Selah

I'm giving it away....

2011-06-13T15:11:00.001-06:00

Hey friends....

I have been CRA-ZY busy with Laine Images and I havent been able to update lately... hopefully you'll forgive me?

On the bright side.... We created a Laine Images blog... you can find it here:

www.laineimages.blogspot.com

On that note I thought I'd give you a heads up... I'm giving away a free photoshoot next month, and you're invited!

Read all about it Here:

http://laineimages.blogspot.com/2011/06/julys-photo-freebie.html

Calling all friends...

2011-05-04T14:07:00.000-06:00

Okay... so I've left you hanging for a couple of months... I PROMISE I've not forgot you. In fact I have MUCH I want to tell you... we've had new additions and trips and birthdays and lots of fun stuff, but first I have something that's a little pressed for time I have to get out there.

I need your help.

We're in a contest to win FIVE. HUNDRED. BUCKS.

Now maybe you have alot of money laying around and 500 smackers doesn't mean that much to you, but not me. $500? Do you know how many diapers I can buy for $500?

Here's the deal. The builders of our home offered a contest. 10 finalists were selected to have a photoshoot and a chance to win $500. We are one of the 10 finalists. We had our photoshoot, now we just need people to vote for us. The family with the most votes wins the money.

Here's what I need from you...Each person can vote twice. Once at each voting location.

First I need you to go to this blog post and just leave a comment. It's that simple.

Go here: http://www.utahnewhomeblog.com/2011/04/our-2nd-home-by-mcarthur-homes-craig.html

And leave your comment.

NEXT, I need you to seach for McArthur Homes on facebook and click "like" on the page. Then you need to go to "Homeowner Contest" on left and vote for the Greenwood Family. We should be the fourth family down. We're in green and white.

McArthur fan page on facebook is here:

http://www.facebook.com/McArthurHomes?v=app_190076381016644&

Thanks guys ! We love you! We need you! Thank you :)

It was the best of times... It was the worst of times...

2010-08-23T10:54:00.006-06:00

It was the worst of times...

2004 was a rough year. Things were really up in the air for me personally, and the Cantrell family as a whole took a devastating blow that summer.Here's our story.

I had dated a boy on and off for about three years. We were young and we made mistakes. It would be easy to blame it all on him, but I was at fault too. He became distant and began lieing to me, and I over compensated by becoming suffocating. I knew that God didn't want me to be with this boy. We were just wrong for each other and God had different plans for both of us. That February we broke up for keeps. Well... we didn't so much "break up" as he just stopped answering my calls, and in response I stopped calling. I had finally had enough.

Around this time I was also struggling spiritually. Not that I doubted that there was a God. Fortunately, faith is one of my spiritual gifts. I doubted my importance to God and I doubted my ability to separate my will from the will of God. I wanted to live in God's will, but I just couldn't find my way into doing it. I prayed often. My prayer was usually some song lyrics by Third Day. It went like this "Please take from me my life when I don't have the strength to give it away to you." Sometimes that was the only prayer I could get out. I knew I was wasting away, but I didn't know how to fix it. More accurately, I didn't have the determination to fix it. So there I sat. Going nowhere fast.

In March I got a letter from my roommate. She was moving in with her boyfriend at the end of April so suddenly I had some decisions to make. Could I afford our duplex without her half of the rent? Nope. Was there anyone else that I wanted to live with? Nope. Could I find anyone to sublet so we wouldn't break our lease? Nope. So what do I do? I couldn't move back home. I had a job that was almost an hour and a half from my parents house. I did what any 21 year old would have done. I called Mama and asked for ideas. Mama had a great idea.

On April 23rd I packed up and moved in my Aunt Judy and my Uncle Jerry's house and they were kind enough to only charge a very minimal rent. They lived in town and only about 10 minutes from my job. I obviously loved my aunt and uncle before I moved in with them, but during the next few months I would grow very close to them and I remain close to them to this day. Although I was very glad to have my safety net, I felt like a failure. I was 21 years old. A grown woman, and I was unable to support myself without a roommate. My ego was taking a hit.

Little did I know, that my fragile ego would be the least of my concerns that year. The whole Cantrell family was about to be shaken to the core.

It was mid-July. I had worked an especially tiring shift and on the way home I remember thinking that I could squeeze in a nap before Aunt Judy made dinner. When I trudged in from the car, I saw Uncle Jerry standing just outside of the living room. He was waiting on me. "There she is." That's all he said. I thought I was in trouble and my mind was scrambling to figure out what I'd done. Had I forgot to lock the door? Did they finally get fed up with my messy room? Did I forget to pay rent? No. I walked in the living room and I could tell by the look on my Aunt Judy's face that this was much more serious. I sat down on the couch because I could tell that this is where they wanted me. And I waited. Aunt Judy is the one who told me.

"There's been an accident."
"Who?"
"Gregg."

My mind was racing. Gregg? Gregg who? I knew two Gregg's but they were both intertwined in the very core of the family. They weren't a distant relation and they weren't an acquaintance. Tragedy had touched our family many many times, and although I had lost many loved ones, none were as close to me as these Gregg's. We were untouchable. We were all young and healthy so this Gregg in the accident must have been someone else. Right? I couldn't think straight so I just picked one.

"My Gregg?"
"Yes."

That's when I knew that our walls had been breached. I had got it right on the first guess and the worst kind of horror had come to the Cantrell family.

"Is he okay?"
"No."

I don't remember much after that. Apparently I was told that he had been air lifted to Chattanooga and they were running tests to see if his brain was responsive. If it wasn't, then Gregg was dead and they would take him off of life support.

We carpooled to Chattanooga the next day. I remember sitting next to Toni (my sister) in the back seat but for the life of me I couldn't tell you what we talked about. Probably a whole lot of nothing.

When we got to the hospital they took us back to see him. He looked good. I had prepared myself for blood and cuts and all kinds of injuries. I hadn't prepared myself for him to look as though he were sleeping. The only real difference was that they had shaved half of his hair to allow for some monitors. Other than that... it was just Gregg.

I can't remember how long we were there. Minutes? Hours? Seconds? It seemed as though it was only a couple of breaths. They had run the tests on his brain and they were going to give us the results that day. Everyone was holding out hope. If there was brain activity, it was possible he would be okay. I was alone in the room with him when I found out. The walls were glass and I could see Gregg's doctor walking down the hall. My mama stopped him. She talked to him a second, and then she crumbled. That's how I found out. That was when I knew that Gregg was gone. I remember yanking on his hand and whispering to him that they didn't believe he was in there anymore. I remember telling him that he was running out of time and that he needed to do something. Something that would show everyone that he wasn't gone. After all... tragedy just didn't hit this close to home so therefore he had to be alright. Right?

Even as I begged him, I knew he was gone. I knew I was being irrational. I knew that he couldn't hear me and I knew that I would never be the same.

Gregg was 20 years old when he died. He was my nephew and my friend. He was my sister's son. I remember many many games of candy land, go fish, and hide and go seek. I remember getting the chicken pox with him and his sister, Holly. I remember watching him laugh so hard that hamburger shot out of his nose. I remember playing Barbies with him. I remember climbing trees riddled with poison ivy and spending the next week itching. I remember playing in mud, and walking in the woods, and digging holes. I remember secrets.

I am not the only person Gregg affected. He touched everyone. He laughed often and loved hard. He was crazy. He was a little wild. He was funny. And yes, he was sometimes annoying. He made everyone he met feel as though they had known him forever and feel as though they were very important to him.

I don't blame God for taking him home. He was my nephew but he is God's child. I'm only thankful that He let us borrow Gregg for as long as he did.

And these were the worst of times.

It was the best of times...

On April 26th, I believe it was a Monday, I found myself alone in Aunt Judy and Uncle Jerry's house. It had been a long weekend of moving and unpacking and so I had spent my morning trying to figure out how to work their television. After some channel surfing, I settled on a television show that would dramatically alter the course of my life.

It was some reality based television show about "lost loves". You know the type of show. Reuniting middle aged men and women with old flames... "the one that got away". That got me to thinking... I was 21 now. Would I look back on my life when I was 50 and wonder "what if"? And if I did have this big regret, who would it be about? Would it be about this ex-boyfriend I had just spent the last three years with? No. I was pretty sure we had tried that one from every possible angle and it just wasn't going to happen. Who would it be then? Craig. Definitely Craig Greenwood. I met him when I was 16 years old. We visited a time or two (he was 23 at the time and lived in Nashville) but most of our conversations happened on the phone or by email. Even at 16, I knew he was special. He believed in waiting until marriage to have sex, he was a very dedicated Christian, he didn't experiment with a bunch of drugs, he had a strong family connection... all of these things were important to me even then. So what happened? He moved to Utah. He had grown up there and his family was still there. He had only come to Nashville for a few years to try out the christian music business. The year I graduated, 2001, he decided he had had enough and moved to Utah. He tried to get me to apply to colleges there, but I turned him down. I didn't want to go to college in Utah. I wanted to be with my friends and family and Utah didn't work into my big plans. So, that was that. He called a few times and even came to visit TN but I wouldn't see him because I knew my then-boyfriend would be jealous. Looking back on that, I could kick myself for it. But I was young and blind. He eventually stopped calling me.

Yes, Craig was definitely the one who got away.

So that left me with a decision. What was I going to do about it? Was I going to do nothing and spend my life wondering? Or... was I going to try to find him? I decided to take some initiative for once and see if I could find him. The last I had heard from him, he worked at eBay. All of the eBay employees were required to have an Instant Messenger on AOL and I just happened to remember his old screen name. So I jumped on Aunt Judy's computer and started there. I got it right the first try. There he was. After three years I wasn't sure what so say, so I said something very unimpressive like "Hey." His response just as impressive. It went something like this:

"Whoa."
"Whoa."

After a couple of seconds he got his ducks in a row and started shooting off questions...

"Are you still a Christian?"
"Yes."
"Are you still a virgin?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Come to Utah and marry me, or get out of my life."

And that's how it started. I tried to talk some sense into him for a few days via email, but he was very serious about this. The man wanted to marry me. We spent the next months talking on the phone nightly. For HOURS. Trying to get to know each other again. If there was nothing special to talk about, he would read a chapter from The Testament to me over the phone. He even let me bully him into doing different voices for different characters even though it meant I would laugh at him. I would sit outside on Aunt Judy's back porch and describe the lightening bugs to him. He missed the lightening bugs. They don't have them in Utah. He would tell me about his day at work. About irate customers or funny moments. I found out he lived on macaroni and cheese and frozen burritos. I found out he talks really really loud when he's excited about something. When he's tired, his voice takes on a very lilting and soothing quality. I found out he used the word "silly" in normal conversation, even though he's not five years old anymore. It was almost perfect. Almost. 1500 miles apart was not ideal. Even with that little glitch, I knew that he was the one. God had chosen him for me, and He had chosen me for Craig.

He came down for a visit in June. I visited him in July (just BEFORE Gregg died). And on August 29th 2004, I married him.

I won't pretend that everything was ideal and that I was walking around in a hazy fog of romance during this time. Remember, I had just lost a very dear person to me. I remember having to choose a wedding location, flower colors, and a menu during a time I should have spent grieving. The hardest thing was going shopping for my wedding dress. I remember going into the woods behind my Daddy's house at night and screaming at the top of my lungs at the very injustice of it all.

When I think of this time I am reminded of this scripture reference:

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance...

Ecclesiastes 3 1-4

These were these best of times...

To My Husband:

Craig,

It has been six years since these events happened. During that time, we have made a home together. We have had marital problems. We have laughed at the absurdities of life. We have cried at the unexpected pitfalls. We have lost a baby. We have birthed a baby. And we carry another now. God has used our union to create life. God has used you to make me stronger. You have never raised a hand to me. Never called me a name. Never so much as raised your voice in anger towards me. You walk the extra mile to make sure that I don't have to. You provide for your family.

Six years ago you brought light to a very dark time in my life. A time that could have wilted me, but instead I blossomed under your touch. You were saved for me for just this season of my life. God used you, and still uses you, to turn my mourning into dancing.

Thanks for dance, love. I look forward to many many more.

Happy Anniversary.

Fail

2010-07-08T10:13:00.002-06:00

Okay, yeah I know. The whole "once a month" post deal lasted no time. What can I say?
It's a daunting task to update. Here are some highlights...

We know what we're having. Do you want to know? Are you sure? I don't think you want it bad enough....

Okay. You win. It's a BOY. There's no question. We've had more than one ultrasound and he wasn't shy in any of them. Thatcher Craig Greenwood is scheduled to make his debut on September 15th 2010. Only ten weeks left. Thank. You. God.

Have you ever heard of "round ligament pain"? I haven't. Not till last month. Last month I stated getting these really sharp pains when I moved. I thought I pulled a muscle. Then I did some digging. Here's what I know about round ligament pain... It's more common in the second pregnancy (I did NOT feel this way with London), it matches my symptoms, it only lasts a couple of seconds, it happens about 400 times a day, and it feels like a bowie knife being shoved into my body. Super fun. This is probably my favorite new symptom. Any sudden movement sets it off. Yet another reason why sneezing is scary stuff.

I don't know for sure if this is the problem. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so we'll see for sure then. But I'd put money on it.

London is now two. My baby is my big girl. Her face is all innocence, curiosity, and hopefulness. One day that look will change. One day the stress of the world will catch up to her. Someone will be mean to her. Someone will call her a name. A boy will break her heart. She will break a boy's heart. A friend will betray her. Someone will laugh at her. At some point...she will try , and she will fail. There will be something about her appearance that she won't like. These are things that will most certainly happen. Things that I can't protect her from.

My hope for her.. My prayer for her is this. She will laugh more than she will cry. When she falls, she will rise and she will learn from her failure. When her heart is broken, she'll learn to to treat other hearts tenderly. When she breaks a heart, she'll take no gratification from it and she will be gentle. When she is betrayed, she will learn the importance of honesty and loyalty. When she is laughed at she will stand tall and know that she is above it. When she looks in the mirror, she will see a woman created by God. Specially designed and created with care.

She will be ready to let go of my hand long before I will be ready to let go of hers. Fortunatly, there is One greater than I who holds her now, and will hold her throughout her life. Someone who will be there long after her father and I are memories. She will make her mark on this world. This world is better for having her in it and there are many memories to be made and smiles to be had. I thank God that I'm a part of it.

If I'm this sentimental when she's two, imagine the meltdown I'll be having when she leaves for college. Geez.

The fourth of July has come and gone. Our neighbors pulled out their fireworks and Craig, London, and myself set out on the sidewalk and watched them go. London was a big fan of the colors, but not so much of the lound noises. She kept her ears covered for a solid hour, but I think she enjoyed herself in spite of it.

We live in a great nation. It's easy for me to take that for granted since I've never traveled or lived outside of this country. My freedom was hard bought by sweat, blood, and tears and I am greatful to both God and the men who serve for giving it to me.

Next up? Craig's birthday.

Halfway Home

2010-04-30T16:12:00.003-06:00

April has crept up on me and nearly snuck on past without my notice. Fortunatly I caught myself just in time. Here is your April update...

April was full of events in the Greenwood house... We had a birthday for Eddie (who is now a whoping 27 ), Easter (the Easter Bunny crept into our house and spoiled our child. WAY too much candy. If I ever catch that Easter bunny....), a visit from the O'Connell's, a trip to visit the Cantrell's, and the first of two parties to celebrate London's birthday.

Eddie hosted a birthday bbq at his home to celebrate his big day. It was HIS birthday and he treated ME to dinner. Sounds like a deal to me!

Easter morning there was snow on the ground which did NOT make Mama very happy. Fortunatly it melted and we had some family over for dinner and an egg hunt. Of course the reason we celebrate has nothing to do with eggs, bunnies, and dinner. Sometimes I think it's easy to forget the most important things.

The O'Connell's popped in this month and OH BOY... I love me some O'Connell girls! Abby and Ally were able to spend the night with us one night and it was so much fun to see how the girls have grown and matured. Ally knows words that even I can't pronouce and that Abby has such a calm maturity about her that you'd think you were staring at a young woman rather than my little neice. Ashli also popped in and was able to relax and enjoy her time as someone's daughter and sister instead of only focusing on the part of her that is a wife and mother. Everyone needs a little "me time" I hope she filled up on it, she deserves it!

