Happy New Year (almost)

Well, a new year is almost upon us. Tonight's festivities promise to be just as exhausting as they will be fun.
We have spent today cleaning our house as much as possible (while freezing! It's cold here.) And that leads me to finally set a new year's resolution.  I haven't set any as of yet because of the impracticality of them.  We have goals for the year, sure, but I couldn't think of any bad habits that I feel the need to resolve... Until now!
My new year's resolution is: to try to keep my house (particularly my bedroom) cleaner than I have been.
What about you?  Do you have any new year resolutions? What about goals that you'd like to accomplish in the coming year?
Well, whatever your endeavors, I wish you luck and good fortune in everything you do.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Love,
The Hunter Family

Turning tides

You know when people ask you what you want for Christmas... Possibly getting an idea of what to get for you... And you rack your brain thinking of what to tell them.  This year was one of those years for me.  I know of things I'd like to have EVENTUALLY, but nothing very practical for Christmas.  The things I could think of were either "plan and save for it" things, or "I have to wait until after the baby comes to use it" things.  There were only 2 things that were outside these 2 spheres that I actually wanted:  A food processor and a hair straightener.  Exciting, right... *rolls my eyes*... But that's what I wanted.
Thanks to my wonderful parents, I was able to get my food processor the day after Christmas (thank you mom and dad!).
Santa brought me a hair straightener *wink*.
That took care of the only 2 things I asked for.  I got other wonderful things too.  My mother in law and sisters in law got me some WONDERFUL clothes that work as both maternity and non-maternity and a coat that actually closes over my burgeoning belly.  I felt like the luckiest woman in the world!
Anthony, however, had another surprise for me.
On Christmas morning, I was presented with a gift.  A box.  It could have been anything.  I wasn't expecting anything, so I had no guesses what it was.  I tore off the paper like our 4 year old and what did I find?... He had purchased one of the things from my "after baby" list...  Zumba Fitness for the Wii.
Oh goody.  A gift that I so desperately want to use, but can't for another 4 or 5 months (allowing for time to heal). *sigh*
But I couldn't have been more excited, because, even though I couldn't use it yet, we have it now and that's one step closer.

Well, I spent the rest of that day and most of yesterday staring at that box and wishing it were March.  Today, I couldn't stand it anymore.  I opened the package and popped it in the Wii, thinking "oh, I'll just create my profile so when I CAN use it, it'll be all ready".  This led to "well, I suppose just *looking* at the different workouts won't hurt... Just to see".
Well, you can imagine.  After 2 minutes of "just looking", I found myself up and strapping on the wand belt.
5 minutes later, I was panting and laughing and the kids were loving it too.
It must have been a sight to behold, watching me shake my 6 months pregnant groove!  I haven't had so much fun working out since I moved from our Redwood Road apartment and had to stop attending actual Zumba classes.  I loved it so much, I did another one tonight! 

Sometimes, my husband is a genious! *sigh*

Merry Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone and this year was particularly fun.  Though we didn't have much, what we did have, we made count.
Yesterday was spent visiting our families.  In the early afternoon, we visited my family for a few hours.  I love going down there, even if it's only for a few hours. 
In the late afternoon, we went to Anthony's parent's house and helped them get ready to head to Orem for dinner.  My job was kid wrangler.  It was a fun job.
When we were all ready, we headed up to join the Holmes family for Christmas Eve dinner and an ugly Christmas sweater contest.  The entries were definitely original and... Well, let's call them creative.  (Pictures to follow)
The kids put on a nativity, Alida, however, decided that the baby doll she was "taking care of" down stairs was more important and didn't join the rest.
Santa came to our house and Alida couldn't have been happier.  It took her a few minutes to "wake up" and realize what was going on.  She just stood in place for a few minutes.
Tonight we were joined by the Sheets family for dinner.  They made a spectacular turkey and a cheesecake.  I love having them come over!
We ended the night watching Christmas movies.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

That's how it goes.

Well, as much as I'd like to have gone without getting sick this year, it was apparently unavoidable.
I wish I'd had some warning that I was getting sick.  Unfortunately, it decided to hit me like a bomb in my sleep last night.  I woke up at 6 something and just felt horrible.  I couldn't sleep soundly.  I couldn't even lie down without getting dizzy.  The only comfort I found was on the couch.
Alida has been sick too. Yesterday and today started with her having a fever.  Perhaps going to see the lights at Temple Square last night wasn't the greatest plan.  I hope Alida's cousins (whom were with us last night) didn't end up sick.
As it happens, Uncle Brian is now getting sick.  I hope it doesn't last too long for him.
Anthony is fine (so far) and let's hope it stays that way.
Other than that, there is nothing much to say.  We are all really excited for Christmas this week.  Especially Alida.   We look forward to spending more time with family and seeing more friends over this week.
Love,
The Hunters

The Week Before Christmas

Well, one more week until the big day and I am just about ready to be done with it.  I love the season, but I wish I could just sit back and watch it all happen without rushing around or worrying about anything.  I don't want to set foot inside another store until after the new year, if it can be helped.  I don't want to see another print ad for holiday gift ideas and I don't want to cut out one more cookie.
Don't get me wrong.  I'm not in a "Bah Humbug" mood.  Let's chalk all this up to me being tired and cranky.  I've spent the last 3 days doing so much, that I haven't given the dust time to settle.  This has left me sore and my energy seriously depleted.  (Of course, it is greatly exacerbated by my being 6 months pregnant...)
I have to admit though, I love this time of year!  I love seeing Alida's face light up when we turn on the Christmas lights.  I have loved making the cookies with her and I love how she so innocently tells everyone that what she wants for Christmas is a "princess puzzle that I saw at Walmart".  That is the ONLY thing she has asked for all month.  It melts my heart to hear her little princess voice proclaim this excitedly.  She can also get away with being adorable in the store.
We went to the mall a few days ago and while there, I found the little magnetic picture of Jesus that her primary teacher had given her this past Sunday, so I gave it to her.  While she and Anthony were walking around a store, a sales lady came up to "serve them" and Alida excitedly held up the picture and said "This is Jesus! He's the Son of God!" And all the lady could say was "yes, it is". 
One other fun aspect this year is we have had a mystery family "12 Days of Christmas-ing" us.  Each night there is a knock at our door and when we go out to see, on our porch is an envelope and a treat for our family.  Inside each envelope is instructions, a scripture reference and a story.  On the first day, we were given a CD with the envelope that has 13 Christmas songs on it.  Each night before bed, we listen to that night's song and read the scripture and the story.  It has been really fun and it has opened up discussions with Alida about what Christmas is really about.  We look forward to it each night.
Like I said, I really do enjoy Christmas.  I just think the last 3 days have left me a little drained.
We hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas season.  We love you!
Love,
The Hunters

