I'm Back!

Sorry the past couple of weeks have been so busy and I feel like I've been running around like a crazy woman (although I guess I sort of am)!
I just got back from Phoenix this past weekend. I went to a photography workshop called "The Secret Workshop" and let me tell you it has changed my life. I'm so very excited to get my business off the ground. My website should be popping up within the next week or two and I will be having a grand opening sale!
I'm really so excited that I can hardly type without squealing. Cheryl Muhr lead the workshop, and let me tell you this woman is amazing! She is inspiring in so many ways, genuine and a wonderful mom. It was truly wonderful getting to know her and learning from her!

Anyways, I also had the privilege of taking newborn pictures for my dear friend Kari. Oh sweet Cole is so precious in every way. He was just so gorgeous that I could eat him. So I thought I would share a few pictures of both Cole and some from the workshop.












From the Workshop

Vote For My Wonderful Husband!

Steve did a fitness challenge that started 12 weeks ago, and did an amazing job! I am so very proud of him. He stayed motivated, and stuck to his program. The results speak for themselves and have left many friends and family speechless. Anyways he made it as one of the 8 finalists and it's a public vote, so if like me you agree that his results are amazing, please vote for him!! Thanks so much!!

Here is a link to where you vote

http://www.transformationcontest.com

Here is a Link to his blog

http://longlostabs.blogspot.com

Back In The Game!

So with all that has been going on lately I have not picked up my camera to play. Well today it was nice and though I should have been cleaning I decided to take some pictures. The kids were pretty cooperative so it was fun!
I am also happy to say that I'm down 3 pounds, and feeling great, I just love this program so much, it works great with my schedule, it was hard for me to stick to it at first but since coming back from N.H. I am back in the game and doing great!!

Okay that's all for now, here are my three.



















different crop from above




















Put the camera away mom!

Stepping out of Spring and into Winter!

I am typing this while sitting on the couch in New Hampshire, where there is about 3 feet of snow on the ground, meanwhile Steve and the kids (minus Gia) are enjoying 70 degree weather, it's craziness I tell you!
Anyways this was not a planned trip at all in fact, I had all of about 2 hours to pack and catch a plane, (which I really barely made). The reason for all of this and a very delayed birthday post for Gia (will be posted next week some time) is that my dad called me on Monday to say that my mom would not wake up on Sunday and she ended up being intubated in ICU because she wasn't able to breathe on her own. It all came so fast, the doctors weren't finding out was wrong since all the tests were coming back normal so we tried to decide if I should fly out there or not.
On Tuesday morning, my sister called and said my dad thought I should come out. Now, I have two very very very wonderful friends who immediately stepped up and not only got me a plane ticket with no notice but also took on full responsibility for watching my kids. Thank you Lisa and Jenna, I appreciate you girls soooo much!! So I went to check out flights and saw that the next one with the fewest stops left at 9:00 a.m. and it was already 7:00 a.m.. So I called Jenna she hooked me up with the flight and now here I am with Gianna.
God is great, and my mom is now home and doing better, although we are working on getting her to eat and drink lots of fluids. The doctors think it might have been an allergic reaction to one of the medicines she started taking 2 weeks ago, so hopefully that is what it is and this doesn't happen again. It was very scary but I knew God was in control and took care of everything. As long as everything continues to go well I'm expected back in the land of enchantment and to nice warm weather on Monday! It was good to see my family, although not in these circumstances and I think it was good for my mom to see the baby!
So I should post more about Gianna's birthday party (which was great fun!) next week and will do my best in the meantime to get back to all of you who have left messages for me and emails! Thanks for all the prayers, we truly appreciate them!

2008 Is A Great Year For Change!

So I'm sure many of you have noticed that swim suits are already on display in several stores. I quickly raced past them in Target, trying not to even give those skimpy little things a second thought. Here's the problem: Gia will be a year in two weeks. That's something else I don't want to think about. Time just flown and she has been walking for 3 weeks now, which just seems insane. Anyway, I am still carrying extra baby weight from Mateo. I am determined to get back into a two piece swimsuit this summer without scaring small children when we go to the pool, and so me and some of my other mom friends have decided to get together (accountability is always nice) and do the Fit Yummy Mummy transformation challenge.