There will be pictures of London's parties and our TN trip to come so I wont go into detail just yet, but let me say that I am very blessed to have a baby girl who is so loved by both sides of her family.

And now to my last point of business. We are 20 weeks pregnant. Thatcher is about the size of a soda can. He's very active and according to the ultrasound I had today, very healthy. The ultrasound tech said he was energetic, healthy, and DEFINATLY a boy. He wasn't modest. Not even a little. That's something we'll have to work on I suppose. She wasn't able to get a good picture of his little mouth so we'll need to go back in a month for a follow up ultrasound to be sure he doesn't have a cleft lip. We couldn't see his lips but we were able to watch him suck his thumb. A-DOR-A-BLE! I find myself counting down the weeks. 20 weeks. Halfway home. We can do this.

16 weeks and counting...

2010-03-31T00:40:00.003-06:00

So... I dont' really have anything to say to you guys. I'm mostly just writing in an attempt to update the blog at LEAST once per month. March is fading fast and so here I am to update you.

I am now officially 16 weeks pregnant. Know what that means? That means it's possible to determin the gender of the baby. Know what I'm doing on Friday? Yep. I'm getting a gender check. Of course I'm excited to find out what the gender is... I can hardly wait! The real question is ... Will we tell YOU what the gender is? It's always fun to be the sole owner of coveted information. It gives me kind of a sick joy to know I can hold something over your head. Let's be honest though. I can't keep a secret. I'll tell you.

Do we want a girl or a boy? Weeeeeeeeelllll.... I think it depends on when you ask us. I think it would be fun to have a little boy. We don't have one, and there aren't ANY boys on Craig's side of the family so it'd be fun to have the first. Just when I start thinking I'd really like to have a boy... I remember what it was like to grow up with Holly. Holly is my neice who is only older than me by a year. With only a year's worth of difference, we grew up more like sisters. I remember many hours playing barbies and sharing secrets and I still consider her my best friend today. So then I start thinking about how London need's a sister. And there I am wanting a girl... Once I get good and set on having a girl... I remember what it was like to grow up with Greg. Greg (my nephew) was a year younger than I am so we grew up more like brother/sister. Greg was who I climbed trees with, got stuck in ditches with, dug holes with and yes, even played barbies with (sorry Greg). So you can see, I go back and forth. I will honestly be thrilled wether it be boy or girl. I mostly just want to know what color to paint the room.

On a related note... Pregnancy. Man. Pregnancy just isn't fun. My toes dissappeared WEEKS ago. I'm not even half way through this sucker and my toes are MIA. A 15 pound baby perhaps? I hope not. I cringe just thinking about that. Other areas of pregnancy include (but are not limited to)...

food cravings
food aversions
morning sickness (don't let the name fool you. It's more like 24 hr sickness)
backaches
headaches
fatigue
loss of breath
the inability to form coherent sentences while speaking
insomnia
and some lovely private symptoms that I won't share

Pregnancy is not fun. It's just not. I've heard people say that you shouldn't complain when you're pregnant because some people have trouble concieving or have miscarried (which I have done FYI so I can relate to that).

Know what I say to that? Here's what...

I puke on a regular basis. I pee about 1283 times a day. I sneeze at my own risk. I'm fat. I can no longer hold my daughter comfortably. I stay up all night every night because sleep does not come. I walk around like a zombie CONSTANTLY because of this. I have the smell sensor of a super mutant bloodhound, and don't think that this is a good thing. For instance.. when I'm in the same room as milk, I can practically SMELL the cow udder. Cow udders ain't pretty.

Being pregnant is WORK. It is a long hard and exhausting job and a pregnant woman has the priviladge...no...the RIGHT to vent. That does not mean that I'm not grateful to be able to bear a child, it only means that it's stressful. Think of it this way... A construction worker is at a job site all day and when he comes home he's cranky, smelly and tired. Does he have the right to complain? Of course he does. It doesn't mean he's not greatful for a job during an economic slump. It just means that he's stressed out and talking about it relieves stress. I'm not saying that knowingly venting to a woman trying to concieve is okay nor am I saying that complaining 24/7 is helpful, or even healthy but please... don't shush a pregnant woman. She deserves a tirade every once in a while. She earned it.

Back to the baby...

What are we naming the new baby?
For a girl... Bristol Lee Greenwood. (I thought of this one)
For a boy... Thatcher Craig Greenwood. (Craig thought of this one)

We're catching a little bit of guff for the name Thatcher. Some people adore it, some people really don't like it. Fortunatly for us, we're the parents so we pull rank. Neer Neer Neer!

Easter is fast approaching. Remember why we celebrate and do a little happy dance for Jesus who is no longer behind that rock.

Goodnight Friends.

Mommy Moments

2010-02-23T14:04:00.007-07:00

When I was small, my Mama used to sing us a little song she made up. She originally made up the song for my neice, Holly. Then, when the rest of us kids came along after that, she modified it to fit each child.

It's the Ha-Ha song. It goes like this:

I love my little Holly, I do Ma-ma!
I love my little Holly, but don't you tell Pa!
Cause he won't like it, I know Ma-ma!
Cause he won't like it, Ha-Ha! Ha-Ha!

Of course the name Holly would change to the name of which ever child you are singing to at the time.

I have sung this same tune to London since the day she was born. I remember one particular night when she was about 4 or 5 months old. She was teething and she woke up hurting in the middle of the night. I went into her room and rocked her in her little glider. I sat there in the dark, illuminated only by the hall light, and stroked her little cheek and sang to her. " I love my little London..." Each time I got to the end of the song, she would absolutly crack up. She thought that the "ha-ha!" line was halirious. Ever since that night, that has been the crying song. The song I sing when she's hurt, or sick, or just plain grumpy. Last night she was just plain grumpy.

It was late and Daddy was going to take her to bed. I always get a goodnight hug and kiss from my girl before she goes up but last night she was particularly grumpy. I pulled her in my lap and she laid her head on my shoulder, sobbing. I began to stroke her back and sing. "I love my little London..." She grew quiet and listened to me. There were no laughs this time as I sang to her, but when I sang the last line she said "Again..." (which comes out "ah-gee" when she says it). And so I sang it again. And then when I sang that last line once more, she said "Ah-gee.." and so I sang again. And again. And again. And so it went. Each time I finished singing, her sweet soft voice said to me "Ah-gee...". I was in Mommy heaven.

I live for those tender moments.

Fun with Fingerpaints!!

2010-02-18T14:15:00.005-07:00

We whipped out the fingerpaints the other day.... Oh boy..
Here's the result:

Better than fiction?

2010-02-10T13:22:00.003-07:00

As some of you know, I work from home doing data entry for a company called "Emdeon" (formally FVT). Let's be honest, typing just isn't the most exciting thing on the planet. To keep myself from going nuts, I listen to audio books while I work. I usually listen to a nice fictional thriller or fantasy. Something fast-paced and has absolutely zero possibility of happening in real-life.

For Christmas, my "other mother", Phyllis, bought me an audio book called "Same Kind of Different as Me." It was a short one, only 4 hours while most audio books range from 8-12 hours. I was in the middle of a series that I wanted to get done with and so it went into the "later" pile on the computer desk. I promptly forgot about it. When I remembered it, I just couldn't get myself excited about listening to it. It turns out that this was one of those "non-fiction" books. I just knew it would bore me to tears. One of my biggest complaints with non-fiction books is that they tend to be WAY too wordy for my taste. For example:

A fiction book would say:

The green dress Isabelle was wearing to the ball stunned me to silence. Layers of silk flowed gracefully in soft mounds from her small waist to the marbled floor and I knew in that moment that this was what it was to behold beauty.

A non-fiction book would say:

Light twinkled on the dress that Isabelle was wearing and I found myself inspecting it closely. The dress was a deep green and I noticed that the color matched her eyes to near perfection. Although, to be completely honest, I must admit that her eyes held a twinkle that , in the flickering candlelight, gave her green eyes a grey sheen and thus did not match the dress as perfectly as it otherwise might have. Her waist was emphasized beautifully by the generous heaps of silk cinched below the magnificently stitched bodice of the gown. Upon close inspection, one could see the minute expert stitching that must have taken hours to perfect. The craftsmanship was superb beyond measure. As my eyes traveled down the length of the dress, I saw moving light dancing across the silk. No doubt that this was caused by the shimmering candlelight that held the room in a soft glow, but, regardless of cause, the effect was mesmerizing. After what seemed like miles of fabric ensconcing Isabelle's lean frame, my eyes came to rest on the floor. The delicate silk gathered at her feet and rested on the swirling black and while marble in a graceful pool that reminded me of the pond by the home in the village where I grew up. In spring, the hills and trees would reflect in the cool water to give the pond the same hue of green that I found so entrancing on Isabelle. The overall effect left me breathless.

Have I made my point? I'm sure the imagery of the non-fiction book is lovely, but I'll never know that because I fell asleep 20 minutes ago. This is the reason I was leery of listening to the audio book that Phyllis had given me. I just knew it would put me to sleep.

I was dead wrong. This is a well-written tale of worlds colliding in a beautiful mess. Rich meets poor, black meets white, and man meets God. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but the book leaves you wet-eyed with the sense that one life is more than enough to make a difference. God chooses the strangest vessels in which to make himself known to man, and this book leaves you looking around wondering what kind of amazing opportunities you have missed to meet one of them and when you will have the opportunity to meet one in the future.

In closing...
READ THIS BOOK.

Thanks "Other Mother." That was a terrific Christmas gift!

Uh-Oh...

2010-01-15T14:28:00.006-07:00

Yes. As a matter of fact I do realize that it's been months since my last post so there's really no need to tell me (craig).

If you still check in on me, thanks. I don't deserve you.

Okay... now that we've got that out of the way, let's go on to our updates.

2009 was supposed to be my year to go back home to Tennessee for Christmas. Unfortunatly, that just didn't happen. I started a new job in September to earn some money for Christmas and they wouldn't let me have time off yet. I really missed TN this Christmas. Thankfully, I have a really great family in Utah that goes out of their way to make me feel right at home. I'm truly blessed.

Another saving grace this Christmas was London. This year was really alot of fun with her around. She would poke holes in wrapping paper and yank off bows and ribbons. She would touch an ornament on the Christmas tree and then yank her own hand away and shake her head back and forth and say "No!." She wrestled with herself all season long, trying desperatly not to touch she shiney "no-no's." She didn't always win her battles, but she was always adorable when she tried.

Apparently she was a good girl this year. Santa brought her a large bouncy horse named "Legend." It's bigger than she is, so she's still a little intimidated by him but I'm sure there are many happy trails in their future. I think her favorite gift this year was Baby Alive. This is a baby doll that really drinks water and eats specially mixed food. It also poops and pees. We havent tried out any of those features yet. I'm not espically confidant in London's diaper changing abilities, since she has yet to change any of her own, and since I already change my fair share of diapers, baby alive hasn't had a single bite to eat since we got her. She does, however, talk. And man... she goes on and on and on and on. Just like some teenage girls I know (Sarah, Hannah, and Judith). London loves her though. She thinks baby alive is halirious so I suppose Baby Big-Mouth is worth it.

On to New Year's. What did we do to bring in the New Year? Absolutly nothing. Did I make any New Year's resolutions? Nope. Know what that means? That means that when 2011 rolls around , I'll be the only person in America who does NOT have unfullfilled resolutions from 2010. I'm gonna call that a success.

The biggest event that's happened in our little family happened on January 4th of this year.

What was it? Well they say a picture's worth a thousand words...

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Betcha didn't see that one coming.

Craig and I decided that in December we'd give it a go. Apparently we got it right the first try because on September 15th we'll be welcoming the newest addition to the Greenwood/Cantrell clan. We couldn't be happier. Please pray for us. We have expirenced a miscarriage before and so the first trimester is very scary for us.

I'm already counting down the days until we find out if we'll have a he or a she. It would be nice to have a boy so we could expirence the best of both worlds since we already have a girl. But then there's something really special about sisters. A pair of little girls giggling into the wee hours of the morning. I'm going to be really cliche here and say that as long as it's healthy, I will be estatic. Cliche but true.

There's an old wive's tale that goes like this:

If your previous baby's first word was "Mama" your next child will be a girl. If your previous baby's first word was "Daddy," your next child will be a boy.

Know what London's first word was? ....."Uh-Oh!"

A Thing or Two About a Thing or Two

2009-10-08T02:23:00.002-06:00

Allow me to tell you a thing or two about a thing or two.

It would be an outright lie to say I possessed any sort of secret wisdom. A disservice to my readers to presume any of you naive enough to take my word as gospel truth. It's not. It's one woman's opinion. One voice in a world full of loud, yelling, assertive voices. I won't try to impress upon you my own belief system. Some other time perhaps. But not now. Now is not the time for pompous opinions, persistent badgering and hot air. Now is the time to tell you not of the things I believe, but of the things that I know.

I don't know much but there are a few things of which I am sure.

I know that London will be safe at night. I know that little baby fingers will not stick metal objects into dangerous places. I know that chubby little legs will not be broken from a fall down a staircase. I know that her sweet little hands will not be burned by an angry hot stove. I know this because I know that her father will watch over her carefully.

I know that at some point during the night, I will hear peals of laughter ringing though an otherwise quiet house and London will be happy. I know that she will throw herself backwards repeatedly, confidant that strong hands will catch her before she can fall. And then she will laugh. I know that London will eventually collapse in a fit of giggles because she is tickled until she is breathless. I know this because I know that her father will play with her.

I know that my child will not go to bed hungry. I know that during supper she will be served food. She will deny it. She will throw it down. She will mash it into the carpet. She will feed it to the dog. And sometimes, sometimes... she will just make it disappear into the black abyss that is our couch. Nonetheless, my child will not go to bed hungry. I know this because I know that her father loves her enough to find a way to get food into that little tummy.

I know that London is loved. I know that my little girl will freely give out kisses to anything she deems worthy of kissing. Dogs, toys, couches, shadows, mirrors, hands, baby dolls, walls, floors, televisions, shoes,books... As it turns out, everything is worthy of kisses. Especially fathers. I know this because I know that her father holds her gently and comforts her tears and strokes her softly.

I know that my life isn't perfect. But Craig and London? They are. I'm just happy to be along for the ride.

Update- PART 2

2009-09-24T09:26:00.013-06:00

Okay... So now for the second part of my update.
On August 1st 2009 my parents (Hurl and Waltyne Cantrell) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. I was lucky enough to be there for it. I was so excited to see my family... Sometimes a girl just needs a really good dose of family. That's where I was. I missed them terribly, so when Craig said we'd find a way to afford tickets to go down and see them, I was elated.
I have some pictures of them for you (obviously).

** DISCLAIMER**

These photos are in no particular order other than the file name that was assigned to the photo by the camera. I BELIEVE I have loaded only one shot of each person from my immediate family here (with the exception of mama and daddy and London). If I uploaded more than one shot of someone, it's by error. I love all my nieces/nephews/brothers/sisters/aunts/uncles (and so on) equally. They each hold a unique and special place in my heart.

This is Hannah. She enjoys playing the flute.

This is London eating her very first ear of corn. Sarah is feeding it to her.

This is Daddy on the day of the Great Anniversary Celebration.

This is Mama on the same day.

This is Daddy putting the moves on Mama...

This is Cindy. Those are her new glasses and I like em.

This is my brother Andy and my sister-in-law Jamie. We've all wanted to strangle Andy at some point in time. She's just living the dream!

This is my sister, Tena, my brother-in-law Tim, and my niece Hailee. She was NOT interested in having her picture taken thankyouverymuch.

This is Aunt Judy and Uncle Jerry. I had to photoshop the glare of the sun off his head (Ha! Love you Uncle Jerry!)

This is my sister/niece Holly, her husband Brad and their two kids, Tyler (left) and Gavin (right). Trying to get Brad to smile was like pulling teeth. Word for the wise--- If I'm trying to take your picture and you don't want me to... Smile at me so I get the shot I want the first try. Otherwise I'll just follow you around till I get what I want...

