Under Construction

"You're stupid!" were the words out K's mouth this morning as we were getting ready for breakfast.  He was talking to M and I'm not even sure why he said that other than he's a big brother and that's what brothers do sometimes.  Still saying stupid isn't okay in our house.  I immediately seized the moment to teach K (again) and M about the importance of our our words.  Proverbs 16:24 says Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

I brought the boys to their room and pulled out the blocks.  I explained that each block represented our words and the wall we were building represented the other person.  In my first example, it represented K.  I said that each kind word I say to him builds him, makes him stronger, makes him feel happy inside.  Each mean word I say, not only doesn't build him up, but it tears down some of what we built together.  We took turns saying kind things and then putting them on our wall.  When I said, "Your stupid" I made sure to knock a couple extra blocks off the wall.  We then did that for M and M got so excited to add blocks and say kind words too.

Proverbs 18:21 says Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose.  We talked about the unkind words and how they hurt others and we can't take them back.  Kind words heal and build up.  I think it was a good visual for Kenan.

What kinds of words are you choosing today?  Are you choosing words that are life giving or words that tear down?

Adventures in Potty Training

It's been officially 9 days since we began our potty training adventure with M.  It actually began sooner than expected, yet right on time if that makes any sense.  It doesn't?  Well, let me explain.

My three older kids all potty trained successfully 3 months after their third birthday.  I don't know why, it just happened that way.  It's been nice and super duper easy, if I say so myself.  Even the staying dry at night has been easy and came pretty quickly too.  H actually only had one accident during the night ever and that was due to daddy giving her a full (adult size full) glass of cherry kool-aid before bed.  I think when M is completely potty trained I will  write a post with what I've learned through potty training 4 kids.  Right now I'll get back to M.

So M turned 3.3 in August but I figured I'd start with him once school started when I could give him my full attention.  That's one reason it's right on time.  The other reason is that right before we started, he had an awful diaper rash.  His little bum is very sensitive so when he gets a rash it's quite the set of steps to help it get better.  We use lotrimin, antibacterial ointment with pain relief and diaper cream.  It takes awhile all the time so this time I told M that one thing that will help him feel better is wearing underwear.  He said, "Potty training!"  He was more excited than I expected, but I think he just wanted his little bum to feel better.  So Monday, we began potty training.  It was hit or miss (pun intended).  He went potty a couple time in the toilet and even pooped though, to be fair, that was an accident since he was trying so hard to pee.  Monday it was floor - 2 Toilet -2.  Not bad for a first day.  Tuesday went very similar to Monday.  By Wednesday, M was really beginning to get the hang of the pee feeling and going potty.  Saturday we went to a park to see an old car show and he wore underwear the whole time and stayed dry!  Sunday he wore a pull up to Sunday School and stayed dry the whole time!  Way to go M!!

Now 9 days later, he is still insisting on wearing undies during the day.  We wear pull-ups at nap time and diapers at night time.  More on that in my lessons learned post.

Now on to why it was sooner than expected.   It came sooner than expected because, even though I had intended to start potty training once school started, I kept putting it off.  I kept thinking, I'll get through the first week of school first.  Which I did.  I never intended to start the second week of school either.  He's my baby and that is one more "baby" thing that he would be moving out of.  It's kind of bittersweet.  Not that I will miss diaper changes because I won't.  It means he's growing up and getting older.  I want him to stay this little forever.   So that's why it came sooner than expected, but I guess that's a good thing.  If it weren't for his sore bum, I don't know that I would've started potty training anytime in the near future.

One funny thing about M's sore bum.  We went to church the infamous Sunday we decided to potty train and he kept waddling because his butt hurt.  Anyone we stopped to talk to, he would point to his butt and say, "Butt hurts."  That was a nice thing to have conversation about.  :)  Out of the mouths of babes!

