Week 4 -The North Pole in the South

What a weird week! I have felt so thrown off--between Martin Luther Kind day and no school, and then being surprised with a snow day on Thursday, I was not sure if I was coming or going or if it was Tuesday or Saturday. :)

We have been working through Kaden's Scout requirements, and one of them was to plan and prepare a healthy meal. I could have just added the healthy part on my own. I don't know. But he chose stuffed pepper soup. He did a great job helping make it! He was the cutest little chef--

 



Wednesday night, a storm came through. I knew we would get some snow. But boy did we get SOME SNOW! Mother nature dumped about a foot of snow on us--it was bizarre! I haven't seen snow like that since Ohio. I was definitely reminded what I DON'T miss about living up North! :) Jenna went to work in the morning making a list of to do's in different fonts with check mark images to put in the box when she completed her work. A girl after my own heart.



And then it was time for play!





















It came, it snowed. And it will be almost 70 again this week. I can't say I am sad. Good riddence fluffy white stuff.

I told Brandon if this is what happens in the winter here, we are buying a 4-wheeler with a snow plow attachment and some winter boots. :)

On a different day--Friday? Thurs afternoon? like I said my head was a little confused this week...Josie had been really fussy. We tried to feed her, rock her, comfort her in any way, and she wouldn't have it. Brandon picked her up out of her booster chair and she spewed all over him! It was so funny  sad. :) She definitely felt better afterward though... :)



Also this week, Spencer went to a birthday party where he got tickets to redeem for prizes. When I went to pick him up he was beaming at his treasures. He had used his tickets to buy each of the kids something...a little plastic robot in Kaden and Spencer's favorite colors, and a pink ring for Jenna. And for Josie he selected a large foam dice--"squishy and not too small!" Kaden had attended a birthday party last week where he used his tickets to buy each member of the family a special treat as well. I wish I could say I had some influence on this, but this was all on their own. I am so impressed with them. I appreciate their beautiful example of selflessness. We definitely have moments and meltdown and times I want to run away from fighting and arguing. But there are also times like this--where I am reminded of their goodness and feel inspired and blessed to be their mother.



Oh, one more update! We finished our 21 day no junk food challenge! Though, we ended 2 days early. We had promised the kids we would take them out to Texas Roadhouse if they made it through the challenge, and our week was SO crazy that we only had time on Monday. Spencer played at a friend's house on Monday and passed up pizza there--and I felt the challenge had done what it should and my kids had proven themselves time and time again. :) I still am SO proud of them--I am proud of everyone! Even Brandon, also known as a champion junk food junkie, has turned to oranges at night when he wants a sweet treat, instead of ice cream. He is a great example to me and I appreciate his efforts to do this!

Today was a good Sunday--a busy one--but it was also so good. I felt inspired by each talk given and felt reminded of the things I need to do to better myself. Sometimes it's a tough pill to swallow when you see how much you need to change and grow....but today I felt encouraged to tackle some of the many things that I need to change and hope I can be better and do better.

I am grateful for times like today. And for good kids...and a supportive husband...and even a day off of school once in a while, even if it means shoveling the driveway and freezing our toes. :)

Happy Sunday.

Week 3-Tender Mercies

This week was one of those which feels like molasses at the time, but then one day you wake up and find it's Friday and you wonder where in the world the days went!

After I wrote out my frustrating predicament with time and feeling overloaded with life, I was blessed with some tender mercies. Several days last week, Josie timed her naps exactly to where she slept during the time Carter was at school--This is HUGE! It was SO helpful. I was able to get payroll things set up and account stuff taken care of. I made important phone calls and got work done that had been looming over me! Another napping day in the week I was able to pull out my Silhouette machine and make some new valentine's decor. Was it a frivolous use of my time? Probably. But I just desperately needed some down time...

Another day during the week I had a business meeting at the office and some things to take care of, and the time was right smack in the middle of Josie's nap time. For whatever reason, she was great all through the appointment and only started fussing a few minutes before we had to get in the car.

I am so grateful for the tender mercies that allowed me to get what I needed to taken care of. We have been lacking in the sleep department severely this week (Josie's 2 top teeth decided this was the perfect time to pop through) and it has been rough in many other ways, but I have no doubt that Heavenly Father allowed for me to have some of those quiet moments to take care of what needed to be.

 


In other news, I had my weigh in this week and finally hit my OFFICIAL 30 pound mark! HALLELUJAH! It has been so slow--but I am really trying and plugging along. I want this...badly!

After my WW meeting, I stopped to grab a few things. Josie had missed her morning nap so I could go and was a cranky pants, but once she got in the little cart she was content. :) We grabbed our groceries quickly, but I just though that she and Carter were so cute together!