This is Mama. I think she was counting up all the money she got for her Anniversary. That must be what that big ole grin is all about.

This is London's Great Grandmother. It's the only one she has left! She's my mother's step mom and her name is Loretta. I hope I am this beautiful when I am her age.

This is Gavin and London just hangin out.

Hailee and London. This picture makes me think of me and Holly. I LOVE it!

My niece, Hailee.

My brother in law, Greg.

My nephew Isaac. He can kick your booty. He knows Karate.

Toni, my sister, was one of the very first people that London let hold her (she was cutting a molar during the first part of the trip and was GRUMPY!). And she was SMILING about it.

This is obviously London. The pink shirt she is wearing is one that my grandma (my father's mother) knitted over 50 years ago for her girls. Shortly after I shot this picture, she spit up on it. Oy.

This is my niece Sarah. She enjoys singing. And I recently learned she's thinking of joining the pit in band.

This is Judith. She enjoys lots of things. Mostly boys :) I know secrets....

Okay... So now for the second part of my update.

I don't have a shot of my nephew Justin (Toni's son) cause he's a poo-poo head and he won't let me take his picture! Other than that, I think I covered the immediate family... If I missed you I'M SORRY! It's really difficult to cover all your bases when you have a family as big as mine.

So there you have the highlights. The next entry will, hopefully, come soon and include pictures from Brittany's birthday.

The Long Awaited Update...

2009-09-10T09:51:00.014-06:00

Wow. It's been a minute, huh? I have waited this long to post because there is so much TO post. It's a daunting task. For that reason, I'll divide them into two seperate posts. This first post will be about our trip to WY for Craig's birthday.

Craig's birthday was 7/17. He turned 33 years old. Whooo boy.... he's OOOOOLLLLLDDDD. He robbed the cradle with me. I'm a very young 26. (okay that whole little spill was for Craig's benifit, I'm sure he's thoroughly miffed at me now so I can move on...) For his birthday he decided, long ago, that he wanted to go rafting in WY. And so we did. We stayed in a place called the Virginian Lodge. We arrived on a Friday, went rafting on Saturday, and came home on Sunday. There was a little touristy action going on, but mostly it was just relaxing. It was about a 6 hour trip down there and my little monkey (London, not Craig) did a fantastic job handling it in the car for that long. We had a little portable DVD player with all the Elmo that I could stand as well as some snacks and over all... she was pretty durn happy. That's my girl! You'll be happy to know that Craig also handled the car ride very well. He hardly cried at all.

I love my babies. Both of them. I really did hit the lucky lotto with them. I don't deserve such a good little family, but I'm aweful proud to have 'em.

And, of course, I have pictures.

(The photos with my logo on them are NOT rafting trip pictures, they're just pictures that I've taken recently that I want to share. It took WAY too much time to upload all these pictures, so you'll just have to deal with them being out of order.)

Okay, this first photo is the only one I'm going to bother to explain... This, of course, was our rafting trip. This was taken seconds before the first big rapid. The dork in front with the black hat and her mouth hanging open would be me. I wasn't smart enough to close it during the rapid either so I'm pretty sure I swallowed a few fish. Directly behind me with the visor is Phyllis. Look how happy she is! I thought she'd be a scardy butt, but she was very giggly! To the left of Phyllis in the tan hat is Brittany. To Phyllis's right is Craig, look at those arm muscles, how pretty! Directly behind Phyllis is Michelle and to Michelle's left is her husband, Paul. Directly Behind Michelle is Larry and to Larry's left is Nicky, Paul's sister.

**PS** Eddie is directly behind Brittany... Everyone stop and gaze upon him ;)

For Jamie

2009-07-22T07:37:00.007-06:00

Okay, I realize it's been forever since I've given you an update. Jamie has ever so lovingly pointed that out. Since it would take hours to update you on all the events since my last post... I'll give you the highlights.

We had Father's Day. London and Craig dressed in little matching outfits for and I don't think London has ever looked more like her daddy.

I had another photoshoot for an adorable one year old boy. Thanks to Holly for letting me be involved in her memory making (this is not my child and I will not be posting pictures of him, so don't ask).

I finally bit the bullet and bought a camera (and additional lenses) I've been lusting over for some time now.

We are preparing to go to Jackson, WY for a rafting trip VERY soon! I'm so stinkin excited, I've never been before!

London's teeth keep popping up all over the place. I'd estimate her at about 13 or so teeth and a majority of them have happened within the past couple of months. I hate molars. Are we sure they're necessary?

London's latest and greatest trick is answering the phone. She picks her toy phone up and places it to her ear, tilts her head and says "Hello!". This usually ends up sounding more like "Eh-O!"

London has recently caught up to her 3 year old cousin Haillee whom we have been bumming hand-me-downs off of for quite some time now so we've actually had to go BUY some clothes for her. This time next year I suspect we will be sending Hailee our hand-me-downs.

London's still not walking. she doesn't even try. If we're walking her (holding her hands) she just plops down as soon as we let go and happily crawls off to some other corner to play. Honestly I don't care. I used to. But it's obvious she's not impaired in any way. She's just very content the way she is thankyouverymuch. She's always been that way. When she gets tired of having carpet burns on her knees she'll move on. In the mean time we're enjoying not having to chase her down the street.

The 4th of July happened. Nothing big was done. The plan was to go camping, but that fell through at the last minute so we set up a tent in the back yard (since we had it out already) and had a mini camping trip. We also hit up Bridal Veil falls and took a dip in the falls.

July 17, the birthday of all birthdays, also happened. (FYI that would be Craig's 33rd birthday) There was a minor celebration involving ice cream cake, movies, and games. The real celebration will happen later in WY.

London had her very first zoo trip. She watched the animals that she could see, but over all I think she was less than impressed. Honestly, so was I. There were quite a few exhibits that had the animals either hiding (not the fault of the zoo) or otherwise MIA.

Daddy is explaining the miracle of the porcupine to London.

Poor London is wore out!

We got London's first haircut this past Saturday, the 18th. We went to Cookie Cutters and a gal named Amy did the job. Daddy video taped and Mama took pictures (of course). Grandma observed. As you all know, my child is perfect. She was happy and sweet the whole time. No screaming tantrums. That's my girl!

Before

The first snip.

After

My excitment mounts as my TN trip draws near. I can't wait to see my family. I am especially excited about being able to see my parents for the 50th wedding anniversary. In this day in age, that event is becoming more and more rare. I'm blessed.

There you have it. That's the best update I can give you right now. I'll do my best to be more faithful in the future. I'll end with some of my favorite pictures...

London is blowing you a kiss!

My newest favorite picture! LOVE the reflection.

Apalled

2009-06-19T10:16:00.003-06:00

I'm having an Ashli moment...

This is the most disgusting thing I've heard in a long time. Not only is this despicable, but it doesn't even sound appetizing! What do you think?

*taken from msn.com

Dissolvable ‘tobacco candy’ spurs debate
R.J. Reynolds says it's for adults; some lawmakers say it'll get kids hooked.

WASHINGTON - They're the newest smoke-free tobacco products — dissolvable pellets or strips that don't require users to chew or even spit. Sold in shiny plastic cases, the products melt in your mouth like breath mints.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is test-marketing dissolvable products in three cities and says they are designed for adults.
Some lawmakers disagree. They call the products tobacco candy and say they are designed with one thing in mind: to get kids hooked on nicotine. They want to give the government power to restrict sales.

"Tobacco candies are clearly designed to appeal to children through both packaging and taste," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. "This is not a safe product. This is not safe tobacco. It is a product that, like cigarettes, causes cancer and kills."

Merkley and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, have co-sponsored a provision in the Senate tobacco bill requiring the government to study health effects of dissolvable tobacco. The Food and Drug Administration would be given authority to restrict how the products are marketed and sold.
The Senate is expected to vote this week on legislation giving the FDA sweeping controls over cigarettes and other tobacco products. The bill would give the agency power to regulate the content of tobacco products, order the removal of hazardous ingredients, restrict the marketing and distribution of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, clamp down on sales to young people and require stronger warning labels.

"For years, tobacco companies have deceived consumers and marketed products to children — continually trying to replace the 400,000 customers they lose each year to tobacco-related deaths and illnesses," Brown said. "There is no doubt that smokeless tobacco products are aimed squarely at children. We have a responsibility to protect children from suggestive marketing and dangerous products."

A spokesman for North Carolina-based R.J. Reynolds accused Merkley and other lawmakers of intentionally distorting the nature of the dissolvable products, which are being test-marketed in Portland, Ore., Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis.

"It's not tobacco candy. That terminology is their terminology," said David Howard, a Reynolds spokesman. "These are tobacco products. They are made from finely milled tobacco. All the packaging says dissolvable tobacco, they are sold side-by-side with other tobacco products and their sale is age-restricted."

Product packaged to look like mints, critic saysBut Merkley and other critics said the packaging makes some of the products look like cell phones, while others look like breath mints. Words like "mellow" and "fresh" are prominently displayed.

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an advocacy group that has pushed for FDA regulation of tobacco, says dissolvables are likely to appeal to children because they are flavored and packaged like candy and are easy to conceal, even in a classroom. They also carry the Camel brand, popular with many teens.

"The last thing kids need is another product to start them on the road to nicotine addiction," Myers said.

Howard, the Reynolds spokesman, said smoke-free products eliminate the problem of second-hand smoke — and dissolvable products go one step further.

"There's no spitting and there is no litter. They literally dissolve" in a user's mouth, he said. "We believe this is a positive. And we'll see what adult consumers think."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

An Order From Your Queen

2009-06-01T18:37:00.001-06:00

Go read Craig's latest journal entry.

www.craiggreenwood.com

He cracks me up.

This is Why...

2009-05-28T09:33:00.004-06:00

This is why I love my husband.

I'm so happy and excited right now... I just can't hardly stand it!

I am sooooo homesick. Last night I asked Craig if London and I could take a trip this summer to see my family. He said... YES. My husband really is wonderful. Even though money is tight, it's important to him that I am happy and that London is able to know my family. He has said, since the day we got married, that if I ever wanted to go visit my family he'd find a way to make it happen. Period. And he always has.

Unfortunatly Craig won't be able to come with us. That's the only thing that will taint the trip. But after two weeks of being away, the homecoming should be fun....

My parents got married August 1st 1959. This August will be their 50th wedding anniversary. AND I'LL BE THERE FOR IT! It's so rare to see a couple so dedicated to each other. I'm blessed.

Little London's Luau

2009-05-20T11:39:00.007-06:00

As I've already told you, London is one. This weekend we finally celebrated the fact with a Birthday Luau! Poor London had no idea what was going on, but Mommy was WAY excited! I've been picking up bits and peices for the party for a couple of months now, thinking...planning...stressing. But I think the end result was worth it.

We had a BBQ at 1 o'clock and everyong mingled and nibbled. After food (which we still have a TON of) London opened her gifts, and MAN... she got spoiled.

I decided months and months ago that I wanted to get her a pool and a little pool package. Beach towel, bathing suit, sun block, float, beach ball, swim diapers... the whole bit. Craig wanted to get her something special just from Daddy. And he did. He got her a guitar. How many one year olds have their own guitar?! She loves it, and the best part is that it keeps her away from Daddy's guitar. She also got some clothes from Grandma, a red wagon from Grandpa, a baby Bible and a CD from Pastor Pat and Lori, water/sand toys from Chad and Debbie (along with a talking card that she LOVES), a singing penguin from Aunt Brittany and Uncle Eddie, and a walker and a bubble machine from me.

After presents, we gave London her very first cake! Soo much fun! I've been looking forward to the big cake moment since I found out I was pregnant! After a few minutes of testing it out, she got brave and dug in. It was adorable! Brittany was taking alot of the photos that day so that I could focus on London and she got some really great shots.

Eventually... after the cake was thoroughly destroyed, it was time to play in the pool! People were wondering out by that time, and the only people left to see London's big pool debut was Uncle Eddie, Aunt Brittany and, of course, Craig and myself.

She was adorable! She looked like a little diva in the pink shades and bathing suit. Daddy lowered her into the water slowly and she didn't like it at all to begin with. But she adapted well. I may have myself a little waterbug!

Thanks to all those who love my kid. She's a very lucky girl. The only thing missing was her TN and MO family. We love you guys.
Here are some pictures of my fabulous baby girl...

We're still learning NOT to touch the camera. I really like this shot for some strange reason.

What a perfect little profile. This was taken while I was washing all the cake off of her face and hands and hair and arms... well, you get the idea.

" Okay... I get it. It's like a big bath tub. I can do this..."

"Don't you wish your girlfriend was hott, like me?"

London played with the leis while Mama and Daddy decorated for her party.

Her little red wagon!

" Wanna go for a ride?"

"Ready for my pictures now!"

"Look! If you beat it long enough, it turns FLAT! Whoa..."

"Wanna bite? I share."

The Thinker.

"ooooOOoooOOhhh... Mushy..."

"Why is there a bubble machine pointed at my face? Are we done yet?"

"Whoo hoo! Rock on!"

London loves her Aunt Britt and Uncle E... Espically her Uncle... I get a lil jealous about that sometimes...

Ain't no love like Grandma love!

Some of the party gang... All the guys have little straw hats and the girls have leis... Aren't they all pretty?

Pastor Pat teaching London to walk.

The pool!!! Craig spent his morning filling this bad boy up with air and then with water. Thanks baby.

Just a party snap shot... Doesn't Craig look so proud in this picture??

Debbie looking pretty in her flowers.

Daddy giving London her first swimming lesson.

Don't make fun of my face in this picture. I don't want to hear it.

Cuddle time with my moms.

Post swimming. A Mommy/Daughter moment.

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T10:39:00.004-06:00

So here's a big news flash for you... Mother's Day was Sunday. Hopefully you didn't forget. My family sure didn't...

This is my second year as a Mom and Craig has set a pretty high standard for himself. I was just plain spoiled. I woke up to my husband kissing me goodbye and whispering "Happy Mother's Day" in my ear. He then took off to go to church (he goes earlier than me to practice with the worship band and teach a class). I got the kiddo and myself ready and we loaded ourselves in the car. Sitting there in my car, all sparkly and cute, was a gift. A thinly wrapped green gift. He even broke into my scrapbooking supplies to decorate it! It was an 8GB SD card for my camera!! I was very excited!!

After I arrived at church, I walked in and saw the whole sanctuary decorated for Mother's Day. There were folding chairs sitting around tables with flowers and a breakfast bar to the side. The church was giving us a breakfast! Some of the men in the church spent their mornings cooking and DANG was it good. I think Larry has some competition out there for his sausage gravy.. Yumm.

London sat in her stroller during the breakfast and eventually I noticed a small card sitting in her stroller with her. It was a gift card to Maurices! London really knows what Mommy likes, although I suspect she had a little help with it!

After breakfast, Pastor Pat preached a message to make sure I know how perfect I am (at least that's what I THINK the message was about). During the message, London began being a little wiggle bug so Craig took her back to the nursery to stay. After Pastor Pat was done telling me how awesome I am, the little kiddos came out of the nursery and brought their Moms (me included) little foam mirrors and a coloring sheet. I realize that London neither colored her sheet nor picked out the little foam mirror, but it made me so proud to get it from her. During this time the ushers were passing out red roses to all the mother's and then we closed in prayer.

After church we met up with Larry, Phyllis, Eddie, and Brittany at Red Lobster for lunch. Brittany had made a BEAUTIFUL necklace for me with a picture of my little Squeaker in it. I love it! She also gave me matching earrings! She's a handy gal! After lunch (which Larry paid for, Special thanks to him!!) Craig, London, Phyllis, Larry, and myself all headed back to Phyllis' house to shower her with gifts.

Guess what... Craig had got me ANOTHER gift! I am sooooo spoiled. Wanna hear what it is? I know you do.... NEW CAMERA LENSES! I got a wide angle lens, and telephoto lens, and three filters as well as a cleaning kit for my lenses! I AM SOOO EXCITED! We're going out tonight so I can learn to use them. I am currently taking up donations to buy a larger camera bag to carry all my goodies in. Any one feeling generous?