Christmas Fun

Energy, oh how I miss you.
I decided about a week ago that, with my "cravings" for exercise, instead of wishing for things I don't have or can't do (thank you weather...), it was pointed out that I have a Wii fit, and though I can't do every activity on it, there are still quite a few that I can easily do and get a fairly decent workout.  Alida gets a kick out of it too.  (I guess it's funny watching mommy and her big belly pretend to hula hoop or fly like a chicken.)  The baby seems to like it when I move too.  She is more active when I am active (and understandably so). 
Now, however, I am facing a new obstacle.  This week has brought with it feelings of an oncoming cold, massive indigestion and several head aches.  It has made it hard to WANT to get up and get the Wii fit out.  I spent most of yesterday on the couch.  Today hasn't gotten much better.
I sure hope this clears up soon.

Christmas is coming up fast for our family.  Between trying to do ANY Christmas shopping and trying to keep anything we DO get hidden, it has become a HUGE hassle. 
Alida actually sat on Santa's lap this year!  We've tried to get her to do that for the past couple of years!  Finally, SUCCESS!  Anthony even got a picture of her with Santa AND she had a smile on her pretty little face!  (I'll post it when he gets it to me.)

We hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas season so far.
Love,
The Hunters

What's in a name?

Now that the news is out that we're expecting a girl, the most commonly asked question we get is "what are you naming her?".  Short answer: we don't know.
To avoid telling people we don't know anymore, we've decided that, until she is born and has an official name, we will be calling her "Lamasu" (pronounced "Llama-Sue").  (For the reference, please refer to Star Wars: Episode 2).
We know this won't please those that really want to know what names we're considering, but, oh well.
Rest assured, we ARE thinking about names.  We just choose not to share them right now.
Love,
The Hunters

Cravings

It's nothing new to most people that pregnant women have cravings.  Sometimes these cravings are stranger than others and they're not always necessarily good for you, but when a craving strikes, it becomes really hard to think about anything else.
You've all heard about pregnant women having cravings for ice cream, pickles, pizza, chocolate, watermelon and other yummy things, but what happens when the craving isn't for something edible?
This is the situation I've found myself in recently and I'm not quite sure exactly what to do about it.  Now, I know what you're thinking and no, I am not craving things like dirt or chalk or anything like that.  When I say it's not edible, I mean it is NOT edible. 
I have been craving exercise.  I WANT exercise and I am finding it hard to think about much else a lot of the time.  I even find I'm getting depressed without it.
The easy answer is "well then, get up and exercise!", but I wish it were that easy.  I find I'm having a lot of normal pregnancy complaints: indigestion, sore back, low energy, and frequent trips to the bathroom.
If I had my way, I would have a treadmill in the livingroom.  I want to walk more than anything (without freezing my tail off or getting Alida sick).  I have done enough thinking and research on the subject and while it is completely safe for me to exercise right now, it's also apparent that I need to make sure I don't overdo it.  This is why walking seems to be one of the best answers.  For a little bit, before the weather turned cold, Anthony, Alida and I started going on evening or weekend walks and though it wasn't easy, I always felt better and happier after we'd done it.  Now I am on a quest to figure out how to satisfy this "craving" and hopefully get rid of the accompanying depression.  Any advice would be GREAT! (Oh, and if anyone has a treadmill I could have, either free or SUPER cheap... Like, less than $50 cheap, I would SUPER love it!  I'm just saying.)
Did any of you ladies ever find yourself "craving" something strange like that?
If I figure out a solution, I'll let you know and I'd love to hear what you all think or any advice you might have.

Hiccups

I think we are going to have to name the baby Hiccup.  It is almost 2pm on a sunday, and the baby has already had the hiccups 4 times (that I've been able to feel).  I can usually feel her get them 7 or 8 times a day.  It's a little ridiculous how often I feel it.  It makes me giggle.  Most of the time, her hiccups push her against my bladder.  Not so much fun, but it still makes me giggle.

*drum roll*

IT'S A GIRL!!!

It's a....

BABY!!!  Well, Anthony and I officially know what we're having.  Stay tuned for our announcement to be made on Thanksgiving.

Apologies

So, it has been brought to my attention that I haven't been doing a very good job keeping you all updated on our family.  It's sad but true.  There are a few very good reasons behind it, the biggest of all being we had to get rid of the internet to save money.  It makes posting things harder to do and more irritating.  Posting is now just like one big text message... Well, you can imagine.
Regardless, I still try.  I have done it a couple of times with my phone now.
A little update for you all:
Everyone is doing fine.  I am over my Facebook withdrawals.  The shaking and cold sweats have abated and I am doing fine without it.  It's actually been interesting realizing what I miss and what I don't miss.  There is SO MUCH on Facebook now and so many things that are only found there.  It makes it kind of irritating, but I'm still ok without it.
On a more personal note:  we are all healthy and well.  The baby is growing fine and kicking like crazy now.  We can even feel it on the outside already and I have noticed little episodes of the hiccups already.  I am 20 1/2 weeks now.  We will be finding out what the gender is this Friday!  (Though I may make everybody wait to find out what it is until Thanksgiving.  MWAHAHA!).
Alida told me yesterday "Mom, I want it to be a girl!" With a big smile on her face, so I asked "Well, what if it's a boy?" And she immediately put on a frown and said "but I want a girl like me."
Well, no pressure then!
We are really excited!  We have started making room for all the baby stuff we'll need, but our place is tiny.  The best I can think of is we need shelving...  Big time!  The crib will BARELY fit in Alida's room.  For now, we're just trying to keep everything stored and out of the way.
If anyone has any ideas of how to work with almost no space, I'd love to hear it!
Life is a little mundane lately, so that's about it for now.
I hope you all haven't missed me too much.  I sure miss you all.
Love,
The Hunter Family

