One Hard Workin' Momma....

Hometowns

2009-12-17T17:24:00.006-06:00

I recently was able to reconnect wiht a childhood friend thanks to Facebook (love it!) and when I told my mom about finding her, I mentioned that she still lived in the town where we lived when we met. And after hearing that, my mom made the comment "I can't imagine living in the same town my whole life." I've thought a lot about that statement since then and have mixed emotions. As someone who has lived in 8 states since birth, I look back and realize how lucky I've been to have lived all over the country. I've seen more of the country in my 34 years, than most people see their entire life. I've lived on the east coast, the west coast, the midwest and the south and each time we moved when I was a child, I remember not wanting to leave my friends, school, etc but have always enjoyed our new location.

The other side of this is that, now as an adult, when someone asks me where I'm "from" I'm not quite sure what to say. I often wish I has one place to call my hometown. My siblings often refer to Lubbock as their hometown, however I was 18 and starting college when we moved there so I don't feel I can say that (not to mention the fact that I moved away from there as fast as I could after college graduation). Do I call the place I lived the longest my hometown? or the place I liked the best? the place I know the most people?

So, as much as I completely agree with my mom (and feel very fortunate for the experiences I've had throughout my life), I do sometimes wish I had ONE place to call "my hometown." For now, I call Hutto my hometown as do my kids because this is the place where my HOME is.

Bad Blogger

2009-12-03T12:32:00.004-06:00

Wow...I'm a super bad blogger. Its now December 3rd and I haven't posted since April. Not that I have much to blog about anyway though. Just working and taking care of the house and kids - that's my life. :)

I'll give a brief update on the 8 months and vow to be better in 2010.

1. I've hit a huge plateau in my weight loss..seriously this thing must be like 3 miles wide. I've managed to maintain (within 5 or so pounds) my weight since May but I would really like to be on the downhill course again. I'm at 19 pounds lost right now and hope I can get to 25 before the end of the year.

2. Paige started middle school this year (and WOW 6th grade is much different than elementary school). She is doing great and so far loves it.

3. We started Colton in a mother's day out program at the church we attend and he's doing good. Still adjusting to other kids, but he loves his "chool" as he says it. He's grown up so much this past year and is talking up a STORM and really clearly too.

4. Went on our first "official" vacation this summer. We went to Port Aransas for a week and had a blast. Hope to be able to do it again every summer.

5. The economic recession has hit Frank's work really hard and it feels like we're constantly struggling to stay a float b/c he has days that he doesn't work at all. I keep praying though knowing God has a plan and will hopefully bring another opportunity to Frank. He's been cooking more and has a good number of "followers" that order briskets whenever he cooks. His really are the best briskets I've ever had (and I'm not biased...really) :)

6. My work is going great....super super busy but I love it! Round Rock is just rockin' and rollin' through this tough financial time and thanks to our great leadership will come out of this way better than most cities.

7. Probably the biggest accomplishment of the year is surviving ONE WHOLE YEAR without Mom and Dad here. Sometimes its tough, but I've done a lot better than I thought I would. Technology has really helped that.

8. Emily and Graham are both in Austin now all four of us kids are together...which I love. They may not, but I do. I like that we can see each other when we want to but still have our distance. lol

We are going to Cloudcroft on Christmas Day to spend a few days. They have 30 inches of snow on the ground right now and I sure hope it stays until we get there. I'd love for the kids to see that much snow. I'll definitely post Christmas pictures and a blog of our trip.

In the mean time I'll post some pics of our trip to the coast.
Merry Christmas!

Weight Update

2009-04-29T08:45:00.004-05:00

I haven't posted about my weight since late January or early February so I thought I'd give everyone an update. I have another blog that I do just for my weigh loss journey and its at a site called "Blog to Lose." I post my weekly weighins and progress on there as well as just some general posts about this "adventure." You can view it HERE.

Anyway, my Fit 4 Life program is over and I lost 11 pounds during the program. I was so excited. I've continued the momentum and have lost another 5.4 pounds for a total of 16.4 pounds. I was hoping to make it to 20 pounds at my weigh in tomorrow which is the last day of April, but I'm not sure its going to happen. Its okay though, as long as I seem some loss then I know I'm still on the right track.

It's great to have people actually notice that i've lost weight. If I can keep this momentum going, I can have the opportunity to be at my goal weight by the end of the year! Woo hoo! I'll post some before and after pictures soon!

Bedtime with a 2 year old

2009-04-28T09:28:00.007-05:00

8:30 pm
Me: Come 'on Colton, its bed time.

Colton: Otay momma!
(tells Frank and Paige goodnight and runs to his bed)

Me: Okay, Colton...tonight you're going to stay in your bed, right?

Colton: Yes!

Me: Goodnight...sleep good.

Colton: Momma, I need my dump twuck.

Me: Here you go.

Colton: I need two twucks.

Me: Okay...here's the other one. And your cup. and your blanket.
Goodnight Colton.

5 Minutes later
Colton: (as he's running into the living room) Hi Momma!!

Me: Colton, get back in bed.

Colton: Otay!

Another 5 minutes later
Colton: (as he's running into the living room...again) Hi Momma!!

