Weekend...

Friday= I went to Levi's school for his Valentine's day party. He had a great time!

Saturday=Valentine's Day. We didn't really do anything special. We had to take Levi to a basketball game at 10am, then we went grocery shopping, and did chores around the house. It was a very nice, relaxing day.


Sunday= We think Levi has pink-eye, so we did church as home. Then Stephen made the boys a tee pee outside. They played out there forever! Stephen got paged into work. So I took the boys to get medicine for Levi's eye. Then we went out to eat and took the boys to a movie. They had so much fun!

Here is what the boys learned at home church. "I'm good soil for God's seed". We read the scriptures about the parable of the seeds falling on the different types of ground (stony, thorny, good soil, etc), then we talked to the boys about how they must be good soil for God's seed to grow in them, so they can share his word and his love with others, so his word/love can multiply. We then had the boys plant seeds in 'good soil', and make this little reminder, so they can remember what they learned, as they watch them grow.





Here are the pictures of Stephen building the boys a tee pee to play in. They had a blast! They are still playing with it today. (No school today).

Seth....

My sweet little boy is growing up. Next month, he will be 5! Where does the time go?
We were driving the other day, and singing songs. He kept asking me to sing songs, and he would sing them with me. Then on one of them "This little light of mine", he didn't sing with me, he just sat there staring at me. After I finished singing, I looked over at him, and he said "Mommy, you sing really pretty! Can you sing it to me again?" That sweet baby boy! He made my day! (and of course I sang it to him again! LOL!)

One other thing, when he wants to pause a show, he says "let me re-clause it". I don't know why he said "re-clause" instead of "pause", but it's so cute, I giggle ever time he says it. :) These days will be over before we know it, and I'm determined to enjoy every moment and ever funny word.

Levi is READING! Not just words, but BOOKS! I'm so impressed with how much he has learned this year. His last few spelling tests he has made 105, and 108 (he got them all right, plus the bonus words!) He is so smart. He has all A's! I just can't believe his is almost through first grade already. Where does the time go???

Boys and hair....

For months the boys have been begging for "mohawks". I refuse! So I compromised last week, and gave Seth a haircut and spiked the top of it up. He LOVED it! Then on Friday of last week, Levi begged me to do the same to his hair. So I cut it and spiked it to. It made his day!
He went to school on Monday and his best friend told him that he looked "wicked cool"! LOL!

Here's my "wicked cool" boys, acting crazy:

They are so Nuts! :)

Nothin' much....

Nothin' much goin' on around here.
Basically we are all busy working, juggling the chores, and Levi's basketball practices and games. Busy, Busy, Busy. But it's a good kind of busy. I'm so thankful to be busy with work! Woo-Hoo! Thank you Lord!

The weather has been beautiful! It was in the 70's over the weekend, and sunny. Since then we've been in the 60's, and will be in the 70's again by Friday (and for the whole weekend!). Yippy! I love this sunny, beautiful weather. It just makes you feel so energized, and refreshed. LOVE IT!!! :)

We did watch a good movie the other night. It was called "An Unfinished Life". It had Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, and JLo. It was sooooo Good! We were laughing out loud, and it was such a wonderful heartwarming story of friendship, forgiveness, and love. We really enjoyed it!

Ok, I'm out of things to tell you, so I'm going to go put the boys in bed. Later!

Half Marathon

My Mom called me today, to see if I was interested in being in a Half Marathon with my Aunt Linda and my Cousin Taran, in May. Of course I said Yes!!! I can't wait! I've always wanted to do a Marathon, or Half-Marathon, and here is my chance. Woo-Hoo!!!! :)

back to school

Most of the ice melted off yesterday afternoon, so it was back to school today. Yea! :)

Ice=No School

No School today, due to all the ICE we got last night. It's so nasty outside. It's supposed to warm up and it's supposed to melt this afternoon, which is good because I have to go do an appraisal. But they are talking about it all becoming ice again overnight. Yuk.
The boys sure had fun playing in the ice this morning though. They were out there slipping and sliding on everything! :) Then they came in and warmed up with some Hot Chocolate.

Long time, no talk....

