I have not kept up with this in a while. It has been forever since I last updated. Not that anyone is reading it... LOL.
I signed up for the Trojan Wellness program they have at school and I have completely neglected it the last two months. I have yet to get started. The few times I did do something I did not record it or repeat it. So, I woke up this morning with a renewed desire to do something about my self and my bad habits. I know it may seem like a bad month to start changing my eating habits, but that is just an excuse. I love Halloween, I love candy, and I didn't want to give up the one time I can chow down on some candy corn and snickers, but honestly there will always be some excuse... But its Thanksgiving, you have to pig out on Thanksgiving... But its Christmas, you have to pig out on Christmas... There is always some holiday coming where I want to give up my health for a second helping of something. It's wrong and I'm teaching my girls a horrible lesson and I'm going to stop.
Today I got up and rode 3 miles on my bike (recumbent and in my bedroom, but still a bike LOL). I turned on some fast paced music and rode for 20 minutes. I recorded all I did and I made some November goals that I'm going to keep. If I can say No to my girls about something I think will hurt them, I can certainly say No to myself. This month is the 3 S's ...

No sweets, No sodas, and No seconds.
Anyone want to join me?

Camp!

We got back from camp yesterday and though I loved every minute of it I'm so tired! I helped cook for the campers all week. My arms, back, and feet just ache, but the trip was so worth it.
It was like living at a gospel meeting. No pressures or distractions from the world, just focusing for a week on serving and praising God. It was amazing. I can't wait until next year!

Mom's Backyard

There just isn't anywhere for me that is as relaxing and soothing to my soul as my parents' backyard. My parents toil endlessly on their plants and birds. My mom is always looking for ways to make it even more inviting than it already is. My kids are always trying to pretend it's a playground... Ha! We've grilled out in that yard, played badminton in that yard, laughed and loved and lived in that yard.

My dad's birthday was yesterday and mom was so excited to show off some new things in the yard so of course I had to try to take pictures. :) We had so much fun!

The little things

It's about the little things.
It's about spending time with your kids.
It's about having fun just hanging out at home.
It's not about spending tons of money just to make a moment count.
It's about knowing the moment will count
just because you took the time to make them feel special.
My parents taught me this lesson.
We never had a lot of money growing up,
but they never let us feel the pinch.
I know sometimes they struggled but I never even realized it until I was an adult.
I had the best childhood and I only hope I can give to my kids half of what they gave to me.

(disclaimer - no I didn't let my child lick cake batter with uncooked eggs in it. Years ago, my dad (who is an amazing cook) told me that you can substitute mayonaise for eggs. Well we decided to make the cake and I had forgotten that we no longer had eggs so we tried the mayonaise. It actually turned out pretty good, except that it doesn't hold together as well.
"Can I please lick the bowl! There aren't any eggs this time!"
How do you say no to that?)

My baby's birthday

All she wanted for her birthday was to go to the laser show at St. Mountain. We went and had the best day, but she fell asleep about half way through the show.

Puddles

There is nothing quite as fun as jumping in puddles. Maybe jumping in puddles with your crazy mom chasing you with the camera? Nah, there is nothing quite as fun as puddles...

My first official Mother's Day!

Today is my first official Mother's Day! The girls have been with us for two years, but this is the first Mother's Day that we all share a last name! We had such a good day. I gave our moms pics of the girls that they loved! We couldn't pick just one to blow up to 8x10 so they ended up with 4 instead of 1. I don't think they minded to much!

After lunch, we went to see my hubby's grandmother. I had to force her to let me take a picture of her with my girls! She's so funny :D


Going out to look at the creek

Stone Mountain

We went to Stone Mountain last weekend to end our Spring Break. We had the absolute best day ever! We didn't stay for the laser show, but I don't think the girls would have lasted anyway. They were exhausted by the end of our day. The strange thing is, they didn't even argue about all the pictures I took. They were even coming up with poses! "Mommy, take my picture!" "Hey what about by this tree?" "Take a picture of the flowers!"
We started our day letting the girls conquer all three courses of the new Sky Hike. It's like an obstacle course, I guess. There are three different height levels, with different degrees of difficulty. Basically, you have to walk over different kinds of rope bridges. This girl kept her feet firmly on the ground, but my babies climbed 36 feet to start on the hardest course first! My youngest, started crying half way through and I'm screaming "It's okay! You don't have to finish. You can turn around and go back." She, of course, answers "No! I have to finish!" Which she did, before completing all three levels with her big sister! My brave girls :)
We then traipsed all over the park, looking at different sites. I didn't even know some of the stuff that was out there. There is an old mill and covered bridge. One of the places the girls begged me to take pictures, if you can believe that!
I can't wait to go back and explore some more.

Somewhere....

This is the first blog that I've ever started. I'll admit that I was inspired by a friend and her blog. I've known her a few years now, but never really knew her until now. It was such an amazing thing to see things through your eyes. Thank you for that.
J and I have been married for 10 years and were never able to have children of our own. Both of us have always had the desire for a big family, but it seemed our prayers were not to be answered the way we had hoped.
Sometimes things turn out even more amazing than you ever thought that they could. After completing 7 weeks of training, home studies, back ground checks, the works, we were told that there was a sibling group of two girls in desperate need of a permanent placement. We were so worried at first, but it didn't take a second to make the decision to take the girls when we saw their picture. They are so beautiful and I'm so crazy blessed just to know them, much less having the privilege of being their mom. There is nothing like having your brand new 9 year old curl up in your lap, stare up at you, and say "God made you my real mommy."
Okay, now I'm crying and I'm rambling...
Anyway, since their arrival, I've turned into the rabid camera mom. You can probably hear their cries of "no please, no more pictures!" But I can't help it. I want to remember every moment. So, I finally broke my husband down and we bought my first real, grown up, big girl camera! Yes, sorry, I did just squeal a bit. No, it's not the fastest, most expensive thing out there, but hey you got to start somewhere, right?