Embarassing Before & After Pics

Many of you have asked for some full body before and after pics. Well now that I am halfway to my goal I think I can do that for you! I've lost 40 lbs and I still have 40 lbs. to go to get to the finish line! I started out at a size 22. (Yeah I know can you believe it!) Now I am wearing 16s comfortable and some 14s! Thats a total of 5 pant sizes down! Below are my before and then my after pics that I had someone take this morning at work. Keep in mind today I have no makeup on and a baggy t-shirt so they aren't the most flattering but I still look amazing compared to my before! I'm not gonna stop here though... I'm gonna keep working hard! I'm starting to see the finish line after all! Let my success be an inspiration to you!

Halfway to my goal!

Well today is the start of a brand new week! I have one more week of work and then vacation! Finally! Whew! Good news this week: I weighed in this morning for another 2 lb. loss. My grand total is now 40 lbs I've lost since I started on 2/4/08. Thats 40 lbs in 12 weeks! Not bad if I do say so myself! My initial goal was 80 lbs so today I made my halfway mark! I'm pretty proud of myself but not ready to stop yet!

On Saturday my mom and I went shopping at "Avenue" a store like Lane Bryant that serves women 14 and up. Unbelievably almost nothing fit me in the store! I finally settled on some items that we size 14! I was speechless! I will have to post pictures soon, but just wanted to share my excitement. Next week I'm headed to Kentucky to visit with my family. I'm going with Kaylea and my mom. I wonder if anyone will recognize me since the weight loss? LOL

Then, Eric and I will be going on a short 3 day cruise to the Bahamas! I'm pretty excited about that! 3 days is good... long enough to let me cheat a little on the diet... but not so long I gain 10 pounds!

As for an update on Kaylea she is growing up faster than ever. Her favorite cartoon to watch right now is an old 90s DVD of Alvin & the Chipmunks. One of the episodes is the chipmunks reenactment of the movie "BIG" and the other episode is a reenactment of the movie Back to the Future". So Kaylea has a huge imagination lately. She has lots of imaginary friends and plays pretend all the time. The chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) go with us everywhere we go. This weekend Kaylea built a time machine to transport her to work and make copies of "paypal" (little note cards she was playing with at Kinkos). Then she grew up big into a grownup and became a mommy. Then she said she was upset cause she really wanted to be a kid againl. I can't wait to see what this week brings!

Life is too short. Tell them I love you

Sometimes life hits you hard and you realize that every moment in your life needs to be lived to the fullest and not taken for granted. I know in my life (as much as it hurts my pride to admit it) I take my parents for granted. I've realized this week that life brings unexpected turns and we may not be around forever.... we won't actually... its just a hard reality to face.

MOM: I want you to know I really do love you. And as much as we argue, its probably because we are alot alike (again as much as it hurts my pride to admit it). Mom you have been there for me throughout my life. You gave up your desires to take me and Corey and move with dad to a foreign country. I don't give you enough credit. Yeah as you've gotten older you are as paranoid as ever, but moving to South America to become a missionary - thats an Indiana Jones move and much more brave than what I have done in my life. You definitely deserve props for that. (I'll explain what props means later) You are always there when I need you even if I've hurt your feelings. You really are selfless and I'm sure its hard when you are raising and living with 3 people who might think about themselves too much (me, dad and brother of course). After having Kaylea you have sacrificed all of your time to help me raise her while I go to work. I wouldn't have it any other way and I don't tell you I appreciate you enough. So today I want to tell you I love you. And I do mean it. Even though we will probably argue today about something as trivial as Dancing with the Stars.

DAD: I love you too. We are alot alike in so many ways. You've put up with a lot in this life... and continue to do so. You've touched so many people in their lives. When I hear the song "Thank You" by Ray Boltz it reminds me of you. You are just one of those people who can make people feel better no matter what they are going through. God speaks through you like I've never seen him speak through anyone. I'm proud of you dad. I don't think anyone could have a better dad than you. I love you.

This has been a tough week for Eric and our family. I don't want to go into all the details on here but we lost someone close to our hearts. When something like this happens all of a sudden it really shakes up your world. I'm going to Kentucky to visit my family and my grandma on my mom's side soon as a mini vacation. I'm more thankful than ever this week that I can go visit them. I haven't spoken much to my grandma over the years but now I want to give her a big hug and let her know how much I love her and I wish I could take those years back.

Life is too short. I encourage you to tell those close to you in your life that you love them today. And give them a hug. Make every day important because it may be the last time you have to do so. Please say a prayer for us and for Eric's family as well.

Orlando Magic Playoffs!

Eric and were lucky enough to score some Magic Playoff tickets! They pretty much just fell into our laps! A friend of mine stopped by on Saturday who had 4 Lower Bowl Orlando Magic Playoff tickets for Sunday's 12:30pm game and couldnt go. His son had won all of his baseball games that day which meant he had more games on Sunday... lol I think he'd been hoping his sone had lost so they could go to the game lol. But lucky for us he won! So yesterday we drove to Orlando and had a great time. Here are a few pictures of our trip!

No words... Its a sad day.

We could really use your prayers. Its a really sad day today....

"My Daddy"

Sometimes you never know if what you are telling your little toddler makes any sense at all. A month or two ago I was trying to explain that God is our father just like Eric is her father. Only, Eric is her father on earth, and God is her father in heaven. She looked confused, but said, "Oh." And nothing has been said about it since.

Until last night. Eric and I were saying our prayer with her as we do every night before bedtime. After we prayed and Kaylea was giving Eric a hug goodnight, Kaylea was talking about praying to God and she said looking at Eric, "You are my daddy in here and God is my daddy in heaven!"

It was a really tender moment and one I wish I could capture on video but it will have to stay captured in my memory instead.

Matthew 18:3
"And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.' "

Fun in the Sun!

This Saturday Kaylea and I took her bunny "Dumbo" to get his nails clipped and then enjoyed some fun in the sun at Mimi and Gada's swimming pool. Take a look at the pictures below... Notice Kaylea has become a "master" at rolling her tongue to make a funny face!

Kaylea Says the Darndest Things!

News Alert: Summer lost 5.4 lbs this week for a grand total of 35.7 - and she has on size 16 pants today! Woooo hooooo! Now on to the blog:

Kaylea was driving in the car with us this weekend and said, "Mommy, look at your hair. Its Black.... (she hesitated)... and Gray! Yeah your hair is Gray just like Gada's!"
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On Friday I received an email from my mom. She watches Kaylea during the day and will share some funny moments with me via email. Here was the email:

"ROFLMAO - She just had one side of her diaper (pull-up) opened up and was trying to put water (from her sippy cup) in it. I asked her what she was doing. Her response: "I'm waterin' my butt so it can grow bigger - and bigger - and BIGGER - like my Mommy and Daddy!""
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Kaylea's vocabulary is really growing. Last week it was the use of the word, "interesting". This week she used the word "interrupting". Kaylea was humming a tune and Eric started talking to me. She said, "Daddy, I was trying to sing a song about Kaylea Jade, and you were interrupting me!"
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News Alert #2: Kaylea successfully pee pee'd and poo poo'd in the potty friday, saturday and sunday! We are on a roll folks! Wooo hoooo!

Here is also a picture of Kaylea's newest dress design. What do you think? Fashionista in the making?