Huge Work-out

Today I could sing the theme song to "Biggest Loser" and truly mean it!! I did something to make myself feel proud. I joined up at the gym AGAIN!!! I had a blast working out with my friend Deanna!! We also took the kids bowling with their cousins, aunt and Grandma. That's always fun too!! Then because the weather was so gorgeous, I took the girls on a huge long bike ride. I sure hope I can get out of bed in the morning. Also...because our January calendar already looks scary with basketball 3 nights every week, academic practices, dance and just normal stuff...I'm actually entertaining the thought of getting out of bed at 4:30 on two mornings a week to get my work-outs in and stay on track. Remember the key word was "entertaining". We'll see....I know I want to lose 5 pounds by the end of January....so it's going to take more than just entertaining thoughts!!!!

Facebook

I was recently introduced to Facebook courtesy of one of my roommates from college. I did not know how many people do that facebook thing. It's been kind of fun getting back in touch with my college friends. It's been very interesting in hearing what all everyone has been doing in the last 19 years. Isn't it amazing where everyone has ended up living?? We all started out in a tiny town of Siloam Springs, AR and have ended up in all parts of the US. Anyway....that's been a new and interesting addition to my cyberworld adventures!!

Snow Days!!

It's been a wonderful pre-Christmas treat to have 2 days off this week. Housework has stayed caught up...including laundry!! :) I actually have successfully completed something on my "I wish I had time to do" list. Making Christmas goodies for my friends and wrapping them was something fun that the kids and I took time to do this morning!! I hope everyone likes their treats!!

Missing 2 days in a row in December makes me a little nervous....what if we have more snow days in January and February?? I definitely don't want to go to school in June!!! That would stink!! Remember, I have a pool that I get to use this summer and so summer should come early.

Speaking of the pool...that reminds me of working out. Which reminds me of how much I haven't worked out since Fall Break. I'm thinking that for the next 2 weeks I am not going to beat myself up for indulging in the Christmas yummies. I know on Dec. 26, I'll be hauling my hiney to the gym and joining again and practicing all of those things I learned at Weight Watchers last year.

For now...I'm enjoying this beautiful time of the year. I love everything about Christmas. I love the spirit of the season more than anything though. I love how people hug more during the holidays. I also love how when I leave school on Friday the 19th, everyone will make it a point to say Merry Christmas and truly mean it. I love listening to Mix 96....and how it drives the rest of my family nuts between t-giving and Christmas!! (They are only playing Christmas music!!) And I love dragging my husband with me to Christmas shop. He really isn't a scrooge...and he can be the more generous one and enjoy it!! Anyway....snow days are awesome. And it's much better when you have electricity!!

Thanksgiving thoughts

This has been a strange November for me. It feels like we just had fall break in a way. Lots of things have happened this month. And it's funny...at the beginning of the month I was all wrapped up in the crappy election junk, trying to understand the world of school sports, and finding out a dear co-worker has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The latter has put everything into perspective once again for me.

I am so very blessed. God has blessed me with a loving husband that provides for our family and loves me unconditionally. He has blessed our marriage with 3 beautiful healthy children that are growing into loving, caring ,sensitive people. God has blessed us with a home and all the things that make living convenient. Food is never something we have to search for and clothing...well...the laundry room keeps the fear of nakedness away from our family. Health. We take it for granted far too often. Just in the last 5 years, I've spent countless hours on my knees asking for God's intervention on behalf of my husband and other family members. Whenever those prayers are answered, I always stand amazed at God's miraculous healing power. It's not difficult for Him, I know....but knowing that He listens to me and cares enough for me to do miracles...well....that's just awesome. So, I am eternally grateful that God has healed us and continues healing. Family....He has blessed me with wonderful parents, in-laws, and friends that are truly part of our family. Jobs...well....I mean mission fields. He truly has found favor with both Kevin and me in giving us our jobs that truly suit our lives. Our mission fields, aka jobs/career, is the life work that God chose for us and how He wanted us to provide for our family. And...it was so very thoughtful of Him to include vacation time and holiday time....cause we all need a break!!!!

Yet...why do I take this all for granted? I know I do...everytime I long for a bigger house, nicer car, more clothes, or just extra cash in my bank account. I hope that those times of longing get fewer and further between my thoughts of how blessed I am. I guess my prayer is this....please let me truly be content with where I am in my life and let me be a source of love, hope and encouragement to everyone that I come in contact with in this life. And that in my speech and actions that I always point them to my God!!! God truly is amazing.

So...these are my Thanksgiving thoughts. It really shouldn't be a "once a year" thing. Maybe I need to make it a "many-times-of-the-day thing."

