Boys/Girls Weekend

A couple weekends ago Jason and the boys left town right after B's soccer game on Saturday morning and headed to Mt. Nebo State Park for some tent camping. Our camper is too big to get to the park, plus they've been wanting to tent camp anyways. But in January!? I thought they were a little crazy, but it was definitely a fun boy thing! J's parents were there too, so they had company.

Meanwhile, Sis and I stayed warm and cozy here at home! We also headed out for some fun!

Saturday afternoon, we went to the movies and to church in the evening.






Sunday we went to lunch at Olive Garden, her pick!






Then we came home and she painted my nails while I watched football :)







I really wore that polish for a couple of days b/c she was so happy about it. For her 1st time, she did a pretty good job!

Meanwhile, Daddy was sending us photo updates along the way.

They really enjoyed watching the hang gliders.













Campsite at the top of the mountain. Gorgeous view.







They reported that snuggling up with all of their warm clothes on, sleeping bags and 4 big blankets, they stayed warm despite temps/wind chill in the 20's.

This was taken on Sunday morning. I'd say it was a little cold!







On a 4 mike hike. They shook ice out of a tree into R and big brother is licking it off!







What a fun weekend! But us girls missed those stinky boys so much and we were so glad to see them when they came home! I'll admit, I wasn't nearly as happy to see those mounds of dirty laundry they brought home with them though :)

A Weighty Issue

So-- confession time. I'm an emotional eater. I've not always struggled with my weight, but I have ever since giving birth to my 3rd child. She was born in 2006.
I gained 42 lbs during pregnancy (which was not too bad for me- i gained 55 with my 1st and 37 with my 2nd) and when she wasn't gaining weight after birth I refused to give her formula. I just "fattened" up my milk any way I could. Cookies, fried foods, lots of dairy. And in large quantities. Not the best way to go about it, but she started gaining weight! So-- instead of losing weight during that post-partum/nursing baby period, basically I stayed the same weight.
After I weaned her at 15 months, I started to try to lose it. I had 3 young children, a stressful full time job and a husband who was starting a new business and worked more than he was home. It was hard, but I tried really hard. I'd lose 15-25. Give up. Gain it back. Several times.
When she was about 2, I got a trainer, lost about 20. Gave up. Gained it back.
Several times.
When we started our adoption journey, in March '10, I was at the lowest weight I'd been since I was last pregnant.
You guessed it. Since then, I've given up and not only gained those 25 lbs back, but about 7 more.
Around the same time, 18 months ago, I went to see a gastroenterologist because my IBS symptoms were getting worse. He gave me lots of things to try, but #1 was to cut out all artificial sweeteners. I had a pretty bad diet coke habit, but I knew I had to do something because my stomach was hurting constantly. Instead of weaning myself off of coke entirely, I just switched from Diet Coke to the real thing. I'm pretty sure I drank my way back up the weight scale with Cokes and Sweet Teas.
1 month ago, I weighed more than I've ever weighed non-pregnant. I was still going to the gym fairly regularly, and will lose a few and gain them right back or just not lose at all, despite several hard workouts a week, because I'm not making great food choices. Or I make great choices, but just eat too much of it.
Apparently I've learned the lesson that my metabolism isn't the same as we get older and I not only have to fight to lose it, but I'm going to have to fight to keep it off.
I'm not aspiring to be the same weight I was when we got married almost 13 years ago. (I've never been tiny, but I was healthy.) I just want to get in the target healthy weight zone for my height.
I don't know if any of you struggle with your weight, but what have you found that works. How do you maintain it? As you can see, that's the hard part for me.
I did the Daniel Fast for 21 days and I lost 11 lbs. I have 21 more to go. My doctor and several friends suggested Weight Watchers, so I started it on Monday. So far, i love it. I think its going to be really doable for me. The proper portion sizes of things has been especially eye opening. Although, after having fasted for 3 weeks, starting Weight Watchers feels like I've been given a free pass to an all you can eat buffet b/c I can eat anything! I didn't go to the gym while I was fasting, because I was pretty low on energy and I already have low blood sugar issues. I started back to the gym Mon am and plan to go 5 days a week again for a while, but will eventually have to cut back to 3 days due to time and schedule constraints.
So-- wish me luck!
During my fast, part of what God showed me was about my emotional issues with food (that I realize now I'd been in denial about) and reminded me that He is what I need-when I'm stressed, or sad, or angry or happy- not food. Or awful, sugary beverages. And especially bad foods....
I really do want to stay in control of my health and not let it slide again! This up and down stuff for 5.5 years has really been hard on my body as well as my mind.
I'm posting this so that maybe it will help to keep me accountable. I've chronicled weight loss here before and obviously failed to keep it off, but I'm trying again!

