2 sisters. 2 states. 2 seasons.

p90x

2010-12-26T13:54:00.001-08:00

i did it. cant believe it but i did. and im starting all over again today! it really is an awesome workout. here's my experience.

i gained 19 pounds during pregnancy. 6 pounds were baby, 13 pounds were the 876 cinnamon rolls i ate. mmmmm. luckily, it all came off quick and easy and i was pre baby weight in about 2 weeks. at 6 weeks i was dyyyyying to work out and had ordered p90x while pregnant so i was anxious to start. w and i were both hyped up but after about 2 weeks....well, i was solo. BUT he was awesome cheerleader and was such an encouragment to me through the whole thing.

i started off being able to do 5 girl pushups per set and by the end i was doing 30-40. my strength was something i really noticed a difference in.

my most fav workout is by far Kenpo. least favorite is yoga. i would seriously rather sleep in wet pajamas than do it. ugh.

i didnt follow the diet plan bc i eat pretty healthy anyway but a basic day looks like this:

egg beaters and ground turkey for breakfast.
or a cliff bar if im in a hurry....or about to eat my arm.

love a good salad for lunch. crunchy lettuce, nuts, berries and feta. can do without dressing.

usually some sort of snack. eithet an apple with peanut butter or almonds and mini choco chips.

im normally not hungry for supper since i eat a lot early in the day.

i am addicted to froyo. especially sweet tree which happens to be 2 minutes away. i usally get no sugar added vanilla....but only because i require about 3 pounds of topping. o my goodness the toppings. my faves? reeses, cheesecake, brownies, crunch bar, oreos....the list goes on. not all at once...usually.

so all in all i lost 21 inches. not sure about the pounds because the only scale i get on is at the doctors office but ive definitely tightened up all over. i dazzle w with my 12 pack. i kid.

i would recommend this workout to anyone. because u can truly modify any and everything.

peace.

Willow Kate 5 Months

2010-12-22T09:10:00.001-08:00

Wow, 5 months already!!??
What a sweet, happy baby. You have the sweetest personality and its just developing even more every day.

You are sooo happy and smiley. You are still very laid back and content.

If i put you on your back, you flip to your tummy in a second! You push yourself up so that you dont miss anything. And if im behind you, you will turn that little head as far as you can.

You had your 4 month checkup and shots :(
We also had to bring you in because you had a tiny fever and sounded hoarse. No flu or rsv so we're just keeping an eye on it.

You looove trying new foods. Mommy makes it and i love seeing your tastes develop. So far you like, sweet potato, peas, carrots, pears, banana and green beans. Definitely not so wild about avocado. Ha.

You have a "sleepy song" when you get tired and so i just lay you down on your side with your passy and you go right to sleep. You usually wake up around 6 or 7. Drink a bottle, play, eat a fruit, nap for 3 hours, bottle, play, nap for about an hour, play, eat, nap for 3 hours, eat, play, bath, bottle and bed. :)

You looove being talked to and you respond with a big smile.

You love singing jesus loves me with the motions and doing patty cake. Also the game "i love you thiiiiiiiiiiis much".

You take your passy out, look at it, and put it back in. Over and over.

Aunt zan got you a highchair that we call your "happy chair" and you love being up and watching us in the kitchen.

You really love books. Im so thankful that we have so many.

Daddy had a kidney stone and we had to wake you up early and bring you to nanas so daddy could get to the hospital. It was a long weekend but you were such a sweetie and daddy is all better. You wouldnt fall asleep at nanas until she told you that daddys procedure was over.

We got a real christmas tree and its sooo pretty. And momma turned 27!!

I cant begin to describe our love for you. Daddy and i say that every day. Its just "wow". I am so excited for your first Christmas!!! we love you so much willow kate and feel soooo blessed to be your parents.

2010-12-17T13:45:00.001-08:00

im gonna stop putting titles because i always spend too much time thinking of one. cant you tell?

we just got home from the hospital getting an ultrasound of willow kates spine. she was the BEST baby and as happy as can be laying on her belly. it took a while to get a good look but the dr said her spinal cord was NOT tethered!!! wooohooo!!! william prayed this morning and we both had a peace either way. (tethered cord is when your spinal column grows faster that your spinal cord and causes it to stretch and then fray)

i went hunting yesterday. no im sorry, i went HUNTIN. it was pretty awesome hikin through he woods and through big puddles of water to find the perfect spot. i told william, athiest hunters cannot exist. it is absolutely incredible to see the details of Gods creation. we didnt see any deer but it sure was a fun experience.

today is my last day of p90x. i have to have a rest week before i take my after measurements. then i'll do it all over again. because i wanna.

ive been having horrible, vivid nightmares. its really frustrating because i wake up so confused and shaken up because i have to remember whats reality and what was in my dream. ugh. i think im gonna sleep atop a bible tonight.

i stuffed, addressed and stamped a bunch of christmas cards this week and put them in the mailbox only to realize that i forgot to actually put the cards in. so i got them back in time and sat down with some scissors and tape and then realized that i infact DID put the cards in. not sure whats worse, forgetting or not remembering. ha.

xo

saturday funday?

2010-12-11T07:50:00.001-08:00

w's back at it in the deer woods today. he still hasnt found his big mack daddy buck but he loves the hunt way more that the kill. i sound like i know what im talking about, huh?

i think willow kate and i might venture out today and search for some curtains. o curtains, please show yourselves to us today.

yesterday my mom met as at hobby lobby and i got all sorts of things to scratch my crafting itch. shes a crearive genius and i steal my ideas from her. and the world wide web.

i dont know what wikileak is. i could google it i spose but im always careful with what goes on my computers history. too much crime tv.

i started using sauve professional shampoo and it really is as good as the pricey stuff. they even have the aveda rosemary mint knock off. and its super cheap!

i miss my sister like woah. and her boys. jonathan called me the other night just to talk and it just melted my heart. ty leaves me messages on heytell. jj started real school and hes sooo advanced! im proud. his first day of school he got to buy his lunch and he picked nachos and cheese. ha. and another day he couldnt open his water bottle so he was thirsty all day. i just love them so much!!!!

i dont know what to get w for christmas.

making baby food is soooo easy!!! not sure why everyone doesnt do it? u just steam the veggies and then blend it with water. wa-la. if theres a natural disaster of some sort, ive got a freezer full of sweet potatoes so yall come over and we'll have a picnic.

i had a nightmare last night. i hate them.

thats all.

xo

lately

2010-12-09T09:39:00.001-08:00

so life has been happening lately. and for some reason i think i'll remember everything forever and ever but i often have trouble recalling what i wore yesterday. so allow me to blab.

willow is absolutely perfect. im not just saying that. really. shes soooo sweet and only cries when shes hungry, sleepy or hurting. and shes so stinkin cute. she changes and learns every single day. ahhh.

we got a new camera. its a fancy schmancy one and all i know how to do is take a picture but it does take a good one. its a canon rebel something or other. makes me feel all professional when i whip it out.

ive been feeling crafty lately. ive tried to limit my decorating in this house since we dont own it and how do i know itll work in our "real house" but im getting a little restless staring at blank walls and curtainless windows. i love decorating and slowly adding personal touches that just say "home".

i jumped off the edge and got a salted caramel hot chocolate frpm starbucks in target this weekend and oh my stars, i do know what we'll be sipping on when the role is called up yonder. Mm mm mm mm mm. but its pricey so i concocted my own recipe and it'll do my taste buds just fine.

i have the best husband. he's just so good to me and so humble. hes grown a lot these past couple of months especially and my word, sometimes it feels too good to be true.

i hate touch screens. and im typing on one now. just doesnt feel legit.

im dying to go to anthro. 'cept i never buy anything because its oh so expensive and i can find similar things at an antique shop or something.

we got a real tree. its such a treat to breathe in that smell evey day. and im sure all the extra oxygen isnt too bad for us. im no scientist so i
may have that wrong. i am a superhero though. just so you know.

i have one more week left of p90x. cant believe i did it. my partner dropped off the radar at about week 2 but not me. no sir. i'll post my final results.

i wish i could teleport. real bad. and i wish i never had to go to the supermarket or post office or bank. and while im at it, i wish for a money tree and a cure for cancer and brittle bone disease.

you have not cuz you ask not. just a little reminder.

w is hunting today. and my laundry room smells of dirt. it tickles me the lengths they go to to trek through the forest undetectable. they have to take a shower with a "scent away" soap. then launder all their loot in "dirt" scented laundry soap. and if thats not enough, they spray themselves with doe URINE!!!! woah dang. thats some serious hunger for deer burgers.

peace.

xo

Willow Kate 4 Months

2010-11-27T14:52:00.001-08:00

Willow, for the last two months, you change every day!! Sometimes more often than that! What a sweet personality you have. As long as mommy is right there you are as happy as can be.

-you now eat rice cereal. we mix brown rice cereal with a little bit of formula and sometimes some banana and you are really getting the hang of it. you open your mouth for bites now and its the sweetest thing.

-youve been waking up at night for your passy but you dont eat in the night. you usually sleep for 12-13 hours. we try to keep you up past 6 but youre more of a morning girl. so am i :)

-we went on a trip to nashville and were were a little sweetie. you got to meet daddys friend, richard.

-its your first thanksgiving. All of daddys family (16 of us) met at a beautiful lake house in hot springs arkansas and have had the best time. you werent sure what to think about so many people but everyone loves you so much!

-youve become very clingy to mommy. its precious to me and it makes my heart melt. i always wanted my mommy too. i still do :)

-you sat up for a few seconds but we're not quite there yet. maybe by christmas?

-youre reaching for things now. you figured put that your passy goes in your mouth. youre aim will get better. :)

-mommy put up some christmas lights and you love looking at them. wait til you see a christmas tree!!

-youve rolled over both ways now but you dont do it too often.

-when i hold you up like and airplane, you laugh. :)

we love you so much, willow kate. i know you can feel it. and your daddy and i love eachother so much! i know you can feel that too :)

Willow Kate 3 Months!

2010-10-29T17:33:00.001-07:00

3 Months

-you have changed so much these last few weeks! You are so alert and make eye contact with everyone you see. You look at your toys and the books i read to you.

-you "talk" so much when we talk to you. Its so precious! Sometimes it seems like you can't contain your excitement! It makes us sooo happy!

-we are finally able to make you smile. Its sooooo amazing to see my little one so happy :) :). If i walk away and then come back you get so happy!! Its such a reassuring feeling to KNOW and SEE that you're happy!

-you do great at tummy time and hold your head high. You still like to army crawl and you can really go! You like to lay on your side!

- we got u a bouncy seat and you really like it. You reach out and touch the little toys. You've accidently made the music play on some of your toys so im sure youll figure it out soon!

-you took your first trip to the woods with daddy. He took you and your cousins jonjon and ty while the big girls went to the canton flea market. He wore you in the little kangaroo pouch and you did great! I told him to make sure you were warm and he dressed you in a snowsuit :)

-aunt kristi came to visit with your cousins and you just love them so much! Those boys adore you!! Jonjon loooves to hold you and feed u and tyler makes sure u have your passy. We went to the science museum and u got to see all the fish!

-you laughed out loud!!! Poppy was playing with you and you laughed several times!!! We all laughed too!! Now you do it almost every day! Its the most precious sound!

-we had your baby dedication at pinelake. It was soo special! You were so sweet the whole time and you were the tiniest baby.

-youve started teething! You had been fussy (which isnt like u) and were chewing on your fists and then it finally occured to me what was happening. We think we feel a little bump on the bottom. I cant wait until it comes in! :)

-we've got a great routine at night. Youre doing so much better if you go to bed early so around 5:30 we give you a bath which you LOVE, then play for a little bit. Then at around 6 or 6:30 (when your eyes get pink) i feed you and rock you and sing to you and have our prayer time. When im singing or humming, you "sing" with me. I LOVe it!! Then you lay dowm without any fuss and go to sleep. You are sych a good baby!!

-the past few nights youve been sleeping for 11-12 hours, eating and then sleeping for another hour or so!! Its tough being so cute!!

We love you so much and are soooo enjoying getting to know you!! You are the biggest blessing we could imagine and we are sooo thankful for you!!! I just cannot imagine this world without you!

Willow Kate 2 Months

2010-09-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

You are two months old today. It's gone by soooo fast, yet it seems like so long ago that your daddy walked you over to me in the OR. You've grown soooo much these past couple of weeks...

-We think you weigh about 10 pounds or close to it. You're finally filling out and getting little rolls on your legs. :)

-You are still so good and content. You only cry when you're hungry.

-Your baths and your morning massages from mommy are your favorite times of the day.

-You love tummy time :)

-You sat in a bumbo the other night and you hold yourself up so good. You are so strong!

-You still eat 4 ounces about every 3 hours during the day. At night you go to bed before 8 and then wake up at about 12 or 1 to eat and then again at 6:30 or 7:30. Daddy and I take turns getting up with you.

-We went to a retirement home yesterday and the senior adults looooooooved you!! Several said that they wished a baby would come in sometime. You're already doing your part!

-In the mornings after you eat, momma and daddy work out and you love to watch us. You must think we're pretty silly.

-You are wearing size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes. You're getting too long for your newborn dresses but the onesies still fit.

-You started "talking" a couple of weeks ago and we can tell you're curious about where that little voice is coming from.

-You are starting to know who you are in the mirror.

-You don't smile much but we know you can because you've done it a few times. I think you just like to take it all in. You are so happy though, especially in the morning when you wake up.

-We watch you on the video monitor and daddy and I just stare at you and as soon as you open an eye, we race in to get you!! We love you sooo much!!

-We had our first "date" since you were born and nana babysat you. You did you good and slept great that night! We went to a movie but thought about you the whole time.

-You army crawl during belly time and it's soo cute. I know you'll be moving soon.

-You and mommy had a BIG ADVENTURE when we FLEW to see aunt kristi, uncle steven and your cousins, Jonathan and Tyler in Ft. Myers. You were soooo good and slept most of the plane ride! Your cousins love you so much and helped to hold and feed you and give you your passy. Aunt Kristi even stayed up with you at night! :)

-You had your first shots. Oh my goodness, Willow, it was sooo hard for mommy and daddy. Our tummies were in knots and you were so happy showing Dr. Rey how you can roll over and plank and you had no idea what was coming. We got to hold onto you and as soon as it was over we wrapped you up in our arms and held you so tight. You calmed down quickly but we were still shaky. I saved your banaids :)

-You love being read to! You look up at us and it's so cute. We read our Bible every day, I want you to be familiar with all the names and stories and I pray for the day that you'll ask Jesus to come into your heart like daddy and mommy did. :)

-You also love hymns...especially Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know and There's Just Something About that Name.

-"Hollywood" is filming a movie right now on the street that we lived in when you were in my tummy. Very exciting ;)

You're such a sweet blessing to us and so many people and I am so so so very thankful for you. I tell daddy all the time that if I had known it was you in my belly, I never would have been so scared when we found out we were expecting. You are such a gift and we are so thankful for you!

NewBorn

6 Weeks

2 Months

this is jonathan

2010-09-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

i got in a bear fight and a tiger fight a lion fight cheetah fight panther fight leopard fight and they all fought me together but i got all the people in the world every person i could get to help me and i won that's how i got that fracture. the end

i'm a really happy boy i like to climb i like to run that's all

my family is very nice they love me they care for me and i love them very much

i wish to be in the army

um i want to have grilled cheese the end

i know a lot about Jesus

the end

jonathan anderson

Willow Kate One Month Old

2010-09-14T12:07:00.001-07:00

This is almost a month late but here is Willow Kates One Month Highlights :)

You eat so good. Every 2-3 hours. You still wake up in the night to eat

I feed you breast milk but we started you on formula also because I couldn't keep up with you. You like them both but I feel better when you nurse :)

You've been lifting your head since you were born and you've just gotten even stronger. The doctor was even amazed by your strength. During tummy time you love to scoot and try to roll over.

You weigh a little over 7 pounds now and we can tell you're growing. You still wear newborn diapers and 0-3 month clothes are so big on you so you mostly wear onsies.

You are focusing on us now but don't smile on purpose yet. We can't wait for that!

You love when we give you clay baths. It is so relaxing for you.

You are so content. You only cry when it's time to eat or when we change your diaper. You had a really bad diaper rash and I think I cried more than you!!

You've already been to the beach! We visited your uncle Kevin in Pensacola and you loved the warmth and the sound of the ocean. You liked the sand on your feet but not too crazy about the cold water.

You got in the hot tub with me last week (not too hot of course) and you loved it so much. You were so relaxed with your arms and legs all stretched out.

