These past few weeks have had me thinking, alot. Maybe that's why i've had all these headaches..... ;o)
Anyways, when we first moved up here to MO, I had myself convinced that I was going to be a hermit. I didn't want to make friends or connections at the church/school, because I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to make friendships with people and then have to leave. I hate good-byes! So I tried my best to stay un-involoved and disconnected from EVERYONE. Well, my dear neighbor and great friend, Leslie, just wouldn't let that happen! I am so very thankful for her now. I have found such a dear friend in her, a true friend. She's the kind that I know I will keep in contact with for the rest of my life, no matter where life takes us. (Even though she's a TX fan!! haha!)
When we got here, Janie was mid-year in Kindergarten. I was so very nervous for her to switch schools in the middle of the school year. Would she be able to make new friends, would she be able to catch up to the other students, developmentally? Would she like her new teacher? I was completely amazed when we got to the school. All the kids were so sweet, and took Janie right in like she had been there from day one! And the teacher, oh my goodness, I thank God everyday that she had such a great teacher. She got Janie caught up to the other kids in her class in 3 WEEKS! She was reading within 3 weeks of being here, when we got here she was just doing a few sight words... and now she can read! I was amazed.... Mrs. Fortmeyer, if you have met her, you agree whole heartedly that she is truly a gift from God to any child that comes into her life! She is the most genuine, kind hearted, helpful and willing teacher/person I've ever met. I am so very excited that Jaclynn will have the opportunity to be in her class next year, even if that means we're going to be here in MO for another year. It's almost worth it, just to have Mrs. Fortmeyer again!
I've also made friends with a beautiful soul named Sheila. She is just like me, in so many ways! We get along so well, and our kids do too!! We each have 3, granted, 2 of hers are boys, but all of them are so close in age together. I love getting our family together with her family, we always have so much fun! She is a very kind person, always willing to help and can't so no to anyone ;o)
All in all, I've decided that I need to open my life to the experiences out here. Live it to the fullest and embrace what God has give me! Because moping around wishing I was back home in OK is going to do nothing but get me depressed. I don't need that!
Changes have already started taking place... we've joined St. Paul, the church out here that we've been attending. It's a great church! I've also taken a volunteer cheerleading coach position for a squad that Janie will be cheering on! And i'm getting more involved with the school/church as well. I'm going to be assisting the director of VBS for this summer and also helping out with the school carnival (when I can...) LOL!
There are still a few things I wish I could change about being here.... some people just seem so unwilling to let "new" people in.... but despite that, i've made some wonderful friends and been presented with some great opportunities and learning experiences! I've given my life to the glory of God, I've seen the ways He has been working in my life, and I can't wait to see what else is to come!
God has truly blessed me! I have 3 beautiful, healthy little girls who love me more than anything, and an amazing husband who is 100% supportive of me in all I do! I thank God daily for providing this life for me!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fun weekend, and now a Snow day!!!
Today we woke up to about 4 inches of snow on the ground, with plenty more to come! We're expecting 8-10 inches before it's all over with. The girls are so excited to go out and build a snowman. It's pretty powdery right now, so it may have to wait until tomorrow! Plus, Janie has grown so much this past year that her snowsuit has turned into MAJOR highwaters! So we gotta go get some new snowsuits today.... I should have done it Saturday when I saw them, but i'm a procrastinator so I didn't! Oh well :( Just another reason to go shopping today! LOL
Still continuing on with my Picture a Day project.... in fact it's time to go update some more pics! Hope everyone has a great day! We're gonna have a fun, snowed-in day! God Bless you all!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
A Step In the Right Direction!
I'll be the first to admit, St Joe is NOT my favorite place to live. It's nothing like OKC.... the people out here are just not the same. I've had a hard time getting people to talk... They're not nearly as friendly. Sure, a lot of people have lived here their whole lives and had "their group" of friends, and I don't expect to barge in on that. But I've always considered myself easy to get along with. It just hasn't quite come as easy to me here, although I've made a couple of really great friends since we've been here. ;o)
But one thing St Joe DOES have to offer, that I never thought to take part in when I was in OKC, is the pound plunge. I guess that is one benefit to living in a smaller community. It is a big deal all over the city. We meet up at the mall and do weigh-ins once a week, for 12 weeks. It's St Joe's version of the Biggest Loser. This has become a yearly event, although this is my first year to participate.
