A good ending to a day!

Thursday morning I woke after having very little sleep and forced myself out of bed at 6:45am. By the time I had TJ and Alex out of bed and was finished with making Max's lunch I actually had some energy. I decided not to take the time for a nap. Kids got off to school fairly easily, which was a nice blessing that morning. I fed Alyssa and made sure she was happy in the swing and started my exercise. Now, for any of you who know me well you know that I am a bit obsessive about some things. I have tried to make sure I lose my pregnancy weight each time I have another little one. With TJ it was pretty easy and I was back to my high school weight in a few months. With Alex, I gained a LOT more, so I worked out for 4 months and lost the weight. It was still easy at that age. But then I didn't work out any more. Max came and I can't even remember how long it took. My goal by then was not as low though. High school weight would just be too thin after 3 babies. I didn't gain much that time because we were packing our house and getting ready to move to Kansas City. Then Colin came and I exercised some but wasn't doing it a lot. When Colin was 9 months old my knee started swelling. This had happened before when we were in Maine. There was no obvious cause so the doctors couldn't tell me what to do to prevent it. Well, I tried to just deal with it and then I couldn't walk. I couldn't deal with that. So, I stopped nursing and went on an anti-inflammatory. In about three months time my knee began swelling again. I was still taking the anti-inflammatory too. I prayed that I would find a way to help my knee. I found two solutions that came to me: one was that I needed to work out on a regular basis, and two was that I needed to start on some decent multi vitamins. Once I started taking my new vitamins and working out my knee was back to normal size in 4 days. No drugs. Anyway, since that time I have been kind of obsessed with working out and taking my vitamins. I feel better, have more energy, sleep much better and lose weight. I hoped that when I got pregnant this time, with Alyssa, I would be able to work out throughout the pregnancy, but I was not able to. I tried to go walking with some friends from church and I would end up in pain for the next couple of days. So, I gained about 40 pounds. Not horrible, but not the best either. The kicker is that now I am over 30 years old. I was 28 when I had Colin. It wasn’t too hard to lose the weight. I am 33 now and struggling with how in the world to make this weight go away. Yes, I know she is only 3 months old, but I am noticing a huge difference in how fast you can, or can’t, shed pounds once you reach your 30's. Yikes! My goals are much different now. If I ever dropped back to high school weight, 125, I would look sickly. So, I have a healthy goal set for my height and age. So, I work out 5 days a week for 30 minutes each day. Sometimes I even get in a 6th day. Yah, I’m a little obsessed!

This week I noticed a large amount of cardinals on our brown back lawn. They stand out distinctly against the dead grass. It was so neat to watch them, bright red males and brownish females, as they fluttered around our yard from the trees, to the ground, to the deck. Once they were startled they seemed to take flight simultaneously. It was a neat sight. It has happened several times this week and I count myself blessed. I feel like the nature in our small back yard is a blessing sent from a loving Father in Heaven who knows of my love of His creations. You just don’t get to see a lot of it around here. So, it is a bright spot in my day when I do.

I taught a lesson today in church, which I don’t do very often. It was on the topic of Love One Another. I prepared. I prayed for the guidance of the spirit. It was a hard lesson to teach. I struggled through it. It makes me appreciate the days when it goes smoothly! Don’t you wish all days could run smoothly? But then how strong would be truly be? So, I am grateful for the trial of today and I learned a lot.

I love newborn giggles! Aaah…the joy! I was being silly while holding Alyssa on my lap and she started giggling each time I put her feet onto my cheeks. A giggle from a child is so contagious and so healing. It makes you feel good!

Colin, so sweet, still gets to stay up a little later with us in the evening because he doesn’t have to be up early for school. He begs for a snack. When we have already said no to the cookies and hot chocolate and the tears begin to fill his pretty blue eyes my heart just melts. But, I have to stick to what I told him, right? Okay. So, I consult with Todd and we determine that the soup Colin had for supper was not filling enough and he can have some crackers. I didn’t cave. But I gave him a better option. It can be so hard to stick to what you tell your kids. I know sometimes I want to just give in, but that won’t teach them anything except that if you keep pushing Mom’s buttons she will give in.

It is a good ending to this day! I am grateful for learning moments, for tender mercies of the Lord, phone calls from my Mom and sister, warm hugs and kisses from my kids and husband and most especially for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. Have a great day!