Memorial Day Fun!

Today we had our (what's turning into a tradition) Memorial day BBQ and birthday party. It was a lot of fun. We celebrate all of the May birthdays in the family and pretty much all of the birthdays for everyone. When all of my siblings are here it is a lot of craziness. Unfortunately Bryan and family couldn't make it, neither did Ben and Tracy, so our numbers were smaller this year. Cordin and Gabbie did have quite a lot of friends show up this year so that made up for it a little. We played water games this year, balloons and water guns, and then we went to the park and did some other playing around. It was good old fashion fun. The kids had a really good time and I think that most of their friends did too. It was a little crazy with all of the extra kids running around and I have to admit that I was extremely glad when it was over and all of the kids went home. I can handle having one or two of their friends here for long periods of time but a whole gaggle of them is something else. I get really rundown and tired. Having this BBQ and birthday party has been a great way to celebrate Memorial Day. Hope that everyone out there had a great day too.

Sunday Update

I missed my Saturday Tell All, sorry. I did pretty well this week. For the most part my food choices have been good. I did have a few slips this week. It's hard to have chocolate and cookies around without eating them. I am down another 3 pounds. Yeah for me! That's 5 for the month so far. I am pretty excited about this and it looks like I may even reach my goal of 7 pounds for the month of May. I just might raise my goal for next month. It's going well and I am very proud of myself for sticking to something for more then a few days. There have definitely been some ups and downs, but it has been worth it to see some results. There it is, not my typical update but a good one nonetheless. Hope you all have a great Memorial weekend. I know we are.

Happy 10 Years! Brynwen's Blessing Dress

(Joe and Brynwen after her blessing)
First off I have to say Happy Anniversary to me and Joe.
We have been married for 10 years! I can't believe
that it has been that long. The time goes by way to fast. It seems
like just yesterday we were engaged and planning a wedding.
I really made the absolute best choice when I
decided to marry Joe. He is such a good man, a wonderful father
and a great friend. Did I luck out of what?! Now here we are
10 years and 4 kids later. I just love this man! He is
my best friend and I don't know what I would do without him.
I LOVE YOU JOE!

Here we are after the blessing of Brynwen. I don't know
where the boys were. Probably off playing with
their cousins. It was a beautiful day!

Me, Brynwen and Joe. I really like this picture. I don't
normally like to look at pictures of myself, but I am who I am
and I should learn to love me for me.

Here is Brynwen in her blessing dress. It was actually
my blessing dress when I was a baby. She looks identical
to me in one of my baby pictures. I am wearing the same
dress in my picture too. I just love that baby.
She is just so cute!

I just love this picture of Brynwen. She is so expressive.
I can see that her mind is working and she really looks
like she wants to say something. You can see a little bit more of the
detail of the dress in this picture. What a sweet heart!

New Photos of Gideon and Brynwen

Gideon the big cheese. I love this picture of him.
He is so charismatic and charming. What a sweetheart.

Brynwen at 6 weeks. She is so cute. I just love
her fat little cheeks, and her puckered lips are so kissable.

This background is one of my favorites. I love how it all blends
and matches her dress.

Here they are together. Aren't they cute?!

This is one of my very favorites. I just love the
look on her face. It's priceless, and Gideon is just the
most handsome 2 year old out there. I sure do love these two.

Saturday Tell All

Here we are, another Saturday tell all.


Monday...Weighed in and was happy to see that I had kept the pound off over the weekend. I did really well in counting my calories today and hopefully will be able to keep it up. I ate well today and walked 2 miles.


Tuesday...Did well for breakfast today. I missed lunch because the pancakes I had were so filling I was still full. For dinner I was very good. One piece of chicken 1/2 c of pasta salad and 1/2 c of potatoes. I did eat 3 small chocolate chip cookies though. It was better than the candy bar I wanted. Joe and I were able to go to a movie and eating before we went really helped me not want to get popcorn and pop, which I didn't get.


Wednesday...Breakfast, lunch and dinner, I did really well today and even got out and was able to walk. It was around 2 miles. Pretty happy with that. It is not as easy as I thought to count calories, but I will keep going.


Thursday...Breakfast and Dinner were good choices. Unfortunately I chose to get a cheese burger and fries for lunch. Not the greatest choice in the world. I will have to do better. I walked 1 1/2 miles today.


Friday...Today has been the worst day ever. Breakfast was a pretty good choice but after that I have just gone down hill. I have had cookies and pudding and all sorts of things that I shouldn't be eating. My will power just gave out today and I made some rotten choices. I didn't get out and walk although I did walk the wal-mart for about an hour. Still not the best exercise there is to do. It was a hard day for me.