Me: Colton, get back in bed! I'm getting the spank spoon

Colton: No pank momma!
Momma, you lay down my bed.

Me: No Colton, I'm not laying down with you tonight. You're a big boy. Now, close your eyes, listen to your music and go to sleep. If you get out of bed again, I'm spanking you.

Colton: Otay momma.

5 minutes later
Colton: (as he's running into the living room...again) Hi Momma!!

Me: Oh. my. gosh Colton! Get back in bed.

Colton: (After a spanking)...peese Momma? Lay down my bed.

Me: No Colton. Go to sleep.

This repeats until 9:00 and 3 spankings later when I finally give in (b/c I'm worn out), shut the door and lay down with him.
If you're happy and you know is playing on the CD....Colton starts clapping to the music.

Me: Colton, roll over and go to sleep.

Colton: Otay

Colton: Where's my cup?

Me: Right there next to you.

Colton: Otay...my cup up here (points to his bed post)

Me: Okay Colton go to sleep.

Colton: Momma?

Me: Yes Colton......

Colton: Where's my twuck?

Me: In your bed....go to sleep.

Colton: Momma?

Me: Yes Colton.......

Colton: I wuv you Momma!

Me: I love you too Colton. Go to sleep.

Colton: Otay

Next thing I know, its 11:00pm. I sneak out the room and go to bed.
Now, repeat this almost every night that I'm home.

Quick Update

2009-03-18T20:00:00.005-06:00

I didn't realize until tonight that I had not posted since February. Shame on me!

Well, to give you a quick wrap up, we've just been busy with work and the kids. Paige is doing a swim program every Saturday morning at Nitro Swim in Cedar Park and she loves it. She is really good too. She's working towards joining the swim team, but she needed some refinement lessons first. This program she is in goes from Station 1 to Station 10 and then they re-evalute them again for swim team. She has been going for about 5 weeks now and has gone from Station 1 to Station 7. I am so proud of her!! She's going to be the next Michael Phelps...well, hopefully just in the swimming aspect. LOL

Colton continues to keep us busy and is talking up a storm! I don't really have any funny stories to tell you about him besides the previous post (see below).

Frank and I have been making changes in our eating habits and along with my workouts, I've lost 9 lbs in the last month and half! I don't think he has lost any weight, but it sure is helping to prolong his life .... considering his really bad heart genes. He did have a bout Monday with his blood pressure being really low (112/67) and his heart rate really high. Not sure what caused that given his meds he is on, but he says he's feeling better.

well, we're just plugging along trying to make it through these hard economic times. This weekend we are going to the Austin Energy Lineman's Rodeo and then to the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo BBQ cookoff. This is the first year in two or three years, that Frank hasn't been cooking at the cookoff. I think he's missing it some, but given no one wants to sponsor this year, there wasn't much he could do. I'm sure I'll have some good pictures and a story to tell after we go!

Auf wiedersehen

Tuckered Out

2009-03-18T19:52:00.002-06:00

On Sunday, Colton would NOT take a nap. I tried everything, but his little stubborn self would not lay down and go to sleep. He was kind of crabby so I was wishing he would go to sleep, but what are you gonna do, right? Well, we were sitting at the table eating dinner that night - just the three of use because is gone for spring break and we looked over and this is what we saw:

It was so cute. Frank grilled some yummy ribeye steaks that night and he ate all of his steak right away, plus some baked potato and salad and he got his belly full and while Frank and I were having a discussion, he just fell asleep! Poor guy was just tuckered out!

Have legs. Will run.

2009-02-24T10:48:00.005-06:00

Wow...I know I'm fat and out of shape, but until I went running with my neighbor Kim last night I didn't exactly realize how much. We ran/walked 3 miles last night. It felt good and hurt like heck at the same time, but I'm glad I did it. Its just one important factor in my weight loss.

Kim has this cool Nike gadget that you put on your shoe and then plug in to your iPod and it records how far, how fast and how long you exercise as well as calories burned, etc. It gives you a graph of what you did. Here is ours from last night. You can cleary see when we walked vs ran.

I think I need to get me one of these things!

I love my Dad!

2009-02-22T21:38:00.008-06:00

I love that my dad is a doctor.

Not so I can say "MY dad's a DOCTOR!" or for the money that usually comes with it or the prestige, but because he is great at what he does, because he helps so many people with his skills, and because no matter where he's practicing medicine he's making a difference (and its nice when my kids get sick too! lol)

Right now, he's in the middle of AIDS stricken Namibia helping sick kids...seeing things he would never see in the US and by the looks of these pictures, is just as much at home in medicine in Namibia as he was in Texas.

I hope that one day soon, he and mom will come back to Texas and he can pick up where he left off helping the kids of Texas. Well, maybe not exactly the same, of course, selfishly, I want them to come to the Austin area. (Heck by that time, Texas A&M will have their medical school up and running in Round Rock, a perfect place for an Aggie to come back to).

Here's to you Dad! May you be able to touch the lives of the kids you are helping in Namibia as much as you have touched my life, my kids' lives and the lives of thousands of kids in Lubbock. I love you!