Mommy and daddy love music and you love to be in between us when we slowdance :)

We've been going to the village (our clinic in highland village) more and you do so good even though it gets a little cold sometimes and we have to go outside and warm up. As soon we step out, you fall asleep. It's so funny. You LOVE being outside just like mommy and daddy.

When we run errands, you like to be in your sling with me and daddy carries you in a tummy back.

You get so much attention when we go out and you deserve every bit of it :)

We can't believe how much you've changed. We love you so much and are enjoying every minute of getting to know you!

New Born

One Month

so many things

2010-09-14T10:37:00.001-07:00

kristi from fort myers here ......

i don't even remember what i blogged about last, guess i should have looked!
in no particular i will post 9 things that come to mind....

jonathan had a pretty big deal head injury last month. long story short he fractured his head between his eyes kind of slanted down between his eye and nose.

he plays soccer. his coaches are tough but this is good. in this pic he's the one on the left.

we started school last week (homeschool) and it is going well. he's a smart kid and loves to learn so it makes my part easier.

tyler loves to do "school" to and we do letters and colors and have fun with things that 3 year olds enjoy.

jonathan does PE 2 times a week at the church. he enjoys it and it's so good for him to exersize and play with other kids. we are only doing it for the month of September. ($)
tyler and i either run errands or come home so he can nap and i can get some housework done.

tyler is a lot of fun and loves to do whatever jonathan does. he has a great personality but likes to be grumpy too. he makes a very serious face and can win the staring contest.

my friend emily is in italy on a mission trip for 3 months. check out her blog emilyitaly.wordpress.com

jonathan said some interesting things today as he does most days.

"i want to be buried next to jonathan when i die. since he was dad's friend he's my friend too. he seems like he was a really nice guy. his mom miss dottie showed me pictures and he looks really nice too. so yeah i want to be buried next to him in mississippi."

earlier i heard him tell tyler "you know tyler just because mom can't see you doesn't mean you can do that. God sees you all the time."

"mom i really want to see a mustard seed because you know that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move a mountain."

tyler likes to say things he hears on tv and pretend to be different characters. he likes for steven, jonathan, and i to pretend too.
pretty cute to see a 3 year olds mind come to life. he loves to have books read to him. i think we could read all day and he wouldn't get bored. after we read to him he likes to "read" it back to us. precious!

my sister and willow came for a visit last weekend. willow was 6 weeks old and absolutely precious! so so so glad they came so i could see her before she got too big. we had lots of fun. my friend emily took pics of willow. here are two of the pics she took below. check her out at http://www.dippitydotphotography.com

i think that was 9!
i have one hour to get my house spotless.......
goodbye!

kristi <3

2010-09-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

it's pretty hard typing with one hand so the blogging has been pushed aside for now. BUT i do wanna be able to look back and read things so i'm gonna try. and my sister better too :)

i have my "one month" post that i need to put up and it's almost time for the next one! wow!

we are really adjusting to having this little one in our family and i can hardly remember what it was like without her. it is so incredible to TRULY love someone unconditionally. she can never ever do anything that could make me love her any less...such an overwhelming feeling to know that thats how MY parents feel about me. what a gift parents get to experience. so so thankful.

willow and i took our first trip together this past weekend. my little jet setter has been to 6 states in the first 6 weeks of her life. she was soo good on the flight! people were pretty rude to me though when i first got on b/c i'm sure they thought "o great, a screaming baby" but towards the end they started commenting on how good and sweet she was. duh, its MY baby, lol.

she had her first shots the DAY we left. w and i had knots in our stomach and she loves her dr so she was showing off how she could flip over and do planks and was sooo happy so when it came time to do shots, we felt even worse. the first one she didn't cry and then all of a sudden she realized it hurt and poor little thing cried so hard. as soon as it was over, i grabbed her and cuddled her and w wrapped his arms around both of us and she calmed down pretty quick. the nurses said they didn't even hear her outside the door though. it breaks my heart to see TEARS though. agh!! i kept up with her tylenol the rest of the day and she didn't react at all. so blessed.

tummy time before shots

after shots :(

we had sooo much fun in ft myers while w had a blast dove hunting with his dad. special times for both of us even though we missed each other like crazy. it was so neat to see jonathan and tyler with willow. they were so good to her. and it was soooo nice to spend that time with my sister and brother in law. kristi even got up with willow so i could sleep!!! they're coming here in october and i am SOOOO excited!!!

my seester

sweet boys

hope everyone is happy and healthy
xo

Mommy must-haves...and have-nots

2010-08-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

I researched as much as I could on what things were really NECESSARY and for me personally, this is what I've discovered.

Must haves...

-Medela breast pump. The electric one. I prefer to only do one at a time so the double isn't necessary but that's what I have. It was worth every penny. Trust me.

-Baby bathtub. This is scrazy but as I'm typing shes laying in her bathtub (no water) on her sleeping wedge and blanket. When I need to do laundry I just pick her up and take it with me. :)

-The sleeping wedge. No that's not the name of it but it keeps them on their back and from rolling over and is sort of a tiny ramp to help prevent gas, spit up, etc. It's so co forging knowing she's sleeping on this.

-Noise machine. It's so great and has a "womb" setting which whe loves. I got ours at babies r us.

-Boudreaux Barrier Spray. This was a life saver for this diaper rash. You can spray it every change and it keeps Anything from coming in conta t with skin.

-Pampers swaddles are great bc they have a line that turns green when she's wet. Also the Huggies Organics are good too ESP until their umbilical cord comes off...they dip down in the front.

-Baby swing and Boppy LOUNGER (not Boppy)

-socks, socks, socks, socks. And socks.

-nursing pads. I got the knees that stick and I love them.

-keep your house stocked with one handed foods. Grapes, kasha bars, etc. Also if your like me, I've not had an appetite and so m'lis nutrition shakes have been a lifesaver.

-tons of receiving blankets. The ones that are 36" or larger work best for swaddling. Swell for Target makes them

Have-Nots...(or can waits)

-Boppy. A pillow works just as well.

-I woukd wait on overstocking on wipes bc your baby may be sensitive to one. We think that's what bothered willow.

-hand help breast pump. I got one and it took 30 minutes to get what the medela will get in 30 seconds.

-this may be different if you bottle feed but I've not yet used one bib. Willow doesn't spit up so I am only using burp cloths for random things but glad I have them.

*side note...

This is a personal decision but after a very interesting conversation with my bff Emily, who is I believe a phsycology major, ive learned that letting your child watch TV before they're 2 increases their risk of ADD and several other things by 50% because their brains aren't designed for that yet. That's why baby toys are made the way they are. The colors, the high pitched sounds. Now I know many SMART children who have watched TV and kids movies since they could focus but personally, I wont be putting her in front of the baby Einstein DVDs I got at a garage sale. But I'll interact with her in different ways. Again, this is a personal decision and not right or wrong just what we've decided.

Welcome Willow Kate

2010-08-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well I'm typing on the iPad and I don't know how to add pics but you've seen this little girl on Facebook :)

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since she was born and shes not even "due" for 8 more days!! You preggo girls have ALL my sympathy!!

Well she came early b/c after a routine checkup then a stop at a fetal ultrasound specialist, it was determined that there was an unsafe amount of amniotic fluid to keep her in any longer. So we scheduled the c-section for the next day.

We were soo excited and I was soo nervous all of a sudden but we had THE MOST incredible team of dr's and nurses worming wih us. The c-section itself was a breeze and we all kept each other laughing. In minutes, she was born and we heard the most beautiful sound...her CRY!! Dr Wooley had prepared us nit to hear her cry and for her to be taken to the NICU if there were any questions since she's a peemie but she was perfect!! She was born at 13:13 and weighed 6 pounds even and is a little 18.5 inches. W got to bring her out to see the family and I finally got to hold her in my arms in recovery. It was instant love. I got to feed her and she is a natural. God is so incredible in His plan and design in all things.

We had a great stay in the hospital. The recovery was a little more intense thatk expected but just part of it.

We went home 3 days later and have really adjusted well. W took off the week and is slowly working back to his schedule this week. Willow is such a good eater, every 2-3 hours and is the MOST content baby vie ever seen. She o ky cries when she's hungry. She is getting over a terrible diaper rash and I think vie cried mire than her. I wish so bad I coukd take it from her.

She had her 2 week "well baby" checkup yesterday and they were so pleased. We LOVE her pediatrician! She's back up to her birthweight but my poor little runt is in the 5-10% on her height, weight and head. Shes gonna be a tiny thing.

It's almost feeding time so I better run! Thanks for any and all prayers!
Xo

I C U

2010-07-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Little running joke we have about how the ICU really got it's name...hospital gowns and the way it's impossible to be modest wearing them. That kinda sums up the past few weeks in the Boren house. Let's see, 3 weekends ago I had been having steady contractions so I was just trying to relax and chill out. One of our therapists came to the house and gave me an awesome relaxation massage, w and I got pedicures...and during ghe pedicure I was sweating bullets and was squirming out of the chair I was contracting so bad. We decided to get a couple movies and chill out in bed that night. Well, it got to the point where I couldnt talk through them so we went ahead and called the nurse on call. She said to go ahead to Labor and Delivery and they would stop them. We didn't bring anything with us because we thigh it woukd take a couple hours max. I got all checked in and the MOST amazing nurses work at Baptist. They hooked me up and started monitering and I was definitely having "beautiful" spiky contractions as they called them. I got a drip and then they gave me the turbutaline shot. Wow, if you've ever had one, you know it feels like Speed. Not that I literally know but I'd imagine. It makes your heart race (120ish) and you get super shaky and its just weird. It helped for about 10 minutes so they gave me another one. That one didn't help. I started taking Procardia which helps to stop contractions also. My Dr was on call that weekend so he was in constant contact with the nurses. I was soo bummed when they said we had to stay the night but W was sooo good to me!! He laid with me and brushed my hair off my forehead all night. They gave me something to make me sleepy and it helped the pain sooo much and by the morning I was down to only 4 an hour so they let me go home. The Dr put me on strict bed rest with only bathroom privileges so Williams mom came and stayed with me while he was at work during the week. My parents were in Pennsylvania. On Thursday or Friday, my bf Jennifer came and brought me some yummy soup from BroadStreet and helped pass a couple hours. Soon after she left though, I had a dull ache in my back on the side. I changed positions but just coukdnt get comfortable. It started to get steadily worse so I asked W to call me when he could, no rush though. It seems like as soon as I sent that, it went into triple time and within the hour I wa sobbing in pain. I have never ever felt anything like it. He rushed home and we called the Dr. I tried to get up and could not put any weight on my left side and could not stop crying. I very rarely cry from pain so it was weird for me to not be able to control it. We thought that Willow may have her foot on a nerve or something but the nurse said it sounded like Labor so William got me to the car (not really sure how) and he drove 100 mph to the hospital, I didn't even care at that point if we got in a wreck. He went through red lights and everything, ha! I was in soooo much pain and my whole body was shaking by then. We got there and the security guard got me in a wheel chair and ran us up to L & D. When I got in my room they told me to go to the bathroom so they could test it and when I coukdnt even stand up from the wheelchair they realized how much pain I was in. I finally got to the bathroom and this is probably tmi but my urine was all blood. William hid it from me bc he was so freaked out but he told me later. I coukdnt lay down all the way in the bed and I was still shaking all over and the nurse said that the Dr on call thought it sounded like Kidney Stone so they brout in the drip with Phenergran and Demorol. I knew I woukd be knocked out so I got pretty excited. Withing about 30 minutes I was so much more comfortable. They kept fluids in me but I coukdnt drink bc it made me super nauseous. I kept getting up to try to pass it in the little strainer and then I saw all the blood. Yikes. We knew we'd be there for a while so we got settled in and I let my self doze off when I could. I woke up at some point super nauseous and got sick all over myself. Ugh. Ive never not been able to hold it before so I felt so bad but of course W was amazing and the nurse was so sweet. The next day at some point I got an ultrasound of the kidney but bc of Willow everything was all squished so they couldn't see the stone. Later I decided to try and eat but that didn't go so well but luckily this time k made it in the little kidney shaped bucket...how appropriate ;). I think we stayed again that night and I was still just passing the grainy stuff but no stone stone. I got moved to 3 different rooms and then on Monday morning I was sooooo ready to go home and my arm with the IV was feeling so weird so I got them to take it out. My Dr came in around 7 and said that if I continued fluids and procardia and bed rest I could go home. I was sosososo excited! My parents were finally back in town so my mom was at our house waiting for us so W coukd go k work. Have I mentioned how wonderful he was through all this?? I was still kinda sleepy for a couple days but felt so much better and by my Drs appt Thursday I was back to normal, just a bit swollen still from the fluids. Everything was great at the appt and Willow did all her practice breathing :). Friday I woke up in the night with the kidney pain again but took my pain medicine and by the next morning it was manageable.
Saturday some of my sweetest most lifelong church family had a baby shower for Willow. Since nobody knew Willliam, he was able to come also....he was in heaven, he has so much fun around all women, he's so nuts! :). It was at a BEAUTIFUL home and it was decorated soooooo pretty. I look back at the pictures and just dream that one day is can host something that beautiful. I can't even describe how good it felt to see all these ladies. These are the moms of my very best friends who I've known since 2nd grade. William was just so touched by everyone and after we opened her presents they all gathered around us and prayed over us and Willow Kates little life. I get chill bumps now just remembering it. It meant so much to William also that everyone is just so loving and accepting if our blessing. Willow got some precious things and it feels so good to know how loved she is already.
On Sunday it was soo good to be back in church. We had a great message about taming the tongue. We went on a lunch date and it was so nice to be OUT together and in the sunshine! We took a little nap and then W went to the office to get a lot of things done. I still have to tell y'all our big news but I'll do a separate post for that.
Yesterday my mom took me to Babies R Us and I got her pack and play with some gift cards we had gotten. So gad to have that. We had a lunch date at mcalisters and again it was just so nice to be out. We stopped by Target and the grocery store and I was having some pretty good contractions by then so I was ready to get home. W took me to the chiropractor bc my SI Joint stays out of place but other than that I rested the rest of the day. They got pretty bad thrihg the night and still going this morning but I'm not calling the Dr unless my water breaks. I reeaalllyyy wanna make it to the scheduled date!!!!!! I have a Drs appt Thursday so I'll let him know then ;)

I think that catches up all the baby news. She was 5 1/2 pounds last week and doing great. :)
I'll post later about our news! Hope everyones been doing great!
Xo

mission trip

2010-07-08T10:46:00.001-07:00

we brought our middle schoolers on a mission trip to tampa fl last week
it was a great week with a great group of students and leaders
we stayed at USF in the dorms and had breakfast and dinner in their cafeteria
we divided into 2 groups to do the tasks the organization had for us
one went to FBC and helped with their summer fun week
the other went to various houses through an organization and did yard work
at the summer fun week 13 children prayed to receive Jesus!
at the yard work houses 1 lady prayed
a few nights we went to malls and 2 people prayed

i was with the yard work groups and we had a good time
lots of memories were made and am very proud of these students
they had good attitudes and truly seemed to enjoy helping other people

steven turned 30 on the trip and my creative friend emily

cut tombstones out of black construction paper and had all the students and leaders write messages on them and we
taped them up and down the hall so when steven woke up he'd see them! very cute and funny.
that night we gave him elastic waist jeans and other elderly items

the last day we went to busch gardens before heading home

Weekend

2010-06-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Kristi is on a mission trip but she WILL be posting ALL about her life when she returns. Otherwise, I am posting a "cute" video I've got stashed away for times like these ;)

This weekend was full of excitement. We've had a baby shower in Tupelo planned for us for a while now but I don't think either of us realized how far along I'd be. Since we were there on his dads B-day weekend, we went up a day early (Friday) and had a surprise bday dinner for his dad. We left at about 4 and on the way there, I started getting pretty uncomfortable. I was having a lot of new lower pack pain that wrapped around my lower abs so we got out and walked around about half way. The closer we got to Tupelo, the more it went from uncomfortable to pretty painful. We went straight to the restaurant and the pain got worse and worse and my belly would get so tight and when it got to the point that it was hard to talk, we went outside and called my mom. She said to call the DRs office just to let them know. The nurse on call called us right back and said to go ahead and get to the ER just to be monitored. We checked in and they were sooo sweet. It's hospital policy that they have to transfer me to the women's place by ambulance so I was glad when the nice men let me ride up front. I told them I reallly didn't want to ride where all the blood and guts have been. W followed us over there and by that time, I didn't fuss about riding in the wheelchair. They brought me to L&D and the nurse came and hooked me up to the heart rate monitor and contraction monitor. Her heart was as perfect as ever and they monitored my contractions for about 30 minutes before the Dr came in. He was SOOO kind and it was his last night of OB before retiring. He showed me the contractions on the paper and after the exam and no dilation that it was probably caused by the car ride and dehydration. He gave me some Benadryll to help me relax and encouraged me to come back anytime that I felt bad so we left and went to go find a hotel room. I guess there was a big baseball competiton so the first 3 hotels we checked were full. Finally we checked in at a Hilton and I could hardly walk up to the room. Dramatic, huh? Whatev, it hurt. I stayed in bed ALL day on Saturday to rest up for our shower that night and W was right beside me, except when I forced him to go have lunch with one of his bf's. At about 4, I felt pretty much back to normal so I started getting ready. The shower was at a dear family friends house and it was beautiful. They held it in the courtyard and it was just soso nice to meet all of these people I've heard about for so long. It was a couples shower and such a big turnout, I was surprised. It was amazing to hear and see how loved and respected my husband is, even though he was CRAZY growing up. Boy did I hear some stories!! Everyone was so welcoming of me and so happy for our family. I sat down a little bit but after about 3 1/2 hours I couldn't do it anymore and W knew we has pushed it so we said our thank you's and goodbyes and went back to rest. Sunday we didn't rush and at around 11 we went back to their house to pick up our presents and visit over coffee for a bit. Again, it was so good to finally know these special people. We had lunch and headed back. W had set up a little "bed" in the back so I could lay down but I was so antsy it didn't last too long :)

Since everything turned out well, we are kind of thankful that we had the little scare b/c we realize Willow Kate IS coming and may not wait until her due date so we kicked it into high gear when we got home. BIG things are happening with our business that I'll be able to talk about more later so we are kicking it into overdrive to get some things settled before she comes. I've been taking it a lot easier but it is SO HARD. Especially with your own business b/c it's completely up to you to get things done. I ordered an iPad today so that I can work a lot easier away from the office. Last night, my dad took me to Babies R Us to get some must haves for Willow's arrival. I have everything washed and ready so her room is all ready and everytime I walk by, I get the biggest smile on my face. I sit in her rocking chair and talk to her and I get so excited thinking about meeing her.

