This season of my life....

You want to know what season I'm in??? It's called CRAZY season... Really. It's crazy....crazy busy, crazy fun, crazy lovin'...... We all know that toddlers are....................well............................ crazy. At least all 4 of mine have been. Logan and Hayden were little boy crazy.... Running all around the house, climbing on all the furniture, wanting everything their way... Hey, wait a minute. That sounds like AP and EK ;) We were supposed to be in Orlando right now for my nieces graduation. At the last minute we decided not to go. Andrew said the thought of being trapped in a hotel room with 4 kids reminded him too much of Guatemala and being trapped in the Marriott. It was supposed to be raining like crazy down there, and nothing could be worse than being trapped. in a hotel. in the rain. not able to go to parks. no swimming. You get the picture. We had also gone through some crap with one of our teenagers last week, and it was just TOO much. Does anybody else understand this??? That sometimes a vacation is the LAST thing you need??? That's where I am. Megan told me that in another year I will be breezing with the kids.....that traveling will be so much easier. I'm holding her to that!!! I don't want to wish away the terrible 2's though... I will NEVER get this time back. Essie is still so much like a baby, and sometimes I wish I could freeze her right now. Then I come back to my senses ;)
On the exercise front, I'm still going at it.... It's been 5 weeks of exercise, and my scale is STILL stuck at 7 pounds. I KNOW I have to be gaining some muscle or SOMETHING. Yesterday while I was climbing the mountain back up to my house I was envisioning my body using that fat...KILL THE FAT!!!! I'm not giving up and expecting one week to weigh and 5 pounds or so will have mysteriously disappeared....
I'm leaving you with some of my favorites from the last week or two.... Love you guys. Mean it!


Sassy Essie

How sweet is this face?

Look at this girlie! Who would have EVER thought her hair would look like this?? Remember all those crazy hair baby pictures??

Little Devil....um, I mean angel. ;)

I want some of that instant gratification

yeah..... gimme some of that..... It's been 3 and a half weeks since the big lifestyle change. I lost 7 pounds the first 10 days, and now the scales are frozen.... I haven't lost an ounce since. I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW: your body kinda goes into shock....you're building muscles....those muscles are retaining fluid....muscle weighs more than fat. My head knows all these things, but I don't like it! I'm walking about 4 miles in an hour at least 5 times a week.... I'm watching what I eat and counting calories. I'm really doing well with that. I do splurge here and there, but I have to be realistic if this is going to last. I know that you can tell that I've lost weight... I can tell in the mirror, but I am obsessed with that large number on my scales. I can't help it. I KNOW it's just a number, but sometimes a number says a lot....The big test is next week. We're leaving Sunday to go to Orlando for 5 days. 5 days of being tempted by eating out and all kinds of goodies. I don't want to sabotage myself... I want my new habits to carry over. I WILL NOT go to Orlando and gain those 7 pounds back!!!! I have made a deal with myself. I'm not getting back on that scale until 1 month from today. I'm going to keep up with my exercise and new eating habits. I CAN DO THIS I CAN DO THIS I CAN DO THIS!!! I can. I know I can. I HAVE to..... Why does it just have to be so stinkin' hard?? I guess if I knew that answer I'd be a kazillionaire, and none of us would be fat.......

I am beside myself......

Nat and I are going on a vacation. by ourselves. with no kids. just us. I am totally beside myself.... Our sweet hubbies are sending us for a 4 day weekend to stay on Orange Beach.... We thought about Charleston or somewhere like that, but we just want to lay and relax. and chat. and laugh. and talk. and talk. and talk. then laugh some more. God has blessed me with a best friend who is a sister...... We're going at the end of June, and we can't wait.....

Here are a few of my favorites from the last 2 years:

Down by the bay in Fairhope....

Natalie's first trip to Mary Ann's and her first Mississippi Mud Pie.

At Nat's on my first visit to Utah:

One of the all time favorites: Shoved in the backseat of a TINY taxi in Guatemala with our 5 kids! This is when we lived in Guatemala at the end of AP and Bella's adoptions.... Good days.

lifestyle change

Me and my EssieKateBabyCakes.... Anne Pearce won't sit still long enough for a photo... This is the fountain down by our beautiful bay. I go to walk here everyday...

Me...walking with my babies.... happy.... happy at last.

I don't do diets..... I DO them for a week, and then I'm back to stuffing myself with cupcakes... I always have the excuse of my heart and dysautonomia if I'm tired and lazy... 2 weeks ago my dr. changed a medication... He changed ONE LITTLE medication, and it changed my life! I have had more energy over the last 2 weeks than I have had IN YEARS.... I'm exercising at least 5 days a week and just being more conscious of what I'm putting in my body. I'm not denying myself anything. If I did I would fall right off the healthy wagon. I am so thankful to have some of my spark back..... I felt like I had lost me. I had, but now I'm back!!!!!Everyday I go do something. It used to be that I could only muster up the energy to go places once a week or so. Not anymore! Now I load those babies up and just go.... Go to Hobby Lobby.... Go to Target.... Go for a stroll.... Go get a Fairhope Float (more about this miraculous goody in a later post). I've taken pride in my appearance again. I had been so down on myself that I didn't think I deserved anything..... You would be amazed how much better life is when you feel cute......This short hair I thought I hated??? Now I love it...... I will probably have hair this short for a long time... In general, my life is good again... even better than it was before. I prayed that God will help me, and He did through my general dr..... He listened to me and HEARD me..... Andrew wants to send the man flowers ;) I just can't wait to see him again and give him a big old hug..... People, Loulou's back.

