It's a crazy Fall Y'all!

You know life is too busy when you don't even have time to blog a little something every now and then! This year was a time for me to stop all the craziness in my over scheduled life and get some things taken care of like my health, but it seems that I have let the business of life creep back in and take over, and this time it has thrown me down on my back...jumped on top...and the countdown to 10 is on. I only have 3 weeks left of my boot camp and then I'm gonna catch up on some sleep! I have been subbing and babysitting all most every day of the week, and then once the kids get home it's homework, homework, homework, music lessons, 6th grade hot spots at our house on Wednesday nights, and basketball season hasn't even started yet!

This year all three kiddos wanted to play basketball, so we are gonna try it out. I know it's only a few months of practices and games, but man it's crazy to be outnumbered when you've got games and practices all over the place! One good thing is that Jacob and Julia are both being coached by the same dad and mom so hopefully their games won't have many conflicts! Even in the craziness I love being a mom, wife, and know how blessed I am to get to be busy and involved in their lives every day!

We are so ready for a week long break and look forward to having some great visits with family. I will get back on here soon and put some pictures up of our first ever trick-or-treating experience (we usually just do the fall festival at our church). Julia kept saying over and over how much fun she was having. For some reason it just feels like you are actually getting a treat when you are getting candy from all your friend's homes! It was neat seeing so many friends and neighbors out, and getting to meet new neighbors. Some of the kids from our elementary school even recognized me..."Hi Mrs. Jolly!" This was by far the best halloween we have ever had...even with Jacob wheezing the whole time!

Rain!

I love it when you wake up and it's raining, you go through the day and it's raining, and you go to bed and it's raining! We sure needed it and it is just like a big cloud hugging you all day making you stay home in your pj's and be still in your home! I've been sick off and on for about a week now and needed this day to really just be still. Marv and Jeffrey went to the Dallas Cowboy vs. Houston Texans football game today, and Jacob, Julia and I spent a great day together while I watched the game off and on, talked with my sister, and let the Benadryl do it's crazy thing to me. I feel very rested and a little better, but still can't get over the coughing fits! WELCOME to RAGWEED SEASON!

So that's why I haven't been blogging lately, and I look forward to catching up on some of what's been going on lately sometime this week! Hope all is well with each of you, and looking forward to seeing my extended family over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Breaks!

Counting my Blessings

Well we made it through the week and now have a three day weekend to recoup before it all gets going again! Although we do have....you guessed it MATH homework for the weekend along with some science. Can't we just have a little break? I had a friend give me an article today out of the Dallas Morning News about homework. Wish we could rise up as a group of parents and get some changes made on the amount of homework if any! Okay I'll get off this soap box, but not before giving God the glory for all the neat ways that he has answered my prayers this week through so many sweet people in our life...

1) My baby sister Amy who happened to call right in the middle of our first night of math homework!
2) Jody Clark-our new math tutor, and happens to KNOW Jeffrey's math teacher.
3) Friends who have offered wisdom, and ideas, and prayers for us.
4) New friend made today in bible study, Cheryl and her 7th grade son who loves to helping his peers with math!

It has been so amazing to me that God has worked out all the details to get us through this little challenge, and I just love it when he cares for us in the ways that we don't and can't even think of. It's all gonna be okay!!!

On a different note I have had to miss a couple of days of working out with Marv being out of town and my busy schedule, but tomorrow I will be meeting up with a group from the gym and running (well walking fast mainly) a 5K with them all. Ron had shirts made up for us to wear as a group and will help give him some advertisement for his fitness program. It should be fun, and hopefully easy compared to the 1/2 marathon that I did a couple of years ago!

HELP

I needed help in a bad, bad way...and I got it today! It always amazes and humbles me when I am in dire need~over my head~and bless my own stinking heart just feeling crazy cause for some reason with everything going on...Marv out of town for the entire week, boot camp can not be missed, school and schedules, and oh my gosh the 6th grade math homework EVERY night without fail! Today and this week is one of those times and I have just been literally shaking knowing that Jeffrey would come home with the unbelievable homework that I didn't do until high school and college...and just barely got through then! Marv had planned on having me fax it to him, but he had to hob-nob (or something like that) in Austin with the realator types so I was pretty much on my own when out of the blue my precious baby sister who just happens to be the mensa queen and got ALL the brains of the family calls me up and with all the patience and love in her heart helps me help Jeffrey through some crazy- type math. I just lost it with her on the phone, and all three of my babies starring at their basic math- kinda momma trying to understand why it mattered that Bob ran 8 kilometers...and how long did it take him. I DON'T CARE BOB!!! I would like to ask why it mattered that my child has up to 4+ hours of homework every night and how much longer do they expect him to make it at this rate....do that math,K! Sorry I have just had it with watching my amazing 11 year old come home each day grab a quick snack and then muster up the most amazing God given diligence I've ever seen and watch him try to dive into his homework every night. He has no free time to climb trees, ride bikes, or even read a book for fun. I'm so thankful to be in a top notch school district, but it seems like the teachers who have no children of their own yet just don't get what it is like to have this stress and pressure each and every night.