Happy Halloween

Goodbye October

I can't believe October is already done and gone.  It doesn't seem possible.  The Halloween season brings lots of fun things to do.  Our Halloween weekend this year consisted of the ward trunk or treat, our Halloween party and trick or treating in North Salt Lake.
The trunk or treat was on Friday evening.  We were joined by the Sheets family.  The chili dinner was ok (not a fan of MOST chili's) but what surprised me the most was it was a 2 ward party and hardly anyone showed up.  It was a little disappointing, but the kids still had fun dressing up and trunk or treating.
The party on Friday was at our house, and though everyone showed up late, (the first guests arrived 20 minutes late), we had a great turn out.  Not including us, we had 11 adults and 9 children at our house for the evening.  Dinner was fabulous.  A special thank you to everyone who brought something to share! We didn't get to play any of the games I had planned, but by the time everyone was done eating, too many kids were getting tired and restless, so I think it was ok.
It was fun to take the kids trick or treating on Halloween night.  We joined the Sheets family for it and they treated everyone to pizza after we were done.  (Thank you Michelle and Brian!). Alida hasn't had a lot of experience actually trick or treating door to door, and it seems that she had a lot of fun doing it.  By the end, I think everyone was sore and ready to sit down and enjoy some dinner, though.
Now it is November 1st and the weather has decided to turn.  It is cloudy and cold and raining this morning.  At least it waited until trick or treating was done!  Now it is time to take down the Halloween decorations and start planning for Thanksgiving.  I can't believe it's already nearly Thanksgiving.

On the side of just other interesting things, we are all doing well.  Anthony is nearly over his cold, Alida is as happy and active as ever, and I am doing well, though I don't know yet if I have started gaining weight at all.  I can tell you that I am most certainly growing and every day, the kicks get more frequent and stronger.  I can actually feel them with my hand on the outside now, so the little one is definitely getting stronger.

This year is going by really fast.  I don't know that I'm ready for it to be over, but I can say I am definitely excited for the holidays.  This is my favorite time of year.

Love,
The Hunters

More Aviary

A day with the kids

Yesterday was one of those days that doesn't come around very often.
Michelle got off work at lunch time and came to pick up me and all the kids to go to Tracy Aviary. Before hitting the aviary, we stopped at McDonald's for some cheeseburgers and hamburgers, since no one had eaten lunch yet.
For those who don't know, Tracy Aviary is in Sugar House at Liberty Park. I wasn't aware of this. I have often passed by Liberty park, but I never realized I was also passing the Aviary. For those who have never been to Liberty park, it is a massive park, spanning the equivalent of about 4 city blocks. In this large space is a nice big pond, the Aviary (obviously), LOTS of open grassy space and several different playgrounds. It's a very pretty place in the middle of Salt Lake City.
The Aviary was a lot of fun. It's hard to say exactly how much fun it was. I doubt if the girls learned much, but I know they loved it. They got to run around the "Owl Forest" tree house, play in the sand, feed the ducks, get their pictures taken in a lot of fun ways and generally just got to run around and look at all the pretty birds. When we were done at the Aviary, we went over to one of the playgrounds at the park and let the girls run around and play for about an hour.
All of this doesn't seem like much, but throw in someone who's 16 1/2 weeks pregnant and it becomes slightly more difficult, but slightly funnier to watch!
Bouncing with the kids, twisting and twirling with them on the tire swing and then there was the walk back to the car (which was the equivalent of about a block and a half from the park. Let's just say that by the time we got home, I was sore and tired and so was Alida.
We had a lot of fun yesterday! Days like that don't come around very often. I was so glad that we got to go out and do all that we did. And a HUGE thank you to Michelle for lunch and for treating us to the trip to the Aviary!!!

A link to the past

In today's hectic world, sometimes we forget what things were like when we were kids.
When we hear in society that it's not ok to do things the way people used to do them because "things just aren't the same as they used to be", it makes me sad. Why can't things be like they used to be? Obviously not everything can stay the same. It's called progress. But sometimes, without realizing it, we stop progressing and start regressing. Sometimes I have these realizations. I start thinking about my childhood and the way things were. I have visions of my mom in the kitchen cooking some fantastic dinner and then everyone sat up to the dining room table and ate together. I think about mom doing canning in the fall, making pickles and salsa and doing tomatoes. I miss the smells of it all. Things SHOULD be like they used to be. Just because technology has changed doesn't mean everything else has. We haven't progressed beyond needing the relationships we used to have.
Then nights like tonight come along. I have the most random cravings a lot of the time. Last night I had a craving for lasagna brought on by watching Anthony eat cottage cheese. So tonight, I made lasagna, biscuits and green salad, then we all sat down at the dining table and ate together. Alida ate all of her dinner. We had some very pleasant conversation. It really made me nostalgic for the good old days.
Why can't things be like that more often. A lot of people don't take the time or care enough to make the time. It's sad, really. The way that it brings families together should be worth our time. It should be worth our time because it says "I love you" without having to say it.
Let's try, people! Let's have dinner as a family! Make the time. It's worth it.

The cutest tantrum ever

We went to the library today. Alida had a book to return. It was a Superman book.
It was kind of one of those "you had to be there" moments, but I will try to give you an idea of how this trip went.
From the car to the library doors, Alida hugged the book close. She wouldn't hold my hand to cross the street or anything. I ended up having to hold her shoulder. The whole way into the building, she kept saying "this is my favorite Superman book, mom."
When we got to the book drop off, I offered to let her turn it in. She didn't want to. She wanted to keep the book. We tried enticing her with offers of other books and even finding her another Superman book. She refused.
Finally, with my hand guiding hers, we put the book into the drop off. Immediately, her bottom lip started to tremble and before I knew it, she was wailing and there were tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mommy, I want my book back! Please! I want my Superman book!"
The tears continued as I picked her up (maybe not the best idea...) and tried to console her again with offers of other books. She wouldn't have any of it. We went into the children's section and began searching for other books, but she continued to cry. That Superman book was her very favorite book and she wanted it.
A young lady standing in line to check out some books stopped me and with a polite smile said "I'm a teacher. I wish some of my kids would cry when you had them return a book." and she laughed politely. I smiled.
Anthony, being the caring dad that he is, ventured back to the book return and rescued the Superman book from the depths of the bin and heroically re-checked it out for Alida. As soon as the book was in her hands, the tantrum stopped. The world was right again. She even checked out a few Halloween books.
Normally I don't like it when she throws tantrums, but even I have to admit that it was, perhaps, one of the cutest tantrums I have EVER witnessed... and all over a book.