We bought - no, check that, I forced them to buy - swim suits last week to take some before pictures in (sorry, I will not be posting those here for fear of scaring you away). We start tomorrow, and I'm excited. I know it won't be easy as I'm a sweetaholic in a major way, but I'm gonna try and curb that with fruits! I will be sure to post progress as we go!

I thought I would post the link to the challenge in case anyone else is wanting to sign up and do it with us (you know you want to!) Click here for more information on the program. It's a workout program strictly for women, and is tailored towards new moms who don't have an hour each day to go to the gym. It's not going to be an easy program, but if you are serious about getting in shape, a contest is a great way to stay motivated. There are some great prizes and you get access to a great private forum (actually it's more like a MySpace). The program gives you a meal plan, workouts, and the support you need to meet your goals.

The contest deadline is February 29th, so if you want to join us, click the link about and get in the game! Oh, did I mention the grand prize is $1000?! It's a 12 week, total body transformation! Click here for more information on the contest. If you decide to do the contest, do me a favor and use the link above or this link to order. It'll give me a percentage of the sale for referring you! (and, as you'll see in the next little section, that might come in handy...)

On another note, God is really testing our faith in Him right now. On Friday afternoon, Steve got laid off along with about 10 out of the 35 workers at his work (a couple sales guys were also laid off). They didn't have enough money and so had to lay off people and he was one of them. So with absolutely no warning and a pretty minimal severance package, we find ourself starting a new journey.

It's funny because we are actually quite content with the situation. There have been no tears, or freak outs at all on our part. We know that God is in control and that we completely have given this situation over to Him. In fact Steve has been talking and playing with the idea of getting out of engineering and into sales for quite some time now (at least since August). In fact the night before the first great purge of 2008 (and if the current situation is any indicator, there will likely be more), he was talking to a friend about trying to find time to do some training so he could try it out part time. Well apparently we have plenty of time right now.

The hardest thing for Steve right now is not to feel betrayed and bitter toward his former employers. We really are ok with the situation, but the way they stabbed loyal employees in the back is ridiculous. There was absolutely no warning, no talk of "upcoming layoffs" or "cutbacks" or anything indicating that because our sales guys weren't producing, we wouldn't have jobs.

We really believe that God has opened a new door for us, in fact we are excited to see what He has in store for us, and wonder where we will be at this time next year.
Blessed be His name not only when things are going perfectly but at times like this when things aren't so easy! We thank Him for this opportunity to make our faith even stronger, and are so thankful we have such an amazing God to call upon when we find ourselves here, that we aren't alone, He is here with us, for us.

Say a couple prayers for us if you get a chance, that we'd follow God's will and that we will follow him where he is trying to lead us.

So here is change - a new journey and a new body :)!!

Happy Valentines Day!!--

Happy Valentines Day!! This day is so funny to Steve and I. We really don't celebrate it, because we feel like everyday should be like valentines day. You should show the people you care about that you love them regardless if it's a national holiday or not.
However I remember loving it as a kid. Decorating your shoe box into a mailbox was always sooo much fun, or going to the store and picking out the box of cards you were gonna pass out. I remeber sorting through them writing down the names of my friends on specific cards and making sure I didn't give the boys the ones that said "I love you" or anything else that might make it seem like I liked one! The same thing also went for the candy conversation hearts! That's too funny!
Anyways here are the cards I made for my kids to hand out at school and I also mailed them out to family.







And here are some of us just playing around today, they are way grainy, totally out of focus, but we laughed so hard trying to pose before the timer went off, so I'm posting them just because I can still hear my kids squealing and laughing as I look at them!

Short and Spiky!

Those were Mateo's exact words when the hairstylist asked what he wanted. I was growing out his hair but it is sooooooo thick and reminds me of my dad's when he hasn't cut it in a while. It was just piling on top of his head and really it was time for a cut, so I let Mateo decide and so short and spiky is what he got.

Here's my sweet rock star!