Thinner Thursday

I started blogging about my weight in early March, I think. I weighed 223.4. I started strong and then leveled off. About a month ago I started gaining it back. On Monday morning I was back up to 220.3. Dang. It's all on me though- so no whining. It's not even the number I care about. I can't fit into some of my clothes again. I saw myself in a mirror at the mall and was so disappointed with my size. I went on a hike with Rob in Charlottesville and nearly died it was so hard. I saw a fully body photo of myself and was grossed out. Those things disappoint me.

On Monday, I started carefully counting calories again. I use My Fitness Pal, which is a free app that works for me. On Monday morning, I took the kids for an early morning walk for some exercise. Side note- Monday morning are the worst morning walk days because it is trash day! It was stinky!! On Tuesday, I went to Faith's house for a training session with her. (Check out her website here!) Later that day I went on a good bike ride with my parents and the kids. I didn't have any exercise planned for Wednesday, so I was extra careful with what I ate- cottage cheese, grilled chicken, etc.

My issue is discipline. When I try hard, I am really good at certain things. I can be good at this too. I've started reading my Bible again each day, blogging each day, and making Thinner Thursday a daily goal again. All of those things help with my discipline. I'd appreciate your prayers. Encouragement is nice, but I'm not really a words of affirmation person. Ha. I'm thankful for Faith working with me this summer even though I didn't do as well as we hoped. I'm thankful for Danielle offering to help me get exercise in during the week by offering to watch the kids or to go with me. I'm thankful for Mim taking me to the Langley gym again! I'm thankful for Rob loving me regardless how out of shape I've become & how encouraging he is.

Here's today's photo!

That's a total loss of 6.8 pounds. Here to another disciplined week.

Wife Wednesday

My friend Alicia brought the heat in her blog on Monday, so I'm re-posting it for today's blog. If you already read it, read it again. I agreed with so much of what she said & the lady she referenced. Good stuff!

Please note- she is married to a guy named Rob, too! Don't get confused!

I love being married to Rob. We really enjoy being around each other and we also challenge one another in many areas. He cooks, he cleans, he provides and works hard for our family, but so often I find myself wishing he would do more. I read a blog that a friend shared titled "Give Your Man the Gift of Being Enough" and it opened my heart to a new appreciation for Rob and all he does. You can read the blog entry here; it's a must read for wives/mothers. Basically the writer shares how her husband is great, participates, etc but she often finds herself wishing he would do more. I find myself saying to myself or even to Rob that he's not doing it "right", "my way", or he's not doing "enough" when it comes to everyday tasks with the boys or even things around the house. I am a control freak. I like routine, boundaries, and a schedule. These are all good things, but my eyes were opened to the fact that God created Rob and I differently as parents and it's a good thing that we don't parent and aren't the exact same in every way. 

The writer stated this: "Do we really want husbands who parent just like us? I know that you have mothering instincts and that no one knows your children quite like you do, but is having two identical parents really what’s best for your little ones? I’m thinking that God’s plan to create children through the combination of a man and a woman was not a flop. Perhaps the ways your husband parents differently from you actually have the power to benefit your children. (Feel free to read that sentence again to let it sink in.)

This rocked me! God was speaking directly to me. He was using a person who I didn't know from Adam to shed some light into my life. I realized that I didn't need Rob to feed Abram the same way I do. I realized that it doesn't matter if Abram doesn't wear actual pajamas to bed. I realized that Rob needs to be able to discipline Elijah without me butting in and going harder or easier on him. We share in disciplining the kids, but sometimes one of us has to or does make a decision without consulting the other and I need let Rob do that too, he's good at it! I am working on changing my mindset and allowing Rob do parenting his way, I need to do parenting my way and we need to do parenting together too. I am thankful for a husband who is active and participating and just because it's not always as much or how I would like, I am realizing even if he didn't help at all, his role as my husband and the provider of our family is enough! 

Thanks, Alicia! 

