Body for Life Challenge

So I have decided that it is time for a change...I am going to change the status quo and get up early to get lunches made for everyone, make sure I cook more at home and we eat out less. I have entered myself into the body for life challenge. Not because I really think I will win  but because it is a challenge worth doing!
So today is day 1....here it goes....Hopefully by day 84 I will be willing to post all of my before and after pictures!!!Until I reach day 252 which will hopefully be a new me at my goal weight!!! Here goes my new adventure as the quote says, "Life begins when you put  yourself in the uncomfortable!"

Just a few pics from July-Sept.

And so it begins anew...

So I realized sadly, that I let 2011 slip by with 4 posts....last year at this time Jeremy was still in the hospital very sick and I was not looking forward to the year...I guess I was right-it was a rough year. But I believe that it can only go up from here!
I have my goals and plans for this new year. I realized that these pictures of my kids are way outdated and I need to start posting more.
So, I guess for one I will write more about my crazy, busy, messy life. But most of all I learned one thing this past year....what a true friend is and what it means....
As the year went on a lot of people would make the comment to me-Again? Something is wrong again? And there were just a few who would be at my doorstep, willing to help me get through it all. I treasure these people and the lifesavers that they were for me. I am grateful that God put them in my life to let me know He was helping me.
I am grateful for my little family that is quickly growing up...I only have Kyle for another 4 1/2 years before he leaves home. Yet it seems like just yesterday I was chasing him down the street with him in just a diaper. He is such a wonderful young man. He has such a kind heart. He has good friends and he wants to keep his standards. He is a joker so if you don't know him-you might think he was serious in all that comes out of his mouth. But he is a treasure and a jewel. I will miss him and I plan to spend as much time as he will let me in the next few years.
Kelsey will be 13 in a month and she keeps growing up and up. She brings so much joy and peace into  our house and between her and Kyle I feel so blessed to be called mom. She is all that I ever wanted to be but was not. I love watching her grow into a beautiful confident young woman.
Keira will be 8 this year and be baptized in March. She is starting to come out of her shell and I am excited that she finally wants to take piano lessons. I know that she will love music and I love watching her play basketball. Upward sports are such a great thing! I wish all youth sports were so uplifting and inspiring! She is reading and is a math wiz like her dad!
Kenna will be 5 next month. She has taught me more than I think I ever wanted to know about life! She has grown up so much and is gaining confidence in all that she does. It is so nice to watch her not be afraid of the world like she once was. It has been hard and time consuming and some days I just want to run away...but I know she will succeed in kindergarten in August! I will miss the SPARK program most come the fall because I have been with these wonderful ladies for 3 years now. I can't thank them enough for hanging in there with me and helping Kenna find her social courage.
Jeremy is healthy and working hard at his job. He does have a few late nights but for the most part we could not ask for a better schedule! His boss said she wishes she had 10 Jeremy's so although he doesn't like me to brag on him-I am proud of all that he does in his career, at home to help me, and all of the coaching!! He gave up coaching Kyle's baseball team and is now coaching Keira's basketball team. Hopefully when she plays soccer I will get the chance to coach again also. :)
As for me, I have learned that depending on someone doesn't make you weak. It helps you to get to know people who turn into great friends. I never thought my achilles would rupture and this whole 6-8 month process would be this tough. But I am grateful to Dr. Miller, Lake Houston PT, and my family for helping me get though it all! They have eaten way too many sandwiches and ramen noodles this year! But they never complained! They helped keep the house clean along with help from my friends!! They kept us from getting too behind in laundry! I got to go to Kansas and see my little sister in law and her family! It was a treat for me and I loved the week we were there! I hope to do it again soon! I got to see my brother in law and his family over Christmas after several years and it seemed like no time had  passed (expect that our kids are older now)
I came to realize that even when we get emotionally attached to something-it doesn't mean that our kids are too.
I learned that the stress we put upon ourselves is generally that of our own making. We waste a lot of time and energy on things that are not in our control. But when we take a leap of faith, we are rewarded with windows that are wide open.
Most of all, I am grateful for free agency. I have the power to choose. I know the Lord believes I can make choices that will help me get to where I need to be. I may not be perfect. I may struggle. But I can live my life after the pattern he left me and treat others around me as He would.
So here is to a year of happiness and success. To go back to school, to lose weight, to be in the shape that I want to be, to sing more, to dance more, to laugh more, but most of all to love the life I have and not take one moment for granted....

