Family

 

I am so thankful for the people in  this picture.

I am thankful for my brother who has been there for me for the 23 years I have walked this earth. I am thankful for the woman that stands beside him through every baseball season, off season, and all other seasons of life. I am thankful for the little boy in her arms that brings more joy to my life than I ever imagined. Being an Aunt is probably the coolest thing e-v-e-r.

I am thankful for the man that stands beside me. That loves me everyday. That works hard for me, and sacrifices so much for our family, and I am so thankful for the little girl in my arms that has completely rocked our world. She is such a blessing.

Saturday was my Dad's birthday: so we loaded up the car and headed to Tulsa to enjoy dinner as a family of eight. After a great dinner, opening presents, and having some a-m-azing ice cream we loaded back up and went our separate ways.

 I love my family.

10-4-11

With each passing day we are getting closer and closer to October 4th. 10-4-11 might just be any-ol'-day to your family, but for this family Oct. 4th is a pretty-big-deal.

October fourth my little princess turns six-months-old. I just can't believe it. I can't believe that 6 months ago today I was bigger than a dump truck, waddling around everywhere, and had extremely swollen ankles. So much has happened in our lives the past six months, and it's just the beginning for our little family.

Miss Liv has no idea what is going to happen to her. She is just days away from her official first meal. She has no idea that the spoon she has been playing with the past couple weeks is going to be used for so much more than playing.

Calling-all-mommas: I was wondering if you made your own baby-food, if so... any advice for a beginner?

Share your secrets today.

Momma Confession #124

Yes, she is wearing a 0-3 month dresses still! Can you believe how much she has changed?

Momma confession #124: I am not good at sharing.

I mean, what can you expect? I spend each day calming cries, changing diapers, feeding, reading books, playing, and pouring love onto this little human that I have been given. So, I am supposed to just hand over my baby? Send her off to spend hours away from me? Leave her with family that starts to feel like strangers when I have to leave her, my baby? 

She is mine...

right?

Wrong-o: this is something I have to repeat to myself several times a day. This little girl Alivia is not mine. She has been entrusted to me for a few short years here on earth. God has given Brandon and I a great responsibility as parents.

Every night Brandon and I try to do a day of Parenting by Design Daily Devotional found on YouVersion. A couple days ago it was about stewardship. It gently reminded us that we have been given stewardship over Alivia and not ownership. Ouch... 

Okay, God. Here she is. The one you have entrusted us with. May your will be done.

Be reminded today.

Four Month Update: Mission-Get-My-Body-Back

Saturday morning  as I crossed the finish line at our local 5K I couldn't help but think how far I have come in the past 4 months. 4 months of hard work, mess ups, healthy eating, and bad choices. I look back and realize I haven't been perfect, and I know I never can be. We-aren't-supposed-to-be-perfect. We can't be perfect, but we can work hard, try harder, and except challenges as they arise in our lives.

Saturday morning, September 17th was exactly 4 months after the morning I laced up my running shoes for the first time after having my baby girl. That day I became a woman on a mission. A mission-to-get-my-body-back! That morning I was weak, and with each month, week, and day that passes I am getting stronger! Each day I am becoming a better mother and wife, and I truly believe that this is only the beginning.

 This month I was preparing for two 5K's. I ran 3 to 4 times a week, but never ran over 3 miles. I am still having some leg pain, and didn't want to over-due-it. My training was successful though. My goal was to finish both of the races under 30 minutes. Sept 10th I finished in 29 minutes and 45 seconds, and Saturday I finish in 28 minutes and 55 seconds, almost knocking a  whole minute off of my time in just one week!

After weighing myself only 4 times in the month of August, this month I slowly started weighing myself again. This month my weight was like a roller coaster. Up down, down up, over and over and over again. I have learned not to let it affect my thinking. It's just a number. I am so much more than a three-digit-number and so are you.

On April 3rd I walked on to labor and delivery floor at Stillwater Medical Center weighing in at 201lbs.

My journey began 6 weeks later on May 17th: 169lbs

June 17th: 160lbs

July 17th: 155lbs

August 17th: 146lbs

and this month September 17th. Three more pounds gone. I weighed in at 143lbs.

