16 pounds and A Bundle of Joy

I've been out of the blogging loop for a couple of days because I have been a little preoccuppied. Noah Lee Chandler finally made his appearance into the world yesterday (May 25th) at 4:32pm. He weighed 9lbs and 7oz and was 23 inches long. He is quite a big boy and had no intentions of coming out on his own. Amy ended up having a C-section and did a great job bringing this little miracle into the world. I am sure you can't imagine how excited his Aunt Kabes is to finally meet him and take lots and lots and lots of pictures. I finally got to hold him today and I am completely in love. This little bundle of joy has stollen my heart and the only way I could love him more was if he was my own. Here are some pictures of Noah on his birth-day.


daddy, mommy and aunt kabes before his big arrival


here's the big boy with his head full of HAIR


little chunky monkey


drinking from a bottle without a nipple...we already have a toddler on our hands


getting to hold Noah for the first time (my heart melted)
(one day old)

More pictures of Noah to come...I assure you!

As for workout news...I hit the 16lb mark today. So far 16lbs in 5 weeks and feeling pretty good about life! The hamstring is still not 100% but I am slowly getting back into doing lunges and squats again. Bless me! Next week will be the real challenge. I am speaking at a girls camp three days next week where I will have to be disciplined enough to get in a workout or at least a good run in the morning before the camp schedule starts up. I am creature who thrives on a schedule and routine so here's to making healthy eating choices and getting a workout in when my schedule is completely different. Luckily we will be canoeing 10 miles down the river one day so I am assured a good arm workout. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Happily Ever After....

I have been waiting for this wedding for a long time. Matt and Megan got engaged over a year ago and we have anxiously been awaiting their wedding day. Megan has served as an RA and head advisor for me for the last two and half years. Matt was also an RA and LC student of mine. I affectionately call him "paw paw" after our trip to Turkey when I was partially crippled from a dislocated hip. Everyone on the team started calling me "maw maw" and then one day a Turkish girl asked if Matt and I were married...and thus he became "paw paw." I love both of these kids to death and am so excited to see them start their life together. Megan just graduated from LC and starts PT school in Shreveport on Monday..so proud! I am going to miss having them around.

Their wedding was absolutely precious....so sweet and so Christ honoring. Eric Johnson performed their ceremony and did a fabulous job! I loved everything about the ceremony and how they honored Matt's dad who passed away many years ago. It was just a very emotional and sweet wedding. Now the reception...it was a blast! They had the reception in a barn and it looked fabulous! There was lots of great food...good music...people dancing..just a great time! Probably my favorite part of the reception was the photo booth where you could take 4 different poses and then have them printed out. The booth automatically printed 4 for you to keep and 4 that someone was sitting there scrapbooking and you could leave the couple a note underneath your photos. I loved that idea!

Here are some pics from the reception:


the Galliens arriving at their reception...


the beautiful bride...



first dance...


the photo booth wedding favors...


a sparkler farewell...

DILEMMA

So this whole weight loss journey started when I was not chosen during the Biggest Loser season 10 auditions....and what an amazing journey it has been so far. When Angie and I auditioned we were under the impression that they were casting season 10 and season 11 so auditions wouldn't roll around for another year. As I accepted defeat I decided my goal would be to work so hard that I wouldn't be eligible to audition the next time...that means I would have to lose 100lbs this year. I am well on my way.

Here lies the dilemma...we found out this week that the casting directors are getting ready to hit the road again to conduct auditions for season 11...which will be couples. What to do? Honestly I am quite torn because now I kind of want to finish this on my own just to prove to myself that I can. Is that crazy? I sort of think that the whole reason for me applying the last time was the wake up call I got from the process. Time will tell but I am leaning towards not applying again.

As for the workout...I did two workouts again today. I got up and hit the field at 7:15am this morning to run two miles with Emily. I have to be honest...getting up early was hard. I love my sleep! As hard as it was to get up, running in the morning without eating and getting lots of water was rough. And do you know how quickly it gets hot in Louisiana in the summer...even early in the morning? Weight loss isn't for the weak and nothing worth having comes easy...at least that is what everyone keeps telling me. I got my early morning run in though and then hit the field at 5:45 with Laura for a pretty kick butt workout. One of the new elements we added in today was rolling tracker tires. It took both of us just to stand it up but it was a great arm workout. Hayden would have been proud.