Prayers for my kids

Today I was enjoying some quiet time before my children woke up for day #2 of school.  I have this book sitting on the table beside my bed called A Mother's prayers for Her Children by Nancy Ann Yaeger.  I came across this book at a Moms in Touch conference a few years ago.  It was a cute book and I loved the scripture references and how the book was organized and it gave me a bunch of scripture in one place to pray over my children.

I have used it here and there and it's a wonderful tool to use as I prayed scripture for my kids.  Today I decided to pick a verse for each child and pray that for at least the month of September.  Come October, I will choose a different verse or use the same one.  I haven't quite decided.

As I paged through each page and looked at the verses, it would just hit me that that verse is one for that child.  I picked one that reflected what I hoped for them as well as something they can claim for where they are at right now.

For M I chose Proverbs 16:20 nrsv:  Happy are those who trust in the Lord.  I want him to grow knowing that as he puts his trust in God he will find true happiness.  He is already such a happy little guy, but it's not too early for him to learn that happiness comes to those who trust in Him.

K's verse is about guarding the tongue.  Proverbs 21:23 says  He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.   I want K to remember that the words he says cannot be taken back.  I want him to chose words that lift up and encourage rather than hurt and tear down.

Picking T's verse was the hardest.  Once I found out, I just knew that it was the verse to pray for him starting out.

With ADHD, it's very hard for him to fit in.  He finds himself pestering others and sometimes his lack of ability to focus causes others to get easily annoyed with him.  He told us yesterday that he played with an aide on the playground rather than join the other boys who were playing football. Now I'm sure there were other boys running around and playing but the boys he wanted to hang out with were playing football.  It breaks my heart to know he isn't joining in with the other kids.  I want him to feel like he fits in.  I want him to be confident in himself and who God created him to be.  I don't want him going through the school year sitting on the sidelines or playing with a teacher because there's no one else to play with.

I found page 294.  At the top it says Fellow Citizen.  The verse is Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household.  The caption in the middle of the page says Children worry about being excluded or not picked for a team.  God has chosen everyone who believes in him as a fellow citizen and member of his household.  So assure your children that they are part of the most important team, God's team.  The prayer at the end said, "Thank you, God, that my children are part of your family and members of your household. Amen."

I can't make other kids want to play with T.  I can't make his ADHD go away so that he will blend in with other boys.  I can't make T like football and I can't be there everyday on the playground to make sure T has someone to play with.  Instead of dwelling on what I can't do, I can choose to focus on what I can do.  I can pray for him.  I can encourage him to reach out of his comfort zone and try something new or talk to a kid he doesn't know.  I can find creative ways to help him deal with the awkwardness of ADHD.  I can lift him up and help build confidence in him that he is a wonderful boy with a big kind heart.  I can remind T that he is loved always by his family and that he is part of the  family of God, which is most important.  If you are reading this please pray for T to make one good and dear friend at school.  Pray that his confidence in himself comes from God and not from what others think of him.

H has struggled with the vastness of God.  Don't we all at some point?  Well, she's so honest with her dad and I about it and I am thankful for the communication that we have together.  I found a verse for her to claim when she doubts and wants to overcome her unbelief.  Mark 9:24 says I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.  I want her to know that unbelief is normal and that when finds herself wondering "is God really real?" or doubting her faith, that she can confess it and God will come to her aid and help her overcome her unbelief.

I then came across a verse that I am going to pray over them as they head out the door for the bus each morning.  It's Proverbs 3:26 and says For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.  I loved the picture this verse gives.  If we let God be our confidence and not look for our confidence in what others think of us, it will keep us out of trouble.  I think we tend to find trouble when we do things for the acceptance of others.  I want my children to know where their confidence comes from.  I want them to know who it is that God created them to be.  I want them to keep their feet on level paths and not wander into trouble because they want someone to like them.

I am so thankful for the word of God.  I am thankful that His word is living and active and that I can claim scripture over my kids and it will not return void.

