MERRY CHRISTMAS!

If you're reading this, you either check in occasionally or.... Ta Dah! I got the Christmas cards sent out!!!!!! This has been a wonderful year and we just wanted to share a few snip its with you! Let's start with:

January - All I can say is we were sugar highed, spoiled, and ready for grumpy mommy to have our baby. It was a VERY cold month for the state of Georgia and in Feb. we even got snow.

February- Jonah turned 5! He has truly grown up so much. He's calmed down and is such a delight to talk with. He LOVES Lego's and Star Wars.. and loves when they are together. He loves church and loves to make the girls giggle.

March - Our sweet Mia was born on the 27th. She has been an amazing baby. Very content and happy. She's just now getting stranger anxiety, but if mom's around, she is never upset. She even deals with all the hugs and loves from 4 older siblings.

April - My mom had to leave and Brian had to go back to work. I had to figure out how to juggle 5 kids and a semi- normal life. I really missed my help leaving (thanks mom and Beth and Bob for all the help), but we slowly but surely figured it out. This also started my life of eating healthy. To date I've lost 33lbs and feel great!

May - Mollie turned 10... oh my, a whole decade. She had a Hoedown Throw Down birthday party. We cleared the furniture and danced to country music. She loves to dance and sing and sing and sing and sing.... and sing. She also loves to blog and take pictures. She is so helpful with all her younger siblings and we are truly grateful for her.

June- We went on our annual Charleston trip. It was VERY hot! but fun. We went to the water park, the beach and we all rode bikes this year. Even Jonah! Amie and Mia were pulled in the trailer and they loved having the royal treatment.

July - Another vacation month! Our cousins came down from Minnesota and we were so happy to spend girl time at Hilton Head beach and the boys down at Kennedy Space Center with a real astronaut! We spent the rest of the time swimming and playing at Grandmas house. Oh, and of course, Brian turned 37, I turned 32 and we've been married for 11 GREAT years!!

August - Back to School! The kids have truly done double time this fall with school. We were a little more relaxed with Mia being born, but boom.... Benjamin went from a 1st grade reading level to a 4th and his writing has really improved. Jonah is reading when he wants to and counts and adds EVERYTHING!, Mollie is learning long division and doing wonderfully and Amie... LOVES mommy school. We've done lots of crafts and have learned that she's an artist.

September- What a wonderful month this was. Our Benjamin chose to be baptized. He truly understands and is an amazing example to us. He even finished reading the Book of Mormon this year. Our Granny and Grandpa were also able to come for his baptism and we had a blast with them... too short, but loved having them. We took them to the boys favorite place.... Fort Pulaski.

October - Wow, seems like yesterday. We ALL dressed up like Greek gods and goddesses. We've been reading Percy Jackson and had so much fun at all of our parties. This was also the month Mom was very jealous of Brian and Benjamin... they went on a cruise... and ate and ate and ate and had such a wonderful bonding experience.

November - This month just flew by for us. We are very Thankful for all of our blessings and had a wonderful month of service. We also shared our Thanksgiving day at the Grandma and Grandpa Russell's house... and of course participated in the ultra crazy Black Friday!

December - We've had a wonderful month. We've been Christmas caroling, been secret elves, read the Forgotten Carols, enjoyed way too many treats, and of course, had a wonderful time sharing Christmas memories with each other. The kids had Santa come early and we'll be having 2 Christmas'! The kids of course have been spoiled, but I really feel we've done our best at sharing the true meaning of Christmas with them. This is also the month Amie turns 3! She is our very independent, strong willed child. We're learning how to work her and she is a delight when we do figure it out. We've learned to give her outlets through art and much to my dismay, movies. She is potty trained day and night and talks a mile a minute. She has an amazing vocabulary and we are truly thankful for her.

Which brings us to our blessings of having amazing family and friends like you. We are so thankful God has brought you into our lives. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and want you to know you are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Love, The Russell Family

Sneak Peak of Family Photos

So, Christmas Presents this year are going to be picture based so I didn't want to share these, but these are also for our Christmas card... which I hope to actually get out (you don't even want to know how many 100's of pictures I have in boxes just waiting to be sent with the yearly I'll get to sending it out Christmas card) If you want a card, email me your address. :)

We had so much fun.... ok, I had so much fun... ok, maybe it was a little ok a lot stressful. My children were angels, well most of them. At least the naked one finally put Back on a dress after pulling her cute pig tales out of her hair. But, bribing with chocolate brownies worked.... and I think we only got a little on the clothes. YEAH. It's done. And I love them. I'll post the rest as the month ends. Did I tell you I did them.... yes, I'm too cheap to have someone else do them... so setting the timer and running is why I look so peppy Oh, and if anyone knows if I can get my glasses to not be sunglasses in a picture... let me know. Didn't think about that one.