TWO-A-DAYS

So I was feeling froggy yesterday, apparently. I went to workout with Emily at 5:30pm like normal. Right now I am limited to what I can do because of my pulled hamstring but I did what I could. Are you ready for this...I ran TWO MILES! I ran the first mile in 12 minutes. I have never run a 12 minute mile. I was feeling so good when it was over that I looked at Emily and said "let's go for two!" Emily thought I was kidding until I started running down the field as she headed to the bathroom. I ran another one and was feeling great! I can't believe how strong I am getting and how good I feel. In fact, Sara doesn't get to workout with us on Wednesdays because of church so I told her I would go run with her after church. So after running with Em...I went for another run with Sara. And...I ran another two miles. I've never run 4 miles in my life collectively until yesterday.

I had another milestone yesterday. Ever since we started working out with Hayden I am the only one who cannot do girl push ups. I have to do my push-ups on a bench so that I am not having to hold all of my own body weight. After running two miles I felt like it was at least worth a shot to see if I have gotten strong enough to do a push-up from the ground...AND I DID! I did about 15 without blinking an eye. Who am I? A strong, determined, weight losing machine!

After running four miles yesterday I am convinced that before the end of the summer I can be ready to RUN, not walk a 5K...so that is my goal. After completing a 5K my next goal is doing a triathlon. I'm loving life right now and feeling better than I ever remember feeling. My clothes are getting too big and I am losing inches like crazy. I have lost 2.5 inches on my neck, 4 inches off my hips, 2 inches off my waist and an inch off both arms, both thighs and both calves. YEAH!!!

Mayday Mayday...Man Down!

Well it was bound to happen and last night it was official...I have my first workout injury. Actually it happened two weeks ago but I just pushed it over the edge last night. I was walking up a hill two weeks ago and felt something pull in my hamstring. For two weeks now every workout has been pretty painful, especially stretching, doing squats and running stairs...but last night we were stepping up on this box that was about two feet high and after the first step I was in pain. Lots of pain! I tried to walk it off and not be a "ninni" as Hayden has often called me. We went to run stadiums and that was painful but I did it and then came time to hop and I was in tears. Hayden finally realized I wasn't being a "ninni" and that something was wrong. I quit running stadiums and went back down to the field just to run some 110s while Sara and Emily finished stadiums. I am happy to report that I almost ran an entire mile without stopping last night...it won't be long now. When Sara and Emily finished we ran gassers...kill me! I hate those so much but I never stopped running. I had to bail out of leg throws but I did all the rest of the ab workouts.

This morning I went to see John, LC's athletic trainer and had my leg checked out. I have a pulled hamstring and have to take it easy for a week. That's a pretty big setback to my 50lb weight loss goal before Uganda but my spirit is not broken. I will do what I can this next week and get back to it when the hammy is better. Apparently week five is my brick wall but I am going to bust on through to the other side and find skinny Kabes on the other side!

Africa T-shirts fundraiser

So it is no secret that I am going to Uganda because I have been talking about it like crazy...as if I were getting married. I am in the process of raising support so I am selling T-shirts to help raise the money. The shirts are $20.00 and a great way for you to remember to pray for me while I am in Uganda. I will have the shirts in hand in two weeks so now is the time to place your order. Pictured below is the design of the shirt..they are black with white, turquoise and gray in the design. I can get adult small through XXL. If you would like to place an order just email me at kbthomas@lacollege.edu with your name, size(s) and address if you are not in Pineville/Alexandria. As soon as I receive your check made out to ISF I will put your shirt(s) in the mail. Thank you so much for your continued support!!