Twin Tuesday

Twin Tuesday

On Friday we dropped the twins off with Stacy, Eric, Dean, Joel, and Max! They spent the weekend with the Froyens while we enjoyed a trip to my parents’ river house with some friends. Stacy doesn’t just love our children; she loves them well. My kids get so excited when they are over there, they don’t even want to nap! Ha. They also love Stacy’s dog, Max. I think they’ve finally outgrown this phase, but they used to just sit there saying, “dog, dog, dog, dog, dog” as Max sat there or walked by.

Stacy spoils my children with clothes, toys, and all their favorite foods. Her sons love my kids and my kids love her sons. They are such good boys and I am thankful my kids get to grow up around them. I obviously miss them like crazy when we are not with them, but Stacy sends me lots of texts and photos to satisfy my needs! Here are a few texts I got this weekend!

“We went to the park and for a walk. They are eating now. I think they have eaten 3 pieces of pizza each and applesauce! They are cracking me up kissing the book with the animals in it!”

“Reese is using her spoon like a big girl! Hayden is so funny!” (These had pictures with them.)

“2 sweet babies are in bed sound asleep! Can they get any cuter and better? They are the best babies ever!” (This one obviously was my favorite!!)

"Joel (Stacy's son) just asked when they were leaving and I told him today and he said he is already

getting sad!" (How sweet is that?!?)

"They are so sweet with each other. Hayden has been kissing Max a lot this morning too! Ha!"

"They both just had a bath and Hayden must have kissed Reese about 30 times while they took a bath.

He is so sweet!"

The moral of the story is the Froyens are amazing, they love our kids & think they are sweet! Nothing

makes a mommy more happy!

I'm a model- what?

Manic Monday

Manic Monday

man·ic//   adjective pertaining to or affected by mania

mania  noun excessive excitement or enthusiasm

Much like robshep.com’s Mind Dumps, Manic Monday is just a snapshot of the random excitement that is inside my head.

·                 I took a break from blogging because I just didn’t care anymore. I wasn’t motivated to blog, didn’t feel like there were great things to blog about, and made choices to do other things.

·                I’m hoping things are changing today in several areas, but most of all in blogging! I really do enjoy blogging and I love reading comments, so I’m going to try and blog at least three to four times a week through December.

·                For no real reason, I feel like things have been off a little bit. I’ve lost much motivation, I’ve gotten lazy, and I’ve felt sad at times.

·                 Last week was emotional for me as my teacher friends headed back to work and I didn’t. Please hear me on this- I LOVE that I have the opportunity to stay home with my children this year. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

·                 However, I also love teaching. I’ve never not had a first day of school. I moved straight through high school to college to teaching fall after fall without a break.

·                 I missed the first morning back to work with breakfast and my teacher friends. I missed shopping for back to school clothes and shoes. I missed setting up my classroom and seeing the class list. I really miss my Dare family that I’ve spent the last seven years working with!

·                 I will miss the first day of school and having my own classroom. Teaching gave me my own identity and some independence outside of the home. I’m already praying about what to do next year.

·                But again- please hear me on this. While teachers were disaggregating last year’s SOL data Thursday, I was chasing Hayden around the house and tickling Reese while she belly laughed. I was snuggling with the twins in the recliner while they squealed in delight when Bert and Ernie showed up on Sesame Street. I was having play dates with Alicia and Lisa during the day, and I stayed up late reading and watching tv. I love these days and savor them. I will fill this year up with those memories and hold them tight. I will probably do it again next year, but I’m praying about it.

·                 I do not regret my decision to stay home; I am simply missing teaching for now. This weekend I worked on better time management for my day to day schedule so that I can maximize my time and use it better. It might have involved an Excel spreadsheet.

In conclusion, this week is a focus on discipline. I have to start reading my Bible each day, exercising each day, and blogging again. I gained 5 pounds in the last 3 days because we were trapped in the river house while it rained and all we did was eat. I literally only got up to use the bathroom. Yikes. Here goes nothing!

Also, I don't know why the blog is all wonky with the bullets and tabs. 

What are you doing this week that is different than last week?

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year! Rob was born today, and without him, I would be crazy. I'd like to thank Bob and Marcia for having him and raising such an amazing man. He loves his birthday and I love helping him celebrate. We basically started celebrating on Friday, and we plan to continue through Wednesday evening with the Sparks.