FIRST DIGITAL PAGE

So, I have been dabbling in Digital Scrapbooking. I've done a few, but not really. Well, I participated in an online speedscrapping event. They give you directions one step at a time and you have to interpret them and make your layout. It was pretty easy... until I had to figure out how to change the pixels, save and upload it... .ahh, but I did it. Then I noticed typos in the writing... I'll get to that. Right now, I'm just amazed I did it. I wonder if it gets easier... it still seems time consuming. I wonder if it will be something I take up.

More Halloween Pictures

Yeah! It's over. AHhhhhhh relief. I love this time of year, but it's nonstop... so one thing down and next I have a RS Activity and then a breather for a little bit. The pictures are from a party at Brian's work. I liked my Medusa costume better here and Jonah decided to be Perseus instead of Percy Jackson... he just wanted the armor from the dollar store.

Happy Halloween!

We had our Trunk-or-Treat last night. For the first time ever, we ALL dressed up. We were Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Jonah was Percy Jackson with a backpack with a lightening bolt sticking out and holding shoes with wings. I was Medusa, Brian Zeus, Benjamin Poseidon, Mollie Aphrodite, Amie and Mia were cupids/cherubs. We all had a great time! I need to get better pictures of Benjamin and Jonah and Brian and I when we dress up again.

Turpentine 5K

Guess what?! Mollie and I ran our very first 5K! I really can't believe we did it! I've been wanting to do one forever, but then it got hot and then I hadn't trained and excuses excuses. So, Mollie reminded me of this one and I told her we weren't ready. She insisted we could do it. So the thursday before the race we "practiced". I just wanted to make sure I could kind of do it before I wasted my money. Well, we did. Took 54 minutes, but we did it. Mollie had a hard time (more on that in a minute), but we decided to do it. Mollie convinced her friend and her dad to do it with us to. So we were on. Saturday we were so excited... up early and everything. Ready, Set, go..... we were off. And man, Mollie was off. I kept telling her to be careful because we've never gone that fast before, but she wanted to keep up with her friend and her dad. I was left behind. It was kind of tough with all the hills, but so fun. It went right by our house and my kids and husband were cheering me on. They told me Mollie was 5 min ahead. I got to a point and they told me it was only 3/4 mile left. What?! I can do this. I saw Mollie up ahead and encouraged her to keep going (she got left behind her friend too). When I got to the end. YEAH!!! I got 39 min 58 seconds. and Mollie.... who had had a hard time with her mom, got 35 min. I ws so proud of her. I realize to you who may have done this before, 40 min is a slower of time, but for me, who couldn't even run 6 months ago, and had never ran more that 2 miles in her LIFE (well, I'm sure I've done enough bleacher running to equal that... but that was another life) I am happy with me. Now I can see how this can be addicting. I told Mollie we could get matching shirts and we both need new running shoes. But yeah! Anyways, here's the pics.

Wish time would slow down.....

It seems like when we hit September.... life flies by. My baby (well, my second baby) was baptized at the beginning of this month and we were so lucky to have both sets of his grandparents here as well as his Aunt. My parents stayed for a few days and we had a blast (not sure they enjoyed the DAYS worth of traveling, but we were thankful they came.) Benjamin was so excited for his baptism and had been talking about it constantly and even the morning of woke up talking about it. He is an amazing example to me and to our family.

After everyone left I had a pampered chef party and was in charge of our church's Relief Society service project... whew... I am just about to relax, but no, had to craft all day yesterday for our next RS activity for some samples and such. It's fun, but I need to be better about organizing my time. Here are some pictures to hold you over.

On a Brighter Note

Amie gave me a hug when I was trying to explain to her that we don't play with the Vaseline and she sure had a beautiful glow and baby soft skin. My kids are doing extra chores on their own and I'm calmer. Writing has sure helped me. Maybe that's what I'll do when counting to 10 doesn't work.

Alert! Danger to Your Home, Your Sanity, and Your Children's Bottoms. Do NOT Have in Your Household!

Ok, so many have heard the story.... the week of my birthday 5 years ago, Jonah was a baby, Mollie 5, Benjamin 2, we were at the ER in the middle of the night because Mollie had an ear infection. We came home and in the afternoon I was in dire need of a nap. I laid down and was woken up to being sprayed with something.... that something..... PAM. AHHHHH. Come to find out my kids thought it was like silly string and had sprayed the WHOLE house. Not to mention we were trying to sell it. It was a disaster. I called Brian and told him he had to come home right then. I had lost it..... Flash forward 5 years......