Please mail checks to:
KB Thomas
403 Cross Street
Pineville, LA 71360
make checks payable to ISF

Division III Regionals: LET'S GO CATS

This weekend we are hosting the Division III Regionals for softball. Our Lady Wildcats are on fire this season. Coming into the tournament they were the ASC Champions with a 41-6 record. We are currently ranked #1 in the nation and don't seem to be letting go of that position anytime soon. Game 1 we beat Laverne 1-0...a little bit of a heart attack game since that one score was on a walk, but we will take what we can get. Our second game we beat Mississippi College 6-2 and sent them packing from the tournament. Now I have grown up as a football fan in the SEC so I know competition and nasty fans and I am not sure we have anything on the parents of softball girls. There was a bad call made during the game by an umpire (luckily in LC's favor) and the parents from MC were quite nasty the rest of the game. Oh well, stinks for ya'll. Luckily the two points we scored on that bad call weren't the game winning points.

Tonight we played game three against the Pirates from Southwestern and beat them 10-2. We are now the only undefeated team in the tournament. Yeah baby! We play for the championship today at 3:00pm and when we win we are World Series bound. Way to go Lady Cats...so proud of you ladies! Watching them play is amazing. Nothing like sitting in the sun all day with the sound of cracking bats, the smell of sunscreen and burgers on the grill and watching some girls enjoying victory. BOOM BOOM!

Here are just a few pics I have taken at the tournament:



a little team tradition this season...BOOM BOOM


team prayer with Chaplain...Brad Duffy


Cliff Magee rocking out the National Anthem...play ball!




just a little game intro ritual with Jodi and Aimee (center fielder and 1st baseman)


#7....my girl, Amber Thomas...stellar catcher for the Cats!


#23 our resident slugger...Jodi Montagnino

UGANDA SUPPORT LETTER

I commented in the last post that I had sent out my support letters. My sister took her letter and scanned it and emailed it to several of her friends in Birmingham...THANKS TERI! She copied me on the email so I thought I would post it on my blog for any of you who didn't receive a letter. I assure you it was because I didn't know you were following my blog or because I didn't have your address. I can certainly use all the financial and prayer support you are willing to give.

As of today the people on my team are Heather Odom, Matt Jahnke, Myra Eggleston, Catey Heller and Maggie Lingenfelter. Myra and Maggie are both LC students so I am excited to get to experience this trip with them. Catey is a student in Shreveport where my friends Mary and Jamey serve as college ministers. Mary and Jamey are in the process of adding to their family of 3 boys by adopting a child from Uganda. This will be a really neat experience for Catey to feel like she is part of their journey. I also received an email from Mary two days ago and she is seriously considering going with us. I would be honored to have her on the team and would love to see the Lord's hand in using this to lead them to their new son, Gideon Ray. I can already sense the Lord at work in a mighty way putting this team together....it has doubled in less than two weeks.

I sent off my passport to be renewed on Monday. It's hard to believe that it has been 10 years since I went out of the country for the first time. The first passport started with an Australia stamp and the new one will start with Uganda. Here is the amazing thing...I actually look younger in the new photo than I did 10 years ago...how's that for aging well? You can certainly pray that there is no hold on getting my passport back. The turn around time is 4-6 weeks and we leave for Uganda in 7 weeks. YIKES!

I am also looking into all the immunizations we will have to have for the trip. As if 4 shots a week for allergies aren't enough we are going to visit the health unit and get shot up some more. I know for sure we have to have yellow fever shots and something for malaria. Prevention is ALWAYS better than needing to be treated for something funky.

Enjoy the letter and thank you in advance for your investment in this journey!

OKAY JUST KIDDING...my computer is saying that the file is unrecognizable. I will try to attach the letter soon.

Losing some weight....and losing my mind!

So my days are totally off on keeping up with my workouts. I do know that this is officially workout week four...and I have survived two field workouts already this week. Can I get a drum roll please?....as of this morning I have lost 14lbs! I am under 280lbs for the first time in a long time. I am just trying to imagine what 50lbs is going to feel like and I can't wrap my mind around it..much less 100 or 150lbs. BRING IT ON!

Yesterday was pretty rough. I was having stomach troubles all afternoon so every exercise was a mental battle not to poop myself. I even told Hayden at the start of the workout that I would throw up for him (check) but I would not poop my pants for him (that's reserved for the Biggest Loser casting directors, ha ha). I still gave it my all but there were a few times when I was running sprints that I thought I might get more than a calorie burn. In fact, I spent a lot of breathing time at the fence trying not to hurl yesterday. Running when it's 90 degrees outside in Louisiana is not for the weak.

