Thanksgiving Day 2

 Because I like to have my own leftovers we had another Thanksgiving on Friday. Yummm!

 Wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the olives.

 Cute shot of Anna.

 Getting some love.

 The girls.

 Anna and Noah.

 Anna reading me her Christmas list as I carve the turkey.

Your guess is as good as mine as to this pose.

It was a great weekend with the kids.  I took them to get pictures, we watched movies and did crafts.  As well as laughed a lot.  I am blessed with great kids.

Thanksgiving Day 1

 We went to Marshall's brother, Matt's house for the day.  All together there were 8 adults and 11 kids.  Leslie did a great job fitting us all at the table.

 Marshall's brother Ben and his darling Luke.

 This is where the boys hung out.  Video games and wrestling ensued.  They even stayed when Elianna (she's 3) put on Beauty and the Beast.

 Isaac has joined the chess club.  He really enjoys it.

 Daisy and Leo had fun too.  They love it when they can get together.

 Putting the final touches on dinner.

 Anna going through the buffet line.

 A view from outside.

 All the festivities tuckered Luke out.

 Before dessert the group went on a walk. Tradition for Matt's family.

A lovely family shot at the end of the day. It was a good day.  Lots of good food, laughter and fun.

New Bosses in my Life

I have had some serious health issues the past few years and as little as a year ago I was on at least 7 different prescriptions. A couple for depression, migraine, thyroid just to name a few. At one point I had a drug reaction called seratonin syndrome. Yikes. So with the best cheerleader in my life, a girl could have, I made the decision to be in control of my life, rather than live on medication. I made the decision to get my body moving. I did the couch to 5K. I hated every minute of it and my legs hurt. I thought there had to be a better way. So, I dusted off and replaced the battery on my heart rate monitor my sister gave me a couple years ago. To my shock and relief, after running for 30 minutes, I discovered I was working too hard. Now I walk instead of run, in my target heart rate zone, longer. I still hate it, but I feel better.

The next boss I have is the scale. I HATE the scale. I only get on it once a week. Otherwise I get discouraged and grumpy. But the last couple weeks, the scale has been nice and said what I wanted it too. I am going for slow but steady weight loss. I would love to not have this beast as a boss in my life, but I need to.

The other boss I have in my life is my food journal. I am writing down everything I eat and trying to keep between a certain amount of calories. I have to plan every meal and snack for a few days in advance, planning in treats as well. I also include date night and just try to make healthier choices when out--like only eating half or picking grilled instead of deep fried. I am keeping an eye on my fiber (having had issues for a couple of years, that one is a biggie for me. I never want to drink magnesium citrate again!). As well as cutting out processed foods and breads. The biggest is cutting my ice cream intake as well as the beloved Diet Coke. I have found, that I am not starving and somedays have to make sure I eat in order to get enough calories in a day.

I have been exercising since the beginning of August. Watching what I eat for a few weeks. I am no longer on meds for depression or migraines. And have eliminated all but my thyroid medication. I take iron for anemia, and a few other vitamins for good health, but I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was just 6 months ago. I will admit, this isn't my idea of fun. But I am dedicated to sticking to it. And now by posting this out in the open for all you to read I have accountability. Anyone who wants to join me, I would love it!

Meet Daisy. My mom gave her to me last year. She was quite the surprise. She is very sweet and has been a fun addition. The kids LOVE her.
For Fall/Halloween we took the kids to the corn maze. Here's the new man in my life. His name is Marshall and we have known each other since High School.
It was very slippery in the maze. Poor Abby fell 3 times.
She didn't enjoy it all that much!
The boys were our fearless leaders, getting through the maze safely.
My group before the maze.

Getting Back Into Blogging

It has been far too long since I have posted. As many of you know, life has changed drastically since the last post. I am now divorced and living in Shoreline, WA. The kids and Kevin are in Hillsboro, Oregon. It's not the situation I ever dreamed I would have as a little girl, but such is my life. Life is still good and I have been hiding long enough! Time to get back to showing off my kids!

Here's a recent picture of the kids. Last time they were in town, we went to Pike's PLace Market. And went to the gum wall. Here's Anna, she's 13 now.

Noah is 11.
Isaac is 8.
And Abby will be 7 in a few weeks.

For Mom and Mary--Christmas 2008

For all of you who live far away and I couldn't get you a cookie platter, here's your virtual platter. Hope you had a great Christmas!

Due to bad weather and stuff, we were forced to celebrate here in Eugene, just us. We missed the cousins, Aunt, Uncles and Grandma terribly. But all in all had a nice Christmas.

Here are the kids sporting their new jammies.
Santa brought Isaac his own bag of those gross, nasty circus peanuts. He was so excited. I think they were gone that same day.

Anna is thrilled with her gift card to Claire's--thanks Grandma. Next time you get to spend the hours it took deciding what to buy.

Abby is thrilled with her new Princess game for the Wii Santa brought.

Cause a boy can never have too many Legos.

Noah had been talking about this Obi-Wan action figure for months. Being oh so interested, I hadn't ever really looked at it. SO glad I got the right one.

Abby loves her Cabbage Patch Dolls.

Isaac got Operation--loves it.

Anna got Pictureka--Abby is scary good at it. It's a fun family game.

And it wouldn't be Christmas without the traditional trifle. Yummm!!!!

Happy Belated Birthday Abby!!

Abby turned 5 on Monday. The time has flown by--it seems like she shouldn't be so big!! I can so vividly remember the day she joined our family. Isaac kept me company for a while. So new she's still purple!!

Getting weighed--official weight was 7lbs. 4oz.

After she gets cleaned up and getting her first bottle.

First shot with all 4 of them.

Isaac adored her!!! Sometimes too much.

I loved this outfit!

Swinging in Coeur d'Alene.

She loved her little baths in the sink.

Such a happy girl.

Having a bath with Isaac.

Playing at Grandma and Bubba's.

Field trip

Showing off her new clothes.Her new scooter--she never really used it. She preferred the regular razor scooters.

More new clothes--for her second birthday.

At the zoo in Portland.

I love this picture.

Getting ready to jump in Grandma's lake on Christmas--Abby was the only one of mine that did it.

Just having learned to ride her bike.
Abby and Olivia when the girls came to visit this summer.

Unwrapping presents this year. Ellie came to help celebrate.

Gotta love her enthusiasm!!

I wish I had done video on this--she was so excited she was almost crying.

Make a wish!!!

Happy birthday Abby!!!