Confession Time

I love the "Free Credit Report . Com" commercials.

They make me wanna dance. Seriously. It's a shame.

And in an attempt to make myself look less ridiculous, I am going to tell you a secret.

My husband goes around singing "Priceline Negotiator" at random moments in our home.

Now that is RIDICULOUS. And I wish I had it on video to share with you all. Hmmmm....maybe I'll make that happen.

Here it is...............................

The following photo HAS NOT been digitally enhanced nor Photo Shopped. It IS an actual true life photo of me less about 8 inches of hair that would normally be there. I post this photo because all of my friends have been asking to see pics of my new do. I think they thought by "short" I meant just above my shoulder blades. Afterall, most of my friends have known me since my hair flirted with my pant loops. And I'm quite sure that some of these friends won't actually believe I went through with this until they see me in person and actually run their fingers through it. I should have probably crossed this bridge a long time ago but as we all know I have a perfectly round basketball face and we do not need to accentuate my cheek muscles ( I have cheek muscles insted of cheekbones...sad but true ) =).

Slow down........................

Thanksgiving is getting so close, I can taste the cranberry sauce.
And I just started to think about everything I do have to be thankful for. Sometimes I admit that I get caught up wanting more, wanting something else, and even envy other peoples STUFF.
It's just material STUFF and it is NOT what matters the most.
I am so thankful for God's blessings and I forget to count those sometimes and give God the glory for his everyday works in my life.
As our world changes, as our human leadership changes, as times get tougher, I am trying to SLOW DOWN and listen to God. And right now, I think he is telling me to be silent, be still, and appreciate what he has given me and entrusted to me.
I am so thankful for my two beautiful little girls that God has given to me to take care of.
I am so thankful for my husband who is my ROCK, my best friend, and my sounding board....God really knew what he was doing when he put Chad in my path.
I am so thankful for my family. My parents are so helpful and such a constant in my life. My little sister always has my back...even if we pick each other to death, we still love each other like crazy.
I am so thankful for a comfortable home, a church that feels like home, friends who surpass all expectations every single time.
I am so thankful for the little things....my daughter's laughing together, the gifts of vision and hearing to take in this great, big world God has given to us, health, hilarity to get through the tough times, God's promise of eternity for those who believe.
What an amazing promise......now that's something to be thankful for.
I encourage everyone to take a moment and look around you....you'll notice blessings piled up everywhere!
God Bless all of ya'll. I love you all!

Trick or Treat

SISTERS : The sweet one and the evil one. Guess who's who!

Aunt Carly and Courtlyn Bug in front of the Spooky Graveyard

Courtlyn, Carly, Taylor and Allie with the Shackled Monster

Dee (Tickled Pink ) , Taylor, Me, Allie, Carly, Hannah, Tim and Courtlyn posing in our finest

Our beautiful Goblin Girls : Taylor as Spiderella, Allie the Vampire, and Hannah the VERY scary ghost!

Spiderella and her mommy.

Hanging out in the Graveyard, resting our weary bones.

So.......have you been wondering what in the world I am?

Well, I am.......

" A little blue but I'm trying to look at the world through rose colored glasses. "

My Underworld Family

My cute little ladybug. I'm sure one day, just like Taylor, she will want to dress up as a scary, spooky monster too. So, I am relishing this sweet angel faced baby in her adorable, sweet costume and will remember in about 7 years how cute she was "way back then".

My beautiful Taylor all scary as Spiderella.

Courtlyn and Tim. She had the best seat in the house.

Taylor, Me, and Allie posing pretty!

Pa Beck's ANNUAL HALLOWEEN FALL BASH PARTY :

Courtlyn and her Papa Bear warming thier hands by the fire.

Chad and Dad hangin' out.

Courtlyn loved loved loved to hang out by the fire. And the deal was sweetened with this little temporary puppy pal she shared her seat with. Mean old Daddy wouldn't let her take it home. Shame on Daddy.

Hanging out : Carly, Kerrigan, puppy breath, and Me

( with Allie jumping in from behind to bunny ear us! )

Can ANYONE believe my little Taylor is almost as tall as me and can wear my shoes!

And I know I'm her mom but she has turned out quite beautiful...hmmmmm......must be those good genes she's got =) JUST KIDDING!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Magan's Party and My Cute Kids.

Meet my dear, precious friend Magan - she IS the life of the party. Each and EVERY time. I love her fiercely. She is an amazingly strong female. And we can never have enough of those in our circle =) Right, Mags???
A Jamie Sandwich.
Those two beside me look like they could be related, huh?

Me with Shansheree, Mag's and Steph. We decided our Destin trip should be a yearly gig.

I haven't shared that conclusion with my husband just yet but I'm sure in another year he will agree with me that I am in desperate need of a "Girls Weekend". Isn't that right dear?

Carley, Steph, Me, Cristina, Mags, and Shannon

Just look at my little Titan Cheerleader. We suited up for "Halloween at the Park" on Saturday but we did not last long there. It was HOT. Felt like July instead of October. Where's our cool crisp fall breezes? I'm ready to bust out the long sleeve t-shirts and jeans. Instead I'm sporting jean shorts and sleeveless T's. Unbelievable.

