COUNT DOWN TO VEGAS

Oh and I forgot to mention that my little 4 year old is so excited he put up a chain to count down the days!

So my wonderful in-laws yes the 2 in the above picture I get to see in 5.5 days. Or in about 136 hours. Can you tell I am excited?! They sure have been through the wringer the last few months. We are just excited to wrap our arms around them and visit. IT IS GOING TO BE EPIC PEOPLE. I am going to run my very first race ever! And I will get my butt kicked by:

My kids are going to play like rock stars with these 2 favorite people:

We are going to see these people in concert. Can you guess who they are? They sing a song called, "One More day with you" And yes I will probably cry the whole time thinking about my true love and I will be wishing for one more day with him... MENTAL NOTE TAKE KLEENEX

I will be going to get a massage.... Hopefully with all the girls! And we will play at the park, go to the movies, go bowling. ALL sorts of fun. I can hardly WAIT!

A few pick me ups while I run

This is a picture of me today after my 3.5 mile run. Hinckley took it. I had a fantastic run with a fantastic time. Well, a fantastic time for me! I am still slow but I am picking up the pace. Do you notice what is hanging on my zipper to the right?! Yes that is pepper spray. Yes I run with pepper spray. Too many dogs that people neglect and crazy people in this world to not run with it. But what picks me up?

1. Looking at this picture and realizing I was fat. Very fat. And knowing that I am working on loosing it. That motivates me... Take a look at this picture right before I started my journey... Now look up at my picture today. Thats a pretty exciting difference if you ask me!

2. SONGS. Not just hip hop ones but sentimental ones, slow, fast, short, long all sorts of music.

3. The old man who walks his dog that I pass almost every day.... If I run at a different time he asks me why I wasn't out running. It keeps me on my toes. When he sees me he gets this big old grin on his face. I think I make his day as much as he makes mine.

4. Putting on my running clothes. I feel EMPOWERED! I LOVE MY RUNNING CLOTHES and I am looking pretty dang good in them too

5. When a car passes by with an obese person. I think to myself... I am changing that. I am NOT going to be obese anymore.

6. Being able to log in on my spreadsheet the amount of miles I did and how long it took me.

7. My boys who run to give me hugs after every time I step back in the door. And my mom who cheers, " YOU DID IT YOU DID IT!"

Yes my boys are matching! And YES they are just adorable!

Grandparents Day

Tonight I took Hinckley to dance class like we do every Tuesday. I find a peace there. I am not in love with the studio but I am in love the parents or should I say Grandparents I get to chat with for an hour.

Let me explain... As of the Christmas program a few weeks ago out of the 6 kids in the class half, yes half 3 of them were being raised by their Grandparents. I have LOVED hearing their stories.

Grandparents #1 *Camilla's mom is an alcoholic and so many times was found intoxicated or passed out drunk in the backyard while Camilla was in the crib screaming and starving with no diaper change in hours. Or once she was found passed out in the drivers seat while Camilla was in the back seat with the car in the car garage running... Thats when Camilla moved into her Grandmas house at about 2 months old. Yes that all happened within the first 6 weeks of life for Camilla.

Grandparents #2 *Rachel's mom passed away a year ago from Cystic Fibrosis. The father is a dead beat. She has lived with Grandpa and Grandma for 2 years. Her mom passed away 13 days before Christmas. Had all her Christmas presents bought and wrapped.

Grandma #3 *Brittany... I dont know the story yet. But I have a special place in my heart for her....

*All names have been changed

I know a lot of Camilla's story because I have spent a lot of time talking with her Grandpa. It is horrible circumstances. This poor girl has been through so many things. Her Grandparents are SMART. SMART SMART SMART. They are doing everything right for this girl and right to officially adopt her soon. They have spent over $40,000 in legal fees, counseling, etc. Grandpa told me how they use to travel the US in their winnabago. He said those days are over and they are okay with that and he wouldn't have it any other way. They eat, sleep, play EVERYTHING for this precious girl. Grandma was telling me tonight that they love to read Judy Bloom books at night all together and Grandpa laughs harder than anybody else!