We had our checkup this morning and they did the testing on her with sonogram. There were 4 tests but the only one I remember is her breathing test. That perfectly formed little girl took big breaths and scored and 8 out of 8!!! She's 4 lbs 11 oz and healthy as can be with a full head of thick hair. I just love day dreamin about what color it will be and whose eyes and nose she will have. Dr. Wooley said he would go ahead and put down August 5th for the c-section but he'll be very surprised if she waits that long. I'm excited in a way but I thought that since she was scheduled, I'd get to skip "going into labor". Oh well, at least I can say I went though it! So we are packing our hospital bags and ready to go. I feel like my instincts are getting my body ready for something big. Just little things happening that are new and different so I'm guessing a couple weeks from now, we might see something happen. Who knows. I know God is in absolute control as He has been since before we even knew about her.

We start the weekly appointments now so we'll see how we progress. :)
xo

about my pregnancy :)

2010-06-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

Your name? Kimberly

Fathers name? William

Are you still with him? forever and ever

Were you trying to get pregnant? definitely not

When you found out:

When did you find out? December 8th

Were did you find out? I was at my apartment and asked W to bring over a test. The black women at the pharmacy told him exactly which kind to get, lol.

How far along were you? by the time i saw the dr, i was 4 weeks i think

What was your reaction? devastated, scared, ashamed....tears were pouring out and i kept saying "nonononononononono. do u think it's real? nonononononononono"

Who was the first person you told? Jennifer, she's the one that told me I needed to take a test

How did you tell the father? he was right there when i saw the plus sign

What was his reaction? he held me so tight and was comforting me but he was already so excited, he saw beyond the present situation and already realized what a blessing she was

All about your pregnancy:

When is your due date? Originally August 15 but she's a c-section so probably the 4-5th.

Did you have any morning sickness? yes, really bad from about 4-12 weeks

What are your fears? her cord wrapping around her neck :(

What are you most happy about? EVERYTHING...that this is real and I get to meet her in a few weeks and be her mommy forever

Did you want a boy or girl? it didn't matter at all b/c i want both :)

What did the father want boy or girl? it didnt matter but he said he KNEW it was a girl as soon as he saw the positive

Do you know what your having? a girl :)

Do you have a name picked out? Willow Kate

How much weight have you gained? 14 pounds

Have you felt the baby move? alll the time, it's amazing!!

When you have the baby:

Are you keeping the baby? pretty sure ;) no really though, i can't imagine what those mommys go through that give their baby up, what a sacrifice!!

Do you plan on a natural or medicated birth? me-di-ca-ted

Are you scared about labor? nope :)

What do you think will be the worst part of labor? recovery

Have you taken any classes? nah, i'd rather not see all that.

Who will be in the delivery room? since it's c-section, only w can be there but i WISH so bad it was w, my mom and sister

Are you having the birth videotaped? it'll be asking a lot for w not to pass out at all so we won't push that :)

Do you think you will cry when you see the baby for the first time? uncontrollably.

What do you think the fathers reaction to the baby will be? same, hes so in love with her

How do you think family and friends will feel? happy :)

For Kristi...

2010-06-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

So, seester. In case you feel in a rut or just too busy to make little decisions like this, I've put together a few things I think you would look sosososo cute in!!!!

I love this little Romper for you. I told you that you could really pull it off and I think this is the perfect casual one!

I'd keep it simple with accessories with this cute pendant necklace and this simple right-hand ring

And...

These gold flats would go with so many things while you can still chase after the little ones!

I really love this purse but,

You'd probably be more comfortable in this one.

Oh and how could I forget your ride??

This lovely, white Toyota Sequoia :)

What do you think??

*(All clothing/jewlery/shoes are from Forever 21. Purses are from Hobo International)

xo

Daddy W

2010-06-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Willow Kate and I really enjoyed spoiling W yesterday for his first Fathers Day. We got up early and I made whole wheat pancakes with mini chocolate chips and strawberry "butter" and fresh fruit. (why would i serve rotten fruit, anyway. whatev) Then I had gotten him a bag of his favorite flavor coffee from Beagle Bagel and made him that also. When we brought it in, he cried. It was so sweet b/c he really really appreciated it. P.S. The pic looks awful and yes I did burn 2 of them but he said they were amazing...b/c he's amazing like that. Ha!

Then we got him a "certificate" for another pair of 5-finger shoes b/c they are sold out everywhere. And an Anatomy Coloring Book he wanted. It's for when you're studying, you color in the different muscles, etc to learn better. I LOVE that he always wants to learn MORE.

We got ready and went to church (it's been 2 weeks since we've been b/c of traveling) and it was SO good. We've been in a serious called "Sex Talk" and it's exactly what it sounds like. Yesterday was how to be a great lover and it was soooo good and just makes SO much sense. The best part was when he said "some nights are candle light and barry white...others will be strobe lights and apple bottom jeans". wow.

W picked where he wanted to eat lunch so we went to Pan Asia. Sat on the patio and the breeze was perfect and the food was of course great. Company was even better ;)

W has been wanted to get me a dress for a while so we went to the mall to try to find something for me to wear at our Tupelo shower this weekend. We found one option but we didn't LOVE it so I'll keep looking this week.
We came up to the office to put our new chairs from Ikea together and they look great!

We took a little dip in the hot tub (i should call it lukewarm tub so no one freaks out) and then W had to decide what he wanted for dinner. I offered to cook but it had to be what he reaaalllyy wanted. He picked Soulshine Pizza. I went to pick it up and the men couldn't believe he "made his pregnant wife come out in the hot sun to get it" and I assured them that he is soooo good to me that it is my PLEASURE to do things for him. It really is.

He finished his day with a massage from a therapist that comes to the house to work on him. It's this HUGE almost 400 pound man that we love. While he was doing that, I hung up EVERY ARTICLE OF CLOTHING WE OWN. Okay people, i should have taken pics. I am sosososososo bad about not hanging stuff up. You can always tell where I changed clothes b/c they'll be sitting there a week later right where I left them. It's been weighing on me to get this done but just haven't had the chance. I gotta say, it felt SO good getting in bed last night knowing we were organized and it would take no time to find clothes in the morning. I also color coded everything like I used to do so even better! W is happy too :)

We've got a busy week again (thank you, God) and then we'll head to Tupelo for the weekend. Hopefully this will be my last trip before Willow comes. :)

xo

ATL

2010-06-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

We had the BEST weekend on our little work/play getaway. We worked Thursday and I had the car all loaded so we could take off after our last appt. We had decided to just drive to wherever and stop when we got tired so we ended up about 30 minutes out of Atlanta. The trip FLEW by for both of us...no radio, just talking :) We leaded out the next morning and drove straight to IKEA. We looove IKEA for little accessories and simple pieces so we knew we would load up.
3ish hours later, we headed to Atlantic Station for lunch at a little Bistro and enjoyed sitting outside people watching.
We got to our hotel which was where W's CEU classes were and it was awful. We asked to look at a room and W said he could NOT leave us in there so we found a super cute one across the street and we got upgraded and $40 knocked off for our "trouble"!! He had night classes that night and after we realized Atlanta is an hour AHEAD, we realized he had to be there in about 15 minutes to rush over there. Willow and I chilled and then W brought us dinner.
I haven't been doing to great on my little outings these days (get dizzy and light headed alot) so I wasn't sure how to plan my days. I decided to just chill out by the pool on Saturday and he came and visited me for lunch. After that I thought I'd venture out for about an hour so I found a Forever 21 and got a couple things but headed straight back just in case. We went to Atlantic Station again that night for dinner and walked around their little street market. W got me the coolest bracelet! Oh I forgot, BEFORE that, W had asked me to come to his class b/c he wanted his instructor to show him how to best help my ribs. Well, she decided to "experiment" with these little herbal things that you light with a lighter and then suction to your skin. She had them lined up all down my back and ribs and they were like little smoke signals. It didn't help the pain but I was sooooo relaxed. I felt like I'd had a hit of demoral or something. She also put accupressure beads on my ear to help with headache and I was to leave them on for 5 days. The next morning I woke up super sick and realized one of them had come off so she said it could have caused an imbalance and I did the right thing by taking the rest off.

Sunday was his last day of class and I met his group for lunch. He was done around 4 or 5 and we drove to Bham. We stayed at aloft hotel and it's sooooooo cute. We had dinner at Jackson's (a place in nashville i love) and had AMAZING cookie dough egg rolls for dessert. They sound gross but it's raw cookie dough rolled in a thin pastry (like phyllo) with icecream on top. We could only eat a couple bites but he HAD to try it!!
Monday, we were in no rush to get back so we went to the Summit and had lunch (the BIGGEST salad ever at CPK) and browsed in a few stores. I finally found a diaper bag for wk! It's from GAP and was way on sale and it's white with brown leather details and kind denimy and so cute!! We headed home and again the trip just flew by. It was soooo nice to be able to mix work and play like that!
We've had a BUSY week since we've been back in the office! Yesterday I was on our bank account page and saw some weird transactions and realized someone in GEORGIA was using our debit card!!! They had already charged about $1200, including a nice little snack at cracker barrel. Ugh. Luckily we have the most amazing bank and "banker" that immediately took care of it. We caught it just in time, thank goodness!
We finally have our hot tub up and running and it's been sooooooo nice to chill out in the evenings and mornings. It's set on the perfect temp so it's just warm enough to relax your muscles but not to get over heated. And of course with WK, thats important! :)

We're going to do a super fun "boho inspired" belly shoot today with my bf Jenny McNeill. She's sooo talented and I can't wait to see what she has up her lil sleeve!!

WK and I are very excited for Father's Day tomorrow! We have a lot of little surprises in the works ;)

xo

Our Mother

2010-06-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

People I'm telling you. Our mother is the most hilarious person you will ever meet and she doesn't even realize it. I SOOO wish she'd blog!! Today is her B-day and we were going to pick blueberries but the farm that has them was closed. Ugh. So we went to Barnes and Noble and so I could get something I needed. A book obviously, not trying to be sneaky.

We park the car and there's a car in front of us with a hole in the front bumper and I asked her how she thought it got there. She said, oh a deer mustve stopped it with it's hoove. Yes, that must be what happened.

Then inside theres a man giving his sales pitch to a woman in starbucks and my mom says, I'm gonna go whisper in that womans ear "Everything he is saying to you is complete BONK!". What in the world is bonk anyway? LoL.

Then as we were walking out, she asked me what was "clattering" in my purse. I told her to guess and she says, Malted Milk Balls in a Tupperware. It was Tylenol but the other would have been so much more reasonable.

Seriously, my stomach hurts after being with her b/c it's one thing after the other that is so stinking funny. I love her.

questions from kimberly to kristi

2010-06-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

What did you last pay for with cash? sprite for the boys yesterday

What color is your toenail polish and why did you pick it? it's like a rusty brownish color. sounds ugly huh?! i picked it because i think my sister had the same color. but now i'm ready to go back to red or something brighter

Post the most recent picture you uploaded and explain.

i'm a little behind on uploading pics but this was when jonathan had pink eye and we used the miracle clay to see if it would help. and it DID!!! he woke up completely fine!!!

Do you ever wish you could have press on and peel off skin? No? Okay, nevermind.
haha yep my answer would be heck no!

Say something inspiring to me.
take it one day at a time, whatever it may be. and if that's too much take it one hour at a time or even set the timer for
20 minutes at a time...........

Do you get in the water at the beach?
only to my knees because it's creepy not being able to see what's underneath.

Did JJ make any rules (or requests) for you lately? Did you obey?
on tuesday he requested that next day (wed.) i not do ANY house work and that i could play with them all day. i DID obey!!

Has JJ had any new hair do's?
after his shower yesterday he combed it like superman. today at lunch he looked in the mirror and made his hair look "handsome" and he said "if river saw me i bet she would like me"

Does Ty ever say he has a baby in his tummy?
yes almost every day

Has Ty ever said you had a certain food on you? LoL.
shut up!!!

