I am in need of some assistance!!!

Soccer season is now upon us, which means that my busy life is going to get crazy. All three girls are playing, so that means three different schedules. Luckily, they all play at the same place. Praise God !!! My goal is to make this season run smoothly so that I can actually enjoy it. Seems like a reasonable request. Here is where you all come in. I need some fresh ideas for quick, healthy dinners that are easy to make in no time. I know, a tall order. I am trying to be organized an make a meal plan for the week, but my creativity is struggling. Any tips, ideas, or recipes that you could spare would be appreciated. I look forward to "borrowing" your creativity until my decides to show up!!

The Best Day Ever!!!

In the words of my daughter, Rylee, "this is the best day ever!" We were blessed with a beautiful, sunny day in Michigan. We decided to take in every moment. The morning started with soccer practice then off to the bank. Next, we headed to get Kal's haircut. This is always a treat. Getting to act like a grown-up is an added bonus. Target, God's store, is next on the agenda, trying to get shorts for my girls that will actually fit. Let me just say that it really bothers me that most of the shorts that I find for my girls are way too short. Why do I want my 7 year old to have her booty hanging out. Please!! Praise God that Bermuda shorts are in. My lifesaver!! We found some shorts that passed the modesty test and mommy headed to get a Starbucks!! Two of my favorite things in one store. Gotta love it!!! Off to get some groceries before my son Hayden melts down. He was ready to be done shopping!! We get home and grill out and the kids are thrilled that we are eating outside. Something about eating a meal outside is much more exciting than eating inside. Fresh air never felt so good. After lunch/dinner, I had to sit back and smile. Our backyard was covered in every outside toy we own. Every ball, bike, bat, etc. was laying on the ground or being used by one of my children. Tanner was in heaven. He was covered in dirt and having the time of his life. This summer, I will never get him to come inside!! To end our perfect day, the kids convinced dad to have a bonfire and make smores. What a mess!! This tasty treat is impossible to not get everywhere. After, I attempted to clean up, we played "King Elephant" as a family. (King Elephant is a rhythm game where you follow a pattern, while making animal shapes.) As you can imagine, it was hysterical. Our kids are a little young for this game, but they love to play it. It is a family tradition. I played it with my family when I was a kid. It was good times. After we attempted the game, we tried to sing campfire songs. Our poor neighbors. I can only imagine what we sounded like. Oh well, it was fun!! The kids were having a blast. Our day ended with popcorn and a movie. Wow! It was the best day ever!!!

My thoughts ...

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you have run a marathon and nothing seems to get accomplished!! Today is one of those days!! This morning I had a plan to get a few projects done around the house, things that I have been putting off, but it is now evening and the projects are laughing at me!! I feel like I have been busy all day - What did I do? I think I survived the day!!

I am still recovering from being sick and my energy is zero!! You know it is bad when you climb a flight of stairs, with laundry basket in tow, and have to stop and rest. What is up with that. I really need to workout!!

My house is working against me. Every time I turn around, I find something else that needs to be picked up. I have asked myself many times today, "where did all these toys come from and why are they in my living room?" I swear my kids have something against their rooms. Their toys are so much more fun to play with in the living room. (The truth of the matter is that their rooms are so full of the mess they have created that instead of cleaning up a few things to make some room to play, they just move their mess to another spot!) It makes me a little crazy as you can see.

I did get a few loads of laundry done! Yeah me!! But, in a family of 7 a few loads doesn't even make a dent. I have a few more hours to get some more done. It is good to have a goal.

Wow!! Sorry! This is a depressing post. Let's look at the highlights of my day ....

-no one in my family threw up this morning - this is a highlight, I assure you!

-i received a hug and kiss from every member of my family, a true treasure

- a dear friend came to visit, to make sure i was still alive

- my husband brought me lunch

- tanner fell asleep in my lap and snuggled for about 45 minutes - he never does that anymore

- hayden was so thrilled to show me a flower that had bloomed in the yard, hello spring!

- LOST!! is on tonight - my fav

- for the moment, i am enjoying some peace and quiet (even though, i should be doing dishes) oh well!!

I Need to Purchase a Mind Eraser!

Does anyone out there know where I can get a mind eraser? These last few days need to be purged from my memory. Let's start at the beginning ....