Rob turns 34 today, and for some reason that sounds old to me. I don't think we're old, and we don't feel old, but to me it is starting to sound old. We've been married since he was 22 (ten days before he turned 23). Today, he is officially older than Jesus ever was, so that seems like a good accomplishment, right?

Rob, I know we aren't doing presents like we normally do because of budgets, but I hope it's still a great birthday. You are the love of my life. Thank you for living in such a way that draws our family to Jesus. Thank you for being such an amazing dad to Reesie and Hayden. If they could do much of anything, I'm sure they'd make you some pretty sweet pictures. Maybe one day, if you're lucky. Thank you for loving me and leading our family. Thank you for making us laugh, having so much fun with us, and providing for our family. Thank you for being obedient to what God called you to do this year and stepping out on faith. I wouldn't want to do this with any other person. You are my favorite.

Happy birthday!

Twin Tuesday

Over the last few weeks, our kids have become obsessed with "The Fresh Beat Band" on Nick Jr.

This is a good thing because it is way cooler than Barney, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Sid the Science Kid. I told Rob a few weeks ago that I felt we had succeeded at parenthood because we skipped Barney and went straight to Fresh Beat. It's bad because we didn't have cable before we came to his parents' house, and we don't intend to get it when we move out. Hopefully they are on DVD somewhere! If not, they'll love coming to visit Papaw and Mamaw since it'll probably stay on their DVR. :)

Hayden's favorite part is during their songs. He just dances and dances! When I can, I hold his hand and we dance together. He loves it. He now reaches for anyone who is nearby to hold hands and dance. When the show ends, both Reese and Hayden start signing "more, more, more"- too funny.

Rob & I were at an engagement party last Saturday, and Fresh Beat came up. I know, right? Our friends have kids too- they are down. One friend says, "Do you know the dance to the song at the end? I do." To which she broke out in their moves. Now I want nothing more to learn their choreographed ending dance. It will be mine.

What are your kids currently obsessed with, or what were they into when they were children?

Manic Monday

man·ic adjective pertaining to or affected by mania

mania noun excessive excitement or enthusiasm

Much like robshep.com’s Mind Dumps, Manic Monday is just a snapshot of the random excitement that is inside my head.

