Jessie Doing Her Thing

Jessie recently started taking tumbling (tonight was her third lesson) and is loving it. Judy suggested I record her in action so I did. Hope you enjoy watching her!

Walking for Magdalena

Where to start. Probably the best place is on this blog. During the time she was here Magdalena touched many lives, and the testimony of God's amazing mercy and grace continues to amaze me in the lives of her sweet family. On May 9th I'm going to walk a little over three miles in her honor. I'm hoping some of my San Antonio and Austin buddies will join in!! (hint, hint) If you would like to sponsor my team (ha! a.k.a. me), you can follow the link on the right.

Also, you can find out more about the amazing Magdalena on Lori's page. One more thing, if you want to walk, too, you can go to this page to sign up and find an event in your area.

Yes, I'm Still Alive!

I won't go into great detail right now, but I kinda had a post-holiday slump and didn't blog, and then, life got busy, and I didn't blog. I missed some fun and some grieving and keeping up in general. I'm going to try to do better, but I'm not making any promises!

My friend Amy photo tagged me (actually a while back, and she had to get my attention on Facebook...so sad, I know), and I am finally cooperating!

Amy's blog explains what to do. Once tagged, I am to go to photos on my computer, choose the 6th folder and the 6th picture and post it on my blog. Then, I have to tag 6 people to do the same.

So, without further ado, here it is...


I love that you get to see this sweet picture of Papaw and his girls, BUT I would NEVER normally have posted it because I wrongly dared to go sleeveless. There is a reason I don't do this except when it's extremely warm. This picture was taken during a pivotal weekend for us. We had just been in the Austin area praying, thinking and worrying about whether we were supposed to go to Mozambique or Austin. Strange, the choices life presents to us. Anyway, after deciding that the Lord had Austin in mind, we headed up to Grand Prairie to see my Dad. It was a short visit, but I'm glad I get to share it with you.

P.S. I forgot to tag anyone!! Okay, I tag Angie, Meredith, Amy Travis, Lori, Sherrey, and Tina.

Fitness Dilema

Before we moved to Cedar Creek, I checked online to see where the nearest YMCA was located. I thought there was one about 20 minutes away which, although not near as convenient as Clinton, was reasonable. Well, the map on the internet was way off. I mean really off. The Y is actually about 40 to 45 minutes away which is not okay. So, I've called and asked around, and the ONLY place with childcare here is Jazzercise, and they charge you for keeping your kids. I'm not a big class taker when it comes to exercise so this idea leaves me pretty cold. I love to be on a treadmill with great music and Fox News. I don't mean to sound anti-social, but I need a little bit of alone time in order for it to be safe for others to come near me. I love being with people, but if I don't get that time alone, it can really affect me in some not-so-pretty ways.

So, I need some help. Our driveway is .10 of a mile. I can run it at the crack o'dawn before Todd leaves (not likely to happen), do a work-out video not quite so early, or purchase a jogging stroller for my two youngest and hope Emma can keep up. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how far I'd get pushing the 75-80 lbs in the stroller. The other option is to buy a treadmill...but where to put it??

Is there anything you can think of to help me out of this crisis? Between the comfort eating I was doing in Clinton with Todd in TX and the lack of exercise since we've been here, things are starting to get a little scary. Please help me out of this mess I'm rapidly getting myself into! Anyone else have fitness challenges that they've overcome? I really need some ideas here...so stumped.

A Gift He Loves

Each year at Todd's birthday and Christmas I struggle with what to give him. This is primarily an issue because he usually wants hunting stuff, and I am still so clueless sometimes as to what to get. Is it going to be the right kind, brand, etc? This year the choice was easy even though I was a little unsure if he was going to like it because I was going out on a little bit of a limb. When Todd's Uncle Larry passed away not too long ago, we were looking through his vast collection of cookbooks, and Judy and Jerry (Todd's mom and dad) brought home with them this book. Well, Todd was glued to it any time we were at their house. I knew it wouldn't be the same as having Larry's, but I thought he would still appreciate it.

Let me tell you! He has carried the book to work, to the "library," and is presently cooking up a gumbo in the kitchen. It has been an all day affair, and I think he is in hog heaven. I am too!! It's been so fun to watch him enjoy his gift. It may sound silly to be so into a cookbook, but this is no ordinary book. It gives all kinds of incredible history and pictures, and it makes me want to jump up and cook any time I look at it.