I'm painting the sunroom and told Mollie if she kept an eye on the others she would get a music download. They had been watching a movie so it wasn't a big deal. Well, I heard them start to run around and scream and laugh. I asked Mollie to get something and she told me she had to wash her hands that they were messy.... Messy? With WHAT? Amie got into the Vaseline and was chasing them all around the house. They were covered and not only them, but my walls (ones I just painted), my floors, my doors, my curtains (I just made)...... I LOST it! I understand Amie... maybe Jonah... but the others. I called Brian, didn't ask him to come home, but he calmed me down. My kids are in there scrubbing everything..... and Amie, I hear right this minute that she's pouring water on everything. I thought I had angel children (and one little demon), but apparently I've been deceived. I guess I'm just not allowed to take my eyes off of them. Anyways, hope your day was better.

Don't forget to check out my projects page. I'm going to try to keep it updated. The Knockoff House is located HERE

August 11, 2010

Monday was the first day of the Fall Wellness Challenge. This time the blog is open to everyone. Check it out HERE  I am super excited to be on the RED TEAM!  I have not been the best the past 4 weeks, but thankfully I only gained 1 pound.  I am ready to work harder and have the rest of the weight come off.  For my reward this time I am going to buy myself a Silhouette if I reach 136 lbs.  I'm saving the money and trying to sell a few projects so that I will be able to by November 1st.   The best thing about these first 3 days has been that Mollie has been running with me every morning.  She has set a goal to run the Savannah River Run in December and we are going to work towards that together. Our reward for that will be matching running outfits. (her idea... cute huh).  Can't wait!

Forgot the more...

The past 2 weeks have been CRAZY!!! I have been sooo busy. I got my whole house ready for showing (don't you love my new non green dresser and $2 mission store mirrors?) Went to Hilton Head with the Russell Family Girls (Had a BLAST!) Had my birthday, Brian's Birthday, our anniversary (I made my own car seat cover for my anniversary) Then we went back to Augusta for everyone to spend time together before Becky left. Sooooo here are a few pictures from all the above.

Final Results and more...

My team.... WON! Go GREEN TEAM! I can't believe 12 weeks is over. It was a fun and fast 12 weeks and I'm really proud of how I did. I lost 14 total inches from waist and hips and lost 20lbs. Yippeee. Only 20lbs to go. I feel fantastic. I can run and play and it is wonderful. Now, it was not a diet, but a lifestyle change. I realize however, being one week out, that it is still very hard for me to put that in my head. Last week was our birthday/anniversary week for us and I did indulge in my brownies. But, I also realize, that as long as I don't quit altogether, I can keep on going. I will be participating again in August and can't wait. I think it will be harder for me with less weight to go, but I'm loving how I feel. Anyways, here are the before and afters. (

Little Firecracker!

I forgot to upload this picture and thought it was so cute of her from the 4th.

New View

I forgot to tell my parents I got new glasses. yes, they are a little loud and have a little "bling" and no, not normally "me".... but I LOVE them! You know, I'm getting older.... so, one day I wanted to get my haircut like a girl at church. I loved what she wore, how she did her hair, her jewelry.... then I realized, that's not me. So who am I? I started looking on the net at different hair and clothing styles to see what "I" like, not what everyone else likes or what's "in". So, that's my new resolution... to be "me" If I like it, I'll get it. I felt a little self conscience in my new glasses, but I just had to realize that was me worrying about what others think. I just have to change my mind frame to be comfortable with me.

On another note... the Summer Wellness program is soon ending and I have so far lost........ 17lbs. YEAH! I am at 10% loss. I hope to work hard this week and lose 3 more lbs and then I will have 20 more to lose to reach my goal. When I do, I found these great retro 40's dresses at our local thrift store and I think I'm going to buy them for that size. (They are only 25cents so I can spare the change right?) I feel great and have been able to play so much better with the kids and do things I used to do without dying. I'll keep you posted next week on my total loss and inches.... oh and a before and after picture. I'm so glad Dianne put it together. It's been a fun adventure.

Happy 4th!