Look at my little hippie. Throwing up her peace sign. Now that is truly unbelievable. Seems like just yesterday I was teaching her to make that sign but it was to tell people she was "2". TWO!!! Plus 7. Amazing. Absolutely Amazing.

Small Update

Today I took Courtlyn to get some ice cream at Dairy Queen for "Mommy and Me" time. As you can tell by the pictures here....I don't think she enjoyed it very much!

Ordinary pic of Taylor eating cereal but looking at this picture, I am struck by how big my baby is and how grown up she is starting to look. S-A-D.

My pretty cute family...love them something fierce!

We took Courtlyn to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend while Sisser spent the night with Gram. She thought it was FANTASTIC. She picked out her own pumpkin to decorate and once we finished with that she wouldn't let me or Daddy hold it for her. She insisted on carrying it all the way to the car. She struggled the whole time but she smiled all the way!

CHEESE FACE.

We also went to Liz and Chuck's for a cookout on Saturday night.

Amanda, Jason, Gabriel and Adam joined us and that was so much fun!

I tried to be creative and make a collage from that night to post on my blog

but I could not figure out how to make that happen so......Jo or Liz feel free to send me instructions on how to make that happen! Thanks ahead of time=).

A little bit more everyday.........

Well we're gearing up for the hustle and bustle of Fall Activities so the girls haven't been doing much this past week or two. Prepare for TONS of blogs and pics coming up because we have something planned EVERY single weekend between now and November!

SO......since the girls haven't been too busy I decided to blog about me...again.
But only because I'm so dang proud of me! I have now lost THIRTEEN lbs!
As you can see in the pic above, Chad and I are withering away....now he has me beat at a whopping 25 lbs. but thats alright ( he started out bigger than me afterall ) =)
I say "withering away" lightly. Read into that and it really means : slowly working off fat cells and now not quite as fat as we were yesterday.
We went out for a date last night which is RARE and we ate at Carrabba's!
It was NOT waist friendly but I felt like I deserved a treat! And it was FANTASTIC.
I think Chad would agree....except he tried my Chicken Bryan which is topped with Goat Cheese and he gagged for a good 15 minutes. He said it was "nasty". I said he lacked culture.

I'm gonna keep trucking along and working towards my "Jessica Simpson" goal.
I still have quite a ways to go but I'm thinking its really gonna be worth it when I reach the finish line =) Thanks so much to everyone who has offered me words of encouragement, tips, and compliments. You all keep me going!

Update

August 17th, 2008

September 7, 2008

What a difference 3 weeks make. These pics were taken exactly 3 weeks apart. My changes are definitely obvious! At least to me! And I feel so much better!!!

EIGHT POUNDS and counting..........

Yep - I have managed to destroy 8 wiggly jiggly fat cell circulating pounds from my body.
Good Riddance!!!

I have been eating good and exercising - I even went to the workout center twice on my three day trip to the beach last weekend. And hmmm, anyone who knows ME knows that would have been a roaring joke in the past!!!

My recommendation this blog around:

Write down EVERYTHING you eat. It makes a HUGE difference in success rate!
P.S. Don't forget to write down the exercising you do too - take credit everywhere it is due!

Continuing on...............................

Miscellaneous Moments

Well since I'm behind in posting pictures I decided to throw several things all in one giant blog and kill a few birds with one stone!

Courtlyn turned two on August 2nd. I cannot believe my little baby is speaking in complete sentences and making her own choices - she wants to pick out her own clothes and decide what is on her plate!
Her favorite breakfast is Pop-Arts ( pop-tarts ) and she likes to wear her bathing soup ( bathing suit ).


Taylor and Hannah. Notice my little neices tiara....she is the princess she thinks she is =).

Look how serious she is. She can be so intense and then fall over laughing. Shes so cute!

We went to the fair Friday night and met up with one of my BFF, Lucy and her husband Chuck and little boy, Carter. In this picture they are stripping corn and grinding it into cornmeal. We decided now was as good a time as any for them to learn a trade and support us when we get old. They LOVED to play with this - it was pretty neat!

Daddy and Courtlyn on the Carousel. Daddy had a hard time holding her on the horse. She kept throwing herself backward and laughing hysterically.

Taylor and her BFF, Abby jailed with Carter and Courtlyn. Court kept hiding behind the two foot mouse - she said she lubbed ( loved ) her.

We put Courtlyn in the pumpkin ride with Abby and Taylor. Court kept hanging her head out the pumpkin window and crying. One minute she would smile like she loved it and the next minute she was reaching out for Mommy or Daddy and crying so sadly. Daddy intervened and told the guy working the ride to make sure he stopped it on Courtlyns car when the ride ended so she could get out first. I think the experience hurt Daddy more than it did Courtlyn~

Yeah ~ 9 year old girls are sure something! Never a dull moment when these two are together!

Courtlyn is now taking gymnastics. She has such a good time and as you will see below, the Foam Pit is her VERY FAVORITE PART!

On the obstacle course :

Learning how to do a front roll over :

Learning to balance while rolling:

Climbing throught the rolling hole:

THE FOAM PIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at her hair!!!

She jumps in over and over and over. NO FEAR!!