It made me so thankful for the place I am in life right now. I am so thankful I AM RAISING MY CHILDREN. It made me thankful for my hard working husband. It made me thankful that I get to be home with them all day. I am truly blessed.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I don't know... I just wanted to share what is in my heart and brain. I AM SO THANKFUL FOR MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN! I AM SO THANKFUL FOR MY HANDSOME HUSBAND. I am thankful I have the opportunity to raise my babies.

happy 401st post!

I have so much on my mind right now.... Like a million things going on in my peabody brain. So here it goes!

1. Buddies... Buddies for life

2.Grandparents Day

3. If I die this is what will kill me

4. What I want at my funeral

5. What I love... What I hate or dislike

6. COUNTDOWN TO VEGAS!

7. Valentine's Day

8. A secret I am slightly embarrassed about

9. I knew you before... I can feel it

10. few pick me up's while I run/div>

11. Fighting my demons

12. STOP THE LIMELIGHT NEWS!

Okay those are some future posts and I have EVEN MORE! But I will start with these 10.

Life changing moments

I believe we are all faced with life changing moments. Some of us cross the path of change more often then others. Some of us deal with change better then others. Sometimes we know change is coming and sometimes change can happen in an instant.

We moved to Los Lunas, NM 3 months ago. The very first Sunday we were here I met a girl Kally. We just briefly talked in the hallway her baby and my baby are the same age. I started to ask her about doctors, dentists, etc. She asked what kind of insurance I had and I told her military or triwest. She explained to me that her sister in law and brother have that insurance and to talk to them. She pointed them out to me. She said, "he is blind, you can't miss him." I think I asked something stupid like did he become blind serving? Sometimes I feel like an idiot when I talk to people! She said yes and explained a bit of the story to me.

So Michael her brother was in Afghanistan exactly one year ago and was hit by an IED. His best friend was killed.... His best friend was married and had a 2 month old baby girl. Michael lost his eyesight and has extensive scaring from the accident. Michael is now married to his best friends wife and they are expecting their first baby together in April.

You can read the blog his family put together here:

http://mmalarsie.blogspot.com/

My favorite post is under May 18th, 2010.

Or you can google Michael Malarsie and read a bit about him through newspaper articles.

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, after reading and seeing this story unfold I have to admit that it has affected me deeply. But really something happened on Sunday that will stick with me forever and has changed my life. On Sunday I was out in the hallway at church trying to get my very cranky one year old asleep and in walked a lady wearing blue jeans and a jacket. I got to talking to her and she told me she was here helping Michael learn to use his new sight dog. I was intrigued about the process and was asking questions. She told me a lot of information and explained that she was from Connecticut and that she usually doesn't travel. They only travel when they need to help a Veteran. That was fuzzy good feeling number 1.

And in my little pea sized brain I thought WOW, that is amazing that they will do this for Veterans and others who have lost their sight. She has dedicated her life to this process of helping blind people. Fuzzy good feeling #2

I thanked her for doing this special service, especially for the Veterans. I shared with her that my husband was serving in Iraq. Her response to me is what changed me... "Well, mam' I pray to God that I will never have to meet you again." She didn't say it malicious or like oh you are a weirdo I never want to see you again. It was a true and honest prayer that she hoped that my family would never need her services. It was sincere. It was true. And in my heart I prayed. I PRAYED LOUD AND CLEAR that I too would never need to meet her again. And I was overwhelmed with a great sense of peace that if in fact we do ever need her service thank goodness there is such a thing thats fuzzy good feeling #3.

