Exciting

Apparently it has been a year since I have written on my blog. Facebook is the reason. Now my brother has started a blog for the new baby, so it brought me back to mine. We are so excited to add a new little baby to the family. March is just around the corner. We will be welcoming Babe-E soon.

Incredible Day

I had a wonderful opportunity to go on a "Walk for Character" today. It was the second annual "Walk for Character" in honor on Martin Luther King JR. I walked with all ages and all races. It was about 22 degrees but we were warm. We then were able to hear a local high school choir sing "Let THere Be Peace On Earth" while watching Barack Obama walk towards his swearing in moment. It was an amazing and emotional moment.
I met some incredible Americorps members who work hard to make this area a better place for all. We had a wonderful lunch.
It was amazing to be in a room of volunteers, community members and friends all listening to the Inauguation with excitement, hope and renewed inspiration about the future.

What an incredible day.

2009 goals

A good friend invited me to join her team to become healthier in 2009. The meetings are on Wednesday night which is when I am at church. However, she is graciously sending me information and including me in her goal of becoming healthier. Her team of 4 women go to meetings on Weds. evening for nutrition classes, weigh ins and other information. I have been following their progress on the team blog.


I am also fortunate enough to work with several women who are also working harder to become healthier this year. One has started an excercise program and watching her diet, the other is following the South Beach diet. The great thing is that we are all supporting each other.


I am motivated by all these women but also by the WII FIT. Everytime you get on you can do a body test and it tells you your BMI. Seeing numbers on a screen and watching how excercise and eating right changes it, even slightly is a big motivator.


So the point of this post is to have someone else to answer too.





My goals for 2009 are to excercise...when I can, eat a healthier diet (limits sugars and bad fats) and make sure my kids are eating better. I don't think those are difficult goals. I just have to stay motivated. So thank you CAT for getting me started on this journey with you even though I couldn't join the team.
Now if I could just stay away from the computer and learn to spend more time on wii fit or my elyptical I know... No Guilt No Regrets.

Tradition

The kids and I took the tree down today. I was going to take it down on New Years day, but was reminded by my wonderful daughter that it is a tradition to take the tree down on a Sunday while watching football. OK, we haven't watched football all season this year but we did today.
I loved traditions as I was growing up too. I guess I started traditions with my kids that I didn't even know I started.
Anyway, the tree is down, the decorations are put away and we are quickly headed back into routine. I'm not sure I am ready. I have enjoyed our family time during the past few weeks. Time to get the backpacks ready and lunch money checks written.

Reflecting on 2008

2008 was a tough year for my family. I'm happy to say hello to 2009. I'm hoping it will be better. Over the course of the year we lost Irene, my mother-in-law, 6 months after being diagnosed with cancer. This was 2 weeks after a good friend lost her Mother-in-law. A month later my brother had another open heart surgery with a long and difficult recovery. My son, two uncles and my father had surgery. Not good odds if you are a male in this family. My mom had to battle pneumonia again.
We did have some good times too. 3 families, all good friends added children to their families. It has been an honor to watch these babies grow, meet milestones and be a part of their lives. I love spending time with each of them. They are part of what made 2008 bearable.
We went on a wonderful family vacation to South Dakota. We learned a lot about another state and had some wonderful family time.
The kids continue to do well in school without the anxiety and sleep problems we had in early 2008. They were dealing with a lot with grandma Irene being so ill but because of loving family and terrific friends they have done very well. We are blessed with an amazing Church family. They also helped make 2008 bearable.
I realize others probably had a worse year than we did but still, I'm looking forward to 2009. One of my favorite babies has already reached his first birthday. The other 3 will soon reach theirs.
We are planning a trip to Cozumel Mexico in May for my cousins wedding. The kids get to be a part of the wedding. It is beginning to look like a wonderful family reunion.
I am praying for a surgery free year and a healthy year for all. I am so thankful for the special friends that helped us through this past year. With out them it would have been much more difficult. It is amazing how God puts people in our lives. At the time you are just happy to get to know them but then there are days when you know why they came into you life.
So Hello 2009. I'm ready for you.

Engineer, drummer or Maybe Cake Decorating?

My baby turns 12 tomorrow. It is hard to believe that 12 years has gone by. Our 4 pound 12 oz baby boy is becoming a young man with many talents. He is a wonderfully talented drummer, he is getting better everyday on the guitar, he soaks in everything he hears and sees and doesn't forget things he has learned. He is a straight A student and we are very proud of him. Today we learned he can design and decorate cakes.

This year he made his snare drum birthday cake. Great job buddy.

Happy Birthday.

First Official Family Meeting

We had our first official family meeting last night. We have been having some problems with disrespect, getting jobs done on the day assigned, arguing and yelling. I had an agenda with guidelines...no interrupting, listen, etc. I went through what we as parents expect when it comes to homework, getting jobs done, practicing instruments, and how we should start communicating with each other. After each expectation, we talked about the consequence. Everyone had a chance to discuss the expectation and the consequence and make comments about it. Some things were tweaked a bit. We had a great discussion. I think the kids felt like they were able to help with the decision making. It opened up a lot of discussion. As my Dad said..."you do have a couple of thinkers". Yes we do.

I hope this meeting helps. Their Dad and I are going to have to enforce the consequences when they are tested. I hope we are ready for that.

We also agreed that we need to try at the very least once a week to have dinner at the table all together. With our busy schedules we do a lot of eating and running. We are going to make a point of sitting at the table so we can talk, reconnect and evaluate "The Family Plan". Say a prayer for us that things go well. I'm hoping for a lot less yelling and arguing.