Weighing in

I have a ton of December posts to catch up on...but I am really excited about this post. As of today(this morning),I have lost another child of mine :-). Carter was next in line:-). Carter weighs 81 lbs. and as of this morning, I am down 83 lbs.. I am so excited! What a ride and journey this has been! I feel better and stronger than I ever have and on most days, I feel like I can do anything! The picture of Carter on my back is to represent all of that extra weight I was carrying around and working out with! Holy cow! What a difference 80 something lbs. lost has made in my world.










































Who's next, you ask? My oldest, my 1st born. We'll see if I can catch Tanner...he is a growing(almost)13 year old boy, who by the way has passed me up in the height department. Wish me luck!

checking it off the list

At the start of the New Year{2011}, our family spent some time writing down some goals(both personal and family)for the new year. I casually wrote down "RUN my first 5k." I had no idea how I was going to accomplish this task since I was not a runner and for the simple fact that I didn't really have any desire to become one:-). Carter wrote down the very same goal for himself and so we decided that the Roseville Turkey Trot was the designated place for our very 1st 5k.

So on Thanksgiving morning, we headed over to the Turkey Trot with our family in tow. They came out to cheer us on. This is Carter and I before the race and before the rain started.

We met up with my some friends, Debby and Renae. It was Debby's 1st 5k, too! Renae was running the 10k.














Here we are (Carter, Deb and I)right before the race started. We are excited and ready to go. This is when it began to rain.




















John and the boys walked down a ways so they could cheer us on and snap some photos as we started. Carter took off and I was a little bit behind him...only 11 minutes, but who's counting :-)? There were so many people, we had to maneuver our way through the crowd to set our own paces.

















The only goal I had for myself was to finish the race without stopping. I wanted to run the entire 3.1 miles without stopping. I am happy to report that I achieved my goal. As I was nearing the finish line, there were little groups of people waiting for others. As they stood there, they cheered everyone who ran by, on. I got very emotional and a little choked up/teary eyed. This was such a BIG deal for me. One more major check mark for my life to-do list.

At the actual finish line, there stood my little family waiting for me.
Here are photos of Carter and I crossing the finish line...at different times of course. Mr. long legs had a very good run. I am so proud of him.




















Carter has already asked(several times) if we can run another 5k...like now. I am still soaking this one in. I am pretty sure we will be running another race in the near future. As for right now. I am happy to have checked this one off of the list.

To kick off our very first Family Home Evening of the year, we decided that it would be fun to set some goals. Both personal and ones that included each family member. Each family member filled out their own 2011 Goals sheet (idea found here at thrityhandmadedays). The boys took this very seriously.
















They thought really hard about the things they wanted to work on and become better at in 2011. Of course we had to throw in some fun family activities too! Let me know your thoughts on John's "Just for Fun" ideas :-). Love that boy.

2010 word...remember

I have always loved this fun idea(see below). Each year, January 1st rolls around & I instantly forget to pick my word. Not this year, I am on board & ready to focus.

Taken right from Ali Edwards blog(her words (in red), not mine)

Back in January 2007, as a way to celebrate these beginnings, I started a public tradition of choosing a single word to focus on over the course of the year.

Many of you are familiar with this tradition and have been joining me in selecting a new word each year. If this is your first time reading about the idea of one little word I recommend taking a few minutes to read my original post here.

Here's a look at my words from the past three years with links to the original posts.

2007 : Peace [ read my post for 2007 ]
2008 : Vitality [ read my post for 2008 ]
2009 : Nurture [ read my post for 2009 ]

Essentially the idea is to choose a word (or let it choose you) that has the potential to make an impact on your life.

Maybe you want to invite something or maybe you are hoping to subtract something. Maybe your word will be practical or hopeful or creative or fanciful. Maybe you need a big word, something in-your-face that will challenge you everyday. Maybe you need something smaller and quieter that will whisper gentle tidings as you make your way throughout the year.

Whatever word you end up with, make sure it is your word (not your sister's, mom's, partner's, child's, etc). You can share it publicly or keep it close to your heart.

So the week before Christmas, I really began to ponder what my word for the year would be. After much consideration, I chose the word:

REMEMBER

This is how the dictionary defines REMEMBER:

Main Entry: re·mem·ber
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈmem-bər\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): re·mem·bered; re·mem·ber·ing \-b(ə-)riŋ\
Etymology: Middle English remembren, from Anglo-French remembrer, from Late Latin rememorari, from Latin re- + Late Latin memorari to be mindful of, from Latin memor mindful — more at memory
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1 : to bring to mind or think of again
2 archaic a : bethink 1b b : remind
3 a : to keep in mind for attention or consideration b : reward
4 : to retain in the memory
5 : to convey greetings from
6 : record, commemorate

AS I make my way through 2010, I am really looking forward to focusing on taking the time to REMEMBER what I am thankful for. To REMEMBER all of the things I have been blessed with on a daily basis. Along the way, I will take time to REMEMBER the fond memories I have gathered over the last several years.

I think this word for the year challenge is such a fun concept. Please let me know if you join in on Ali's challenge.