Like Father Like Son

2009-02-22T13:49:00.004-06:00

When I was downloading the pictures from Sesame Street Live from the camera, I found these pictures of Frank and Colton that I forgot I had taken. Colton loves to be like daddy and as you can see from these pictures, he does a great job of it!

Saying Goodbye

2009-02-21T21:39:00.002-06:00

Today was a day of celebration and sadness. Frank's Uncle Ray passed away on Wednesday from a massive stroke he had seven days prior. He never woke up after the stroke and it was just a matter of time. Today was the funeral and we droke to Red Oak (3 hours north near Dallas) to attend.

When I say it was a day of celebration, I mean in the way that we celebrated his going to be with God. There is no doubt that Ray is sitting in heaven watching all of us and being a friend to every child up there as he was here on earth. Kids loved him and he loved kids. He was a hilarious man and so loving and giving.

I remember the last time we saw him was last summer in Salado when all of Frank's dad's siblings met for a weekend and we drove up to see them. It was a fun time....
Just about everyone on that side of the family are democrats and I will never forget Ray telling me that I was lucky "Grampy" (his dad) was not living, otherwise I never would have been accepted into the family by him b/c I am a Republican. it was the funniest conversation I've ever had with someone and Ray was laughing the entire time, but dead serious at the same time. :) I know his wife Judy and their 4 boys and 8 grandchildren are going miss him terribly. We just need to remind ourselves that he is in a better place now.

Funerals are so draining.............Goodbye Uncle Ray!

Elwo!

2009-02-21T21:21:00.005-06:00

On Valentine's Day I took Colton to Sesame Street Live at the Erwin Center. I was lucky enough to get 2nd row tickets on the floor the day they went on sale. I wasn't sure how Colton would reacte to it being that close, but he LOVED it! We had great seats and all the characters went right by us on their way on and off stage so Colton got to touch a lot of them and say hi. It was great to watch his reactions. I never got to do anything like that with Paige (I was a broke college student when she was Colton's age) so I'm grateful that we're able to do fun stuff like this now.
Everytime we get ready to some place now, we ask Colton where we are going and he says "Elwo Live!"

Here are some pictures from the show. See how close we were!!

I will post all the pictures on my facebook page if you want to see more!

Weightloss update

2009-02-21T21:18:00.002-06:00

I was not looking forward to my weigh in this week. I've really been slacking in the exercise portion of my weight loss plan. I'm doing great on the water and portion size, have slipped a little on the fruits and veggies and healthy meals, but the exercise is the worst. I just have been so tired at night the last 2 weeks, and I feel very guilty getting in bed and staring at the treadmill in the bedroom knowing I should be on it. I'll get back around to it though.

The good news is that I lost another 1.2 pounds this week so I'm up to 5.6 lbs in 3 weeks! Hooray!!

Colton the Swimmer

2009-02-21T21:14:00.006-06:00

One day around Christmas, Colton got a hold of Paige's "aka Sissy" swimming goggles. He was half scooting and half crawling around on the floor all day pretending he was "swimming." It was hilarious!

We'll see how swim lessons go this summer, but I think he's going to be a swimmer. Now that Paige is prepping for swim team, he loves to pretend even more to "wim" in the bathtub and always wants to get in the pool when we take Paige. He is just mesmorized watching all the kids on swim team do their laps. It great to watch. His Daddy is still hoping that baseball will continue to be his passion...he can do both right? :)

Graham's Birthday

2009-02-21T21:12:00.005-06:00

Well, fortunately for us but perhaps unfortunately for Graham, he changed his flight to stay a few extra days and then his flight back to Boston was cancelled the night before he was supposed to leave. This not only gave us a few more days, but we also got to celebrate his birthday with him.

Below are some pictures from the little party we had for him. I'm sure its one he won't soon forget! :)

Updates Continued

2009-02-21T20:43:00.006-06:00

October 2008

Pretty uneventful month. It was our first month with out Mom and Dad and though it was different, we made it! October also marked one year since I left Samsung and started at the City of ROund Rock. Wow, what a year its been! I couldn't ask for a better job and a better group of people to work with. I thank God every day that out of all the cities in Texas, he provided me with a job in a great one that has awesome leadership, vision and continuity.

Also with October comes Halloween and we had what is becoming an annual tradition on Halloween - a party with our next door neighbors. Since October in Austin is usually really warm still, we get together with our neighbors and their family and have a fun little party outside in the yard between our houses. Its grown over the last 6 years. The wives takes the kids trick or treating, while the guys sit between the houses and hand out candy (and boy is there a TON of candy between all the families that come), and of course drink some beer. Who would have guessed.

Anyway, this year Paige dressed up as Colt McCoy and Colton was a turtle. Email me if you don't know who Colt McCoy is......... LOL. Here are couple of pictures.