The first day of school

So today was the first day of school.  The day started off really good.  Well actually we started it off on the right foot last night.  It had been quite the hectic weekend with boys that were wilder than usual.  So at dinner we talked about evening and bedtime routines.  Later we read a Bible Story and ate chocolate ice cream.  We prayed for each other and talked about what we were concerned about for the first day of school.  

This morning went really smoothly.  I woke up early and showered.  Then the kids began to wake up.  I made pancakes and finished packing lunches.  My wonderful hubby was home to see the kids off on their first day.  It's a tradition that we started when he was in school.  He'd take the day off to rest up for the evening of classes.  We just have kept the tradition going.

After everyone was fed and dressed for school we took the traditional pictures and headed off to the bus stop for more pictures.

Once the kids were on the bus we hopped in the car and headed over to the school to see them get off the bus and give them hugs before they headed off to class.  T wouldn't let me give him another hug because I already gave him one.  After we hugged, we sent them on their way, while M, hubby, and I went enjoyed a low key and quiet day together.  We bought some new shoes for Micah, and we got a few groceries.  We came home, but out some fall candle holders and lazed around the house.  

All in all 7th grade, 5th grade, and 1st grade went really well!  They all came home happy and full of stories.  We celebrated with Davannis pizza and pop for dinner.  For dessert we had funfetti brownies that M and I made earlier this afternoon.  We chatted about ways we saw God answer our prayers today.  Each of the kids said that God answered their prayers to not be nervous, to be good, and to make new friends.  M said that God answered his prayer to play with mama.  

One more thing - when we asked K how his day was he replied, "It was great!  I didn't get into any trouble OR go to the prinicpal's office."  

It was bound to happen

Well it happened.  We knew it would happen to one of our boys eventually.  What you ask?  Why a broken bone of course!  Who broke a bone?  K broke a bone.  His wrist to be exact.  And it's technically called a buckle fracture.  It mainly happens to children when they fall on the end of a bone such as a leg or arm.  Most of the time it's near the wrist.  Basically since their bones are so soft the bone smushes up and kind of makes a lump on the side.  So there is not a crack in the bone (thankfully) and it will heal up just fine (thankfully).

It happened Tuesday.  The kids ate lunch and I thought I would surprise them by taking them to Chutes and Ladders.  It's a huge play structure with lots of slides and climbing stuff.  We were there about 15 minutes when K was crying because he fell.  It's hard to explain but he basically tripped and fell and landed with his wrist bent inward.  I didn't even have time to take pictures.  Well I got one of M but I don't even know if it turned out.  K was crying and wanted to go home so we all went home.  We were gone about 50 minutes total.

I called the Pediatrician and they said that since it didn't look broken or bruised and swollen, I could bring K home and put ice on it and try ibuprofen.  So we did and he seemed fine.  He didn't cry much, I gave him medicine for pain, and we put ice on it.

The next morning he couldn't hold a spoon or a pencil and he couldn't squeeze my finger with a tight grip.  I called the Dr. since he was favoring his hand.  The took and x ray and sure enough - buckle fracture.  We got in to an orthopedist that afternoon and they promptly put a cast on K's arm.

The Dr. said that K will more than likely only need to wear a cast for about 3 weeks.  There shouldn't be an problems with it healing up and a cast just helps keep his wrist stable and comfortable.

K is doing very good with his cast.  It's been signed by the whole family and he's being very patient with all the itchiness he feels at times.  He's been good at using a wooden spoon to reach the itches and he's been good at keeping it dry.

After he got the cast on we went to Target for treats like I promised.  As we walked through Target, he walked through the store with is hand held out front of him to show off his cast.  He even hoped that a Target worker would sign his cast.  That didn't happen because mommy hadn't signed it first.  :)

K waiting in the waiting room before his cast.  He truly is a ham.  Love that boy!