Sorry I've been out for so long. It's been SUPER BUSY with work lately, and then the kids and I were all sick also. I've actually taken the past few weeks off, from blogging and from working out. I simply didn't have time with everything that was going on. (Yes, I hate that excuse...there is ALWAYS time to squeeze in a workout....'slapping my wrist for that one'). However, I was in the midst of completing my Appraisal Continuing Ed Requirements, and Renewing my Appraiser Trainee License, and working my tail off (we've been swamped with refinances, YEA!!!).
I don't know how consistent I can be with blogging, with as busy as work is lately, but I'll try to update from time to time.

Levi had his third basketball game yesterday. They have lost every game so far. Poor kids. It isn't their fault though. Their coach isn't consistent and keeps changing "plays" on them...hello, they are 1st Graders! They don't even know what "offense" or "defense" means, much less remember what plays are. Then of course there is the "one man team" attitude with one of the boys. He runs down and shoots almost every single time, without ever passing the ball. GRR! It is so infuriating! When he isn't in the game, the other kids actually pass the ball and try to "play basketball". But Levi is getting better every time, and is having fun, so that is all that really matters.

Oh, my Daddy broke his leg! He called me on Thursday and said he had fell off of a ladder while trimming a tree at the church. He went to the emergency room and they put him in a knee/leg brace type cast, that is hard on the backside and velcro's up over the leg to keep it straight. Then he has to go the Orthopedic Specialist on Wednesday to find out if they are going to put a cast on it, or if it needs surgery, and how long he will be off of it. He is on crutches, but isn't supposed to put any weight on his leg at all. He's been in a lot of pain. He was also having to find others who could fill in for him, preaching the services, until he feels better. Y'all please keep him in your prayers.

That's all the major things I can think of that the moment. So I'm going to go exercise before I have to take Levi to Basketball Pictures. Why in the world they would think it is OK to always schedule sports photos on a Sunday, during church times, I'll never know. It really chaps my hide! So, we had "church" at home this morning. The kids love it, because we make it for them to understand, and then do a craft. It isn't the same as "real church" (which we are missing terribly today), but God knows our hearts.

Love you all!

Happy New Year

We went to visit my parents on New Years Eve. We spent the evening at their house, cuddled up on the couch watching movies. It was so nice and relaxing (and safe from all of the drunk drivers on the roads). We actually went to bed at 11:45pm, to the sound of fireworks people were shooting off. We at least gave each other a kiss before we went to sleep. LOL! :) I didn't have any desire to stay up any later. I was dead tired and couldn't wait to cuddle up next to my husband and just go to sleep.
We spent about 4 days with Mom and Dad. While we were there, my dad and Stephen went squirrel hunting. They had so much fun together. They got 10! Wow! while they were doing that, Mom and I took the boys shopping to get Levi some new basketball shoes. After that we went to play putt-putt and games, and then out to eat at Olive Garden. It was a fun day. Once we got back home, Mom and I went for a walk in their neighborhood. I love walking/running there. It is so beautiful, and the weather was in the upper 70's. They have some big hills, so it's always a great workout. We did about 2 miles, and half of that was with Seth on my back. He insisted on going with us and about 1/2 a block into it he said he was tired and needed a piggy back ride. LOL! But I didn't mind. It just gave me an even better workout. :)

We are finally back home, and things are back to normal. Oh, but wait! I forgot! When we came home from Stephen's parents house Tuesday afternoon, we were in for a shock. Our fridge had gone out at some point while we were gone. We came home to a stinky, smelly, nasty mess. Everything in our freezer had defrosted. Steaks had leaked blood into the bottom of the freezer and out the door. Frozen rolls had risen and exploded all over the inside of my freezer. Everything in the fridge was spoiled and smelly. It was so GROSS! So we had to throw everything away, and immediately go buy a new Fridge. Wow, what an unexpected expense. But thankfully we were able to find one we liked, and were able to purchase it that night. We got it home and installed. Then of course we went to visit Mom and Dad; so yesterday we finally went grocery shopping and re-stocked our freezer and fridge. What a way to end the year and start a new one huh. LOL!

Christmas at Granny and Papaws

We went to visit Stephen's Parents the day after Christmas, and stayed with them for about 5 days. We had a wonderful Christmas with them. Everyone LOVED their gifts, and the time spent together.

We let the boys make Granny a Picture frame and paint it themselves.

the boys worked on these (the red one was Levi's and the greed one was Seth's), while Stephen worked on the Pie Safe he was building for her. She had been saying that she was wanting one, but couldn't find one anywhere. So my husband found the plans, and built this for his mother. He even punched the designs in the metal. He is so artistic and talented. i could never do something like this.