November 2008

November brought our first Thanksgiving without Mom and Dad. Frank and the kids and I went to Lubbock to see Frank's family for Thanksgiving and were lucky enough to get to see Emmy and Graham and enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner with them. As sad and different as it was to have a holiday without Mom and Dad, we realized we will survive, we will survive! *singing*

December 2008

Wow, what an end to a busy and fun filled year. Went to Boston in February, Paige went to Pennsylvania with Mom, we all went to PA in September, and Mom and Dad fainlly made it to their new home in Namibia in October. Whew! It sure was a busy year! Christmas was quite different without Mom and Dad and was especially hard Emmy and Graham. There was no annual "pink turtleneck" gift (that's another story for another time) and no forgotten gifts in the closet or under the bed. All in all, though we tried really hard to make it a nice holiday for everyone. I do have to say though we are already counting down the Christmases until we can all be together again.

On to 2009!!!!!!!!!!

September Happenings

2009-02-06T14:34:00.014-06:00

As promised, I'm staring my updates from September 08 through January 09.
So September was such a bittersweet month. Frank and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary right after we got back from a trip to Pennsylvania to attend mom and dad's commissioning ceremony at the church we grew up in. And boy what a trip it was! It had all the makings of a great comedy movie. Seven Texans traveling to Philly, getting lost, fighting traffic in Philly, getting to go to a rural PA farm and see Amish farms and buggies on the way, getting lost in the PA mountains, almost getting sideswiped on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.....it was great!

Anyway, we traveled (and by we I mean Frank, myself, Paige and Colton) with my sister Allison, her husband Ben and my niece Ryleigh. So seven of us (and remember that Colton IS TWO!) flew out of Austin to Philly on a late flight and didn't get there until 11:30pm. Please learn from my mistakes....two year olds and flights that go through dinner and into bedtime don't mesh well.

Frank and Ben have never been north of the Mason Dixon line so taking them to "Yankee Land" was very brave of Allie and I. We had to listen to Yankee comments the entire trip, but it was totally worth it! We spent most of our first day sightseeing in Philly and took the guys and kids to see the Liberty Bell. We also drove to South Philly(brave, I know!) b/c the guys just HAD to go to Gino's Steaks...for an aunthentic philly cheesesteak. It was awesome! We didn't want to get out with all the kids, so we did a drive by and dropped off the guys and then circled the block a few times and them slowed down to pick them up again. It was classic!

Oh, did I mention that I drove the whole time...and a minivan at that? Allie got lost trying to find the hotel after picking up the rental car and we ended on up a freeway headed to downtown after going over a huge bridge and a small tunnel (both of which Allie is DEATHLY afraid of). After that, she handed over the keys and I did all the driving.

We then headed northwest to rural PA to the towns we grew up in. It was great to visit again after 18 years and see all the old familiar places. We got to go by our house we grew up in (ok...for more years than any other house...you know we did move alot) and take the guys to the lady's house that babysat us. She and her husband have a chicken and rabbit farm. This is where I perfected my skill at plugging my nose from smells without actually "holding" it (this skill has come in handy MULTIPLE times....poopy diapers are just one example!). On the way to the Kiles' farm the guys and kids got to see some real amish farms and amish buggies...they were facinated by them! It was priceless to see their faces!

We attended Mom and Dad's commissioning ceremony which was very nice but sad at the same time. We all knew that this trip to Pennsylvania would be the last time we would see Mom and Dad for at least 2 years. There were lots of tears shed and lots of laughs as well. Mom and Dad left for Namibia on September 26th........

Are you tired of reading yet? That was just September! Oct - Jan yet to come...

3.4 down... ## to go!

2009-02-06T14:27:00.002-06:00

Well, last week was the start of a weight loss/healthy eating program at work called Fit 4 Life. I am determined that this is going to be the year that I lost all the weight I need to lose (okay..probably not ALL of it, but a majority). I am doing a combination of things and this program is one of them. So far its been great! Though I am probably the 2nd fattest person in the class and the majority of people are SKINNY! Before I go off on a tyrant about why skinny people should NOT be in weight loss programs (for one it makes us fat people feel even worse about ourselves!), I must remind my self that this class is about getting healthy and not necessarily about losing weight.

So yesterday we had our second weigh in and I had lost 3.4 pounds! Woo hoo! I know its small, but geez its something and the last 3-4 years, I haven't been able to lose anything (except right after I had Colton - but that has obviously come back). I'm going to have Frank take a picture of me this weekend so I can post it and then once a month take a picture to document my weight loss. My friend Kim is a great inspiration. She has lost a ton of weight in the last year and a half and she started out about the same size I am now.

Let's all just hope I can keep it up....skinny clothes here I come!!!!!

Yes, we're still alive.....

2009-02-04T13:13:00.003-06:00

I know I'm a bad blogger.....shame on me. I haven't posted since September! I promise an update (in the form of several blogs as to keep my readers interested) in the next few weeks. I have much to catch everyone up on that has been going on in our lives since my last post.

Until we blog again............

A post for my Mom and Dad

2008-11-12T22:50:00.004-06:00

Hi Mom and Dad-
I hope you enjoy this little video I took for you this weekend. A sweet and little reminder of home and what is waiting for you when you return. Thanks so much for entrusting me with all that you have. ENJOY!!

I just found this post that I started in November but couldn't get the video to upload....see I have thought about it! LOL

So long Ike!

