Still Plugging Away

Since I last wrote you I am STILL doing my exercise routine and watching my calories, it definitely takes the dedication I mentioned in my previous post. Isn't it funny how the habits and lifestyles of others that you live with influence you in major ways. When Tim wasn't watching what he was eating or working out I was perfectly content just to be a couch potato but now that we are both doing it together we motivate one another. Tim is down to the lowest weight ever, he looks amazing and his dedication is inspiring to me. I've lost a total of 10 pounds since my adventure began in January, I'm still 10 pounds off of my goal weight. I reached a plateau and was getting discouraged and Tim found a workout called "INSANITY" for me to try. OMG this workout truly is INSANE. I did it for the first time yesterday and literally thought I was going to die, but at the same time so was proud of myself for doing it. I'll keep you updated on if I continue with that level of "insantiy" to achieve my results.
We continue to coupon and use couponing blogs to help save us an average of 55 dollars per trip to the grocery store. I found a blog "couponing my way to Disney" that motivated me to try a writing campaign. She emails 5 companies per week with either complaints or detailed compliments on their products and she said 9/10 they will mail you coupons. I decided to give it a try for one week and 3/5 companies that I wrote sent me REALLY good coupons for a signifigant discounts. Purina sent me 5 2.00 off coupons, Dole sent me 5 .75 off coupons, and Fruictis shampoo products sent me 2 coupons for free products. So, I think I'll continue to give that a try.
We have been diluged with snow here and enjoyed some days playing in it. We walked to our local park and enjoyed sledding time with the park to ourselves the first day of snowfall:

We ended up with about 12 inches of snow. We also enjoyed some snow days too which was a nice surprise and allowed us more snow playing time. We also enjoyed a quick weekend getaway to Gatlinburg which was fun.
Here's something a little random to leave you with. We've been enjoying the Olympics and during the shows have been laughing hysterically at our new favorite commercial, this one gets us EVERY time, sOOOOOOOOOO funny!

Saving Money and Dedication

I am so excited about two major things that is going on with me right now:
1). Saving tons of money using coupons and local coupon blogs
2). Sticking to a diet, weight loss and exercise plan and starting to see changes.

Tim and I are kicking ourselves that we didn't start clipping coupons sooner, but now that we are we are serious about it. We bought a coupon organizer, bought our Sunday paper and got organized, just based upon that we saved 30.00 our first time out of the gate.
That was great......... but I wanted more!
I scoured the internet for even more coupons and our trip online. So, two weeks ago (our second try at this) we went out armed with our Sunday paper coupons AND our printed out online coupons and saved a whopping $50.00 off of our bill... AWESOME feeling!................ but I wanted more!
So......... I scoured the internet more and found some great coupon blogging websites. My favorite one is www.coupongeek.net They made it SUPER easy for me because they go through the Kroger circular and suggest the best deals for you as well as link those deals with coupons from the paper and have links to online coupons to further the savings and show you what the final price would be.... this was WONDERFUL! So........ I took great notes from the site, paired them with Sunday coupons they suggested and with the printable coupons and we went to the store yesterday and were able to save $75.00 off of our grocery bill!!! I just LOVE this! I am so excited to see how much we can save over this upcoming year, we just need to stay dedicated to it (but the wonderful motivation of extra money in our pockets will make that easy).
Speaking of motivation......... I have stuck to a dieting and exercise regiment since the beginning of January. I am down 7 pounds (a total of 15 pounds is my goal by Spring Break). I feel better than I have in years. I have cut down my wine drinking to one glass per week (which for those of you who know me, know that is a sacrifice: ) I am starting to see results and I am LOVING it! It is a great feeling to have your pants get loser and see more definition in your body. I will keep you updated on the progress of both of these things as the year progresses..... wish me luck!
-Lesley

