Miss me?

Its been a while since I've been on here. I suppose I better update.

Things are going very well here. I have been busy trying to lose weight and I am doing very well. I am down about 24 lbs right now and very happy with that progress. Its not easy, but I am sticking with it and hopefully will be at goal someday. I have a workout buddy that I go to the gym with almost everyday. It helps a lot to have someone to workout with and keep me motivated. I am also busy with homeschooling Brandon and that is going well....most days. He just had some testing at the correspondance school and it shows he is right on track. Since this is his first year homeschooling and my first year "teaching", it is a relief to know that he is right where he should be. I am helping get the local La Leche League back running and will become a "leader". I have been attending LLL since Logan was about 5 weeks old and love the support and adult conversations. LLL is a support organization for mothers who breastfeed their babies/toddlers. Since I am a huge pro-breastfeeding person, I like to offer my support to that. We got off track for a few months, but hopefully we will get it back running, especially for those mothers that need that support in their early breastfeeding days.

Dave has been busy working....which is good. He does road maintanence so that means plowing or scraping ice packed roads. It means early mornings and late evenings on occcasion, depending on the weather.

The kids are all doing good...for the most part. Kristen is going through her teenage-trying to be an adult stuff and has had a few struggles. She is really looking forward to the day she gets her "adult" freedoms. (Didn't we all look forward to that?) Its not as easy as it sometimes appears to a teen, but they learn. She has applied at Job Corp and hopes to be able to finish out her high school education there and move on to something else.

The little boys are both getting bigger and bigger everyday it seems. Part of me looks forward to them getting bigger and seeing how they develop into big kids and the other part wishes they would stay little forever. The part that isn't changing a poopie diaper I suppose.

My baby brother Pat just got married while on vacation in Hawaii! I was hounding him a bit before he left if they were actually gonna do it this time, since they had tossed it out about 12 trillion times that they were gonna get married in about 15 different countries/vacation spots over the years that they have been together. I can finally send the congrats card I bought about 5 years ago that was all signed with my name and Brandon's name. I will have to add 5 names to it since I have gotten married and had more kids in the meantime. I am so happy for them though and hope they have a great life. I am wishing for them to have a baby too! (hint, hint!) We could not be more different than in our ways to the alter....it took me 71 days to meet and marry my husband and it took Pat...what....9 years to finally get it done? I believe they meet about 9 years ago. Maybe 10, I dunno.

Now I am just anxiously awaiting the arrival of my good friend Bobbies baby. She is having a beautiful little girl and I can't wait to hear how it all goes and to see the pictures. I just wish I lived closer (or she lived closer, LOL) so that I could be right there to see for myself. She is due in March, but she thinks she will have her in February sometime!

Speaking of February....my birthday is February 9th and Kristen's is the 11th and then there is Valentines day on the 14th. Just thinking about February makes me think of Valentines day and made me change my background of this blog to the hearts and stuff and makes me think of all the people that I love!!! I am so lucky to have everyone in my life and so grateful to love them all, ha ha!! I love my husband with all my heart and I love my kids fiercely!! It's my love for my kids that drives my overwhelming need to try and protect them from everything in the world that could make them hurt. I know I sometimes am a bit overbearing and even hurt my kids on occasion with my limits and words. Its something I am working on actually....to try and do it better. As a parent, you try to do your best but you will screw up here and there and just have to accept that and move on and try to do better next time. There is no handbook to raising kids....well actually there are millions of handbooks by various authors - some with kids, some without. But when it comes down to it, I believe you have to do what is in your heart and try to raise them up as confident humans to go out and enjoy life and participate in society as responsible adults. And hey, if one decides to drift out as a criminal, you at least tried your best. (NONE OF MY KIDS WILL BE CRIMINALS, DAMNIT!)

Anyway, speaking of all the people that I love, since I am in such a loving mood. I love my mom. She is the best of the best in my world. I couldn't have asked for a better mom, there just isn't one out there.

I also love all my family....my brothers, their spouses (hey, now I can say spouses and not spouse and "significant other" or "girlfriend" or "fiancee" or "shack-up", LOL), their kids (my neices and nephew). I love my grandma Ione. I love my aunties and uncles and all my cousins, even the naughty ones. I love my in-laws too. AND, I LOVE all my awesome friends, even the ones I have never met in person!!!

Love, love, love! I just love it!