Yes We Can!

..... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.....
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I believe political differences often bring out the worst in people (myself included). So on that note, I have refrained from blogging my political opinions… BUT today I can’t resist saying that I am thankful that Senator Obama was elected, AND I’m glad the election is OVER!

I am proud to say that I voted for Obama yesterday!! I believe he has the potential to be a great President. His victory speech was humble, hopeful, and honest. It’s true… “There will be setbacks and false starts.” There is an uphill battle ahead, no doubt, and his work is cut out for him - for all of us. BUT, God is in control, and He calls us to pray for our leaders – whether we voted for them or not!!

This was my favorite part of the victory speech last night. And I hope as our country moves forward, this will ring true in our hearts...

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other… in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people … As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection…."

More Weekend Fun...

Trav was off this weekend, and to add to our big Halloween weekend, we spent Saturday at a friend's church for their "festibration."

We started off with the kid's worship service, where Tanner's favorite part was the balloon drop at the end.

There were good friends to hang out with.

And fun things to do... like take our first ride on a horse! A white "princess pony" as Tessa called it. Here she is giving her best princess wave...

Neither of the girls were afraid of the horse. I figured we would wait in line only to have Gracie "change her mind". But... she jumped right up there and even took two spins around the corral.

And of course... there were plenty of snacks. This, as you can imagine, was a total mess, but he stayed happy in his stroller while we did the horse riding, so it was worth it.

We had a fun weekend. And during the children's program we watched, it went over some daunting numbers about how many weekends you get with your kid from birth to 18... it was like 900 and something to start with, and we are already down to around 630 with Gracie. It's kind of scary how time flies...

Trick Or Treat...

Halloween has been here and gone... and we have the candy to prove it!!

This year we saw the adventures of Rosetta, the fairy, and Ariel, the mermaid. Here they are as we headed out, with Tessa sporting her usual "picture pose". Bless her!

And of course, Tanner, who we thought made an adorable Charlie Brown! Of course, he's about as bad as Tessa when it comes to looking at the camera...

We spooked it out with the Greers, one of our favorite places to be on Halloween. And we did some "real" trick or treating this year... quite the hike. Gracie was running with the big kids. Tessa started strong, but got pretty wore out by the last block. Tanner had more energy than any of us!




We saw some interesting characters along the way....

One of whom we saw at Grandma's house...

And we finished up at Nana and Papa's house to sort out the loot!

We had a great time and have enough candy to last until Thanksgiving!!

Hope Your Halloween was Spook-Tacular Too!

Tanner...

Well, since I don’t post enough of him, here are a few pictures of our sweet little boy… I told someone yesterday he was 18 months, but it dawned on me today that he will be 20 months November 19th! As I tote the girls around to events, he is often left to hang out with Nana and Aunt Mandy simply because well… he’s just too busy!! Getting him to sit still long enough to do anything besides eat an Oreo is almost impossible.

We were at a party at The Jump Zone last week for a kid in Tessa’s class - and Tanner had more fun than any of them! He can conquer almost all the slides with ease. We did great until some bigger kids arrived making it impossible to let Tanner go through some of them for fear he’d be stepped all over. After an impressive fit, he was content in the toddler area for the last 15 minutes – finally!

Now, if you’re thinking I could have gone up the slides with him… well, you’re right, and I did - several times. But Tanner doesn’t want my help! As I try to hold on to him and assist him while we navigate through the inflated mazes to the slides, he gets very irritated and screams at me. He’s hit quite the independent streak in the last month and is pretty fearless.

In fact, Gracie and Tessa had bunk beds in their room, and in the last few months had opted to share the bottom bunk instead of sleeping separately. It’s a good thing… Gracie came into the kitchen one afternoon to tell me Tanner was on the top bunk. I causally walked in assuming he was just reaching for the top bunk because we had removed the ladder months ago… but oh, no. Tanner had scaled the side of the bunk beds and climbed into the top bunk where I found him in the “taking off position” with his toes at the edge ready to jump. So needless to say I had Trav immediately disassemble the bunk beds…

He is a wild one these days... but is truly precious, a very sweet little soul. And every now and then he’ll even stop long enough to give a squirmy hug… maybe even some slobbery kisses.

I’m hoping we make it through the end of the year with him still sleeping in his crib!

Thought For The Day

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. “They are plans for good, and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New Living Translation)

Out To The Patch...

We had our traditional pumpkin patch outing today with good friends and lots of fun!



We left with two gigantic pumpkins, hay in our hair, and ready for a nap (at least I was...).

Where We Are

I’ve been absent lately from “blog land”. A lot going on, and I haven’t had the time to sit down and process anything for my blog. So here are a few updates on where we’re at these days.

Inspired by friends, I started my blog just a little over a year ago to help chronicle “life” for us, and at the time to serve as a “journal” of sorts in my weight loss efforts. My goal had been to lose somewhere between 70 and 80 pounds, and by Christmas of last year, I had shed 40. The good news is I have kept off that 40 for ten months. The bad news is… I’m not finished and there are still at least 30 more to go.




At the ages my kids are (especially Tanner and the fact that the boy does not stop moving unless he is asleep), and with the hours Trav had to put in this summer, June through August was definitely my most challenging season as a mother thus far. And so I’m thrilled to have made it through with my marriage, my kids, and my weight loss still intact. As a wise friend once told me… "it’s all about progress." So keeping that in mind, I’m hoping to see more progress by the end of the year. I’ll keep you posted.

As life in general goes… we are doing okay. Gracie is loving kindergarten and is doing great! She earns a “super citizen” treat every week for her good behavior and loves to do her homework (which I’m sure will not always be the case). Her school is very fine arts focused, and so along with her kindergarten stuff, she also gets to go to art, dance, drama, music, and is learning (sort of) how to play the violin. I went to her “costume ball” yesterday in her dance class, which is called “creative movement”.

There are few dull moments with Tessa. She is certainly blossoming this year into an all out preschooler! She goes to her preschool three days a week, and gets her speech therapy there two of those days. She is really making progress in her speech, and we’re understanding more and more of what she says. In fact, her favorite phrase these days, which is pretty much attached at the end of everything she says she is going to do is “all by myself.” Whatever Tessa is doing… she fully intends to do it all by herself!



Tanner is just pure joy… he is crazy sweet, insanely busy, an always anxious to keep up with whatever his sisters are doing. He says lots of words, and can tell you where his nose, ears, eyes, feet, and of course, his belly are – and always gives himself a round of applause with each correct response. HA! Six months out from turning two, he serves as a constant reminder that life is going by way too fast.

Trav’s had a very, very busy summer. He started his new job in June, and after two months of working essentially all day, every day, he even got a promotion! Woo Hoo! But… as you probably know, there is an economic crisis in our country that has affected many things… and most definitely, the car business. There’s lots of financial stress going around out there. Trav’s dealership is doing okay… but it’s a very “nervous” time in the car business, and I’m sure, in many others.

So… that’s us. There’s much to be grateful for, a lot to pray for, and many things we hope to accomplish. And as we head into the home stretch of the year… as that same wise friend would say, may we all “finish well”. :-)