Eating and other difficulties

15 weeks and 4 days. Things are getting more difficult. I find that I have very little energy at all, and eating is still difficult, since I have no appetite. The past few days, I have felt weaker than usual, and I suppose it's due in part to me not eating enough to supply the demands of pregnancy. Yesterday was our most recent doctor's appointment. I found out a lot of things. Most importantly, I have lost another 2 pounds, making a total of 10 pounds since I got pregnant. This is not necessarily a good thing. It is all due to not eating enough. The Doctor was very clear that this needs to stop. I only wish it was as easy as it sounded. It all seems to be a vicious cycle. I don't have any energy, so I don't want to make anything, so I don't eat, so I never get any energy. And it continues like that.

One exciting development; we made the appointment to have the gender ultrasound. November 18th we will find out what we're having.

I have to admit, it still feels weird to say that I am pregnant at all. Every now and again I feel little flutters, but nothing more as far as movement, and though I'm showing a little, it doesn't feel real. I'd like to say that it seems like I'm just gaining weight, but I'm not even doing that. I'm losing weight and I'm growing. *sigh* If only I could have lost weight like this before I got pregnant.

Well, enough of my complaints. A friend of mine once said that she was sick of hearing pregnant women complain about how they feel because there are women out there who have trouble getting pregnant and they should be glad that they're expecting. I have to respond now that, though I am extremely glad and excited to be expecting, that doesn't mean it's all fun and games. Some women, though able to get pregnant and happy that they are, have a difficult time with it. It happens. We just try to deal with it as best as we can. That's all we can do. So if you have a pregnant friend, give her a hug. She might need it.

Love from,
The Hunter Family

BOO!!!

It's time again to start decorating for Halloween. I have put up a few decorations in the past week, but just small things (my potion bottles and pumpkins, for example). So the girls and I got creative today. I made us a bowl of "blood" and we went to work.







The girls had a blast and now I'm looking at the house and wondering what else I can paint with our blood.
The blood is perfect too. It is a dish soap based blood, making it easily washable. It washed off every surface, including the girls hands, with only water. It didn't stain anything. Perfect.
If you're interested, I used 1 Cup of corn syrup, 1/2 cup chocolate syrup (Hershey's), 1/2 cup liquid dish soap and some red and some blue food coloring. (the blue and the chocolate deepen the color nicely. I also found that adding a few tablespoons of corn starch helped thicken it up, but it runs a lot, so be aware of that.
It's also irresistible to munchkins with curious tendencies... hahaha

Burr.

I told Alida "Visions of sugar plums are dancing in my head." to which, she grabbed the top of my head and said "Don't worry mom. I'll get them!"
With the series of storms that have passed over our house over the past day and night, the temperature has dropped to a frigid 59 degrees (compared to 90 just a few days ago) and it is expected to drop even further to nearly 30 degrees by this weekend, with snow in the higher elevations. SNOW!!!
This morning, I had a chat with Alida about her clothes. She slept in, and was happily playing this morning in, a tank top and shorts. This led to the "we're putting away your summer clothes" conversation. She didn't get why her summer clothes weren't good enough.
I asked her "are you cold?". She replied "Yes. It's really chilly, mom."
So I took her in her room and explained the difference between pants and shorts and tank tops vs sweaters. We picked out her outfit for the day, (warm pants and a sweater she chose), and I then asked her if we should put away her summer clothes. She replied "Mom, my legs fit in these pants, so I think it will be ok to put them in storage."
We also got out our space heater, and we're talking about lighting the furnace this week. (It needs to be done sooner or later...)

All of this cold weather and talk of heaters and "winter wardrobes" has made me really excited for the holiday season to begin, starting with Halloween. I always get excited for holidays when it gets cold. I LOVE decorating. I love sitting in front of a big window with hot cider, watching the snow fall. I love the idea that this year, we have a yard. I will be able (AND willing!) to take Alida outside to play in the snow! I can't even begin to describe my excitement for this! After spending so much time indoors last year, it has been such a relief to me to be able to take her outside and know that we're safe in our own yard. It makes me excited to start wearing my coat and sweaters... though I admit that I will probably have to buy me some new winter clothes, since I'll be spending this winter pregnant, and nothing fits me! (hahaha) I know it might sound strange, but heaters have a smell to them... and when you spend so much time during the winter with the heater on, you get used to that smell and all of a sudden, you associate cold weather and the smell of a heater with holidays. (It also helps that I'm sitting here eating cranberry sauce while I type this!)

Are there things that make you excited for the holidays? What do you do to get ready? When do you put away the summer clothes? I would LOVE to know!

Cranberries

You know that feeling when you've waited SO LONG for something, and then one day, it's finally here and you get it? I had one of those days yesterday. We had to go to Wal-Mart to find a few things, and in our wanderings, I decided to go look at the produce section. As I entered near the packages of fresh berries, something seemed different. There were bags of something by the raspberries. My heart almost skipped a beat. I had to investigate. As I got closer, I could see tiny round redness inside the bags, and I knew that the bags were something I have been waiting for since last winter... Fresh cranberries!!! One of the best things in the world is cranberries boiled in Jello. YUM!
I bought 3 bags of them, though I shouldn't have. I couldn't wait. It is something I start craving every year when the weather begins to cool down in the fall. It gives me wonderful feelings of fall and winter and holidays. It is so yummy and it just so happens that, being pregnant at the start of this Fall, I have been craving it a lot.
This morning, I was able to satiate that craving! (for now.)
I love it when surprises like that happen. Don't you?

The Young Family

This is a really good friend of mine and her family. Josie and I have been best friends since the 8th grade. Over the weekend at Wheeler Farm, I got to take some really cute pictures of them. The one of her husband and son was actually taken by Josie after I couldn't get her son to cooperate for me for that picture. I loved taking photos of them and I'm so glad they joined us for the afternoon.

