Happy 9th Birthday Gabrielle!

Yes, my baby girl is 9 years old. Wednesday was her Birthday. I woke up and saw her come down the stairs and it just was strange. I remember when she was one, she would stand at the gate at the top of the stairs and say "Mommy, cooooooooome get me, I'm awaaaaaaaaake". How is she 9? She has become such a wonderful young girl, very talented and smart. I always get emotional as she gets older. I guess I thought she would stay small forever. Gabrielle is a lot of things to me. She came into my life and changed me forever.

In a lot of ways, she is my hero. I was a young mom, like what you see on MTV's Teen Mom, but I wasnt crazy like them LOL. I remember finding out I was pregnant with her, and I got a lot of mixed opinions and emotions from others. My friend Courtney, met me at the high school, in the parking lot at like 5 am. And we drove to her Sunday School teachers house, she was a nurse. I remember when she put the test down in front of me, and I didnt know what to think or do. I felt strange. My friend was crying. I waited 8 whole weeks to tell anyone. But I grew up, and Gabrielle helped me grow up. I remember the first opportunity I had to make a decision, 'right or wrong' and instead of the little devil or angel on your shoulder, I saw Gabrielles sweet little face. In that moment, I knew what I needed to do. And it has been that way ever since. There were times in Nursing School where I just wanted to give up, but I would come home to Gabrielle and she would be there with her books to help me 'study'. She pushed me like no one has ever been able to. I graduated, and at my Pinning Ceremony, she was there on the stage with me, and she had the biggest smile on her face. I knew then that I would live for that smile. I think we have always had a special closeness. She truly is my best friend. We fight like friends too :) But she has and always will be my partner, my best friend, and my saving Grace.

Gabrielle is very special to a lot of people. We are all very blessed to have her in our lives. For however you know her, you are truly blessed. I dont think I know a more sweet, well balanced, thoughtful, big hearted, intelligent 9 year old girl. Thanks for being you Gabrielle, and thank you for calling me your Mommy. I love you always and forever :)

Bzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Yep, thats all I hear out of my right ear. I never knew how much I loved my right ear until now.

I suffer from hereditary sensorineural hearing loss, and I get this from my Dad. He has it too, only his is much worse. So yesterday was plain miserable. All I heard was RING RING RING. For the medical folks, that would be Tinnitis. I thought I was going to go crazy. I always have it, off and on, no biggie. I have learned to "deal with it". But yesterday it had me in tears. It was the closest to schizophrenic I would ever like to become. I had to drown it out while I took care of the kids, and put on a fake smile while I wanted to ram a pencil into my ear. I kid you not. Then this morning I woke up to a faint ringing, off and on. But I can hear probably at 25% out of this ear. Nada. I hear Charlie Brown fuzz, so if you are talking to me, and I put my finger in my ear and stare extra hard at your face, that is why. Not because I'm crazy or anything, but we all know that I am crazy ;) So I am getting phone calls, that I cant hear. I'm in a depressive place. I want to cry because I cant hear. People who know me best, know this is the my one insecurity that I deal with on a day to day basis. I catch a lot of grief for my disability, yes I'll admit it, its a disability. At work, at home, at church, in my marriage, with my kids, friendships, and phone conversations with random people. Why not get a beltone? I'm not sure. I guess I will when I am good and ready. I just dont want to wear a hearing aid, but I dont want to not hear either. So, I'm putting this out there, in writing. I'm deaf and stubborn :) Still wanna be my friend LOL

Alas, the mom must go on. I'm going to work out, because there I can do something other than rely on communication. This WILL get me into a better mood.

Its also my Best Friend Julie's birthday! She is 28! Her Golden Birthday 28 on the 28th :) We are going to our water aerobics, then to grab lunch. If the work out doesnt get me out of my deaf funk, she most definately will. Love this girl. We have such a strange story the two of us. God pushed us back into each others lives for a reason, after a lot of hardships, and loss. Because when one of us is at our breaking point, its the other one who brings us back. I'm lost without her, My Fast Taco Bandit friend :) So Happy Birthday JULIE!!!!!

And if you havent heard the latest news......
My husband is joining the Air Force Reserves. As a nurse. And ultimately a flight nurse after certain training. We are a ball of emotion about this decision. Happy, excited, scared, sad, worried, and proud. I am asking for all of your prayers and support as we make this journey. And when he deploys, notice I say when because it is a definate possibility, I will need you to hold me together. This is another blog in itself, as I get more information I will post it, and share my experience.

Well I'm going to go swim, work out, and get some positive vibes going!
Thanks for reading!
Love ya'll

Water Boot Camp anyone??