Trials in Parenting

The Lord has blessed me with two amazing and healthy children. I remember when I was pregnant with each of them I always prayed for their health. I can vividly recal sitting in their nurseries at night after they had been born rocking them slowly and praying to the Lord to keep them safe and healthy and in turn I promised Him I would raise up my children to know and love Him. Well, the Lord has kept his promises and now I am trying my best to do my part.
I can close my eyes and see my son at the very young age of 1 1/2 as a new walker, trying his best to maneuver up and down curbs outside in our neighborhood. I can still see the determination in his eyes as he would try over and over again to put one foot up on the curb and not topple over during his balancing act. It took him about 15-20 attempts, but he continued to do it until he mastered it - and that look of pure joy and accomplishment on his little face brought a smile to my own.
As my children have grown older I have watched their personalities develop in much different ways. My son who used to be the determined confident one has recently become more self conscious, frustrated and frightened to try new things. This personality trait also then evolves into bad sportsmanship because he can not handle losing or failing once he has tried at something - an uphill battle for sure. I don't know how you go from being a 1 1/2 year old with such drive and determination to an almost 9 year old who lacks that confidence and ability to try, but I am trying to get to the bottom of it with him. I've had talks with him today, and had him give me a list of 10 things he is great at (which he could easily come up with). He is a wonderful person inside and out, I want him to have that confidence that he deserves so he can be the successful man that I know he can be in life. I try to teach him to be Christ like in everything he does, I know it is a stiff order, but I am trying.
I have a six year old who is confident and wise beyond her years. She will dance and strut her stuff in front of complete strangers smiling from ear to ear. She will talk your ear off to no end and when she walks into a room she radiates it with her positivity and good nature. I am praying that as years go by she doesn't loose that self confidence within herself and her Christ like nature to serve others. I pray her ability to always want to please others won't be taken advantage of. I pray that I can be the mother that I told the Lord I would be, and that my children deserve.

Motherhood is more than I ever thought it could be. I literally wear my heart on my sleeve daily. All I can do is continue to pray that not only they will be healthy, but they will be happy and have a wonderful quality of life that they deserve. Please Lord.......... give me the strength!

-Lesley

Boy did I need this today

As a working mother it is a DAILY struggle with mothers guilt for me, someone sent me this and I am so glad they did, I REALLY needed this today........ I couldn't have said it better myself:


An open letter to my working mother’s guilt
You, sir, are a liar and a thief.

You lie about the quality of my mothering and you steal the joy of time spent with my children by making me worry about the time we spend apart.

You are self important and self involved.

You trick me into thinking that I can control the well being of my boys. You make me out to be god and center of the universe of my family. And that when I am absent the earth stops revolving and the sun struggles to shines. You whisper, deserter.

You are sneaky sneaky, setting yourself up where the God who built my children shin-bone-to-thigh-bone-to-hip-bone should be.

I will call you out.

And when the crackly static of your nagging dies down I can hear the voice of my Father. And He whispers, provider.

He sings over me.

He is waiting for me in the morning as I struggle to wake up. When the glare of the bathroom lights blind and tired eyes fight the lenses they need to face the day, He is there.

He sings,

She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family.

Proverbs 31:15

I cling to that chorus all day, five days a week. Here, listen, you lying, stealing guilt. I will spell it out for you:

I love my sons deep.

I love my sons wide.

I love my sons enough to sacrifice what I want so that I can give them what they need.

I am no less and no more than the mothers who get to stay home. God did not give them a pass and me a punishment. I do not need to apologize for the fact that I work. I do not need to be embarrassed.

I practice dying to my own desires every day with each good-bye, each desperate hug, each meal prepared and left to be eaten in my absence. I walk the hard path of trust. Trusting that the God who built my boys will parent them in my absence, will grow them in courage, and teach them over time that this is what love looks like.

Gritty, committed, and determined to do what is necessary.

So, take that Liar.

And if you come back tomorrow, I will be ready to read this to you again.

Signed, Lisa-Jo
mother to her boys in every way that matters
Her blog:http://ow.ly/WfzE

Thank you Lisa-Jo, I REALLY needed that today!
-Lesley

Year In Review... Farewell 2009, Hello 2010

Wow, I can't believe another year has just whizzed by. I guess the old saying is true "time flies when you are having fun!" 2009 was another fun filled year for our family full of blessings for which I am truly thankful. Let's look back on them together shall we.....
I rang in the New Year by getting a brand new Iphone and haven't looked back since, LOVE the technology this wonderful phone has to offer!

January also gave us our very first major snowfall of the year and we had TWO snow days in a row and enjoyed lots of time playing in the snow together:


Out with the OLD, in with the NEW..... fortunately RIGHT before that major snowfall we had gotten rid of our old living room and family room furniture and got brand new sofa's and loveseats, one of which was a pull out couch which we allowed the kids to spend the night on after snow day #1 which they were THRILLED about!