We had a fantastic weekend. We worked hard and played hard and for the most part, everyone was in a good mood. On Friday we did our grocery shopping and hung out around Statesboro then we played outside and got our indoor chores done and Brian mowed (how can a jungle grow in a few days?) Saturday we started out by cleaning out our garage. Ok, so our garage has been neglected for probably a year. We go in it, but only fast enough to get what we need and then out again. It's detached in our backyard and spiders were multiplying in it. I mean tons! Everything had eggs on it and it was just... you get it. Well, we emptied everything out and in the mean time a humongous spider was under something. I mean huge.... we decided it was a brown recluse. Our exterminator told us last year he thought some of the webs were from some, but we had cleaned it out then and the only ones we had seen were tiny little ones. It freaked us out. Brian was lifting boxes, each of the boys had golf clubs and Mollie was holding the can of bug spray. Thankfully we got it and don't have to ever wonder. The garage looks GREAT! I should take a picture of it.... well, afterwards, we went to the park and played football and basketball and I taught the kids four square. After being hot and stinky we all got showers and got ready for fireworks in town. They were GREAT! The show was quite long and not one single kid cried... YEAH!!! Every year we've had scared kids. They loved the fireworks and Jonah couldn't stop pretending HE WAS a firework. (cooky kid) Oh, and it only took 45 minutes to get out. Much better then the hours last year. It was a great day!

Well, today we enjoyed church and then we came home to get ready for our party. Benjamin and I have been planning what we were going to do for our family party today for a week. He chose what we were going to eat, do, decorate, everything. We had layer dip, layer trifle, had a bike parade and did fireworks at 5pm. (they couldn't wait). We did have some tired kids toward the end, but all in all this was a very enjoyable weekend.

I am so grateful to live in such a wonderful country, to be able to worship how I wish to and to be able to raise my children how I want to. I am very grateful for our Founding Fathers and for their faith in God to be able to build up this country, and even though our current situation is not what I wish it were, I am very thankful for our freedoms we have. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

Eeeks it was hot!

Well last week we went to Charleston to go camping for the week. It didn't start out so great, but we had a great time in the end! On Saturday night the kids went swimming in a hotel and I just knew they shouldn't have.... Jonah and Amie got some kind of stomach virus. They were sick on Sunday and some of Monday. And man, it is so much fun having sick kids in 100 degree weather in a tent. But, after they were done, we had a great time at the beach, the water park, the beach again, and just riding bikes through the great trails they had on the grounds. We really enjoyed our stay and will probably go back next year. Although, I am trying to convince them to go when it's not so hot.

Party, sickness and more....

Mollie's Birthday Party was last weekend and I think she had a blast. We had a Western Hoedown Throwdown and she had 13 girls over at the house. We cleared out the furniture in the LR and the girls line danced the night away. We also had a table with old fashioned candy and bottled rootbeer. Oh, and you can't forget the watergun shoot out.

Poor Benjamin. He has had a fever for a week. We took him in on Tuesday and his Ped. couldn't get him in so we went to the urgent care. The doc took a strep test which tested negative, but still thought it was that, so Benj was put on antibiotics. Well, this morning Mia had a well visit and Benjamin was still not better, so I took him in to his ped. He ended up having a viral infection in his lungs. When we was 2-4 he was all the time getting croup. Well, it was similar to that. So, we are back on the nebulizer. Amazingly, after just a few treatments, he's already doing better.

My summer wellness challenge is going great. I'm down 12lbs and feeling so much better. Still can't fit in all my old clothes, but that's not my goal... I want to be much smaller. So this week's challenge was NO WHITE OR BROWN SUGAR NO WHITE FLOUR. It's been pretty easy because we did this 2 years ago for 6 months. I think the only thing I really miss is Peanut Butter. I won't be ready for my 5k this week. I will be ready though by July. There is a 5K I may do in Atlanta. That is my goal!!

Well, check out www.forsalebyowner.com We put up our house for sale. If it sales, great, if not, well, that's fine. We just want to get it ready in case we find another house or finally take that leap for our own business. I've been pretty busy painting and hanging curtains. The girls room looks so pretty. I wish I had done this 2 years ago. It always goes that way.

Anywho.... I will post some more later.

Summer Wellness Challenge

This past weekend we went to Augusta and Atlanta for a mini trip. I'll post more about that as soon as I get some pictures downloaded.....

I have been doing pretty good. Another 2lbs lost and I am slowly fitting into a few more pieces of clothing. I think another 5 will get me into my 12's. Yeah! Then another 10 will get me into my 10's. So come fall (bummer not the summer), I should be in my 7/8's. I ran a little more last week, and doing better with running. But, I'm kind of tired of it. I'm in a little slump. I'm doing it right now because I have to not as much as I want to. I just need to get pepped up again. Maybe I should buy me new running shoes ....Well, here is this week's challenge. It' pretty easy, except the snack part. I usually use that time to escape my children and read or play on the computer... I'll have to do that some other time.