Phyllis was also spoiled, but I'll let her tell you about it. Maybe this will inspire her to make another blog post?

So that was Mother's Day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to see my own mother that day. I don't care how old I get, I still miss my Mama. There is a special place in my heart reserved for only her and I truly hope she knows how much I love her. She's a strong, loving woman and in my eyes no other woman compares. I was able to talk to her a few minutes on Mother's Day. All the kids were gathered at her house to celebrate her. I miss seeing her face.

To all those who had the ability to see their mothers and didn't.... You should be ashamed. I would never have squandered such a gift.

One

2009-05-07T11:40:00.006-06:00

A Year? No ! Not my London. She still needs me to hold her head up while she drinks her Formula. Doesn't She? I'm still Waiting for that first Smile. Aren't I? We're still teaching her to GRASP her rattle. Aren't we? ... Aren't We?

London turned one on May 5th. Two days ago. Where has the time gone? Why doesn't she grasp my finger with her little hand while she sleeps now? Why is she so tall? So heavy? She has teeth now. What happened to that gummy little grin? She's still just a newborn...

One Day Old

These are all things I'll miss. She is becoming more independent every day. With each day I lose just a little bit of that baby I gave birth to a year ago. That little tiny life that developed in my belly for so long is now thriving, and I miss her. But I wouldn't turn back. With every day that I'm losing that little baby, I'm gaining an amazing little child. A curious and playful little minx that makes my heart dance. This sweet child with glassy blue eyes and a curly mop of brown hair finds new ways to captivate me daily. With every day that she needs me less, I find I need her more. My life is overflowing with the merriment of an innocent and I am enthralled. I am ensnared in her spell and my life will never be the same. What a wonderful gift God has entrusted me with. I hope I make Him proud....

One year down... a lifetime to go...

One Year Old

Sickie Poo Update...

2009-04-30T12:13:00.005-06:00

London is happy today. Still hanging on to that cough and not quite interested in eating, but that hasn't kept her out of the dog dishes. I found her playing this morning with Kai's water dish. The dish tipped over and she was happily splashing in a puddle of water and puppy backwash. I promptly mopped up the mess (much to her disappointment) and dumped her butt in the bathtub (much to her joy). She has curled up in my lap to nap more than once without any prompting from me. While it's sad to see her not quite acting herself, I'll never refuse a cuddle from my little squeaker. She's currently laying on Daddy's bean bag, sucking down a bottle, and watching some Simpson's.

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday....

This is after the meds kicked in. She just couldn't keep her pretty little eyes open any longer. She feel asleep in the middle of a pile of toys on our living room floor.

This is London's breathing treatment. She gets it three times a day and any additional time that she has a wheezing fit. I think Daddy is bothered more than London is by it. London doesn't mind. She's happy for an opportunity to put anything in her mouth.

Poor Baby...

2009-04-29T21:58:00.003-06:00

London has been sick for some time now, a couple of weeks. No fever, but she has had a constant runny nose and lots of sneezes, not to mention she's been crazy clingy. It has varied in severity but never quite gone away. This past weekend she developed a little cough to go with it. It was a wet cough and she sounded just pitiful. It lasted Sunday and Monday, and finally on Tuesday morning I called my pediatrician. No answer. I left a message with the nurses. I called again later and again, no answer. This morning they called me back. I described her symptoms to the nurses and then waited so that they could tell me I was overreacting and to relax. Kids get colds. (I expected this since I have heard it a time or two from other people that I had mentioned her cold to. In fact, one person told me that she wasn't sick at all, she was just "bored".) This is not what she said. She said to bring her in. So I did.

London and I arrived at the Dr.'s office at 11:30 this morning. Eventually we were called back to the exam room and we contented ourselves with patty cake until the doctor came in. After an exam she gave her diagnosis. (Again, I expected the diagnosis to be "paranoid mom.")

Diagnosis? Obstructed airways from the infection (cold) and an ear infection in her right ear.

No wonder my little angel has been a little less than angelic lately!! The Dr we were seeing (who is not London's regular pediatrician) did a fantastic job with her. She really took her time and let London play with every instrument before she used it on her. After the doctor gave her diagnosis, London was hooked up to a breathing machine for a treatment to see if that would help her airways. After a 10 minute treatment, the doctor came back in and listened to her lungs once more. She said that it had indeed helped. She sent us home with the machine and 3 prescriptions. Drops for numbing her ear, antibiotic for killing the ear infection, and the medicine to pour into the breathing machine. She also suggested using Motrin to help with the other aches and pains that come with a cold and said it would help her sleep better (Yes Ashli, I bought me some Motrin!). So for the rest of the day, London and I have been in medicine heaven. She's been less clingy and overall less fussy. About an hour ago I put her to bed for the night and I haven't heard a peep from her. This is the first time she's gone straight to sleep since Saturday. Thanks Doc!

We have a follow-up on Monday. I will update you more on this situation then.

You should also check out Craig's journal. He has some interesting thoughts on the medicine. I don't agree with them, as I am humble enough to admit I didn't go to medical school and therefore do not pretend to know as much as the doctors, but I do respect them. Perhaps Craig is right and I am naïve.

Update!

2009-04-28T13:12:00.003-06:00

FYI-- London pushed that little tooth right down this morning! It's poking through, so it's all downhill now (at least for THAT tooth). She's already happier.

Happier Baby=Happier Mama.

This was taken today. My babydoll!

Meme Monday

2009-04-27T10:55:00.009-06:00

Okay so I kinda like this meme stuff. When I can't think of anything to say, I can just answer a bunch of questions!

1) If you could change one thing about the building in which you work, what would you change?

Humm... I think I'd hire a janitor.

2) What is the silliest or weirdest thing your mom or dad has ever said to you?

"Early one morning, in the middle of the night

Two dead men arose to fight

Back to back they faced each other

drew their swords and shot one another

When a deaf policeman hear the noise

He came and killed those two dead boys

And if you don't believe my story's true

You can ask the blind man, he saw it too."

And then there's also... "She's got freckles on her but(t?) she's pretty!"

3) What crime from history fascinates you the most? Jack the Ripper. Yup. I'm morbid

4) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

Okay I didn't even have to think about this one...

When I was 18 I was riding a bike with my friend Misty. We were trying to work out and so we rode about 10 miles every day. We were riding a very familiar route when out of nowhere this big black Lab comes rushing at me. He had a mouth about that big. I know this for fact because he attached it to my hind quarters. I slammed on my breaks and started yelling all sorts of things that I won't admit to. The family who owned him had about 80 kids and they all ran out to me. At this point blood was just gushing down my leg and the dog was sitting down and happily wagging his tail. I suppose he liked rump roast.

5) When did you have the weakest self-confidence ever? Now why would I answer that?

6) Among the people you know, who would you choose to be able to read all your thoughts? I wouldn't pick Craig, cause that'd take all the fun out of razzing him. I'd pick Holly. She's pretty much there already.

7) How old were you when you realized that other people's families live totally differently from yours? Everyone lives the way the Cantrell's do. If they don't, they should.

8) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

Aww.. the first time I felt London move. I was laying on our love seat in a similar position and I kept feeling tiny little flutters in my belly.

9) What two colors should never, in your opinion, appear together in an outfit or decorating scheme? Anything Neon.

10) What is the strongest profanity you use? "Dad-gum-it!" That's the strongest one I'll own up to anyways.

11) If someone were trying to woo your significant other away from you, what methods would bring them the most success? Shouldn't this be a question for my "significant other"?

12) Have you ever had to do a standard field sobriety test for a police officer? No. Absolutely not... or have I?

13) What have you been the most naive about? Marriage.

14) If you were to be killed by an animal, what kind would you want it to be? Well I don't really care cause I'd be dead wouldn't I? I suppose as long as it's big and ferocious it doesn't matter. There's some glory in being killed by a raging lion or bear. I'd hate for my obituary to say I was killed by a flamingo or an ostrich or something like that. Whatever animal it was... I'd take it down with me.

15) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

No specific thoughts come to mind. Just Tennessee in general. Very lush and green.

16) If you could train a person or animal to do one thing for you whenever you wanted, and then return to you, what would you have it do? Clean. No question. And cook too.

17) What kind of cowardice do you most despise? Hypocrisy. I really try hard not to be a hypocrite.

18) Did March come in "like a lion" this year, or leave that way? Or both, or neither? Okay so seriously... what does that mean???

19) What is the most evil thing you’ve ever done (that you’re willing to admit online)? I ...uh... That I'm willing to admit? uh.... I stole a piece of candy from the grocery store once because Mama said I couldn't have it. After I ate it, I felt so guilty it came back up.

20) Of all the people from the Bible -- excluding Jesus, because that is too easy -- who would you most like to meet? Job. I think I'd like to shake his hand. Bless his heart.

21) What is the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard? My baby laugh.

22) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

It reminds me of the candle lighting ceremonies we used to have at Laurel Hill during Christmas.

23) Describe your everyday dishes. Do you like them? They're large and heavy and brown. The plates and saucers are square. I love them. You get a workout just washing them around.

24) What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done on purpose? Marry a total stranger. (kinda)

25) Whose reputation would you like to ruin, and how would you do it? And whose would you want to enhance? Ruin? Mmm. Angelina Jolie's. I have zero respect for her... I'd like to enhance Ex-President Bush's. I think he got the short end of the stick.

26) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

This reminds me of the DeKalb County High School cafeteria. I really liked their mashed potatoes. I could go for some right now... Mmmmmm.

My Kid

2009-04-27T09:18:00.002-06:00

London is teething. Fabulous. This isn't anything new, however her top teeth seem to aggravate her more than her bottom teeth did. Currently, that front left tooth on the top is the one we're fighting with. She just can't seem to push that little guy through and she is NOT happy about it.

Thus the scene is set for last Saturday night...

3:30 AM... London cries. Daddy and Mommy try to let her cry it out as Dr. Lei recommended.
3:45 AM... London is absolutely screaming.
4:00 AM... Daddy makes a bottle and goes to cuddle Demon Baby.
4:01 AM... Demon Baby stops crying.
4:15 AM... Demon Baby is happily sleeping in Daddy's arms as he rocks her.
4:30 AM... Daddy puts Sleeping Baby back to bed.
4:31 AM... Sleeping Baby is awake and screams...again.
4:32 AM... Mommy gets Orajel and Tylenol for Hurting Baby.
4:33 AM... Mommy applies medication and begins to rock Hurting Baby.
4:45 AM... Hurting Baby is asleep in Mommy's arms.
5:00 AM... Sleeping Baby is placed back in her crib.
5:01 AM... Sleeping Baby is awake... and MAD.
5:02 AM... Mommy takes Mad Baby to the guest room so everyone can sleep.
5:15 AM... Mommy and Mad Baby are now both asleep.
5:20 AM... Sleeping Baby is awake; Mommy is asleep.
5:21 AM... Awake Baby pokes Mommy's face.
5:22 AM... Mommy is now awake.
5:23 AM... Awake Baby babbles loudly.
5:24 AM... Awake Baby tugs at Mommy's earrings.
5:25 AM... Awake Baby is sitting straight up and yanking Mommy's hair gleefully.
5:26 AM... Awake Baby is sitting on Mommy's head.
5:27 AM... Awake Mommy is fed up with the non-hurting and non-sleeping baby.
5:28 AM... Awake Mommy dumps Awake Baby back in her crib.
5:29 AM... Awake Baby is mad again.
5:30 AM... Awake Mommy is now back in her own bed... and no longer awake.
5:35 AM... Awake Baby is no longer awake either.

So... how was YOUR Saturday night?

To Jamie

2009-04-21T09:09:00.002-06:00

No Jamie, I am not pregnant.
Yes Jamie, Mama ratted you out.

:)

Pictures!!

2009-04-13T13:57:00.005-06:00

Craig, London, and I took some Good Friday pictures this weekend. Tell me what you think, I adore these.

Eddie's Birthday!

2009-04-06T13:24:00.010-06:00

Okay these first pics are just of London. You know I have to sneak those in there....

Now the rest of these were taken yesterday at Eddie's Birthday BBQ.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLD MAN!

Lessons Learned

2009-04-03T13:00:00.002-06:00

You can learn alot from a baby.

For instance, London has taught me :

Crawling does NOT equal cute, as I'd always thought. Crawling equals chaos.

Babies crawl much faster when you're not looking.

Dog food equals baby food.

Trash can equals toy box.

My jewelry is no longer neither mine nor jewelry. They are now London's playthings.

Electric cords taste like candy.

Even angelic babies go through teething.

Baby toys are boring toys.

"No-no's" are super-fun toys!

"London! Don't touch Daddy's guitar!" Loosely translates into baby talk as "London! Play me a tune on Daddy's guitar!"

The simple word "No!" Actually translates into "Crawl faster! You're busted and I'm catching up with you!"

Flicking the door jam over and over annoys Mommy, and therefore is a wonderful past time.

London can pull herself up using only her hands and Mama's hair.

Chasing puppies is fun!

Babies can take food from the high chair tray and shove it under their butts WHILE they're sitting on their butts. No one knows how they do this. They just do.

Mommy and Daddy's shoes are actually teething toys.

and finally....

Mommy and Daddy will love their baby no matter how big the mess is.

Google Tag

2009-04-02T14:01:00.012-06:00

Okay so Sam nailed me. I got Google Tagged. I'll copy the info from Sam's page and we'll get started!

Here are the rules: You have to answer the questions with a Google image search. NO using your own pictures. Even on the picture of you. You can't use any words to describe anything either. Let's see what happens.

Favorite Color:

Favorite Animal:

Bad Habbit (oooohh baby!):

My Job:

Favorite Food:

Where I Live:

Favorite Treat:

Favorite Place (duh):

Favorite Author:

Favorite Hobby (again, I say, duh):

I tag.... EVERYONE. If' you've read this, you're tagged.

My Girl

2009-04-01T20:52:00.003-06:00

Since everyone else out there is posting pictures of my kid, I figure I may as well join in.

Enjoy.

Doesn't she look so old in this picture?

" I'm gonna get you!!"

"Ooooohhhh.... TOYS!"

My angel!

THIS is why I love Tennessee!

2009-03-31T08:05:00.002-06:00

This is a comment left on my last post by my sister Jaime. It made me laugh outright (which is quite a feat since I'm sick as a dog today), so it gets it's own post here...

"I can't wait til Christmas to get to see you and your'n. The buttercups are blooming. Andy and I seen our first snake last week- he seen it when we were walking so he abruptly stopped- I didn't- so I stepped right over it. Your brother really enjoyed that. Had himself one of them there belly laughs. I am so proud or our Hicksville Tennessee Maiden, we luv ya better'n cornbread 'n molasses now that would be worth licking your toes for! hehehe Love your sis, Jamie P.S. I bet mamie gives little London her first taste of buttermilk. Last week he put mayonaise in the middle of an oreo and got Sarah"

Thanks Jamie! You made me smile!

PS --For those of you who don't know , " Mamie " is my daddy. He thinks he's the funniest man alive. He is. And yes, I'll probably stand back and watch him give my unsuspecting child buttermilk.

Beause I Just Don't Have Anything to Say

2009-03-30T14:26:00.002-06:00

I happened upon this questionnaire, and since I have nothing better to say... I filled it out.

1. What book are you reading now? I'm currently between books. The last one was a book about werewolves.
2. What’s on your mouse pad? I don't use a mouse pad.
3. What’s your favorite board game? ALL OF THEM!
4. Favorite magazine? Ummm... Parents is the only one I ever get, so I'll go with that I guess.
5. Babies? Yes please.
6. Favorite sounds? I love it when London tries to talk. I also love the sound of the garage door in the afternoons when Craig comes home.
7. Worst feeling in the world? Homesickness
8. First thing you think of in the morning? Shower or pick up Squeaker.
9. How many rings before you answer the phone? You mean you're supposed to ANSWER the phone?
10. What is most important in life? God with family hot on the trail for a close second.
11. Chocolate or vanilla? Cheesecake.
12. Do you like to drive fast? How late am I?
13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?Does Craig count?
14. Storms, cool or scary? Way cool. Too bad Utah doesn't have storms.
15. What type was your first car? 1993 Lumina Euro. Yeah baby.
16. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? Nope. And on a side note, I don't eat the other half either.
17. If you could dye your hair any color what would it be? Apparently it would be black.
18. Ever been in love? Well duh.
19. Is the glass half empty or half full? Depends on the time of month you ask me.
20. Favorite movie? I like a million movies. Ever After is one of my favorites.
21. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? Yes. They teach you how to do things right in Hicksville High.
22. What’s under your bed? Nothing. Isn't that nice?
23. What's the last thing you ate? Potato soup.
24. Where do you wish you were right now? Tennessee. Always.
25. What's your favorite thing about yourself? My eye color.
26. What are you most ashamed of? Letting go of Justin's balloon.
27. How old are you? 26.
28. Do you have any regrets? Not calling Greg back.
29. What do you do when you need comforting? I withdraw.
30. Who makes you happiest? Craig and London.