Really? God must have a sense of humor!

So I was hoping to avoid any sort of true craziness this month. After all it is my birthday month...But no, I think every month this year something major is going to happen each month!
So Sunday night my stomach started to hurt. It got really bad and went into my back. I figured I just needed some rest so I rested on the couch. By midnight I was miserable and finally gave in to the idea of going to the ER. Well, it turns out I have a gall bladder full of gall stones and all of those tummy aches for the past 2-3 years have been just that. One is blocking the duct-so that is why it hurts so bad.
So anyway....I get to have another surgery asap. I never thought this would be us-but-geez! It makes me want to just stay in bed just o miss another crisis! LOL!
But at least I can say we get to see family next month and I look forward to that! Kids are good and I just have to get through this-before Kyle has his surgery-but I really am beginning to believe God has a sense of humor!!

Time flies and I just hang on for dear life mostly

So I was surprised to find it had been 6 months since I have come over to the blogging world. I am just finding that I post on FB more bc it is easy from my phone and I am rarely at the computer anymore. And well this has been quite the year...I have figured out that every month except May we have either had a surgery or a major ER visit. It has been frustrating and humbling all at the same time. I am a pretty independent person so asking for help has been hard. I have to confess that I am glad to almost be totally mobile again so I won't feel so guilty about not getting things done like I want to.
So just to write it all down...
Dec-Jan-Jeremy in hospital for 13 days
Feb-Jeremy rushed to hospital for an emergency appendix surgery, etc. stayed for 4 days
March-Kyle had surgery for a birth defect known as tarsal coalition
April-
May-I had surgery for a partially torn achilles
June-Jeremy had a bout of diverticulitis and Kelsey was rushed to the ER in Alabama for a concussion and heat stroke so we drove to alabama to make sure she was ok!
July-I ruptured my achilles
August-I had surgery with a cadaver achilles tendon to fix it and begin the process of 7 weeks of no weight bearing in a cast with crutches.
September-Kyle has been to the ER twice with a broken finger and hurt elbow believed to be broken. Thankfully the elbow was not broken! The last week of September he puts me in a walking boot to my knee.
October-Kyle had a midfoot ankle sprain, 3 weeks after that I get to move to a short boot and start 3 times a week at PT, go see the Chiropractor bc I am so off balance now having been in a boot or crutched since May.
November 3-Kyle will have surgery to fix the left ankle that has tarsal coalition and I should be getting my two shoes back for the first time since July!
December-surgery on my right foot to fix the several larger bone spurs in my right ankle!

Not to mention the asthma, allergy flare ups, ear infections and sinus infections the weather has brought!

Now don't get me wrong-I think one of the greatest lessons I have learned have been my gratitude for each day, for good health, for kid's that are so responsible and helpful, for kids that get a long so well. It has brought us closer together as a family. I am grateful for that.
But as I know many of you in the blogging world read this-you have brought me dinner or helped with the kids and I am so thankful. I know life is busy and I appreciate all that you did for me and all that you helped me keep my house in survival mode! It means a lot to me and I don't think I can ever thank you all enough!
I also even have learned to appreciate to just watch and enjoy the kids. I am still competitive and I still expect great things out of my kiddos, but I don't want the time to go by so fast that we don't have great memories together. I love knowing their friends and it made my day when a friend said-you know all about teenager things-that is sooo cool! You are one cool mom! I have to confess-that made my day. Then  another time-I saw a kid write-yeah-I love your mom too! It just makes me said how fast time is going to go-and all of these big kids will be in college!