"ELIMINATE FOOD DISTRACTIONS

How many times have you sat down to watch t.v., read a book or check your emails while munching on chips, popcorn, M&MS or whatever and before you know it they are GONE and you hardly remember consuming them, let alone what they tasted like? Well, that's what we are going to try to avoid this week.

This week we will strive to eliminate ALL food distractions, by putting more focus on what we are eating when we are eating it. I can't possibly list all food distractions, but here's a few good examples: watching t.v., on the computer, reading a book, driving/riding in the car, playing games, standing rather than sitting, preparing food for others, walking to class, working, etc, etc. Try not to just focus on eliminating the distraction, but ENJOYING the food you consume. I believe that well prepared, healthy food can and SHOULD be enjoyable. Try sitting down at the table with your family/friends when eating meals AND snacks!! Yes, snacks. Put your portion on a plate/bowl, take it to the table, sit down and take pleasure in it! Take time to notice the colors, textures, smells and flavors of the food that fuels your body and mind. In this busy world we live in, it won't hurt us to take a few extra moments to savor the things we enjoy." (Summer Wellness Challenge Program, Dianne Nichols)

Girl Scout Camping

Oh, I didn't write about our camping trip. We had a great time a few weeks ago camping with Mollie and the other 2 Juliettes. I'm loving not having a troop because we can do these kinds of things without all the adult trainings needed. The girls have earned 12 badges so far and many of them was from this camp out. They spent weeks planning and learning safety in order for them to go. It pretty much went without a hitch although paddle boating was extremely HOT!!! We didn't plan that one very well. Next time we'll go later or much earlier... not in 90 degree weather. Mollie succeeded in staying up until midnight and I think she was the first one up. Just girls (plus Kamille's brother) got along all right!! Here are some pictures.

Week 4 -Summer Wellness Challenge

Wow! 4 Weeks down and 8 pounds lost. Slowly but surely. I was super proud of myself this week.... I used to be pretty athletic and loved sports, but always hated running long distance. Well, I've been wanting to do a 5K and have been having a hard time even conquering a mile. I started reading a website couch to 5K and I've been doing it wrong. I've been trying to run by distance. This site has you run by time. So, I started this week. Since I've been exercising for 3 weeks, I skipped a few weeks. What I did was run for 7 min. walk for 1 and repeat until I got to 30 min. Amazing!! I did it! And when I went to measure the first night, it was 2.2 miles. To me that was fantastic. Now I just have to work up to doing 3.11 miles in 30 min. This week I up the min running. 8min run 1 min walk. And then I'll up every few times. I am actually enjoying this much more than I was when I was running and wanted to give up after a mile. Anyways.... I ate great this week even when we went to Ryans and I even fit into a skirt that I bought last year when I was 25 lbs lighter. I lost 2 inches in my waist and 2 in my hips, .5 in arms, 1 in thighs and 2.5 in bust. I am very happy. YEAH! It's coming. This week's challenge is:

"1. You must email/blog at least one teammate your "exercise log" each day.
I think people tend to choose more difficult workouts and try harder when they know someone is going to ask what they've done for exercise that day. Seriously, who wants to own up to being a slacker?

2. At least one workout this week must be done with a "workout buddy" (this buddy does NOT need to be a team member)
I believe we work harder, faster, longer and with more enthusiasm when we're next to someone else who is right there encouraging us to finish one more set, who tells us we can do more than we think possible, who won't let us stop when it starts getting difficult, because they know and understand our goals and ambition!" (from the summer wellness website)

Flashback

Flashback: 2am May 2000 in Augusta, GA. Mollie was one week old and was extremely cholicy. We could not get her to go to sleep so Brian took her and I laid back down. I heard him turn on the music and I watched (peeking around the corner) as he danced with her to "Let it Be" by the Beatles. She stayed quiet the whole time he was dancing with her and it was then that I remember thinking how truly grateful I was to have Brian as the father of my children and so thankful to have Mollie in our lives.

Today: Every birthday we play the Beatles Birthday song. We all dance and have a great time. Afterwards Brian turned on "Let it Be" and asked Mollie to dance. I looked over and that old memory flashed into my head. Today she turned 10 years old, but to me she is still my little baby mesmerized by her dad. I had tears running down my eyes and I looked around and saw the others laughing and dancing. I truly am grateful to have them all in my life.

Happy Birthday Mollie! You are an amazing young lady full of life and energy, you are super fun, a great nurturer, and a great daughter. We love you!

Mia

My baby is already growing. It makes me quite sad and I feel like I need to relish every step of her growth. This part of our lives may be over. Sigh.... Anyways, here are some pictures of her.