Family Time During Teacher Appreciation Days

 Over the last 2 weekends we have taken advantage of Teacher Appreciation Days in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We took Makayla and Jackson to Ripley’s Aquarium and strolled around downtown Gatlinburg. I have to admit I’m a little partial to Gatlinburg; an adorable quaint town that hosts so many tourists yet still has a hometown feel. The kids were treated to their first chocolate covered banana and they loved it. Was it worth $3 bucks? Definitely! The kids enjoyed every bite.

(these are taken with my camera phone...I'm saving up to get a new camera...a real one)

at the aquarium

This past weekend Tim and I took a date day while MG and Jack had a fun filled day at Nana and Grandad’s house. Amelia, Anna Catherine, and Annabel were visiting so it was a house full of sweet children. Aunt Summer was there too so it was a special treat. Makayla and Jackson took the cookies they had made the night before. When we picked them up that evening we saw that all the cookies had been eaten and neither Makayla or Jackson had taken naps that day. Did it really surprise me since they were “SUGAR COOKIES”.

Jack, Anna Catherine, Amelia, Annabel, Makayla

So while the kids were busy playing and eating cookies Tim and I were busy at the FREE attractions in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We had a blast at The Tomb. We were successful archeologists who escaped the wrath of the Pharaoh. It was interesting and a little bit funny. Then we went to the Mirror Maze, Put-Putt, and a 5D Theater. Did I tell you it was all for FREE? Hey that might not be a big deal for some people but it is for us. I really appreciate all the local companies doing Teacher Appreciation Days. For a total of $30 bucks we visited 4 attractions, had garage parking, ate a delicious Mexican lunch (blue corn tortilla rolled enchiladas), and had desert (my favorite food on a stick: Caramel apple rolled in chopped nuts). What a blessing these small things can be!

only thing running through my mind: walk like an Egyption...

My Puzzle Prince. :-)

"cheat meal" although we skipped the rice altogether. It was really good.

I’m so thankful for all the treasures in this life whether big or small.

~ The smiles on my children’s faces

~ The chocolate on Makayla’s face while she says, ‘This is so good Mommy. Thank you sooo much!”

~ Jackson’s cheer, with arms raised, as he sees the penguins for the first time

~ The beauty of the mountains surrounding us

~ The gentle breeze and autumn’s falling leaves that speak God’s perfect creation

~ The strangers that smile as they walk past

~ The long awaited date day with my husband; a time to reconnect during this busy season of our lives

~ Knowing my children are being loved more than we know while visiting their grandaparents

~ Orange pumpkins’ everywhere which give light to the fall harvest

~ The sun on my face as I count my blessings, knowing every single blessing is from my Father

~ The strength God has given me over the last several weeks to fight adversity in terms of health problems. He is my strength.

~ Tim getting several little jobs on the side that has helped us pay our daycare bill-not to mention the after school tutoring job I’m doing. God is providing for us daily. We pray that we stay in His Will. We pray that if He opens doors that we see them and not be too busy to pass it by. We pray that every decision we make is in God’s Will and that He would shut doors that are not His Will and open the ones that are. He is able. I want to live for Him always.

God is in the details of life. Thank you Jesus! 

30-30-30

Working Towards a Goal…and staying there.

I’m working towards a goal-the ultimate goal is to be a healthier and more fit me. It’s been a lot of work losing the weight but it’s going to be harder maintaining a good weight. For the first time in many, many years my BMI is considered well in the normal range. Yay! I know it’s not a perfect system but it still feels good. Since school started back I’ve been so exhausted. I went from enjoying my hour of exercising to not wanting to do anything but relax. In the last month I’ve went from exercising 5-6 days a week to 4-5 days a week. This week in particular has been awful. I’ve been having constant pain under my right rib cage and upper stomach area into my back all week. All I can say is that no matter how hard it is keep pushing the play button-you will not regret that, but you might regret not doing it. But I have to admit that I definitely miss the summer break; more time with the kids, more family movie nights (we finally had one last night Bedtime Stories), energy to cook most meals, time to do laundry (now it piles up for the weekends), time to update my blog, time to make a lot of pictures, etc. You get the picture.

I did my measurements this morning.

30 INCHES GONE! See ya & don’t come back now ya hear!

30 POUNDS GONE! It’s hard to believe this since when I started I had doubts. It all began with a 30 Day Challenge to myself back in April.