I came across this program at just the right time. I had just written my last blog about my resolutions, one of them being the typical lose weight and get healthy. So I looked over the website and thought it would be interesting, but it is done in teams of four. This year they have also opened it up to individuals, but seeing how I hadn't had much luck getting to know people here, I didn't really want to go into a huge group of 'teams' by myself and feel alone. So I thought twice about taking part. Strangely enough, the next night, my friend Sheila and her family were over for New Years Eve. We were talking about resolutions and weight loss and she mentioned wanting to take the pound plunge! How funny.... I was just wanting to do this but didn't want to go it alone! Then, yesterday, I was talking to my neighbor about her new program she was taking part in at work. I mentioned to her that we were considering this program, and registration was due by midnight for early sign-ups. She's on board too! So, this random commercial that I saw and became interested in is coming to life for me! I recruited Sheila and Leslie, but that's only 3 people, and the teams have to have 4 people. Fortunately, I do the cooking in my household, and whether he likes it or not, Jason is now on board as well! So there is my team!
It was just the right timing for me.... I had all the desire and want to lose this weight and get healthy again, but I was lacking the motivation to get started. Now I've got this competition, plus the support of some of my best friends online and at home! I've got no excuses for failure this time. And the best part about it all.... it's 100% FREE! They will be having zumba classes once a week, and many other opportunities for fitness and health, plus nutritionists and fitness experts on hand, whenever we may need them!
I can't wait for next Tuesday at our initial weigh-in to get this ball really rolling!
Oh.... and by the way.... our team name is "N.O.T. W8less" The N.O.T. has meaning.... see Sheila is a Nebraska fan and Leslie, bless her heart... poor thing is a Texas fan! Of course, me and Jason are both Oklahoma fans :) So we put the N from Nebraska, O from Oklahoma and T from Texas together for the N.O.T.! Pretty creative I must say! And it was all thanks to Sheila and Leslie! :) Thanks girls!
But one thing St Joe DOES have to offer, that I never thought to take part in when I was in OKC, is the pound plunge. I guess that is one benefit to living in a smaller community. It is a big deal all over the city. We meet up at the mall and do weigh-ins once a week, for 12 weeks. It's St Joe's version of the Biggest Loser. This has become a yearly event, although this is my first year to participate.
I came across this program at just the right time. I had just written my last blog about my resolutions, one of them being the typical lose weight and get healthy. So I looked over the website and thought it would be interesting, but it is done in teams of four. This year they have also opened it up to individuals, but seeing how I hadn't had much luck getting to know people here, I didn't really want to go into a huge group of 'teams' by myself and feel alone. So I thought twice about taking part. Strangely enough, the next night, my friend Sheila and her family were over for New Years Eve. We were talking about resolutions and weight loss and she mentioned wanting to take the pound plunge! How funny.... I was just wanting to do this but didn't want to go it alone! Then, yesterday, I was talking to my neighbor about her new program she was taking part in at work. I mentioned to her that we were considering this program, and registration was due by midnight for early sign-ups. She's on board too! So, this random commercial that I saw and became interested in is coming to life for me! I recruited Sheila and Leslie, but that's only 3 people, and the teams have to have 4 people. Fortunately, I do the cooking in my household, and whether he likes it or not, Jason is now on board as well! So there is my team!
It was just the right timing for me.... I had all the desire and want to lose this weight and get healthy again, but I was lacking the motivation to get started. Now I've got this competition, plus the support of some of my best friends online and at home! I've got no excuses for failure this time. And the best part about it all.... it's 100% FREE! They will be having zumba classes once a week, and many other opportunities for fitness and health, plus nutritionists and fitness experts on hand, whenever we may need them!
I can't wait for next Tuesday at our initial weigh-in to get this ball really rolling!
Oh.... and by the way.... our team name is "N.O.T. W8less" The N.O.T. has meaning.... see Sheila is a Nebraska fan and Leslie, bless her heart... poor thing is a Texas fan! Of course, me and Jason are both Oklahoma fans :) So we put the N from Nebraska, O from Oklahoma and T from Texas together for the N.O.T.! Pretty creative I must say! And it was all thanks to Sheila and Leslie! :) Thanks girls!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year = New You, right?
