I started jogging again...what was I thinking???

Tonight AFTER dinner I decided to start jogging again.

Well, actually, I didn't decide on it.

It went more like this.

The kids are asleep.

Oh, look, it's still sunny and pretty out.

I could really use some exercise.

It would be nice to get some fresh air.

Hey! I should go for a jog.

I just then decided to get up and do it.

So, I jogged.

I downloaded an app on my phone that tells me how far I jogged, how long it took, how many calories I burned, etc.

Sounds great right???

The downside is that I now know how many calories I burned, it was kind of disappointing BUT at least I know what my jogs are doing.

QUESTION

How often do you jog?

I am just wondering if this should be an everyday thing or an every other day thing.

I decided ahead of time that I would jog all the way to my Dad and Step-mom's house {about 3/4 of a mile away} AND that I would jog the entire time.

I am happy to report that I managed to jog the entire thing.
Granted it was only 3/4 of a mile BUT I did meet my goal.

I chatted with my Dad for a bit, drank some water and checked on the baby birds from yesterday.
I even got to see the mama feed them again, precious.

The second part of my goal was to jog the whole way back.

In all I jogged 1 1/2 miles.

Yes, I huffed and puffed more than I care to admit.
But hey, I will celebrate a success.

Do you listen to music when you jog?
If so, what do you listen to?

Tonight I jogged to some Black Eyed Peas, it was fun and I really enjoyed myself for a bit.
You know, between the huffing and puffing.

Some bird watching

I was talking to my dad the other day when he mentioned that they had a baby robin's nest in their backyard and would the kids want to see it.

Um, yes!

We were invited over last night for some fun and bird watching.

{After Abby took a 7 hour nap!!!!}

{Yes, you just read that correctly and it's not a typo, 7 hours.}

After dinner {turkey burgers with avocado, yum!} we got the kids ready and headed over.

When we first got their we lifted up all the kids so they could see the babes.

The nest is on top of a wreath on the wall.

So funny.

The babes were soooo cute.

I attempted to get a picture, but it didn't really turn out.

I'll share it anyways, you know, because I'm nice like that.

Ha!

 

 

We kept waiting for the mama bird to come and feed her babies.

It was so sweet watching them lift their little heads in anticipation.

Finally we told the kids that they had to be REALLY quiet and NOT move.

Sounds good, the reality though is that it probably won't happen.

 

Adison and Ainsley did really well with the whole quiet and not moving thing.

At this point the mama was in the yard waiting for the all clear.

 

 Abby on the other hand, well, she was just really excited about seeing the mama bird.

Lots of squealing and running around ensued.

It was really cute.

The mama kept getting closer, then Abby would squeal and she would scoot back.

I then decided to pick up Abby and head to the corner of the lawn in hopes that the mama would feel comfortable enough to feed her young.

Lo and behold, after a few moments, this occurred:

 

It was so neat watching this mama take care of her three little babes.

 

 

Thank you

 

 Photo by K at his Grandfather's house.

Today we remember all of those who have died keeping our country safe. 

I don't think that there are any words to express my thoughts on what today represents.

Today we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Thank you.

Thank you to our troops.

To those who are serving now.

To those who have served before.

Thank you for the sacrifices that you and your family have made to keep us safe.

Thank you for all that you do.

For the freedoms that you preserve.

For the lives that you save.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

You will all remain in my prayers.

I pray that everyone has a safe and wonderful Memorial Day. 

A Glorious Sunday

We are having a glorious Sunday.

We were supposed to have more thunderstorms and awful weather.

Instead, we were blessed with sunshine, blue skies, a gentle breeze and warm weather.

Glorious I tell you.

We had a really nice morning.

Complete with sleeping in and happy children.

There were smiles, laughter and happiness.

We decided to visit K's parents today.

Two of his uncles were also at their house.

It was a mini-reunion of sorts.

We had an afternoon complete with grilling.

Splashing.

Laughing.

Smiling.

Volleyball.

Baseball.

Card Games.

Yes, folks, we have had a glorious Sunday.

A day to give thanks and relish in the beauty of today.

This was a day for magical childhood memory making.

I am grateful.

InstaFriday

 

I cannot believe that it is Friday already!

This week flew by.

This is what greeted us last Saturday after church.

We had been in the basement for about 45 minutes while the tornado sirens were going off.