After we dug out from the snowfall in January my baby boy Luke turned EIGHT years old in February and we celebrated at Krazy City with friends and family and he had a sleepover with cousins:

Shortly after Luke turned eight we packed up the family (including our dog Mickey)
and headed for a long weekend in Gatlinburg, it was HEAVENLY getting away together

There is nothing like soaking in a hot tub in the mountains:


February of 2009 also brought a wonderful occassion for us, Lauren accepted Jesus into her heart and asked to be Baptized, so she was baptized by her grandfather at Fellowship Bible Church:

March brought my mom's birthday and our family got together to a cabin in Brown county for the celebration (I can't for the life of me locate pictures of this wonderful time right now) but it was a wonderful time with my family (my mom, dad, brother, his wife, and of course Tim and the kids) it was unseasonably warm and we enjoyed some outdoor hikes, shopping and swimming (indoors) at Brown County State park.
March also brought Easter and fun outdoor egg hunts (although cold) and all of the festivities that typically brings:


Then came April and a WONDERFUL escape to the beaches of Kiawah island South Carolina for Spring break (ahhhhhh, I can feel the sand on my toes just thinking about it!) I just love those Spring Break getaways with my family (again a great trip with my mom and dad, brother, his wife and Tim and the kids).


The sunshine makes you excited about the summer that is quickly approaching and when I return to school there is less than 2 months before summer vacation.


Then the warmer weather that April and May bring to the Ohio area and we enjoyed setting up movie nights outside for the neighborhood, we popped popcorn, set up Tim's projection equipment and enjoyed the movies under the stars in our shorts:

Then came May, wonderful May. The sun was staying lit longer, temperatures were starting to feel summer like and we enjoyed playing outside after I came home from work. Lauren had a Mother's Day Tea at her preschool in May:

These tea's are so precious and always make me cry. She made wonderful crafts for me and the class sang to me, wonderful memories.
The kids and I traveled down to Krohn Conservatory for the Butterfly show and enjoyed holding many butterflies, what a wonderful display:

May also brought Spring soccer for Lauren and we watched her enjoy it more than ever and really run up and down that field agressively. Spring baseball for Luke was wonderful, his team did outstandingly well and landed a top spot for the 2010 team placement rankings.
Then came June, OH HOW I LOVE June! June to me means school is wrapping up for the year, soon I will be spending time with the kids by the pool and taking a stroll down Main Street U.S.A in Disney with the family.
We kicked it off in grand style in 2009 by traveling to Indianapolis to see WICKED with my sister n' law, LOVE THAT SHOW!
Then we transformed our bedroom into a "haven" for ourselves, after having hodge podged furniture from our childhood we finally had our own wonderful haven to escape to:

I also turned 33 in June surrounded by my family:

Then came my FAVORITE time of year, DISNEY TIME!!!! This was going to be the trip of a lifetime. We recently bought into the Disney Vacation Club and as an incentive for joining received a TON of developer points that must be used quickly so we were booked for 18 heavenly Disney days, I couldn't wait!!! I'm not going to re-cap the entire trip here (you can read my ENTIRE 18 day Disney Trip Report here:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2224335
But it TRULY was the trip of a life time. Tim injured his knee for some of it but overall it was MAGICAL, MEMORABLE and will go down in history as one of my favorite trips, one of the reasons it was so magical was because we met some WONDERFUL friends on the trip and spent a lot of the vacation with them and it made it all the more special. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trip:





Ohhhh, I could go on and on with the Disney memories and pictures, but I digress....
Then after our wonderful 18 days in Disney we were home for less than 2 weeks and were on our way to our annual trip to Grand Haven Michigan in July. LOVE Grand Haven (have I mentioned how blessed I am to be able to travel so often with my family!)
Grand Haven did not disappoint, we had a wonderful trip (even though Tim was on crutches and in a knee cast for most of it, we made the best of it and had a great time in the sun):




We joined a new church in 2009 and became Crew Leaders for Vacation Bible School in July, it was a wonderful experience both for us and the kids:

As July came to an end we enjoyed many pool filled days and day trips to Kings Island. Then came August and I was sad the summer was coming to a close. I started setting up my classroom and we began a project in our backyard.... a fire pit:

Then it was back to school time. Luke had his first day of third grade:

Lauren had her FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!