Hayden did tell me that I was getting stronger and running faster so that is a good sign and always encouraging to hear!

As of today most people should have received my support letters in the mail so pray that I get a good response...financially and with prayer support. I know the Lord is going to provide and I am anxiously awaiting to see Him at work! I have truly been blown away thus far to find out how many people are following my journey and your support and encouragement mean the world to me! If you're reading this know that YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!

Day 16: "solitaire"

So remember the time I got stood up by all my workout partners? Yeah that was today! So guess who got a full workout with Hayden's undivided attention and let me assure you that is not a good thing! Another brutal workout with lots of new stuff added in. I don't think I like Hayden's philosophy that every workout should be the hardest workout I've done. That's the kind of thinking that will kill a fat kid...but I suppose that's the point, huh?

Today was a lot of shoulder work again. Have I mentioned that I hate push ups? There was also lots of squats...Hayden still hasn't gotten the memo about the thighs not needing to grow. And then we ran snakes...that sounds fun doesn't it. A snake is running the width of the field then doing a shuffle run side ways to the next five yard line and then run backwards the width of the field. And then do it over and over and over again. For the record I also hate running backwards. I feel retarded when I run backwards. One day I am going to learn to keep my mouth shut about the things I hate doing because those are the things Hayden loves to make me do. In fact, when it came time to run 110s you better believe he made me run one backwards without stopping for 110 yards. Needless to say that I love and appreciate Hayden but today I didn't like him! And I am not happy with Sara and Emily for standing me up. It is on come Wednesday ladies!

On a non-workout note...I got passport photos done today and sent off my passport to be renewed. I have 7 1/2 weeks until we leave for Uganda which means that passport needs to come back ASAP. It also means that I have 38 more pounds to lose. YIKES!I may be a chunky monkey but I have aged well. Surprisingly enough I look younger in the new passport photo than I did 10 years ago when I had it made...go me!

Happy Monday friends....and Happy Birthday Bono! And for the record, Noah is still hanging in there. I am so ready for that kiddo to be born!

Day 15: "vindicated!"

So this is probably going to make me sound like an evil troll but I feel vindicated from my first workout that made me throw up. We have a new workout partner joining us this coming week so on Saturday I took her out to ease her into our routine before she worked out with Hayden....and I made her have to throw up. I was totally sympathetic because I have been there and lucky for her she was able to compose herself but I did feel vindicated that I got to push someone to the edge like I was pushed. Sorry Em!

I got a great workout in though...tire throwing, a few stadiums, lots of lunges and running. I was feeling good afterwards. I was able to run a whole set of stairs without stopping for the first time and I was hopping up those stairs like a bunny rabbit...a heavy bunny rabbit, but a bunny nonetheless.

As of today I have hit the 12lb mark and I am feeling great. I have a little pull in my hamstrings for some reason but I am loving this new lifestyle.

All of that was on Saturday after graduation. Today is Sunday...MOTHER'S DAY...happy mother's day Mom! I have been incredibly productive. I've bathed Matti, done all the laundry, cleaned most of the apartment and cooked dinner for some friends. I was in the mood for some chicken casserole so I invited Alana and Angie over for dinner. Chicken casserole, a yummy salad with artichokes and a pastry puff with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream....you can just call me Martha Stewart. I also repotted a few plants today. It's been a good day!

I also managed to sync my iPhone for the first time in ages and ran across several pictures I forgot I had. I'll share one with you that I love! One of my new favorite people, Felipe, gave me his soccer jersey to hang on my wall this week. Felipe graduated on Saturday so now I have something to always remember him by. One day he was in my office and commented how nappy the LC football jersey I had was...and now it has been replaced by a snazzy LC soccer jersey. Ironically I have an LSU football jersey from my favorite Hispanic in Baton Rouge and now I have an LC soccer jersey from my favorite Hispanic in Pineville. Thanks Felipe!!

graduations...makeover and sleeping dogs

Unfortunately I didn't get a Friday workout in...it's been a busy week. We've been moving students out of the dorm and doing spring cleaning. Praise the Lord...it's summer time. I got to do a little shopping in the trash pile and scored a great new wicker bench so my front patio got a makeover.





