Welcome 2010!!

We rang in the New Year in Jacksonville, Florida with Dad, Ann, Sara, Cross and Sophie (dad's dog). We played some games and enjoyed spending time with each other. We are looking forward to a new year with some new adventures. :) 2010 WILL be better than 2009... at least we are counting on it!

Winter Break

Wow! We have been traveling fools! We came to Florida on the 19th, went on a cruise to Mexico from the 24-28, and are driving to Jacksonville tomorrow until the 3rd. We have had a great time visiting friends and family. It is amazing how fast the kids are growing up, which is forcing us to come to grips with the fact that we are indeed.... getting old. :(

I could write pages about our break but I will make a lit of the highlights. We have pictures posted on facebook so feel free to check them out and see pictures of our trip.

* Meeting Cross for the first time
* Giving Cross and Sara the blanket that I made
* Seeing my parents church help over 500 families with gifts for their children
* Watching movies with my siblings
* Watching my sister be a terrific mom
* Cruising the Gulf with the Shumbera's, Milton's, and Brkich's
* $25 tour of Cozumel with bonus stops at Mayan Ruins, shopping, and the best picture spots on the island
* Talking a lady down from $200 to $50 for a silver Tanzanite ring
* Winning $30 in a game of Bingo
* Seeing how big the 3 Shumbera trio has gotten
* Wings with Rodney
* Spending QT with Brad
* Staying up late and sleeping in


There were many more memories made but I can't remember all of them. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year!! We are hoping for a much better 2010 than 2009 and are expecting great things to happen!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This year I have felt like a bit of a scrooge with the holidays. We didn't decide to cook a Thanksgiving meal until yesterday at 3:00. Brad and I made a turkey breast, corn pudding, green bean casserole, and bread for our mini-meal. It was a quiet day without the rushing around that normally occurs, which was nice for a change. We were joined by 3 furry friends instead of humans, which left more food for us!

In a year that has been one of our hardest, I am happy to say that I can still look at everything I have and count my blessings. There are other people who are worse off than we are. Here are a few of the things I am thankful for:

• Brad
• Family
• Friends
• Daisy Girl
• Having a job that I enjoy
• We can live off of one salary
• Health
• Many, many more things!!

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving and welcome to the holiday season!

Where has the month gone?

I feel like this year is flying by!! November has been uneventful, which is fine with me! I started the month off with bronchitis, which I seem to get at least once a year. After staying home from work for 2 days, with Brad taking care of me, I felt MUCH better! We had a chili cook off through school that I planned. It was a fun weekend but a busy one making sure we have everything that we need. Our team didn't win but we had a fun time. Brad has found a few job opportunities in the area and applied for them. However, nothing yet. I have to remind myself every now and then that everything happens in God's timing.

We are getting ready for our trip to Florida. We finally sat down last night and made a flexible plan as to where we will be and when. I'm excited to meet Cross and get to hold him. I'm also excited for our cruise over Christmas as well as spending time with family members. As for Thanksgiving, we are hanging out at home and having a quiet break. I am looking forward to the break. This is the first time all year we have had any days off so I have plans to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! Well, I am working on a little surprise and this will give me time to finish it (hopefully). I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.

October Update

I can't believe how fast October has flown by! I know Daisy looks so excited here! :) This picture is from our pumpkin carving night and camouflage day at school. We had Red Ribbon Week this week and I dressed up as Pippi Longstocking for Book Character Day. I have also included a picture of the pumpkin that Brad and I carved. We didn't go with the traditional Halloween pumpkin, but the butterfly template that Brad made for me years ago while teaching kindergarten. How crazy is it that teaching kindergarten was "years ago"?? Things on the home front are going well.  The job search is still going... nothing really popping up but Brad is applying for every position that pertains to him. I've been busy at school with my 4th graders. We have booked and paid for our cruise over Christmas and we are looking forward to a fun time with friends and family. We are going to start  planning our trip to Florida now. Hooray!! I've been working on a healthier me. First, I gave up caffeine. I thought this was going to be impossible but I haven't even wanted a diet coke or mountain dew. Then, my doctor gave me a blood test and it listed foods that my body is sensitive to. On that list I had 30 foods including some of my favorites: bread, chicken, scallops, and wine. I have tried to stay away from these things as much as possible, with an occasional splurge. Giving up bread and chicken has been the hardest. However, in the past 2 months I have lost 11 pounds so it is working! I'm hoping to hit the 20 pound mark before we go to Florida. Then, the challenge will be to keep it off during the cruise. We don't have any plans for Thanksgiving. We'll probably do our own thing and stay in town. I hope you all have a Happy and safe Halloween!

Nice day for a white wedding!

Brad and I went to Austin for 5 days last week for Dave's wedding. It is hard to believe that Dave is married but I am excited for him and Sarah. Dave is Brad' best friend from college and was the Best Man in our wedding. He cried at our wedding and I was pretty sure he would cry at his own. He did... right when Sarah started walking down the aisle. We had a busy few days of wedding festivities and visiting with old friends and making new friends. I would have to say it was a successful trip and a beautiful wedding!
Brad and I are getting ready to plan a trip home. I am looking forward to seeing everyone, meeting Cross and going on a cruise! Until then, we are enjoying each other's company and keeping things rolling here in B/CS. The weather has been beautiful and I am so glad that fall is here!

Working towards a healthier me...

At school, I started a weight loss competition to help all of us that are wanting to lose weight. So far we have lost a total of 41 pounds all together!! I hit my 10 pound mark this week! 10 pounds in a month! I can't believe it. I went shopping last night for a dress for Sarah and Dave's wedding in a few weeks. I am part of the house party so I wanted to find something other than dress pants to wear. I found a dress that is something I usually wouldn't wear but the best part is I had to go down a dress size! The 18/20 dresses swallowed me so I had to go to a 14/16. I'm slightly between sizes but I was happy to have to go smaller. :)

On another note about getting healthy, I went to the doctor about a month ago and she had me take a food allergy blood test. I got the results last week and it was amazing. Many of the symptoms are not necessarily noticeable but could be why I am having a hard time losing weight. On my list of foods I am sensitive to I had 30 foods!! I was giving my friend a hard time for having 23 and I had 30!!! On my list were some of my favorites including bread, chicken and tomatoes.

So this program is very interesting. Here is how it works. You give up the foods on your list for 90 days (which will take us right to cruise time). After 90 days you slowly introduce one of the foods back into your diet and see how your body reacts. If your body has any kind of reaction, you stop eating that food or at least know how you will feel if you eat it. With the program, I have access to a nutritionist that I can chat with online for a year for free! They take the foods on your list and give you recipes or meal suggestions. I will keep you updated on how its going.

Monday will mark a month without caffeine. I can't believe it! I usually drink a diet mountain dew or diet coke at least 3 times a day and even more if we go out to eat. I have been drinking sprite and water. Diet Cherry 7-up has become a new favorite. I am amazed at how much energy I have. I don't have that mid-day slump around 3:00 when the kids leave. My kiddos informed me that I was in a bad mood for the first week. Ha ha! Now, all I need to do is add exercise to my routine. :)