Whats the last movie you saw at home? Did you like it?
7 pounds. yes i really liked it and you need to see it!

kristi

Elvis

2010-06-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the annual ELVIS FEST in my boys hometown of Tupelo, MS. Even though a lot of our family lives there, I've never been so I was pretty excited to go and meet a lot more of w's friends. His sister, Melinda and nephew Ben came into town on Thursday from Dallas and stayed the night with us. His mom and stepdad also drove in for dinner. Since I don't have matching dishes (ha!) I decided not to cook and we went for some Asian Fusion. YUM, everyone loved it! Melinda and Ben headed out Friday afternoon and we headed out early Saturday. The parade started at 10 and by the time we arrived at 10:30 it was over so we found Melinda and W's dad and walked around for a bit. It was SO hot out so we decided to cool off for a bit at "The Ice House". This is an old ice distribution company that W worked for as a teenager and the owner is a dear family friend that has turned it into sort of a venue for the locals to hang out/entertain. They had performers all day and yummy BBQ. It seemed like everyone was connected in some way and they made me feel so welcome. Melinda and I went for a little shopping excursion at Reed's and then it was nap time for everyone :) We got a hotel right down the street so we crashed for several hours until we went back to The Ice House that night. Ben ended up getting sick (thanks to uncle w's icecream eating challenge) so he and Melinda stayed in. Some other life long friends were able to join us and it was SO nice to sit around a visit with them and enjoy the music. W's dad even sang a couple of songs. He was quite the traveling performer back in the day! It was after midnight before we left (thats late for us old-timers) so we had no problem crashing that night. Sunday we brought breakfast over to his dads and then headed home. We went the Trace and just took our time to enjoy eachother and the scenery. W even stopped to pick me wildflowers. They are my absolute favorite and I think it's so strange that someone would rather buy flowers than get them from nature. :) When we got home, I felt like i'd been hit by a truck so we had a really nice evening at home relaxing.
Monday was back to the grind and we're so thankful we have a FULL week!! It's a short week though b/c we leave Thursday afternoon for Atlanta where he has CEU's. I think it's Continued Educational Units? He has to have a certain amount every year so it's nice to get them done before Willow arrives.
Speaking of Willow Kate, we had a GREAT report from the Dr. He was very pleased and I don't have to go every week anymore!! It was soooo neat to see her this time b/c she had hiccups while the sono was on her. It was soooo stinkin cute!!!!! And for the first time, I noticed her chubby little cheeks. We got to see her straight on and it wasn't as creepy this time now that she has more fat on her. Before she was just skeleton and it looked weird :) She been good and I've only been crampy twice but it was after having a full day! She gets hiccups at least twice a dat and its soooooo amazing to watch my belly twitch and know that it is my daughter in there!! We can not wait to hold her!!
We have enough situated for me to feel good about her coming home. I mainly wanted her carseat/stroller, blankets and onesies but we also have her stroller,swing, bathtub and lots of cute outfits for her and her essentials like diapers, wipes, baby shampoo, etc. I'm not worrying about having things we can get later like a highchair or bumbo b/c i know it will be a while before she can even use those. I think I'm gonna pack our hospital bag this week just to be safe :)
I think thats all...now going to decide what to make for dinner....

xoxo

questions for kimberly

2010-06-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

what did you eat for dinner tonight?
beans. duh. then i had cantaloupe for a snack

what are two things you must accomplish before wk is born?
install the carseat, get our washing machine fixed

have you had any crazy dreams lately? if so details please.....
this morning i woke up laughing and w asked me what was so funny. he had been watching me for 15 minutes b/c it mae him happy that i was happy :) but i was dreaming about an iron squirting all over jason from the bachelor. please don't judge me. haha

do you plan on going back to school? or becoming a massage therapist too?
nope. i think it would be cool and i love to learn about it but i'd never have the strength to do it and i would never wanna do it on men. yuck.

what percent of a persons income should they live on? does that make sense?
well, i'm not exactly sure what you mean but i'll answer anyway. you know i'm a big dave ramsey fan so i think your house payment/rent should not be more than 1/4 of your take home pay, and assuming theres no debt i think if you budget all the necessities and add to your savings then it would be...10% tithe, 25% house, maybe 15% house bills, then the rest save :) i', sure that will change once willow is here though! right now it's just basic i guess.

where's the last place w took you for a date?
well since we're always together it's different but the last date we went to we went to sams and then burgers and blues :)

tell us about your new dining room table!
it's a super old turquoisey door i got at the flea market several years ago for the top and then daddy built saw horses to put it on and benches for the seats. i haven't decided how i'm gonna finish the wood though. any ideas?

do you plan on settling in jackson for the long run? why or why not?
yeah probably. we love it here and we have a big business base here already. eventually (i saw 10 years, w says 1) we want to have "satellite" clinics and pilates studios combined. prolly nashville and wherever you live so you can run it :)

do you have your hospital bag packed yet?
no but we were just talking about how we should. what should we put in it?

list five things you desire to have for wk before she is born?
for wk? um, monitors for our rooms, socks, plain white onesies, breast pump (i guess thats more for me), bottles/pacis

questions from kimberly to kristi

2010-05-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

-what was your favorite thing we did in ms while u were here?
i can't choose one....tubing, canton flea market, slip n slide, jonathan doing the kool aid stand, sleeping....

-were there any incidents on the drive?
i don't think so

-what did u think when u saw willow on the ultrasound?
awwweeeeeee so precious, that's my niece! brought back memories from jonathan and tyler in my belly too.

-does tyler get hot or cold?
he gets cold ALL the time!!!!!

-how did u celebrate jjs bday/why?
we were in a hotel traveling back from ms so we gave him a present and then when we got back home we had pizza and key lime pie with candles because that is what he wanted!

-how did u celebrate tys bday/why?
that morning we went to dunking donuts and then to target so he could spend some birthday money from family. that night we went to carrabbas because we knew that we would all enjoy and tyler requested macaroni and cheese or pizza so we shared a pizza and then we saw the new shrek movie thanks to a gift card i had from my birthday!

-what are some cute things they've said in the last couple weeks?
tyler gets very sad when i tell him i'm a girl. he says "your not a girl your mom"
aah they say cute things all the time, i can't think of them right now!? :(

-are u excited to be an aunt to willow/why?
yes because you are my sister and there's something extra special about it. it's like it's a piece of me?!

-did u get anything at the canton flea market?
yes! food, a tshirt, a lsu thing for candles or silverware, and i think that's all

-if u had to work outside the home, what would u want to do?
i would probably choose ortho assisting because that's what i know how to do but i guess a teacher that way i'd have the
same schedule as my kids or a nurse if i didn't have to go back to school. BUT my dream job would be to own a sno biz!!!!

-will u ever go back to school?
no unless someone else pays for it

-what did steven eat for dinner?
we were at a friends house and he had ribs, macaroni salad, roll, chicken maybe? and diet coke

Catch up

2010-05-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Been awhile. But we've been busy. Kristi and I. We got to spend almost 2 weeks together....TOGETHER!! It was sosososo fabulous and wonderful and just not nearly enough time. Have I mentioned how IN LOVE I am with her children?? My goodness, if I love them this much, I can't imagine the love I will have for Willow Kate!! They got to come to a Dr appt and see WK on the big screen.
It was VERY exciting and Jonathan thinks she has an alien head :) W's mom got to come for that to so it really was special! A few days before that, I went in b/c I thought I had another UTI b/c I had a little spotting and so I told my Dr about all the pressure/cramping I'd been having and he put me on "modified" bed rest...meaning 1/2 the day off my feet and no more pilates. AGH!! Well, it's been really hard to obey...to say the least. I would never put my daughter in harm so when I felt tired/bad I did rest but I couldn't be laid up in bed when my family from afar was only here for a short time. So, I tagged along to the Science Museum and various other adventures in a wheelchair...the boys loved that :)

I even managed to go to the Canton Flea Market...our tradition. I didn't make it all the way around, my body wouldn't move anymore but I did get WK a precious vintage pillowcase dress and tye dye tshirt...;)

That Friday night was our Wedding/Baby Celebration and it was so nice!! The best part was the Inflatable Slide!!! Jonathan went with me to set up so he got to be the first one down and he was the last one off at the end of the night. All the kiddos loved it and went home tired and sweaty! We had yummy BBQ and really enjoyed visiting with family and friends! The weather was PERFECT!! We had to say goodbye to W's sister Zan and her family, his brother Cliff and his parents :( It was SOO good to all be together! And we had to say goodbye to my seester and Steven and boys. But Kristi and I don't say bye...at all. Then when I drive off, I lose it. Ugh. I hate it.

O I forgot. While the girls went to the Flea Market, W took the day off and took Jonathan and Tyler for an adventure. They went fishing for the first time and both caught fish!! It was SOOO fun to hear about it!!!! And now that Jonathan is in FL, he says "I miss my new uncle the most". Hmm.

Last week was busy just catching up. I had another Dr Appt and everything looks great. I go again this week.
Saturday/Sunday W was in a small fishing tournament on a private pond and spent the whole day/night fishing and had a GREAT time. Saturday night (my first one home alone!) I spent a lot of time thinking about Willow and being her mommy and just being flooded with emotion about how it's going to feel the first time I see her and hold her and kiss her little forehead. Ahhhh I can not wait!!!!
We've got lots of things planned for June, including a quick trip to Atlanta for some CEU classes for W. I like being busy, that way the time passes faster and before we know it, WK will be here :)
Nothing else I can think of. Kristi's turn.
xoxo

Revelation

2010-05-03T10:57:00.001-07:00

So i wanted to go ahead and get this down while it was still fresh but it will probably be more like rambling b/c I have so many thoughts. In church, we've been going through a sermon series on Heaven. Before the message even started we were singing "Revelation Song", Kari Jobe sings it. I had an aha moment. In it, there is a lyric "with all creation I sing, praise to the King of Kings". W has always told me that when he is in the woods, it's a worship experience for him in a different way. I never really understood but I thought it was nice that he could see it like that. Then it hit me, WHAT is creation? I started going through all the days of creation and I pictured all of the trees, the leaves that have fallen to the ground, the little bugs on the trees, EVERYTHING. Creation PRAISES God and to me among all of creation worshiping God seems like a little bit of Heaven to me and I finally got what W was talking about!
Then our pastor was talking about what he believes we will do in Heaven and he believes we will be able to ask questions. All the "why" questions we have on earth....why did you let this happen to me or why did you do things this way. And that he believes that God's response to us will make us so incredibly humbled because God has a PERFECT plan and reason for doing everything...whether to teach us something or to keep us from something else harmful and that we will feel that overwhelming sense of appreciated to even be called sons of daughters of Him. That really really hit me hard b/c I've been having a struggle lately with Satan and him trying to feed lies to me and I was telling W at lunch that I felt such a release in church, as if I had built a dam inside myself and it was set free and I felt somewhat of a rush going through me and felt so renewed and light. He said he had experienced the same thing. We were talking about the river of life and every time I have felt that overwhelming sense of Gods power in me, if feels like a rush of water going through me and we both picture that River of Life flowing through us and giving is a renewed life.
Also, we were singing "Worthy Is The Lamb" and just had that stirring in my heart and uplifted feeling and our campus pastor was talking about how worshipping affects you but I wonder when that starts happening. I don't remember that happening when I was 6 (the age I was saved) but as I've mentally matured, I remember feeling it. So it made me wonder about things like, does my 5 year old nephew experience that? I was asking W what he thought and he feels like you have to go through certain things and emotions in life to realize how unworthy you are and then it's like you're filled with gratitude to be worshiping God and His Spirit fills you up. It made sense b/c as I've matured both emotionally and spiritually, I am able to have a better understanding and appreciation of going before God and worshiping Him!

My mom and I went to Pensacola this past weekend for my nephew Berkeley's 4 year old graduation and at dinner, my brother and mom were talking about all these stories from the Bible but they were talking about the people as if they were real and relatable. Um, they are but I have never ever studied the Old Testament in a way that excites me or makes me want to learn about each person and why they were chosen and what they came from and what they were used for. But my brother, being a History major and a teacher has this way of talking about it as if I'm watching E News or something. I was so fascinated but also embarrassed b/c I had nothing to contribute. Yeah, I've read about Moses and Ezra and Joseph but they've never been real to me. It really challenged me to study the Old Testament like that. So I'm gonna :)

I think that's all from that but I wanted to write it so that I can go back later and look at it.

This weekend was SO much fun! My mom and I have never done that before...traveled just the two of us and we had a blast. She is sooo stinkin funny and we laughed the whole time. It was soooo good to see my brother and Berk!! We stayed at a hotel that night and had breakfast with Kevin Sat and drove back. We of course made a pitstop in Hattiesburg for Forever 21 :)

Yesterday was sooo much fun being with W all day. We got a lot done but I am taking the affternoon off of work to get the house in order for KRISTI TO GET HERE!!!! They are driving to my brothers tonight and the rest of the way tomorrow. Her good friend, Crista is also coming with her little boy, Kasen and they are staying with us. Yay! So I gotta get to cleaning!!

xoxo

countdown by kristi

2010-04-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

i remember starting the countdown to the kids and i driving to mississippi. now it's happening in just 4 days! the boys and i usually go to mississippi in may and october to visit my family and along the way stop in pensacola to see my brother and nephew. this time my friend crista and her son kasen are joining us on the 850 mile adventure. we are all very excited!

some of the things i enjoy when visiting miss are:

kyotos
mcalisters
science museum
boat
cock of the walk
parents back yard
seeing a few friends
colonial heights
strawberry patch park
seeing memories
canton flea market
walmart (because it's clean and not sketchy)

tyler wants to use the computer now and i need to get the house cleaned because......
steven arranged a babysitter and we are going on a date tonight!!!!!!!!!

later.....

2010-04-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

So, I've had dreams the past two nights that I am giving birth. I feel soooooo much pressure in my pelvic area so I think I'm tricking myself into thinking she's trying to get out. I googled it today and the pressure seems to be normal. But of course I'll ask my Dr. when we go next week. My sister will be there too!! I'm sooooo excited!! And Jonathan is coming to see the ultrasound also, I wonder what he'll think!!? He'll probably think his Uncle William is pretty silly for jumping around in the room..he gets so excited :)

Tomorrow my mom and I are going to have a little adventure. My other nephew, Berkeley (my brothers son) is having his 4 year old graduation, so we are driving to Pensacola, FL for that. I'm so excited and proud to be going. I wish W could come but he's booked with appointments. He and my dad will keep eachother company Friday night though, they're hoping to go catfishing. We're leaving early tomorrow and will head back on Saturday, in bad weather it looks like. Yikes. Praying for safety and a bit of sunshine!

Yesterday, W and I drove to Philadelphia where he has a friend who is an eye doctor there. He set me up with a new prescription and a bunch of new contacts. MUST get better about taking them out at night. I am just sooooo blind that it's a "hassel" to get up in the night and look for glasses before I move. That sounds lame just typing it so I'll definitely be working on that.

W took an advanced Pilates Certification all weekend and he learned soooo much. Leslee Bender (the Bender ball) is the one who lead it and he brought home 2 of her dvd's and we've been watching them at night and I gotta say, they are soo fascinating. Since doing Pilates and receiving W's type of massage, I have become SO connected with my body and how every muscles feels (and should feel). A couple of the techniques he's learned he's been able to bring back into the clinic and although they are sososo simple, they have made a huge difference for people...me included. I'm having some low back/hip pain and this little trick is really strengthening it. He's also working with me, through stretching and massage, to get my robs back in place. They've been coming out lately because of Willows stretching and they go back in so easy now! Even my hip popped back in after he worked with the soft tissue around it. Woohoo! I'll stop bragging on him now ;)

This past Sunday afternoon, we got the garage sooo cleaned out. It was bad but we were able to make a HUGE Goodwill pile (my 2nd one) and toss a lot and then put the rest in the attic. Now, I am so ready to get the inside situated. We still need some furniture. I'm looking at different places, like NUTS (neat used things for sale) for some old armchairs that I can have reupholstered. I need 2 of them. And preferably not matching ones. If anyone sees any, PLEASE let me know!!! We're being relaxed about it though b/c our main priority was to get the office decorated and our new comp, art, etc so now that that is almost complete, we can focus on home more. I finally gave in and hired my mom to come clean for us. It had gotten to the point where I was just too tired by the end of the loong days at the office and I kept putting it off, so my mom FINALLY agreed to do it for pay and I am so glad!! W has really encouraged me to get help b/c he knows how it weighed on me and he wanted my mind to be free for creativity for the biz and things I want to do. So I did :)

That's all. Kristis turn now.
xoxo

w's questions for kristi

2010-04-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

1. how often do you have to cut your toenails? what's the longest recently you've gone without cutting them and how long were they? this is disgusting!! but probably 2 weeks and they weren't very long. like the pieces were way smaller than coconut shavings.

2. what's the best smell you've smelled in the last week?
jonathan's very own body spray. tag :)

3. what is something you can't eat b/c it reminds you of something you can't stand? and what does it remind you of?
applesauce. last time i ate it was when i had my wisdom teeth out with no anaesthesia and they had to cut them before pulling them out, and they were sideways and it was so loud and traumatic but i was soooo brave :) and the first thing i tried to eat was applesauce and i threw up. ewwwwww sidenote....the reason i did no anaesthesia was because it was a friend oral surgeon that did it for free but would have had to charge for the anasthesia

4. if you could make a trip to the sun, what would be the best time of day to go to keep from getting burned?
i think this is a trick question

5. do you think you could eat an entire double down from kfc? (google it)
oh my that is just wrong!!! heck no!!

6. what's the most toilet paper you've used in one sitting?
wow probably like 12 feet?! there was this one time ....... haha i don't know

7. if you adopted a haitian baby girl what would you name her?
this is a tough one because we'd probably adopt a toddler so she'd probably already have a name

8. if i let u go fishing with me would you bait your own hook with maggots?
NO! but aren't maggots tiny? they probably wouldn't stay on very well unless you like smooshed a bunch together?

9. when's the last time you wore jorts?
8th grade but they were from american eagle, i didn't cut them off myself

10. if jj was 17, would u let him date a girl that was 20?
probably not.

w's questions for kristi

2010-04-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

1. how often do you have to cut your toenails? what's the longest recently you've gone without cutting them and how long were they?

2. what's the best smell you've smelled in the last week?

3. what is something you can't eat b/c it reminds you of something you can't stand? and what does it remind you of?

4. if you could make a trip to the sun, what would be the best time of day to go to keep from getting burned?

5. do you think you could eat an entire double down from kfc? (google it)

6. what's the most toilet paper you've used in one sitting?

7. if you adopted a haitian baby girl what would you name her?

8. if i let u go fishing with me would you bait your own hook with maggots?

9. when's the last time you wore jorts?