He wanted one more picture taken and this time he wanted to look so somber

His after picture.  I didn't feel right taking a picture in the Dr. office so I waited.  He's still checking it out and getting used to it.  He thought it was cool that the cast was getting harder.

Yep, he's loving it!  He thinks having a cast is pretty cool.  He even told papa later that the girls will really love him now!

K eating his treats.  He said he wasn't going to share.  I told him he didn't have to share because it's not every day you get a cast.  His reply was, "Yeah, every day you have a cast you get treats"

Not really, but nice try.

He ended up sharing the sour patch kids with his big brother.  What a nice boy.  He also picked out a baby bottle sucker and ring pop.  When papa came home, he gave Ke a card with a doggy on it and another box of sour patch kids.  He was stoked!

It was bound to happen to one of our boys.  We knew it would be T or K.  Funny thing is, K wasn't doing anything dangerous or "Dare devilish" at all.  He was just running and climbing.  I am just hoping there are no more broken bones anytime soon.  

Oh yeah Baby!

It's been a while since my last post of funny things Kenan has said.  So for your reading enjoyment I present to you Kenanisms!

One day hubby sat in the van with the kids while I made a quick run into Target.  While I was in there a car with some younger girls parked next to us.  K, who was sitting in the front seat with hubby had his head hanging out the window and when he saw the girls get out of their car, he yelled out, "Oh yeah Baby!" and the proceeded to play the air guitar with sound effects.

At dinner time one evening, K was eating a corn dog.  He proclaims loudly, "I haven't had these babies in a long time!"

Summer

Since there are only 8 days left of summer vacation, I thought I'd recap our summer and what summer has meant to us.

We visited the zoo when my grandma came to visit for a couple weeks.  She became a great grandmother on her birthday which is also our oldest daughter's birthday.  What a great birthday gift!  

Our youngest, M was born in May, and our two middle boys, T and K were both in June. They are 4 years and 6 days apart.  Here the three boys are blowing out candles on a cake meant for T and K.  

For father's day we went on a walk and took lots of pictures.

T went to camp for the week and came home again.  As you can see, he was greatly missed!  

Our daughter went off to camp 2 days after T came home.  Here she is, 2nd from the left, with all her friends. 

I spontaneously decided to let the kids splash in the puddles after big rainstorm moved through.

I found 2 toads in one of our window wells.  H had a lot of fun showing them around our yard and watching them hop around.  Here she is with Hops.  She named the other on speckles.  

During a wonderful rainy day, I let the kids go out in the rain and play.  I played and took pictures too! 

We met a friend and her kids at a water park.  We spent a good part of the day playing in the water.

Our family went to family camp and enjoyed a Western Themed dinner

We keep in touch with my former foster sister and her mom.  Her mom invited us to up to her house on the lake and we camped out one night. 

This is the next day as kids were taking turns on the paddle boat

A random walk we took

K learned to ride his bike without training wheels!!

We hosted a backyard end of summer party for our kids and their friends.  We played Wiffle Ball and watched The Sandlot after dark outside. 

Now that summer is nearing an end, it's a little sad and really exciting.  I am excited for all the new possibilities that this year brings for each child, as well seeing new friendships form and old ones strengthen.  I am looking forward to my quiet days with just M and all the moments he and I will share together.  I'm looking forward to less bickering.  Routine will be good, and it makes me thankful for the lazy days we've had together thus far.  One more summer is past.  I'm excited to see my children learn and grow, but I just wish I could freeze time and they wouldn't grow older.  Thank you God for blessing me with the four most wonderful children a mom could ask for.  Help me to remember to treasure each moment.  

Comforter

Recently we attended our church's family camp.  To me, family camp is a wonderful weekend.  It is very busy for those with young children, but the conversations are so meaningful and the food is so good, and the laughter is contagious and there is joy all around.

The theme verse for our camp is Psalm 73:28, "But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge, I will tell of all your deeds."  When I am up at camp I feel near God.  I feel his presence.  It truly feels like a refuge.  I come away blessed each year we go as a family.