Okay, so call me cliche.... but I'm going for the good 'ole New Year's Resolutions again. So here goes:
1~ Every year there is one thing that is ALWAYS on my list... yup, you guessed it, get healthy and lose weight. That's everyone's goal, right?! To start living a healthier lifestyle. Well, I actually did follow this, mostly, last year. See, back in April we started planning our vacation to Jamaica, which was AWESOME! But I knew that I did not want to look back at my pictures after the fact and be too embarressed to show them to anybody because of the way I looked. So I set a goal to lose some major weight before we went. So I started counting my calories using Livestrong and started running. I followed the couch25k program and it was amazing! I started noticing a difference withing a couple of weeks. I hoped for losing about 20 lbs, and ended up losing 17. I was content with that. So then we went to Jamaica, all inclusive drinks and food.. that's where my problem started! I didn't run while we were there, and the food was killer! Not to mention the alcohol... Needless to say I gained about 4 lbs while we were there. Then the holidays hit.... cue the next 6 lbs! So of the 17 I worked so hard to lose over the last year, I managed to only keep 7 of it off. Now, I know that if I would have at least attempted to eat healthier in the last couple of months, this wouldn't have happened. And I know how easy I can get back into it, so that's my goal. I won't be able to run quite yet, it's just too cold outside. But I have a couple of indoor options as well :) I'm not setting a time limit for myself, just a goal. I want to lose about 30 lbs total. Would I like to see it all happen within this year? Absolutely! Do I really expect that?? Not necessarily, but I'm sure going to work towards it.
2~ Getting my family more organized. I mean our entire lives, all the way around. Financially, Spiritually... we can work on it all the way around. I have so many goals for us financially this year. God has blessed us with an amazing career for Jason! We've been very fortunate. My way of contributing to that is to help us save where I can. I've already alleviated alot of our "un-necessary" bills and reduced many bills where we could. I'm trying my hand at couponing... like, the serious-hard core-crazy-hate to be stuck behind that person at the grocery store kind of couponing and bargaining. So... watch out for that! :) Spiritually... we are working on this one. I am not good with change. When we moved from OK to MO, we left an amazing church. It was a very small, close knit little place, but it was home to us. Now that we are in MO, we don't have the same synod... they were Wisconsin synod, here we only have Missouri synod. We could drive to Kansas city every sunday for church, but it's over an hour away. Just not really practical for us. So we are considering switching our membership from WI to MO synods, and becoming members at St. Paul, which is where the girls attend school. It is totally different than our old church, much larger and many more people, but the teachings are very similar. We're praying that God leads us in the right direction, and which choice would be best for our family. We'll see where He leads us.
3~ This blog is another resolution of mine. I've started a new project... 365 days of pictures. There is another blog entry explaining this further in detail, but basically I'll be capturing each day in a single image. Also, blogging. It's a release for me. Whether people read it or not, it's like my journal. My way of getting thoughts out of my head that otherwise would be lost in the mix of changing diapers, cleaning, cooking, laundry... the list could go on and on. So I hope people enjoy looking at my blog and reading my thoughts and seeing my pictures.
I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! I look forward to what 2011 has to offer for us all!
1~ Every year there is one thing that is ALWAYS on my list... yup, you guessed it, get healthy and lose weight. That's everyone's goal, right?! To start living a healthier lifestyle. Well, I actually did follow this, mostly, last year. See, back in April we started planning our vacation to Jamaica, which was AWESOME! But I knew that I did not want to look back at my pictures after the fact and be too embarressed to show them to anybody because of the way I looked. So I set a goal to lose some major weight before we went. So I started counting my calories using Livestrong and started running. I followed the couch25k program and it was amazing! I started noticing a difference withing a couple of weeks. I hoped for losing about 20 lbs, and ended up losing 17. I was content with that. So then we went to Jamaica, all inclusive drinks and food.. that's where my problem started! I didn't run while we were there, and the food was killer! Not to mention the alcohol... Needless to say I gained about 4 lbs while we were there. Then the holidays hit.... cue the next 6 lbs! So of the 17 I worked so hard to lose over the last year, I managed to only keep 7 of it off. Now, I know that if I would have at least attempted to eat healthier in the last couple of months, this wouldn't have happened. And I know how easy I can get back into it, so that's my goal. I won't be able to run quite yet, it's just too cold outside. But I have a couple of indoor options as well :) I'm not setting a time limit for myself, just a goal. I want to lose about 30 lbs total. Would I like to see it all happen within this year? Absolutely! Do I really expect that?? Not necessarily, but I'm sure going to work towards it.