I showed you mine now you show me yours. Go forth and do likewise!

And Everyone Said..... !!

2009-03-20T12:59:00.005-06:00

Those of you who know me best know that my little Greenwood family has been a little worried lately. Craig's contract at American Express is scheduled to end on March 31. As of the end of this month we will have no income.

Well that WAS the problem. Now...not so much. Craig landed a position he is very excited about. He was given a job offer and has accepted it. I'm not giving you any details until the contract is signed. I will say this: It's much much much much closer to home, and Craig will have the opportunity to expand his resume in a direction that he's really excited about. As am I. Once again God has turned a potential catastrophe into an amazing opportunity. He is faithful to us. Much more faithful than we are to Him, and I am humbled.

Got My Hair Did

2009-03-09T15:02:00.003-06:00

No thought provoking stories today folks. Just wondering what you thought of my new 'do?

Sending kisses your way!

That's right, it's BLACK. I like it. Kinda scary huh? What's that saying? Once you go black you never go back? That's talking about hair dye, right? Obviously....

So.. what do you think???

P.S.... I'm in the mood to do some picture taking. Anyone want a photoshoot? I'll throw in free touch-ups! Seriously... Anyone?

By Request of Ashli

2009-02-23T14:01:00.004-07:00

A post or two ago Ashli requested lyrics to the song that my little drummer boy wrote for me. I've debated as to whether or not I want to share them here. It's not that I don't want to show off Craig's work, because I do. It's just a little personal. It's a song from him and to me, and it's one of those secret and special things that I kinda want to keep just for us. But, my wifely pride has won out and so I post them here. Because I want to shout from the rooftops that I love my husband and I think he is absurdly talented.

This song is titled " I'm Better Off With You." It was written after one of those throw-down, knock-out fights that stupid married people sometimes have (don't ask me what it was about, I won't tell you). This was his apology to me.

I'm Better Off With You

While I am sleeping, tears keep you awake.

Inside I am dying; I hear your heart break.

I swear I will never, forget this place.

It's where we have landed; it's not where we'll stay.

I'm better off with you (Don't wanna be lonely)

I'm better off with you (Don't wanna be scared)

Don't wanna feel the cold air inside of my bed.

I'm better off with you.

Things have been crazy, and maybe too much,

Of ourselves has been lost in all of this stuff.

And then I look outside, and see what I see

And then I look inside, I know where I'll be

I'm better off with you (Don't wanna be lonely)

I'm better off with you (Don't wanna be scared)

Don't wanna feel the cold air inside of my bed.

I'm better off with you.

Today I was thinking, about how it is,

And how I have hated the way that is was.

Tomorrow is coming, and sure as I am,

I know you will be there, and I am

I'm better off with you (Don't wanna be lonely)

I'm better off with you (Don't wanna be scared)

Don't wanna feel the cold air inside of my bed.

I'm better off with you.

100 Reasons

2009-02-19T13:36:00.004-07:00

100 Reasons I love my husband....

No, I did not get "tagged." No one is forcing me to do this. I'm doing this because I want to, and hopefully it will make his day just a little bit brighter. Perhaps he'll smile.

100. He's a Christian.
99. He has curly hair.
98. He listens to me. Really listens.
97. He's ticklish.
96. He's intelligent. Very Very intelligent.
95. He giggles.
94. He loves London.
93. He visits his Mom and Dad every Sunday.
92. He sings.
91. He's a drummer. That's just hot.
90. He's extremely opinionated.
89. He lets me dress him. Usually.
88. He never takes it for granted when I make him dinner.
87. He actually eats my nasty dinner.
86. He laughs easily and often.
85. He wears cologne for me.
84. He loves my family.
83. He plays games with London.
82. He takes care of our cars. I don't even have to think about it.
81. He pays the bills on time, every time.
80. He lets me stay at home with London.
79. He's clean.
78. He works hard to make sure we're provided for.
77. He's dedicated to Church.
76. He's cuddly.
75. He's kind of a nerd.
74. He really loves his sister.
73. He doesn't make friends easily, but when he does, they're the forever kind.
72. He trusts me.
71. He likes cartoons
70. He lets me do whatever I want. Total freedom.
69. He doesn't like sports.
68. He opens doors for me.
67. He doesn't want me to do "boy" work. Like mowing the lawn or moving furniture.
65. He doesn't laugh at me when I'm bad at something.
64. He lets me play jokes on him even though he's sensitive.
63. He loves to be with his brother.
62. He's not willing to fight over the stupid stuff.
61. He can't find things that are right in front of him sometimes.
60. He taught me how to use Photoshop.
59. He's concerned about my happiness.
58. He talks like a Yankee.
57. He has good teeth.
56. He's on a diet.
55. He jokes around all the time. Even when I'm not laughing at them.
54. He likes to be with me and London.
53. He loves his dog. I mean REALLY loves his dog.
52. He's good to his dog.
51. He has no debt.
50. He's not scared to try things.
49. He did the moon walk at Eddie's wedding.
48. He urges me to take risks for what I love. Like photography.
47. He understands that sometimes I cry.
46. He genuinely wants to take me home as often as possible.
45. He wants to be romantic.
43. He'd work for hours to get a smile out of me.
42. He doesn't like stupid people.
41. He has a 15 year old car which he's content to drive until it's dead.
40. He likes to travel.
39. He plays games with me.
38. He watches movies with me. Even the girl ones.
37. He doesn't get mad when I screw up.
36. He likes to make me feel good. I have back rubs on demand.
35. He painted my toenails for me while I was pregnant.
34. He LIKES when I wear perfume.
33. He's dedicated to us.
32. He's willing to go with a little so London and I can have a lot.
31. He likes to garden.
30. He loves history.
29. He won't touch bugs.
28. He decided he wanted to compost. And he is.
27. He wrote me a song.
26. He has the guts to do things that I wouldn't do.
25. He plans for tomorrow.
24. He picks his battles.
23. He did the dishes last night, even though it was my turn. Thanks.
22. He's polite.
21. He sticks to his guns when he thinks they're important.
20. He shot guns with my daddy.
19. He made a chair lift for daddy.
18. He has good shoulders.
17. And a cute butt.
16. He loves the Simpsons.
15. He lets me take endless photos of him.
14. He lets me read, obsessively.
13. He'd drop everything for me, if I asked him to.
12. He types like a demon. It's fun to listen to.
11. He lets London play the guitar.
10. He lets me gorge myself on Peeps candy and never says a word.
9. He's willing to take London when I want to go to the gym.
8. He's willing to learn from me.
7. He's willing to teach me.
6. He has poofy lips.
5, I am so jealous of his eye lashes.
4. He was a virgin when I married him.
3. He likes to hold hands.
2. He likes Captn Crunch.

And the number 1 reason I love my husband?

1. He's mine.

Now it's your turn. Make a list of 100 reasons why you love your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend. It's really suprisingly easy to think of 100 reasons to love someone. Good luck!

An Actual Blog Post.... Whoa...

2009-02-16T11:07:00.006-07:00

Okay so I realize that it's rare to find an actual God fearing blog post on my blog now days. I'm sorry for that, I really am. To make up for it, I thought I'd give you some actual content today.

1.

My oh-so-stinkin'-sweet husband wrote a song for me. You may have visited his journal recently and read his account of the evening. Here's how it happened...

A month or so back, Craig was talking of how he misses the thrill of playing music in front of an audience full of strangers. We were in our car at the time and as he was mentioning this, we passed a local coffee house. He wonders aloud if perhaps this coffee house had bands or some sort of musical entertainment. "No, not this one. Don't waste your time. You can look it up on the net or something to find a place you can perform. No way does this lil' coffee house have entertainment. I have spoken." Craig took it as a challenge and promptly made a coffee house detour. I sat in the car, rolling my eyes at this obviously unnecessary delay, while Craig went inside to get rejected by the coffee house folks.....

Well obviously I was wrong. I haven't heard the end of it either. Turns out they have open mike night on every Thursday night. The following Thursday Craig, London, and myself did a secret spy mission thingie to get a feel of the place. Fortunately the bouncer was out taking a pee break or something when we arrived. If he had been present at the time, there would have been no way we would have made it in. Well, London would have made it, but not Craig or I. We were too old. WAY too old. I think the oldest people there (other than our prehistoric selves) were maybe 16. MAYBE. We arrived about 7 pm and got the last table available and waited another hour for them to start the entertainment. We stayed for another hour or so and by the time we left, we couldn't even see the stage because another 20 people had shown up and were standing around everywhere. On the way home Craig announced that he would indeed infiltrate and defeat the "Coffee House Kids." And he did.

The following week was filled with Craig selecting and tweaking songs for his performance. He practiced for London and myself almost nightly and he was doing a dang good job. We had invited Eddie and Brittany to come and watch, and they accepted. Eddie let Craig borrow his fancy guitar for the performance, and as the day drew near, excitement tinged the air. He was ready.

Eddie and Brittany met us that at our house that night, and then followed us to the coffee house. Extraordinarily the bouncer was on a break again (which is a blessing because Eddie and Brittany are also too OLD to get in otherwise) and we managed to slip quietly through the doors. We were surrounded by awkward long-haired kids with guitars and toasters. Yes toasters. And spoons. Toasters and spoons. Don't ask. Seriously, don't ask. Time ticked by and my sweet Craig was much more quiet than usual. His hands were white and I knew he was nervous. About an hour later, Craig was called up to perform. Eddie and Brittany were holding London for me so I could take pictures of my little love muffin performing. His first song was bouncy and light and no one paid any attention whatsoever. The entire coffee house was talking amongst themselves and acted at though there was no one at all on stage. My wifely pride was nagging and I was on the verge of shushing these youngin's down (weren't they taught to have respect for their elders?) when Craig did it for me. Right before he started his second song, he announced that this was a song he had written. I couldn't remember him practicing one of his original songs at the house, so I was mildly confused, but Craig is pretty sporadic so I just figured he'd changed his song list as the last minute. Then he said these words...

"I would like to dedicate this song to my wife. I wrote this one for her."

And then he had the nerve to point me out. Can you believe that? My face was hot and I'm sure I was a thousand shades of scarlet, but I was even more interested in the song he was about to sing. A song for me??? Wow. The crowd was hushed. He finally had the children's attention. And then he sang it. It was a wonderfully written song and I almost burst into tears at the first verse. I controlled myself and sat back to enjoy the melody. It was fantastic. It's probably the most romantic thing he's ever done for me, and I adore him for it. To me, this was the highlight of the evening. The Coffee House Kids, however, were more interested in his last song.

After he finished up mine, he asked if he could hold their interest for one more. Everyone cheered him on as he began his last tune for the evening. The song is called Hallelujah. I'm dead serious when I say everyone there started singing with him and swaying back and forth to the song. He was a hit. I was sooooo proud of him, and he got compliments all over the place when he finally finished up.

Here's a picture to commemorate the evening....

Every month Craig and I have a special date night. Craig has labeled this our "Lunarversary." January's date night was a surprise trip out to Gygi's Culinary Arts School. If that's too much for you digest, let me put it this way. Craig surprised me with a cooking class. It was WAY fun. There were all sorts of goodies on the menu and the theme for the evening was "A Romantic Dinner for Two." There were 20 participants and they divided the dishes up so that each couple worked on a separate dish. Craig and I were in charge of a salad with sliced pear and home made poppy seed dressing. After seeing all the yuckiness that we dumped into the blender to make the dressing, I was convinced I was NOT interested in the dressing. I was wrong ....again. It was WONDERFUL. There was a butt load of sugar, so not diet friendly. Which, I'm sure, is why it tasted so yummy. We also had beef tenderloin, roasted tomatoes, asparagus, cheese gravy, and chocolate lava cake. Everything was great but the beef tenderloin was FANTASTIC.

London can kiss. If you're not grinning right now then you've obviously misread that first sentence. I'll type it again so read it slowly and carefully. London...Can...Kiss. I've been counting down the days till she could lay one on me, and now she can!!! I'm so happy! It really didn't take her to long to learn. Here's how we did it....

She has a stuffed puppy dog that sings to her and one day after the puppy got done singing, I made the puppy "kiss" her (meaning I touched the puppy's nose to her mouth and said "Kiss!"). After a while, instead of pushing the puppy towards her, I just held the puppy still and said "Kiss!" and then she would lean over and kiss his nose. At this point I realized I was on to something and got greedy. So then I started holding her up to my face and hollering out "Kiss!" in my perkiest voice, and she made the connection. She started giving me kisses! It's sooooo stinkin' sweet.

I saw the movie "He's Just Not That Into You." Brittany and I hit up the District this past Friday and caught that movie before we went home for the night. This is a GREAT GREAT GREAT movie. It focuses on how stupid we girls are. And seriously girls, we're just not that bright sometimes. If you haven't seen this movie, you need to. It's a requirement.

V-Day. The day the rest of America distributes flowers and cards and candy and looks longingly in their lover's eyes and whisper "I love you..." It's a time honored tradition and every house in America does it.... Except ours. Craig embraces the "Bah-Hum-Bug" spirit every February. Apparently Valentine's Day was created specifically to piss him off. All of the card and candy manufacturer's in the nation got together and figured out that if they really wanted to ruffle Craig's feathers, then this was the best way to do it. And thus we do not celebrate V-day. It's practically a curse word in our house and we have never celebrated it. This year, although no gifts were exchanged, we did go to the church's Valentine's banquet. It was held at Salsa Leedos and there was buffet style food, games, and prizes. Craig won a lovely pair of red silk boxers and a bottle of engine degreaser and I won some raspberry shower gel. We also had alot of fun playing the Newly Wed game with 3 other couples. It was at this point in the evening that I was forced to admit to my church congregation that I want bigger boobs. Nice. After dinner there was everyone's favorite dessert (cheesecake) and then we head on home. The rest of the night is a secret ... except that I will say we put his new silk boxers and my new shower gel to good use. Oh and the degreaser too.....

There ya go. Now you're all caught up. So now I have a question for you... I mentioned before that Craig and I have a special date night once a month. I have this month's activity covered already but it's getting harder and harder to think of activities to do. So if you have ideas about fun, and special activities we can do together I wanna hear 'em!

Surprise!! More Pictures!

2009-02-04T09:06:00.008-07:00

Most people have exciting updates about their lives by now. Most people do things that are interesting. And all but the most boring people have stories to tell. Not me. I have absolutely no update. Should I be worried about the implications of that? Am I *gasp* boring?........Yup.

What I do have is more pictures to share. Surprise, Surprise.

London LOVES bath time.

See? Told ya so.

This is an ancient Mayan something-or-other that Craig took a picture of in the Chicago museum last year.
A big ole tractor. I miss home.

A very rustic barn. Fabulous.

Craig wading through the jungles of Logan on our 4th Anniversary.

King of the Hill.

This was a lovely little fountain behind our Bed and Breakfast in Logan.

This was the rose they gave me on Mother's Day when we had London dedicated.

The mis-shapen bird at Liberty Park. See his wing? Ouch. Bless it.

I just can't believe there's a little person in that belly. This picture almost makes me want to get pregnant again. Almost.

More Pictures!

2009-01-28T12:36:00.005-07:00

I wish I had some witty and intelligent joke to say here. Or some sort of outraged political ramblings... but I don't. So without further ado....feast your eyes on my Utah family.

Just Pictures!

2009-01-06T20:51:00.003-07:00

Tagged!