On that Saturday, I was sitting there, pondering what God might have in store for me while we were at camp.  For me I thought it was cool that I was so expectant for God to work something in my life, that he might have something for me.

Evening came and it was time for Vespers.  If you don't know what Vespers is, it's worship and devotional time.  We gather together, sing songs, and listen to a counselor give a talk.  We started to wind down and this song began.  It's called Comforter.

(chorus)
Come to me, I am the comforter
Come crawl up on my knee
And lay your head close against my heart
Find your rest in me

When it hurts too much to cry, I will hold you
When you feel like you will never make it through
When you need someone to hold you
I'll enfold you in my arms
For my child, I love you

(chorus)

When the days are long and life feels so empty
In the lonely nights I'll stay right by your side
When you can't explain your feelings
I will listen to your heart
I will hear the thoughts you hide

(chorus)

As I sang this song, the tears began to fall.  I wasn't thinking of myself, though this song could apply to so much in my life.  I began to think of my son T.  He has been diagnosed with ADHD and there are many times that I find him so annoying.  I love that boy, but man.  He moves, and talks, moves and talks.  He annoys his siblings and it seems he doesn't even realize it.  I feel like I'm constantly getting after him to stop.  As I listened to this song, I thought of how he might feel when we get after him.  How hurtful our words may come across.  Though we don't have bad intentions, what we say and do could be hurtful to him.  T is such a sensitive boy.

I don't want my children to hurt.  I don't want to hurt my children.  The thought of any of my children hurting brought me to tears.  The thought of them gong through a hurt that I can't help broke my heart.  But this song reminded me that though this world brings trouble and through we will suffer with hurts, that we have a comforter.  He will hold us and listen to us and comfort us.  I want my children to know that when they are hurting and feeling alone, that God is their comforter.  The perfect comforter, who knit them together and knows them inside and out.

I learned that night, that though my intentions are good, I need to be more thoughtful with what I say and do.  To lift T up and encourage him.  It may be frustrating and annoying, but it is who he is and he is my son.  To show him through what I say and do, and how I react that I do love him unconditionally.  This song reminded me that my children are not alone in this world and when I can't make things better they can find comfort in God above.  I want my children to know that deep in their hearts.

I don't know who wrote that song, but the words are not my own.  They belong to someone and, whoever that someone is, God breathed his love for us into the words.  So thank you.  I found the words in our camp 50th anniversary memory book.

Beneath the song there are two Bible verses

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

Matthew 11:28
"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

More than enough

Yesterday, I woke up to my alarm.  Usually at 5 am the alarm is really really loud and all I want to do it shut if off as quickly as I can.  As I got out of bed I began to listen to the song that was on.  I've heard this song before, but this time the words just spoke to my heart.  I stood there for as long as I could listening to the song.  I wanted to turn off the radio so that my hubby could stay asleep and yet I wanted to keep listening to this song.  


Such a beautiful song that reminded me that God is all I need.  He is more than enough for me.  I have all I need in him.  Without him I will never be satisfied outside of him.  




Lyrics to Enough by Barlow Girl
All of you, is more than enough for, all of me, 
For every thirst and every need, 
You satisfy me, with your love, 
And all I have in you is more than enough. 

You are my supply, my breath of life, still more awesome than I know, 
You are my reward, worth living for, still more awesome than I know. 

Cuz all of you, is more than enough for all of me, 
For every thirst and every need, 
You satisfy me, with your love, 
And all I have in you is more than enough. 

You’re my sacrifice of greatest price, still more awesome than I know, 
You’re my coming king, you're everything, still more awesome than I know, 

All of you, is more than enough for, all of me, 
For every thirst and every need, 
You satisfy me, with your love, 
And all I have in you, 

All of you, is more than enough for, all of me, 
For every thirst and every need, 
You satisfy me, with your love, 
And all I have in you is more than enough. 