The Birthday Boy

The Birthday Boy. Happy Birthday 'Doc'!!!

A Crazy Weekend

To say that this weekend has been busy would be an understatement. It has been CRAZY!!! It started on Friday with the arrival of my cousin, Leah, and her husband, Bryan. I was so excited that they were coming, I am overlooking how late they arrived and that I was nearly asleep when they got here. That didn't stop us all from staying up for another couple of hours and going to bed after 1am. (Seriously, I loved it!)

Saturday morning began at 8-something in the morning, which I will admit, is WAY earlier than I expected, though I also admit, I was warned. I worried about Alida waking up and going into the living room and finding "strangers" instead of me... which she did. I am told that as she entered the room, she went to Bryan and nearly climbed up on his lap, until she realized "this isn't my daddy". At which point, Leah introduced herself, (Alida knew they were coming but fell asleep before they got here), and she held out her hands and told Alida "Come here beautiful". Alida went right to her and they were best friends from that point. She also quickly got used to Bryan and in fact, became his best friend too.
Shortly after I got up, it was decided that it was time to make breakfast. Saturday had the first session of General Conference, and I like to make a big, hot breakfast for conference. We had waffles, but alas, my waffle iron could not handle it. I had been spraying the surface of the waffle iron between every waffle, but the last waffle burned right to the teflon... and wouldn't come off. The waffle iron ended up in the garbage.

The first session of Conference was REALLY good. We all enjoyed it. Alida even listened a little. Shortly after the first session ended, it was time to hurry and get ready to leave for Wheeler Farm and Michelle and Brian's son's birthday party! HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY 'DOC'!!! Before going to the party, we had to make a stop at Walmart to get his present... at which point, Bryan had a feeling that he needed to stay home with Anthony, who was getting over a sinus infection and cold. We hopped in the car, turned around and went back home. We were 45 minutes late for the party and missed the presents and cake, but we made it in time to have the last 3 cupcakes. YUM! 5-10 minutes after we arrived, everything was cleaned up and we went and bought our tickets for Wheeler Farm's October Festival. A wagon ride, a hay maze and we got to pick pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Mom and Dad have pumpkins in their garden, so they let us use their tickets for their pumpkins. We went home with 5 pumpkins and Leah and Bryan each got one too. 7 total in our car.
We missed the second session of Conference, but by the time we got home, we were so tired and sore and hungry, that we didn't really care and figured that we'd stream it later on.

Sunday morning started much the same way, except it was pancakes for breakfast this time. The first session of conference was REALLY good again. (I love Conference!) Between sessions, we watched 17 miracles. Alida loved seeing her Uncle Sean in the movie. She wanted to call him as soon as the movie was over, but Anthony said she'd have to wait. Unfortunately, we also got a nasty surprise about this time. Leah and Bryan's ride was coming several hours early to get them and head back home to Cedar City. An hour later, they were all packed up and gone.

We went back inside for the second session of Conference. 35 minutes into it, all 3 of us were asleep. We were so tired from the busy weekend so far. I woke up right at the end. I turned off the TV and went back to sleep.

At 4:30pm, we got a text from one of our neighbors inviting us over to their house for dinner at 5:00. OH GOODNESS! Time for a quick shower! Dinner with them was REALLY good. It was really yummy barbequed teriyaki chicken and rice. (pardon my spelling, if it's wrong.)

Spending the entire weekend with so many wonder friends and family was so much fun and getting to hear the words of the Lord from his servants was extremely uplifting. This was one of the best weekends I could have imagined. We are so lucky. I also got to take my camera with us and get some really cute pictures. I'll post them so you can see them.

Mobile

I just thought it would be fun to experiment.  I downloaded the Blogger app for my phone. I wondered how it works.

Leah and Bryan Pruett (my cousin & her spouse) are on their way here.  I am UBER excited.  This weekend looks promising.

Love, The Hunters

Breaking Up is Hard to Do.

Today is Friday, September 30, 2011. It is 6:30 PM. Do you know where all of your friends and family are and what they're doing? Cause I don't anymore.
I have officially shut off my Facebook account. I am still in denial. I am already having withdrawals. (Jittery, nervous, slightly irritable.. that sort of thing.)
I even needed moral support from Anthony while I did it.
I need to prove to myself that I don't need Facebook. There are still ways to keep in touch with people. Even ways as simple as sending them an email or calling them on the phone. I may even start to support the postal service and start sending letters. We'll see how things go.

If one day, you receive a random letter in the mail from me about nothing more than how we're doing, now you know why.

This is bound to be an adventure. Here's to being free of an online (near)addiction.
*shudder shudder*

Scrapbooking Fun

I recently got some new digital scrapbooking kits. I love digital scrapbooking! (It's really fun!) I thought I'd show off some of the pages I made most recently.

Sick and Tired

Literally. I wish I could say I was just upset about something when I say that... but alas, no. We are all getting sick and tired is just an obvious companion of that.
It started a few days ago in Anthony's nose. It's just time again for his annual sinus infection and head cold. Naturally, when one gets sick, we all end up that way. It hasn't gotten very bad with me. It's mostly just my throat when I sleep. Alida hasn't caught much of it either. She just coughs every now and again. Nothing major.

Then you get into the tired side of everything. Dishes haven't been done in a few days. Laundry is waiting for me to do it. Oh, and to top it all off, we have company coming tonight and staying the weekend!!! I was hoping Anthony would at least get SOME of the dishes washed this morning before work. I was going to surprise him and finish them while he was gone. Now, if I want to surprise him the way I wanted to, I will have to do all of them. (I don't enjoy doing the dishes. They're the bane of my existence.)
This on top of finishing cleaning my house (I started it yesterday. I got my room cleaned (finally!!), the bathroom cleaned, and HALF of the kitchen cleaned before I gave up completely. Today, I hope to get the laundry done, the dishes done, the other half of the kitchen clean and get the living room all cleaned up (all preferably before 6pm, since Anthony and I are supposed to be going out to dinner tonight for his work). That's the HOPE for today. I'll let you know how it goes. The hardest part is going to be getting myself up of the couch and starting. After all, it's still only 9am.