The other precious friend that helped me out today was my friend Nicole, who I handed off the pta presidency to~bless her heart! : ) She offered to have my kiddos come spend the night so that I could get up and go work out and be back in time for the Clark girls to get here in the morning. She also offered to try and do some of her mathmagician type voodoo to help me with the homework tonight. I just feel so blessed, and am TRYING not to feel stressed since God sent these two angels to step up and stand by my side through this craziness of homework and schedules. It's hard to not have family near by, but with friends like these it's all most just like a family. It takes a village....and I'm just thankful that they can help this village idiot be the best mom I can try to be! Can I get a witness in here?

Happy Fall Y'ALL!!!

I don't know if it's today, or tomorrow, or maybe it was yesterday.... I do know it feels like fall today with cooler temps and a little rain. Praise the Lord and thank you God for it! I love this season and time of year all most as much as the spring time! It just feels fresh, and cozy. When I start seeing the brown, yellow, and orange colored wreaths on the doors popping up I know it's Fall! When I see the scarecrows, pumpkins, and mums I know it's Fall. Unfortunately it will still be a while before the real trees start showing their fall colors IF they get around to it before the first big wind and freeze come through. When my friend Kim moved to Virginia she sent me real leaves off of trees to show me what Fall colors really were like in the real world. They were purple, red, orange, and yellow. Just amazing and so beautiful! Here in the Great State they are pretty much brown, yellow, and crunchy DEAD brown! I still love it though, and hope to someday travel up North, or East during this time of year and see what real Fall trees look like! Anybody want to join me?

I'm in the Army now

I started the Ron Lyon's Ultimate Fitness program (a.k.a. BOOT CAMP) on July 3rd. It is an intense workout program of weight lifting, cardio, core training, and nutrition. I go every morning at 5:30-6:30 except for Sundays. It has been life changing already, and I'm just in the 11th week. I will be through with my 22 weeks December 3rd.

The week that I started my best friend Kim Voiles and her family were visiting from Virginia on their summer vacation. It wasn't gonna be easy to stay up late every night getting our visiting in and be able to get up at 4:45 every morning, but I made it. It also was difficult to eat right since we were celebrating and eating out mucho, but I made it. I'm so glad Chris and Kim were there for me that first week. It was comforting to know that they would be up when I got home wanting to hear all about it, and do my measurements! I had been praying for God to help me be morning person and it's happening! Now don't get me wrong I still love my sleep and love being up at night, but I get so much done now earlier in the day. Now I didn't do this to become a morning person...I did it to loose weight! As of today I have lost 181/2 pounds and lot's of inches. In fact it's been something new to have to get used to is not worrying so much about the scale moving as how my clothes fit. Since I'm gaining muscle the scale isn't going to move as much. I still have a long way to go, but I didn't put this on in 22 weeks...more like 12 years. Earlier this week Ron made us go around to each of the 15 people in the group and shake their hand, look them in the eye, and say..."I WILL SUCCEED!" This was VERY meaningful for me, cause I've tried so many things, so many times to get healthy. This is it finally for me, and I feel such a freedom to be able to be doing this right now.

Last year I was PTA president and just running crazy with all of my stuff and kid's school and activities going on. Marv and I sat down and realized that we weren't living life with purpose. So I stepped down from my pta position, and didn't sign up for anything else so that I could make getting healthy my key purpose and job this year. I love my sweet husband for supporting me, and allowing me to get my STUFF together! I also love, love, love my 3 biggest cheerleaders Jeffrey, Jacob, and Julia for their enthusiasm for letting me know when they think my bottom is getting smaller. They remind me what IS and ISN'T healthy to eat, and maybe they do have a little incentive (a pool) if I loose the 80 pounds that I need to loose. "PUT DOWN THE DOUGHNUTS MOMMA!!" It's been fun, and truly humbling to know that my family still loves me no matter what size I am, but how much fun is life when you have the peace and freedom of living in a healthy body! I will post some pictures soon to show progress, and for sure show the before and afters one day!

Too Blessed to be Stressed

"I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed!"

I received this quote in an email from Marv's cousin today and it really just hit home with me and made me smile. How true this is for all of us here in America...even if things aren't going the way WE planned in our life~God can have a greater plan for you than you could have every thought possible. It doesn't always make sense, or seem to be as easy and nice as we would like it, but isn't it neat that even when our lives seem such a mess from our own doing, or from the card that has been dealt to us that God can work literal miracles and in our weaknesses HIS strength is stronger than anything in our life.

Satan loves to rob us of our joy by lying to us and getting us all worked up to the point of being so stressed and freaked out over what is going on in our lives at the moment. But WE ARE TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED. This doesn't mean that certain set backs, or tragedies in life aren't stressful, BUT we can decide to look at the blessings once we can get over the shock of the situation and then give God the glory for HIS perfect PEACE that comes in and takes over our nerves, heart rates, and blood pressure. It's easy to be disappointed when things just don't seem to follow our lesson plans that we have for our lives, but I have learned that when God's anointing falls on your life and you accept Him and make the decision to let him be the LORD of your life...not just going through the motions and being all religious and spiritual, but truly let HIM be on the throne of your heart then you can have a trust in God that will supersede anything this world has to offer.

I don't want to pretend that many of you reading this blog aren't experiencing some tremendous hurts, disappointments, grief, or straight up despair straight from the pit of hell. I've been there too over the last 36 years. I want to pray for you, and lift you up to the Lord. So that you can experience the amazing healing that only God can bring into your life. Hope this quote blesses someone today as it has me!