thighs!

And yes, he is able to pull himself up and climb onto almost anything! The other day I found him sitting on top of the washing machine! There is no such thing as childproofing for this boy!

How's that for Wordful Wednesday!

Fat Fighting Friday - W14

Down 1.8! Yahoooooo! I am also now only 10 lbs from making lifetime at Weight Watchers! Finally, it feels a little more like a goal that is within my reach! Also that is 5.8 down on my 20 in 20 goal. Only 6 weeks to go so I probably won't make it but at least I can say I didn't give up or quit!

One of the trainers at the gym worked on my diet for me and it is now much cleaner! He said something to me when I made a comment that I thought I was eating clean but not seeing a loss even though I am exercising all of the time. He said "clean is relative". And that is soooooo true. I probably would have told you a year ago that I was eating clean but MY definition of 'clean' eating keeps changing. After a week eating according to his 'clean' I can say that I have kicked my sugar cravings for the first time in my life!

In other news, Christina is a photoshop miracle worker! Thanks to her, Shamu is now the only whale in the picture! Now I wish I had that shirt in purple...it looks great! Thanks again girl.

Meeting Shamu

I can honestly say that I never ever ever thought that I would make the following statement:

"Standing next to Shamu made ME look FAT!"

Seriously, I need one of you photoshop magicians to tell me how to change my shirt color so that I am not the one in the picture that looks like a WHALE!

Link up and share your Word-ful and Word-less Wednesday pictures!

(my google reader is being pissy this morning so I can't pull up the blogs to link up...maybe later.)

Fat Fighting Friday - W13

Okay so nothing new to report on the weight loss front. I really hope that changes soon but I am getting rather bored with my own updates so I know you have to be too!



I decided that I would share with you my favorite 3 foods right now!



Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds - Dark Chocolate Flavor

7 of these little wonders are my absolute favorite 1 point snack! These almonds have the same nutrition information as regular dry roasted almonds but they taste like real chocolate covered almonds... you know the ones my fat self used to get every single time we went to the movies (granted if you just had some "real" ones last week then you might wait a while but if you are like me and haven't had the "real" ones in several years then why are you still reading this... you should be on the way to the store!)



PB2

I have been adding a serving of PB2 (50 calories, 5 g protein) to my oatmeal every morning! Yummy! I also really like it mixed into chocolate protein smoothies.



Laughing Cow Cheese

I like laughing cow cheese on apples, I really like the way one little wedge of this stuff can make egg beaters taste so creamy and good. I also like laughing cow mixed into potatoes or polenta. My favorite use though is still my chicken recipe!



What is your favorite "healthy" product right now?

the Effects of Getting Healthy

Today is Earth Day...

I am making an effort to be greener and teach my family to be greener.
I have changed all of our light bulbs to the CFLs except the ones in the vanity.
We installed a more energy efficient heating and a/c unit (not really by choice, but it had to be done.)
We had our house weather proofed.
We use our own shopping bags.
I am gardening and growing some of our own food (my broccoli plants are looking amazing!).
We recycle.
We compost.

However, I still have plenty of inner conflict when it comes to what I prefer and what is best for my environment.
I don't plan to give up my SUV any time soon.
We just spent the weekend at amusement parks using 'unnecessary power'.I don't turn off the power strips to the entertainment centers in our house because I don't want to reset the clocks!
James wears Pampers.

During this journey that I have been on to get healthy I have inadvertently learned how to keep Mother Earth healthier too. See, since we started composting, we have been talking a lot about how the foods we need to be eating should be generating compost and not recycling or trash. This has been a very helpful tool in motivating Kirstyn to want to eat healthy. It has also helped me even more because she is like having my own 'Jimmy Cricket' on my shoulder!

For example, by eating a '100 calorie pack' of something, we generate trash; but, by eating an apple, the only waste generated is the apple core and that is composted! It gets even more convicting, by drinking a can of diet soda, recycling is generated; but, by drinking a glass of tea, the tea bag can be composted.

Taking care of myself and taking care of my planet really do go hand in hand...

And the real reasons behind all of my efforts are these two adorable faces!

Back...

Just a very quick update to let you all know that we are back home safe, sound, and sleepy!

We left Friday morning and returned tonight from a fabulous weekend in San Antonio! We spent time at Sea World, Fiesta Texas, the Alamo, and the Riverwalk. We had a great time and I took LOTS and LOTS of pictures! I will download my pictures and share some many of them in the next few days!

If you are wondering if I will be stopping by your blog, the answer is yes but right now I am over 400 posts behind in my reader and right now all I want to do is go to sleep in my own bed!

Oh and yes, I had some very yummy, probably too yummy, Mexican food... I just hope I didn't blow it too bad! Time will tell...

Oh and every night we asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was and I have to say my favorite part was all of the truly QUALITY TIME that we got to spend with each other away from the computer, tv, work, gym, school and housework! David has been working a lot and studying like crazy for his graduate class so this was a much needed getaway! I have to say, I am not looking forward to tomorrow since it will be "catch up" time and laundry day! (Have you noticed how the laundry multiplies even faster while on vacation?)

So, what did you do this weekend or what did I miss on your blog since it may be a while before I make it over there?

Fat Fighting Friday - W12

DOWN 1.8! All I have to say is.... It is ABOUT TIME! That puts me down 4 lbs in 12 weeks, not exactly record breaking but at least I am headed in the right direction!

Summer is on its way.... let's do this!

Oh and cross your fingers that I don't blow it this weekend as we will be eating out several times! I will be careful how I order but it is still not the same as controlling the calories at home!

Have a great weekend!