10. if jj was 17, would u let him date a girl that was 20?

questions for kimberly b

2010-04-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

1. when you were a little girl what did you want to be when you grew up? and why?
a fence. cuz i could just stand there and do nothing. and i wanted to do makeup...one time i even made momma lay down like she was dead and i did her makeup. lol, i didn't tell her why she was laying down though. i'm not morbid, i had just watched my girl and the woman did makeup on dead people. and i always did makeup on my teddy bear. i used to wake up early on sat mornings and watch the lady on qvc (wendy) do makeup.

2. you are well past the halfway mark in this pregnancy, what has been the most incredible moment so far?
it's sososososo hard tp pick one so my top 5 are.....hearing her heartbeat, seeing her look like a real baby and not just balls glued together, finding out she was a girl, w feeling her kick the first time, seeing her kick

3. what has been the most delicious thing you've eaten in the past month?
really spicy fish at aj's. and turkey and beans....my favorite.

4. when's the last time you went to the eye doctor? a LONG time but guess what?? w's friend is an eye doctor in philadelphia and we are driving there TOMORROW!!!!

5. while speaking of this when's the last time you've changed your contacts?!!!!
like a month or so ago but it's an old prescription so i can't see close up

6. when you pee in the cup at the dr for your baby checkups can you still aim pretty well?!
hmm, nice. well i can't really see the cup anymore but yes, my aim is good.

7. what kind of music do you guys have playing at the massage business?
in w's room he plays music that sounds like whales or something but in the main part, it's either on klove or gavin degraw pandora

8. will you let me borrow some clothes while i'm in jxn? yes, i wish you would take them with you.

9. what's the most powerful verse you've read in the past week?
"Now to him who is able to do IMMEASURABLY more than all we ask or imagine, according to his POWER that is at work WITHIN US." Ephesians 3:20
I've been having a bit of a battle with Satan the past couple weeks and doubt has crept in that God wouldn't rescue me from it but He has been reminding me that a) "thieves don't break into empty houses" and b) the battle is WON!!

10. what color are your toenails? post a pic!!
they are redish coral from our pedicure in orange beach. i forget the color name. i don't have a picture.

jonathan

2010-04-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

when jonathan was 4 he committed his life to Christ. very exiting but at the same time he was so young and we never wanted to rush anything. so over the past year or so we have had many conversations about salvation. he totally gets it! such a comfort as a parent. this past sunday he wanted to come to big church so we said sure. we went to worship in studio G and of course he wanted to sit on the front row. another unexpected element was that dr powell was "live" in our service and would be on the screens in the main worship. jonathan listened very well during the sermon. pastor talked about how everything belongs to God. during the invitation when pastor mentioned "maybe you've given your life to Christ but never been baptized", jonathan leaned over and said "that's what i need to do". so in brief he walked up to pastor and told him about how he had committed his life to Christ when he was 4 and now he's ready to be baptized. SO EXCITING!!!! crazy thing is that steven was in the main service because he was scheduled for it. so he missed it, i couldn't text him fast enough to tell him, but i must say it was so amazing to see how the holy spirit worked! tomorrow jonathan will be baptized by steven! jonathan has been counting down the days! it's been so incredible to see how the holy spirit has begun working in jonathans life over the past months. thank you to everyone who has had an impact on our sons life! xoxo

on a lighter note :)
we went to the playground tonight and there was this kid prob about 4 years old and he said my little sister threw up in my room today. ugh! then he was scratching his butt and he told me he had been pooping all day. ewwwww then as we were leaving the little sister had diarreah coming outta her diaper and the dad put her in her carseat without changing her! so sad :(

i disinfected my kids when we got home!!!!!

kids always say funny things so i'll leave you with a few from mine.

in the car last night .....

j - "the delightful children from down the lane"
"all this talking is annoying me"
to tyler "don't you dare bust that book up"
"i have to go potty so bad it's breaking my damn"

t - sees a convertible "look that cars broken"

that's all i can thing of.
gnight
kristi :)

Stuff

2010-04-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Just some things floating around in my (Kimberlys) head....

-I hate pickles. So much. And I certainly don't like cucumbers. My 5 yo nephew texted me the other day (yes, HE texted me)
"i drank pikkle juic". I gagged.

-it's sposed to be stormy this weekend. when there is bad weather, i sleep with boots by my bed. it's smart really, do you wanna be walking around barefoot in rubble after a tornado blows through??

-willow kicks my bladder so much that it's only a matter of time before i wet my pants. W suggested today that i keep an extra pair of pants at the office...and puppy training pads. i might.

-we saw willow kick this weekend. i had my bathing suit pulled up to tan my belly at the beach and i happened to glance down while she kicked and i saw it....it was incredible. then we just laid there and watch our little girl kick for a long time :)

-i carefully choose what my "last bite" will be at every meal. It's always the side-item. When I don't have a side-item I feel like I didn't really have a meal.

-we eat peanut butter and jelly every day for lunch. it's yummy. it's natural peanut butter and sugar free jelly on really really good wheat bread.

-i bought crazy love and haven't started it yet. i wanna be ready ready. i think i will be tomorrow. maybe.

-we got sick on our babymoon. we had the WORST seafood this weekend...i guess you gotta stay in jackson to have "fresh" fish.

-i can not wait to meet willow kate. and to be sleep deprived and unshowered and stressed....this is such a miracle and i really don't care if i have to rock her all night, i'm just soso thankful to be having a sweet baby to hold.

-my life is NOTHING like i ever dreamed but it really is so much better. imagine that.

-i have 5 boxes to sum up my whole life. i cant wait to go through them with willow! she'll loooooove playing with the easy bake oven and jenny gymnast i'm sure ;)

-i get butterflies when i think about my sister and nephews coming in may. i love them soooooo much!!!!

-i didn't drink anything carbonated for over 5 years and i started drinking diet coke when i was about 2 months preggo. don't drink much and i really don't think it tastes good at all but i still drink it :)

-our favorite meal is ground turkey with pinto and black beans all mixed up. we crave it. we are having it tonight. mmmmm

-that's all for now.

kimberly's questions for kristi....

2010-04-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

1. What is something cute the boys have said recently?
tonight jonathans teacher said he was staring at river (his girlfriend) she asked him why and he said in a
sweet voice "she's just so beautiful and i love her, it makes me want to hit myself"
i was helping jonathan with school work the other day and tyler was painting and keeping very busy doing so.
he was really quiet and then so proudly shows me his hands. he painted his fingernails and said "look i a girl"

2. Did you have any weird dreams lately?
last night i dreamed that i went to look at furniture or maybe it was a clothing store.
don't know how it happened but i didn't have any clothes on so maybe i was in a changing room? but something happened and we all had to evacuate and i was naked!!!! so embarrassing but i didn't want to die so i didn't have a choice. so glad it wasn't real.

3. What are the boys getting for their B-days...or at least whar do they want?
tyler wants a dragon and today he wanted legos and a batman toy. jonathan wants a nerf gun

4. What is JJ learning about in school this week? *post a pic
aah i haven't loaded the pics lately but one of his favorites from this week has been about evaporation

5. What are you wearing today?
grey shorts, tie died shirt and a white hoodie zip up thing

6. What's your fave thing to do with the boys (place to go) and why?
now that it's warm i love to go to lakes park, there's so much to do there!!!! and it's only $1 an hour to park.

7. What did you eat for Breakfast this morning?
turkey on a kids flat out rolled up :)

8. What's for dinner tonight?
we had turkey on mini hamburger buns :)

9. Did Ty ever wear girl pants? Please explain.
haha last week tyler had an accident at church and this isn't normal so i don't send a bag of clothes anymore. they put girl shorts on him and when jonathan saw he said "mom let's go straight to the car so nobody makes fun of him"

10. What are the boys' fave snacks?
strawberries with splenda, yogurt, chocolate milk, candy if we have any

kristi

Q&A for Kristi

2010-04-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

1. What is something cute the boys have said recently?

2. Did you have any weird dreams lately?

3. What are the boys getting for their B-days...or at least whar do they want?

4. What is JJ learning about in school this week? *post a pic

5. What are you wearing today?

6. What's your fave thing to do with the boys (place to go) and why?

7. What did you eat for Breakfast this morning?

8. What's for dinner tonight?

9. Did Ty ever wear girl pants? Please explain.

10. What are the boys' fave snacks?

Catch Up

2010-04-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hi. I'm whooped. Not really any special reason...just a lots of work and being preggo I spose. Backing up to 2 weekends ago...

Easter was sooo fun! I always get sad on Good Friday but then remembering the outcome, I am able to celebrate! W's dad was able to come into town and went to church with us on Sunday. That afternoon, the 3 of us went out on my parents boat for the afternoon. We picked up Cock of the Walk and had a fabulous little Easter picnic on the Rez. We did a little fishing and then I was ready to head back in. They dropped me off and went back out and my parents both caught a fish! SO exciting :)

This past weekend was nice also. After church, W had a massage for HIMSELF finally at 1 so I went out on the water with my parents and we just cruised around and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. I met my friend Jenny for Diet Cokes at a mexican place and then did a little shopping at Target for my "makeup room" here at the office. W had fallen asleep after his massage and slept until SIX o'clock!! He needed it so bad!!

This week has been jammed packed trying to fit everyone in before we leave town.....TOMORROW!!!!! This time tomorrow I will be ON the beach smelling like a big pregnant coconut!! I cannot wait!!! This will be our honey/babymoon. :) It's been WAY too long since either of us have gotten away and we already promised not to talk about work. We shall see :) The week we get back is already packed so we will enjoy this rest while we can.

I have been feeling SOOO good lately. I have my 5th (i think) kidney infection of the pregnancy and yesterday was pretty painful but I'm on a different medicine and I already feel better today! So thankful for modern med! My sister has an infection AND a kidney stone AND her pancreas is hurting her so I just really can't complain :(

It's time for her to blog now so I guess I'm gonna make a Q&A for her.......

xoxo

Rest in Him

2010-04-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

"Rest in Me. Seek this evening time just to be with Me. Do not feel you have failed if sometimes I ask you only to rest together in My Presence. I am with you, much with you both, not only at these times-at all times. Feel conscious of My Presence. Earth has no greater joy than that."

That was part of my devotion today and as always, it was not mistake. Last night we went to dinner with W's dad before he left town and i was feeling dizzy and "off" so we went home and I went to bed early. Today I realized I didn't feel Willow move last night and so I was more aware of it today. As the day went on, it went from the back of my mind to the center of my attention. At about 2:30 or so I decided to try the things that always make her kick. I stretched out on the massage table in the back, bent over, poked and prodded and absolutely nothing. I felt the panic start to creep in and texted my sister. She suggested a few things and after I tried that and W got done with his client, I told him what was happening. He was so calm and assured me everything was fine but after he tried talking to her, and moving her, he went ahead and called the nurses at the Dr's office. When they called back, i explained everything and they said I definitely needed to come in to check everything out. It felt sooo bad b/c another client was on the table for their appt but like all of our clients, she was soooo sweet and understanding and was so encouraging. We got there and there was a loooong list ahead of us and it was sooo hard sitting in the waiting room with all the other mommies-to-be and even a newborn b/c I was imagining the worst but W was soo wonderful and comforting. I was a mess, crying and trying to stay calm but i was so scared. He asked me if i wanted him to pray and I said no (was too emotional) but he did anyway and I am soo glad. Of course I was praying the whole time but to hear the words outloud I though would be too much. They ended up moving us to the top of the list and we got in the ultrasound room and the tech was sooo sweet. As soon as she put it on my belly, W started jumping up and down and hugging/kissing me b/c we saw that unmistakable flutter of her perfect heartbeat. Tears were pouring and i was just so overcome with gratitude of God's faithfulness. She had flipped since Monday (our last appt) and so her face was facing my spine and she has her legs straight up in front of her face, so any movement would be on the back and it's hard to feel that. W said she was getting us back for the April Fools joke he played everyone, telling them "she" was a "he" now. I saw another Dr and she said everything was perfect, just ANOTHER U.T.I but I'll take that anyday. I've just known too many people that have gone through tragedies and I couldn't ignore the feeling that something might be wrong. The doctor said I did the right thing and was being a good mommy :) SOSO scary but just another reminder not to take a second of a healthy pregnancy for granted.
When we got back to the office i asked W if he wanted me to take the trash out and he said NO, you are on light duty...you can't even look at anything heavy. So I closed my eyes...har har. ;)

I will post soon about our fun easter weekend but wanted to remind everyone to rest in Him. No matter what.
xoxo

from kristi again :) thanks kimberly!

2010-03-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

i can play this game too :)

1. what are 5 things you want to do for sure while you're in Mississippi?
science museum, boat, mcalisters, kyotos, canton flea market

2. are you gonna look for anything special at the canton flea market? and are you gonna eat a funnel cake and chicken on a stick?
nope not looking for anything in particular.
def chicken on a stick but i'm not too fond of funnel cakes

3. who's the last person you sent a hand written note to and why?
probably to steven because i love him

4. if you had a ton of money, what workout would you pick to do?
i would pick a workout where it was a convenient time of day like 9 a.m. or 7 p.m. and somebody would take care of my kids so i could work out with a personal trainer, and still have time to take a shower before picking up mommy role again. haha

5. what's your least favorite errand to run and why? (besides the post office)
the grocery store. the kids are usually good but it takes so much brain energy to do grocery shopping.
it's gotten better now that i do e-mealz but it still tires my head
check it out www.e-mealz.com

6. what do the boys do as soon as they wake up? do they come get you?
they come to our room. jonathan is quiet but tyler immediately asks for thirsty and hungry. lol
he means choc milk and breakfast.

7. what does ty get when he goes potty?
tyler gets a high five when he goes potty.

8. what is their favorite foods?
strawberries, apples, grapes, bananas, peaches, pears, yogurt....these are must haves in our house.
a few of jonathans favorite foods are......rice, chicken, broccoli, shrimp
a few of tylers favorites....pasta, broccoli, corn, chicken
they are actually really good eaters. we don't make separate meals so they've learned to try new things and like them.
but tyler gags on bread, rice and peanut butter

9. if you could have any job besides stay at home mommy, what would it be and why?
a body builder, ha not really!
something medical

10. what are you gonna take to eat when you go camping?
we will bring snack foods and fruit?! haven't really though about it yet

for kristi again

2010-03-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

i can play this game too :)

1. what are 5 things you want to do for sure while you're in Mississippi?

2. are you gonna look for anything special at the canton flea market? and are you gonna eat a funnel cake and chicken on a stick?

3. who's the last person you sent a hand written note to and why?

4. if you had a ton of money, what workout would you pick to do?

5. what's your least favorite errand to run and why? (besides the post office)

6. what do the boys do as soon as they wake up? do they come get you?

7. what does ty get when he goes potty?

8. what is their favorite foods?

9. if you could have any job besides stay at home mommy, what would it be and why?

10. what are you gonna take to eat when you go camping?

sheesh...

2010-03-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

1. what is your most memorable moment as a kid?
momma making a homemade breakfast for us every morning before school, i wanna do that too. and going to amusement parks :)

2. what was the last "divine" appointment you had?
it seems like they happen every single day with this job. today i was driving to pilates and this girl was waiting for the bus and i had a special urge to pray for her and that someone who knew Jesus would show her His love and she would feel special. even though i didn't get to talk to her, i really felt like i saw her and prayed for her for a reason.

3. when you think of the word embarrassed, what comes to mind?
going in publuc with w when he's hyper, lol...i'm getting used to it though

4. tell us about the purple hippos
we were the 4 best friends and we would have sleepovers and stay up all night and talk about EVERYTHING!!! it was me, heather, liss and emily and it was so special. it was soooo hard when heather moved away :(

5. what was it like to have brain surgery?
the first time i was prepared to die but i was soo excited when i woke up and my memory was sooo much better. the second time was really scary too b/c i knew it was more risky but laying on the table in the OR, i prayed that Jesus would let me feel Him and I literally felt a warmth all around me and i KNEW he was there. the recovery was really painful and it was stupid in the ICU b/c i couldnt wear my contacts and i'm BLIND without them. both times i got really sick a couple weeks after and last time had to go into the hospital again. but it was so nice to have family and friends be so encouraging :)

6. check your pic archives on your phone, post the 6th one

(this is the one you sent when my box came)

7. tell me something random.
i just learned last night that when a pencil is a "#2" it's because of the darkness of the lead

8. who do you miss? besides me :)
bo and berk

9. what are you guys making for supper/dinner? ha
why is this funny? lol. i think turkey burgers and sweet potato fries...mmmm

10. when you think of being a mom............
i get soo excited. sometimes i get a little panicky but then i just think about how much i love her. we were saying this morning how tired we were from not sleeping and w said we should just get used to it and i said yeah, but at least we can HOLD the reason we're not sleeping. i know i'll be exhausted but i am just sosososo thankful for her, i can't imagine really complaining about it.

kimberly

2010-03-30T09:02:00.001-07:00

that was way to easy.....so here's some more!