2009-01-06T11:32:00.004-07:00

I got "tagged" by Ashli. Since I am forced by law to adhere to the strict code of conduct inscribed in the Blog book of Law, I must respond.

Here is my "I" Meme (by the way, does anyone actually know what a meme is?).

I am - currently holding my daughter
I want - my family to always be safe and happy.
I have - a clear understanding of right and wrong. Even if I don't always comply.
I miss - Home.
I fear - for the future of the world. What have we become? And failing. I also fear failing.
I hear - a jabbering baby and a whining dog. Sweet sweet sounds.
I search - for spiritual peace. I firmly believe you should never be "comfortable" in your relationship with Jesus. You should constantly be reaching for higher ground. If your comfortable, you're doing something wrong.
I wonder - what kind of woman London will be.
I regret - not returning Greg's phone calls.
I love - Craig and London above anything else. (other than God)
I forgive - This one's a secret. I'm still working on it.
I ache - for innocence. I grieve the loss of it, both in me and those I love.
I always - know the ends of movies before they happen. It's a curse.
I try - to consistently update my blog. I really do.
I seem - aloof. Or so I've been told. But really I'm just .... reflective.
I know - that I'm not alone.
I feel - small and insignificant in an over crowded and miraculous universe.
I dance - rarely.
I dream - all the time. Day or night makes no matter. It's part of being reflective.
I give - freely. Too much in my husband's opinion.
I listen - thoroughly. I like to know the inside of your mind.
I sing - CONSTANTLY. Deal with it.
I laugh - alot. If I laugh really hard then it turns into the awful breathless wheezing sound.
I can't - carry a tune. But it don't stop me from trying.
I cry - sometimes. Crying can be therapeutic and healthy.
I sleep - more than Craig so I have no room to complain.
I am - grateful to Craig for the sacrifices he makes for his family.
I see - a good life stretching out before me.
I need -Need??? I need nothing.
I should - be spending my time in a more productive manner.

Okay, if you've read this, consider yourself tagged. So HA!

Ouch! Someone Stepped On My Toes!

2008-12-23T14:24:00.006-07:00

I received a comment on my "Tall Tales" blog post today that stepped on my toes. It was from an anonymous user who had this to say....

Anonymous said...
Great blog but.....Don't you have other nieces and nephews that may feel left out because you don't write about them? Need a bigger blog to include all family.

Unfortunately this comment is accurate! And because it's accurate, it stepped on my toes! Now, in my defense I am the proud owner of 12 nieces and nephews and an infant. So when I do have time to blog, I blog about whatever pops into my head at that particular moment so someone is bound to be left out. Turns out I'm human. Dang it. Unfortunately humanity is no excuse to leave anyone of my sweet lil ones out.... sooooo... Here's a few more for you....

I've already told you about Hailee and Tyler, so we're skipping those kiddos.

Holly is my niece. She's OLDER than me (hehe) so we were raised more like sisters. One of the things I'm going to miss about this Christmas is that every Christmas morning I would call Holly's house and we would trade "what did you get?" stories. And of course these calls always happened long before the sun came up. Another tidbit is that we used to cheat.... I would sneak around and find out what Holly was getting for Christmas and she would sneak around and find out what I was getting and then we'd tell each other.... Sorry Holly. The cat is out of the bag!

Gregg. Gregg passed away a month before I got married. He was in a car accident and died on July 15th 2004. He was Holly's brother and also raised like a brother to me. Holly and I used to bully him into playing barbie dolls with us and I hung that over his head long into adulthood. We also used to go outside Mama's house when we were little and play on a big tree in the holler that had vines on it. We called it "The Mother Tree," and the field that it was in was the "Magical Field of Clover." Yeah we were weird kids.

Justin. I have a couple of stories about him. Most of them make HIM look bad, but since I am a good person, I'll tell the story that makes me look like the little devil. The balloon story. Ug. What was I thinking? Okay, here's the story. One year for Mother's Day, Mama got a flower arrangement that had a pink helium balloon, a blue helium balloon, and a foil helium balloon. Justin was living with us at the time so Mama gave Justin the blue balloon and she gave me the pink balloon. She kept the foil balloon for herself because (it being the fanciest) she knew we'd fight over it. I was probably around 7 and Justin was probably 3 or 4. So Justin and I go outside with our brand new balloons and we just stood there in the front yard gazing at the sky. It's at this point that I think... I wonder how far up this balloon will go if I let loose of the string. So I did. Turns out that a helium balloon just keeps on goin'. It doesn't actually stop. It's probably still goin. This is where I go nuts. I turn to Justin, who is looking at me like I'm a dang fool, and I announce "You let go of my balloon!" He denies it of course because he just witnessed me liberating the balloon myself, so I go running into the house crying (real live wet no-foolin' tears) and demand that Mama give me Justin's balloon since he sent mine into orbit. Well with Justin denying it and me swearing to it, Mama did the only thing she could. She took away Justin's balloon didn't give me a balloon and no one had any balloons until someone fessed up. A few days later I came clean and Justin got the shiny foil balloon, but I've always felt bad for that.

Judith. I was about 12 or 13ish when Judith entered the picture. I remember babysitting her and playing with her. She'd be laughing and gooing and having a grand ole time and out of no where the bugger just puked all over me. This was not a one time incident. She was the pukenest kid I'd ever met. She nailed me just about every time she saw me, and she smiled all the way through it. As she got older she was hilarious because she had a mean older brother (Justin) who would get her good and scared of the weirdest things. I remember one time telling her I wanted to take her out in the yard and pick flowers with me and she started shrieking and hollering and crying and all but exploding. Turns out that Justin had informed her that flowers bite and sting you and the poor girl was terrified. She's not 4 anymore. She's in 8th grade now. That's nuts. There's no way that I'm that old. She's gorgeous and her most recent obsession is Twilight. (isn't that everyone's though?) She will be having another stinkin birthday this January. Where does the time go?

Sarah. Sarah is the spawn of my brother Andrew. She came along about a week after Judith did so I have many Sarah babysitting memories as well. Mama used to take care of Sarah and her sister (Hannah) during the day, so when I came home from school in the evening I would see two little girls racing down the driveway (and Mama's driveway is comparable to the Trail of Tears in terms of length). Then we would go inside that she'd force feed me the Barney movie over and over and over and over. To this day, I hold a serious grudge against Barney. I also remember playing a game with Sarah that I made up one day to occupy her until her parents got home. I called it "Boo!" It's basically Hide and Seek except I was ALWAYS hiding and they were ALWAYS seeking. I found some out of the way place to hide in the house and then they'd come look for me 5 minutes later, after they'd figured out how to count to 10. Once they got within arms length of my hidey hole I'd reach out and grab them and scream "BOOOOOO!!!" And they'd be off like little tornadoes and screaming like sirens. Then she'd make me repeat the process until she tired of it. (Judith never really got into this game with me, but when the poor girl's scared of flowers you can imagine the effect this game would have on her! )She's also having a birthday in January.

Hannah. This is Sarah's younger sister. Cutest story ever about this kid. One balmy summer night I taught Sarah and Hannah to catch lightning bugs to pass the time. My technique was always to raise your hand up from under their bodies so they'd be forced to land on your hands. After I taught them how to do it, I went to sit on the front porch to watch. A few minutes later I saw that little Hannah had caught one! I was very proud of her! Then I saw what she did next, which is what most 3 year olds would have done I suppose. She ate it. Yup. Chewed it up and everything. And I, of course, was laughing WAY too hard to stop her. Eventually she figured out that it didn't taste as good as it looked so she spit it out and went right on after the next poor little bug.

Isaac. I have SUCH a sweet story about him. He was a member of our wedding party 4 years ago. He and Tyler carried the Bible and the Wedding Rings. After the wedding, during the reception, he walked right up to me and Craig, yanked me down to his level and stared Craig right in the eyes. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO MARRY HIM!" said little Isaac, eyes never leaving Craig. When I asked him why, he informed me that Craig was going to take me away and he wouldn't see me again. Of course he waited till AFTER the ceremony to tell me this so I explained to him that it was too late, but that I would come back and see him as often as I could. This STILL makes my heart ache. You'll be happy to know that he's forgiven his Uncle Craig and they're good buddies now.

Gavin. Craig likes to call him Gav-dog. I have no idea why. Gavin is Holly and Brad's youngest. He made his appearance in June of 2002. Gavin is a player. Seriously. This past year, he informed me that he had 6 girlfriends....AT ONCE. I asked him if the girls knew about each other and he said yup. They all knew that he had many little girlfriends and one of them had even kissed him on the cheek. But none of the girls cared that they weren't the one and only because apparently Gavin is a real catch. They were happy just to bask in his glow. Holly is going to have her hands FULL. And the girls in his grade too!! Poor girls.

I have stories about Abby and Ally as well, but I'm going to hold off on Abby and Ally stories because the are COMING INTO TOWN TODAY!!! I plan on having a million Abby and Ally stories the next time I make a post so I'm holding out on that one.

I've already given you a couple of Tyler and Hailee stories... Soooo I think that has everyone covered.

To "Anonymous" I would like to say this..... Thank you for pointing that out. This blog is meant to do alot of things, but it is not meant to hurt feelings. I would also like to add that if you're a member of my family (which I assume you are) your a coward for not listing your name. I'm sure I have embarrassing stories that I can share about you too (Espically if you are who I think you are.... Are you in McMinnville perhaps???) !!!

As this will likely be my last pre-Christmas entry... Have a WONDERFUL Christmas!!

Christmas TIme

2008-12-19T09:10:00.005-07:00

Christmas is less than a week away and although every Christmas is certainly special, this particular Christmas ushers in a new beginning in our house. Christmas becomes magic once again with a set of little baby eyes and little baby hands and all sorts of little baby giggles to make our hearts happy and light. Pure unadulterated innocence and happiness will brighten our house with the true spirit of Christmas once more. If only for a day, there will be no hurt feelings, no global warming, no crashing economy, no leaky cars, no labor, no debt, no grudges, no....burdens. Only family and peace and the celebration of the coming of life that is Jesus. If only for a moment, everything will be right in my world.

Tall Tales and Other Tidbits

2008-12-15T15:30:00.004-07:00

I spoke to my sister/niece, Holly, on the phone today and it began a series of memories from my Thanksgiving Tennessee trip. Let me tell you a few things that made me smile...

Daddy. Ah Daddy. Daddy is full of poop. Up to his eye balls. Daddy doesn't talk all that much. Which is good I suppose, because you can't trust a single thing that man says. He does make you smile though. Here's an example....

Daddy: Becky, did I tell you about them Johnson's that live across the holler?

Me: Nope, what about them?

Daddy: Well with all these money problems goin' on everybody's up a creek. Well them Johnson's over there have 6 youngins and their plum broke so they've been trying to find ways to save money. Turns out they've been feedin' them kids dog food!

Me: Yeah right Daddy, how'd you find that out?

Daddy: Well everybody knows about it. Somebody called Child Services on them

'cause them dang kids kept on a barking and a chasin cars!

At this point in the story Daddy squeezes his eyes shut and laughs and laughs. And so does everyone else.

Another thing I remember is sweet Hailee. Absolutely adorable child. She's two. She is my niece and the daughter of a preacher so she knows a thing or two about praying. One day while I was there Hailee notices a sore on Mama's leg.

Hailee: Uh-oh! Grandma's got a boo boo!

Daddy: Well why don't you say a little prayer for it?

Hailee: Cause I don't care.

And she didn't. To this day no one prayed for poor Mama's little boo boo. Poor Mama.

I have a nephew there named Tyler (10 years old) who got to spend the night with me one night. That night I took his brother, Gavin (6 years old), and him to the Dollar Store and told them I would give them each $5 to spend however they wanted. So, of course, as soon as we walk in Tyler and Gavin make a nose dive for the toy isle.

Tyler: Look at this gun Becky! It's got real live bullets!

Me: Yeah I see that. That's a pretty cool toy, but that one's 8 dollars and you only have 5.

Tyler: Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I decided I'm going to make you a deal.

Me: I see, and what's the deal?

Tyler: You give me 8 dollars.

Wow. What a deal. How could I pass up an opportunity like that? Of course at this point I'm laughing hysterically at them and he and Gavin get their 8 dollars. The kicker? Tyler didn't even get that gun. As I left to go back to Utah a few days later, Tyler gave me a good-bye hug and informed me that next time he would make me a deal for $10. I swear that kid has Business Major written all over him.

And for my final though I'll leave you with the latest and greatest picture.

P.S. ... London got her first tooth on Saturday!

P.S.S. ... Please go to www.craiggreenwood.com and look at Craig's November 21st journal entry. There's a poetry challenge there that everyone should be sure to take part in!

Home Again, Home Again

2008-12-14T16:15:00.011-07:00

Hello all! Yup, as usual...I'm late. Better late than never though. I had a fantastic trip to Tennessee. We were there for two weeks and London was solid gold. I really do have a very laid back child. I'm quite spoiled. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to tell you about every little thing that happened on my trip, but I will share some pictures with you and throw out a few tidbits along the way...

This is London's VERY FIRST SUCKER!! Awwww. It was messy but she was in sugar heaven.

London's very first "sink bath." The sink bath is like a right of passage for all the Cantrell babies. There are pictures of us all in that sink. I like this picture because it's focused on the water drops instead of on London with gives it a cool effect I think.

This picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day. That's Holly in the middle and Hailee to her left and London on the right. Notice the little matching outfits. Awww again!

Cutest picture ever. Papa and London and knocked OUT. Papa loved his cuddle time with London. This was not an uncommon picture.

Settle down psycho moms... No my child is NOT drinking cow's milk prior to 1 year old. Okay here's the story. Apparently when I was a baby I enjoyed playing with empty milk jugs. Mama and Daddy would pop a baby nipple on the front and then let me just go to town with this empty jug. There are pictures of me as a child doing this and so Daddy decided to whip out an empty milk jug and do it again for London. This was the result.

Mommy, Daddy, and Baby. Do you notice anything missing in this picture? I'll give you a hint... It's not on Craig's face.

Aww.. I love this picture. We set London and Hailee outside in the leaves to get a couple of pictures of them together and Hailee decided she just wanted to give London a big ole hug! This picture was taken about 2 seconds before London gave up trying to hold Hailee's weight and got a mouthful of leaves.

London's very first cracker! She's a pro!

I love this picture! Doesn't Aunt Jan look like she's about to eat my daughter? And London couldn't be happier about it!

Aunt Brenda and London both looking Pretty in Pink.

Aunt Judy and London getting in some snuggle time.

Love this picture! Isn't that just the cutest little fro you ever did see?

This is my sister Toni. She really hates to smile for the camera so I consider myself lucky to have such a good shot of her.

Toni's husband, Greg. He's like 10 feet tall. But a teddy bear. Shh... Don't tell him I said so.

This is my brother Tim Tim the Preacher man. I was lucky enough to see him preach twice while I was in Tennessee. He tried his durndest to stomp on my toes during the sermon (he's not a fan of Twilight). But my favorite thing he said was "Pray for those people with stupid excuses not to come to church today." He he he.

My sister Tena and I. Aren't we hot?

Solo picture of Tena being all cutsey.

My neice, Sarah.

My mommy giving her trademark crooked smile. And no it's not crooked because of the stroke she had. She's always had a lopsided smile. It gives her character.

My niece, Judith.

My nephew, Isaac.

My sister, Holly.

My niece, Hannah.

Hannah again.

Back: Sarah, Hannah, Judith.

Front: Hailee

My nephew Gavin.

Me and Gavin in the car.

Hailee and her mama.

My sister, Jaime.

My niece, Hailee

And Hailee again.

These last pictures are the result of me with free time and a camera...

Tennessee Countdown

2008-11-10T08:48:00.002-07:00

As all of you probably know, Utah is not my home. Not really. I'm a Tennessean through and through and one week from now, then southern bell is goin' home! I can't wait! London and I are flying down on the 17th and Craig will follow us on the 26th. Whip out the crayolas and color me tickled pink! I.Can.Not.Wait. In honor of my homecoming, I thought you guys might be interested in some little known Tennessee facts...

Items invented in TN....