We were given the all clear to leave, walked out, saw this and then the sirens started going off again.

Never a dull spring day living in Kansas.

 

My current snacking love.

Cheesy popcorn, yum!

 This pretty flowers grows in our backyard every year.

I didn't plant it and know next to nothing about flowers, so I have no clue what it is.

I do know, however, that it is really pretty!

 Wednesday morning we had flash flooding.

It was crazy how much it had rained in such a short amount of time.

 

This little giraffe is SOOOO cute.

The kids loved looking at it at the zoo.

 

Abby was hysterical with these slippers on.

She was stomping around the house and just being really funny.

 

Adison's last day of school.

Yep, that's it, she is done with 2nd grade. Wow.

 

Ainsley was looking through these little cutouts at the lion exhibit.

She thought it was so much fun.

Five Question Friday

1. Do you apologize to your kids?

2. What color are your nails right now?

3. When you were growing up, how difficult was it for you to stay home from school sick? (As in, did you have to vomit or just say "I don't feel good".)

4. When is the last time you bought a new comforter for your bed?

5. Favorite website(s)?

1. If I have done something that needs apologizing, then absolutely. I am {believe it or not} not perfect, I am human and make mistakes. If I have done something wrong then I should apologize for it, that includes apologizing to my kiddos.

2. I hardly ever, almost NEVER paint my fingernails. I do, however, paint my toes. Right now they are a sparkly black. I like the more non-traditional nail colors. Black is my favorite though. Odd, yes, but I go with it.

3. Normally, if I was sick and my mom knew it, then I got to stay home. I don't remember staying home from school that often though.

4. Um, uh, well, I would have to say three or four years ago. I is a really pretty striped quilt with beachy colors. I love it.

5. The only websites that I really use are: Blogger, Twitter and Facebook. 

The Good, the Bad and the Funny

Okay, so I am thinking about mixing it up today and starting with the bad.

The Bad: Adison caught the cold that we all had, I hope that she can kick it quickly. Abby and Ainsley have been running hot and cold a lot lately, the go from being besties to fighting really quickly. The weather, sigh, the weather.

The Good: We had an amazing day at the zoo today. Well, actually, zoo then picnic then park. The kids had a blast. We went with my friend Clara and her kiddos. Abby was so worn out that she fell asleep on the way home, slept through me carrying her upstairs AND changing her diaper. Adison is done with school! We had sunshine today, can you believe that! Sunshine {we are supposed to have more storms tomorrow AND Saturday, boo}.

The Funny: Abby at the zoo was a riot. Today was the first time that she has really been into the zoo. Before she would sit in the stroller and look at everything but not really into it. Today she ran around ooh-ing and aah-ing everything. It was precious and really made my day. While we were at the gorilla exhibit Ainsley yelled really loud, "LOOK MAMA, THAT GORILLA HAS BOOBIES!!!! LOOK IT HAS BOOOOOBBBBBIIIIIEESSSSS!" It was hysterical, I tried really hard to not laugh, but come on, it was HYSTERICAL.

How about you, how was your week?

some of this and some of that

I have had a lot of thoughts and musings bopping around in my noggin.

Nothing big to really focus on, just jumbles of ideas.

I think that my current lack of focus is causing my inability to pick a topic to write about.

Sometimes I really like having a idea to focus on.

To swirl it around in my mind and think through everything.

To take a slice of a moment and focus on it.

To bring it into sharp clarity.

I also like to do my daily re-caps.

They help me to feel like my mom and the rest of my family can keep up with my children.

They are daily growing, stretching and changing.

Sometimes it occurs so quickly or over such a length of time that I am unable to recognize when the shifts occur.

I like to be able to look back at a post and smile.

It reinforces those memories.

You see, life these days is moving at full speed.

It is as I told my brother today when he asked if something was wrong.

No, it's just been a long day.

But, it is only 1:00.

True, but most days it has been a long day by 8:00 in the morning.

I don't mean it in terms of actual time, but in energy being expended.

The days are flying by, heck the hours are flying by.

There is always something to do or someone to help/cuddle/read/talk with.

Normally it is the little two as Adison has been in school during the day.

It will be interesting to see how the current dynamic changes with her being home all day.

You see, with the littles being so...well...little, it seems that things are always ebbing and flowing.