This summer, the BRiCk opened up in Burleson. (Recreation Center). Our family decided to get a family membership. We figured it would be cheap entertainment for the kids :) So in June we started going, we would take the kids swimming in the awesome splash pad/natatorium. Then Martin & I would go workout off and on. We introduced the Kid Zone (daycare) slowly. Because Madelyn wasnt having it, like at ALL! Gavin on the other hand wakes up asking when he can go back. Crazy, I guess I bore him that much ;) Now Madelyn has fun, the play-doh & painting probably had something to do with her change of heart. So I conned my neighbor into getting her membership, and started to drag her to hour long workouts. Now, she & I are the best workout partners around :) I really learned to love the elliptical machine, especially since I can get on, turn the TV to the kid zone channel and watch the lil ones, make sure the dont have the teacher crying LOL. After a few weeks of our routine, I was starting to get bored. Not good when you are wanting to lose weight. I happened to con my neighbor into trying a "water aerobics" class! I thought, it might be fun, we can play in the water without the kids :) Riiiiiiiiiiight! We opted for the free class for members. Its called the "Lunch Crunch Aerobics" only 30 minutes. CRAZIEST 30 min of my day, I assure you!

Let me start by saying, we showed up for our first class on a Tuesday. We were by far the youngest in our class. We kinda giggled and cut up, but after stretches we were working LOL. She "took it easy on us" the first day she said. BWAHAHAHA! We swam 200m, which in my lingo is 8 there and backs, she wanted the "American Crawl". She was going to critique our forms, good lord. I honestly didnt want to know, I was lucky to make it without drowning! Then after we completed our laps, me - hardly, she had us fill our weights up with water and do the over our head pumps. WHILE we swam the lazy river THREE laps! Okay, my arms were mush by the end. THEN we had to reverse and go against the current of the lazy river. Yeah, about this time I was watching the lifeguard to make sure she would be able to pull my big behind off the bottom of the pool, tee hee. Oh and to end this class, we do a lot of crazy ab workouts, on noodles of course. I left there thinking, OMG I almost drowned! Little did I know it was literally the BEST workout I have probably ever gotten in 30 min! I was WAY too sore to return the next day, then a sick kiddo kept me gone the next day. The poor instructor probably thought she scared me off! I mean, I could NOT believe how sore I was!

Dont worry, after playing hookie the first week, Julie (my dear sweet accountability partner) urged me to GO back. So we have been hitting it steadily for going on our third week now!

This is the Natatorium @ The BRiCk, see the swirly river over here on the bottom right? That is the lazy river, that friggin' current is STRONG!

And this is the lap pool, where all the "there & backs" take place

So, todays class was FUN and HARD all the same. I cant believe how sore I get doing this class, these older women are BRAVE! Its called Lunch Crunch aerobics, so its only a 30 min class. But it is packed full of cardio. I'm not a "couch potato" by any means, but I am not a work-out-a-holic either. I can keep up with P90X, so I'm not that outta shape. This class I would compare to P90X, I kid you NOT! So today she had us swim 350m (14 friggin there and backs) WHAT?! I did remember my goggles this time, so I attempted it professional style and I actually impressed myself. Atleast this time we could freestyle. This is ridiculous cardio, I am not kidding! My heart wanted to leap out of my mouth :) Ok so that sounded nasty. Then when we were done, she put us into pairs with a kickboard. We were water kickboxing! FUN FUN! I think this might be my favorite part :) A lot of kicking & punching. Then a lot of abs to finish up. I am already sore and its only been 2 hours since the class. If that isnt any indication as to how hard we work, I dont know what is peeps!

I think this class is quite possibly the best stress relief/therapy ever. I get to swim laps, burn off some stress & calories! Talk about whats bothering me with my friend. I mean, I literally walk out of this place feeling like a million bucks. I mean, I smell like a bleach bucket, but whatever I take what I can get!

I can definately feel a difference in my body! I see more definition in my arms & my legs. My belly seems flatter, and my waist feels smaller! My JEANS FIT! And not only do they fit, but they are kinda loose :) And my swim suits, well lets just say going against the current of the lazy river isnt a wise idea in my two piece. I have almost lost the bottoms TWICE!!

I would like to challenge anyone out there looking for a new workout regimen to try this! Sure I get a lot laughs out of people when I say I'm taking "water aerobics", they dont take me serious. Heck, I didnt either at first ;) But if I can see results and feel emotionally, mentally, & physically refreshed, then why the heck not! Right? Julie and I are on a mission to make water aerobics cool! We are trying to pull in a younger crowd. But who knows, maybe this will be my little secret ;)

Thanks for reading!

Lots of LOVE

Jess

Hello out there...

