My New "Toy"

I forgot to mention that I recently got a new "toy"...

It's a Nikon D80... a pretty nice little camera (ok so maybe it's not so little). I'm hoping to make a little money taking some pictures on the side with it... I have two births that I will have the privilege of photographing (one in April and one in June) that I am very excited about! Anyway, here's a few pictures I took while the kids were playing around this past weekend at Anthony's...

My how time flies!

Well it seems like just yesterday the last time I posted something... but apparently it's been months (and I mean MONTHS!) So... I just thought I would update what's been going on. I have been dating a wonderful man since August. He is such an encourager and treats me like a princess. His name is Anthony. He is a single father of three kids, Lindsay (age 14), Jayda (age 9), and Logan (age 8) and he has them pretty much full time. So we have become quite the brady bunch! Sarah and Jayda are only 7 months apart and Logan and Matthew are 8 months apart, so it's almost like having a 14 year old and two sets of twins.... although some days I swear it feels like there's at least 10 of them running around instead of just 5! They are quite the busy bodies, but I love it.

Me and Anthony

"The Gang"

"The Boys"

Matthew, Anthony and Logan

Lindsay, Me and Jayda (of course Sarah opted out of being in the picture since she's such a fan of having her picture taken!)

Sarah and Jayda

Sarah is sitting on Jayda's lap! Silly girls!

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!