Good Recipe

This is an email my sister sent to me, it has great advice.

We all need a little reminder and this was so timely for me!
Hope you enjoy it!!!

GREAT RECIPE...

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,
'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________'
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

Husband Tag

1. Where did you meet your husband? His friend Anthony sent him to my house for a blind date.

2. How long did you date before you got married? 3 years.

3. How long have you been married? 9+ years.

4. What does he do that surprises you? He can wake up at 6AM everyday no matter what time he went to bed the night before.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His soft hands

6. What is his best quality? He’s ambitious.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? “T”.

8. What is his favorite food? Anything Vietnamese or that his mom makes.

9. What is his favorite sport? Football

10. When and where did you first kiss? We had been dating for a few months and I kissed him in his car, he pulled away from me. I think he was trying to play hard to get.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Watch movies and go out to dinner.

12. Do you have any children? 3.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? He can tell you anything you want to know about any athlete.

14. How old is he? 32.

15. Who said 'I love you' first? He did. I could tell he was nervous to say it. We were sitting in my parent’s front room. We had been dating for a 6 or 7 months.

16. What is his favorite music? R&B.

17. What do you admire most about him? How hard he works.

18. What is his favorite color? I’m not sure, but Olivia says it’s gray.

19. Will he read this? Only if I tell him to read our blog.

20. Who do you tag? Anyone who wants to. If you don’t have a blog please email it to me.

Blurp, Blurp

I usually try to post something every few days or at least once a week, but lately I have been busy making my blog into a book. My friend Heather is a "blog expert" and told me that you can print your blog and turn it into a keepsake. She told me to go to this website: http://www.blurb.com and download their software to get it started. The software is free and really cool. It has themes and templates for you to use. You just import your entries and pictures and design the way you want your pages to look. I have been having so much fun messy with this software. It has taken me all weekend to make a book of only 6 months worth of blogs. John was really good about helping with the kids all weekend so that I could actually finish a project. It is now 3pm, I just finished making my book and I'm just about to order it. I'm so excited, I think this might be better then an actual photo album! When my daughters grow up to be mommies they will have fun looking back on what they put me through. LOL

Paige's Birthday Party

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY PAIGE!

John only has one niece on his side of the family so far and she just turned 6 on February 7th. We went to their house on Saturday to celebrate her birthday.

My First Born

I was tagged again on Facebook, and thought I would share on my blog too. I really love these, you get to learn so much about a person. This ones great, it's for mommies - it's all about your first born! I had forgotten a lot of details and it was fun to take a minute to remember the excitement of having your first baby. I won't tag anyone else, but feel free to do this if you get a chance. If you don't have a blog please email it to me, I would love to hear your stories as well.

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes, I got pregnant on our first try. I have Endometriosis and we thought it would take us years to get pregnant. Our second baby only took one try and our third we didn’t even have to try. :) I had no idea it would be so easy for us to get pregnant.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?

Yes. We had been married about 7 months.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?

We were thrilled! When I took the home pregnancy test it turned positive in a matter of seconds.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?

NEVER!

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?

21

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?

I had been really tired. I kept throwing up, but I was super hungry. I wasn’t even late for my period yet, but I knew I was pregnant. Back then you had to wait until you were at least a week late before you could even take the test. That was torture.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?

My husband. We were both kinda waiting to be able to take the test. I followed the instructions on the box to a “T.” I didn’t want there to be any mistakes. I took three tests that day and went to the doctors office just to make sure.


8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?

Absolutely!

9. DUE DATE?

November 30, 2000

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?

It feels like I started getting sick minutes after conceiving. ;) I was waaay sick, I had to take medication every four hours to keep from throwing up. The pills were way expensive but were an absolute must. I was hospitalized a few times for dehydration. I went on short term disability for awhile. I had morning sickness all day everyday until the day I delivered.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?

I remember craving fruit candies like Starburst, but other then that I ate a lot of cheese and crackers and anything that wasn’t to hard to throw back up.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?

Everything. Everyone got on my nerves at one time or another. Smells really bothered me too.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?

Girl

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?

Nope, we really wanted a girl for our first one. We were hoping she would grow up to babysit her younger siblings however, we forgot to space them far enough apart for that to work. ;)

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?

16 lbs.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?

Yes. 1 for work and 1 with friends and family.

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?

I knew about the family/friends one, in fact it was at my house. I wanted everyone to come and see our new house. The one for work was a total surprise.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?

I started getting Braxton Hicks (contractions) around 6 months. I was dilated to a 4 at 7 months. The baby sat really low in my pelvis which made it very difficult to sit, lay, stand, walk, etc. I also had horrible heart burn all through my pregnancies, I guess that’s why all my kids have so much hair. :)

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?

Alta View Hospital

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?

I started getting steady contractions on a Sunday but didn’t have her until Wednesday. I was in so much pain I didn’t sleep the entire time. We went to the hospital late Tuesday night but they sent us home. They told me I was in labor but to go back home since it could take days for your first baby. We got home and had to turn right around I was in full labor that was 12 midnight and she was born at 5 that evening. My next two labors went a lot faster. My third baby I was only in labor for about an hour. I didn’t even have time to shave my other leg, and my mom didn’t make it in time.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?

My husband.

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?

My husband, my mom, and my dad was in the room but watched from a distance. My dad actually went in the room just to check on us, he didn’t realize that things were moving fast and I already started pushing. So he ran to the corner and hid until it was safe to come out. Poor guy, I don’t think even John wanted to be in there at that point.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?

Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?

I think my friend Mandi said it best “HELL YES”. I’m not trying to be anyone’s hero, so I marched right in and demanded an epidural. Best drug ever!

25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?

6 lbs. 10 oz.

26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?

November 22, 2000 5:01 PM

27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?

Olivia Jayden XXXXXX

28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
8 years old.