I am catching up soon, I promise!!!!

Kids with loot from Santa

Traditional family photo :0)

Christmas clothes


okay, I promise to upload about a months worth of photos sometime in the next few days, but so much is happening! Logan got glasses, Julie starts kindergarten THIS YEAR and Isabel is already 4 months old and laughing out loud!!! I feel like my life is flashing before my eyes, and my babies are growing up too fast!!! hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, and I will update soon :)

A love/hate relationship....

With Running.

I know I have posted a ton lately, so don't get used to it! :0) I wanted to record some thoughts about my favorite past-time for journaling purposes.

So I have started back up again with running. I started when Isabel was about 5 weeks old, and have been chipping away at it since then. I wish sometimes that runner's world magazing would do a feature on that first "post-partum" run. Hmmmm.... maybe I should send one in!!! LOL Just kidding!
I remember when i first started running after I had Logan, I ran for 3 minutes, and was beet faced and gasping for air. I mentally prepared myself for a repeat of that performance 5 weeks after my sweet baby girl was born. I told Travis I was heading for the treadmill, and he says to me, "Are you gonna come home crying?" I said "well, I might!" Travis knows me well and knows how much I don't like being out of shape. He reminded me that I should take it easy and to remember to start slowly so I wouldn't injure myself.
I went and did pretty good for me. I remember thinking 3 minutes in to it, jogging at a 12 min per mile pace, "why do I do this again?!" I actually hated it at that point. and did for quite a few runs after that. That is because I knew I was 20 pounds heavier than usual, my knees wouldn't like that one bit, and my feet were going to have to get "broken in" again. I know the pushing and straining it is going to take to get it all back- to be able to run for 30 minutes effortlessly. I am doing a walk/run program so my shins can adjust. My shins hate it when I add to much mileage to soon and usually punish me with shin splints if I don't take it easy at first.
I would say after about 7 weeks of glorified jogging, I am running about 80% and walking 20% of my distance/time. I am not running at a very fast pace, but I am adding some mileage, and that is my goal for now. ENDURANCE. Speed will come later. I come home with endless amounts of energy, and feel like all of my stress stays out on the pavement where I left it. Let's face it, as a mom of 3, my stress sometimes comes in tidal waves! But now that I am in better shape, my runs are more good than bad, and I love it most of the time. I reconnect with God, listen to some new music other than baby einstein or dora, or I just take time for me. It is what keeps me healthy during flu season, and keeps me sane so I can be a good wife and mommy. So when I have a difficult run, or my legs feel like lead weights, I remember all the good things I love about running... and push on.

I did it!!!

I cut Julie's hair. I know, completely crazy. We had a tiny incident with gum, that was in the very ends of her hair, and I thought, no biggie, we will just snip a half inch to an inch and we will be done. I prepped her, got it wet and turned her around. she was looking up while I was cutting and i didn't realize it, so it ended up being shorter than I wanted it to be. After Julie looked in the mirror, she wanted it even shorter. She has been asking me for a long time now to please cut her hair. So... I did.
The rough part? I was kind of hoping with all the weight out of it, the curls would bounce right up and be more curly, but.... they just dissapeared :(

Here is a before picture, we had been braiding her hair after we washed it so it would be really wavy. Notice we are sporting our gator gear! (this was pre Alabama game)
Daddy's Two little Gators

notice the wavy hair on Julie!


Drum roll please........






and here it is! Much shorter for her and much healthier looking in my opinion. Okay lets face it, I really miss her baby curls, but she is a big girl now! *Sniff*

My sweet grown up girl!


I asked her how she felt about it and she said, "mom, I totally love it!"
So there you have it, she is now a pre teen. :0)

It's a hard knock life...

Whomever said that my third would be the best baby ever and be so laid back was totally right! It has been 3 months since this little angel came to us and we can't believe how sweet she is. She is so smiley and loves people. She nurses like a champ (weighing in at 11 pounds!) and sleeps through the night most of the time!!! (don't worry, I am knocking on some wood right now! LOL) She is usually up between 5 or 6 in the morning to eat, and usually i put her in bed with me after that feeding and we doze untill Julie and Logan wake up. It is such a sweet time for her and me, and Travis got a picture of us!




More to come later on her 3month check up stats and what julie and logan have been up to :0)

The big 29

My birthday was a few days ago, and it was so awesome! We made it a whole weekend event!
Thursday night just Travis and I went to Joe's Crab shack. We had so much fun and talked a lot about how much we appreciated eachother and how much fun we are going to have with our 3 kids. Travis is such a blessing in my life, and is such a wonderful father.
Here is us before going out


Little did I know, there was a huge surprise in store for me! I suspected something was up because my mom and travis were whispering to eachother every chance they could, and they kept making me think we were just gonna hang out with family on my birthday like it was no big deal. I was getting ready to go out with the family when the doorbell rang and Travis yelled at me to get it! I was on the phone with one of my very best friends who lives in texas-Laura Staples-and was very annoyed that I had to get off the phone to answer the door, and IT WAS LAURA STANDING THERE!!!! I was sooo excited! She ended up spending the weekend with us and I was so thankful we got to see eachother. Thankyou Laura for making my birthday so special! Here are some pics of each night she was here.




Last year I listed 28 things about myself that many of you may not have known, so this year I am going to list 29 things I am thankful for!
1. Jesus
2. Bible
3. Travis
4. Julie, Logan, and Isabel
5. My extended family! I love you ALL so much!
6. Bridget Sussey
7. All of my amazing friends
8. My health
9. My running shoes
10. House
11. My Mini-Van!!!
12. Cozy Warm bed
13. Clothes
14. Hearing aid
15. Church Family
16. Life group friends
17. Prayers from my 4 year old
18. A sense of humor
19. Glasses and Contacts
20. disposable Diapers-hey I have 2 kids in them!
21. Thompson Dunavant
22. Raleigh Group
23. Sycamore View Church of Christ Preschool and mother's day out
24. My camera
25. Central Heating and Air Conditioning
26. Running Water-hot or cold
27. telephone and cell phone
28. Internet
29. The opportunity to be a servant of Christ

Terrific Tuesdays...

Guess who turned 2 months old, and is cooing and smiling at us now!

My 3 little stinkers piled up in my bed!

what a weekend!

Logan turned 3!!! I can't believe my little boy is 3 years old! He is the most precious, affectionate, sweet, happy boy. He loves all things that have wheels and is most interested in learning how things work. An engineer in the making?! Perhaps... He was a bit spoiled this year for his birthday. He got a train table, a Lightening McQueen Bike and Helmet, a t.v. and some trains. We didn't have a big party, we just had the g'parents over for cheese pizza and some cake with chocolate frosting per the birthday boy's request! I still can't believe he is 3 years old.
Newborn

2weeks old- he was such an alert baby!

first birthday :0)

14 months old-look at those pudgy cheeks!!!

2nd birthday

Momma's sweet little boy. He has always been a momma's boy! How can I resist those big blue eyes? :0)

His AWESOME train table, it takes up most of his room, but totally worth it!

Typical "Logan" cheese face

His new Bike, getting some help from Pappy

safety first!

Logan, mommy and daddy love you more than words can express, you are such a joy to our lives! We can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for your life. Happy Birthday!