In the business of the week I managed to capture some great new pictures of Matti. Clearly you see how she spends her days. Lazy dog. She has a tough life around here.





We finished off the week with graduation this morning. It's hard to believe I have been at LC for four years and these graduates were my first freshmen class. I feel like we've grown up together. I will certainly miss these guys and gals as they move on to the next chapter of their lives.


J-gal

Shannon Smith

Dave Thomas, Jason Kees and Anna McGee

Felipe Escobedo

Sarah Allen and Megan Berry

Jessica Ward

Brian Verrett

Stacy Elder

I love these crazy kids and wish them the best wherever life is taking them now. As for me...it's been a great weekend. Looking forward to game night at the Johnson's and hopefully getting a workout in at some point.

Day 13 and 14: "collar bones, Copeland's and a new running partner"

So yesterday was a give and take kind of day. I ended Day 12's blog with contemplating how I would spend my night at Copeland's with the RA staff. I made a smart decision for my entree...it was called New Orleand Lite Fish. I had grilled mahi mahi on a bed of pasta and fresh veggies with a lemon sauce. I only ate about 1/3 of the pasta and all the veggies and fish. I saved room for cheesecake because...well it's Copeland's and I can't resist the bananas foster cheesecake. I didn't eat it all so I was okay with my reward. It was just a great night of good eats and great company. I gave each RA a certificate with the entire staffs' collaboration of "Most likely to's" and we got to share those with each other and laugh quite a bit. Here are some of the things that appeared on my most likely to award:

MOST LIKELY TO...
*be a sports illustrated swimsuit model in 1 year (probably not but I appreciate the vote of confidence)

*to fart and burp in public

*open an orphanage in Africa

*have a Dr. Seuss shrine

*have an extremely spoiled dog

*host the Biggest Loser

*give you a "big girl panty" talk

*intimidate me into writing something nice

*be smokin hott!! (got several of these....thanks guys!)

*look completely different in 5 months

I thoroughly enjoyed my award and was grateful for the support my RA staff has given me in this weight loss endeavor. So, what was my day 13 workout? Laughter...that's all. I took the day off and boy was I ready to get out there and run today.

For Day 14 I had to put in a run by myself. That's not very fun so I decided to take Matti with me to the football field and she had a blast. She was chasing me around the field as I was running and just having a good time. I took her to the vet last week and got in trouble because she had gained 10lbs this year so maybe I will start taking her more often. Surely she lost some weight today because she ran as much as I did only she was way more winded than I was! Poor girl is passed out cold on the couch and has been for hours. I didn't get as killer of a workout as I normally do but I did get a pretty good run in. I'll probably spend some time on the treadmill tonight while catching up on my shows from this week.

And as for collar bones...I ACTUALLY HAVE THEM. I may not be losing major pounds off the scale each week but I am losing inches and when I looked in the mirror tonight with a V-neck on I caught a glimpse of collar bones. Not gonna lie, that was a good feeling!

Day 12: "just keep swimming...just keep swimming"

Nothing exciting about today's workout...just some time in the pool with some of the ladies. We've been swimming 25-28 laps each time because we thought that was a mile. I found out this week that it actually takes 35 laps to make a mile in that pool. Well stink! After doing a day of shoulder work yesterday my arms were done for...I was only able to swim 15 laps and then I did some crunches and squats and then kicked in place for 30 minutes. I don't feel like I cheated myself out of a good workout...I still felt like jello when I got out of the pool. Oh....and I was able to touch the flag on the first jump tonight. Who's getting stronger every day...ooh, pick me!

Now the real question is my self-control because tomorrow night is our end of the year RA dinner at Copeland's. I LOVE COPELAND'S....and I don't think there is anything on the menu that is on my diet, especially not the bananas foster cheesecake that I could eat my weight in. Oh decisions, decisions.