Kyle is an amazing kid. He is so athletic, strong, confident, smart, handsome, and has such a sweet tender heart. I love the fact that on Sundays when we get to church that he lets Kenna snuggle on him and plays with her all the time. It is neat to see their bond even if he is 10 years older than her!
Kelsey is such a wonderful girl. She helps so much with the girls when I am down and she is growing up soo fast. She is beautiful, funny, and has so many gifts and talents-most days I just stand in awe that God would give me a daughter like her to raise.
Keira is the "I've got it all together " kid. It is that time in 2nd grade where education starts to click. She HATES to miss school! She just loves to learn and doesn't want to  miss a thing! She loves being social and I am positive she will be my most social butterfly-Class president, head cheerleader, best dressed.....not just because she has all of those traits but because she has such a tender heart that she will be kind to all!
Kenna has really blossomed. She still struggles with anxiety and social situations, but she has come so far! She is actually looking forward to kindergarten next year and I never thought I would see that day! I am so grateful for Spark and how amazing those teacher are! I love going-even if it takes up part of the day. I will miss them next year since I have been blessed to spend the past 3 school years in their classroom! I may have to sneak in and go just to go! LOL!!!!
Jeremy is working hard at work and I am so proud of all that he has accomplished this year even with all of his health struggles. He provides for us, spends time with us, helps around the house and even let's us have dogs when he is not a big dog person.
I love him so much and I am so glad that he puts up with me each day.
So off to another busy weekend of baseball, soccer, babysitting, birthday parties, and friends.  I will post pictures soon-that is my goal!
Time does fly by but the journey and it's challenges have helped me see-
"I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me"
Thankfully the Lord doesn't give up on us-ever....His peace will carry me through whatever that trial may be....

The Chinese mothering style article

So there was an article in Time magazine about a woman who was Chinese and raised her daughters in that cultural mindset. Her husband is American. It was an interesting article in that she stated so we praise mediocrity in this country now and that is why we are behind in education. We praise the "losers". Everyone wins. No one is cut from the team, no one is allowed to fail in school.

Yet America strives to win it all. While I am not like the mom in the article that stands over her 7 yr old and says no dinner or going to bed until you have that scale right on the violin. If I know they have the ability and talent-then expectations are a good thing and I would have to agree with this mom. I may get knocked for saying that-but structure and discipline helps us all to find success later in life. It gives us the ability to get up on time bc we are committed to what we do. It helps us see that when we work hard at something there are tangible results. I am far from perfect-but someone once told me that they thought that the dad picked friends based on habits and hobbies. While I have no idea, his daughter has excelled in her area of skill.

You may ask, what prompted this....as I watched Keira in a different class tonight in gymnastics I realized that when our kids learn a skill and we want them to progress-we must do our part. She was too busy goofing off in the other class because she had too much free time. This make up class gave her no free time and she worked hard and progressed thru skills I did not know she even had the strength for. When she was skipping the lunges-I pointed it out to her and she stepped up and did them all out. Expectations.....kids will rise above them....

hopefully in the end I don't screw up my kids-but when they succeed at something they have been trying so hard at-the smile on their face is so worth it! the lesson they learn when they lose helps them to work harder for the next time....

I am glad I had the chance to be a mom...it maybe hard like 5 doctor's appointments in one day today, etc. But the lessons I have learned from them are priceless.

My thoughts on that article about the blogs

So I am going to try and return to the blogging world....not sure if that will be successful...I am just now catching up to my life...not in cyberspace...

I hear the life a a mormon mommy is pretty and fun and glamourous...

Can I have that life?

I will be 39 this year and mine has never been the way these mormon mommy blogs are described...My life is not a gap commercial-my girls are not always perfectly dressed with perfect hair. My husband is usually in baseball clothes when he gets home from work, and well my son is a walking hollister ad-but that is his doing not mine. My daughter is an athlete who likes ponytails and tennis shoes and dirt. She takes nothing from the mean girls at school and has the sweetest side to her that I love.

My seven year old will be a fashion designer one day-and I love her style and creativity...

And that bear...well we will see.....

Does anyone not like to read-hey my life is normal and kids are normal and when it gets hard-I know I will get through this because someone before me did something just like it....

I can take courage in that....

I am inspired by that...those women I know who work so hard day in and day out to raise their families while their husbands work hard to support them while they are working away from the home a lot. I know it is hard. I know it is exhausting. But the world does not give an praise for that....

There is no break for a woman who stays home and raises kids and her husband is working out of town or long hours...her job NEVER ends.

The housework never ends....Those that have jobs as well-it is even harder. These woman are the ones that hold our society together and are setting an example for the next generation. To not be weak but to be strong and kind hearted all at the same time. It is across all spectrums that I find these woman. So to them I pay tribute today. Life is not always beautiful.... but it is a beautiful ride.....