You're enough, You're enough, You're enough for me (REPEAT 17X's) 
[ Enough Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ] 

Success!!

On two fronts there is success.  First I'll update on my 30-day challenge.  I actually got up and worked out this morning.  I burned 104.3 calories in about 20 minutes.  Mostly upper body today.  I kicked butt in boxing!  If I get up tomorrow, I will be back on track for my week next week.  Bonus points if I can survive the baseball game on Sunday without eating so much.  We'll see about that. Ha!  They say winter is bad for diets because not as much exercise - not for me.  It's baseball season and having 10 games worth of tickets to use up.  That's what's gonna get me!

My other success story is about M.  In May when he turned 3 the Dr. recommended speech for him.  She thought maybe he could be behind a little because he's not wear a lot of 3 year olds are and a lot of his words are his own language that only we understand.  So we went through our school district.  Turns out he's low average.  Not low enough to qualify for services but low enough that he's not average with his speech.  Because he's so clingy and mom oriented, we went through his evaluation in two parts.  The first part was articulation and M cooperated and did really well in participating and listening to Miss A. By the end of the hour, he started to get easily distracted and frustrated.  Partly because the questions were harder and partly because he'd just been on his best behavior for a whole hour and it was wearing him out. So we came back a couple days later.  His cooperation went out the window and he didn't really want to do any of it.  Miss A scored what he did do and he still wasn't low enough to qualify for district service.  There was one more test that I had the option of M taking given that he wasn't cooperating.  My choices were try to finish that day, come back another day or call it quits altogether.  I decided that since he wouldn't qualify even if he bombed that one test, that there was no use in putting him through a stressful time of "playing games."  I still think he's on the lower side, but even since the middle of June his language has exploded.  He's trying to put more words together in a sentence doing mostly 3 words sometimes 4, sometimes 2 words at a time.  He cooperates and is receptive to repeating words and sounds which is a good sign.  I'll give it until late fall.  If he's not improving, I'll contact a private speech therapist that our medical insurance will pay for.  They don't have as low of standards so he has a better chance of qualifying for speech therapy if needed.

I'm not trying to push something that's not there.  I just want M to have the best possible chance to learn all he needs now at an early age and before he starts school, than for a delay that goes untreated to cause problems once he's in school.  My husband and I were in the middle about whether he really needed a speech evaluation anyway.  But since the pediatrician recommended it, we thought why not.  They are trained in this and can give us a good marker as where he is at.  So we will see what the next few months show as far as M learning to talk.  Hopefully he won't need speech therapy at all and we can just continue working with him at home like we already are.

I guess the success part of this story is that M did his best and we learned some new ways to work with him.  Oh and I successfully brought him to his evaluation with his cousin L.  She wanted to answer the questions and play the games too so that was tricky but we did it.

*for the record, my 30-day challenge is on day 11.

What gives?!

Okay so the last two days I've been too exhausted to get up in the morning.  Well two things - first I just need to get my butt out of bed and get moving because I will wake up and it will be worth it.  Then, last night I was determined to get up this morning.  Did I?  Nope.  Not a chance.  Our 6 year old ended up coming down and sleeping on the couch.  Drat.  *snaps fingers with a disappointed motion* Oh well, I can try tomorrow.  On the upside, I have been watching what I eat and not skipping meals and that has helped. I'm still not happy with the reading on the scale (boo)  but I blame the weekend at family camp.  Never do I eat that much food at each meal.  5 meals of food food food.  The food is yummy but, man alive, it's a lot!

M had a couple speech evaluations this week and my next post will be about that.  TTFN!

someone got the camera

I haven't posted a picture in awhile so I thought I would post some picture of M when he snuck the camera from off the kitchen counter.  Looks like he had fun...

blah blah blah

Day 8.