Well, wish me luck! I'm going to attempt to get started. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn’t mean me – then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ‘Congratulations!’ with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk.

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father – not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase ‘my baby’.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is ‘You look fabulous!’.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren’t invited to be there when the baby was created, you probably won’t be invited to be there when it comes out either.

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent’s home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to ‘help out’. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely,
All the Pregnant Women in the World

A funny excerpt found at http://evilclomid.com/2008/08/13/dear-non-pregnant-person/
Written by "Erin". I thought this was really funny.

Sleepy

With being pregnant comes all of the little complaints of pregnancy.
Last night was one of the nights with little complaints.
Anthony called me from work and asked if we could have baked potatoes for dinner last night. I thought they sounded good and readily agreed. When the time came for me to put the potatoes in the oven and let them start cooking, I found that I didn't have any aluminum foil. (I'm picky about things sometimes)
I immediately texted Anthony and asked him to pick up some foil on his way home. When he got home at 6:30pm, I went into the kitchen and started the potatoes immediately. I knew we had already lost too much time. Alas, it still wasn't enough time. The potatoes wouldn't cook. At 8:00pm, we were all starving and becoming grumpy. I remembered that Michelle told me how to use the microwave to cook potatoes, and decided that I would cheat. To my surprise, my microwave has a Baked Potato setting!!! I was ecstatic! 8 minutes later, dinner was ready. :)
Now, being 13 1/2 weeks pregnant, not having a lot of sleep and not eating a lot of food do not go well together. By the time dinner was ready, I was struggling to stay standing. I was almost too tired to get the table set. At last, at 8:30pm, we were ready to sit down and start eating.
1/2 of my baked potato later, my body decided it had had enough food and it was time for sleep, because I couldn't keep my eyes open. Anthony made me go to bed. It was only 9pm.

This made for an interesting lesson in making sure I eat enough throughout the day to keep my energy up. I hope I can put theory into practice. Adventures in Pregnancy.

Love, The Hunter Family

Weekend Visits

We didn't really have much of a weekend.... No! I'm just kidding! :)
We had a really fun weekend! We spent Saturday in Utah County. It's been about a month (possibly more) since we were down there last.
The day trip started with a visit to one of my best friends, (since, like, 8th grade!, Josie Young. I was so glad we got to visit her! It's always a treat when we can get together with our friends. Even if it is only for an hour or two.
After visiting with her for a while, we went down to my folks place for a visit. I can't deny that I was a little disappointed with our trip... I had been really looking forward to being able to pick apples from their tree and make and bottle apple juice with my mom. I wasn't told until we were on our way down that the apples wouldn't be ripe for another month, at least. The visit was fun though. It's fun to get to visit with my family. Alida loves it too. She doesn't get to see her grandparents much, so it's always a treat when she does.
After visiting my folks, we drove up to visit Anthony's folks. It was a great evening! We had a wiener roast in the back yard and Alida and I both got hair cuts. (Thanks Monika!!!) We didn't get a lot cut off. It was just trims for both of us, but she did such a great job! (I wish I had gotten pics of the hair cuts. Sorry.)
One surprise of the evening was the "kitchen hutch" Anthony's mom gave us. (thanks Meem!) I am stoked to have it! The only problem we face is that it is only a half of a hutch. Apparently the hutch she bought was not a complete set. It is only the top half. Anthony drove back down to my parent's house to pick up some old shelves that we thought would hold the top of the hutch nicely, but we have found that the shelves are several inches too short. Now I have half of an unfinished kitchen hutch sitting in my kitchen and nothing to put it on. My goal has become to find a base for it that will be big enough, with some storage capabilities, but not too tall so it will still fit in my kitchen. Wish me luck! (and if anyone has anything that they might be willing to get rid of for cheap or free, and it's sturdy and at least 42" long and 13" wide, let me know!) I will post a pic or 2 of the project after we find something to house the top.
Lots going on this week at our house. More to come later!
Love, The Hunter Family

Our News

For those of you that don't know yet, our family has some exciting news!

We are expecting our second child! We found out in July. We are super excited! I am 13 weeks pregnant today.

Everything is looking wonderful. We should find out what we're having sometime in November. The due date is March 30th, 2012.

We are really happy about this. The Lord has blessed our family so much and we can't begin to say how thankful we are for everything we have.

I know there will be some interesting things coming up in our future. We will have lots to share in the coming months.

Love, The Hunter Family

Unplugging

After a long talk with Anthony, we are going to be attempting something as a family.
We find that as wonderful as technology can be, we also find that it distracts us from too much, too often. We are not ok with this. We have more important things in our lives than the internet and our phones.
We are unplugging almost completely for a week... sort of like a tech-detox... and we will see how things go from there. We may try to make a lot of it permanent, and there will be things that we definitely make permanent.

As part of me unplugging, I will be shutting off my Facebook account at the end of next week. Next Friday, I will no longer be a part of Facebook. This will be a permanent step that I feel I need to take to better myself.

I will still be reachable by phone, text, email and snail mail. (and letters in the mail would absolutely make my day... it might be fun!) If you want any of my contact information, please email me at sharianne84@hotmail.com and I will send you the info you seek.

Also, I don't want to completely keep people out of the loop with our family, so Anthony and I will be endeavoring to keep everyone interested updated on our blog. Feel free to subscribe to it to receive updates when I make them.

We don't want to cut ourselves off from everyone by any means. We just feel that it is important for our family to get away from the distractions and stress brought on by technology. We need to try to return to a simpler way of life.

I will be updating with pictures here on the blog as well. Those will not be stopped... though I admit, I can't guarantee a blog post every day or even every week... but I will update as much as I can.

Love, The Hunter Family

I know it's not much.

I can't really say much right now... A lot has happened lately. We moved to a house in South Salt Lake, I got a job at Gold's Gym in Bountiful, Alida turned 4 and will hopefully be able to start preschool soon...
I just created a website that is pretty much going to be used for photos.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
You're all welcome to have a look. The URL is http://lifeofahunter.shutterfly.com
Have a look!