Please read Trina's story and help.....

Please go to http://www.areyou1in8.blogspot.com/, and see how you can help. I am donating 2 outfits..... PLEASE pray for this sweet mama.....

How I became a mother....

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends....... This is such a special day for me.... I remember my first Mother's Day when Logan was a baby. His daddy gave me A Child's Garden of Verses, and I bawled like a baby ( I was still pregnant).... Then came sweet Hayden the week before Mother's Day. He gave me his first smile (not gas induced at all ;) that day.....My heart was so full of love for my 2 boys. They were the greatest gifts from God and still are. As my love for motherhood grew everyday with my boys I knew that I wasn't done being a mama. God had placed the strongest desire on my heart to mother more children. I remember the day I had my hysterectomy at age 27. I bawled, thinking that was the end..... HOW UNFAIR! I wanted more children! My boys were my life, AND I WASN'T DONE! Little did I know the surprises God had in store for me.....More wonderful surprises than I could ever imagine.... First came the love of my life who has the same heart for adoption that God planted in me..... Then, one by one, came our girls.... Each on a long journey of their own to my heart with twists and turns and ups and downs. They were born IN my heart, as my boys were born under it..... None of the 4 any more special than the others, but each one fabulous in their own right. Each one a gift from God. Today I reflect on my mama and how wonderful she is..... SHE was the example that led me to be the mother I am today....she stood by my side through HORRIBLE pregnancies, and supported me as we headed across an ocean to bring home a little girl (named for her) and then another... She is there everyday for me in every way. I also think of our wonderful foster mothers in Guatemala, Carolina and Margarita, who cared for my girls when I couldn't and love them as their own. I think of their birth mothers, Felicita and Aura, who made the most unselfish decision a mother can make..... They sent them to us. I know they are thinking of them today, and I pray they know they are happy, healthy, and where they are meant to be. I also know the ache in a mother's heart who is waiting for her child somewhere else. Know today that you're not alone. We all stand beside you holding your hand. Mother's Day is a wonderful day and a day to be thankful for SO many blessings......... I am thankful for the honor and joy God has given me and for LETTING me be a mother to His children. They all are His, after all, only on loan to us here on earth. I pray everyday that I His desire and make the decisions for them that He would have me make..... Happy Mother's Day to you all!


My first blessing, Logan. He was 2 years old here, and this is my favorite picture of him... I was only 24 when I had him, and at times I couldn't believe that God was actually trusting me with THIS PERSON. This little man.... this precious child.

Ahhhhhh, my little Hayden at 9 months old. He was the sweetest baby I've ever had and still is! He was such a mama's baby and tiny just like Essie is..... He honestly was so beautiful the moment he was born that he took my breath away.......

This is my first moment with Anne Pearce as her mama...... I can still feel the joy in my heart I felt at that moment. This was the little girl I had prayed and longed for in my heart for years. Here she was. Sometimes I still can't believe it.....

The joy returned soon after as I met Essie for the first time..... Such an expected miracle she is! We thought we were done (at least for a little while), but God had other plans for this little one. She is surely one of His. He chose to save Essie from what would surely have been horrible circumstances. This is the moment I became her mama......

Does anyone read this blog?

Just wondering if I'm talking to myself.......

I heart my mailman....

He delivered this all the way from Finland..... I have a couple of these, but I have been waiting for this one... Why you say?? Because it has the patterns for THIS :

I first saw this, and I knew I HAD to make it!

THIS is the reason I ordered this magazine.... Look at the back of that top..... and the bottom of those pants! I LOVE European children's clothing design!!!

This little top is also DIVINE....

The outfit that made me obsessed with this magazine will be made for Anne Pearce out of this Jennifer Paganelli fabric that I have stuck away for JUST the right project....

And for Essie out of this: Same fabrics... different colorways.... Both = EYE CANDY! I have one more order to fill, some Mickey Mouse outfits for our Disney trip, and then I am making these bad boys... I will have enough to sell MAYBE one or 2. You better email me if you're interested.... I have a feeling they'll go fast!

In other news, my hair is growning on me (forgive the pun). It's super easy curly or straight, and it's finally getting long enough to get around my smallest round brush. Still not what I went for but better than it was.....
I do feel younger and spunkier with this cut.... If I just had some Botox to take care of those forehead wrinkles......

And check out Essie's hair right after her nap.... She could be on a runway. Seriously. Black silk... Youth is wasted, I say!

My new do....

No, that's not me.... It's Kris Jenner with the hair I wanted....... LOVE IT.

I searched the Internet high and low looking for the perfect pictures to show my hair girl....
I was SO excited.....

Then, I came home with this:

Not EXACTLY like the pictures I took....

Ignore the mess on the bar!
Here I am trying to act happy about my hair.....

Well, maybe my hair will look like I wanted in a month or two (or four)......

One good thing about hair: it grows.