Madilyn's 2nd Birthday Party

Our precious baby Madilyn turned 2 on June 27, 2011. I truly can't believe our angel is growing up so fast! We had her birthday party at the Parks Mall Carousel and it was a blast! We didn't have a huge turn-out but the people there loved on her to pieces!!

This is the cookie cake they provide with the party. Way cute and pink of course!

This is the amazing lady bug cake that Yaya (Justin's Mom) made Madilyn. Isn't she talented?!
"Look at me!!"
"I love riding the carousel with Daddy!"
She was singing the birthday song with us! So sweet!
She got a lot of great stuff; new outfits, baby doll accessories and baby dolls, a new Barbie and a doctor kit!
Thank you kisses and hugs all around!

After the party, Justin and I took Madilyn to the Build a Bear workshop where we gave her our gift. She got to pick out her own animal, name it, stuff it, and dress it! She loved this especially since it gave her some Mommy and Daddy alone time. (Thanks Mimi, Papa, Bibi and Bobo for staying with Mikah and Feliciti!)

These are the hearts we got to put into her daisy bunny. Notice the un-stuffed daisy bunny in her hands.
We got to register the daisy bunny where we officially named her Princess Bunny Hop-Hop.
"Thanks Mom and Dad for such a great new baby!"

Smile with your bunny!! Cheese!!!

Galveston 2011

A couple of weeks ago we went to Galveston for a short trip with the DeHart family!! My Mom and Dad went and my brother Daniel, my SIL Vivian and their precious baby boy Judah. It was my kid's first time to the beach so it was super special for all of us. To watch our babies see the ocean for the first time was amazing...we kept talking about the Lord's creation and how truly phenomenal His work is!! What a blessing!

This was the absolute first time our kids saw the ocean!! Notice them running to the water with such joy!! That is Mimi and Aunt Bibi with Judah in the front.

"Let's lay out with Mommy!"

"Daddy is so good at building sand castles!"
"Mimi got us all started playing in the sand- she learned how when she lived in Cali!"
"Aunt Bibi taught us how to gather the sand and clams in our hands and watch them dig!"

"We love our cousin Judah!"
Mikah loved digging in the sand
Feliciti loved running around from the ocean to the sand and back
Madilyn loved to hold onto Mommy or Daddy and jump over the waves

We are thinking we might make this an annual trip since it was so much fun!

Summer 2011 is the best!

If you would have been listening in on some of my conversations lately with my hubby, you might have heard the exclamation, "This has truly been the best summer!" or something to that variation.

I have so enjoyed myself this summer. Since I am on a 'get-real' kick I must say that my previous summers, staying home all summer long, being 'stuck' at home instead of teaching has been hard at times. I love my kids with all that I am but I was made to be a teacher. I would dream of teaching...I mean, I would start lesson planning in July! But this summer my family has completely been my focus and I have loved it!

For one thing, the kids are all at really fun stages.

Mikah is becoming so independent and capable of doing so many things on his own. Hallelujah! He is funny, asks a million questions and he expects an answer. Now answering questions all the time might become tiring at times, but I also love how observant he is and being a teacher, I love his love for learning. That sounded ridiculous but it's true! He also started playing indoor soccer this summer and watching him out there running with a huge smile on his face is so much fun! Isn't he handsome?!?!Feliciti is so beautiful and loving. She is definitely attached to her Mommy! She must be holding my hand at all times or sitting by me or hugging me...you get the picture. I truly love how close we are and I foresee being as close to her as I am to my own Mom. We are considering putting her into a dance/cheer-leading class in the Fall because she is so flexible and she cheers for her brother at his soccer games! "Go Go G-O, Go Mikah Go! " I love it!

Madilyn just recently turned 2 last week! I can't believe that my gorgeous baby is already 2. I have watched her become such a comedic, compassionate, and truly brilliant little girl. Being the youngest where her 2 older siblings are both learning so much every day, she has picked up on so much! She can already count to 15! She speaks in complete sentences and she can understand what we are saying. She will always be our baby but I love watching who the Lord is shaping her to be.
It has been the most amazing and difficult journey of my life raising 3 kids and I am so blessed and honored that the Lord 'lent' them to us.