Saturday... I weighed in this morning and was surprise to see that I was down a pound. Shock of my life. I will have to work extra hard this week to keep that pound off. No more binges for me. I have to remember to allow myself a treat now and then so I don't go crazy with the treats when they are in front of me. That and to make good shopping choices when I'm at the store.

Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was great! We had all of our family here. Joe's parents were here and also one of his brothers and his wife was here from Alaska. All of my siblings were able to come except for Brooke. It was nice to have them come and share this day with us. We blessed Brynwen which was a great way to celebrate Mother's Day. After church we all came back to our house and those that could stay, stayed and we had a nice dinner. I took a bunch of pictures of the baby in her dress and will post them as soon as Joe reinstalls the software. I just wanted to give a little update.

Saturday Tell All

Okay, so this is my Saturday update.

Monday...I started my week off right and I have been doing pretty good, probably not as well as I should be doing, but good. Today I've eaten pretty well. I had a lot of whole grain foods and healthy snacks. I walked 2.11 miles and I feel really good. One slip, I had a brownie after my lunch.

Tuesday...I followed my eating plan really well. I had a healthy breakfast lunch and dinner and good snacks. I walked 2.5 miles and am feeling really well.

Wednesday...My morning was really good. I had a great breakfast, lunch and dinner, but Joe came home with donuts tonight and I succumbed to temptation and had one and a half of another. I didn't walk today because my in-laws flew in and we spent the evening catching up. I feel bad about that and will have to do better tomorrow.

Thursday...I woke up this morning and had some of dad in law's whole wheat pancakes. They are really good and very filling. I had a good lunch and dinner today and am glad that I am sticking to my eating plan today. I walked 2 miles and feel good.

Friday...I have been doing pretty good today. I have been really good about staying away from junk food. The kids ate all of the donuts so they are no longer a temptation. I had a good lunch. I know that when all of the family comes tonight that we will probably go out to eat after our meeting. (Later) Yes we did go out. We went to Rosa's Pizza. I think I did pretty well, considering, I only had 3 pieces of Hawaiian pizza and then I ate a big salad. For the most part I was pretty happy with my choices. I didn't take the opportunity to walk today though. I will have to do better next week.

Saturday...Breakfast was good. A bowl of cereal and some toast. Lunch was pbandj and apples and I haven't had dinner yet. So far I think that it is going well. I plan to walk tonight. Hopefully with Bev.

I have lost 1lb. I'm am pretty happy with this. I decided that I will weigh myself only twice a week. Once on Monday and again on Saturday. I have been weighing myself everyday a couple times a day and it just makes me feel really anxious. This way I will follow my plan for the week and then see the results at the end of each week. If this doesn't work I will make adjustments as needed. I've done a little research and discovered that I should be eating about 2200 calories since I am breast feeding. This seems like a lot to me but I will try it and see how it goes. Counting calories has never been something that I've done much of before so this will be new for me. Wish me luck!

These are some of the things that I had written in my journaling this week. I will continue to write in my journal. This seems to work pretty well for me. That, and knowing that I have chosen to be accountable to my blog and all those out there that read it. Thanks for your support. I will post on it again next Saturday.

Today's the Day!

Today is the day! I've decided that today is the day that I am going to start changing my life. It is time to get rid of all of the weight that I have gained over the past 10 years, emotional as well as physical. I know that it won't be easy, but that's o.k. It's going to be a hard struggle to shed these unwanted pounds, but I know that I can do it. I have decided to start walking everyday. I also have a bow flex that I will work out on 3-4 times a week. I am cutting sugar out of my diet and I am going to eat healthy. I know, I know, there will be times that I will fall and make wrong choices. I will not let this deter me though. I will get back on program and continue until I reach my goal. I want to be healthy for my kids. I want to be around for my children. I want to have the energy to run and play with them. I want to grow old with Joseph. I want to see my children grow up and get married and have families of their own. I want to be healthy and strong. I want to do this for me.

I am hoping that I can count on all of you out there for your love and support. I am going to be posting every Saturday what I have done each week. I will be keeping a food journal that I have to share as well as the exercise program that I follow each week. I need to be accountable to someone and I figured that this is as good a place as any. I am also hoping that I might get some advice from you all out there. What are your favorite exercises to do? What kinds of things do you like to eat that are good for you? Do you have any favorite recipes? Any and all help is welcome. So, here I go. I will keep you all updated as things happen.