Mountain Dew..Yes Craig, Mountain Dew. This is the ultimate reason that Tennessee is better than all other states.

Piggly Wiggly.. Ahh "The Pig". This was the very first "self-serve" grocery store. Up until this time, customers brought in a shopping list and handed it to the grocer to do all the gathering, resulting in a monumental waste of time.

Moon Pie.. I don't particularly like Moon Pie, but it's classic Americana nonetheless.

Miniature Golf.. The first miniature golf course was built in Chattanooga and was located atop Lookout Mountain. It was originally called Tom Thumb Golf.

Krystal Hamburgers.. I cannot put into words how upset I am that there aren't any Krystals in Utah. These are seriously the best burgers ever. Last Christmas Craig and I had a Krystal-eating contest. I think I made it to 5 or 6 before I quit. Craig made it to 10 or 12. Yes, he is the Krystal eating King.

I can't wait to go home.

Baby Boot Camp

2008-11-07T08:40:00.003-07:00

London had her 6 month well check yesterday. I'm so proud of her, she was a champion! She weighs 17.3 lbs. That's as much as some 12 months old. She's in the 70th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height. Her BMI is 16.6 % body fat. Babies are healthy as long as they're under 26% body fat. She's far from that so he explained that her weight is due to her height and not obesity. I believe the word he used to describe her was... "Perfect." That's a smart doctor!

After the doctor got done with her, we had our shots. She had 4 shots this time, I don't think I've ever seen her cry so hard over anything, ever. BUT she recovered quite quickly. As soon as I picked her up, she began calming down. Five minutes later, she was laughing at her baby doll. That's my little trooper. My big brave girl. Craig and I also got our flu shots. There was much less crying for us though.

We do have one small problem with our little hero. She refuses to sleep through the night. She used to. We used to swaddle her before we put her down and she would sleep for 12 hours straight. 2 months ago we stopped swaddling her because we didn't want her to become dependant on it. She hasn't slept the night all the way through since then. According to Dr. Lei (and I trust him) she doesn't actually want a bottle in the middle of the night when she wakes up. She just wants mommy. She's obviously NOT going to starve if you don't get up for the midnight feedings, so his suggestion? Baby Boot Camp. He said he did it to his son and he's recommended it for many parents and he's never had a parent, who actually followed through with it, dissatisfied. It's not a difficult concept. The rules are not hard to learn. There's no fiery hoops to jump through. It works like this : Let her cry. Period. That's all you got to do. Once she realizes Mommy and Daddy are not coming to sooth her, she'll learn how to sooth herself. Of course I hate to let my daughter cry but this isn't a new concept for us. We had to do this when she was very young and we were teaching her to sleep in her crib instead of with me. It worked then, and guess what? It worked last night too. Craig put her down about 8:30, which is normal bedtime for our little monster, and she woke up complaining this morning about 2ish. She complained and cried for a good hour but after that, I didn't hear from her until about 8 am. She's normally been waking up at 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and any other time she chooses. But after she realized I wasn't coming this time, she slept the rest of the night through. There is light at the end of the tunnel !

In other news... Obama won the election. I didn't vote for him. I don't know anyone who did vote for him, but then again I live in Utah. Obviously somebody did though. However, you'll get no pouting . This is the price we pay for a democracy. Majority rules and it just so happens that this time, I was not in the majority. I could fuss and whine and complain, but I believe in democracy too much to do that. So.... since there's nothing I can do about it. I am now announcing my conversion as a loyal Obamaist (however I withhold the right to disagree with his policies.). So there.

After that sad note, you need a picture to cheer you up don't you? Don't you? I thought so. Here you go!

Halloween Wrap Up

2008-11-04T10:38:00.004-07:00

Halloween has come and gone and since I am possibly the slowest person on the planet, I have yet to make my Halloween post. So here it is.

Halloween night, Craig, London, and myself enjoyed a scary movie night at home. Gotta have the scary movies on Halloween, right? We watched: Dark Water, Silent Hill, and The Messengers (which has the chick who will be playing Bella on the new Twilight movie coming out this month. Is anyone out there not excited about that?). Craig and I had purchased 4 bags of candy for the little trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood. Turns out we underestimated the little monsters. I had to go back out at 7 pm and buy 4 more bags of candy. Thankfully, that got us through the night with some to spare. The next day, I got London all decked out in her little bat costume one last time and got our official Halloween pictures for this year. Enjoy !

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere but Not a Bite to Eat

2008-10-30T11:58:00.010-06:00

Thursday. Finally. One day left until the blessed weekend. No I am not daft. I do realize that I am a stay at home mom. So why would I be excited about the weekend, you wonder? Craig. I go all day long with my oh-so-beautiful little girl (who hasn't quite grasped the concept of conversation yet, thus making her a less than ideal companion in that regard.) and I get a tad lonely. Not just an "anyone-will-do" type of lonely. It's more of the "must-have-my-best-friend-husband" kind of lonely. So therefore I'm aching for the weekend just like the rest of you. Thankyouverymuch.

However, the week nights are not without their charm. Last night Craig, myself, and London carved pumpkins! Well.. London took more of a supervisory role. Strike that. Let's be honest. She lay on the floor and played with her toes all night. She's trying her darnedest to get them things in her mouth. She's only 5 months old and she's not allowed to play with knives so what's a little girl to do? In spite of her lack of enthusiasm for our project, Mom and Dad had a great time!

This is my pumpkin before I killed it. Poor lil punkin. On a side note I would like to say that all the pumpkins you are about to see were grown in our very own garden by none other than Craig the Man.

Pumpkin guts a la Craig. Yummmm...

There's me. Shovin stuff in that big ole mouth again. This only confirmed my belief that pumpkins do NOT taste good and their only purpose in life is to die by carving.

My poor little pumpkin got sick and threw up. Ever wonder what pumpkin vomit looks like? Now you know.

Is that Craig using power tools on a pumpkin, you ask. Why yes. Yes it is.

It was about this time that I got done with my pumpkin. I'm speedy. So with nothing to do, I made faces at the camera. Boy, ain't I a looker?

This is my finished work of art. Craig thinks it's the Grim Reaper. I just thought it was a skeleton with a hood on cause it was raining or something. Whatever she is, she's beautiful. Her name is Boney. Speaking of skeletons, here's a joke for you.... Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? Give up? Because she didn't have the GUTS!! Har har har!! Want another one? Okay , if you insist... Why didn't the skeleton go to town? She didn't have any BODY to go with!! Get it?? Get it?? I kill me.

This is Craig still working on his pumpkin.

Still working.

Yup. Still working.

Done! Obviously all that extra time Craig spent on his pumpkin was not wasted. Feast your eyes on the most amazing Jack-o-Lantern ever! To my knowledge Craig has not named this little ghost, so I will do the honers. This is Smiley.

This is our little pumpkin family. Daddy punkin, Mama punkin, and wittle baby punkin... Awww.. The little one in the middle was one I made for London while I was waiting for Craig to get done with his. That's right folks, I did two to his one. Not that I'm bragging or anything. London's pumpkin is named.... Mervis. Yup. Mervis.

Those are all the pumpkin carving pictures I have for you, but don't worry I do have more Halloween Party Pictures!

Craig and I... Aren't we just the image of loveliness?

This is Jesse (I think). I believe she was dressed up as Ozzy.

This is Tyson, aka Howling Moon the ware wolf. If you've read Eddie's blog, you know he was our killer for the evening. Don't worry. He's currently locked up in a maximum security prison in the jungles of Brazil. Until the next full moon that is..*evil chuckle*

This is Anita. She was Dr Jekyll/Ms Hyde. All those red dots on her is where Brittany the vampire bit her. Yup. You heard it here first. Brittany Bites.

This is Chad the Zombie. He's obviously day dreaming about his next murderous meal.

That's it for the Halloween pictures folks. There was also a Witch present, but she was camera shy. She kept on jumping on her broom stick and flying off every time I got close with my camera... Ah well.. Maybe next time.

You didn't think I'd let you get away without seeing my beautiful baby did you? Of course not!

Sorry Guys!

2008-10-28T21:54:00.009-06:00

A month has come and gone I have allowed myself to be swept up in the commotion of life. For that I am sorry. I could try and go back to update you on all the events of my little Greenwood clan, but I won't. Honestly that's just too much work. But I will say that I will try and commit more time to keeping you updated in the future.

As for now, I have pictures... Surprise! Surprise! The short story is that Craig, London, and myself went to a Halloween extravaganza a-la-Eddie and Brittany on Friday. If you want to know more details on that, please visit Eddie's blog. He explains the night splendidly.

Brittany the Vampire.

Craig (aka Jason) and London the little bat.

Swamp Thing (Mike) choking the Mummy (Destiny). Does that work? Can you kill a mummy that's already been dead for a couple thousand years?

Frankenstein. I think Frank's real name is George, but I could be wrong about that. That was the first night I'd met him and I am awful with names. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry!

Rachelle the Ghost. Looking a little sad in this picture. Poor ghost.

Eddie the Pumpkin Head. His character was supposed to be nice and nerdy but this was the scariest costume there I think. If I were going to give a "best costume" award, it would have to be this one.

Destiny the Mummy. She was our murder victim for the evening.

This is Martha. You can't tell it from the picture, but she was a spider. A very clever costume involving pantyhose a belt and an Afro wig created by her loving husband.

That's all the Halloween pictures I have for now folks. I have plenty more to sort through so I'll try to post some later. There are plenty of people who attended the party that I didn't post a picture of yet.

I do have some more pictures though! For those of you starving for your London dose of the day... here you go!

Here are some other random pictures. Enjoy, and have a lovely Hump Day.

Happy Tuesday!

2008-09-23T09:17:00.003-06:00

Hello Friends! I don't have time to make you a long post right now, but I took some pictures of my little angel last night that I think turned out lovely. What do you think?

I just love that kid.

On a Lighter Note

2008-09-15T15:17:00.009-06:00

Now that I've gotten THAT off my chest.... Let me catch you up with a few events going on at our house.

Craig and I have tried our hands at Geocaching. We've gone hunting for about 5 or 6 different geocaches but so far we've only found 2. Here's a picture of me with our first find.

This past week London learned how to pick up her toys and hold on to them all by herself. By this point I think she has shoved every single one of her toys in her mouth.

London stands alone! In all fairness I'm pretty sure she was leaning against the couch, but I'm still proud of her leg strength!

The following are pictures of LONDON'S FIRST MEAL!!

This is London (im)patiently awaiting her first meal.

What the heck is this? This doesn't taste like formula....

This isn't so bad...

Yumm!

I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

All gone? Shucks.

The rest of these are just pictures for the sake of pictures. Enjoy!!

My Righteous Soapbox

2008-09-15T12:07:00.003-06:00

Warning! I have had my little female toes stepped on and I am climbing up on my soap box to fuss about it for the remainder of this post.

Saturday night Craig and myself went to the Utah State Fair (along with London). We had a fantastic time, but among the smell of rotesary chicken candied apples, and burgers frying on a grill, I found myself disturbed and my moral outrage threatened to spoil my good time. Everywhere I looked were children dressed like hookers. Breasts were all but fully visible to anyone who cared to ogle. These 13 year old children were eating this attention up. They peered at their little boyfriends with a heavy lidded sensuous gazes and leaned forward just enough to give them a better view and ensure they had their full attention. They truly loved being a sex object and I felt like I had unwittingly brought my family to a cat house. However, my outrage is not fully directed at the half-clad children. The majority of it goes to our society and ultimately their parents.

Who bought these children those clothes? Who let their little girl walk around in shorts the size of underwear and low-cut, barely-there, see-through shirts? Who allows them to walk around in tube tops and thongs riding up their backs like a lady of the night looking for her next customer? Their parents. We allow our kids to dress like this and then we're surprised when their pregnant, raped, abducted, or murdered. It's like hanging a neon sign above their heads that says "Prey On Me!!" We have a responsibility to protect our children from themselves and from the perverse scum of the world who would take them captive, and we're obviously failing.

Okay ladies pay close attention here.... We can NOT dress like we're begging for sexual attention and then whine because of the way men look at us. If we act like a sex object, we've lost all right to complain when we're treated as one. And Mothers... If you yourself dress like a whore then a whore is all your little girl will ever aspire to be. Protect your children. Love them enough to tell them no sometimes.

London Gets Shot

2008-09-12T08:37:00.002-06:00

Last night my perfect, beautiful, sweet daughter got her 4 month shots. London truly did fantastic. She certainly cried a bit when they gave her the shot but she was smiling by the time we got her home.

I'm afraid Mama didn't come out quite so well. It broke my heart and I was dreading it all day long. I cried before we ever got to the doctor's office. I would have taken the pain for her a hundred times over if I could have. Unfortunatly that wasn't an option. This time was far worse than her 2 month shots (for me). I held up much better for the first ones. This is going to sound absolutely horrible, but it's because I love her more now than I did when she was two months old. It's horrible but it's true. And I have no doubt that I will love her more when she is 6 months than I love her now. Every day it becomes harder and harder to imagine life before her and she finds yet another way to endear herself to me. Just when I thought it was utterly impossible to lover her more, I find that I do. It's quite sappy really.

Her current weight is 15 lbs 2 oz!! She's in the 85th percentile for weight, height, and for her head circumference. So she's a big baby but at least she's proportional. I also learned she's teething. I have suspected it for some time but last night the doctor confirmed it. My days with her perfect little gummy smile is numbered and my days with a sweet snaggle toothed grin are fast approaching. My baby is growing up.

Today I am starting her on rice. She will be taking it mixed in with her milk to ease her into it and then tomorrow she will be given it from a bowl. She will be using a spoon for the first time in her life. I've already brought down the highchair from the closet. I'm very excited about this! Babies are so cute (but messy) when they're learning to eat. So many picture opportunities!

Thank you for listening to the ranting of a very proud Mama!

My Thoughts...

2008-09-10T10:14:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I asked you for your thoughts on the government employee's insurance situation in Alabama. Here are my thoughts on this one....

When I first read this article, I must admit I was utterly horrified. How dare they make a difference between their "obese" employees and their "normal" employees?! I am technically considered obese and I have no health problems whatsoever. But then I took a step back from my soapbox and looked at the situation as objectively as possible.

Obesity does very often lead to serious health problems which leads to the inflation of health insurance premiums. From a purely business-minded perspective, I can see how they landed on this. I can see how giving an incentive to become healthier is a positive goal and some deep dark corner of my mind believes it's a good idea.

After I came to this point in my thought process, I switched gears again. There are obese people out there whose obesity is beyond their control. Sometimes it's due to medication, sometimes due to a thyroid condition or perhaps some digestive difficulties. I realize it is probably the minority of obese people, but those people are out there. What about those who are severely underweight? This leads to prolonged hospitalization and sometimes death. If we're going to pick on the weight issue, let's look at both ends of the spectrum. Do we only mention the obese people because our society has brainwashed us into hating fat and finding it disgusting?

Many people with weight problems overeat purely from depression. Will singling them out motivate them to get healthy, or will it just make them even more depressed and thus the vicious cycle goes on? This seems a bit counter productive. In this situation you still end up with obese employees, only now they also need therapy. Fantastic.

So what's the best way to go about this, without trampling all over our civil liberties?
Here's my suggestion. Instead of saying that the insurance premium is $0.00 unless you are obese, in which case it's $25, why don't we flip it. The healthy premium is $25 unless you pass a physical (which would look at your overall health and not only pick on weight). If you pass your physical, we will give you a $25 discount. That way your not singling out anyone and it isn't a negative incentive, it's a positive one. It's pretty much the same situation, but it's got a different spin on it. It seems to me that the reception for this deal would be much warmer.

Craig suggested having the government regulate what food is available to us. If it doesn't meet certain health criteria then we are forbidden to produce it. He says that in the end we are consumers and we will consume whatever is put before us. I would be all over this idea except I'm far too concerned that if we give the government a toehold in this area then the government will just get bigger and bigger and we can kiss our civil liberties good-bye.

On a side note... The government of Japan has passed a law this year stating that a man's waistline must be no more than 33.5 inches and a woman's waistline must not exceed 35.4 inches. The failure to meet these requirements will result in financial penalty. Can you imagine a waist measurement as part of an employment application process? Is this the direction we are headed? Do we really want to go there?