Day 11: "momma bird is back with a vengeance"

Well if you recall in one of my last posts I made the comment about how Hayden was like a momma bird who had kicked the baby birds out of the nest...two days last week Sara and I worked out without Hayden and felt pretty good about implementing the things we had learned. We pushed ourselves and got some great workouts in. Yesterday the momma bird came back with a vengeance! Hayden was back in the saddle in full trainer mode. There was no laughing...no bargaining with us over how many reps we would do...he came ready to do work and let me tell you...my body is paying the price today.

We did a whole new routine yesterday and I still have that first day haze just trying to remember what all we did because I thought I was dying the entire time. I mean, I felt pretty accomplished after running the entire warm up lap for the second day in row and thankfully Sara was there to celebrate with me as I was gasping for air...Hayden on the other hand did not seem impressed as he told Sara, "that's an every day thing now!" Wonderful! So on to the rest of the warm ups we went and then straight into doing chair sits. Holy cow...that is quite painful. It if hadn't been for the little ant on the ground that I watched the entire time I was squatting I don't think I would have made it. Thank you little ant for distracting me! Then it was on to what seemed like an ungodly number of push-ups, jump squats, prisoner squats..etc. I don't think Hayden realizes that my thighs do not need to get any bigger...all this squatting is for a different baby bird. oh well..I trust he knows what he is doing. I tell you what is not encouraging...having a trainer who is in the middle of finals who likes to take his stress out on you..ugh.

We also did a lot of running today. All the sprints we normally do...today we did them running up a hill, even the backwards sprints. Luckily I never busted my tail but I sure came close quite a few times. I would be okay to never do that again (wishful thinking). We also did a good bit of shoulder workouts today, thus the reason I feel like I have a boulder in between my shoulder blades right now. Needless to say the hair was lucky to get dried this morning but it sure didn't get straightened...I couldn't hold arms up that long. Before we finished with abs we did shuttle runs back and forth across the field and this was when I was pretty certain I was going to throw up again. I think my only saving grace was the cussing I was doing under my breath that never allowed for my mouth to water up and let the "good times" roll. Have I mentioned that this whole working out thing is having a major impact on my prayer life and my constant need to repent?

After shuttle runs and abs, which are always brutal, I laid on the football field face down for about 30 minutes just to avoid spewing. I finally mustard up the strength to walk home and it took the next 2 and half hours to find that same strength to get upstairs so that I didn't have to sleep on the couch. If I don't see the other side of 280lbs this week I might just have to cut off a limb, seriously!I started at 292lbs and I am sitting strong at 281lbs for over a week now.

On a non-workout note...last week was my last week of taking my daily migraine medicine. I talked with my Dr. about weaning off to see how I was doing managing my stress. A lot of my headaches were allergy related as well and I am now 6 months into getting allergy shots twice a week. I figured it was worth a shot...especially since that medicine runs $200 a month. I'm now a little over a week with no topamax in my system and I woke up this morning with a migraine from the pits of hell. I am going to keep a calendar and see if they increase or if that was just a fluke today. I am praying I don't have to go back on meds though. I'm really hoping that is was just the stressful day yesterday and an overly strenuous workout that pushed me over the edge. Keep your fingers crossed.

And we live to see another day...another workout...and maybe another blog entry.

VICTORY!!

So I was feeling the need to get a workout in today after the baby shower....I just needed a good sweat after being in a dress and heels all day. Unfortunately, as of this morning I have not reached my weight loss goal for this week so that was another reason for my Sunday workout. I usually take Saturday and Sunday off but not today. And guess what? TODAY I DID IT!! I ran the entire warm up lap and no one was there to enjoy the moment with me. I just had to stop and take it in (and catch my breath)...I DID IT! I felt so good that I decided that all I was going to do today was run 110s. I did a few sets of push-ups and then I hit the field. Before I knew it I had run 20 110s. Just last week running 2 110s felt like death and today I ran 20!I can't even begin to tell you how good I feel. I can tell I am getting stronger every day and that is a great feeling. I'm not seeing major pounds come off the scale but I am losing inches and seeing a big difference in my clothes. In fact, the dress I am wearing in the shower pictures was bought as a "goal" dress when I was losing weight last summer and I've only worn it once and the buttons were about to pop open...but not today!