2008-09-14T22:24:00.016-05:00

Well, Central Texas dodged another one! While we would have really liked to have gotten some rain from Hurrican Ike, we sure were glad to have been spared from his damage. Its hard to believe we didn't get any rain with the storm being 600 - 700 miles wide. It truely was an amazing storm.

In June, we went to Nassau Bay because I had a conference, but we took the kids with us and had a great time on a "mini-vacation." The hotel we stayed at was the Hilton Clear Lake which sits [hence the name :)] right on the banks of Clear Lake,spent a fun evening on the Kemah Boardwalk and spend a full day at Moody Gardens and at the beach in Galveston...the kids had a blast. Here are a few pictures from that trip.

Hilton Clear Lake

Kemah Board Walk

North Beach in Galveston

So as we watched the TV Saturday morning, waiting with baited breath to see what damage the monster had caused, we recognized the place that we called "home" for a few days this summer. The Hilton sustained a lot of damage and we saw mutiple pictures of the lobby. Paige seemed really upset at the damage, I'm guessing because she saw some place where she had been and spent a few days. Kemah boardwalk also seems to have sustained quite a bit of damage and we all know what the beach in Galveston must look like. We were at North Beach which is the farthest point on the island. Hopefully one day, we'll be able to visit this place again and enjoy another summer there!

Here is a video of some of the damage at the hotel.

Hilton Clear Lake Damage http://arklatexhomepage.com/media_player.php?media_id=37901

And a video of damage at the Kemah boardwalk. We walked through all of this area just a few months ago. It's hard to believe it looks like this now!

Kemah Damage

17 Days....

2008-09-02T21:47:00.003-05:00

In a little over two weeks, we're going to Pennsylvania. I'm not sure if I'm so excited about this trip because my entire family will be together "one last time?" or is it because I haven't been back to PA in about 18 years? is it getting to show my husband where I grew up? or perhaps it is because of the possibility of seeing old friends from my childhood that I haven't seen since the end of 8th grade when my parents shipped me off to Texas!! :) Don't worry Mom and Dad...I'm not bitter! LOL

Whatever the reason for the excitement, it is going to be bittersweet. Knowing that our trip to PA is the last time I'll see my parents for at least two years, is hard to swallow.

More food for thought!

2008-08-19T22:49:00.003-05:00

"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did."

"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

Life is short, Love deeply, Be a friend, Forgive quickly, Kiss those you love, Laugh often, Give freely... Never regret anything that made you smile.

He's in Control

2008-08-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

She misses me, she misses me not!

2008-08-10T22:46:00.004-05:00

Paige has been gone for one week and has one more to go before she comes home. She's been gone a lot this summer and I'm truely grateful for everyone that has made it possible for her to be able to travel and do new and different things instead of just sitting at home all summer.

However, when I talked to Paige on Friday she told me, "Mom, I love you but I don't miss you." WHAT?!?!? You don't miss me? LOL I'm trying really hard not to take this statement personally. She's almost 10 so I'm chalking it up to almost being a teenager...and I know there is probably a lot more of this to come - I just didn't expect it so soon. Is it that she's just having a lot of fun and doesn't have time to miss me or is that she doesn't like living at our house and doesn't miss me......I sure hope its the first one.

Oh my...what am I in store for during the next 8 years? Better say lots of prayers. :)

Divine Romance......

2008-08-10T22:13:00.003-05:00

I have recently come across a song that has quickly become one of my all time favorites. I wish I could put the song on here for all hear. Its one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and not just because of the melody. The words resignate through my head everytime I hear it and it just brings me peace everytime I hear it.

The name of the song is Divine Romance by Phil Wickham. Below are the lyrics...if you ever get a chance to hear it, I hope it blesses you as much as it does me.

The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty's all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I'm completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it's filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I'm completely satisfied

I dedicate this post to my beloved littlest (that's a word, right?) sister Emily who is a true inspiration to me in the way that she always puts God first in all she does.....and is a walking testiment that when you put God first and glorify him, he will bestow happiness, joy and success. Love you Em!

The invasion of the Texans

2008-08-08T23:19:00.002-05:00

Texas will be invading Pennsylvania in t-minus 47 days....watch out!

Frank is already strategizing about how to introduce all the "yankees up there" to the Longhorns...he actually wants me to buy a longhorn suitcase....are you kidding me?!?!? He also wants Colton to wear UT stuff every day....surely you kidding honey...right?

My husband's longhorn obsession aside...I am so excited about going to the longest "home" I had growing up. I haven't been back to PA since...I don't know when and I am even more excited to be able to share my memories with my husband. The best of all...we get to attend Mom and Dad's commissioning ceremony in Danville and wish them a final farewell before they leave.

The thing I'm not looking forward to about our trip...going back as heavy as I am. I vowed on my 4 hour drive home (er...make that 4.5 hours thanks to slow drivers and a volleyball team in Palestine) that I will do all I can to lose as much weight as I can before we leave. Takes 21 days to form a habit or break a habit....I plan to make a habit of using the treadmill EVERY day....pray for me that God will give me the energy to meet this goal. :)

Highschool never ends.....