Gold stars

Last week proved an interesting one.
On Saturday, the 16th, I ran in the SLC 5k. It is the first "race" I have ever run. I didn't come in even close to first, but I didn't come in last, and I am proud. I ran the race in 43:44, which isn't great, but it isn't terrible. The reason I point this out is, not only was it my first race (EVER), but I only had a week and a half from finding out about it and signing up to race day. Yep. You heard me right. A week and a half.
When My Belle initially told me about the race that was being 'sponsored' by her work, I jumped at the chance figuring that most of the time, sign ups start a few months before the race and that I would have plenty of time to get in better shape and prepare for it. I was so excited, since I have a list of goals and running in a race is one of those goals.
My calm enthusiasm was soon turned to dread and worry when I asked when the race was. "Next Saturday," came the reply. Immediately I began formulating the most unrealistic training schedule to get myself in "race condition" by then. The plan consisted of going out every day with all 3 kids, one stroller, a loaded diaper bag, a gallon of water and enough snacks to feed an army and, using the Jordan River Trail, I would walk/jog while pushing 100 pounds of children plus the inevitable cargo for 3 or 4 hours to get myself in condition followed by 2 hours of strength training at the gym in the evenings. Fortunately, these thoughts never made it any farther than my freaked out imagination.
Upon consulting my BIL (who was also running the 5k with me), we decided on a much less extreme training plan. We went the first day or 2 to the gym and used the treadmills for a certain amount of time to see how far we got. I found this to be a challenge, however, on the first day when, 10 minutes into the jog, I got dizzy and left the treadmill for the stationary bikes.
I won't lie, this had me worried. If I couldn't stand more than 10 minutes on the treadmill, how in the world would I be able to run 3.2 miles in just over a week?!?! The next day, however, was more promising when I was able to make it to 20 minutes on the treadmill before I got dizzy.
We missed a couple of days when the weekend came around, and I must say, I have never regretted missing a workout in my life. I thought that this was not just falling of the band wagon, but I had just run the wagon off a ravine, never to be recovered. Boy was I wrong.
On Monday, the week of the race, we went to the Legacy Parkway Trail and we did a walk/jog of 3.2 miles! I was stoked! I think that using the treadmill psychs me out because all I can think of is time and distance. On the trail, however, I had trees and birds and sky and fresh air and ducks and even a passing beaver to occupy my attention and before I knew it, we had completed the trail and we were headed home. I felt GREAT and it was at that moment, while riding back to my sis's house, that I knew that I could do it!
We continued to "train" during the week until, finally, the day before the race came. The plan was not as simple as I would have liked. Anthony, unfortunately, worked on Saturday and would not be able to join us for the race. This also meant that we had to figure out what to do with the little miss. The simplest way, we figured, was if the Miss and I stayed the night at My Belle's house and in the morning, BIL and I would wake early, not wake anyone up (if it could be helped), run the race and then be back in time to load all the kids up and take them over to a community Easter egg hunt. The plan, however, was not so simple.
The hubby and I ended up in an argument at 10pm, meaning that we were delayed in getting to My Belle's house until almost midnight. By the time we arrived at their house, the argument was over and the hubby and I were feeling much better. The little miss had conked out in her car seat and slept most of the night. She woke up once, but just because she was in a strange place. She soon went back to sleep and so did I. I was, unfortunately, kept awake until about 1am by the TV in the living room where I was sleeping because My Belle was baking hot cross buns for the egg hunt in the morning. When I finally started to doze off, the hubby started texting me, telling me how much he missed me. (I couldn't turn off my phone because it was my alarm.)
Alas, 6am came far too soon. I slept in a little past my alarm, but soon got up and got ready to go. by 6:45, we were on our way into town for the big race.
We arrived slightly early, but my stomach was swimming with butterflies. I tried to eat the banana I had brought, but only got through half of it before the space being taken by the butterflies wouldn't allow any more.
When the race started, the BIL and I were close, but we had decided that we weren't going to stick together for the sake of company. We both wanted to see how well we would do, so we separated and ran the race as best we could.
As I neared Temple Square, the fear of butterflies escaping my stomach grew and I feared that I would have to "pull off" to throw up. Happily, I was able to push past the feeling and soon began to get into running. I was surrounded by some 2000+ other runners and bystanders and soon found myself getting into the race, pushing myself to go faster and longer than I thought I could.
At the half way point, I was worried that I was at the very back of the line. I couldn't have been more wrong. As I rounded a corner to begin the second half of the run where the route doubled back on itself, I could see just how many people were still coming up behind me. I was stoked! I began telling myself "Finish the race and don't finish last!" Half way up the hill back to south Temple, I hit a small road block with a side stitch that wouldn't go away. I had to push past it. I had to continue to breathe and to push myself.
As I rounded the corner on south Temple, I saw people sitting inside a Trax train waving at us and I happily waved back, which gave me a boost of happiness that got me back over to the Gateway and the last stretch to the finish line. As I approached the final corner, the BIL came in sight. I caught his attention (he had already finished the race) and he began to run along side the course telling me to "finish strong!" and "Keep Going! You're almost there!". I admit, I did have to take a breath for a couple of seconds amidst "finishing strong" but it was the greatest feeling of accomplishment to run across that finish line and then get my photo taken with the BIL!!!
It was something that I had set out to finish and I did. I finished strong. I don't care what place I came in that day, I won that day. I beat my own expectations.
I hope that one day, I can compete again. (hopefully with more notice next time, though.) Eventually, maybe one day, I might be able to do a 1/2 marathon or even a full marathon! I hope so, but for now, there is one goal on my list that I can happily put a gold star on. :)




