Corin's Bday Announcements!

Here is what Corin's birthday announcements looked like....

The Back:

The Front:

A full birthday post is COMING SOON!

Check out the two new posts below...........

A typical interaction between

Our 2nd and 3rd daughters.....

C: "Look at me mama!"

G: Always within 3 inches of little C, playing "nicely."

C: "This is so much fun, playing under this chair."

G: "Can Corin have a raisin?"

Mommy: "Gabby, I said NO, Corin can not have a raisin.

G: "Oh. Ok I will get it out."

C: "Wait, I really wanted that raisin."
C: "I want that raisin:("
C: "I am so mistreated. I don't why these people won't let me have any raisin."

Makeover Monday...

(On the way to our anniversary date last weekend!)

And yes it is ALMOST Wednesday! (Sorry to let you down Skylar, but if you come move in with me and homeschool my children I promise to update my blog on time:)))

I feel like I am running out of things to say. I am starting to eat a little more and not be quite as "strict" with my diet while still maintaing good habits. I found myself licking the cupcake batter while making cupcakes for Corin's party this past weekend. (Oops:)

I honestly don't want to be of one those crazy health people that can't even enjoy a good brownie. That really was not my goal in all of this. (Because honestly, life with NO chocolate would be sad:( I want to be healthy. I want to be someone that consistently makes good food choices and stays active so that when I do occasionally want to splurge that I can do it guilt free!

I weighed yesterday and I was

....148

Down 1 lb from last week! My weight loss is definitely slowing down. It is ok though. I know that with these last 8-10 pounds (or maybe less) the weight will be a LOT harder to get off. I honestly can't remember the last time I was in the 140's (seriously, maybe like 7th grade???) so this is not "extra" weight that I have put on with babies, this is that serious STUBBORN fat.

ON a good note, I ventured into GAP yesterday. I have had to buy a few new things here and there but I have been wanting to try on some Gap jeans for a "true size test." I am definitely a size 6 in Gap! Which is seriously amazing!!! I honestly might even be a 4 if I drop 8-10 more pounds. For real. Craziness. Pure insanity.

Later peeps.

Makeover Monday #15

Consistency.

That is the key. A lot of people have asked me recently what I did to lose the weight....

It is all about consistency. I consistently counted calories, ate 80-90% of healthy foods, and exercised. Thats it! I am not going to lie, the donuts, cheetos, and chinese food were calling my name.....many times, but I resisted. I had to deliberately plan out what I was going to eat on many occasions. It was tedious. But it was worth it.

That is my advice. Stick to something. No excuses. It doesn't matter if you travel, have 3 parties to go to, have baseball season for your son, go on a cruise...whatever the circumstance may be, you have to stick to your plan! It will work if you are truly consistent.

I am so sorry my posts are kinda lame now. I am SOOOO busy right now and I just don't have time to sit down and blog.

May 5th -176.8
May 16th- 172
May 23rd- 170.2
May 31st- 169.4
June 6th- 167.4
June 13th- 165.9
June 20th- 163.6
June 27th- 161.6
July 4th- 160.2 (on different scale)
July 11th- 160.2 (on different scale)
July 18th- 157.2
July 25th- 156.2
August 1st- 153.8
August 8th - 151.8
August 15th - 151.8

August 23rd- 149

YEAH! Down 2.8! For a total of 27.8 pounds!

I am seriously so excited. I feel like my hard work has paid off. I still have about 7-9 pounds to reach my goal weight but I seriously feel SO great. I have so much more energy.

Have a great week!!!

Makeover Monday # 14

I don't have any super insightful information for this week. It was kinda a off week. Matt has been on swings (which is my least favorite shift) where he works from 1 pm (ish) to midnight. It is just really hard to eat well because I don't like to make big meals at lunch time and then by dinner without him here, I am tired!!

So anyways, I ran 4.4 miles this past Saturday so I feel like I am finally out of my slump. Thank the LORD!!! It was rough there for a while. And I did finally reach 100 MILES. I am so super proud of this accomplishment. I have wanted to be a runner for SUCH A LONG TIME....and I finally feel like I can call myself one. Super pumped!!!

As far as weight loss goes....here is what I got......
May 5th -176.8
May 16th- 172
May 23rd- 170.2
May 31st- 169.4
June 6th- 167.4
June 13th- 165.9
June 20th- 163.6
June 27th- 161.6
July 4th- 160.2 (on different scale)
July 11th- 160.2 (on different scale)
July 18th- 157.2
July 25th- 156.2
August 1st- 153.8
August 8th - 151.8

August 15th - 151.8

Well it was bound to happen eventually. The scale did not move this week. I actually was not that surprised nor that upset. For a few reasons....