2008-08-08T23:00:00.002-05:00

So for the past three days, I've been attending a seminar in Tyler for my municipal clerk certification and as much as I gain invaluable information from these seminars, I am constantly amazed at some of the attendees. They range from the "high society Dallas-area" ladies, to the "hicktown USA" ladies (and when I say hick, I mean H-I-C-K). What I'm mose amazed at is some of these people feel the need to form cliques. We are all adults and are all either a City Secretary (also called Municipal Clerk) or a deputy/assistant CS/MC or someother form or fashion of municipal administration and we are all there to LEARN, not socialize. Some of these ladies are so bad as to save an entire row of seats in the seminar room, not allow people to ride in the shuttle back to the airport with them and constantly stare and talk about others in attendance. Are we in high school or are we professionals here ladies?!?!?!?

I do have to say though, most of the us from the larger cities, are completely nice and professional. It seems to be the hicks with the problems...maybe they should "come to the city" more often.

Something to Live By

2008-07-28T21:43:00.002-05:00

Here's a great phrase to live by:

"I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul."

Happy Birthday little one!

2008-07-12T23:59:00.010-05:00

Today is my baby boy's second birthday. Its hard to believe that is he already two! We just had a small party this year with family and some close friends. Colton chose to have an "Elwo" party and hence he got an "Elwo tate"....translation....he had an Elmo party with an Elmo cake! :)

Here are some cute pics from his little party. We didn't do much today on his actual birhday since everyone (including Paige) is out of town, but he had a good birthday last night.

You're so vain.......

2008-07-07T22:02:00.003-05:00

So its been brought to my attention that maybe its a little vain of me to post TWO pictures of myself...so to sqwelch the comments that "I'm so vain...." I've removed one.

Headshot

2008-07-06T00:52:00.007-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I really hate to have my picture taken, so when I was told at work that I had put off having my headshot done long enough, I bit the bullet.

Well, I think the results turned out pretty well. At least for an overweight, married 32 year old! :)

An Example to Follow

2008-07-06T00:26:00.006-05:00

As I sit here on the couch watching the NASA channel (that we now have b/c we changed to Dish Network) and I am truely amazed at space and these brave people that risk their lives to go up into space. They must have complete faith and trust in the people at mission control and the scientists that designed and built all the equipment they use. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the direction in which my life is headed and who is really in control of my life.

My sister Emily just posted a blog on her attempt at dancing (notice I said "attempt) :) and how she needs to give up control and let the guy lead - whether its letting God control her life or really letting a guy lead the dance. I feel in many ways, that I need to do more of letting God control my life. There are defintely things that need to change. My husband isn't perfect (nor are any of us) and he has a lot of hangups. I just can't seem to get him to see the error in his ways in hopes he will change. I think though that my nagging just makes things worse and I think I just need to turn it all over to God and hope that he can speak to his heart. Its a very hard thing for me to do though...being that I'm a control freak and such. I'm constantly worrying about where I'm going to find enough money to pay all the bills while keeping up my family's lifestyle. I worry about how I'm going to sell my car when the air conditioner doesn't work (which believe me it really sucks to drive w/o air conditioning during the summer in Austin) and if I don't get it sold for what I owe on it, how I'm going to make three vehicle payments. I worry about my baby boy and hope that we're bringing him up the way we should and are disciplining him enough and I also worry about Paige and her growing up so fast and how things are going to go with her during the very near teenage years. I worry about my parents and their new endeavor to Africa that is quickly approaching. I have nightmares about things happening to them while they are and I worry that Colton won't remember them when they come back. I worry about my sister and brother in Boston but at the same time and am SO VERY proud of them for going out on their own in a new city far far away from their comfort zone.

I'm sure that these astronauts have many worries as well when they begin their journey, but they put trust and faith in their mission control and I think its time I put my complete faith and trust in my mission control - God. It may mean me giving up some of my control, going to church by myself but these are small sacrifices to make for the happiness that comes from letting God be in control.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next.

Amen.

Small town PA

2008-07-05T00:30:00.007-05:00

My first "real" hometown made the ABC News tonight! Millville, PA.....next to living in Lubbock, I lived in this town the longest and its such a small town nestled in PA, that it was really neat to see one of its own featured on the national news!

Happy 4th! ... Oh..I guess its the 5th now. But why stop celebrating??

Click here to watch the video!

Independence Day

2008-07-04T09:34:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

How do three moms take 7 kids to a water park and survive??? I'll let you know tomorrow if we suceeded. Say a prayer for us!

I'm baaaack

2008-07-03T15:48:00.003-05:00

Did you ever thing you'd see another post from me? I was beginning to wonder myself. As I logged on to my account and looked to see when the last time I posted was, I was shocked to see how long it had been. Almost a year! My how time flies when you're havin' fun. So much has happened in the past year and so much more is on the schedule for the rest of 2008.