1. what is your most memorable moment as a kid?

2. what was the last "divine" appointment you had?

3. when you think of the word embarrassed, what comes to mind?

4. tell us about the purple hippos

5. what was it like to have brain surgery?

6. check your pic archives on your phone, post the 6th one

7. tell me something random.

8. who do you miss? besides me :)

9. what are you guys making for supper/dinner? ha

10. when you think of being a mom............

kimmie :)

2010-03-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

1. is being pregnant what you thought it would be like? do explain.
I didn't think I'd adjust to all the changes so well and I thought I would be grossed out by all the developments and stuff. But I am sooo fascinated by it all and am SO IN LOVE with her already!!!

2. what hospital will willow kate be born at?
baptist

3. what is the most disgusting thing to you right now?
well, sealife always grosses me out but pregnancy related....peanut butter makes me gag and it used to be my fave

4. what's it like working with your husband? (post a pic)
it's soooo wonderful because we are such a good team. every time he finishes a massage, he comes straight to me and gives me a big hug and he's soo happy to see me. and i get to lay down in the back if i'm tired :) and i love where our office is b/c it's sooo pretty and if i get bored i can go look around the shops and if i didn't have time to make lunch, theres lots of options right here! :)

5. what store are you planning on shopping at the most in preparation for willow kate? why?
babies r us and target probably b/c it's cute and not as expensive. some of these store are just crazy!! i ordered her bedding off of etsy though.

6. do you plan on taking a pre baby vacation with william?
yes, we are going to the beach in a couple weeks and then to tampa for some classes in june and to see u :)

7. what is the most meaningful piece of advice you've EVER been given?
i just heard this....when god says no it doesn't mean never and when he says wait it doesn't mean no.

8. do you guys have any plans for easter weekend?
no, just church but maybe we will have a picnic or something

9. will you go to the water park with us when we come to mississippi?
ugh, that doesnt excite me a'tall

10. what's on your wish list currently?
all the stuff we need for willow. and computer software for the business so we can maintain records AND they can book their own appointments online

questions for kimberly

2010-03-30T07:46:00.001-07:00

1. is being pregnant what you thought it would be like? do explain.

2. what hospital will willow kate be born at?

3. what is the most disgusting thing to you right now?

4. what's it like working with your husband? (post a pic)

5. what store are you planning on shopping at the most in preparation for willow kate? why?

6. do you plan on taking a pre baby vacation with william?

7. what is the most meaningful piece of advice you've EVER been given?

8. do you guys have any plans for easter weekend?

9. will you go to the water park with us when we come to mississippi?

10. what's on your wish list currently?

you've got 48 hours to complete this or else i will be posting some lovely photos of you!
time starts NOW!!

from kristi :)

2010-03-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

1- what is the funniest thing jonathan and tyler said in the past week.
tyler fell down and scratched his knee, when he looked down and saw the blood he said very concerned "mommy there's fire on my leg"
in the car the other day jonathan said "mommy, tyler just broke on of the ten commandments". i asked him which one and he said that tyler took something and that's stealing!!

2- what did you do this weekend? (post a pic)
we went to target, bass pro (me and jonathan), movie (me and jonathan and some friends), easter egg hunt (all of us), pizza (all of us), cooked a lot, outlet mall (me), pool (me), playground (me and kids), fed some homeless people (steven and kirk), church (all of us).....can't remember what else!

3- what are you looking forward to that's coming up?
camping friday with the enguitas

4- have the boys been grounded lately? what do they get grounded from?
the boys do get grounded. haha jonathan gets grounded from tv, video games, computer
tyler gets grounded from playing

5- what did the boys do when you told them they could play in their room?
i had told them they could play in their room but keep any messes in there. they got EVERYTHING out!!!!! after i saw what they did jonathan said "i bet you'll never say that again"!

6- what's the best meal you've cooked this month?
my favorite was this mexicanish, chicken, rice, cheese dish. we used it as a dip with tortilla chips

7- what's your pet peeve of the moment?
unending laundry, but the more i think of it.....i am so blessed to have a family to do laundry for!

8- what did you learn in church sunday?
live on purpose.
get a passport if you don't have one. as a christian we are supposed to be ready to do whatever God calls us to do, whenever he tells us to. so be ready to GO!

9- what do you want to eat right now?
chocolate cake, DUH!

10- can i have your children?
no you may not have my children!

for kristi

2010-03-29T14:37:00.001-07:00

since my seester won't blog because "she doesn't know what to write about" i am going to ask her questions. because i know that everyone else wants to know about her life full of celebrity sightings, fancy dinners and shopping sprees as much as i do. so here goes. (and if she doesn't answer in 2 days, i am posting a fabulous video starring HER)

1- what is the funniest thing jonathan and tyler said in the past week.

2- what did you do this weekend? (post a pic)

3- what are you looking forward to that's coming up?

4- have the boys been grounded lately? what do they get grounded from?

5- what did the boys do when you told them they could play in their room?

6- what's the best meal you've cooked this month?

7- what's your pet peeve of the moment?

8- what did you learn in church sunday?

9- what do you want to eat right now?

10- can i have your children?

Time startssss.....NOW

Stuff

2010-03-25T09:07:00.001-07:00

so, i'm just sad for the world and marriages. i'm so sad for sandra bullock and elin woods and all the other people who have been cheated on. i can't imagine how humiliating it must be for them or how dirty they must feel for being with their husbands while they were with other people. when i was going through everything, someone decided that i had had an affair and it spread like wildfire and that hurt soo soo bad b/c no matter what the other person does, it's never ever ever okay and that has always been my heart and was never an issue. i've always been burdened by people being too close to the opposite sex when you're married. girls that have guy best friends or the other way around just isn't okay once you're married. sandra bullock did an interview during her filming of hope floats and said that if it's at the point where you're going to cheat, it's gone to far so you should go to your mate and at least give them the chance to save their dignity and let them walk away.
w and i were talking about this whole situation last night. we were literally wrapped up like baby monkeys and trying to describe our love for each other. no matter what happens in a day, if we have a misunderstanding, anything...there is not an ounce in each of us that could ever want to hurt each other or do anything that would would bring the other down at all. but i hear so often of husbands and wives "getting back" at each other or trying to "one up" each other. i have learned so much about marriage and if you're not a team in every sense of the word, you're just going to butt heads and when you're tired of doing that, it can become a constant competition that will drive you apart. i think a lot of cheating happens because people marry for the wrong reasons. everyone else is getting married, it "feels" right, they NEED a mate or feel like the other one needs them, etc. if you don't marry your true life parter, the one God has created just for you, the difficulties of marriage can be unbearable. who cares if ypu're 40 before you meet that person, it's the RIGHT person!! now I also believe that God can change peoples hearts and make any marriage work if He chooses to...

on a MUCH lighter note, kristi turned 29 tuesday!! i can't believe SHE is getting so oooollllldddddd. i was telling her the other day that i hope i can be a mommy like her. she's incredible. her children are absolutely precious and perfect ;) but even in the rare times that things get hectic, she handles everything so well. and ive seen her evolve since jonathan was born and now tyler, and she has really got it together. she cooks dinner every night, keeps the house so clean, teaches jonathan school while entertaining ty, their laundry always smells sooo good (tide w/ downy) and she always takes them outside to play or to a playground and really lets them be kids. and she's sooo creative and clever!! i'm sure she's a great wife too but i don't know all those details :) i DO know that shes the best sister. and not just to me. she has the kindest heart and it hurts her so bad when someone isn't living right, not because shes a goody two shoes but b/c she knows how wonderful it is to walk with God and it hurts her to see someone else not experiencing it also. i am sooo proud of her. the only bad thing is that she's rude to the drive thru people. ;) j/k seester.

this week has been sooooo busy at the office. it's such a blessing!!! we start early at pilates at 6:30 and usually he finishes his massages at around 8 at night. it's just hard to turn people down when we know they are in pain. i have a fun photoshoot this weekend with the fabulous jenny mcneill that i get to do makeup for. very exciting. i'll share details next week.

gonna go walk to the bank now and enjoy the beautiful day!
xoxo

Spring...

2010-03-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Kinda? I don't get violent about the weird weather like some, but I am ready for it to feel like spring. It's my fave season afterall. However I'm sure I'll be begging for cold weather in a few months :)

I'm 19 weeks now! And since I'll be having a C-Section, I'm halfway!! It seems like it was forever ago that we found out but now that we have exciting things happening (sonograms, nursery decor, etc) the time is going by more quickly.

Last week was Spring Break and since a lot of our clients were on vaca, we took Thursday afternoon, Friday and Saturday off. It was SO AWESOME!!!! Thursday, we went out for a bit and I got a pregnancy journal and a few new maternity items. It's so hard to find cute stuff but oh well, so worth it. Of course I come out of the fitting room to show W something and there he is, in a maternity dress with the pillow stuffed under it. Wow. The women loved him though of course!
Friday after Pilates, we went out on my parents boat for the first time this year. The weather was GORGEOUS!!! Our main reason for going was so that W could "teach us" all how to fish so we got to the perfect spot and waited...and waited...and nothing!! We were out for about 3 hours and I was having a HORRIBLE Chiari day so I was definitely ready to go back. After we got home, W went back out and caught about 15 fish....hmmmm, maybe it was me??
Saturday my mom and I dcecided we were going to try to find garage sales so we started out at about 6 *yawn* and really didn't find any good ones. But it was fun anyway. W was going to fish all day so he headed out too. I ended up going out there for a while but the fish weren't biting so we went to breakfast. I really wanted him to have his time so I went window shopping and he fished til around 3 or 4 and caught 28 which we will soon be having for dinner. Mmmm.
Sunday after church we went to lunch and just sat and talked for a couple hours. Its weird how we are together 27-7 but we never run out of things to talk about. We drove around for a while but there's just not much to do in Jackson so we went home and relaxed the rest of the day. We both needed it, though.
Today we are back at it and I am soooo sleepy...just can't seem to shake it??

So, last night the Health Care Bill passed and I'm not gonna go into it too much but I will say this. I don't agree with the government deciding how everything will be done for us...especially this government, BUT it bothers me how people talk about the ones who benefit from it are only the poor people on welfare who are too lazy to get a job, etc. I am the perfect candidate for this Bill. I was born with a brain condition and insurers WILL NOT cover me. I have worked hard (and still do) since I was 12 and I am in no way wanting to "mooch" off of anybody. But I've been overwhelmed with medical bills in the past....hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills and I didn't choose to file bankrupt or ignore the debt....I worked through it and paid every penny of it. But the fact that I may be able to be insured (and affordably) does encourage me. There's good and bad in this...I know close friends who could potentially lose their jobs b/c most of their patients are medicade and I don't think that's right but if this does happen, at least try to see the good parts....the hard working americans who just might benefit from this. Capiche? ;)

Anyhoo, I need to go to the market now.
xoxo

Nesting

2010-03-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

As soon out as we found out we were having a girl, it became so much more real that we will have a baby in our home in just a few short months. We made a weekend trip to Dallas to get baby furniture from his sister and had a great time. On the way home though, I started getting really antsy about how much I wanted to accomplish...NOW. I knew it was the nesting that I've always heard about. So, when we got back, I took a couple days off and got down to business. I went through all the boxes in the garage and separated them into trash/garage sale, arranged furniture, set the paintings, etc out where they will be hung, organized w's closet (HUGE task), put a new comforter on our bed, arranged willows furniture (w and my dad put the pieces together), bought rugs, curtains, thoroughly cleaned the whole house and even managed to get new decor for the office. the office is going to be sooo cute. We have artwork from William Heard (look him up), a sleek white couch from ikea and tons of cool accessories. we just need my dad to come hang them :) Yesterday, our afternoon freed up, so we took advantage of the GORGEOUS weather and layed out on our little deck in the backyard. It was exactly what we needed. W had an outcall last night so I did the mountain of laundry waiting for me. We got an AWESOME deal on a washer/dryer from my parents neighbors and got it hooked up last night. Soooo wonderful to have one after not having one since August!

I'm at the office and need to finish up a few things. Hopefully you'll be hearing from kristi SOON :)
xoxo

It's a GIRL!!!!

2010-03-03T09:25:00.001-08:00

Wow!!! I am in shock and can not even express how excited we are!!! This has been one of the most joyful days ever!! I could hardly sleep last night because of the anticipation of finding out. I was pretty anxious on the way there b/c I just wanted to know that "it" was healthy and had a strong heartbeat. My parents and his mom met us there and it was amazing for us all to experience it together!! I HIGHLY recommend bringing family to at least one sonogram...especially Grandpa :) Everyone was gathered around and as soon as we saw the heartbeat i was soooo excited!! We were all SHOCKED at how much she has grown in about 3 weeks. We saw EVERYTHING!!!! Her little profile is precious and everything is fully developed! The heart chambers were perfect and her little brain. We have prayed specifically during her brain development that she would not have Chiari. I don't know how I could cope with having a baby go through that pain. So, the baby was sound asleep so the technician decided to get all the measurements (she's 7 inches) while she was still and then she'd wake it up to see what it was. She poked on my belly and OH MY GOODNESS, she strrrrreeeetched her arms and legs and yawned and started moving like crazy and all of a sudden she said "Well, it's a girl"!!!!!! I really expected a drumroll or at least some prep but she blurted it out and we all went nuts. I cried, W was already crying and I think everyone else did too but I was so excited I didn't really notice. i was so convinced it was a boy but W knew from the second we saw the positive test that it was a girl. She went back again and said "Yes, I'm positive it's a girl!!". It was so excited, the tech and the tech in training were having a blast b/c we were all so excited! My mom said next time they'll bring popcorn. LoL.
So, now I can't stop smiling, I am soooo stinkin giddy. W goes between jumping around, smiling and laughing and tearing up. I am soso proud to be having his daughter and could not have dreamed of a better daddy for her. I know we are going to be such a good team!! Willow Kate is going to be so loved.
We've had her name picked out since the day we found out we were expecting. We were at the coffee shop (yes i was drinking coffee cuz i was still in denial) making a list of names and I've always loved the name Kate...I seriously considered changing my name to it a while back, but I didn't want it for her first name. We were sitting there and I just said "Willow...." and he was like OHMYGOSH thats it!!!!! So we fell in love with the name Willow Kate. Our little hippie baby :) I'm so excited b/c I've NEVER heard of that for a little girls name but I don't think it's SO weird, especially with all the other unique names out there.
I know I must be rambling. W and I both feel like we're out of our bodies and can't get grounded. We are truly on could 100. We feel so much more protective of her now that we've seen her and know she's a girl. And i suddenly can't wait to get our home in order and her nursery ready!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE any pre-baby tips you have, let me know!!!!!
xoxo

Boy/Girl?