1.) I have had very few "low number" weeks through this whole journey. I knew coming in that there would be low weeks and I am ok with that.

2.) The time of the month hit again. Bloated. Tired. Blah. So lame.

3.) I ate pizza twice this weekend (only 2 slices each time) and a small piece of cake. I counted it and I ran 4.4 mile for that cake.

4.) I weighed after I ran last week (which is usually a little lower) and this morning it was the right out of bed weight.

Well I am off to bed. Have a great week!!!

It is kinda ridiculous how many pushups Naomi can do. Seriously she amazes me.

http://www.youtube.com/user/494allie#p/a/u/0/TETR41BR_XE

She waited ever SO patiently....

to FINALLY start BALLET!!!

Gabs has been wanting to take dance for years now! She has been such a patient girl waiting for her turn. And on her first day of class she was BEYOND excited. She wore her dance clothes ALL day in anticipation. (She also got something all over them 2 hours before class and I had to wash them fast!)

This is her posing outside the dance studio before her first class!

She was a little timid when she first walked in but after I sat with her for about 5 minutes she decided it was everything she imagined it to be and didn't need me anymore:(
Before we walked into her second class she turned around and said "mom do you want to take my picture?" I said of course:) I guess this will be a weekly occurrence. On the day of her second class I had to walk her in but then she asked for a hug and kiss and was good to go. We have definitely found her calling:) It is SOOOO cute.
**Yes, homegirl is wearing flip flops with her tights. She is a mess and it is not worth the fight since she changes right into ballet shoes when we get in!

And now that we have started ballet for Gabs, Naomi keeps asking when horse back riding starts back up. I just tell her it is too hot to wear pants right now and we will have to wait til fall. I really am just a nervous wreck thinking about her getting back on a horse.

Makeover Monday # 13 (on Tuesday;)

Sorry I never got around to posting yesterday. Things are getting crazy busy around here. I am trying to get so much done before we start school next week. I am sure it is going to be a huge adjustment for all of us with me dedicating a lot more of my daily time to teaching. Ok so anyways....

Last week was one of those weeks that I just wanted to EAT. I was just hungry. I know because I have been busy I have had to eat a lot more convenience foods and to stay within my daily calorie range it usually meant I could eat a lot less:( I also went on a mini girls weekend with my friend Tiffany and we went out to eat and I definitely let myself "splurge" just a little. (I still tried to make healthier choices like chicken instead of some rich pasta or eggs instead of biscuits and gravy. ) It felt good to really enjoy some good food but also feel like I was still in control of what I was eating. I don't feel like I went overboard and I am pretty sure I stayed close to my calorie range.

Running. Well it hates me right now. I guess it is what runners refer to as a SLUMP. I run 1.5-2 miles and feel like I might die. Since being back from Kentucky, I have not been able to get past 3.5 miles. It is seriously frustrating but I try to look at the big picture. 3 months ago I could not run to the mail box and I am still a "relatively" new runner. I know I will get through this slump I just wish it would happen sooner than later. I am also sure a heat index of 110 (for real) has something to do with not being able to breathe.
Any suggestion on getting through the slump???

In other news, my trainer comes every Monday and she started coming around June 15th (about a month after I officially started.) When she first weighed and measured me, here is what she got.

Weight- 165.5
Body Fat Percentage- 38% (disgusting. her numbers tend to be higher than what you would get on one of those hand held fat percentage machines)
lbs of lean mass- 103.5 lbs of lean muscle
lbs of fat- 62 lbs (gross)

As of last Monday on August 1st (about 6 weeks later) here were my results...

Weight- 154.5 (I weigh in the afternoon so it is a little more than my morning weight and on a different scale)
Body Fat Percentage- 28% (woo hoo...I think she was even shocked it dropped this much!!)
Lbs of lean mass-112
lbs of fat- 42.5 (Awesome!)

She was very very excited. Not only did I lose weight but I gained muscle. I lost 20 lbs of fat, which is so very exciting.

Also from our first visit I was down 14 INCHES!!! Whoa momma. I lost 5 1/2 around my stomach and 2 1/2 around my boobs:(


I weighed myself yesterday after I ran so my number might be a tad bit lower than it normally would.

August 8th- 151.8,

25 pounds LOST!!!

See you all next week!!

School # 2

If you have not read my first post on school....then scroll down past this post and read that one first.