I went back to school and it was a very rough and stressful start to the year for me, so my mother and Tim got together and decided we needed an impromptu getaway in September to Grand Haven for the Labor Day weekend to get me away from it all, boy did that help! (so thankful for my loving husband and wonderful family who always has my best interest at heart). Being able to get away from it all, stick my feet in the sand once again and unwind surrounded by those who I love made the stress melt away, (and those gorgeous sunsets on the pier by the lighthouse didn't hurt either):

September also brought Tim's 34th birthday, we went to Montgomery Inn to celebrate. The start of cheerleading season for Lauren and fall soccer for both Luke AND Lauren, which meant a lot of running around and squeezing in homework for the kids when we could.
October came and that meant Lauren was 1 year older. She turned 6 years old surrounded by friends and family at our house (and a juggler and balloon artist too: )

Then we had another much needed getaway planned in October to our favorite place on earth, Disney World in October. You can read THAT trip report here:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2322588
We enjoyed dressing up with Mickey for his Halloween bash;

This went down in history as my favorite Disney getaway yet, being able to travel that time of year and experience so many new things was an awesome experience!

November of 2009 brought lots of Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving spent with Tim's family. Girl scouts started up for Lauren. Before we knew it December was here.
In December we had our first snow and enjoyed quality family time playing in it together:

Tim took a once in a lifetime guys only trip to Disney for Disapalooza, he had the time of his life hanging out with friends old and new from our Dis boards contacts through my years of trip report writing. He enjoyed Osborne Lights, the Candlelight processional, and riding Toy Story Mania 11 times in a row without getting off at the Disapalooza party and meeting and hanging out with members of the Dis unplugged Podcast crew that we listen to weekly- he had the time of his life.
In late December I took Lauren to the Nutcracker and Luke to his first theatrical performance at the Playhouse in the Park, he LOVED the Christmas Carol.
Right in time for Christmas on December 21st my nephew Ben was born:

We had a wonderful Candlelight Service on December 23rd at church:

We enjoyed Christmas Eve with Tim's family:


Christmas morning here with our family:
Then mom and dad came over to share in the celebration:

We then moved the celebration to my brother's house to celebrate with my brother, his wife and baby Ben.


We wrapped up 2009 by having our new Disney friends come and stay with us for 5 days. We made wonderful memories with their family,laughed more times than I can count, showed them Cincinnati and rang in the New Year together.


What a WONDERFUL blessed year 2009 was for our family. I hope that you take this time to reflect upon all of your blessings in 2009. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I pray that each of us have a wonderful, healthy, memory filled 2010!
-Lesley

Christmas Blessings

The kids were full of anticipation Christmas morning to see if Santa had come in the middle of the night- here they are waiting (not so ) patiently on the stairs:


He came, Santa came and ate the cookies!

We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus to keep in mind that he is the true reason for the season of giving and the first Christmas gift, then the gifts were opened one by one. I just love the look of pure joy and excitement in my children's eyes as the presents they have so desired are slowly revealed:





We had a wonderful Christmas as a family this year, we were truly blessed by all of the gifts we were able to give and receive this year. Then we moved the celebration over to my brothers house to celebrate with them and spend time with my new nephew, what a Christmas blessing. There's nothing like snuggling with a newborn on Christmas:



I think Ben enjoyed his first Christmas surrounded by those who love him and the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree:

I hope that each of you had a very Merry Christmas, see you in 2010!

Christmas Joy!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, I just LOVE this time of year. The first snow fell a few days ago and we had fun playing in it:

We stayed outside for an hour and a half just playing, building, throwing snowballs at eachother and laughing. Nothing like coming inside and warming up to a nice warm cup of hot chocolate.
All of our gifts are wrapped and we are ready for fun with our families this week. The most wonderful surprise came EARLY on Monday morning when I got a phone call that my sister n' law (my brother's wife) was in labor. This is their first child, and my first time being an aunt for my own sibling's child so VERY exciting times.

He is so handsome, the birth went well and he is healthy as can be, such a Christmas blessing, so now on Christmas day we will get to visit with our new member of the family, love him so much already!

Yesterday we spent all day baking 5 different varieties of Christmas cookies and we went to visit my grandma and grandpa in their nursing home today and brought them cookies and Christmas Joy and they were so happy to have us visit (and eat some cookies: ) We go to Christmas Eve service candlelight service tonight and I can't wait to celebrate Jesus' birthday with my family.

I hope that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy this time with your families.