I am officially under 10lbs away from having my body back and I am so excited for the next month ahead of me. Our running mileage is headed back up again. We are now in training for a 15K at the end of October, and our half marathon that the beginning of December. Let the running begin.

Start your journey today.

 It's so worth it.

Finally Friday

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Happy Friday everyone!

Today I just have a few things to share with you: For the month of October I will giving away *free* sponsorship spots on the blog. Click here to learn more about it or click on the sponsor button located right under the header at the top of the blog!

Also,

tomorrow is the September 17th. That means make sure to come back-bright-and-early on Monday morning for my 4 month update on mission-get-my-body-back!

Also,

this week is the 118th Cherokee Strip Celebration here in little-ol-Perry. There is a 5K that we will be running in tomorrow morning, followed by the-worlds-longest-parade, and tons of fun things around the downtown square. This is huge for small-town-America people!

We are so looking forward to the weekend. Alivia gets to see both of her grandparents, we get to volunteer in one of my favorite places, and I get to spend the whole weekend with Mr. Armstrong.  

What are your weekend plans?

TGIF today!

Bad Little Bug

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I don't know about you, but I get the late-afternoon-bored-and-lonely-because-husband-isn't-home-from-work-yet munchies. Like everyday.

This is horrible you guys. Horrible.

My tummy starts rumbling and to the pantry-fridge-freezer-anything with food in it or around it and start searching for something to quench my hunger bug. Or so I think it is my hunger bug, but really: really it isn't. Really it is my late-afternoon-bored-and-lonely-because-husband-isn't-home-from-work-yet bug.

This bad little bug has gotten the best of me this week, and yesterday I decided I had to get out of the house to escape the urge to force food down my throat until I wouldn't be hungry for dinner that was quickly approaching.

So at 4:00 PM I packed up Alivia and we headed out the door to enjoy the 82 degree weather that we were blessed with yesterday. We ended up going on a hour walk around Perry. Just taking in the cool fall-like breeze and the after school traffic.

The munchies had no chance.

And, I am glad they didn't because I cooked one-good-dinner-last-night.

Home-made Turkey burgers, and mashed sweet potatoes. Amazing.

Beat the munchies today.

New Mercies

As I sit here this morning eating my breakfast: the windows are open and I am enjoying a cool breeze and the sound of rain hitting the ground outside. What a beautiful sight it is watching my little-love-bug roll all over the living room.

I am so thankful today is a new day. I am so thankful God's mercies are new everyday. I am so thankful today is Wednesday and tomorrow is Brandon's short day at work! So many blessings.

Count your blessings today.

Cranky Pants

This morning a little girl with brown curly hair woke up on the wrong-side-of-the-pack'n'play. Cranky and a total grump (she gets it from her Momma I'm sure).

Ya see: Her Papa is a morning person. He misses the days of waking up at 5:00 AM to get his early run in before he starts his day. Unfortunately he now wakes up at 4:15 AM to start the work day. No time for running.

It's mornings like this when getting her down for a nap and taking a shower is the best part of the day.. to bad I need to get my mowin' shoes on and mow the front yard for my hard-workin'-husband.

I pray that when he arrives home today and sees the not-so-perfectly-groomed-lawn that he can look past the fact the lines aren't straight and that he would know how much I love him. That he would know that his hard work means the world to me. That he would know that I would do anything in this world for him, including going into the front yard, no make up, hair on top of my head, and mow the yard. Just for him.

Do something for the one you love today.

Race Day

This weekend was a blur. Fast and furious.

Saturday morning we awoke bright-and-early for the Pistol Pete 5K in my home town of Perkins, Oklahoma.

It was a beautiful Oklahoman morning, perfect for running.

As we all laced up our shoes and began the journey downtown, I had one goal in mind. Finish under 30 minutes.

The past 4 months I have been running to get-my-body-back after having my precious little girl on April 4th. During my pregnancy I gained over 60lbs. sixty-pounds-people. So far my journey has been so rewarding. I finally feel like I am getting back to normal with each passing week.

So, to say the least waiting at the starting line on Saturday morning I was feeling great. With my husband, brother, sister-n-law, dad and many dear friends by my side we took off for the 3.1 miles set before us.