While we were there, we helped them knock out the wall between the living room and the garage, and extend the living room into the garage.

Then we helped them put in a fireplace and get it ready for the brick.

We also helped tape and bed the walls and ceiling (that was my job), and then texture the walls and get some of it painted. It is going to be so nice to have all of this extra room now. They are going to put in a huge bay window (where the panelling is, in the pictures), and then build a new garage onto the end of the house. It is going to be so nice once it is all finished.

Levi painting primer on the walls and painting. He loves to paint, and did a really great job!

Seth wanted to help paint to. He was very careful and did really good! This color will be extended through to the other room also, and it will be one really large room once it is all completed.

Admiring their hard work. :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve night, we read the boys the story of the birth of Jesus. When we asked them what Christmas was all about, their answers were "Love", "Giving", and "Jesus' Birthday". :) Guess they are learning something after all.

Bright and early, at 6:30am, my sweet hubby woke me up. He told me that the coffee was ready and I needed to open a present before the boys got up.

I'm still half asleep in this picture, but totally surprised! I never would have imagined that he would get me a new Camcorder. I am so excited to have a camcorder again! Ours broke about 2-3 years ago, and I've been missing being able to take videos of the boys. I'm so excited to have one again! Isn't my sweet hubby amazing?!

Shortly after I had figured out how to use my new video camera (thank you for thinking to charge the battery for me Daddy!), Levi got up. He was so excited about the New Football Uniform that Santa brought him. Look at that face! He was ready to open his presents and said "can I go wake up Seth?". Well, he tried, but couldn't get him to wake up. So I went in there to wake him. It didn't take long, and he was bounding out of bed, and running to the Christmas tree.

Here comes the sleepy head.....

couldn't wait to get his new Football Uniform on too.

They wore their uniforms all morning, and all day.

Daddy, taking video, and wearing his new boots. He got me some new boots too! :) We all got new boots for Christmas this year.

After we all opened presents; they played with their new toys, while I made breakfast. It was such a wonderful, relaxing morning. We've just been chillin' and playin' all day. It's been so nice to spend so much time together today, just having fun.

I hope you have all had a Wonderful Christmas also.

Christmas Eve at Nanny's

We went to visit my Nanny for Christmas Eve. (This is my Mother's Mother.)
Mom and Dad were there, and so was my brother and his wife. We all had Christmas dinner together, and NOTHING beats my Nanny's cookin'! YUM-EE!

After we ate, we were waiting for my Niece to get there so we could open presents. While waiting, my sweet hubby decided to take himself a cat-nap! LOL! :)

My brother, and my Niece. Hard to believe she is 13 years old. Yikes! Where does the time go?

My Daddy liked his new Stetson hat. :)

Is this a face of total excitement, or what?! LOL! He was so thrilled to get new Lace-Up boots.

My Mommy, happy it's Christmas.

Here is our cowboy, showing off his new boots.

My sweet Nanny. :)

Daddy and Seth, trying to figure out how Seth's new Camera works. It is an awesome little camera, and take some really good photos and video.

Stephen, checking out his new Hat.

I was so excited! I got The Biggest Loser Families Cookbook, and two Biggest Loser workout videos! YEA!!!!! :)

My Mother surprised me with this beautiful Red Sweater. My favorite color is Red, and this is cut so cute and flattering. I LOVE IT! :) I loved ALL of the gifts I received. I was especially thrilled to see the excitement and joy on the faces of my family, when they opened their gifts from us. I just love giving gifts!

My Mom and Levi. He is so silly.

My Nanny, and both of my boys. This picture, to me, is Priceless! :) I'm going to print out of copy of this one, and mail it to her.

Last but not least; my Nanny, Me, and my Mom. We were looking at my Nanny's old photo albums, and at that moment I realized that we all look alike! There were some photos of my Nanny when she was really young, that looked just like my mom! Spittin' Image!

Then there were some photos of my mom as a young girl, that could have been me when I was a kid. It was amazing how much the three of us seem to look alike.

My Nanny also made us all some kitchen towels, and pot holders. And my mother has a Bath and Body Works 'Lotion Grab-bag'! LOVE IT! These women always have the best gift ideas.