Esther 4:14

This verse has been an anchor for me lately. In order to fully understand this verse, you kind of need to read the whole book of Esther. It's very interesting and I just found myself not being able to stop reading til I finished it all. If you've never read this small but very awesome book...take the time to do it. But my all-time favorite verse is found in Chapter 4:14. If you have girls...share this with them especially!!! I shared this with Christen this past week as she was kind of having a tough week, learning life lessons. I think she found great strength....and I did too!!!!

My Fan Club

This blogging is really new to me and I'm undecided at this point if I'm committed enough to keep doing it. This is kind of a funny thing. As I was checking my blog the other day...I noticed I had some comments from people named Ricki, Desi, and Lori. I thought to myself "Isn't that funny??" Those are names of my friends....what is the chance that 3 people with those names would leave comments on my blog? Come to find out they ARE my friends, Ricki, Desiree and Lori. I hadn't told anyone that I was blogging yet. I wasn't trying to keep it a secret. But since this started my life has been crazy busy!! And honestly, when I slow down in the evening, this was the last thing on my mind.

To Ricki....You are the best!! You are the most committed person I know!! When you say you are going to do something....you see it through to the bitter end. You see things as "black/white". Some may fault you on that....but that is a trait that I admire most in you. I wish I could speak in confidence the way you can. You are the one I go to when I need perspective on things. I get really bent out of shape sometimes (like this week!!) easily and you always help me to see all the sides of issues!!! You and I share quite a bit ... from family matters to church to school...and beyond!! Thank you for your deep, committed,and loyal friendship!! Oh...and on those National Boards....you are going to make it!!! You are an inspiration to me!!

To Lori....You have added much to my life!! I like the fact that no matter what....every morning you have a smile on your face. You genuinely love your kids and you get personally involved in their lives as they become your students. How many ideas have I "stolen" from you and you never seem to mind!! Thank you for introducing me to the world of "Cato". You've helped me in the way of wardrobe among other things!!! Thank you for always being willing to drop everything to help or listen!!

To Desiree....Can you believe it's been 10+ years now that we've been friends?? I know you've been through alot in those years...and at times you are still dealing with that stuff....but I've seen you change. Change is good too!! I never thought you would leave PK and move on up....but I told you whenever you were ready....you'd never look back....and you haven't!!! You truly know how to empathisize with others. What a great quality!! You stick up for your friends and you are always there to support them. You can be very self-Less and I do appreciate that about you.

You guys are great!! Though all of our paths have crossed at Justus-Tiawah....we've been through lots of stuff....and we're still working together....I think we've proved that we are not just "school friends"....we're FOREVER friends. Those are the BEST kind EVER!!!! I always remember to thank God everyday that HE brought you to me!! So, thanks for being in my fan club!!!

Red Ribbon Week

This has been a crazy week. My principal has been gone for 3 days...personal stuff. I have a high needs child in my class that has completely lost all self control and of course I have to take him to "Big Guy". "Big Guy" is my school daddy. He's one person that totally has my utmost respect. He's sarcastic to a fault...but truly has a heart for our tiny school. If he ever knew that I was writing about him...he'd probably flip out. Oh well....Here goes....Yesterday, since my principal was absent, I had to take this kid to see "BG". It's probably been 3 years since I've taken a behavior issue to him...so I was reminded quickly what I'd been missing. He's yelling, slamming his fist on the desk, etc...called the parent and told this kid "your mama wants to talk to you." This kiddo doesn't speak when he's handed the phone....and so I mouthed to him "Say Hello." This kid finally said "Beep....you may start talking now" to his mom. I thought "BG" was going to climb over the desk and get this kid....and all I could do was look away because I was laughing (on the inside of course).

Anyway...that is just one of many incidents that has happened this week...and it's only Wednesday. I found out that this one teacher that teaches Special Ed in the afternoons/ PK in the a.m. is dropping the Sped and only teaching half days now in the morning. It doesn't really affect me, except most of the kids she has in her p.m. class are in my class. That was "rocking my world" yesterday.

Always on Red Ribbon Week we get to have theme dress days. So...guess what?? That's our ticket to wear JEANS!!! It doesn't matter if it's cowboy day, twin day, inside out day...everyday is JEANS day. And guess what?? Nobody says anything!!! I think it's kinda funny that something as trivial as attire really puts a teacher in a fun mood!! Seriously....does it really matter if I wear Nikes or Mary Jane's?? Does it impact the learning of the child to any degree if I wear something comfy or something dressy? Sure, I like to dress up...but I'd really rather do it when I feel like it rather than only on Fridays!!!!

Well...tomorrow night is another Basketball game....so until later!!!

