order

i think it is so funny how addison chooses to play with her toys, especially her sidewalk chalk. she takes each piece, maybe draws a line or two, and then sets it down. piece by piece. chalk by chalk. until a line is made and all are in order.

order.

last time i confessed to the blog world my need to lose weight a very dear friend emailed me. she related and continued on to say when her life is in order, when all the piece are in place, that is when her weight loss is most successful. like when you daily spend time with God, when you daily work to have your home clean and inviting, when you daily plan your meals and cook for your family, when you daily manage your money to make sure it is spent appropriately and wisely...when you do simple, day to day things, it makes life a little more disciplined, and little more in order. and in turn, a lot easier to tackle the hurdles you face.

some may think the abundance of boundaries is boring. maybe. but there is also great freedom in boundaries. and great celebration in keeping things in order.

two

one. two. two little pounds. at least it is something. 58 more to go.

but, like tracy said, the time is going to go by whether i lose weight or not.

next weigh-in: tuesday, july 28.

we are back...

...and i am exhausted. i am not an energy drink kind of person but today i might be. if anyone out there has a suggestion, let me know. i am making a bee-line for the store at 2 this afternoon.

back to the weekend. the wedding was so nice. i have to say the toast of the night that just about had me falling out of the chair came from terry's cousin katie as she said- "holly, welcome to this half (with a huge hand gesture) of the room." ha! it was priceless and so, so true. we tingles, kracks, holbrooks, ect...took up one whole half of the room.

and as always, the tingles, kracks, holbrooks and rest of the wedding party did a fine, fine job of decorating the get-away car. no one would ever have to guess that that car was filled with some newlywed love.

but this morning, fresh off wedding festivities, as i was driving into work a car passes me. it had lots of decorations and tons of writing. i kind of smiled thinking some other family was also celebrating a sweet couple...until...i looked a little closer...and was appauled to see that the writing had nothing to do with newlyweds. no, this decoration had everything to do with newly divorced. i couldn't get up there fast enough to take a picture but i promise you, the owner of this car was 100% celebrating and 100% annoucing to all of I-59 that they were in fact divorced and proud of it.

how stinking sad. my heart was broken. when i entered marriage, there was no hint of divorce being an option. i would give everything i absolutely had to terry and our life - and if something went wrong i would do everything in my power to fix it. everything and anything. i think today and seeing that car, i am reminded to pray for every married couple i am proud to know. to pray for their day to day life. to pray for their home and their children. and pray that no matter what happens, they will fight for one another and in the end remember why they fell in love in the first place.

little things

addison loves cupcakes...

and i love flowers from my love

it's the little things you know...like cupcakes and flowers that make you smile. or the silly giggle that comes from deep down in my toddlers belly telling me that she is carefree and happy. or a nuzzle from henry as he scoots down to warm my feet. the little things and the simple things.

tomorrow we are packing up and heading to florida to celebrate the wedding of a dear family member. terry's cousin nick is getting married to a precious lady - a girl i am sure will make him very happy for years to come. it will be a weekend full of family, laughter, stories, maybe some dancing, yummy cake and the smell of sweet flowers. a weekend of simple love and little moments of goodness.

that is, if we can make the 7 hour trip without going completely insane.

dinosaur

this week has been crazy! i mean crazy crazy! lots of decisions were made in a very short amount of time, an open house was held which meant some insane cleaning happened and croup invaded the body of little miss and involved two trips to the doctor. not to mention work has had me in tuscaloosa almost every day this week. roll tide, i guess.

on another note, thank you, thank you for all the sweet words, encouragement and advice. they are cherished. truly cherished.

addison has a tiny crocodile that she got on one of her kids meals while at the beach. she calls it a (whisper here) dinosaur. no lie, that dinosaur haunts her. i guess it is more of a love hate relationship. she loves to find it (the dinosaur moves from place to place - often) but she hates to go near it. the dinosaur has now become a slight parenting tactic - it keeps little miss on her toes. it keeps in her line...sometimes. i think i need a dinosaur. something to keep me in check. keep me focused. keep me on the path. it has only been one week and it has been awful. i have been on a off this diet 7 times already. ha. i am pathetic. like i said, i need a dinosaur.

until i find one - allison, we are so getting together, i will email you. lauren, what day works for you? i would love a scheduled walk with you. mandy, i am all in (i think). seriously though, i want to do it. we will do it. can we go somewhere fun? dad, thank you for the encouragement!

to renew

it is tuesday, terry is at football practice, dinner has been made and eaten, dishes are cleaned and put away and i am now outside listening to the kiddos play and laugh and laugh and play. oh, and trying to persuade myself that it is a nice, breezy evening and i am sipping on a chilled glass of wine.  but there is no breeze and no wine.  shucks.

but you know, it is nice.  it is nice to rest in a house that is a home...where there is security and shelter, rest and renewal.  

renewal.  to renew.  to begin again.  that is what i am doing.  i am beginning again.  i have (once again) started on the long (very long) road to shed some of myself (by this i mean weight).  i heard someone say today that you have to feed your spirit, if all you do is feed the flesh it will eventually turn on you. i must admit, oh blog world, i have done a good job of feeding the flesh and my spirit is starving.  so yes, this shedding is about physically getting better as well as spiritually getting better.   physically i need to shed 60 pounds.  oh. my. i said (typed) it out load. and i cannot take it back.  double shucks.

well, with all this being said, i know there are readers out there that drop in and give a chuckle or nod in understanding and then move on.  and trust me, i don't mind.  but not this time.  this time leave a story, some encouragement, your successes, a bible verse or just a little "you can do it!". anything to keep me going, to help me feed my spirit.  60 is a long. way. to. travel.  

thank you for listening and for the words yet to be spoken.  i will cherish them.  now back to the kiddos and the pretend breeze blowing in my hair.  nite nite.

goodbye pacis

one week later: i am happy to report that addison is paci free and pickles is still intact.  there was some fear that she might just un-sew pickles and get. those. pacis. back.  but she didn't and after just one bad night of crying we have success.  

now, if only potty training was that easy...