P90X

Kevin and I have committed ourselves to a huge endeavor of completing the P90X training program. For you who don't know about it, it is a program containing 12 workout DVD's, a training schedule, and a nutrition plan. I decided that it would be good to track our progress and record what we go through. We started last Monday, and we are discovering how intense this program is. It's not just the workout, but the nutrition plan is very strict as well. It's all about portion size, eating only certain foods and only certain amounts, cutting out almost all fat, eating a lot of vegetables and protein, and making everything from scratch (no processed) . I guess the words that come to mind about this last week are: exhaustion, cravings, a LOT of cooking, and building self control (when I see something that is not in the program to eat, I am so tempted, but I know I'll feel guilty if I eat it). It's nice because Kevin and I are doing this together and we can encourage each other. This first week has been really hard, I think mostly because I've spent a lot of time cooking (I have to cook Kevin's lunch for the next day - usually after I put the kids to bed). We've almost survived the first week, and now we're trying to simplify our approach. We only have one more workout to go and then we can rest! (1 rest day a week). I'll try to post at least once a week, even if it's for our own benefit! Wish us luck!

Summertime, and Pictures!!

Summer has been wonderful so far, and we've had a lot of fun with more to come. We've been to the lake, the "ocean" beach, to the spray park, the shubie wildlife preserve, picking strawberries and making homemade jam, and just playing in our backyard with all the neighbour kids! Sometimes there are up to 9 kids playing in our house. It's been so fun for our kids.

Monica and Kristen were the recipients of 2 free gerbils and they have been the highlight of their summer! They love to hold and pet them and take care of them.

Okay, so I finally figured out an alternative way to download pictures onto my computer after the first way wasn't working. Hooray! now my posts won't be so boring! (and I'll have to take more pictures!)So here we are:

Monica just before her dance recital at the end of the school year. She loves dancing!

Sisters! They love each other, really they do (sometimes it's hard to tell!)

My smiley little guy! He's such a happy, loving little boy.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

Clouds in the Sky

So, after my blog that I'm so tough, I guess I'm not so tough after all. I'm fine with physical work, for the most part, but I'm having a hard time keeping up with the emotional and mental work! I've decided that being a single mom is not fun, and to any single moms out there my hat goes off to you. Your job is very hard!! I try to keep it together when I'm with my kids, but it's difficult at times! The other day Ethan was crinkling some paper in his hands, and said "garbage" and went and threw it in the toilet! It made sense in a way, so I can't really blame him, but I had to rush to the toilet and save the papers before the toilet clogged, and then realized that what he had thrown in there were pages from my scriptures that he had torn out and crumpled up!! Yikes. I was not happy! He has been so cranky lately too, but really, how can I really be upset at him when he runs to me saying "Mama" and gives me a big hug? It's a good thing there are small ways us moms are paid, or it might not be worth it! Anyways, I'm very excited that Kevin gets home on Sunday after being gone for 2.5 weeks. We all miss him!

stronger than I think

So Kevin's been gone for a week now, and we have a week and two days to go! Almost halfway there. It actually hasn't been too bad, other than missing him a lot. I think that I really am pretty tough. I think that if someone called me "wimpy", or even "girly" I would have a problem with that. I just spent the last few hours working on a rock wall, hauling rocks from construction sites (the construction guys said it was okay! just in case you were wondering) into the vehicle, and then from the vehicle to our back yar. I had to pause halfway through to put the kids to bed, and then kept going at it, and then mowed the lawn. I feel really tough right now ;). I find it quite satisfying to work outside. I think it's the farm girl in me coming out. My kids are troopers too. They came with me to pick out the rocks, and Monica and Kristen wer carrying the "best" ones and puting them into the car. I didn't have the heart to tell them that I wouldn't be able to use them on the wall because they were so small. They had fun though. There you have it - work can be fun!

My busy life

Okay, so I know that some of you thought I fell of the face of the earth for a while, so I thought I better write something to update our lives! One of the problems is that our computer will not upload pictures, and I was kind of waiting to post until I could get some pictures on here, but to no avail! So this will have to be a non-picture posting.

I guess first of all my brother is doing so awesome! He's been able to be transferred from the hospital to a specialized center for people who have had brain injuries and he gets to go home on the weekend. They are working on increasing his strength, and I had to laugh when he told me in his water polo class that he has to play with one hand to make it even with the other team! I am so, so grateful for this miracle and it has attested to me that prayer definitely works!!

Our family is doing awesome. I am a few weeks away from running my first half marathon here in Halifax. I'm very excited! I also have been passed the torch from Amber Richards in our Relief Society, so I'm going to be very busy. But life is good, and I couldn't be happier.

Monica and Kristen are loving dance and gymnastics, and violin lessons are going well. They love the warm weather, and were ecstatic to discover new neighbours with 4 kids around their age, who love the outdoors just as much as they do.

Ethan is growing like crazy, and is now walking everywhere, getting into anything he can, and is starting to talk. He absolutely LOVES balls, and will scream the word at the top of his lungs when he sees one. He loves animals, though they are all "kitty" to him, and loves playing with his sisters.

Kevin is doing his rotation in ICU which keeps him really busy. He's been working a lot on research projects, one of which he will be presenting at the Canadian Plastic Surgery Meeting in Kelowna in June (he'll be spending 2 weeks in BC which he's really looking forward to). He's also been working a lot on writing his music. He's been able to finish a few songs and they sound really awesome. Maybe he'll become famous from them someday! Needless to say, he's not getting much sleep, but he is getting lots done!

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful spring FINALLY!

Update on my brother Christopher

I thought I would give an update on how my younger brother is doing (I guess I can't really call him little as he is over 6 feet tall!). He is now out of the coma and his eyes are open. He can move his eyes and his left hand a bit. He will make eye contact with people and will squeeze your hand if you hold it, but he will not respond to commands. My mom says that it seems as though he is aware of people visiting him, which makes it hard not to be there to visit him, but I know that the rest of my family is out there with him, which is a comfort. He got pneumonia for the second time, but it seems to be under control. He is okay to leave the ICU, but is just waiting on a bed.
It has really been so wonderful to have so many people expressing their support through prayers and kind words. It's really been a huge help to my family, and I know that angels have been watching over my brother. I've learned so much from this experience so far, and I know that I will learn so much more throughout this experience, as it will take a long time for Christopher to heal. The doctors have been pretty optimistic, which is such a huge relief, but they also have said from the beginning that it will be a long, long road. It is really really hard not to be out in Alberta right now, and I'm not sure that I'll even get out there until summer time (and even then...) but I'm glad that there are a lot of people back there who love him and will give him the encouragement and strength he needs to get through this.