My cousin Taran, and her husband Ryan, came by to visit for a little bit also. It was so good to see them again. They brought us a bunch of clothes that their son had outgrown, which were the perfect size for Levi. He was in hog-heaven, when he started going through that bag of clothes. {He must get his love of clothes from his mother. :) hee-hee} They are so sweet to share these with us. It is such an amazing blessing! We also made plans to go to the Rodeo with them next month. I can't wait! It will be so much fun to see them, and spend time with them again.

blogging slacker...

Sorry I've been such a slacker when it has come to blogging lately. I've just been swamped with work the last few weeks (Yea!!!!), and then the boys were sick...it's just been a whirlwind.
I hadn't even worked out in over a week! Yikes! You know i was super busy if I couldnt' find time to work out. That is something that I usually "make" time for, but I just couldn't. I did get back on the workout wagon yesterday, after I cleaned our house from top to bottom, after church. It is so much more relaxing to have a clean and tidy house. Ahhh....
Finally, I think we are ready for Christmas. Levi is out of school for the next two weeks. We have all of our presents bought and wrapped. And I even bought our groceries for Christmas dinner. All we have left to do is make Christmas cookies for Santa. :) We are going to do that this afternoon, or tomorrow.
I got some mail last week, informing me that it is almost time to renew my Appraisal Trainee License. I have to complete 14 hours of continuing ed (which will cost me $220 for the class). Then I must submitt my renewal fee of $110, along with my continuing ed completion certificate, and my appraisal log. Wow. What a time of year to be getting all of this in the mail....

If I don't talk to you all again this week; Merry Christmas! :) Enjoy the time with your family, and take the time to remember the true reason we celebrate this season.

Yearly Christmas Photo...

Yesterday was the day. We finally found a moment, right before leaving for church, to try and take a family photo. I've been saying we needed to do this, since November, so we could get our christmas cards made and sent out. Well, needless to say, that didn't happen this year. I had good intentions, but something always came up and we weren't ever able to get this done.

Here are some of our blooper photos...

Stephen took these of the boys:
us saying: Look at the camera Levi....Seth, stop "cheesing"....

Better,....seth could you, oh never mind, this will work. LOL!

Then Levi decided he wanted to take a photo of mom and dad together:

Me: Levi, look at the camera, get Daddy in the photo too.....

Lower Levi, get Mommy in the picture too....oh wait, to low, don't cut Daddy's head off...

why do we try to do this ourselves? LOL!

Seth wants in the picture with Mommy and Daddy....

Ok, let me set up the timer, and get both boys in the picture with us....Ta Da! That will have to do. :)

Craft time....

Since the boys were finally feeling a little better today (but couldn't go to school because of ICE on the roads, and Levi has to be "fever free" for a full 24 hours first), we worked on some Christmas Crafts.

I bought the stuff for Levi to make Candy Cane Reindeer for his Class Christmas Party. I figured this way he could do a craft and 'make' everyone in the class something (without breaking my wallet), and give all of his classmates something for Christmas. I'm so proud of him for doing such a great job on them. He even let his little brother help. :)

Feeling much better, and so proud of his hard work on his reindeer! :)

Sick...

Took the boys to the doctor today.
Levi has Pneumonia, and Seth has Strep Throat....hence the reason you haven't heard from me in awhile....
Keep us in your prayers.

Biggest Loser Talk.....

For my latest Biggest Loser talk, go to my fitness website: Fit4Life (click on the title).
I've devoted this other website for my fitness talk/goals/motivation/etc....
Then this website can be mostly just about my family and kiddos. Those of you who just want to stay updated on what we are up to, don't have to wade through all of my fitness/biggest loser posts anymore. Yea! LOL!
However, those of you who are as addicted to fitness as I am, are more than welcome to come on over to my other blog and talk fitness with me.

Getting ready for Christmas...

We absolutely LOVE the Christmas season. The boys couldn't wait to put the tree up, and have been begging everyday. So last night we decided to go ahead and get everything out and decorate. (We've also been listening to Christmas music all week! LOL!)

The boys loved decorating the tree for us this year.

Isn't this adorable?! :) Love this picture!

Levi is so crazy! I don't know if he was singing or if he was going to kiss the ornaments! LOL!

Mom, watching the boys, and thinking I have a lot of work ahead of me (separating out the decorations, so they are actually all around the tree, and not all on one branch! LOL!)

Basketball begins...

Basketball sign ups are today, and practice starts on Monday. Let the busyness begin! LOL!

Nothin' much....

Nothin' much to report around here. Just been working, working out, and of course all of the daily mommy and wife/housekeeper chores that never end.