So I know, bad blogger. I've been busy. Its been crazy in my parts. I know, full of excuses :)

Lets see.......

The summer came and went, always too fast for me. In July Madelyn had her 2nd Birthday! It was a grand time. Yo Gabba Gabba themed of course!

This is a picture from the aftermath of her 2nd Birthday party. She fell asleep so no presents were opened until conveniently, all the guests left. Party Pooper! She got this awesome Foofa pillowcase dress from my friend from work. She loves it. So now Madelyn is 2, and oh my gosh does she act it. If you call her Princess, she will correctly snap at you "Im NOT a princess, I'm a baby", dont get it twisted people! We are still working on potty training, wowsers I dont remember it being so trying, maybe thats why God has you spread out your kids, so once you have forgotten all the trials of parenting a toddler or baby, you get a second (or in my case third) heaping ;) Ahhhh

We also went to Cozumel! We took the ENTIRE crew for this adventure. It was a blast. 8 days of beautiful beach, suns, and sands. And my kids enjoyed the fact that all the food was "free" or in Gabrielles mind never ending. It went off without a hitch. It was hardly crowded since the hurricane blew through the DAY before we got there. Everyone else was scared. But not us, we needed a vacation! We snorkeled, built castles, conch shell dived, laid out, jet skiied, iguana watched, ate, drank, and slept. That my friends, is perfect! We already want to go back. And why not, it was so much fun. We had very little fighting, which is worth every penny in my book :) Here is a picture from the snorkel trip we took (if your wondering why I am holding so many bottles of beer, its not because I was going 'Girls Gone Wild', Martin always hands me stuff then forgets I have it)

August came around, and we celebrated Martins 37th Birthday :) We went to see a good friend of ours band play, The Joey Green Band, they are a good time! Check them out on itunes, you will not be disappointed! We also sent Martin & Gabrielle off to school! Gabrielle started the 3rd grade this year! And Little Martin started 8th grade! Wow. Gabrielle is still doing her gymnastics, and doing really well I might add. Martin is doing 8th grade athletics, and started off the school year playing football. I'm really wanting him to try track, but with baseball we are not sure. First Day back pics: In September, a very busy month for us, we had many things happen. First and foremost I turned the dreaded 28. Why is it dreaded, because its almost 30! I remember being a little girl, thinking "God, 30 is OLD, I dont want to live to 30", now its here, and I'm thinking "Oh crap". I cant tell you how much grey hair has sprung loose this past year. Enough to keep my hair lady busy ;)

Also, my baby sister got married! Such a fun trip. My older sister came in, I havent seen her since MY wedding! We road tripped with mom & dad to Louisiana. Martin stayed home with the kiddos, since it was in a bed and breakfast, not really child friendly. We met up with my Great Aunt Sis, if you ask me, she is my Grandma and always will be. And we met Rosemary there as well, I dont think I can tell you how long its been since I have seen her, but it was wonderful. I cant tell you now nice it was to see them. I feel like I dont ever see my Aunt Sis, but when I do, its such a wonderful experience. I see so much of my Grandpa in her, and I just cant convey the importance she holds in my family's life. This trip really has made me appreciate the value of family. When we got all unpacked and situated, we met Mikes family. Awesome people. Erica chose an amazing family to join. His mother was simply the most adorable woman I've ever met, so sweet, and charming. His dad, stole my heart upon first meeting. Great people, he should be proud to come from such warm friendly people! His sister, well I honestly think my family scared her a bit LOL. She kept to herself for the most part :) His brother, great guy. He offered to let me come gator hunting with him, I'm gonna cash in that offer one day Kyle!

I was super sad to see my sister get married, I dont know why, I dont suppose you can put it into words. I just feel like she grew up all too fast. She will always be the "little sister", and now she is the little sister who is married! I think that I was an emotional wreck. I knew she would grow up and get married, but then it happened and I felt like the ground came out from under me. The wedding was beautiful, interesting. The JP was a crazy Brett Micheals girlfriend type. I mean she looked like Gem, you ladies know who I speak of ;) Erica's huge brouch, was glimmering specks of light all over Mikes face, he resembled Edward Cullen :) I KNEW Erica would some how tie in Twilight :) :) I made some great friends, and we made some incredible memories. I cant put into words the beauty of seeing a garden full of servicemen at the wedding. Men in their dress blues, and a Navy boy in his, well waiter get up ;) It made me proud to know that Erica & Mike are a part of that world. There are several pictures from the wedding posted on my facebook, but here is my most favorite three from the entire weekend:

If you read this far, THANK YOU :) Love you

I'll be better at this, I promise! Too much excitement to stay quiet ;)