Best friends

Not best friends

Laughing

Fighting

Cuddling

Stealing toys

You get the picture.

Now with Adison being at home things are bound to change.

I look forward to it.

I will embrace it.

I will probably be looking at the clock waiting for K to get home as I am most days.

I have discovered that no matter how easy or hard the day I am always waiting and ready for him to come home.

I look forward to the camaraderie.

The partnership.

The laughter and talking.

The ability to say, "Go ask your father."

I didn't realize that having the littles being two years apart would be so hard.

I know that people do it all the time and a lot of people have kids that are closer together in age.

But Adison and Ainsley are five years apart.

That was easy peasy.

Seriously.

The hard thing now is that Ainsley is only 3 and Abby is only 1.

They are both such little things.

They both have a lot of needs and they have zero patience right now.

Zero tolerance for the other getting or having and them needing to wait.

It is hard trying to give all the attention and meet all the needs our two precious little ones.

I thought that it would get easier as they got older but to be honest, right now is much harder.

They are both Mama's girls {and I'm loving it} and both need their mama when they need their mama.

I am trying to enjoy all of it because I know that it will end all too soon.

But when you are in the thick of temper tantrums, needs, wants and just crying it is hard sometimes to remember the fleetingness of this moment in life.

I know that I have mentioned one or a thousand times, but the fact that Adison is now done with second grade is shocking.

She is growing up really quickly.

Yesterday after our pizza and movie at Clara's house she thanked me for taking them over there.

After a moment of shocked silence followed by a "You're welcome sweetie" she said,

Is that the first time that you have heard that?

Not only did was she thoughtful about thanking me but she was also able to interpret my shock.

Not that I expect a thank you for that, but it was sweet.

It is another everyday moment to cherish.

My girl is growing up and maturing.

Just what we hope and pray for.

It is happening, slowly but surely the way that we want growth to come.

Sigh.

So, here I sit.

With all of these {and many more} thoughts swirling about my mind.

Wondering what tomorrow will hold.

Betting on a smattering of hugs and kisses, time outs and explanations.

Tomorrow will hold much magic and enchantment, but you can rest assured in the knowledge that I will be waiting for K to be home at the usual time.

Hmmmm

I am having a brain bleh day today.

I have NO IDEA what I want to write about.

I think that I will just turn my brain on and see where it goes.

Sounds like a marvelous plan.

Okay, so, starting with last night.

We did not get the terrible storms here that were predicted.

Others did get them though and that makes my heart sad and prayers go out.

I had been texting my mom a lot last night, they live really close to the Oklahoma border on the Kansas side and they had to take shelter at one point.

They were just fine though.

This is such an answer to prayers.

K and I decided to stay up until all the weather warnings passed.

We ended up having an at home date night.

It was nice watching a movie together.

We are both really tired though because the adviseries didn't expire until midnight last night.

It was such a relief last night to only have thunder, lightening and rain.

To be on the safe side though K and I got an emergency kit together.

It never hurts to be prepared.

Today brought more interesting weather.

This morning while headed out for Adison's assembly we had some flash flooding.

Sorry it's not the greatest picture. I took it through my rainy window.

This flood drainage ditch normally has a tiny little stream going through it.

This was shocking.

So, back to Adison's assembly.

It was her first time doing research and writing up a report.

She chose to write about Kate Shelley.

She got dressed up to resemble Kate Shelley {well, the closest we could come up with.}

Sorry the picture isn't that great.

My phone doesn't have a flash and it was dark in the auditorium.

What the kids did was they read their report and the audience had to guess who they were.

It was a lot of fun and I was really proud of Adison.

She did an amazing job!

Since it was the last day of school {and a half day at that!} we headed back to her classroom for a little celebration.

Adison's teacher has really been amazing.

We feel really blessed.

Adison learned a lot and was challenged.

Thank you Ms. L, you are such a great teacher!

After that we went over to my friend Clara's house to have some pizza and watch a movie.

It was such a nice time.

The kids had a blast playing.

On the way home Abby was so worn out that she fell asleep before we even made it home.

Tomorrow marks the first day of summer break for us.

My eldest is offically a third grader.

How did this happen so quickly?

It seems like once they start school the years fly by even quicker.

Hope you have a SAFE and wonderful Wednesday!

