little me

so

how am i doing with my exercise goals

(besides a little tiny mishap with my foot)

good

i've been really consistent to going to my mwf running group

eating okay

tuesday thursday i'm still working on

so all and all i'm doing good.

not sure if i'm make it to the nike half this year (purchasing a ticket on craiglist)

but there is always

next year.

i'm learning

i need to be easier on myself and my expectations need to come down

i do have three kids

and i'm definitely not perfect.

exercise does help to relieve the stress and help me sleep and doctors orders to help my bones.

life is not about me

and God has so much in store for us.

i'm seeing so clearly lately.

we stepped out in faith and are having a bible study here at the house each week and it's been so amazing. so encouraging. more than we could ever ask for. we have five couples that come (give or take a couple each week) and it couldn't be a better group of people to... before signing up i thought "what if" the kids don't go to bed "what if" i can't get the house together "what if" no one comes, but the kids are going to bed just fine, the house gets put together and people are coming, searching and growing.

so cool.

Photo Shoot continued ...these are for the grandparents

these are specifically for my mom & dad...who wanted to see some more...i still didn't have time to go through all of them...but here's some more until we see you thursday

love you

(bear with the many pictures...)

(my only regret in the below picture is that i didn't have taryn's curly hair down)

dress up and on to the new location

blowing kisses

nolan is such a joy...when he gets tired he just gets crazy "happy"

A couple of my favorites from dress up time
nolan & taryn still learning to hold each others hands

back shot...

stacy your awesome and i'm looking forward to our next photo shoot in november. i'm so thrilled you got so many new photo ops from this one. i think you are well on your way.

Photo shoot with Stacy (in progress)

a friend of mine is an aspiring photographer and so she was trying out her skills on us. we loved how the photos turned out and are looking forward to getting some family shots in November.

more later. for now i gotta run, but here's a few from the photo shoot. i need to edit and put my favorite ones on the blog, but don't have time right now...

(I wish i did have time to post these in order and pull out the ones i love the most...just can't busy busy busy...)

Dylan's 7th Birthday - ARMY

dylan's ARMY party

dylan turns 7

the 1st grade gang (with some missing)
we just celebrated dylan's 7th birthday. we just invited kids from dylan's 1st grade class (kids of his choice). at the last minute some had gotten the flu, nonetheless, we had a nice turn out and the kids had a blast.

mr. montes telling them what is in their bags.
(see the old guy in the red sweater...he walks the neighborhood and is forgetful or something and he just stayed at the party forever...it was so sad...someone had to walk him home...poor guy, he didn't know where he was)
the kids doing push ups
(SORRY TO ALL VIEWERS DELETED SOME PHOTOS BY ACCIDENT)....

learning to walk like a soldier
jumping jacks
first we had the kids find the "platoon" (army men) around the front yard. they each had to find five, but after that they just ran around finding the rest... Then we did the obstacle course, which was three wardrobe boxes with army netting on the top (for a tunnel), six tires from a local tire shop (donated for a couple hours), balance beam (made by daddy), three hoola hoops holding a ball and then searching for shells(just another activity) in water with a spaghetti holder (they really liked this one, funny because i threw it in at the last minute to make the obstacle course longer). They loved it.

part of the obstacle course

next we lined up the tires in a three, two and one pyramid and we played a game called "bombs away" we filled about 100 water gran aide balloons and played a game trying to hit the water balloons in the tires. the kids wanted to get wet so we had the kids go on the opposite side of the tires and had all the parents help get them wet. (improvising is always good)

next we had two soldiers (real army guys) come and command the kids around, answer questions and teach them some exercises. the army guys also brought a back pack of army goods for the kids, backpack, bag, pencils, notebook, bracelet, army tags, pens, book covers and much more...it was soooo cool... the kids just loved it. then we made "thank you" cards to send to the troops with a picture of our group.

writing thank you notes to our troops

taryn just being cute

taryn found her bag as well

102 Posts

wow i can't believe i finally hit 100 posts on my blog. finally i was kinda watching and aware i was getting closer and then didn't even notice i passed 100. WOW.

well

i need some pictures huh.

they are coming.

i just wanted to post and say i'm keeping up with my exercise routine. no matter what. i wake up mwf at 5am and go for a run either with friends or to the gym. so thrilled i'm finally able to be consistent. wait. i'm sure that will subside when someone gets sick, but i'm sticking with it. i'm also taking up our pastors challenge and reading in the morning before everyone gets up.