11 Random Things

My good friend Ashley at We are Expecting Miracles tagged me to participate in this fun "getting to know you" type blog post. It was fun to read about her and know a little more about her since we don't get to see each other in real life very often these days. So, I thought it would be fun to participate too.

Rules

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them
6. Tag 11 people

My Random Things:

1. I am a huge football fan. I love the Razorbacks, but unless they're playing, I prefer NFL to College football. But I watch college football anytime it's on also. I've been to 2 NFL games (Vikings games, of course! The first one will be forever etched into my memory. I was in the same building as BRETT FAVRE. Have I ever showed you guys my Valentine's gift from my husband last year?? I should do that some time. And all of you girls will think I'm K-A-RAZY...) (Also, have I told you that when we drove in and around Hattiesburg last year, I looked into every pick-up we passed for him?? :) (Seriously, not crazy- just a big fan!)  and I'd love to go to more! I'm like the husband that many wives complain about. On Sundays, I like to lay around and do nothing but eat snacks and watch football. (I feel sorry for those poor husbands, by the way!) I will be going into my post football depression soon :(

2. I hate cleaning. All of it. I do it, but I hate it.

3. I love driving a mini van. I'm so glad I was able to go back to a van last year.

4. You'd never know I grew up on a farm, I'm more of an indoor/city girl type.

5. I haven't had a mani or a pedi in over 2 years.

6. All 3 of my children were delivered in the same room, of the same hospital, by the same doctor.

7. I love to cook.

8. I have a major sweet tooth. (And am currently losing weight that I've gained over the last 18 months or so. So, not too many desserts lately!)

9.I have lived in 5 different houses since I've been married.

10. I have personally had 7 different vehicles since I've been married.

11. The color I wear most often is black.

Ashley's 11 questions for me

1. What was your favorite childhood toy?
Off the top of my head, I'd say I was most excited to get a Pogo Ball.

2. What do you like best about your husband/significant other?
Sappy, I know, but hard to pick just one thing!! Ummmm... I'd say his tender heart.

3. What is your favorite dessert?
This is also hard to just pick one! I guess I'd have to say Cheesecake.

4. Describe one of your most memorable vacation experiences.
We went on a cruise with all 3 of our kids to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary in 2009. We were gone 10 days. It was amazing! We drove to Jacksonville, Florida to catch the boat (the drive was the worst part! Our youngest was only 2 and was potty training...) We went to Key West and the Bahamas. SO fun!! It was our first vacation (other than visiting family) in our 10 years of marriage.

5. What do you like to do to relax/unwind?
Read in a hot bath.

6. What is the most random thing in your closet?
A Ziploc bag full of random small fall decor items that I forgot to put in the tub when I took the fall decor down.

7. If money wasn't an object, what "luxury items" would you put in your house?
#1 would definately be a hot tub outside. Other than that, I would say a big enough soaker tub to lay all the way down in, a media room and a play room. (I guess the main issue would be the space to do those things!) Oh, and a 6 burner stove and 2 full size wall ovens!

8. What trait do you admire in others that you wish you possessed?
This is a physical characteristic, but it came to my mind first. Clear skin. I struggle with acne and it's the worst :(

9. What is your favorite fast-food restaurant?
Schlotzsky's

10. You are having dinner with 3 of your favorite celebrities. Who are you with and what are you talking about?
Tim Tebow, Brett Favre, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck.  I'd talk football and faith with Tim. The thing I'd most like to talk to him about would be his family's orphanage in the Phillipines. My husband and I have felt called to missions in the future and we'd most like to work in orphan care somewhere in the world. With Brett, I'd just tell him I love him and ask him to tell me football stories of the glory days. With Elizabeth, I'd love to talk about what it's like to be married to an (ex)NFL player, living in the city, being famous and also about cooking. She just wrote a cookbook, apparently, she can cook too! And she is just so darn pretty and seems really sweet.