I think too often we hear things like all the combat troops are out of Iraq and think oh yes there is little to no war left in that country. That couldn't be further from the truth. Troy has shared some things with me, heard some things, seen some things first hand that is nothing like peace. Those serving are in harms way. They do risk their life for us. Don't be fooled into to thinking otherwise. Maybe its not blasted on the news everyday but there is death, accidents, and horrible things that happen where our soldiers are serving. Even just a week ago 2 soldiers were killed who were staying right next to where Troy is currently located. Did I see anything about it on the news or newspaper? NOPE!

Okay really there is a point to my ramblings.... DON'T take life for granted. Take the first step of change. Make a better life for yourself. Live life and be happy. Tell your spouse you love them. Let your kids eat cake for dinner. Pay for the person behind you in the fast food line. Give somebody a hug who looks sad. Write that old friend. Take a walk outside even if its in the snow. Return the grocery cart that is sitting in the middle of parking lot. Call your mom and tell her you love her... YOUR DAD too! Wrap your arms around your family and show them you love them. Do it by action. Be kinder. Be more patient. Be loving. Be more understanding. Find joy in the journey you are creating. Thats just it... YOU CREATE YOUR JOURNEY.

A sweet surprise

So on Tuesday December the 28th I headed out for my normal run I was finally up to 3.5 miles. I felt great. I felt encouraged. I felt on top of the world believe it or not. Then about .16 miles into my run. Yes I said .16 there is a point in front of that I rolled my ankle on a small rock. In the process I went tumbling to the ground. After I realized I could get up I instantly started crying. Not that I was hurting I was just devastated because I knew my running would have to be suspended for a bit. And maybe I was a bit embarrassed.

So I hobbled home and laid on the couch for the next hour. I was devastated. Really I was. I consulted with my running buddies and decided I would have to take a few days off. So after my hour on the couch I decided to change my clothes and get comfy for the day of rest. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my knee bleeding and my other knee bruised. Well such is life... Take a few days off and I will be good to go. UMMM... NOPE... WRONG... U TURN IT....

So imagine to my surprise on Monday when I went for my run and it was HORRIBLE. Absolutely HORRIBLE! It was pretty much all in my head but it was awful. My nose was running down my elbow, my ankle was killing me, I kept hearing the splat of my very large body hitting the ground. I thought every car was going to hit me, every dog was going to jump the fence and eat me alive! It was awful.

Well, Tuesday started off much better and was going great until I got to mile 3.2 and I had this horrible pain shot from my right knee (the same leg I rolled my ankle) and up to my hip. It was awful and only got worse after I finished my 3.5 mile run and started my cool down walk. I gimped home again and felt defeated. I took Wednesday off to let my knees recover. My guess is I hit the ground first with my knees they took a bigger beating then I thought. So today I did my run with no hills and thought it would be a bit better which it was but I still have pain in both knees now. I have just come to the conclusion that I will probably have pain when I run for a long time and I will just have to deal with it.

So now that I have shared my sob story.... wanna hear the best the song in the world? It came on right as I started my cool down on Tuesday and it was just what I needed.... I actually forgot I put this on my playlist so it was my sweet surprise.... This guys voice is seriously the most amazing singer in the world.

So I hope you dont mind the pictures. I didn't know how to post this song without doing some type of slideshow. And did you guess who this handsome singer is? PS I am totally working on a special Valentines slideshow for Troy. Although it is very personal I might just share part of it with you!

Karate 2

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Hinckley started karate around the 1st of November and he loves it! He is actually very good at it. He is between 1.5-2 years younger then the other boys in his class. They had what they call a tip test on Wednesday and it was not what I was expecting but it all worked out. His instructor had a family emergency and so the assistant stepped up. Instead of having the kids do it individually she had them do it all together. Mr. Green who is next to Hinckley had not been there for almost a month and the other kid on the end Mr. Riley had been gone for 2 weeks. So they really shouldn't have tested. And Hinckley decided to focus on the other boys then focus on what he knew. So he got a bit confused. OH WELL. I know he can do it and his teacher does too. Here is the video of the test.