29 minutes and 46 seconds later I passed the finished line. Coming in right under my goal.

I walked away with a bronze medal for my age group and sore legs. It was beautiful.

 

Check out this 5K story from the weekend! This lady ROCKS, and is such an inspiration!

Reach for your goals today.

Steps

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Brandon and I were called to Perry.

We didn't really know why, but we knew we were called to take a step.

A step out of Stillwater, our comfort zone, our church family, out of the place we met and fell in love, out of the place were our first home together was, out of what we knew.

So, the search began. We began looking for a house in-little-ol-Perry-Oklahoma.

God lead us to the cutest house on the block with 3 bedrooms, a big back yard, and a red-front-door. Everything we wanted. So we took a step.

The day we closed on our house my husband was offered a job based out of Perry with Henderson Coffee Company.. coincidence? No. Another step God wanted us to take.

This has been a hard step. Before Henderson, my wonderful, capable, hard-working husband worked at Oklahoma State Univeristy. Changing jobs meant: leaving everything he knew behind, leaving friends, co-workers, purks (such as the use of the amazing wellness center on campus), and the comfy life we had there behind. Starting a new job meant: doing something he had never done before, not working a 8-5 "normal job", relaying on 100% commission, and smelling like coffee everyday. He took the step.

We are called to take steps of faith everyday. Burdens are laid on our hearts, and our faith is tested.

God wants, calls, and needs us to take steps.

The next step has been laid out before us, and I can't wait to share more about it in the future. Stay-tuned.

Our next step will be more of a leap.

Don't be afraid to step today.

five

 Over the weekend my baby girl turned 5 months old.

 She is rolling all over the place. She loves playing with her toys. She loves her Papa Bear, and always gives the biggest smiles when he gets home...

Her new-baby-blue-eyes have now chagned to brownish-green (just like her Daddies).

She has offically found her lungs, and enjoys screaming just to hear her own voice. She loves being outside and going on walks and runs. She wants to move more than anything in the world, and I am sure will be crawling before we know it. She still isn't the world's best sleeper, but we are working on it. One day?

And this is our other baby. Manny: Our 3-year-old Maltese. Mr. Jealous. He barks at every little noise, pees all over the house if he doesn't have his diaper on, sleeps right next to me, and enjoys playing with his "girlfriend" (a stuffed white dog, that looks just like him).

I tell him that one day Alivia and him will be best friends.

He doesn't belive me.

Enjoy your family today. 

Happy Labor Day Weekend

David Payne on News Channel 4 just said the words: "Tomorrow might be the last 100 degree day for the summer"... Best news all day!

Happy Labor Day!

Enjoy the weekend XOXO

Hello there

Hello there, Mr. September. You are finally here.

I have been praying that you would bring cool morning runs, picnics on the weekends with my #2 and #3, beautiful colors of trees, and the excitment the beginning of fall tends to bring after the warmest Oklahoma summer on record.

This past week I have been reminded several times about how precious life is. Our days are numbered, and no one knows that number beside our creator. We are not promised tomorrow. With this said, I am sad to say that the month of August just passed  before me. I feel like the days and nights ran together. No passion. No motivation, but thankfully there was a-whole-lotta-love.

So, the most imporant goal for this month has nothing to do with my waist line, how many hours I am sleeping at night, the ounces of water I consume a day, or my lack of arm muscles. The most important goal for September is:

Live life to the fullest everyday.

{Don't let another moment pass before you. Love Brandon and Alivia unconditionally. Don't waste afternoons laying on the couch. Change how you feel. Discover your passion. Chase dreams. Live.}

The other not-so-important-but-still-pretty-important September goals are:

one: this month we are running in two 5K's. My goal is to finish both of them under 30 minutes.

two: more consisent excerise. The month of August I completely slacked in this area. I know that this is important not only for my weight-loss-journey but also to keep me healthy for my family.

three: do 40 pushups each day. My arm muscles are completely lacking and I have to work on this so I can hold my baby girl. She is getting so heavy, and I know this is only the beginning!

Well, there-ya-have-it. My September goals. My plan is to be a producitive wife and mother this month.

What are your goals for September?

If you don't have any

set some goals today!