Blue Skies and Sunshine

Today at lunch time Allison wanted to say the blessing before we ate. She bowed her sweet head and said, "Thank you God for blue skies and sunshine, and blue skies and Mommy and Daddy and Sissy, Amen" That sweet angel never ceases to amaze me. I can't believe she'll be 2 in less than a month.

We were very thankful for our beautiful day and enjoyed lots of outside time, even though it was a bit on the hot side at times. We had to break down and turn the air conditioner on around 4:00 because even with all the ceiling fans blowing and all the windows open it was 80 degrees in the house. Thank you God for air conditioning!:)

Lauren and Allison drawing with chalk

Lauren's new bicycle

The girls in their hats

This picture is looks a lot better full size

Allison looking at the Japanese maple

Helping Daddy water the plants

Easter

What a beautiful Easter Sunday we were blessed with! Easter is always a special time at my parents' house. The first time Bill ever went to my parents' house when we were dating was over Easter weekend. If my memory serves me correctly, we have been to Mom & Dad's every Easter since then. Each year we are there, I always remember that first Easter together with great fondness. My life has been so blessed being married to Bill.

Here are a few pictures to capture the fun we had over the weekend.

Allison enjoying Easter candy and a movie on the drive to Mom & Dad's

Lauren singing in the car.......she loves to sing

The Easter eggs we colored. We didn't get any good pictures of the girls coloring them because we had a spill that left the floor and one of Mom's dinning room chairs blue!

Easter morning

After church

The girls with their bunnies

Allison would not look at the camera....she was too interested in the lollipop!

Sweet little Lauren....Allison still trying to get the lollipop open

Lauren finding Easter eggs

Allison finding Easter eggs

Allison looking at her eggs

Easter Fun A Week Early

What a glorious weekend we just experienced. Too bad that it is going downhill fast tomorrow. Oh well, it was so beautiful this weekend that I'll think of tomorrow, tomorrow! Yesterday after breakfast we headed off to Lowe's to buy a few plants for our lawn. After returning home the girls enjoyed playing outside for the biggest part of the day. After Allison got up from her nap we went to the Mayo's Gardening Center on Emory Rd. to see the 4-H club's Easter animals. They had a sheep with three little lambs, some baby chicks, a goat, and several bunnies. The girls enjoyed petting the animals but neither was eager to hold a chick or bunny.

The girls looking at a bunny

Allison looking at the little lamb

Lauren looking at the sheep

Both girls petting the sheep

Allison petting the baby chick

Lauren petting the baby chick

At Mayo's they had a camera set up to take pictures of you with the animals. We knew the girls would never sit there with the animals by themselves, so we got in the picture too! The bunny is hiding on the far left of the picture. The guy put the bunny on Bill's leg and Lauren just about had a fit! There's a little lamb in between Bill and I, but you can barely see it because it's face is so dark. The little chicks on my legs started flapping their wings and tickling Allison's legs so that made her squirmy! It really is impossible for us to get a picture of the girls looking at the camera and smiling. Oh well, we had fun anyway!

Family picture with the Easter animals

Today was the annual Easter Egg Hunt at church. This was our first year to stay. We had lunch at church and then the girls got to hunt for Easter eggs out on the playground. Bill was videoing the girls finding eggs. We didn't get any good pictures because I was walking around with Allison while she was hunting eggs. This last picture is of the girls on the playground after the egg hunt.

Because of the long day at church our H2H group decided not to meet tonight so we enjoyed a long afternoon and evening playing outside. Well, Bill and the girls did. I had to go to the grocery store and clean the house for playgroup tomorrow. We did grill burgers and eat out on the patio. That was the extent of my outside fun. But all in all it was a wonderful weekend.

Day One

Well, the first day is always the big one for me. If I can get started, I can usually do pretty well. I will say I am not convinced this Flat Belly Diet is for me. I'm not giving up, but I can see that Body for Life is looking more appealing to me now. It's early in the process, so I want to give this a fair shake. It has definitely put me on the right track and I am determined to change my eating habits. Just since I have been reading the book and then following this plan today, I can see just how much eating a certain way is nothing but a habit. I had good habits in the past and I will have good habits again!
I was motivated even more after measuring my body last night in preparation for this adventure. I want to see just what the results are in my transformation. I used to measure myself on Body for Life. It really was motivating to see the changes in numbers. I was also encouraged by looking back at some pictures of myself right before Bill and I got married. I'll have to scan some and post them another time.
Working out has gone really well this week, too. Funny how when I put the eating factor with the working out factor, both seem to improve.
Here's to better eating habits!!!!