Working Out

In the last 3 years, I've grown very fond of working out. It's a little bit addictive, very hard to sometimes work into an already busy day, but very much a way to relieve some school stress!! I thought I was tough enough to do the Tulsa Run (which by the way is tomorrow). I began training right after my 40th birthday in June. I ran my heart out. But something very strange happened to me on my 17th wedding anniversary on August 2. It was a Saturday and unfortunately Kevin had to work all day long. My nephews were here from Illinois and it was stinking HOT!! So, being the awesome aunt and mom that I am, I loaded up all 6 kids and took them to a water park all day long!!! Man, we had loads of fun. But the fun kind of came to stand-still when I got home and received the mail. I had a mammogram done in July right after we got back from our vacation. And at that very moment when I opened up the envelope from the hospital I began crying like I had never cried before. The letter read that there was an abnormality and I needed to have further testing done. Of course I get this on a Saturday...no way of talking to a doctor til Monday. I was scared. In the midst of all of this, I crumbled. I thought I was a strong person. In some ways those feelings of being invincible came crashing in. I called the doctor's office first thing Monday morning...only to find out my doctor was on a 2 week vacation. However, there was someone availabe for me to talk to and assured me that whatever the abnormality was, it certainly didn't appear to be anything worth worrying about. That should have made me feel better, but I was still scared. So, at the end of that week, I went back to the hospital and I'm telling you...I got the boob smashing of a lifetime. I let them squeeze down hard until it was as flat as a pancake. And guess what?? It ended up being nothing. That "nothing" was something for me. I lost 4 pounds in 6 days....got about a few hours of sleep for a week's time....and spent much time in God's word looking for an answer, a Word from Him. He held me close to Him while I was being re-examined and that felt so good!! I guess it helped me to put some things in perspective that were kind of out of whack. The working out and running addiction that I had taken on so seriously suddenly didn't seem like a huge deal anymore. I kind of stopped the working out thing. I got back into it last month and it feels good again....If you are in your 30's, please get your first mammogram now!! Don't wait til you are 40. And take it from me....if you happen to get a nasty gram about the results....I learned through that whole process that apparently it happens quite a bit. But get the follow-up done quickly and being very diligent about those routine exams.

Rainy Day

It's a rainy day here!! I love rainy days...but I love them better when I'm at home in my jammies watching a fun movie on TV or reading a great magazine. I love to light my candles (best when lit in a clean house) and just stay home. I'm not a big fan of getting out on dark dreary days!! This is making me look forward to that very first snow day. My friend Tammy told me that we are going to have more snow than usual with colder temps than usual....know where she got her information?? Not from the squirrels gathering nuts like crazy...but from the farmer's almanac!!!

Random thoughts

Everyone is doing something...Kevin is in his library. Kaylyn is sound asleep almost upside down on the couch. Christen is cleaning...she loves those Clorox wipes!! Ryan is taking his 2nd shower for the day. So, I'm by myself. Now I can share....

We have a wonderful family that mostly lives in Claremore. I have a brother and Kevin's sister live out of town. My inlaws are awesome. So many girls talk about their in-laws in negative ways...but I truly love mine. I love that they've always been willing to drop anything to help us in moments of crises. I can't count how many times they've lovingly taken care of our kids when they were sick and both Kevin and I just couldn't miss work. My dad-in-law is a dr. so that has been awesome to have him counsel us concerning health concerns, prescribing meds when needed, and talking on our behalf to other doctors when Kevin was going through crap with his tummy, etc. But here's something truly exciting....when we got back from Florida in July...my dad-in-law hired a pool company to come in and build an inground pool....a fun gunite salt water pool. I've always wanted a pool. Now, I get the next best thing....I get to be the pool girl next summer for the Lane's!!! And it doesn't cost me a dime!!!! I'm hoping to get rock solid abs and a leaner core.

Thanks Mindy for coaxing me into doing this....it is very theraputic. (sp)

My First Post

I've never had a blog before...I've had a diary that only I read....but this is all new to me. First of all, let me just tell you that I'm the big 4-0. That sounds so daunting to me. Like maybe I should stop saying "one of these days I'm going to...." and just do it!! I've learned alot about myself these past few months....at the end of my "thirties".

My son is going to be 14 tomorrow. This day 14 years ago I had a very surprising conversation with my Grandpa. The only one I ever knew and the only great that my children never knew. He was at the beginning of alzheimer's when he called me 14 years ago. He told me I better have those bags packed and ready cause you never know when that baby will be born....I told him I had a good month left!!! How did he know that I was going to be in the hospital just a few hours from then?? My water broke at midnight....my wonderful husband thought I had wet the bed!!! Whatever!!! 18 hours and many drugs later, I gave birth to Ryan!! What an amazing joy to give birth....but how very special it is the first time around. Until next time.....

Ready. Set. Blog!

I know you have some great things to talk about...so start blogging! :) I can't wait to read it.