Practice makes perfect...

Felice was kind enough to let me pretend to be photographer of the day yesterday. I had a lot of fun trying to snap pictures of her and Calvin, although I will admit it was really hard trying to get Calvin to sit still for more than 0.2 seconds! I thought they turned out fairly well considering my poor little camera is only a 3mp and doesn't have any special lenses, etc.

Just for fun....

And a few more laughs...

Biggest Loser

Growing up, weight was never an issue for me. Well I should say being overweight was never an issue for me. I was deathly skinny when I was little. Then I got pregnant...and the pounds came. Then I got pregnant again... and more came... and again... and again... Add to that the medical complications that came along with the pregnancies and the heart attack and stroke that followed in 2004, the weight came on and became increasingly difficult to take back off. By the time Matthew was about 2 -3 years old, I was at my heaviest - 300 lbs. I look back and wonder how in the world I could've let myself go like I did. I still don't know the answer to that one. I just knew at that point that I needed to get the weight off... and it's been a battle ever since.

This year has been great motivation-wise. Not only do I get to have fun working out in the gym all day long with the kids, but we've also started a "Biggest Loser" contest at work as well with the employees. So far I've lost 15 lbs since we started a little over a month ago. This is actually the first time that I have actually been able to notice a significant change in my body since I first started losing weight about three to four years ago (and 82 pounds ago!) :-) I know, how can a person lose 82 lbs and not notice the difference, right? Well it's not that I haven't been able to notice ANY change, but this is the first time I've been able to actually look at myself in the mirror and think "wow...who is that person standing there?!?!" So far, I've dropped 10 sizes... 10 more to go and I'll be tickled pink! I have to say that I am really beginning to like the newer, HEALTHIER me!!! :-)

This was me in 2002ish... pretty close to when I was at my heaviest.

Christmas 2005... a little thinner...

This one was taken yesterday. I was able to wear size 16 jeans for the first time since before I had Sarah!!! Now THAT was definitely an exciting moment for me!

Eight is enough??? Nahhhhhh

Last Wednesday I had a busy day! I went over to my sister Angie's house and watched a house full of kids!!! Tammie Shelton brought Bryce and Brayden over! I was thrilled. I have missed those boys so much! I couldn't believe how much Brayden had grown! So, in total I had eight kids running around (my Matthew and Sarah, my neices Amanda and Erin, Bryce and Brayden, Crista, and Calvin). They were all so well behaved, especially for having eight kids run around all day long. It was great! Tammie even brought back a treat for me from the mall (ok, Tammie, that fudge was the best - EVER! Thanks so much!)

Brayden wanted *another* grilled cheese!

I have missed spending time with this sweet little boy so much! I can't believe how much he has grown in the past several months!

Brayden tackled Matthew when he wasn't expecting it. Everyone got a good giggle out of it.

Brayden and Calvin had a lot of fun playing together!

The boys loved petting the bunnies!

I thought this picture was too sweet! Bryce is such a good big brother.

Happy Independence Day!

In honor of those who serve our country...

It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protestor to burn the flag.

~ Father Dennis Edward O'Brian, USMC

Ok so I had a date... with two really cute boys

Yep, I had a dinner date... with two really cute boys.... and I brought my kids along. Uh huh.

We got to spend an evening at the Lemons' household the other night. It was a blast. Spencer and Isaac are growing up so fast! We had so much fun while "mommy" and "daddy" went out to have dinner together (boy did they miss out! lol) Of course, they got back shortly after 10 p.m. and both boys were still awake. Oops! Well in my defense, I did ask the boys a couple of times if they were ready for bed and was immediately given an emphatic "NO!" so I let them stay up! It was so much fun, and as usual, I made sure I captured some of it on camera. I got some really cute shots of the kids! I got more of Spencer, mostly because he's not quite as fast as the other three so I could actually get pictures of him without them being a complete blur!

The Misadventures of a Little German Boy

I've been thinking about my grandpa a lot lately. He passed away a few years ago on Leap day (February 29th). Leave it to my grandpa to even pass away on an unordinary day. I guess to know what I'm talking about, you'd have to know my grandpa. He was, quite possibly, the most mischievous man on earth. Recently, I was visiting with my family and we were talking about some of "grandpa's stories" and I thought to myself that they really should be documented. Everyone agreed. So I think I might give it a try. Of course, this is something that will likely never be published, simply for the fact that it would encourage unacceptable behavior or it would be less than desirable reading material for most (like the time he ate too much cactus fruit and left an unpleasant trail along the ground to the outhouse and how the next year his mother wondered why on earth there was a line of cactus plants growing from the house to the outhouse!)

Then there was the time when great-grandmother walked outside only to find her two year old baby boy flying on the tail end of a kite (no joke)! My granddaddy and his older brothers had built an enormous kite out of tarp. After several attempts to fly it, they realized that the tail of the kite wasn't heavy enough. Then along came Jake in his cute little denim overalls toddling up to his brothers. I'll never know what posessed those boys to come up with such an idea, but sure enough, they took little Jake and tied the tail to the back of his little overalls. Apparently, Jake was just the weight they needed. Imagine the heart attack my great-grandmother had when she walked outside to see her baby dangling from the tail end of a kite flying high in the air! Now, I think it'd be fair to say that great-grandma believed in corporal punishment. She removed her "tire" sandal (which was actually a flip-flop type of sandal made from an old tire) and proceeded to whoop every single one of her boys who were in on the kite "project." I remember Grandpa saying he had tire marks on his behind for days!

Like I said, I'm sure it's not something that could ever be published but Grandpa's life was filled with little "adventures" like that.