2010-03-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

I'm sooo excited for our doctors appt Wednesday!!! We will HOPEFULLY get to find out if we are having a boy or girl. Or as W says a "boy cupcake" or "girl cupcake"...hmm, wonder why he thinks that? ;) My parents are going to come with us to see the sonogram which is exciting for all of us b/c it's such "modern technology". PLEASE pray that our baby will not be modest that day so we can see everything!!!
I'm now 4 months and really starting to have a belly. In some shirts I can still hide it but if it's fitted or empire waist it's pretty obvious. W is soo excited that I have a baby belly and so proud that it's his. I'm pretty proud of his "sympathy bump" too. LoL.
I got a few maternity tops this weekend and they're so much more comfortable but it's pretty slim pickins out there. If anyone has suggestions on where to shop PLEASE let me know!!
I'm finally not hungry ALL the time, I can go 4-5 hours between meals in stead of 30 minutes...seriously. But when hunger strike, oh my goodness, I have to eat NOW or I will get so sick or dry heave. Ugh. We've learned that now though so when I start to feel hungry, we move!! :)
We've got a busy week this week, praise the Lord, and then this weekend we are making a quick trip to Dallas to get baby furniture from W's siser, Melinda. It's SO pretty, I'll post pics! We're gonna stop at Ikea (woohoo) to look for a kitchen table and maybe accessories too. I LOVE his family and can't wait to see them. We might even go to our neice/nephews soccer games while we're there!
In May, his sister Suzanne who I haven't met yet is coming to town and my sister will be here too! We are going to have our Wedding/Baby Celebration during that time so if you wanna come, message me your address. It'll be fun to celebrate with everyone since we eloped.
Yesterday church was great. We've been going to our satellite campus and it's surprisingly an incredible atmosphere. I was so hesitant at first but the Spirit is definitely there. He spoke on serving yesterday and it was perfect b/c the last few weeks, the Lord has really been challenging me to serve, even in little ways. Smiling at everyone or running and picking something up that was dropped, picking up trash in the parking lot...but every little act of kindness done for His glory will make a difference in someones lives. And it makes you feel good too :)
I loved my sisters last blog especially where she spoke about going on dates with your husband. W and I were talking a couple weeks ago about who comes first, spouse or child and it was tough but I think Kristi nailed it when she said your kids will be off to college before you know it and so many people divorce after that because they don't know eachother anymore. And that's what we were saying, we have to put eachother as a top priotity or little things will start wedging between us and before we know it, we're strangers or room mates. I never stop learning from my sister and she's been such a good example to so many people. Thank you seester for loving me unconditionally and not judging me :)
I guess that's about all the rambling I can do. :)
xoxo

on my mind (kristi)

2010-02-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

something that has been on my heart very much lately is this......

when i am out in public and look around i see so many unhappy families. mom and dad are fighting, kids are whining, everybody is arguing. or i see girlfriends out together and hear them complain of their husbands. i hear kids saying they don't want to go home because it's not any fun. this breaks my heart.

i know the first and most important solution is that these people need Jesus. duh! but there are just as many families that do know the Lord that have these same issues. if any of you struggle with these things then here are some simple solutions.

1. make sure that your OWN spiritual life is healthy.
2. sit down and write down everything that happens from wake to sleep
3. look at that list and prioritize it and most likely there will be a few things you can do without
4. if you are married be your spouses greatest encourager
5. if you have children, make special time to spend with them (no phone, no computer, no distractions)
6. if you are married and have children get a babysitter and go on dates with your spouse
-you need quality time together
-it will make your relationship stronger and happier
-your kids will see this and this will make them happier
-the time you spend together as a whole family will be so much more happier
-are you catching on? :)
7. pray together!
8. make memories!
9. i think #6 is so important because i've seen so many families go through life and raise their children and when they move out the husband and wife separate because they have nothing in common anymore. the only thing that held them together was their children. how sad! so keep falling in love everyday and then when your children are grown and gone you and your spouse will still have a strong marriage built on love and not circumstances.

i know the list could go on and on and on and get so much deeper but here is the skimmed version :)
what are your thoughts?! please share!

kristi again

2010-02-24T11:54:00.001-08:00

this is jonathan not wanting his picture taken but he's too handsome not to post :)

happy tyler

happy jonathan

tyler being silly, he said he was pretending to be asleep

Being a mom is so awesome! These boys are so much fun! It's hard to believe how fast time flies. I remember when i was pregnant with Jonathan and so ready for him to come out the nurses would say "oh honey you have no idea....". They were right because i had no idea. No idea of what a huge blessing a child is and how incredible it is to be a mom and be parents and have a family!

from kristi :)

2010-02-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

When we first moved to fort myers (4 years ago) i was so determined to meet people outside the church. I never wanted to fall into a "comfort zone" and miss out on an opportunity to share Jesus. Of course we have a lot of church friends and they are some of our dearest friends but i wanted to go beyond that. The first year we lived here i met so many people at the park and different play places around town. We definately are blessed with a ton of kid friendly places. Never boring!! My closest friends became 3 of those moms i met outside the church. Well within the next 2 years all 3 of them moved far away because of their husbands jobs. This was really hard for me, really sad. I didn't want to have to start all over again and make new friends. ya know? So when we would go to the park or wherever i didn't really look for people to meet. That's so horrible. I probably missed out on a lot of opportunities. In the meantime i did get a lot closer to some of my church friends which has turned out to be a huge blessing. :) Fast forward to yesterday. We decided to go to pump it up in the morning. Some friends of ours came so we had a super good time. There were 5 minutes left before they shut down the open play time and i couldn't ignore God telling me to talk to the woman standing beside me. Ugh!!! haha
I turned around and started talking to her! Long story short we all went to lunch together and have a plan to hang out again soon. I was excited because i knew this could be the beginning of many opportunities and a great friendship. Last night we decided to go out to eat because we had some valentines money from Stevens mom and dad :) We went to Tokyo Bay where they cook in front of you. At our table was a few other people and then a mom and her son. Long story short again we had great conversation and have planned to hang out this weekend. I'm thankful to meet some new people and feel very blessed that God is using me to share Jesus.

come on girls

2010-02-23T18:29:00.000-08:00

so my heart is kinda burdened by something and i wanted to share. it may sounds a bit "off" coming from me, but i believe that marriage is so so sacred. i take my union with w so seriously and respect everything that we vowed to each other and beyond. what is bothering me is that i see almost constantly women and men who are not married (and usually married to other people) talking about such inappropriate things. whether it's a dirty joke or talking about body parts, etc, it makes me so upset. i would never ever talk to another guy about my trip to the gyno or shopping for bras or whatever would make him look at or think of me in an inappropriate way. and it's cuz i am williams and i am not going to offer myself to anyone else...physically or even with thoughts that could be taken the wrong way. women love my husband and he is in a world that is mostly dominated my women. not only is he a massage therapist, he's also a pilates instructor so the majority of his clients are women. he is so great with them and they probably get so sick of hearing him talk about me but it just doesn't seem to stop them from crossing the line. don't tell my husband you like his underwear, even if you're trying to be funny. don't tell my husband you want to take stripping lessons and "maybe your wife would do it with me". it's just so disrespectful to me and also to him to even put that temptation for thoughts to wander out there. i do believe that most of these comments were said "innocently" if thats possible, but that's what makes it even more sad...that's what our world has come to. we just got cable (i haven't had it in about 8 months) so i'm watching these shows and just disgusted by what's "normal". am i the ONLY one who feels this way?? women, if a man is with a women, RESPECT her and yourself by really thinking before you share details or ask questions. and men, PLEASE respect you wives by not entertaining this type of behavior, don't worry about hurting her feelings, remember the commitment you have to your wife!! for the record, w has been wonderful about this and there are no issues about how things are dealt with but it's something that we will probably unfortunately always have around us. just something i've been thinking about and wanted to get it out. xoxo

kinda deep...

2010-02-17T11:35:00.001-08:00

i feel like i always post the serious stuff. but whatever. yesterday i had a yucky stomach virus/sore throat/headache and was in bed all day so i had lots of time to think. i was thinking about how far ive come in so many areas and one of them being my health. this is kinda a deep topic but i want to go there in case someone else may be dealing with things like this. the thought all started when i was thinking about all the changes that happen to your body during pregnancy. everyone always told me but i assumed they were exaggerating or trying to scare me. but no, things change and it's kinda overwhelming but my goodness, it's so beautiful and miraculous at the same time! my mentality even a year ago would not be able to handle these changes but i have come sar far that i can really embrace what's happening and what will happen. you have to be so much more selfLESS and really think about your baby's needs. Here's the scoop..For a couple of different reasons, I had a TON of pressure on me to be thin...but not just healthy thin, the more skeletal i got, the more i was praised. yeah, it was fun to be able to wear anything i wanted and get complimented on how "good" i looked but inside i felt sooo miserable and weak and STARVING. i weighed about 95 pounds and it was very difficult to find clothes that fit. i rarely exceeded 300 calories a day (my food was measured) and i would go to bed extremely early and just lay there so still b/c i was trying not to use up any energy b/c i knew it was limited. sometimes my lips would be so numb and i would get shaky but i could NOT eat anymore than i was allowed. again, i did like the way i felt trying on clothes etc. but inside, i felt so helpless. i didn't exersize very much b/c i was afraid i would burn too many calories and i knew my body would begin to shut down. well, about june, enough was enough. slowly but surely i began to eat a little bit more. i'd maybe put soy cheese on my veggies, or eat a whole cup of chickpeas insead of half or maybe even eat a bell pepper for lunch when before i'd eat nothing. little by little i felt stronger and i felt like i was looking better also. i was still in one negative situation and i was looked down on b/c i was beginning to fill out but i was feeling SO much better and stronger, i had to look past it. fast forward to when i discovered i was pregnant and was constantly hungry and sick. i'd have to eat crackers throughout the day b/c it's all i could keep down and crackers were a BIG nono before. then i started craving fish and chicken!! i don't think it was a moment when i got better but being with william, health is such a part of our lives and being healthy ourselves is so encouraged. i lost my fear of food and what it could do to me. i believe just like always that we are responsible for our bodies and that what you feed it determines how it will in turn react, but eating an apple is no longer a nightmare. it is soooo freeing and so liberating to no longer be held captive by food. it was like a backwards food obsession...instead of being obsessed with eating, i was obsessed with NOT. Now, i listen to my body...and my baby. i can't go all day without eating anymore...i can't even imagine! ha! i'm probably never going to be the size i used to me...i hope i'm not...and that's okay! because i have a healthy heart and i'm strong and i have energy! i am so thankful for where i've gotten on this "journey" and so thankful to w who never judges me, but encourages me and loves me no matter what! i HOPE no one else is dealing with this, but if you are, know there is hope and there's sooo much more than being skinny. be healthy!!
xoxo

peculiar

2010-02-11T11:36:00.001-08:00

Last night was SO great! Williams brother, Cliff came into town and it was sooo good to see him and be with him! He has such a great heart and I love being around the whole family. We ate at Julep and then brought him to our new house. He got a kick out of the echo...thats what happens with you have no furniture :) Anyway, I was telling him about a unique quality I have so I thought I'd share with you my list of weird and extra parts.

-i have an extra vertebrae (not that uncommon)
-3 kidneys..1 big one and 2 baby ones
-born with extra brain...had it removed...still a genius ;)
-16 screws and 1 titanium plate in my head
-2 uteruses...just found this out...

My first ultrasound showed what the nurse thought was a heart shaped uterus which everything you read about that is SCARY but after I switched Dr's and was examined more thoroughly, they discovered that I infact have an entirely seperate duplicate uterus. Isn't that cool? So, technically I could have 2 babies, 3 months apart...haha, highly unlikely though. How crazy/awful/miserable/weird would that be? My mom says I must have been a twin b/c I got all the extras. :)

evil sister

2010-02-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

seriously kimberly!!! i am NOT pregnant nor will i ever be again. i've done this twice and i would know if i were. we've gotten rid of everything baby and i am completely content with jonathan and tyler! thank you.

kristi

2010-02-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

so i am NOT a blogger. i figure if anyone wants to keep up with my life they can do so on facebook and twitter. right?!
well my lovely sister has a really embarassing threat hanging over my head if i don't blog so here i go....

last week at this time we were heading home from colorado.
the boys did great on the plane.

we had a great time. steven, his dad, and i went skiing twice. i hadn't been skiing in YEARS so i was a little nervous this time. thankfully i did just fine. my mind is a little different now so i thought about all the "what if's" a lot but still had a lot of fun. we did a few blues but mostly greens. steven did blue/blacks! he's brave and good!

we all went tubing one day and it was a blast! tyler and jonathan are fearless. there was a moving sidewalk that took us up the hill. you stand on it with your tube and there was music. you had to be careful to stand still or else you'd fall off and roll down the hill. yikes! then once you get to the top there were 5 hills to choose from, slower to fastest! the middle one had 3 bumps which made it crazy fun. we let jonathan go by himself but tyler rode in a double tube with steven or myself. a few times we connected all of us together and that was really cool. will definately do it again next time we visit!

we also had yummy meals together. my favorite was mt. fuji, the japanese place where they cook in front of you! yummy!!!!! we also had pizza and wings, mexican, and a few meals at home like turkey and steak. we ate really good!! :) the two days we went skiing stevens mom (mimi) took the kids to chuck e cheese.

jonathan and tyler had so much fun with their cousins trey and maddie.

trey will be 4 on sunday.

maddie will be 1 in april.

well i must go now.

Kristi

Updates from Mississippi

2010-02-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

-we moved into our new home this weekend! after staying in hotels and with my parents, we appreciate more that ever having a place of our own. although, we sure do miss playing bananagrams with them every night :)

-i officially became a boren on monday. yay! got my new liscense and ss card! my mom went with me to brave the crowds and we laughed so much, she is such a hoot. i really wish she would blog, it'd be so nutty.

-we're getting our hottub fixed tomorrow. i can't wait.

-i made our first real meal at home together since being married. it was yummy.

-we did a ridiculously hard pilates class monday and i got the worst headache from straining my neck. but i have a massage in 30 minutes. so convenient.

-i want to go to the beach soon. i really think my brain has frozen and i can't think or be creative til it thaws out.

-i have no idea what to do for w for valentines day.

-we missed some days on the love dare during the move and we can't wait to pick it back up.

-w's brother is coming in town today and i'm super excited. too bad we have no furniture. we'll have to sit on the floor to eat. :)

-business is going great. the Lord fascinates me with how He always provides.

-i devoured a red velvet cupcake today. it was delicious.

-i think my sister is pregnant but she's in denial. you should too.

-i miss my nephews sooo stinkin much.

-jonathan said i just have to lift up my shirt and the baby will come out. easy, huh?

-my last checkup was on the 3rd and everything was great. we go back march 3rd and might be able to see what it is!! can't wait! i think it's a boy, everyone else thinks it's a girl. jonathan thinks its half and half. please no.

-i really wish my sister would blog.

-the end.

Things I Can't Wait For...

2010-01-26T08:21:00.001-08:00

Lots of changes have occurred in my lil life over the past several months and many more are to come. Some things I'm excited about...

1) Lunch. I'm hungry.
2) Going to the beach with W...maybe in April or as soon as it gets warm.
3) Having my name legally changed to Boren.
4) My COBRA insurance to kick in.
5) Dinner. Because after lunch I'll be hungry again.
6) To move into our new little home on Saturday.
7) Playing bananagrams with the fam. It's so fun! PEEL
8) My car to be cleaned out. Still waiting on the fairy.
9) To get back into my wardrobe groove, I've been feeling out of touch lately.
10) To meet our baby in August :)

Yes, it's true!!!!!! I know I'm supposed to wait til after 3 months but I have less than a week to go and I just can't hold it anymore. We are sosososososo excited about this miracle!!!! I'm sure it has been suspected by most people b/c of our quick marriage and honestly that IS why we got married so quickly. It's in no way WHY we got married but I wanted him to be part of every moment and we love each other in a way that I can not explain or even fathom. We decided from the beginning that we would be open about everything b/c a) we are not ones to run from our mistakes and b) we want everyone to realize how real this is and how easy it happens.
Before William and I even started dating, he expressed to me his beliefs on waiting until marriage. I of course agreed and felt comfort knowing that "if" down the road we dated, we would be united on that. But if you put yourself in a situation where it COULD happen, Satan will work his way in any way he can and take over your thoughts and eventually your actions. It was one time and after it happened, we were both overcome with guilt. So much so that it was hard to address it but we did, and decided that God in us was so much stronger than this battle and we would fight to push through it. So we never really talked about it after that...and it never even crossed my mind that I could be pregnant b/c "it was only one time", and with Chiari and the way it affects the pituitary gland, I had written off having children all together. I'd been on fertility treatments in the past and nothing. So, it wasn't until I shared with my girlfriend some "symptoms" I was having that I started to panic. I told William and he brought over a pregnancy test that night. He told me he wanted us to look at it together so as I was laying it on the bathroom floor, I was opening the door and did a faceplant into it. The Plus sign showed up within seconds. I cried and cried and said "nononoooooo" but he held me and was so strong and even had a smile on his face. Although we both new we had made a mistake, he could already appreciate the blessing. Yes, I understood the miracle but what was my family going to say?? I absolutely can not tell them. The next morning i went to a friend of ours who is a nurse practitioner and she did blood work to confirm that I was in fact pregnant. So I immediately changed my mindset and attitude and was overwhelmed with strength from no one but Jesus. I contacted a precious friend who I don't think I could have done it without. She gave me the best advice and really helped me through that first day. First I called my sister. I look up to her so much and I was more nervous about telling her. Not only would she be disappointed but I had promised HER that I would wait until I was married. She told me later that she was relieved when I told her what was wrong b/c I was so hysterical on the phone she thought someone had died or something. After that, I decided to write a letter to my parents, and W and I would go over there that evening and give it to them. I told my mom we needed to talk and when we got there she immediately knew something was big. She hugged me and we all sat down. She noticed the bandaid on my hand from my blood work and she pretty much knew. What happened next I will never understand or forget. She had tears in her eyes and said "I don't love you ANY less, I am so proud of both of you and think it took so much courage for you both to come here" and she hugged us both and held our hands. She told us she already loved that baby. My dad was sick so he couldn't get too close but he did not have the reaction of anger that I thought he would. He smiled, said of course he was disappointed in the way that it happened but that it was a true miracle especially with my condition and that they would support us in any way they could. Wow. That made us cry even more. The unconditional love....I have never experienced it so real. My friend that helped me through, had said she had gotten a glimpse of what God's love is like for Jesus and at that moment, I got it! After that, I was FINALLY excited!!!!!!!!!!!! His family was thrilled and we could really let ourselves feel the joy. I realized that all along, I wasn't worried about what people would think of ME, I deserve any negativity I receive but I was heartbroken over what my parents might half to endure. They are such Godly parents and raised us so well but this was MY choice and MY mistake. But they had no fear of that whatsoever.
Now I am 11 weeks and 3 days. The baby is the size of a large lime and I have been sick every minute of every day. Some days are worse than over but ALL of it is more than worth it. W is soooo incredible. He thanks me all day every day for going through this for our baby and him being a massage therapist, I get special prenatal treatments every day. I really am so so blessed. I've got lots more to talk about so I'm sure my half of this blog will be baby central. :)
I know this is a shock even if you did suspect it. I completely understand and respect all the disappointment but at this point we are celebrating this miracle and anticipating his or her arrival. :)
xoxo

today

2010-01-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

the boys aren't aloud to get out of bed before 7:00 a.m.
today tyler woke up at 7:01, jonathan slept a little longer
it was yellow outside this morning and it rained
the boys and i went to the grocery store this morning
chic fil a has free breakfast every weekday the whole month of january where we live
today we had chicken biscuits, last week we went on wednesday and it was chicken minis
jonathan made crumbs in the car so he had to vacuum them
tylers is in his nap so i'm trying to get the housecleaning done but my sister's threat made me blog
the skirt steak is marinating in the fridge
having a family over for dinner tonight for steak fajitas, shrimp and chocolate cake

dear kristi,

2010-01-25T09:39:00.001-08:00

if you stop blogging, i am going to post the video of all your awesome hairstyles that you got done at the mall 20 years ago. kapeesh?