The second reason this summer rocks is that Justin and I have really enjoyed spending the summer together. For my graduation present, Justin bought me a trip to Vegas staying in the Paris hotel and it was a blast! We went right after school was out and the kids all stayed with our parents. (thanks guys!)

We enjoyed sight-seeing, penny slots, Justin played real-life Texas Hold Em, we both played craps, and roulette. It was so much fun! We also got to see the spectacular Cirque de Soleil Beatles Love show at the Mirage and it was unbelievable!! You can see all our fun below...
A tout a l'heure! (See you soon!)

Weight Loss

Hi blog world! I am having the absolute best summer I have ever had!!! Sometimes I spend a lot of time updating the great new things my kids have done or show pictures of my beautiful family. But today, I wanted to be truly real for one of the first times.
I really felt led to discuss my weight loss adventure on my blog to either help someone else or to gain accountability for my commitment to myself. I know so many woman struggle with their self esteem/weight due to warped body images and massive societal pressures. So hopefully me sharing some of what I have gone through will help at least one person.

This is me my senior year of high school. I danced for 6 years and literally worked out 5-6 days a week for 2 hours straight each day. This is almost impossible once you get out of high school and into college. I started taking 16 hours at DBU and working 20-30 hours a week at the bookstore. Working out was not on my radar at all. So I gained about 10 pounds like that-snap! This wasn't too noticeable because I was so toned right out of HS. Then I met the man of my dreams and married him real quick! :) Well, new marriage = complacency about your body and another 10 pounds got on. I realized that I wasn't happy with my 20 extra pounds so I joined WW with my mom. I lost 14 of the 20 (she lost 85!!) and felt a lot better about myself and my eating habits.

Senior year of college rolls around and student teaching hits full force- I have absolutely no time for WW or for eating right! You see- for me the number one excuse for my weight was/is time! There was never the time to work out/eat right in my 'grown up' life. I was traveling to Denton for school (TWU by this time) and then GP for student teaching- I had to eat on the go and gosh forbid I actually get into a gym or run around my neighborhood! I was exhausted! So the weight started packing on. 4 years into our marriage and here comes Baby #1. By the time I got pregnant with #1, I was probably 25 pounds over my HS weight.

Well for me being pregnant the first time was all about eating! I ate a lot and I gained 60 pounds pregnant! Yes I said 60 pounds!!! So once Mikah was born, I was all about getting rid of the weight! I only lost about 25 of Mikah's 60 when he was born so I had a long way to go. 60 pounds to get back to my HS weight!!! 7 months go by and I have lost 10 more...surprise baby #2 is on her way!!! I obviously couldn't lose any weight being pregnant with Feliciti but I did manage to only gain a healthy 30 pounds with her. I lost pretty much all of her weight once she was born and about 10 more. Whew!

So at this point I am 45 pounds away from HS weight but I realize that isn't a healthy weight goal for me anymore. Along with my doctor we come up with a healthy weight goal which was about 35-40 pounds away. This goal was attainable- small goals are good for motivation! I started eating better at this time and tried to gain consistency with working out but it was hit or miss. We couldn't afford a gym membership and Justin was at class all the time working on his Master's so I pretty much maintained my weight during this period.
13 months go by and Baby #3 is coming! I only gain a healthy 25 pounds and it falls off with her delivery- praise!
We knew Madilyn was our last blessing so as soon as I got pregnant I started telling everyone that I was getting my body back! If you had been doing the math as we go along this journey, you might have noticed that I had 3 kids in 3 years! From the day my first angel was born, 3 years and 2 months went by when my last angel was born!!! This did crazy things to my body let me tell you! I have stretch marks, droopy skin, you name it- I have it! I want my toned body back- I want my healthy self esteem/image back- I want Traci back!

So I started running! Cue the Forest Gump voice! I ran ten 5K's in the year 2010 and loved every single one of them! I run for toning, I run for endurance, I run for me! I love listening to my music and just getting some me-time! Unfortunately the finances haven't allowed for me to run more than 2 5K's this year and a 10K. I also got my Master's during this time so I was again using my time excuse for the food. The running has helped some of my toning but my eating habits were still not in line- food is too good! Ugh!