Lions, Lambs and presents...oh my!

I have been looking forward to today for a while. Today was the baby shower for Noah Lee Chandler and his mommy, Amy. As soon as I found out we were having a boy I started working on his diaper cake and have just been anxiously waiting for the shower to put the rest together. I had some amazing ladies pitch in and help me host this shower and it was so much fun. Sara and I might have gone a little crazy on Martha Stewart's website but it made for a cute shower. We made animal balloons and animal cupcakes. We were quite naive to think that doing cupcakes would be easier than doing a cake...especially when we started making such elaborate cupcakes. Oh but they were so precious. Amy and Noah got a lot of great stuff and a room full of ladies got to ooh and ahh over baby stuff. Chalk that up to a great day!


Noah's diaper cake


little lamb cupcakes



baby birds in their nest...not my favorite cupcakes



lion cupcakes


animal balloons...the pig (my favorite)


animal balloons...this is the bear



animal balloons...this is the chicken


the wreath for Amy's hospital door from Noah's mawmaw


the hostesses: Angie, Sara, Melissa, mommy to be, KB and Lauren
thank you ladies for all your help!


nothing is sweeter than little onesies...can't wait to see him in them


Noah got his own little LC jersey...he is ready for football season


Noah's beautiful MawMaw...isn't she glowing?

Day 9 and 10: "over achiever"

Well this week has been a little crazy with finals and we haven't really had Hayden around to push us through workouts. The news of going to Uganda came just in time for me to have to dig deep and go workout as hard and even harder without Hayden. Both on Wednesday and Friday, Sara and I hit the field and did everything Hayden would have made us do and then some. As we finished our workout on Friday we laughed about how Hayden was the "momma bird" who had shoved the two baby birds out of the nest. We have found it in ourselves to push each other and that was exciting. Don't get me wrong...I still need Hayden for a push and for new things in our routine but these birds are quickly learning to fly on their own and can take a few flights without "momma bird."

It's hard to believe that just two weeks ago I was throwing up in a workout and thought I was going to die and now I love it. I love the way I feel after a workout. I look forward all day to putting on my running shoes and getting out on that field. I used to get a nervous tummy every Monday, Wednesday and Friday because I was worried about what we would have to do and could I do it. There was no nervous tummy on Friday because I know that I can do everything Hayden asked me to do. I'm strong and getting stronger every day.

I always tell my students to "go big or go home" and so on Friday that was my motto. I knew I had to leave it all on the field if I was going to get under 280lbs this week. I got to the field before Sara and I told myself today was the day I was going to run the whole warm up lap. I certainly gave it my all and came up just short of finishing the whole lap without walking. So close! Even coming up short of the goal...I felt empowered so when Sara did her warm up lap I made a second effort to try it again. I still came up short but I was proud that I was able to run almost two whole laps without stopping. Go me!

We did our normal agility and strength training. We ran yo yos (still evil), we threw tires today and beat our time and length from last Friday. In 30 seconds Sara and I both can throw a car tire almost 50 yards down the field. I am women, hear me roar! We chunked the tire over our heads and beat our lengths from last week. The thing I love about working out with Sara is that she pushes me and encourages me all the same time. We purposely do things that we hate doing to make ourselves stronger. Sara hates dolphins so today we did 50 of them. I hate jumping jacks so we did 50 of those. Sara hates prisoner squats so we did 50. I hate planks so we did them for a minute and almost died. Then is was time to do 110s. Hayden has been making us run 2 110s at the end of each workout...so on Wednesday we ran 4 and on Friday we ran 6. Our goal is to be able to do 10 on Monday.

Ironically we feel like Hayden can't know our secret or he will start pushing us even more...but on the other hand we want to make him proud. We want him to know his effort with us is not in vain and that we want it more for ourselves that he wants it for us. I did come the realization though that if I am truly going to lose 50lbs by Uganda it may require me doing two workouts a day. Am I ready for that? Only I can answer that question and it may be a question I answer on a day to day basis. I can tell you though...I have never wanted this more and seeing a 100 to 150lb weight loss no longer seems impossible!