yours truly,
kimberly

dear kimberly :)

2010-01-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Kimberly,

I just don't think this blog thing is working for me.
Maybe we should change the name and i'll just be a guest once a month or something? :)
But while i'm here i'll do a random 10 thoughts.....

1. would really like to adopt a haitian baby girl
- steven said that if i can go a whole week without getting overwhelmed with out current children he might consider
2. we had freezing weather a week ago, unsual
- a lot of farmers lost their crop
3. homeschooling is so far a good experience
- really want to continue doing this but i must have encouragement
4. we are going to colorado thursday to see stevens family. it's been 1 year 4 months since we've been
- we get to ski
5. tyler and jonathan love each other and have a very special relationship
- i love to listen to them when they are playing in their room
6. i cannot believe super bowl tickets are so expensive. stupid!!
- seriously ridiculous
7. there was a crazy man at church today
- he needs Jesus!
8. running the disney marathon next january
- currently can barely run down the street
9. i miss my family
- having an awesome husband makes it okay to be far away
10. friday i had a kidney stone and it came out at the hospital
- worst one yet, so glad it's over, never want to experience that kind of pain again

the wedding

2010-01-06T11:21:00.001-08:00

Well, if you've seen my facebook, you've noticed my last name has changed. Crazy huh? Not really, let me tell you our story...

I met W last September while he was subbing for another instructor at the Pilates studio I go to. I was very intrigued by him and impressed with his passion/knowledge but didn't see him again. June of this past year is when things really started going south for me. I had moved out and not sure what was going to happen. I switched my Pilates schedule and found myself in W's class every Friday morning. One weekend, I had an event or something and needed a little extra boost in my workout, so I requested a private session to be scheduled with any of 3 instructors. He was the one that could do it. He still remembers me walking across the parking lot and I remember being a little nervous but then really comfortable. I briefly told him about some restrictions I had due to Chiari and then shared my frustration with never getting relief. He thought he could help me as he is a mesical massage therapist. The first time was only $55 and if it did help, would be WELL worth it. I scheduled my appt and went for my first visit. That hour changed my life. I couldn't even feel my head because I had gotten that much relief. I cried b/c I was so overwhelmed that there was HOPE. He explained to me what the process would be to really get on the road to healing and I eagerly signed up. In those sessions, I really opened up to him b/c I knew that due to client confidentiality, he couldn't say anything to anyone. It was like emotional therapy and he at the same time opened up to me about himself. In just a few short months, I felt like I had a this amazing gift and didn't know what in the world I did to deserve it. Of course knowing my situation, he never charged me for the sessions and he also had 2 other therapists work on me (I later found out that HE was paying but it told me then that it was for research!) I always thought he was amazing but I had already declared to many people that I could never ever get married again and didn't even want to date...ever again. So, I tried to set him up with people I knew but he was never interested. I found out later that he was waiting for me and that he had loved me so much during those times he got to know my heart. When he did ask me out, i was surprised that I wanted to say yes! I talked to my mom about it and she said GO! So I did and it was sooooo great!! So much fun and so comfortable. Once I got over my stubborn attitude about never being with anyone, I felt so much joy. I thought that there was a rule everyone expects of you. You have to be alone and sad and miserable for "x" amount of time and THEN you can move on. But why should I have to be sad and feel sorry for myself when I have this incredible gift waiting for me? So I swallowed my pride and fear of what others thought and have been so so happy ever since. One of the things I love about him the very most is that he is HUNGRY...for spiritual growth, professional growth, personal growth. He's not lazy and has the passion for knowledge and understanding. He is an amazing communicator...which sometimes makes it impossible to "win" an argument but we have truly become a team and why would you want your team mate to lose?? I love us because things aren't always perfect, we've been through a lot in this short time, but it's the way we get through them and grow from them that makes me feel so confident that this is who I am meant to be with. Thank you thank you God!!!
So, we knew we wanted to get married and we wanted to elope, no fuss, just us and our vows to each other. At the last minute, we decided New Years Eve and we hopped in the car and drove to Ft. Myers, FL. My brother in law, Steven would marry us and my sister and nephews would be there. His lifelong friend, Richard aka "Dr. Giggles" hopped on a plane from Nashville and came to stand by him. My dress came in THAT morning and I got ready with my sister. After we got the okay from W, we headed out to the beach. HE was late :) We all walked out there and found our spot and Steven did an AMAZING job with the ceremony. We said our vows and then Jonathan gave W my ring. It was the perfect ring for me. We had an artist in Florida design and create it for us. It's called a "spinner ring". It's a wide silver hammered band with 7 gold spinner bands around it. We also had his rings made by an artist in Canada. It's a leather band...sooo him. BUT, it didn't come in in time for the ceremony so we just pretended. :) It's here now though and so cool. After we kissed and were announced, we heard lots of clapping and realized a circle of people had gathered around us. It was great! My dress was perfect b/c it just blew in the wind and it was okay for it to get dirty. We were sooooo happy and couldn't stop smiling :) It was SOOO real and perfect and what we'd waited for. We had a great lunch with the group and then headed back home. I think it really hit when we stopped for the night and got ONE hotel room.
I now work with him at his clinic and it is ammmmazing. It's just he and I until we bring on a couple more therapists within the next couple of months. We are looking at homes but may rent for about a year until we are for sure what and where we want. Definitely NOT my rat apartment. Stay tuned :)
PS, leave a comment b/c we thought NOONE was reading...I did this post JUST for you Lindz :)

Christmas Plans

2009-12-23T06:32:00.000-08:00

It's almost Christmas and I still don't feel it. :/ Don't know what's wrong with me but I guess my nickname as the Grinch is still true. Gotta do some last minute shopping after work today!
SO excited for tomorrow though! 2 of my very best friends, Emily and Elissa have a tradition of having breakfast during Christmas and we will be seeing eachother tomorrow. This is the 3 of us at Broad Street last year...

Then W(who I will tell you about later) and I will be spending the day with my parents for our "Christmas". My sweet Grandma is in town so it will be so fun for us all to be together. Then that evening, we will leave to drive to Dallas to spend Christmas with his family. Very exciting!
I wonder what everyone else is doing for Christmas?

walmart

2009-12-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

i recently found out that you can check out at the register in the yard and garden center at walmart. this is exciting because it's so much quieter and less chaotic than the regular register. today i went to walmart with the boys and thankfully only had to get a few things like coat hangers and some food for dinner and a few snacks. walmart with the kids is okay but definately not my favorite thing to do. so we go to the "secret" register and there was a LONG line but i decided to wait in it rather than go back into the LOUD CHAOTIC CRAZINESS of the regular part of the store. we finally get to the register and put our things on the counter and the lady tried to weigh the bananas and grapes but the scale wouldn't work. SERIOUSLY?! needless to say we went home without any fruit. i called steven and he said "i'll stop and get grapes and bananas on my way home from work". so sweet! thanks steven :)

hook night

2009-12-17T07:10:00.000-08:00

last night we had our annual christmas hook night. we call it hook night because it's a great night to bring your friends and get them hooked. lots of fun and they hear about Jesus. we had lots of great videos, a tacky christmas sweater contest, bowling, elves, performance by some awesome students, eggnog and fruitcake eating and great prizes. lots of fun had by all.

Kristi

p.s. the moving post was from me also :)

moving

2009-12-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

i used to get really excited about moving but this time not so much. normally it's a new place, new adventure, something we've been looking forward to. this time it's because the townhouse we've been renting is going into foreclosure so to avoid all the possible mess we found another rental. the new one is really nice but the whole process is so YUCK! i think the main dislike is that i feel bad for the boys. i'm so busy trying to get things done and i know it's not "normal" for them. so we are just ready to be settled in the new place and just enjoy life as usual. once we get all moved i'll post pics.

2009-12-14T08:53:00.000-08:00

So this week I've learned a lot of things...about myself, my family, my dear friends, and my God. I've experienced every emotion possible but the one that has lasted is the overwhelming feeling of being covered with unconditional love and grace. I am a daughter of God, nothing can ever ever change that and just because I mess up, doesn't mean that He will love me any less or that I am no longer His. Just like I'll never not be a daughter of my earthly parents. It is everlasting and unconditional and that is such a big thing to grasp. We can't do anything to lose that relationship...ever. Wow. That doesn't mean that I want to purposely sin, it just means that when (not if) I mess up, I don't have to run and hide, I can go before my Father and confess my sins and expose my heart and He will wrap me in His loving arms and welcome me back. I can't wait to meet Him and bow at His feet and thank Him for who he is and what He is.

Until the whole world hears...

2009-12-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend!! I just paused and read that over and over b/c it's so true and it makes me so happy that I really did have a great weekend! It wasn't literally perfect of course but it was truly great!!
Friday night was my bosses Christmas party. Wow, what a home. I can't even begin to decribe it but just to give a glimpse, one of 7 bedrooms had the full 7 pc bedroom set of Mussolini. Yeah. But the most wonderful thing about Friday night was that it SNOWED!!!! I didn't think I would get so excited but it was so fun!! Saturday morning when I woke up, I had the most beautiful sight out my bedroom window. Everything was covered in snow :)
Saturday morning, I got to rejoin the family tradition of going to the Madison Christmas Parade. Again, I didn't think I would be so excited but I couldn't stop smiling and laughing the whole time! We all bundled up and had coffee and hot cocoa. It was so great to hear "Merry Christmas"

Then, Saturday night I got to go see Casting Crowns in concert...

Wow, what a powerful worship experience. It was so encouraging to be in a colliseum full of people who love Jesus. He told the story of the song "Until the whole world hears" and it was so moving. What if we all lived our lives to fulfill our true purpose? To be the light for this dark dark world...until the WHOLE world hears. That's what I want my life to be. Nothing less.

Now, it's back to work on this beautiful, rainy Monday. But what an even greater reminder for me to keep shining bright.

2009-12-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

when kimmie was little she was so excited when my mom bought scrubbing bubbles but when these little guys didn't really come out she was really disappointed!! i saw a commercial last night that made me remember this. haha
it would be really awesome if those little guys really would come out and scrub your bathroom but it just isn't reality.
this might be a far stretch but.......
this day that we are living is reality! there's nothing make believe about it. what are you going to do with this day? i hope we all live it for the Lord and let people know the reality of eternity!

-kristi <3

Donuts

2009-12-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

First, thank you so much for all the bday love. It was serisouly one of the best days ever. I let myself be free and have SO much fun! My cheeks and belly hurt from laughing so much!! :)

So, why a post on donuts? I was on a little weekend getaway this past weekend and everytime I saw a Donut sign, I would point it out. My friend said "Donuts must be really special to you". I thought it was such a strange statement...donuts, special?? But then I thought, wow, they really are. When we were little my daddy worked SO hard (still does) and that meant working a LOT of hours, sometimes even in the night and I don't really remember a LOT about him being home. Don't get me wrong, I always knew that he was working FOR us!! But, the most special times, usually once a week, were when he took my sister and I to get donuts. First it was a place we nick mamed "the honey nut donut shop" b/c the sign looked like cheerios and then when Krispy Kreme opened, we went there. It was soo much fun watching the donuts being made. We'd each get to pick 2 donuts (I usually got sprinkles) and we'd sit and talk and eat our treats. I remember feeling so proud to be out with my daddy. Sometimes we'd eat too many donuts and I'd spin around on the little stool and feel sooo sick but I didn't even care. Now of course, I can't eat donuts b/c of eating vegan but we do have a weekly lunch date and that is just as special to me. I wonder if all of us have something like that, that brings us back to sweet memories...

Happy Birthday to Kimmie (Kimberly)

2009-12-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of my sister! She has definitely been on a tough journey these past few years! Most have no idea what behind the scenes was like for her. From two major surgeries to try to correct a brain malformation, unimaginable headaches, career change, closing a book which normally has unending chapters, career change and many things in between. Kimberly is a strong woman! The most awesome thing of it all is that our God gives her this strength. She claims His promises and has committed her life to Him! My sister is an amazing example of someone who learns from mistakes, grows from circumstances, and stays faithful even through the toughest of times. I am so proud of her!

Kimmie,

You turn 26 years old in just a few hours! I pray many blessings on you this year! I've always been so protective of you and i always will be. You are my baby sister and i love you so very much! I pray these next chapters in your life will be full of happiness, health, healing and love! xoxo

Youngest first?

2009-12-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

i thought kristi should go first cuz she's older but then it would be an empty blog forever and ever. sooo...

i obviously haven't blogged in a while and as a lot of people know and a lot of people don't know, i've recently gone through a major storm and life change. i've decided to be honest and open this time when i'm writing instead of sugar coating and making everything seem perfect. however, i'm not going to go into detail and slander the man that i vowed to spend my life with. the Lord knows what our story is and i will be naturally judged regardless of whether or not i share it, so i have chosen for several reasons not to share it. i am healing and full of joy because i know that the Lord has great things in store for me, His daughter. God has never been more real to me than right now. it is unforunate that it took something like this to cause me to seek Him like never before, to cling to Him as my only hope, to lay all of my burdens and anxiety at His feet..but i am here now and have never felt more secure in my faith. i want to live only for His purpose. I was reading this morning in my devotion, "I am beside you. A very human Jesus, who understands all your weaknesses, and sees too your struggles and conquests." He knows every emotion i have felt, when i wanted to just give up, but i had to name my fears, my anxietys, my questions before i began to heal. i wanted so bad just to hold it all in..i thought it would just go away. it tore me up physically, i developed a bleeding stomach ulcer and started having panic attacks but i still couldn't give it up. but once i finally got on my knees (literally) before God and named everything that i was scared of and the things that were making me sick with worry, i saw changes immediately begin to happen. i knew He was there all along, i felt His presence but it wasn't until i asked for and accepted His power that i was completely washed in His love. beautful, amazing love and grace.

i'm now excited about my next season. i have a new job. the main thing my company does is lease aircraft. it's different but really interesting. i've met a lot of really good people and i've learned a lot in a short time. so, we'll see....

i turn 26 tomorrow. i'm looking forward to a new year. christmas is so soon but i refuse to look at it negatively, i will be surrounded by the people i love and that love me. i won't feel sorry for myself, or even begin to go down that road. i'm not the reason for christmas, Jesus is and that's what i'll celebrate.

i hope i blog a lot. i hope someone reads it.

kristi's turn.