I do love that she is getting old enough to play with the kiddos. They LOVE having her upstairs with them.  I dread the day she realizes the stairs are there and we have to barricade them. :)


She is getting better and better at standing holding things--


And Carter is such a great big brother to her. He is really a funny guy and we love having him in our family!





She's getting so big! :)


Can I brag for a second?
I think I say this every week--but it's TRUE! I AM so DARN PROUD of my kiddos with our junk food challenge. They have been to birthday parties with pizza, chips, cupcakes, cake, etc--and they have not eaten ANY of it! Spencer passed up treats at school from a classmate's birthday, Jenna won some chocolate in a competition and hasn't touched it--Kaden has a bag of treats stashed away so he won't be tempted. We have a freezer of ice cream and popsicles and such, and even though we see it every time we open the freezer, nobody has once asked for it. They are very conscious of what is white bread, etc. I am so grateful for their example! I originally figured I would do this challenge alone, but having them all volunteer to play along has been such a great blessing. Doing things as a family, having support and doing it together, is truly the best.

That being said, we will be excited to add a few things back into our eating--but this has taught us a tremendous lesson in how we could eat better on a regular basis.


It's a busy week ahead of us--and even though there are moments of panic because of all that needs to fit in, I am reminded how Heavenly Father is aware of us and how he grants us those tender mercies amid the chaos, if we will but look for them.

Happy Sunday.

Weekly Write-up: Week 2

This week I found myself wanting to sit down and blog about some cool moments throughout the week. Unfortunately, my time was spread very thin!

I have come to the conclusion that this work from home stuff is TOUGH! A typical day finds me sitting at the computer trying to take care of various business things--with Josie clinging to my leg until I pick her up. I type one-handed quite proficiently, and can run from screaming and whining while on important phone calls like a gold-medal sprinter. I find that nap time just cannot be the sacred time anymore...because my to-do list requires me to be going to the office to fax paperwork, or run errands here or there to get basic stuff just to get me through till I can attempt a bigger grocery shopping trip. Some days it feels like me time...or friend time is a thing of the past. But I refuse to back down just yet ;)

And when I am not buried in business stuff I have Relief Society stuff on my plate...I am going on 3 full months without a 2nd counselor. We have been in survival mode, to say the least. I always fear I am letting someone down. And if you know me, you would know I HATE disappointing people.

And I shall not even start about the things I need to clean and organize in my house--it's shameful.

I am certain it will get better. I think it's just been a hectic few weeks. And I have a lot still to learn and know and do in every aspect of my life. I just don't want to fail....

Speaking of hectic few weeks, Brandon just got called today as the 1st counselor in the Young Men's presidency... :)

I really hope this isn't coming across whiny. I don't intend that. We certainly have a lot on our plate--and there are many who have more than us, that I know. I know a way will be provided--for everything to come together how it needs to. It is just sometimes difficult to see when you're in the thick of it.

Whew. All that serious stuff aside...
Isn't our Josie girl such a cutie?





Despite her need to always have someone around, she really is a sweet girl and we all love her so much! She turned 8 months old and has her 2 teeth, and has started pulling herself up to stand. It is impossible to imagine life without her. And just as was vividly impressed in the dream I had before we got pregnant with her, she has brought us a tangible JOY that we would never have found anywhere else.

This past week, Jenna competed in her spelling bee--the one I wasn't so sure about. :) Truly, if you saw her last year you would NEVER have expected her to be in a spelling bee. Her spelling was...honestly, terrible. I arrived at the school to see a sobbing Jenna, so nervous.We calmed her down and dried her tears and she made her way to the stage. I sat in the hard chairs in the school cafeteria watching the contestants spell word after word, and upon getting it wrong my heart broke as they left the stage and crumpled into a sobbing mess next to their parents. I cannot tell you how much I was praying for her to not be one of those...for her to have a good experience and gain the confidence she needed to be okay even if she didn't win.



Every word she spelled, I held my breath. It was an audible exhale when she succeeded and went back to her chair. She wound up getting top 6 in her grade with qualified her to go to the next round at the county spelling bee! (There are over 900 students at her school--so this is a big deal!) I was SO proud! She really worked so hard--and come a long way!

In other news, someone sent the office an edible arrangement this week. I have ALWAYS wanted to try one, so I was super excited! It was DELISH!



Speaking of food--We are still sticking to our no junk food challenge! I still can't believe it! My kids have been SUCH troopers and are trying to be aware as we make choices. This little food challenge has helped kickstart my weight loss again. Christmas was a doozy--just a few weeks of barely losing anything while we had company here and such. But just 6 days after my last weigh-in I was down another 2 pounds! I am SO CLOSE to hitting the 30 pound mark. I wish I didn't still have another 20 to lose, but I am half way! I made a goal to lose 10 pounds by Valentines day, and so far I have just 7.2 pounds to go. I am determined to do this! Slowly but surely--I will get healthy again.