Early in our marriage, I used to daydream of what of what our children would be like. I doodled their hypothetical names (none of which we used) on paper, I contrived the perfect birth order of boys and girls in my little plan (that boy plan worked real well for us) and I even had thought way beyond their births on what schooling we would choose for these un-concieved babies. I just KNEW our kids would go to public school. It was the ONLY option. I grew up from preschool - 9th grade in a private Christian school and I just could not foresee spending that much money on an comparable education that they could get for free. Secondly, how in the world could I claim Christ and the great commission if I plucked my littles in some fancy smancy school where they weren't really exposed to the world. Desicion made. (Or so I thought:))

***Sidenote- I just love looking back over my life and my "plans" that I made. I know God must get a true kick out of watching us believe we have any real control over our lives. It must also be somewhat painful as our Heavenly Father wants so desperately for us to truly relinquish that grip that we cling so tightly to.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

Fast forward 6 years. Our oldest (who was supposed to be a boy and named Ryland according to my plan) will start school in just a few short weeks. Our sweet Naomi. Kind, gentle, loving, little Naomi. She rocks my faith to its core because I see so much of Christ in her at such a young age. She breaths compassion. She loves deeply and loyally protects her family. As I started to consider the local public school early this year I felt a twinge of pain in my soul. I pushed it away quickly going on about my week/month. For the next few months and as early registration for school grew closer I just kept getting those funny feelings in my gut. I could not figure out what in the world God was trying to tell me. A few girls at our church had started home schooling and were trying to talk me into it. I told them they were crazy and that I just felt that if we pulled all the "good" kids out of the schools how were we ever going to reach "those" kids??? I was confident and set in my ways, my kids were going to public school. As more weeks went by, sleeping troubles set in (I have never been a great sleeper but this was more like I was up for HOURS during the night). I was stressed ALL the time (I am also usually pretty low key.) I finally let my guard down and started questioning a few people about public vs private vs (the dreaded:) home school. I prayed fervently about it for God to reveal Himself to me and Matt and to give us confidence that HIS ways are best. After MONTHS of stress we finally decided to check out the twilight zone or aka a home school convention. It really was a plethora of information.

The THREE biggest things I took away from this convention were:

1.) Just because we home school does not mean we don't have a passion for the lost and sometimes is quite the contrary
2.) We want to teach our children about glorifying God and not glorifying self. Even if unintentionally, you are measured in school by your success. You get an A, you are good. You get an F, you are bad. You sing great you are good, you can't play basketball you are bad. So on and so forth. I want my children to know that NO MATTER WHAT the circumstances they are worthy because HE IS WORTHY. All they do should be done for the glory of GOD.
3.) We want our kids to LOVE learning. I understand that is this is VERY possible in a public or private school setting. But we also think that home school allows a lot of flexibility in what we teach or do. We might even have the opportunity to go overseas when Matt is on his new boat. Talk about an awesome field trip.


***There have been very times in my life where I truly felt a HEAVY push by the Holy Spirit. I know He is always at work in me and I constantly aware of how faithful God has been to be, but this time was different. I literally can look back and SEE how much God had to change about me and my perspective to get me to this point. It has just taught me a lot about my faith. One, I am convinced that this home school journey has about as much to do with me that it does our kids. God has some serious molding to do in my heart and I have no doubt I might throw a few temper tantrums along the way. Two, and so so important, in everything we do in this world we must be vigilant in ALLOWING Him to move. We must be WILLING to open our eyes to what may seem crazy, or radical, or "stupid" to this world and allow our lives to truly be transformed. I think it is so easy to caught up in this world, in this culture, and to not even consider an option B because of it. Let us not be deceived by the devil's plan to distract us from Christ, he will lure us in, tempt us, and we must cling to cross.

Get ready for # 3!!

School

I have attempted to blog about school for sometime now but every time I start I get distracted and can't finish my thoughts. Well, since it is August I guess it is time we get cracking on our school plans. There is WAY too much information for just one post so I think I am going to break it down into 4 posts! Yep, 4 big ones. I know, it might seem like there really is not that much to discuss regarding school but for us this has been a HUGE decision and definitely not an easy one.

Come next month our oldest daughter will start school at HOME!!! For one, I can't believe my little girl will be in kindergarten. I am totally not ok with that and am in complete denial that she is even old enough to be in school. But no really, she is super pumped and I am getting there:)

When I started thinking about schooling options back in early spring it about made me a nervous wreck. Seriously, I lost so many hours of sleep over stressing about what to do for school. I spent many hours in prayer and questioned a lot of friends on their school experiences and opinions.