• I think some people would die if they tried to keep up with our schedule. I don't mean that pridefully at all; we are just crazy busy people. It works for us!
• Last Tuesday we had a play date at our friend Angela's new house with her almost one year old, Landon! My kids loved playing with new toys and all three played well for the most part. I'm having a hard time teaching Hayden to not be selfish and how to share though. Landon is a doll and we are looking forward to more fun times!
• On Tuesday evening, Courtney came over for dinner. We headed to the fire station to have them put in Reese's new car seat. It's always a little awkward to pull in the station and knock on a random door to ask for help. They are always great, but still bizarre. One of the firefighters noticed the robshep.com sticker on my car and said, "Have you been to Rob's new church?" To which I replied, "Yep. I'm his wife!" He said, "No way! I didn't know that!" Clearly he did not know which made me giggle because he so surprised. It was awkward enough for me to go to the station once to have them install the seat, but I realized he didn't finish the top part, so I had to go back about ten minutes later. I made Courtney knock that time. 
• On Wednesday morning, I ran a few errands and did some grocery shopping with the twins. After their morning nap, we picked up Courtney and headed to Busch Gardens for a bit. We stuck to the Sesame Street section and the kids loved it. They got to give kisses and get pictures with Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, and Bert. They rode their first real ride there and played in the splash park. They went wild when the show started and were smiling, dancing, and clapping along. Reese would scream like she was being hurt when a character got near her, but it was out of sheer excitement. It was funny.
• Side note- Courtney is a great friend. 
• On Wednesday evening we had our friends Oleg and Meara over for dinner which was a special treat!
• Thursday was Shepherd day! Nicole, Brody, and Connor came over for the day to play and hang out. We are so so blessed and excited to stay home from work this year to be with our kids (and each other!). Another friend from our school made the choice this week to stay home with her daughter, so more friends to play with!!
• Last Friday Rob hung out with the kids all day while I was at the beach, and he loved, loved his time with the kids. He wanted to do it again, so of course I had no other choice but to get out of the house. I went back to the beach with Courtney, Danielle, and Ruth. We had to leave early because of evening plans, but it was still wonderful.
• Rob & I headed to a rehearsal dinner Friday evening for our sweet friend Nancy's daughter. They were so laid back and wonderful to be around.
• Saturday was our 11th anniversary! Whoop whoop! Bob and Marcia graciously watched the kids for the day. Rob did a wedding at 1:00 and then we headed to the reception. We were dressed up, free dinner, and no kids. :) Bob and Marcia, aka Mamaw and Papaw, are two of Reese and Hayden's favorite people, and we are thankful for their example of marriage and how much they love our kids & how much our kids love them!
• When the kids woke up from their afternoon naps, we headed to Virginia Beach, left the kids with my parents and spent the evening together celebrating our anniversary. I love time with Rob. After we ate we worked on our financial goals and family goals, plus discussed our new budget since we are about to be a one salary family.
• Sunday was crazy- buckle up! I had breakfast with two of my favorite ladies in the world, Britt and Marie, from high school. Rob worked on his sermon at Starbucks & the kids hung out at my parents' house. Rob preached at Great Neck Baptist at their 10:55 service, went to pick up the kids from my parents, and sat in oodles of tunnel traffic.  Rob headed to work at 2pm, and then we joined him at church for the evening. 
• We got stuck in bad traffic that was a result of a disabled vehicle in the tunnel. I tweeted that I would much rather be stuck in the traffic than be the car that caused it! How mortifying to break down in the tunnel, knowing you are causing a 7 mile back up! Aside from snakes, breaking down in the tunnel is one of my nightmares!
• I teach the 1st-5th graders at Next Level during the main service and love it! This month we are focused on "Loving People" from our church's mission statement. Each week we're looking at a story from the Bible that shows how specific people and Jesus loved others & practical ways they can love others too. Our kids are awesome and the other adults on our team are amazing!
• A friend shared this blog on Facebook last week in reference to the Chick-fil-a debacle. I found it very informative and it had some great statements here & there that I found to be very true. Read it here if you have time. This was one of my favorite sections:  
• There are better causes than "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" around which Christians can rally. (Feeding the hungry perhaps?) There is no need to cause unnecessary offense to folks who have already been so ostracized by the Church, no need to wave a red and white banner through yet another culture war.  If you really want to love your gay friends and neighbors, shoving Chick-fil-A bags in their faces right now is just not the way to do it.
• Last week our church did have a banquet for the homeless. It was awesome. We hung out with them, fed them Carrabba's, and just tried to show them love.
• One of my friends had a crazy thing happen on Friday. Her husband blogged about it here and you must read it. It's gross and not for the weak. Hahaha! You won't believe it.

What was your favorite part of this past week? Mine was spending as much time as possible with Rob in spite of a busy week!

Thinner Thursday

I mentioned on Monday that I had not seen my trainer in over two weeks due to our summer vacation schedules. My week off was awful- we ate out a ton and I didn't make good choices. I was not at home, so didn't go to the gym. The two days I hoped to go to the beach to take a long walk with Rob, it stormed like crazy! Excuses, excuses. I gained about five pounds, but can't get discouraged because it is a result of the choices I made. I don't have much sympathy for anyone who gets appropriate consequences for their choices whether it's a speeding ticket or my own personal weight gain!

I did have one mopey moment or two. We have been able to spend lots of time with friends lately, and I watch their eating and exercise choices and briefly think it's not fair. One friend had two pop tarts and a soda for breakfast, while I measured my Kashi and milk that morning. She's skinny; I'm not. Another friend ordered a huge combo at a Mexican restaurant while I split a meal with Rob. She's skinny; I'm not. I exercised Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. I ate a hard boiled egg for breakfast each day. I picked up Dairy Queen for Rob and didn't get myself anything. A friend offered to bring me a Slurpee (my favorite!) and I said no. Nonetheless, I still made crappy decisions throughout the week. I simply lack discipline. I'm addicted to food. My previously mentioned choices didn't matter because I got pasta and cheesecake at the Cheesecake factory; we ate out about 6 times on vacation; I didn't work out for five days straight.