Oh, and for anyone interested, my race results are:
Shari Hunter--Salt Lake City, UT--21520--F--26
0:43:44--14:05--142/169--1199/1574--755/1053--0:45:04--14:30--1:20

strides

Well, it took a little more than a year, but we have finally accomplished something we've been striving and praying for. We finally traded in our car! We were driving a white 2005 Hyundai Accent for a little over 3 years now. When we bought the car, the only thing that we were considering was the price. We didn't do any research, we didn't think about features we wanted... it was just "how much money will we be spending?".
Though I will admit that we did need to find a car in our budget, in not thinking first of what we wanted, we ended up getting a car that didn't really suit our needs and we have regretted it. It was a good little car... but it was just that... a little car. We weren't looking for a monster, but we didn't have any room for anything in it. We have tried a few times to do somethings in our Hyundai, and we soon became aware that it was not well suited for the kind of driving we were doing. Trips to Idaho were a nuisance because of how many times we had to fill our 9 gallon tank. We couldn't go out camping in places we'd like to have gone because we had such a small tank. We couldn't go off-road in our car because it couldn't handle it and if we happened to have my sister's children with us, we could BARELY fit all 3 carseats in the backseat... and even then, we had to slam the doors shut in order to close them or the car seats stopped the doors from closing.
For a starter car, it's great, if you're single or your newlyweds... but when you get to the point in your life when you have one child and you're seriously considering expanding your family again, a little car just doesn't suit it anymore... which is why we upgraded.
We are now the proud owners of a silver 2006 Chevy Trailblazer. It is a great car! It is big enough (seats 7!) it has plenty of storage space in the back, it has a sunroof, power windows, power locks, remote entry, a 6 disk CD changer, the 2 back rows either fold down, remove all together or BOTH, heated power front seats, a towing package already installed, roof top bike racks... and the list goes on and on. Now of course, that is all just gilding the lily. The car has a 22 gallon tank (MUCH better than 9 gallons!)and it will take us camping... off road and everything! We are so excited to have it. It has been a long time coming.
I will have some pictures of it soon... I don't know why, I just haven't taken any yet. :)
That's our news.

Spring

It's finally starting to look and feel like spring.
Today, the girls and I went to playgroup and then went to the park. The girls needed to get out and be able to run around to their hearts content. They haven't been able to run around and play like that for months. They can't even play around inside the house because of the complaints about "noise" from the lady downstairs.
They played until they couldn't anymore! When we got home, they both sat down on the couches and in less than 2 minutes, they were both asleep.
Being able to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather has made me realize that I want to be able to sit outside on our porch in the evenings and enjoy it. I have begun to think about getting come chairs (and possibly a table) for our porch. Somewhere we can sit and enjoy the nice evenings.
We are also planning a few other things. A new bed for us (and a twin sized one for Alida, if we can figure out how to get it up here), A bookshelf (if it ever gets made), and a few other things which I will not mention here, as we aren't sure if we will actually be getting/doing them any time soon. :)
I am LOVING the warmer weather! I hope it stays this way from now on (with the exception of rain).

A new leaf

Recently, my sister transferred her gym membership into my name. It is honestly the solution I have been hoping and searching for. With the lady down below me complaining, I have found it difficult to get any workouts done, making weight loss impossible. About a month ago, I organized a ward workout group on Friday nights and was able to get an awesome woman in our ward that is a certified Zumba instructor to teach Zumba classes on Friday. It has been great! I go every Friday (though I admit, I did get sick one Friday after 2 songs and had to sit it out). Going to Zumba on Friday's got me wanting more exercise and eventually, I decided that, even if it bothers the lady downstairs, I was going to start working out. I needed to do it for me. I had been doing my Turbo Jam workouts every day for about 4 days when Michelle told me that she had been thinking about transferring her gym membership to me because she wasn't using it and she knew that I wanted to. It has opened up a whole new world of exercise! I know that it's "inconvenient" for me to have to drive to the gym rather than just stay home and do my videos, but I am able to get a workout that I am not able to get otherwise by going to the gym.
I am so grateful for the chance I have been given to have proper workouts and to be able to spend some time every day taking care of myself.
My goals are small to start out with. This week, my goals are 1- to get a workout every day this week with one day to rest. (possibly 2 days, but the important thing is that I want to do Monday-Friday.) 2- to lose 2 pounds.
Obviously it's important to lose weight, pound wise, but my long term goals focus mostly on my body fat % and my measurements... but since it will take a little longer to see those results, I am making smaller goals of pounds lost that I can keep track of from week to week.
So far this week (Today is Thursday) I have done a workout every day starting Monday (though Monday was just Turbo Jam at home), Brian and I will be going to the gym this evening again and tomorrow is Turbo Jam day! Brian also wants to go to the gym on Saturday, and hopefully we'll be able to go early on Saturday. That will make 6 days this week.
I am also starting to keep track of the things I eat using a website www.myfitnesspal.com It's easy and it's free and it keeps me consciously thinking about the things I put in my mouth and it's got me thinking about how much water I drink every day. I am getting a pretty good idea of where I need to improve and it's starting to look like it's not going to be as hard as I expected it to be.
I would like to list out a few of my short and long term goals. This is a basic list and the goals can change depending on how fast/slow I see results.
Weekly: lose 2 lbs
1 month: lose 10 lbs
2 months: lose 15 lbs
3 months: lose 20 lbs (total)
6 months: lose 40 lbs or be down to at least a size 8.

I am more concerned with inches and body fat % than actual pounds lost.
I look forward to where this road will bring me. I would love to know what you are doing for yourself.

Happy 2011!!

It's the start of a new year! A new year brings excitement, hope and often times, fear. It's the beginning of something new and has a lot of unknowns associated with it.
Today is the last day of January and there is already no way to know what the future holds. We have been steadily planning some things out but haven't actually decided on anything yet. We have a general plan of how we want things to go and we are working steadily toward those goals. We see our lives right now as though we are standing on the edge of a sword. On one side is success and on the other side is "failure". I say "failure" because for one to truly fail, one must give up. We will not give up, but our version of "failure" is falling back again and having to start over.
We are lucky. We have fallen and we are in the process of building ourselves back up, but we are young and our family is young. We still have time to build up our lives to what we want them to be.
I know sometimes things look bleak and hopeless, but if I could give just one piece of advice, it would be don't give up. There is always a way out if we truly look for it and are willing to do whatever it takes to build a strong foundation.
With that said, I will not go into too much detail of what we are planning, but I will give some 'hints'. 1- One of us will be starting school this spring. 2- We are planning to move in May, but I won't say where. 3- We are beginning planning for Alida's education. 4- we are planning to make a few... additions... to our household at some point in the near future... within the next couple of years.

So, there are a lot of exciting and potentially life altering events that are coming up within this year. We are so excited and we will do our best to keep everyone up to date on the "goings-on" in our family!

To finish up, here are some photos that I took over the holidays of 2010. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them and I look forward to and wish everyone a joyful and prosperous new year!

Love,
Shari Anne