In a family of 7, sickness goes around like the plague and this season, our house has turned into a hospital. The kids have been so sick, that it was getting comical! I kept looking for the hidden camera that would confirm that this was a sick joke! I thought we were through with it until 2 weeks ago. Round... um ... I forget, started. Every one got it except Kal and Mommy. Things were looking up after a week, but then it started back up a week later. That is a sick joke!!! Stupid virus!! At the end of week 2, I was still in the clear! I dodged it, or so I thought.

Thursday night, I started getting a scratchy throat. "No biggy, I thought! This is not the stomach bug that has ran through the house. I can shake it."

One hour later ... "ok, it is getting worse, but I will be fine.
Two hours later ... I am on the phone canceling Bible Study for Friday morning. Off to bed!
Midnight ... Trying to sleep, no luck! My throat is getting worse and the pain is starting. Great!!

Friday morning ... Steve is getting the kids ready for school. The other kids will live in front of the TV today. Maybe they will survive w/o needing mommy. Friday night : "Steve, call the DR. in the morning. I have to be seen.

Saturday ... "Dr. is full, but we can see you on Monday." No, I will be dead on Monday!!! Now, I say some unkind things about the Doctor's Office. Sorry, a moment of weakness. Afternoon .. At Urgent Care. "The swab came back negative for strep, but we will let you know in a few days if the other test comes back positive. We will send you home with strong Tylenol." Gee, thanks. That was a waste of $35.00. Now, I am bitter, angry, sleep deprived, and in pain, pain, pain!!! It is not pretty!!

Sunday ... minimal sleep, more pain, and now my throat is so swollen that I am gagging! Lovely! And did I mention the pain. At this point, I am wishing that I am in labor, because I know that that would have a ending in sight. Call Urgent Care, ask them to call in an antibiotic to start. I need relief!! Steve, fights for me. Praise God!!! Start taking the drugs. I will feel better soon?

Monday ... after no sleep, I mean none!! My heart was racing! I was literally going crazy. I was seeing weird spots. It was a dark time! I lost it!! I wanted to punch something. I thought about taking my own tonsils out to relieve the pain. I have been in constant pain for 4 days, very little sleep, almost no food (eating was torture), living on ice chips and Popsicles, I was getting nutty. Oh, did I mention, that Hayden threw up at 11:30pm and was sleeping in our room, nice!!
At 5:00am, I woke Steve up, and said "Help me!" He was a life savior throughout this! Taking care of me and 5 kids. He needs a medal!! Back to the story ... we called his parents to come watch the kids and headed to the ER at 6:30am.

ER ... no one was there ... no waiting.. Praise God! We got in. They checked my throat. Yea, it was bad! I knew it! They set me up with a IV, drugs, steroids, and were sending me to get a CAT scan to get a better look at the swelling. They took a swab and tested me for strep and mono. Everything came back fine. The CAT scan showed no assist, but lots of swelling. They gave me a drip antibiotic, and two other drugs that made me feel very weird, but if it works, bring it on. After a lovely 6 hours in the ER, I was going home. Feeling weak and tired, still swollen, but not pain, or very minimal!! Praise God. It is a great feeling to have some relief. I am on antibiotics for the next 10 days and they want me to go see a specialist to determine if they should remove my tonsils. I am all for it, if I never have to deal with this again.

Now, I just want to relax. Get some sleep. And get better. Going to the ER was worth the money. I just want to forget these last few days.

Power 90X Graduate!!!

It is official, I have finished!! Yeah!!! Last Monday, I finished one of the hardest workout programs that I have ever done. It was quite a challenge, but worth all the hard work. I would show you the before and after pictures, but I am just not that brave. Maybe one day!! I am not ripped like some of the P90x graduates, but I am proud to say that I am starting to see some definition. Throughout the program, I would tell my husband, "Look, I found a new muscle! Feel this!" To which he would smile and say, "You always had that muscle, sweetie, but now you can see it." Let's just say that I have never seen some of these muscles on my body.

By the way, my husband has been a huge encouragement to me. He always is telling me good job and how great I look. Thank you, babe! I try to remind him that some people really have to work at it. He is not one of those people. I do tell him that he is always welcome to workout out with me. He smiles and drinks his Pepsi and eats whatever he wants. It is so not fair!!