PRESENT TIME- I graduated in May with my Masters so there is no more time excuse. I am still a Wife, a Mom, and a Teacher. And this summer was going to be the start of something amazing! I am currently 29-34 pounds away from my goal set by the Dr. I am working out 3-4 times a week at a new friend's house where she literally kicks our butts bootcamp-style! I am burning on average 1000 calories each bootcamp workout and I am loving it! I am eating right, participating in The Challenge which is a program created by said new dear friend with some healthy guidelines to live by. The family is having a blast enjoying our summer time together...life is good. I feel great! I am working so hard and I am truly, fully, wholly, completely committed to get my healthy body back!! My healthy weight is within my reach...I will reach my goal! I hope this blog entry, albeit long, helps anyone out there who is struggling with weight. I am not perfect and I do struggle with food temptations. But I am DONE WITH THE TIME EXCUSE!! I am making time for myself!

A verse we quote constantly at bootcamp and I am currently memorizing is:
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up. I am not giving up!!!!

Easter 2011

Happy Easter! We had a blast celebrating the resurrection of our Lord with 3 egg hunts, lots of "Hallelujahs, He is risen!" chants, and family love!

Look at my beautiful Princesses with their matching outfits!!

We even managed to get a picture of us- yeah!

Uncle Bobo, Aunt Bibi and Judah came to hunt for eggs too!

"Mimi can you help me get all the eggs?"

My handsome 5-year-old!! He turned 5 yesterday!!

I love this picture!!!

She has started becoming such a good 'picture poser'- I love it!

Mother's Day cards from Shutterfly!

Happy Day Pink Mother's Day 5x7 folded card

Personalized Mother's day cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Spring Spring Spring!

Well hello there!

We got to take some really good pictures of the kids this past week and I wanted to share them with my Blog family...I am sure you guys have been holding your breath patiently waiting for a post. (Although, I hope not since I haven't posted since February- yikes!)

Truthfully, I read my 'go-to' blogs weekly but I never seem to have the time/energy/motivation to upload our camera, upload the pictures to blogger, and then try to wittingly write down some words that hopefully you will all read.

It's hard for me...I don't think I have that 'writing gene'. I am darn good at mathematics but writing...yeah, it has NEVER been my strong suit. My brother is amazing at writing and there is a huge part of me that doesn't want to write because I CANNOT compete with him. He is an accomplished author who has his own writing website, movie review site etc...but! I am going to write...I have decided that it is only I who thinks this is a competition. Darn my competitive nature!

I digress...When I graduate in May, one of my goals, other than to take at least 2 years off until I go back to school, is to blog more. I want to be able to keep a running blog of our life with our amazing kiddos. They deserve to read it some day and so do Justin and I. We go through so many highs and lows with each stage they go through that it is only smart to document it.

For instance right now...Madilyn is starting her 'twos'. I don't like to say terrible because honestly, she is so amazing sometimes! She does go through her screaming fits, throwing things across the room for the fun of it, and testing every limit we have for her...but...she is also delightful. She is learning so much, stringing 5-6 word sentences together, plays so well with her big brother and sister and is truly funny! She cracks us up all the time! Below are some pictures of her gorgeous self!
Mikah is loving school and can't wait for Kindergarten to come! He talks about it all the time. He has become such a good helper for the family and that has made life much more manageable. He does enjoy testing the rules as well to see how this world works for an-almost-5-year-old and we are helping him with that. =0) About a month ago, Mikah asked Jesus to come into his heart and that was an amazing experience! He has a great heart already for the Lord and we can't wait to see what He will do with our incredible son! This is Mikah with his teacher Mrs. Angie at his Pre-K school.

Feliciti is truly a princess who is such a joy! She is the calming source of our family with her sweet high voice and her adorable say-isms. She says the most adorable things...today, she asked me if "she could become the Mommy of a June-bug or would that be too strange for the bug?" She is doing wonderfully as the middle child who takes care of her baby sister and who is Mikah's best friend!
Justin and I just celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and we couldn't be more blessed! We were able to go celebrate at a cabin in Glen Rose while the grandparents took over kid duty. =)

Hope to see you soon!