Dear Diary,
Today is day 8.  I didn't not get up to workout.  I was just so tired.  Like so tired that when I went upstairs to get hubby's coffee and lunch, I had to stop and rest at the counter for a minute.  I poured his coffee and then I went to get myself some cheerios.  I was wiped out.  All I wanted to do was sit.  Where's my energy?  This is not good.  Hopefully this lack of energy and wiped out feeling goes away, other wise my 30 day challenge will end up being a  5 day challenge.

Yesterday as I was writing,  I had so much to write about and now I can't remember any of it.  One post will be about family camp, but the rest of what I thought about is gone.  Oh well.  Must've not been too great then.

Signing off from the most boring post ever.

I'm a wimp

Yep, day 8 and I wimped out.  Well, it's my fault really.  I stayed up reading until nearly midnight and the alarm was set for 5 am.  Not a good combination.  I feel a smidge of a migraine coming on too, and I've been really good about not needing to always take my relpax.  I guess part of me didn't want to overdue myself and make the migraine worse.  (More of me - like 72 % was just plain ol' tired).  I shut the alarm off and snuggled in next to my hubby.  So day 8 - rest day.  Tomorrow I will work out so I need to go to bed early.  I'm not too happy with the scale right now, but I'm trying to convince myself that some of the gain is muscle from the last few workouts.  Yeah, that's it.  Lots more to write about but I need jump in the shower.  Have a happy day!

day 7 - barely

Well, day 7 was a little tough.  I didn't want to get up so I dozed off after I shut the alarm off.  I woke up 20 minutes later determined to workout.  Only when I got out of bed and dressed, I was so tired.  I grabbed a glass of water and set out to complete day 7.  Only because I knew it would be disappointing to me to have to write this and say I didn't workout.  

To be honest, I only completed 13 of 17 exercises.  I skipped jump lunges, because I just didn't have the energy to do those.  They really are physically draining.  I also skipped the running activity that included high knees ( similar to marching) and the kick ups that I mentioned the other day.  Yuck!  I burned about 81 calories in 16 minutes.  I barely broke a sweat but that's because I didn't really get my cardio workout in, since the exercises that I skipped were the cardio ones.  Oh well.  I did it though.

I might not be burning tons of calories in my workout but I am toning and shaping my muscles and muscle burns more calories than fat, so as I build my muscle I'll burn more calories.  My goal with this 30-day challenge is to get in the habit of working out each day.

This past weekend our family was at our church family camp.  It was such a great time with friends and the kids had a blast!  I realized that with all the walking up and down hills and stairs and just all over was really a workout in disguise so that was nice.  The food is so good though, I don't know if I actually lost any weight.  I pretty much stayed the same.  I will have a post about our time at family camp later.

Have happy day!

singin in the rain!

Well, not really.  How about playing, laughing, running, screaming and jumping in the rain?  Yes that's much better.  I've been working on being more intentional with my children.  Something that doesn't come natural to me.  I let myself get distracted and busy with chores and housework, etc because it's such tiring thing for me.  It's not hard to let myself go once I'm with them, it's hard to let myself let go of everything else.  Part of it is I'm a perfectionist and everything needs to be in it's place or I feel like I can't relax.  The other part goes all the way back to my childhood and how I was raised.  Neither are good, and I've been working hard on just being with them.  I love my children and feel so blessed with what each of them brings to my life.  They truly are the best and most wonderful children a mom could have.

A couple weeks ago, I put aside any housework there was.  I set aside my book that I was trying to catch up on for my book study.  I grabbed my camera as it started to rain and I let the kids play in the rain.  Then when it stopped raining, I filled up the wading pool and the kids would run and slide head first into the water.  I had the hose on and sprayed the kids as the ran around the yard and we all just had a grand old time.  It is such a good memory and probably one of my favorite moments with the kids this summer.