11. What is your current favorite brand of shoe?
Toms

My 11 questions for you
1.  If there was one place you could travel to, what would it be?
2. Name 3 things from your "bucket list".
3. If you were stranded on a desert island, what 5 items would you want to have with you?
4. If you could have a housekeeper, a personal chef, or a personal trainer, which would you choose?
5. What was your favorite Christmas gift you received this year?
6. What is your favorite book?
7. What would your dream job be?
8. What is one thing in your life that you regret?
9. What is the farthest place you've ever traveled to?
10. Who is your favorite famous person?
11. What is your #1 beauty secret/tip?
 
The people I'm tagging are:
1. Carrie
2. Sonya
3. Rachel
4. Amber
5. Courtney
6. Catherine
7. Ashley
8. Liz
9. Carrie
10. Sara
 
If you don't want to or don't have time to do it, no biggie! I just thought I'd like to learn more about each of you if you did have the time :)

Adoption Fundraiser

I'm linking up to Kelly's Korner blog today for Show Us Your Life: Adoption Fundraisers.

Just a little about us: We are in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. We first felt God calling us to adopt in the Fall of 2009. We began our paperwork in March 2010 and today, we are still waiting for a referral and to meet our new daughter. We just can't wait to add another precious child to our family!

We are fundraising with Ordinary Hero, which is an awesome organization.

Just click on the blue banner above and start shopping and you can learn all about Ordinary Hero on the website as well. We earn a part of the proceeds from every sale made. ** Also, they are holding a grant contest that runs through this Sunday, Jan 22, 11:59pm. The top 3 sellers will each receive a $500 grant! We would SO appreciate your help in becoming one of the winners!

When you check-out-- just choose "Erica Kennett" under affiliate name. This way we will get the credit for the sale.

If you don't "need" anything, you can even donate products to those in Ethiopia such as bibles in their native language, donkeys to help with daily workload, animals for food, backpacks, blankets and shoes for children, and more!

Thank you for supporting us! If you are unable to support us in this fundraiser, we would greatly appreciate your prayers! God Bless!

Braden's "Late" bday bash

We had Braden's 11th birthday over a month late because we were waiting for soccer season and fall baseball season to be over so we'd have a "free" weekend to be able to have it! His buddies all came home with him after school on a Friday and they played soccer in the back yard until it was time to go to the party.

He loved his cookie cake!

Pizza FEAST at the house was ready for them after school

At the soccer party. Sissy got into the action too!!

They ran full speed and played hard for the entire hour! They were sweaty and stinky and they loved it!!

Time for cake!

The whole gang. The big boys were nice enough to let little brother and little sister jump in this one :)

FRIENDS!!!

This bunch is somethin' else. As soon as I snapped the first one, it took them about .0053 seconds to turn into this :) I love every one of those crazy boys!

Oh, and you didn't think Mom and Dad stayed on the sidelines, did ya?

We were the goal keepers. It was quite exciting. Jason was wishing he had gotten a picture of me in action too. I was quite ok with not having it documented :)


One of the boys is a football player and hasn't played much soccer and he's VERY competitive. Anyways, I kept yelling at my defenders to protect me because he kept coming at me like he was gonna TAKE.ME.OUT! I took only 1 or 2 big shots, but I did come out alive and with my glasses in one piece. We laughed so hard. It was awesome. I will say that I had quite a bit more respect for my studly goal-keeping son after playing in the goal with those boys for an hour. That's not an easy job!!!

What a fun birthday party!!!! Can't believe my "baby" is 11.... Wow!