Tell Me Your Thoughts....

2008-09-09T10:37:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I came across an article at SparkPeople.com and I have copied and pasted it here...

__________________________________________________________________
Alabama state workers who are obese have one year to slim down—or they'll have to start paying for health insurance.

Beginning in 2010, Alabama, the second-heaviest state in the U.S., will start charging $25 a month if its 37,000 employees don't submit to free health screenings. (Smokers are already charged $24 a month, and that will increase to $25.) Alabama will be the first state to charge workers for being overweight. The health insurance is ordinarily free. According to the Associated Press:

"If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow-up screening, they won’t be charged. But if they don’t, they must pay starting in January 2011."

Some other facts to ponder:

There 45.7 million people in the country are without health insurance.Obesity rates are up in 37 states, and at least 20% percent of adults are obese in every state except Colorado.

Should obese employees be penalized financially? Is Alabama acting a bit too much like Big Brother?
__________________________________________________________________

Okay you guys all know I'm kinda diet obsessed right now, so I find this article very interesting
Please, tell me what you think.

Mill Creek Canyon

2008-09-05T13:02:00.009-06:00

Craig and I recently went up Mill Creek Canyon to take some pictures. I realize have been lax in sharing stories with you (other than my weigh in posts) , so I'm trying to make up for it... here are the Mill Creek photos.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that photo. Ain't she sweet?

The next pictures were taken while we were fishing at Daybreak last week.

These last three pictures were taken just cause London was being especially adorable that day.

Good Times

2008-09-05T09:56:00.010-06:00

This past Monday Craig surprised me with a trip to Anniversary Inn for our 4th anniversary. We went to the Logan location which was special because neither of us had ever been to Logan before.

So here's the play by play...

Monday morning we got little London ready for Grandma and Grandpa's house ( Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for watching my little monkey for the night). After we got London ready we packed up our bags and packed up baby Kai and hit the road (another special thanks, this time to Eddie and Brittany for taking care of Kai that night -- sorry about your sunflowers!). We dropped off Kai first, it was raining and Apollo was outside awaiting Kai's arrival. As we left I saw the two pups playing together outside in all that rain and I knew they'd have a blast. I did not envy Eddie and Brittany. I've smelled Kai after he's gotten rained on and it ain't pretty.

After dropping off Kai, we took London to Grandma's house and dropped her off. This time mommy did NOT cry. I truly do hate leaving her though. Here's our goodbye picture...

Isn't she just the cutest kid you ever did see? At three months old she has enough hair to hold in a hair clip... I'm just so proud of that. This kid's perfect. Look at those adorable lips... Perfect.

After dropping off the little stinker Craig and I went to Applebee's to enjoy a nice meal before we hit the road. I had a mini chicken rancher, bbq wings and a quesidilla tower. Oh, and a REAL coke too! Told you I cheated. Yum. After lunch we hit the road. At this point I knew we were going to Logan but I didn't know exactly where. Craig kept proudly boasting that we would be staying in the Motel 6. Oddly enough, I didn't believe him. After nearly 2 hours in the car he pulled up to our bed and breakfast... The Anniversary Inn. I was VERY excited. I knew the concept behind the Inn but I had never stayed in anything like it before. I was VERY excited. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to check in until 5 pm so we had some time to kill. So back on the road we went. After just a little bit of wandering, we landed at a local public farm... I really liked this place, I was in picture heaven... here are some of the shots.

I don't know anything about this tractor other than it's old and big and I thought it would make a cool picture. The back wheel is as tall as Craig.

Here's a picture of Craig just cause he's cute.

This is a rooster that was floating around the farm with all his wives and concubines. Hens were following this guy around everywhere. I'll call him Solomon.

All of the fences were made of logs like this one. It gave the place a very rustic feeling and also made for good pictures!

Craig found a water pump he liked. We tried to do the whole Helen Keller thing, but the pump was busted, no water was coming out. But Craig sure was trying hard! Push Craig, Push!

I like this picture because it reminds me of home. There are old barns everywhere back home, it's very charming. *Sigh*

This is Craig letting himself into the barn. It was a holiday which meant two things. First off it meant that there were no employees there so there was no one to ask any farm type questions to. It also meant there was no one there to ask permission to do anything so we just did as we wished and went where we pleased. It was very nice.

We found these guys in the garden when we first got there. After we introduced ourselves they followed us around during the rest of our stay. Like little tour guides.

This is Bessie. I don't really know why, but all cows are named Bessie, right?

This is Craig taking a breather. I wore him out. There's just no keeping up with me, I'm a machine! ... Just kidding. Let's be honest, this guy can run circles around me. I posed him here for the picture.

This is one of about three or four ponies they had there. I think she's the prettiest. I'll call her Beckah.

I have no idea who these people are. They just kept following us around the entire time. They were weird. Way weird. Especially that chick. She smelled funny.

Okay, you knew they were coming. Those are my bug pictures. I like that you can see the pollen on the furry little legs of the bees.

This guy was hanging out in the grass in front of our car. I'll call him Lucifer.

After the farm we went to something called the Celebration Center. It's the smallest game room you've ever seen. We played a game of pool and then another of air hockey. Craig creamed me at both games. After that is was FINALLY 5 pm and we could go check in... We were in the Oriental Gardens suite and it was beautiful!!

Everything was decorated in black, red, and gold and the lights cast a soft red hue on everything. I was very romantic. Thank you baby.

That night we went to a place called Hamilton's for dinner. It had a ski lodge feeling about it and was pretty rustic/classy feeling at the same time. It was pretty casual dining and the food was good. The best thing about that dinner was the desert. Oh my Lord, I have never tasted anything so divine. It was a chocolate torte with fresh raspberries and blueberries. It a wonderful thing that the restaurant is so far away. If it were any closer I'd be demanding that dessert all the time. Sinful.

The waiter was nice enough to take a photo for is. Doesn't Craig look cute?

After that we went back to the Inn and enjoyed our evening without having to worry about taking the dog out or putting London to bed. It was fabulous.

The next morning we packed our bags and headed out. Before we left, we found a little waterfall and took a couple of photos.

After that we hit the road. Craig had planned on doing the very exciting Logan Food Tour. Poor Craig. This day did NOT turn out the way he planned. He called ahead and got a pamphlet describing it... Basically about 10 local vendors are involved and you rotate from vendor to vendor to get a behind the scenes look at how they make their product. The first place we went to was the Blue Bird Candy factory. The "tour" consisted of only Craig and myself and I got the distinct impression that they rarely do the tour. They weren't exactly prepared for visitors. However, we did get a tour of their building and got to watch a few of the ladies working on making Billymints. Chocolate mint candies.... here are the pictures.

The first few pictures show how they cover the candy in chocolate by hand. They do it this way because each piece of candy has twice as much chocolate on it as it would have if it were created by machine. They let the chocolate drip from their hands to write the "B" on the top of the Billymints and each piece came out looking very good. The last picture shows the room used to package the boxes of candy. That's a whole lot of chocolate. They ladies there were all VERY nice and they let us try a couple of pieces. We tried a Billymint and a Merry Widow (odd name huh?) and they were both very yummy.

The next 2 places we went to were much less interesting...

The next stop was Cox Honeyland. Sounds like it has potential right? The "tour" consisted of sending us to their warehouse behind the gift shop to watch a 10 minute video created in 1990 by 9 year old kids pretending to be journalists. Seriously. No, I'm serious. They put the video in a tv/vcr (yes it was a VHS tape) combo setting on a long plastic table and set up two folding chairs in front of the TV. The TV was possibly about a 15 inch screen. After the very exciting video we went back to the gift shop and bought a couple of gifts for the family. And that was our tour. A 20 year old video. I was enthralled. Again, the people were all very very nice.

This is the only photo I got because there was nothing else to take a photo of.

The next place we went to was on USU campus and it was the last one we tried. After that we gave up. The brochure advertised that we could taste 30 different flavors of ice cream and get a behind the scenes look at how they make the famous Cache Valley cheese. After some confusion as to what we were talking about they ushered us into a room with a tv and we watched a 9 minute video on how to make cheese. We tasted 2 small pieces of cheese and that was the end of that. It was a life changing experience. This is my memorable photo.

This part of our trip was pretty aggravating. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. I always have fun with Craig and it ended up just very comical. I was aggravated because Craig spent a lot of time and effort trying to find something that would be fun and different and it was just NOT as advertised. No where close. This town must be very desperate for tourism because the advertising on this was just way beyond creative. It was an out and out lie. But, truly, I will never forget it. Overall, this was a wonderfully romantic gift from my husband on our anniversary and I will never forget the time and effort he put into this for me. It's humbling. Thank you Craig. Thank you.

We headed out of time at about 3 pm and we picked up Kai and then on to Grandma and Grandpa's to pick up my darling daughter.

This is mommy getting her hello kisses. When you go to kiss her now, she'll open her mouth real big and plant one right on ya. You usually end up with baby drool on your cheek but it's worth it for the sweetest kisses in town.

And here is Mommy reunited with her little squeaker. I just love that Kid. And her daddy.

Weigh In # 5

2008-09-05T09:43:00.003-06:00

Okay... here we go again...

Before I get started, I need to preface by saying that I cheated this week. HARDCORE. Craig took me out for a little weekend getaway for our anniversary (which I will talk more about in a later post) and I chowed down on sweets, grease, cheese, and pretty much anything fattening that I could get my hands on. It was lovely...

As of August 29th my weight was... 209 lbs.

As of today, September 5th, my weight is... 209 lbs.

I consider this a victory. Here's why... I weighed myself when I got home from my fat food extravaganza (which was Tuesday) and I was 212. I had gained three pounds and I've lost them back since I got home so I'm still going to be happy with that.

I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get a tape measure soon and start counting inches as well. So perhaps next week we'll have some more numbers for you to ponder....

In any case, it's back on the wagon for me this week and right back into those boxing gloves. Tune in next week for another exciting post about my fat rolls!!

Weigh In # 4

2008-08-29T08:36:00.002-06:00

First off, I must start by saying THANK YOU to all the encouragement I've been getting. It really means a lot and knowing that I have to be accountable to you guys at the end of the week really helps keep me going. Thanks.

Special thanks to Eddie, who saw fit to destroy every muscle in my body in the gym last week. And enjoyed doing it. Thanks (?). And to Brittany who puts up with my whining every day as we sweat away the lbs.

Okay, now for what you really want to know...

As of Aug 21st 2008 my weight was... 210 lbs.

As of today my weight is... 209 lbs.

This weeks weight loss ...1 lb.

Just one. Not 2 or 3 or 4 . Not 1 1/2. Just one.

I honestly don't know what happened this week. I was Nazi diet woman and Nazi workout woman. Sunday, again, was the only day I didn't work out and I never cheated on my diet. Not once. Not one single cookie has touched my lips in the past month. Not one single sip of Coca Cola has graced my mouth. I've been rock solid. And still, I lose One Pound. One.
You know what? I'm okay with that. That's still one pound less than I weighed last week. I'm just not going to beat up on myself for this. I know that I did stellar and that sometimes you just hit a plateau and then it passes and you're back on track. Next week will be better.

In other news I bought a new scale this week. It's a smart one. There are little metal plates that you stand on and the scale sends a little electric current through your body. Then it tells you your current weight, your % body fat, your % water, how many lbs of muscle you are and how many calories you are allowed per day to maintain your current weight. See? Smart scale. This will be encouraging because I have other numbers to watch besides my weight. I get to watch my body fat go down and my muscle mass go up and I'm very glad for it.

So, in summary, I have officially been dieting for 1 month. Over the course of one month I've lost 17,5 lbs. Not bad for one month huh?

Weigh In #3

2008-08-21T22:09:00.002-06:00

Okay I realize it's a day early but my internet connection has been down for the past week so I want to get this post up while I have the opportunity.

So without further ado, I give you ....

WEIGH IN NUMBER 3

As of August 15th my weight was 214.

And as of today...

MY WEIGHT IS 210!!!

That's a weight loss of 4 pounds in 7 days! I'm very proud of this week. This puts me ahead of where I need to be to make my goal! It's a wonderful follow up after last week, when I actually came in a little under goal.

Since my last update on Friday I have had 4 gym workouts and 2 walks with Craig. Each walk was 3 miles.

The only day this week that I did absolutely nothing athletic was Sunday. God did allow us a to take a day of rest right? Wasn't that a commandment or something? Can't argue with the big guy!!

Anyway, this puts my total weight loss at 16.5 lbs. I have 60 more pounds to go till goal! Let's hope I can keep this momentum going before I fall over and die! Wish me luck!!

Weigh In # 2

2008-08-15T09:20:00.004-06:00

Well, it's Friday again. That means it's time for another weigh in. But before we get to that.... let's look at a couple of pictures...

Yup. That's me. These are untouched "Before" photos. 100% natural. Scary huh?

I have decided to go against my better judgement and be 100% completely upfront with all aspects of my dieting plan. Including the numbers. So here they are...

As of July 27th my weight was...226.5 lbs.

As of August 8th my weight was ...216

That brings us up to today.... Drum roll please....

As of today my weight is 214 lbs.

This week I lost 2 lbs!! I didn't quite hit my weight loss goal of 2.62 lbs this week but I was very close. We'll step up the workouts this week and by next week I'll be right back on target.. which means I need to lose a total of 3.24 lbs this week. Totally doable. I'm a machine baby!

I'm trying to decide if I should update my pictures every month to show the change in my body or if I should just wait until I'm done and let you all be surprised, what do you think??

Well that's it for this week's weigh in! Tomorrow Rocky (a.k.a. Brittany) and I have a work-out date at 8am (gross) and 2 more on Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm. Who knows? Maybe we'll squeeze in another one...

Camping...

2008-08-12T11:34:00.006-06:00

This past weekend Eddie, Brittany, Craig and myself (along with Apollo and Kai) went into the mountains and braved the ferocious grizzley bear and the even more fierce misquito. All for the love of camping. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

The Tie Breaker!!

2008-08-12T09:01:00.004-06:00

Here you go dear brother. Good luck!

The original...

My copy.. Please note the man's face. I am most proud of this work. I took about 15 years off his age don't you think?? I'm also proud of the blending work I did on this one. I tried to pay very close attention to detail to make this look as much like an actual photograph as possible.

Let the voting begin!

Weigh In

2008-08-08T13:04:00.002-06:00

I have been struggling this past week on whether on not I should make this entry. It seems that I have apparently decided to go through with it because here I sit. About to tell a secret..Do I dare?.... Ready?

I need to loose a pound or two. Or more. Let's be honest. Much more. Much much more.

The time has come to stop talking about it and to start doing it. I'm no longer pregnant and therefore cannot think of a single GOOD reason not to get my butt in shape. I read a statistic recently stating that 41% of Americans diet WITHOUT telling anyone about it. That way if they fall off the proverbial dieting wagon, no one knows and they don't feel embarrassed. I don't want that. I WANT/NEED to remain motivated and accountable. This is where you come in. You don't need to actually DO anything, unless you particularly want to offer up some suggestions/encouragement. Mostly your job is just to KNOW that I am dieting. Making it public encourages me to fight the good fight.

So here are the stats thus far....

I began dieting Sunday July 27th.
Thus far I have lost 10.5 lbs.
My goal is to loose a total of 76 lbs by Jan 30th.
That's 25 weeks away.
I have already lost 10.5 lbs so I have 65.5 lbs to go.
That's an average of 2.62 lbs per week that I need to shed in order to hit my target.
Doable.

Here's my plan.

I have had some success in the past with weight watchers, so I am using their system as my guide this time as well. But wait.. that's not all! Every good diet needs exercise. So my beautiful sister-in-law ,who has a lovely figure and does not need to work out to be gorgeous, has graciously agreed to take some kickboxing classes with me. 2 times a week for an hour each. There's more! 2 more days per week my in-laws are allowing me to crash their evening walks. About 3 miles. So that's a minimum of 4 days per week doing some sort of activity and possibly more. Friday's will be my weigh in days. I will update this site each Friday with my progress and the countdown to a more beautiful Beckah. Stay tuned and wish me luck!