So here's a short synopsys of our lives from Aug '07 to July '08
-Applied for new job just prior to last post
-September - Interview 3 time for new job
-October - Start new job! hip hip hooray! LOVE NEW JOB!
-November - Last Thanksgiving with Mom and Da - Emmy and Graham spent it in Boston...best day ever for them, right guys? :)
-December - Whole family together for Christmas for the last time for a while
-January - Turned 32! OMG...I'm old
-February - STILL LOVING NEW JOB! Take a much needed trip to Boston with Mom, Sister and Bro's girlfriend...froze our butts off! Note to self: don't go to Boston in February...ever!
-March - hmmmm can't remember March! LOL
-April - nada
-May - STILL LOVING JOB - Paige finished 4th grade...I can't believe she'll be in middle school after the next school year is done.
-June - Took a short but much needed family break to Nassau Bay. Kids got to see and play in the ocean. (I'll post pictures and video later)
Also took a trip to Lubbock to see my parents (2nd to last time). Sad to see the for sale sign in the yard (Don't know what I'm referring to? See their website at www.road2namibia.com.
-July - well, since its only July 3, I can't say much about this month yet.

My baby boy turns two in 9 days, my husband turns 34 in 5 days, my oldest daughter turns 12 in 19 days!! July is filled with lots of birthdays so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE!

I'm determined to blog more starting today. Especially since Mom and Dad won't be able to get weekly phone call updates from me starting in two months.

Man it feels good to be back! :) ta-ta for now.

Promise

2007-08-25T23:42:00.000-05:00

okay, okay.....so I haven't posted in a REALLY long time.
I promise to post a new blog really soon telling everyone how our little family is doing. So much has gone on in the 2.5 months since I posted. I'll leave all that for the next time.

Au revoir!

Wait wagon wait!

2007-06-13T13:09:00.000-05:00

So every Monday since the middle of February I have been meeting with my personal trainer, Karla. I love my Monday workouts and until recently have been working really hard at losing weight. Well this Monday, I went to my workout and we weighed and measured.

O...M...G! It was awful! I had gained 4 pounds and only lost 1/2 inch in most areas and one even stayed the same. Karla tried really hard to be nice (but firm) when she told me that I needed to "step it up." She found me out...I fell off the wagon and am desperately trying to climb back on as it speeds down the road. I know I've lost inches because my clothes are fitting better and I can wear clothes that I haven't worn in three years, but at the same time, I really want to see some results on the scales. She told me that if I'm sticking to her recommendation for me (1200 - 1500 calories a day) and I'm not losing pounds with the inches then I need to have my thyroid checked again. I can't take having it checked again just for the doctor to tell me..."Mrs. White, your thyroid is fine. You're just a fat ass." Its so depressing.

I guess I'll get off my soap box for a while and continue to try to climb back on the wagon.

Walkin'.....

2007-06-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

My baby is growing up! :) & :(

Colton turned 11 months old yesterday and is VERY close to walking on his own. He does it more when no one is watching him or prodding him with "Come here...come see Da-Da...walk to Da-Da." I have found that if we just leaving him alone we'll look over to see him taking 3 steps here and 3 steps there. EXCITING!

We're also starting the transition from mostly bottle feeding with some baby food, to table food with a few bottles in between. I was really worried the past few weeks when he kept refusing to eat baby food and didn't really want table food. All he wanted was the bottle. GREAAAAAAAT....This is going to be an uphill battle. But he also has been sick and having problems with his asthma so that could have been part of the problem. This week he is doing great at table food! He still lives for his morning and night time bottles, but we're making progress. Hip hip hooray!

I can't believe he's going to be 1 in a month.......oh how the time flies.

Moving on

2007-06-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

Who ever knew that watching your family grow up and move on would be so sad. For the last 8 years, I have been the married one, the one with the college degree, and the one out of the house and living away from everyone....not any more. Within the last month all three have graduate and one even got married. It's quite surreal and though I am extremely happy for them, and can't wait to see what they do in the next phase of their life, I am also sad.

I guess growing up you don't think about your family "growing up" to and what happens when everyone is an adult and goes their own way. Maybe I'm in the minority, but all growing up I only pictured what I would do with my life and not any of my three siblings.

My sister Allie (next in line after me) graduated from Lubbock Christian University with an Accounting degree. The same night she got married and now she lives just 7 houses away. I love having her near me and its great to have a family member close by to be there when I'm missing everyone else in the fam.

Emmy - she is 25 and just graduated from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center (TTHSC) with her Master's in Physical Therapy (PT) and is moving to Boston to start her career.

And then the baby.....Graham. I guess he isn't a baby anymore considering he's 23. He graduated from Texas Tech University with his Bachelor's in microbiology. He's moving to Boston as well to go to graduate school at Boston University and then on to medical school...OVERACHIEVER.

Lastly are my parents....in 8 days they leave for a 3 week trip to Rundu, Namibia and most likely will be moving their permanently to be medical missionaries. Please pray that God will keep them safe in their travels. I've had a very hard time with this portion of all the family changes.

I guess God is watching out for all of us kids though b/c he's made it so that we each have a sibling near us to support and lean on and just be there for each other.
He does work in mysterious ways.

The Office JAMmed - 2:12 The Injury

2007-05-15T22:46:00.001-05:00

This is my FAVORITE Office episode. I laugh histerically whenever I watch this. Enjoy!

Daddy strikes again!