A Raccoon on day 4 (5 and 6 too)

Yesterday was a rest day.  Let me tell you I was so thankful!  My muscles were so sore!  This morning I woke up about 4:15.  No, not to get up.  I just set the alarm for 5:30 instead of 5:00.  I have nothing I have to be up early for so I figured I could cut myself some slack.

Just as I started my workout - literally I just started my warm-up, hubby comes out of the room.  He was up  a 1/2 hour early so I thought that was odd.  He says to me, "did you see what's in the window?"  I was thinking a mouse.  Since we've had 2 mice down there at two different times.  Nope.  Boy was I wrong!

Isn't he cute?!  Of course I know he's a wild animal and could have rabies.  I also know they live in the sewers and you wouldn't to keep these little guys as pets.  

But from inside our bedroom he is pretty cute!  I'm so glad we didn't have our window open last night.  I don't think he was down there very long though.  Probably jumped or fell down a little before I woke up.
  

He is trying to get out on his own.  Right at this moment, hubby was on his way outside to the garage to work on getting this guy out.  Oh and we had a chipmunk down there a couple weeks ago.  Jeff used 2 rakes to trap him and lift him out.  He really tossed him and ended up tossing toward me.  He didn't mean to, but I didn't know I could scream so loudly and so high pitched!  The chipmunk wasn't harmed in anyway.  He wasn't even scared.  He just sat there under the bush.  So back to operation Raccoon. 

You can kind of see the ladder on the left side of the picture.  Jeff put a 4 foot ladder down into the well (and ran away).  Here the raccoon was looking at me through the window and I was telling him that we were trying to help him.  I also was explaining (to a raccoon mind you - through a closed window) how he needs to climb up the ladder and go home to his family.  Then I started to wonder what to do to get him out if he would climb the ladder.  I wouldn't want to call anyone who would hurt him.  We have a nature center nearby.  I would've called them and asked them to help or give me a number of someone who could help rescue him.  

There he goes.  He slowly climbed the ladder and got out.  In this picture he slipped and almost fell off the ladder.  Do you think he ran off when he got out safely?  No he did not.  He sauntered off toward the street.  He walked away like, "it's all good.  I planned that you know."  

So I did complete day 4.  I burned 109 calories in 20 minutes.  I successfully did side to side jumps.  I think I might skip jump lunges.  That's where you jump and land in a lunge position.  Those are not fun! I feel good today.  Still sore, but I'm happy I got up to exercise.  Day 5 and 6 will be rest days as I will be off at camp.  Back at it on Monday! 

Have a good weekend!

day 3 and our date.

Day 3 is actually a rest day.  EA active recommends letting your muscles rest a day.  The calendar shows that I workout 2 days and then rest a day.  I am not complaining either.  Oh my word am I sore today!  The rest day varies throughout each week.  Since our family will be at our church family camp this weekend, I will workout tomorrow morning, and then rest 2 days in a row.  I haven't decided if I'll follow the 30 day challenge exactly as scheduled or have my rest day on Wednesdays during the week and over the weekends.  I guess I'll see how it goes.

Yesterday was our date.  It was so much fun!  We got to the field before the gates opened.  I forgot to eat breakfast before we left so I was really really hungry.  The plaza had food so we at a big dog and chips at 10 am.  It was awesome.  I also had an ice cream cone.  MMMM!  We hung out and people watched.  We ran into a kid from T's baseball team and his dad so chatted with them for a bit and then we just walked around for awhile.

Turned out it was navy day so 4 navy seals jumped from an airplane and parachuted down onto the field during the national anthem.  It was a very moving moment.  I was just amazed at the whole thing - the timing, the skill of these guys, their sacrifice for our country.

 It was a good day!  We walked a very long distance back to our car and I ended up with a major headache because I didn't have water and it was hot out.  We picked up the kids, came home and I went to bed for the rest of the day.  I have a wonderful husband who got the kids dinner and into bed and cleaned up the dishes and living room.  Such good man he is.