First Pageant

Gracie has been asking me for over 2 years to be in a pageant. I've looked around for one before, but there aren't that many of them around here. So, I just kept putting her off. She's really been talking about doing it alot in the past few months, so when I heard about a little pageant coming to our area, I asked her if she wanted to enter. Of course, she said yes!

We went shopping for a dress and shoes last weekend and she's been walking in her high heels every day to practice. Although I've got some pageant experience, I never gave her any advice. I had no idea what to expect, so I didn't really know what to tell her anyway. This was a natural pageant and only a little blush and lip gloss was allowed. Also, we were told she didn't need a pageant dress. (Of course, when we got there we noticed almost all of the other little girls decked out in pageant attire and lots of makeup :)

When she would practice doing her pageant walk at home, she was rockin' it out with a sassy walk and lots of smiling and waving. She's been so excited!

When we were getting dressed for the pageant, she kept saying, "I've been dreaming of this day for so long! I just can't believe my dream is coming true!"

We had to be there 2 hours before it started, so she was pretty bored and tired by the time it was time to start. Although she was still excited.

When we got to the stage area and the younger divisions started, she was on the verge of tears and begging me to not make her do it. She said she didn't realize all those people would be there watching. After lots of talking and encouraging, she eventually agreed to walk on the stage, but she wasn't going to wave and she was only going to do one turn in front of the judges and then she was "getting out of there".

Here she is on stage. She did her little walk so fast that she had to stand there for a little bit while the MC finished reading her info :)



Here she is getting a medal for "Best Personality"



Here she is getting a trophy and a crown for Runner-Up!

Here she is with all of her awards afterwards.

After it was all over, she decided it wasn't that bad and she'd like to do it again. I'm not opposed to her doing it again, but we're not going to jump right into it. I'll just have to see how much she talks about it and try to judge if she really wants to do it. Because the next time, it's going to require the real pageant dress, etc. I sure don't want to invest in that stuff if she's going to get embarrased and beg me not to make her walk on the stage again! :)

But for a first experience, it was good. She walked away with some awards and she really loved getting all dressed up. She really did look so very pretty!!

And, to top off the fun day, Daddy took the family out to eat a really nice dinner afterwards to celebrate! It was our first nice dinner out of the year and everyone enjoyed it!

17

Today marks 17 months on the wait list. Our family is still super excited and anxious about when we will get our referral call.

At last report, the average wait time was up to 18 months, so we likely still have a decent amount of time to wait. There hasn't been much movement, as far as new referrals, in our agency in the past several months. It's hard and we don't understand, but we trust God's timing.
We're not giving up! We are still praying! And if I even try to forget to pray about our adoption and our little girl, the kids sure don't let me!
Lately, the boys have been asking questions about how we will handle it when we do get our referral. Will I come and check them out of school? Will they get to be home for the call?
I assumed Gracie didn't really understand any of those conversations.
On Sunday, she and I were alone walking in the Wal-Mart parking lot hand in hand and out of the blue she said, "Every time we get a call or a message in my classroom, I'm hoping it's for me to check out because we got our referral."
Talk about faith! Those kids are believing every single day that "today could be the day!"
I believed it for a while, and then when too many days came and went, that bold faith went too.
I think it's time for me to find that bold, crazy faith again!!
God has been so faithful to us through this whole, long process. He continues to be faithful to us. He's supplying abundant peace in the midst of uncertainty. Perhaps that is what I'm most thankful for. I'm not real happy with being faced with waiting even longer, and even more unhappy with still not having any clue when this chapter will close and the next chapter will begin. BUT, He has given me this peace that I didn't think possible. Our God is an awesome God! He is in control and we will follow where he leads.
I'm a planner and living last year on the fly, unable to plan anything too far in advance, was extremely hard for me. I was so glad to see 2011 end! But here I find myself... On the other side of that year... And in the same predicament! We were talking about Spring Break over the weekend and realized that we still can't really make any plans. I'm learning.
Life isn't about how well I can plan it all out and execute my perfect plans with precision. Goodness... Have I sure been learning that lesson! And it's not been fun either! Can I say that I'm better for it already though? Absolutely.
I'll end this month's post with the same feelings I always have. Hoping that this is the last one of it's kind!!
Amen!