Today I weigh 215 pounds. That's another gain since my last blog. (Which by the way, I wasn't not blogging on Thursdays because of my weight or embarrassment. When I started this blog, I promised I wouldn't stress over getting a blog done and it isn't my top priorities. I just didn't have time/make time to blog.)

Every day is a new battle for me. I can get pretty scrappy when I want to. Here goes nothing.

Wife Wednesday

This Saturday, August 4th, marks our 11 year anniversary. Say what?? 11 years sounds like a lot to me, but I feel like we've barely scratched the surface. Here's our time together in review:

• We met the summer of 1999 at a pot-luck lunch at Concord Baptist Church in Farmville, VA. As I left, I told my friend, Jen, that Rob wouldn't be a distraction. My bad.
• Rob was hired to be the youth pastor at that church, and I was already working with the students there. I gave him a bit of the cold shoulder initially because I had a crush on the last guy- oops. 
• Never fear, by fall we were flirting and enjoying each other's company. We went to different colleges, so we would use AOL instant messenger to talk at night. Ha! It drove my roommate crazy with all that clicking.
• For our first date in early November, we walked to a park off-campus and played. He proceeded to spin me so fast on a flat bed merry-go-round that I puked not once, but twice. Romantic, eh?
• Our first for real date was in Richmond at Olive Garden. He brought me a yellow rose, and it was sweet!
• Just a couple weeks later he felt as though I wasn't the one he was going to marry, so he ended it. I was heartbroken, cried a lot, and basically just kept liking him. Ultimately, if he wasn't sure about me, I would rather him have ended it sooner than later to save further heartbreak.
• We stayed friends, continued working with the youth group together, and hung out here and there.
• On the first day of September 2000 (almost ten months after our sort of break-up), Rob called me all sick and pitiful from his dorm room. The short story is that he realized the error of his ways and couldn't bear to live life without me. For serious.
• He proposed on December 31, 2000, and we were married on August 4, 2001.
• Our first year of marriage was spent in Hampton were he worked at Liberty Baptist and I taught 3rd grade at Mallory Elementary for Hampton City Schools.
• In the summer of 2002, we moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where Rob worked on his Masters Degree full time, and I taught 3rd grade at Dallas Park Elementary in Crowley, TX, just south of the city. We spent two fantastic years here! We also had our first appointment with a doctor because we weren't pregnant yet.
• In the summer of 2004, we moved back to Hampton where I taught 4th grade back at Mallory Elementary and Rob joined the Waters Edge staff as a part-time employee. We even lived in the same apartment complex and same street as year one....just a different apartment.
• In 2005 we bought our first house in Yorktown, Rob was full time at Waters Edge, and I joined the Dare staff as a fourth grade teacher in York County! We camped out here for circa seven years, and it was amazing!
• We had a miscarriage in 2007, and we started the IVF process in 2010. I also finished my Masters degree in 2010 to one day become a principal. During this time I also taught Kindergarten for a year.
• Two anniversaries ago, we spent the day at the Jones Institute in Norfolk having two embryos implanted!
• In March of 2011 we welcomed two of the stinkin' cutest kids I know~ Reese and Hayden!
• In February of 2012 Rob resigned from his position at WEC to pursue what he had felt God leading him to do for close to a year. We sold our house, moved in with Rob's parents, and started Next Level Church! I also resigned from teaching at Dare after an amazing year of job-sharing with Nicole in the fourth grade. Stay-at-home mommy here I come!
• So here we are! We've celebrated our anniversary in lots of different places including San Antonio, Boston, Philly, a cruise in the Caribbean, and this year we'll be at someone else's wedding! Every year has been amazing, and I am very thankful for our relationship.

How did you meet your significant other? What has been your favorite anniversary trip?