(check out this awesome message on sunday by our pastor

"Balancing life's demands" by Chip Ingram).

yep the 5am wake up does help with all the consistency.

definitely.

so as this 102 post comes to a close i just want to say things are taking a turn over here.

we are starting a new bible study at our house this thursday. making new friends. settling into the area more and keeping up with a routine.

keep an eye on the posts. we've got a birthday party coming up and a friend of mine is going to take some cool shots of the twins and i next week

(since i have totally been lacking in capturing their personalities on camera).

~shelly

why?

why does a child whose completely exhausted not go to sleep at night? please someone explain this to me. we are SO consistent with our oldest who is almost seven and he still can't calm himself down after a full day. i mean full, soccer, playing, walking down to the school running, playing, walking back. it just makes no logical sense to us and it's frustrating. we are hoping the new doctor at the end of the month can help assist us further. we love our oldest so much we just want to help him. things just don't measure up. it's a lonely process getting help for him. on the outside he looks perfectly normal, but internally there is a fire ragging.

all these matters should be talked about with close friends to have support to get support. instead, we are judged by the actions the outward display of the fire within. honestly, is it unreasonable to request others just to love and care. genuinely. can't we get a break here. we are trying our very best and with God's help displaying the utmost love, but some days like today i just want answers. i want to know "why" a child can't just calm down, relax, enjoy the small precious things the world has to offer.

prayer. we can pray and you can to; for wisdom, patience, strength and love.

~shelly

Honestly a Army Party

Yes it's true we are having a Army party at our house. Dylan's turning 7 in a week.

Camouflage, flags, even Army personnel coming to command the kids around and answer questions.

O'and of course a full fledged obstacle course for the kids to run.

Pictures to follow in a week or so, so check back soon.

Debating on cupcakes. These are pretty cute.

Whew!

i'm going to be brave

I'm going to go out of my comfort zone and start posting how I'm doing with my exercise goals.

I didn't gain much weight after the twins, but after I stopped breast feeding I put on some weight (no one warned me about that). In any case I've gained some weight and am motivated to shed the extra pds and slim down.

so.

I've started.

Since last year I've tried swimming in the morning with the Masters team; didn't shed the fat in fact i started to feel bigger.

so

I started spinning and running; couldn't get a solid routine.

so

I talked to a trainer at the club and am just sticking with running again.

o' to start all over again

after so many miles and miles of runs with friends in bako.

o'no.

I'm going to do it though.

my goal

at least

10 pds and a couple races in the fall and spring.

I've stared eating better since weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise...

(at least what i've heard)

So i went back to my discipline of 5AM (thank you Sharon & Tanya), so i can be home at the "wee" hours and get myself and the house ready for the morning rush to school.

So.

(Tip from a trainer at the gym for consistent weight loss)

At the gym I started running on the treadmill at a high speed for three minutes...then up your incline to 3 and then run for three minutes same speed just higher incline...after three minutes reduce your incline to zero and keep speed for another three...then up incline to 3.5 and keep speed and so on until you just can't stand the incline anymore.

it's awesome today i went up to 5.0 and it's making me sweat like crazy.

hopefully this along with spinning, running hills on the weekend with a friend with help shed the extra FAT!

After a couple of weeks of the above and walking Dylan to school and running with friends on Friday morning and Saturday i'm feeling SO much better and more energized. I'm not falling into the day, instead i feel prepared for it physically, emotionally and spiritually.

HERE WE GO...

I'll keep posting.

cooking light

those who know my well know how much i love "cooking light" magazine.

since my time is limited i'm having a harder and harder time making the meals i(we) used to love.

i've found a great way to make meal planning and meals yummy and still from cooking light.

it's called

drum roll

http://www.myrecipes.com/

they have this feature called "1 List, 5 Meals"

:)
Let us do the work for you. Use our shopping list and menu plans to simplify your family's weeknight dinner routine. With five delicious, super-fast dinners each week, you can toss the take-out menus for good.

It's an awesome way to find quick delicious meals.

try it out!

1st grade

our proud son headed off to first grade last week

boy was he excited (and a little nervous)

he really enjoys school

i can't believe he is in first grade now, wow.

it seems like yesterday he was in pre-k.

they grow up so fast.

(i tried my best to get him to stop for just a second by the door...but no go...)
cute though huh...
what a jump up first grade is

three hours to six hours

no tests to a weekly spelling test

they sure do move them along quickly

dylan on s skim board in the backyard

we love you dylan

~shelly