Ok, I got lost there for a minute! I lost 12 pounds and shed inches. I have more weight to lose, but at least I am moving in the right direction. It feels strange to be done. It was good for me to have a workout plan set for me. Half the battle of working out is figuring out what to do. Hopefully now, I will be ready to start training for my upcoming races. I am trying to talk my girlfriend, Keri, into running a 1/2 marathon. She thinks I am a little bit crazy, but I think I am slowly making progress. If any of you are thinking about doing this program, I strongly recommend it. You will challenge yourself and be surprised how much stronger that you become. If I can do it, you can do it!!
I would love to hear all about it!! Good luck!!
I need to go. My workout is calling me. Maybe a little Bob and Jillian today!!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter!! I know what you are all thinking: wasn't Easter yesterday? Yes, it was, but I have sick kids again and I am running a day behind. I need you guys to humor me!

Our Easter was wonderful!! My kids woke up at 6:40am ready to do their Easter egg hunt. We told them "Go back to Bed"!! We held the kids off until about 7:30 and then just gave up. The kids had a blast finding eggs. There was crazy running around and lots of screams of delight. Tanner was having a different reaction. He found an egg, opened it, and wanted the candy inside. We gave him one piece and tried to convince him to keep looking - while he still had a chance of finding any. He took one look at his chocolate bunny, raised it to dad and made a grunting sound. We told him he could eat it later and he was not happy. He looked at his siblings running around the house like crazy people and thought, "you do know that when you find all these eggs, mom and dad are not going to let you eat all this candy. What is the fun of this!" During breakfast, I overheard dad talking to the kids about the importance of Easter. It blessed my heart to hear them ask dad questions and to be thankful for our Savior dying for our sins and then raising from the dead. Their child-like faith is an encouragement to me. We all froze on the way to church because mom decided that we would dress cute and springy even though we live in Michigan. Flip-flops, shorts, skirts, and short sleeves, but they looked so cute. I told them when we get to church, we will be warm. At church, we enjoyed a wonderful service. It was a packed house!! I love Easter morning!! There is a special joy and hope that is all around. We all focus on what is really important, Our Savior and what He has done for us.

After church, it was off to Papa and Grandma's house for food and more treats. We ate, rested, visited, and watched a movie! What a wonderful day!

I Love Technology!!

I have a few "toys" that I use in my daily life that I could not live without!! My cell phone, digital camera, MP3 player, and my computer (Internet). These tools make my life so much easier. I was just talkin' to a friend the other day and we were wondering how our parents got along without these treasures!! I am sure that I will be having this same conversation with my kids in the not so distant future!
Being far from home, I use this technology to stay connected with my family. I love to blog and share pictures of the kids with the family, staying connected with friends on Facebook, and e-mailing my mom when I need help and advice!
Yesterday, I downloaded a few sermons that my dad had preached. It was great and so encouraging to listen to his voice and hear what God had laid on his heart. It always blesses my heart to listen to what God is doing in the lives of other believers. It is awesome that the God we serve has connected our hearts and we are moving in the same direction. As I listen, and God speaks to my heart, my Faith is growing. He always knows what we need.
So, thank you Dad, for your heart to serve God. You inspire me and helped me in my walk. I miss you all so much and look forward to seeing you this summer.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for reminding me that what You are doing in our church, You are also doing in the churches across the world. We are connected and working together to spread your Word. May we live our lives brightly and point others to You!

All Boy!!!

Look at that face!! So sweet!! Do not let this sweet exterior fool you. Tanner is all boy!! When he is not sleeping or eating, this boy is on the move. He loves to wrestle, attack, run, jump, and anything else that will get your attention. He knows he is the baby, but he is convinced that he can do anything else his siblings are doing. Don't stand in his way!! If the kids are playing nerf gun fights, he is in the middle of the mix. If mom is trying to workout, he sees this as a perfect opportunity to pounce. He loves to attack dad and wrestle with him. He runs toward you at top speeds and tries to knock you down. He is freakishly strong!! I have been takin' down by him more than a few times. He plays hard and enjoys every minute of it!! Sometimes I look at him and think, where did my sweet little boy go! He then flashes me a smile and I catch a glimpse of it! Even though at times he is totally exhausting, I would not change anything about him. He can make me laugh with just a look. His facial expression tell you everything he is feeling. (It has gotten him in plenty of trouble!! We are working on it ;) He gives the best hugs and kisses and he loves his family. He lives everyday to the fullest! He is full of adventure and joy. We love you so much, wild boy!