Matt and I had MANY conversations about school. It finally came down to ONE major point (well kinda two). Where did we feel GOD was leading US? And the second question was "at the end of the day what is the single most important thing we want to engrain into our daughters?" After we said the answers out loud, we realized that we already knew the answer. We KNEW God was leading us to homeschool Naomi this upcoming year. WE felt that tug at our hearts and could not run away from it. We want our girls to know Jesus. Deeply. Fully. Forever. We know that schooling them at home in no way guarantees their salvation but we do FEEL is gives them a great advantage. We want to soak our girls in the word and blessing of Jesus while they are young and impressionable. We want everything they breathe to be of Him while their precious hearts are being formed. WE don't want to hold anything back in the name of carrying the cross. We want to give them every advantage of choosing Him as their savior. We feel that this environment best enhances the chances of them having a personal relationship with Jesus. We know that God calls us to be lights to this dark fallen world and we feel that by choosing to keep our wee ones home while they are young (and still dim) that we can cultivate hearts for Jesus, and create huge flames for Him. We desperately want our girls to shout the name of Jesus from the streets but we want to make sure they are not devoured up by the wolves in the process.

We want to take this verse out of Proverbs to heart. We want to protect their souls from the thorns and snares of this world, especially while their faith is weak and defenseless. We feel scripture is VERY intentional about the parents being the primary influence in the life of a child.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards his soul will be far from them.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:5-6

Please understand this was a very TOUGH decision. WE know that this is very counter cultural (although homeschooling is growing rapidly.) We also know that God won't lead everyone to the same place and we promise to respect others decisions with regards to where you send your children to school .

Keep my commands and live,
And my law as the apple of your eye.
³ Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 7:2-4

Stay tuned for post #2!!!

Makeover Monday #12

I am definitely getting to the point that people have started asking me, "what is my secret?" or "what are doing?" and so forth.

I hate to break it to them that I just worked really really hard. NO magic pills, shakes, or crazy exercises. No starving myself or going on a banana diet. Just straight up using the "secret" method of Calories in < Calories out. I put a HUGE HUGE HUGE emphasis on what I am eating. I can't stress enough how important I think nutrition is to weight loss. You have to know how many calories you are consuming (and from what foods) to know how many you need to burn to have those numbers on the scale shrinking. So if you are looking to shed some pounds. Start here. Write everything you eat down. Add it up and you might be surprised at how many calories you are consuming on daily basis. Secondly, get OFF the couch. You have to get moving and you have to make it a part of your daily life. You just can't make excuses for it. For me, I always run every other day, meet with my personal trainer (who comes to my house) one day a week, and try to get in at least one (hopefully two) strength sessions and one or two more cardios. As for running, I stay motivated by signing up for races and really knowing how AWFUL it was when I first started and I NEVER EVER want to have to put myself through that much pain again! If anyone lives in the area and needs an incentive to make running a priority I am doing a few upcoming races in the Charleston area.

August 27th -Race for the Ark (downtown Summerville)
September 25th- Tanger Outlet 5K (North Charleston)
Cooper River Bridge Run- March 31st 2012

--And a side note on running. I think the one thing that I never really understood until now is running is HARD. It is not meant to be easy. I promise that every time I run it is ROUGH. I want to quit at least 10 times. It is supposed to be challenging, that is why you burn so many calories. Once it starts to get a little easier you just pick up your pace. I have been trying to run 1 mile as fast as I can and this week I did one in 9:25 (and then I almost puked.) I also try to do some intervals of 1-2 mins of sprinting. They other day I did 1 min 30 seconds at a 7:20/mile pace. I really was running as fast as I could I can not even believe people can keep that up for any extended period of time. Let alone any faster. Seriously.

So now for the weight!

May 5th -176.6
May 16th- 172
May 23rd- 170.2
May 31st- 169.4
June 6th- 167.4
June 13th- 165.9
June 20th- 163.6
June 27th- 161.6
July 4th- 160.2 (on different scale)
July 11th- 160.2 (on different scale)
July 18th- 157.2
July 25th- 156.2

August 1st- 153.8 (how in the world is it August already???)

Down 2.4. I don't know. I weighed myself like 8 times this morning. Seriously, I have no idea why I am losing weight like this still. It is baffiling really. I honestly think my body is in the best shape it is has been in for a really long time and it is just SO much more efficient at burning calories. I can't remember the last time I was in the 140's. I know I was at some point but truly have no memory of it.

Well after that incredible news, I must admit there has been one true tragedy of this whole journey. It is very very sad. And if you are a boy you can stop reading now. For real.


My boobs. Yep, they are shrinking. Well more like shriveling up to these little deflated balloons. It is tragic I tell you. I have never in my life given a thought to plastic surgery, I might be reconsidering:) Maybe just a little lift and I tummy tuck. Ok not really, but not because I am above it. If someone would pay for it, I would get them lifted in a heartbeat. So So sad.

Ok peeps. Baby is wanting to play. Have a great week!