It's time to get started

Nothing like a trip to the beach to motivate you to lose weight. I have been back in the gym working out since the beginning of February. That sounds like two months worth or working out when in reality it hasn't been that long. I missed over a week when Allison had RSV and another week with Lauren's last stomach virus. I'm so glad to be able to exercise once again, but I haven't yet stopped eating all the junk food that I have been eating since being pregnant with Lauren. So, tomorrow is the day. I am embarking on a new diet. It's called the Flat Belly Diet and I like what I read about the changes it helps you make that are life-style changes, not just changes for a period of time. While the diet in theory is for 32 days, it really is about life-style changes that will continue after the 32 days are over. I was able to make those life-style changes when I did Body for Life back in late 2002 and 2003. My brother and I were both doing Body for Life and we lived together at the time so it made it easier to eat the right way. I am convinced I can do that again. However, almost 7 years and two children later, I don't know how easy it will be. But I'm determined to give it a shot!

Vacation Booked

Woo-hoo!!! We're going to the beach!!!! I can't wait to see the girls reaction to the beach and the ocean!!! Lauren talks about it quite a bit. We were supposed to go the the beach last September for the girls' first visit, but my grandmother passed away the Thursday before we were supposed to leave on Saturday. So we ended up cancelling the trip.

Now we have a week booked at Hilton Head for May 24-31.

My parents used their time share to book the resort. It is not directly on the beach, but I think there will be plenty to do on the property to entertain the girls.

I know the girls will love this pool!!!

Only two more months until the big trip!!!


We have just finished quite a week. Lauren was on spring break last week and unfortunately she spent the whole week sick with her second stomach virus this year. Although we were fortunate that the rest of us stayed healthy this time (last time all four of us caught the bug), this was a much worse virus for Lauren and she ended up at the dr.'s office Friday afternoon, then on to Children's ER that night. She could not keep anything in her stomach and ended up mildly dehydrated. Uncle Bill called right as I was getting ready to take Lauren on to the ER and he offered to come go with us. Daddy stayed home with Allison who had just gone to bed. It was a long, busy night in the ER and we were there from about 9:00 p.m. until about 3:30 a.m. Lauren was wide awake until I finally got her to sleep after 11:00 right before they came in to wake her up to start the IV. They tried two times and couldn't get the needle in, but were able to draw blood to do some lab work. Around 1:00 a.m they came back and another nurse got the needle in to start the IV. Lauren was not happy with another "poke"! By that time, she was exhausted and felt pretty miserable. I was able to get her to sleep while the fluids slowly dripped in. We were able to leave right after the fluids were in. We were blessed that she didn't have to be admitted to stay in the hospital.
Saturday morning she was up around 8:00 a.m. and was ready to eat our ritual waffles that Daddy makes every Saturday. She was able to eat and drink and go to the bathroom through out the day. And today she is pretty much back to normal. After lunch she did come to me for me to hold her and she said her tummy hurt. I asked her how it felt, if she felt sick like she was going to throw up, and she said, "No it's hungry!" Music to my ears!!!

Not Out Yet!

Well, looks like I posted a day too early. Ended up taking the girls to the dr. today and Allison has RSV. :( The good news is that Lauren is ok. But we have another week of confinement to let Allison get well. Allison is definitely keeping us on our toes with her illnesses. Lauren spoiled us by not getting sick very often. But I still thank God that we have had healthy children and I pray that He will continue to bless us with health!
Another blessing is that Mom went to the dr. today and she only has one more 6 month visit to the dr. who did her breast cancer surgery. After that she will only have to go for a check up yearly. She will be a five year survivor this August.
Brother Bill is also doing well after his elbow surgery. He goes back to the dr. tomorrow to get his stitches removed and the splint off. He will still have to wear the splint some for a couple more weeks, but at least he can take it off for periods of time.
God is good and has blessed our family!!