Some Tuesday Randoms

1. We are supposed to get slammed by more storms this evening. The town where my mom lives {about 2 1/2 hours south} was told to expect horrendous storms with the possibility of causing ef4 to ef5 level tornadoes. Needless to say, this weather is scary.

2. My mom has a friend who's husband is doing search and rescue in Joplin, MO. He said that the level of devastation down there is absolutely overwhelming. Her friend also has a friend that lives there and she still does not know what has happened to her husband. I simply cannot comprehend the loss and devastation. My heart and prayers go out to everyone affected by this weather.

3. Adison only has a 1/2 day of school left. I cannot believe how quickly 2nd grade went and how much she has changed and matured. It's staggering really.

4. Abby has a new word. "Up" Although she doesn't just say it once. Instead we hear, "up up up up up up up up up up" It darling and it melts me, a lot.

5. Ainsley, well she being her cute, sassy self. She said something REALLY funny earlier and now I can't remember it for the life of me. Sigh.

6. Do you remember me telling you about Annabelle? Well, she went home today!!!! Isn't that such amazing, wonderful news! It makes my so happy for their family and I am so grateful to God.

7. I have actually been sleeping the last few nights. Shocking, isn't it!?!

8. Add on that shocking news is that all three girls have slept in the last two days, I have actually had to wake them up. N.O.W. if only I can get that to continue into the summer, I will be a happy lady.

Okay, that's it for now. I have to go get Adison's costume ready for her assembly tomorrow. I hope that you all are doing well and staying safe.

xoxo, me

A soul satisfying day

I have been feeling a bit out of sorts lately.

Like I have little to no margin in life.

The feeling where life just keeps coming at you but you NEED to take a break.

I had been feeling that way.

There is nothing wrong.

Just a feeling of being overwhelmed.

K had realized this feeling welling up inside of me.

He has been extra helpful lately.

I even got out for a bit yesterday by myself and had coffee with my Dad.

It was so nice to have that time with him.

To sit, to talk, to laugh or to be silent.

The rest of the evening went swimmingly well.

K even made dinner last night, he grilled, it was delish.

Today was wonderful.

I met up with two of my dearest friends at the park.

The kids laughed and played while the mamas laughed and talked.

We did that practically all morning.

Then the littles and I met up with K to run an errand and have some lunch.

Afterwards we came home so Abby could take a nap.

Lee and I rested and napped a bit too.

Adison is almost done with school and had a field trip today.

Today was wonderful, cathartic and just what my soul needed.

A day of laughter and ease.

A refill when I was feeling like I was running on fumes.



Awful weather and some needed prayers

Yesterday I wrote about the storm that came through our town. It was such a scary moment that really brought home the fears of living here in the Midwest. But, We are safe, a tornado didn't touch down.

 I heard last night that a tornado ripped through a town here in Kansas. One person was killed and 20 homes were destroyed.

This evening I just heard about a storm that ripped through the town of Joplin, MO. The town was hit very hard. The hospital itself took a direct hit.

I feel so awful for everyone affected by these storms.

I know from our sermon from yesterday that we are called to not be fearful. However, this is a scary time. There is serious hurt and need going on.

Will you please join me in praying for all of those affected by this?

Blowing dandelion seeds

For some reason these photos and this moment captivated me.

They are those magical moments that seem to make the world go round yet stop it so that we can relish in it.

Abigail is growing up and changing rapidly.

She is learning new things and embracing life experiences.

Saturday is was blowing dandelion seeds.

I can't wait to experience more of these moments with her.



We had a nasty storm roll in

Update:
The storms in the Midwest have been truly awful.
Someone died from a tornado in our state last night and 200 homes were destroyed.
I also just heard about another tornado hitting the town of Joplin, MO. From reports it sounds awful.
Please join me in praying for all of those affected by this terrifying and cautostrophic weather.

This evening we attending church.

The key verse that our pastor was speaking about was Philippians 1:27.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see your or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.