2~ Getting my family more organized. I mean our entire lives, all the way around. Financially, Spiritually... we can work on it all the way around. I have so many goals for us financially this year. God has blessed us with an amazing career for Jason! We've been very fortunate. My way of contributing to that is to help us save where I can. I've already alleviated alot of our "un-necessary" bills and reduced many bills where we could. I'm trying my hand at couponing... like, the serious-hard core-crazy-hate to be stuck behind that person at the grocery store kind of couponing and bargaining. So... watch out for that! :) Spiritually... we are working on this one. I am not good with change. When we moved from OK to MO, we left an amazing church. It was a very small, close knit little place, but it was home to us. Now that we are in MO, we don't have the same synod... they were Wisconsin synod, here we only have Missouri synod. We could drive to Kansas city every sunday for church, but it's over an hour away. Just not really practical for us. So we are considering switching our membership from WI to MO synods, and becoming members at St. Paul, which is where the girls attend school. It is totally different than our old church, much larger and many more people, but the teachings are very similar. We're praying that God leads us in the right direction, and which choice would be best for our family. We'll see where He leads us.
3~ This blog is another resolution of mine. I've started a new project... 365 days of pictures. There is another blog entry explaining this further in detail, but basically I'll be capturing each day in a single image. Also, blogging. It's a release for me. Whether people read it or not, it's like my journal. My way of getting thoughts out of my head that otherwise would be lost in the mix of changing diapers, cleaning, cooking, laundry... the list could go on and on. So I hope people enjoy looking at my blog and reading my thoughts and seeing my pictures.
I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! I look forward to what 2011 has to offer for us all!
Ever hear the phrase, " my life flashed before my eyes"?
People say all the time, "my life flashed before my eyes". I wake up all the time thinking.... what did I do yesterday? Or I look at my kids, my oldest is fixing to be 7!! Where did that time go? It's easy to look back and THINK about all the stages she's gone through, from her birth, to learning to walk and talk, starting school, and most recently, losing her first tooth. But looking back at all this, I wonder where the time went? It seems like it's gone by so quickly and i've just lost track of it all!
So alot of my friends have recently picked up on this "experiment", if you will. The goal is to take a photo every single day, and capture that day in a single image. Seeing how I just got my new camera (WOOHOO!!), this is a perfect time to start this project. The pictures will be random. It may be a person I met that day, a special place I went, something new I tried, a picture of the kids playing, or maybe even just a simple shot of myself. I'll try to do that at least once a month just to see how I change throughout the year. I may not necessarily upload them every day, but I'll try to every few days to keep up with it all. Then, on the side bar of my blog, will be a progressive slideshow.
What better time to start this then at the very beginning of a new year, with many promising things in store for us all! I've got so many goals for my family this year... that's a whole other blog all in itself! So try to keep up and enjoy watching my life flash before your eyes!
So alot of my friends have recently picked up on this "experiment", if you will. The goal is to take a photo every single day, and capture that day in a single image. Seeing how I just got my new camera (WOOHOO!!), this is a perfect time to start this project. The pictures will be random. It may be a person I met that day, a special place I went, something new I tried, a picture of the kids playing, or maybe even just a simple shot of myself. I'll try to do that at least once a month just to see how I change throughout the year. I may not necessarily upload them every day, but I'll try to every few days to keep up with it all. Then, on the side bar of my blog, will be a progressive slideshow.
What better time to start this then at the very beginning of a new year, with many promising things in store for us all! I've got so many goals for my family this year... that's a whole other blog all in itself! So try to keep up and enjoy watching my life flash before your eyes!
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