 This week I made a quick trip to the bread store to stock up on more wheat bread. When you spend $6 they give you a free item from their clearance rack, and as I stood in line I was feeling bummed because everything I saw was white bread (our challenge says we can't have any white bread). But after checking out and going to snag my free item, I spotted 1 single package of wheat english muffins. I know it may sound silly, but I believe it was evidence that Heavenly Father is aware of us...I went home and shared with the kids how that strengthened my testimony, and in our prayer later Kaden said, "Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the wheat bread". It was so touching. I am grateful for these little moments that build strong testimonies.

I am grateful for all the learning experiences we are having right now, really. Daily I see my eyes opened as I study the scriptures and find little applications for my own situations. And even though the unknown is scary--and the work is hard--and the responsibility overwhelming at times, I would not trade this opportunity for anything. This is Heavenly Father's plan. I know it is. I trust it is. And I know He will hear my cries and answer my prayers and continue to give glimpses of His overwhelming love for us.

Happy Sunday.

Weekly write up: Week 1

For a while now I have mourned the loss of my blogging style from a few years back. Oh how I MISS the days where we recorded everything and I hauled a real camera EVERYWHERE. Now it feels like the real camera rarely comes out--my days are so much different now than they were when I had kids not in school and we could come and go and explore and do a million fun things. But I have been thinking a lot about regret--and living in the past. And honestly, it's time to move on. To look forward. To figure out what is really going to work for me at this stage in my life. A friend inspired me with her weekly Sunday picture blog post--and I realized, HEY, I can do that! Commit to one post a week--that's it. If I get more, BONUS POINTS! If not, eh, no biggie. I will at least have reached my one post goal. So here I am, ready give me weekly write up. :) Last week we had company and Christmas and wonderful chaos! This week...we literally did almost nothing. It was so nice! It was also SO cold.

After waltzing our way through December with mild temps, we were punched in the gut with a blast of arctic air. It brought with it ice, snow, wind...ya, all the makings of a snow day. People are shocked it snows in Texas. Heck, I am still shocked. After all, it's our first winter here and we weren't sure what to expect. I don't know if this is normal or not...but it provided us with a week of downtime. We played, we read, we sewed, we ate lots of soup...

It was awesome.

We got a trampoline for Christmas but it's been too cold to get the net on! I hadn't thought that would be the case at all...but alas, we will wait till we can get out there and not freeze our buns off!











In other news...

SOME HOW, miraculously, my family all got on board with doing a no junk food challenge. I am still shocked that the kids volunteered to do this--
so for 21 days, we are off of:
white bread, chocolate, candy,cake, pastries, cookies, biscuits, ice cream, soda, chips...

We are 4 days in and I have to admit they have done really well! Kaden still has candy from New Years, which he is keeping hidden so he "won't be tempted". Nobody has asked for dessert, and as we have evaluated our menu, we decide what we can and can't eat--we wanted french bread, but only had white in our freezer and decided to pass it up. Brandon is going along with this challenge...which, if you know Brandon, you would know he LOVES Junk food--I know, I know, he definitely doesn't LOOK like he likes junk food, but that guy has a major snack attack often. But I am REALLY grateful for their support. I am aiming to lose another 10 pounds by Valentine's Day. That gives me 6 weeks. I just need to kick it up a notch and make it happen! This is DEFINITELY helpful!!

Brandon is winding down his training and gearing up for his 100 mile race at the end of this month. I AM SO proud of him! And he is really excited!! He has several family members flying in to help pace him which we are so grateful for. I wish I could be there--but trying to transport all of us to Houston, and then hanging out with 5 kids at a campground in the winter during a 24-30 hour race didn't seem very logical. :( But we will be cheering him on from home, since they have a live feed and you can watch the runners come through the aid stations.

Jenna is gearing up for her big spelling bee this week. This strikes me as ironic, because spelling is not her forte, but somehow she made it as the only class member to move on to the next level. We will see how this goes...

Kaden and Spencer love school and are becoming super readers. They often share books and do much of the same thing. Spencer is still growing taller than Kaden...

Carter is seriously one of the funniest kids I know. People from the outside looking in would probably do a double take at me if they heard me say it, but it's true. In his element, he is HILARIOUS. He makes the funniest faces and comes up with hilarious ways of saying things. And he sings all. the. time.

Josie is growing. Way too quickly. She has so much personality--poor girl was sick every single day last week (also contributing to our homebound status). I think she is on the up and up now--fever broke, but she is still fighting a nasty cough. I think this is really her official first time of being SICK--aside from the occasional runny nose.

Well, this went on much longer than I planned... :)

But here's to a new year, and new goals! And THAT is my {weekly} wrap.