He was mainly focusing on the fact that we, as followers of Christ, will experience salvation and suffering. A main point of suffering that he was speaking on was fear. We were about 3/4 of the way through the service when we heard the tornado sirens going off. This, in and of itself, was not a huge deal. {We live in Kansas after all.} However, the fact that we were in church when it went off was a first for us. We picked up the little kiddos from the nursery and met with Adison downstairs in the basement. Her church program is down there. Since there were so many people in the basement {and a ton of children} our pastor said a prayer regarding fear and our current situation. Our pastor is REALLY funny, so he had all of us laughing, kept the mood light and just handled the situation perfectly. Then our worship leader started playing some music. It was really fun and a pleasant time. {Keep in mind that we live in tornado alley, so tornado sirens going off in May is not a big surprise.} Ainsley is apparently NOT a fan of loud music though as this was her position pretty much the entire time.

All in all we were in the basement for about forty-five minutes. After we were given the all clear we decided to run an errand and head home. We had just stepped outside when someone commented on the wall cloud outside. This is what we saw. Then the sirens went off again.

I have to say that I have lived in the Midwest the majority of my life and have had my fair share of bad weather. I have NEVER seen a wall cloud like this before. I took all of these pics with my phone and the storm was actually closer than it appears here. The storm was moving the opposite way of us so we were completely safe.

I talked with my mom about all of the weather and mentioned to her the fact that our neighborhood was COVERED in leaves. It looked as though someone had picked up the trees and shook them around a bit, there were leaves everywhere. Luckily though there weren't any fallen limbs. As I was sitting in the driveway talking to here I mentioned the fact that we didn't appear to have gotten any hail at our house when I looked down and saw all of this.

I measured the hail in the bottom picture and it measured 1 1/2 inches across. After K got home I mentioned the hail to him and he told me that his friend that lives over by us called him to tell him that we had baseball sized hail by our house. Yikes!

Thankfully we are all safe and sound. We did have another storm pass through, but it just had some thunder and lightening. I am praying that the storms are done for the night.

I hope that you all are safe and had a fun Saturday!

Five Question Friday

 

1. Do you and your spouse go to bed at the same time?

2. A question for the ladies...What kind of facial hair do you like on your man?

3. What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?

4. What's the first-ever blog you followed?

5. Do you enjoy amusement parks?

 

 

1. No, hardly ever. Actually so infrequently that I would go so far as to say never. Hubby is a night owl, if it were up to him he would stay up until about 4 every night {morning?}. Me, on the other hand, I stay up until about 11.

 

2. K has this little strip under his bottom lip, either that or his has kind of a goatee. He has pretty much had some sort of facial hair the entire time we have been together. It throws me off when he shaves completely.

 

3. I can't think of a completely awful vacation, but we did one time stay at an AWFUL hotel. We were up in Michigan for a family reunion for my family. Adison was about 9 months old, crawling and we had apparently picked the most disgusting hotel to stay at ever. Adison has accidentally spilled something on the carpet and when I went to clean it up the rag turned black from the dirty carpet. Bleh, thinking about how dirty that hotel was still weirds me out. K and I still talk about how gross that place was.

 

4. I think the first blog that I ever followed was my friend Jaime's. I then started reading a few others and was hooked. I love it!

 

5. I used to enjoy amusement parks. The faster the rides were and the more they spun around the better. Then I had kids and apparently my equilibrium disappeared. Now I get motion sick when my three year old pushes me on the merry go round at the park. I do enjoy roller coasters still {kind of} but mostly love the memory making of it all.

InstaFriday

I love Instagram.

Seriously love it.

So much so that K gets annoyed because practically ALL of the pics I take with my phone are taken with Instagram.

Sorry, honey, love you :)

This is Adison's drawing of the tooth fairy.

She wrote the sweetest letter to her asking for one of her teeth back.

Don't worry, I will be posting it later :)
Yep, I'm melting here of the sweetness of it.

Hi.

It's me.

Me after a long day of life, with crazy hair.

How are ya?

After dinner last night K was reading a book to the littles and they were listening to music together.

This picture makes me happy.

See this happy girl?
I have not seen her this happy and fun and laughing and dancing for way too long.

I am beyond thrilled that she is feeling better.

This is our cat, Lily.

She is a super shy cat, she always hides when we have company over or the kids are awake.

She was laying on my the other night {which never happens} and I took the opportunity to take her picture.

Ainsley's rock.

It's not in her stomach anymore.

All is well right now.

The fair is in town right now.

The girls are itching to go.

In fact, it's all I have really heard about for since yesterday afternoon.

The only problem with this is that it is supposed to rain for the next week.

Sorry kiddos.

I loved the bright colors of everything and couldn't resist snapping a few pics.