My handsome hubby has been working a lot, and there was some major stuff going on last week that was keeping him at work really late. Can't go into details on all of that....just keep him in your prayers. It was a tough week...

Thanksgiving is next week! Can you believe that? It doesn't seem like it should be time for the holidays to start again. Levi is excited though....because he only has 1 1/2 days of school next week, and he gets to eat Pumpkin Pie! LOL! He is most excited about the pie. It is his favorite!

The boys are so ready for Christmas. They are already begging to put up the Christmas tree. Levi has been listening to Christmas Music already, and both boys have already made their Christmas wish lists. They can't wait for the holidays to start!
Oh, and Levi is going to be in a school Christmas program this year. It is his first, ever! He is so excited. I asked him what he is going to be, and he said he is a Christmas Tree! :) How cute! I'm supposed to go buy him some green pants and a green shirt...guess I better get on that. I'm such a procrastinator. It's a horrible habit that I really need to break.....maybe tomorrow...(LOL!!!)

Last year at this time I had two great friends that I was meeting at the track, early in the mornings, and we were all working out together and running. Boy do I miss those days. It was so much fun to have workout buddies, and it made the time go by so much faster. Of course one of those girls moved, and the other got an offer to workout at a local private training facility, in exchange for doing their book-keeping. So I'm back on my own....here at home. It is so much harder to workout alone. But I'm determined to NOT gain weight over the holidays. If I can just keep from gaining anything between Thanksgiving and New Years, I'll be happy. Normally I gain about 5 lbs or so. No fun! So this year, I'm determined to at least maintain where I am...no gaining.

Voting, Shopping, and Visiting....

Did you remember to VOTE today??? I did the early voting thing. I was glad to get it done and out of the way, so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to get there today and fighting the crowds.

Over the weekend we went shopping and bought a new Electric Fireplace. That little thing puts out a lot of heat, and is oh so pretty! We really missed having a fireplace, so this is the next best thing. It looks really pretty at night, with the flames flickering...so relaxing.


We also found some great sales going on, so we decided to buy Stephen some new slacks for work..........while we were shopping he said he wanted to get me and the boys a few new things for winter also. Yippy!!!! (The boys were in major need of some new winter clothes).

While shopping, I found this...just look at this price tag.....


Here are the shoes.....


can you believe this?! I was so thrilled! I scooped these up, tried them on, and they fit PERFECT!!!! It was definitely my lucky day...God knew what I needed and provided. My Nike's were my running around shoes, and they were falling apart. Parts of the sole was coming off of them, and I kept gluing it back on. I didn't want to switch to my running shoes, because I save them just for running so they don't wear out as quickly. So these were perfect for use as new run around shoes. Yea!!! Thank you Lord (and Stephen, for buying them for me!)



I also got a new pair of Jeans. I live in jeans! Stephen found them for me. They were worn looking, and had a super cute belt on them. He picked them up and said I should try them. So I did...the hanger said a size 3, and they were a different brand than I normally wear, so I didn't know if they would actually fit or not....but after I tried them on, and showed them to Stephen and he said they looked great and were a definite keeper, I was taking them off and noticed that the tag said size 1! I was like "what?!?!" I double checked the inside tag of the jeans and sure enough it said a 1. So then I double checked the price tag on the jeans and it said size 1...I was standing there with my mouth hanging open, in total shock! I couldn't believe it! So I quickly dressed and went running out to show Stephen. He said that must be why they looked so good, and actually fit! LOL! He's always giving me a hard time about my pants being to big and saggy, etc. Woo-Hoo!!!! This was the PERFECT DAY!!!!!



We also found some great sales for the boys. They definitely needed some new winter clothes. So we got them both quite a few some new long sleeve shirts and Seth a couple more pairs of pants. Here they are showing off some of their new shirts.




Then to top this wonderful weekend off, my Daddy called me yesterday. He was going to be over in this area, and said he would stop by to visit, if we were going to be home. Seth was so thrilled! He asked me about every 15 minutes, when Papa was going to be here...he couldn't wait to pick up Levi and tell him who was coming to see us. So after we got Levi from school, they played outside, while waiting on papa to get here. They were so excited to see him, and show him all their new tricks/skills on their bicycles, etc. Dad and I were able to visit for awhile, and it was SO Nice! {Thank you for coming by Daddy, we all enjoyed the visit. We Love You!}