2007-04-23T21:41:00.000-05:00

Frank never ceases to amaze me. He and Paige had decided to "DO" Colton's hair while I was getting my butt kicked by my trainer at the gym. I couldn't stop laughing when I pulled in the garage and saw Colton waving bye-bye at me (okay..he really waves at himself, but he meant it for me - even though I had just gotten home) with his hair looking like this! It was hilarious. What will they think of next??

9 Month old boys

2007-04-22T22:24:00.000-05:00

Oh...my...goodness. Who knew that having a boy would be so much work??? Let me just say, that Colton keeps me on my toes 24hours a day! That boy is faster than lightening when he crawls and he manages to get from the entrance to kitchen to the cat food (on the other side of the kitchen) in about....2.5 seconds. What is is about cat food that lures the kid over there? He also finds every tiny little piece of ANYTHING on my floors and puts it in his mouth. I'm surprised the kid hasn't choked to death on anything yet, because EVERYTHING he finds goes in his mouth. Well anyone that knows me knows that I'm a bit of a neat freak and I like a clean house, but Colton has made me realize that my house is not as clean as I thought it was. I'm so tired of sweeping and cleaning wood floors every day. Its an exhausting task....who's idea was this anyway? LOL

See? Trying to put the flower in his mouth!

Again, he found something so small you can't even see it, yet he's able to get it into his nubby fingers and then into his mouth!

I think he's teething again also. It seems that everytime he cuts a tooth (or 2 since he usually does it in pairs) he wakes up in the middle of the night until the tooth breaks through. Well...we're going on night three now without sleeping through the night. I can't take this! I need my sleep......

Parenthood

2007-04-22T22:21:00.001-05:00

Ok...anyone who has kids can TOTALLY relate to this clip from my newest favorite show...Notes from the Underbelly.

Catastrophic Catapult Failure

2007-04-21T08:04:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago at work, we had our 2nd Annual 6Sigma Catapult Challenge. This is an event I started last year and organize completely on my own. Anyway, teams design and build their own catapults and then launch them on event day.

This year, the teams launched baseballs and water balloons. Needless to say the water balloons were a TOTAL failure; they kept breaking upon launch. Everyone seemed to have fun though.

The video below is of the team that ended up getting 1st place! This is their practice run the night before the competition. Its hard to believe they won after watching this! ENJOY!

To eat or not to eat?

2007-04-20T23:24:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago, I was talking to the mother of one of Paige's friends and she said "Oh! I keep forgetting to tell you something...." She proceeded to tell me that when Paige was at their house a week or so ago, she told the mom (and this is a quote) "My mommy won't let me do dance because she says we don't have enough money. But she spends over $100 every week at the grocery store!"

I almost died. Right there. On the phone.

What do you say to that? When I asked Paige about it later that night, she just looked at me. I guess she wold rather dance than eat. What am I going to do with her????

Random Thoughts from the Underbelly

2007-04-18T18:22:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't posted in a while. (Obviously, right?) Evidently I can't keep up a promise to even myself. Geez....
I haven't posted because I can't think of a blessed thing to write about. PLUS, I feel such pressure from great bloggers like Emily (who cracks me up with EVERY blog she writes...you really should try stand up comedy, Em) and P, who shows us fabuloso pictures of Paris and tells of her great adventures and then shares beautiful pictures of Michael. How the heck am I supposed to keep up with that?? ;0) I live in Hutto...no one wants to see pictures of that and I work so much I don't have time to take pictures of Colton and Paige and I'm for sure not a comedian. But I'll keep trying.

So you're probably wondering about the title....have you seen the show yet?? I LOVE IT! I laughed my ass off the entire time. Much like I do when I watch the office. For different reasons of course, although I've lived through both situations...lol. Let me re-phrase....I've been pregnant twice (and never again...hopefully) so I can relate to the show "Notes from the Underbelly" and I currently live though an episode of the Office EVERY DAY. I'm really trying hard not to become bitter about my job, but its so dang hard. Anyone out there have a position for a very organized, AWESOME project manager???? Anyone? Anyone? Yeah.....I'm hearing that alot lately. Nothing.

So I want to leave on a positive note since this ENTIRE post has had a negative connotation to it. My trainer (gotta love Karla!) measured me a week ago and I'm seeing progress....hip hip hooray! I've lost 1 inch in my waist, 1.5 inches in my hips (watch out Shakira!), .5 inches in my neck and thighs and .75 inches in my chest. I'm still plugging away. My goal is to be a size 8 by the year 2050......

Well, as the famous Kidd Kraddick always say....."Keep looking up 'cuz that's where it all is!"

Did someone say Frog??

2007-03-31T20:42:00.000-06:00

During Colton's bath Wednesday night, Daddy brought Colton a "present." He wasn't too sure about it and needless to say, neither was Mommy! He quickly got another bath after Daddy and the "present" left.

FINALLY!

2007-03-29T21:35:00.000-06:00

Okay...so I'm behind with the times since it seems that EVERYONE under the sun has a blog. I finally started one!

So...I, Sara White, do solemnly swear to try to post a blog AT LEAST once a week. As the title says, I'm one hard workin' momma and don't have a lot of free time.

Speaking of work....gotta go get to bed so I can get up for work in the morning! Until next time..................