Relay for Life

I have always wanted to go to a Relay for Life event. Last night (Friday April 29th) I was able to go to one with a dear friend and our kids. It was a wonderful time, however I didn't expect it to be as emotional as it was during the lighting of the luminaires. I know on a personal level how cancer can affect someone's life. I am a daughter, granddaughter, niece and cousin of someone who has/had won the battle with cancer but Iam also a niece and cousin of someone who has lost the battle of cancer. Cancer doesn't care how old or young a person is or if they are male or female. It can happen to anyone.
My grandmother has lost three out of her four brothers to cancer and now her only living brother has cancer.
I'm like many out there who would love for a cure to be found. Cancer has taken too many of my love ones away from me. After last night I think I will participate in the walk next year.

Starting Over

Well I have hit a bump in the weight loss. I am at a stable weight which is not where I want to be. I have now come to the conclusion that I need to refocus on what my goal is. Yes I've done great. I started this program weighing in at 224.5 lbs and now I'm at 171.2 lbs. So yes I have lost 50.3 lbs but I want and need to lose about 20 more lbs. I know deep in my heart that I can do this but I need to focus again.

Why am I doing this weight loss program? I'm doing it for several reasons. first of all I'm doing it for my health. I need to think about my health because of my family. My husband has lost over 100 lbs and I am so proud of him and I have never seen him this small. I just hope I can continue to do as well as he has.

Secondly I'm doing this for my family. I want to be able to enjoy doing things with them. I want to be in shape again and not have to worry about not being able to play and run with the kids.

I hope I can continue to stay on track. I've lost so much that what I still have to lose is a small amount compare to what I've lost so far.

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Trying this again

I had planned on blogging more then I do but I backed off because, well, I have a family member in my life that only got a facebook page to monitor what I post. So with that said I wanted to wait and see if she knew about this blog site and it seem like she doesn't. I am not the writer like my wonderful sister in law is but I started this as a way to express my feelings and to let those who know me that do follow keep up with my family. So here is to a second time go around.

Weight Loss update

Well so far things are going okay. I am down to 178.0 lbs but that is with a 1 lb gain for this week. But I am quickly finding out that with losing weight there are your ups and your downs. I have not been able to go to the gym since the 16th of Dec. so it has been about a month now. Tomorrow I will be able to get back into my workout routine. This is about the only down fall in having a gym membership at the college is when the college is closed for Christmas break so is the gym. I am happy to say that I have gone down from a size 18 to a size 12. So I know I'm making progress. I am going to try to update more often.

After 14 weeks

Okay so after 14 weeks, I have lost 32lbs and it looks like I'm almost done another pant size. So far I started out weighing 224.5 lbs and wearing size 18 pants and dresses. I'm now 192.5 lbs and wearing size 16 in both pants and dresses. Tomorrow I will weigh again and I am hopeful that I will be down another 2 lbs and since my pants are now loose, I may try to see if I can wear a size 14. I have also thought about going to second hand stores to buy some clothes or Wal-Mart because I'm losing the weight fast enough that I don't think I can get much use out of buying my clothes at my regular stores (Bealls, JcPennys, Kohls, ect...). Which this is good news and I plan on just getting enough to get me through a week.

I'm so proud of myself. Many people don't understand that I have always thought of myself fat even when I was at 125 lbs my senior year of high school. Monday at work the P.E. teacher and a good friend of mine gave me the biggest compliment. She asked me if I has seen the pictures the boss' coffee mug (we gave him a coffee mug that had all of the staffs' pictures on it, its a joke since he is the only male at the school). I told her no because I hate looking at pictures of myself post high school because I got so huge. She told me to look because it should encourage me to continue doing what I'm doing. Needless to say I just took her word for it. I do plan on finding a picture from before I started losing weight and take a picture once I've lost 40 lbs and then again at 80 lbs and if it looks like I could lose more I may try to lose 100 and take a picture then but I've been told that I would look great after I've lost 80 lbs and that another 20 may make me look sick.

Well I will keep you posted.

How they grow-up!

Well Rebekah has finish her second six-week of school. She actually did a lot better then last six-week. She only got an orange slip twice this time instead of the nine times last time. (An orange slip is actually a detention slip, which the child has to miss their recess due to behavior. The student gets three warnings before they get a detention and sometimes they can get multiple slips.) I think we have found a good way of rewarding her, which is getting to go get ice-cream with her dad after school on Friday if she was good the whole week.

We are working on reading now. I've never taught a student how to read at this level so this is also a learning experience for me as well. I did find out that her class is behind the others but I am not going to worry to much because we have made the decision to work harder at home, which may cause her to get a head of her class but at the same time I think it will help her in the long run. Rebekah is doing well in school and I think so far is math and reading.

She is now finished with soccer until the spring, so now we are focusing totally on dance. She loves dance and is always asking if I ever took dance, which I did. Mom and I gave her my old shoes and tutus to play with.

Josh is doing wonderful but is getting spoiled by the sitter since he is her only full time child. I think he loves it because he hardly ever gets someone's full attention. He is still too young for sports but we plan on getting him into soccer next year and go from there. We weighed him last week at home and he was 30 lbs which is 5 lbs less then his 5 year old sister. He has started talking more but we are still monitoring him because on his birthday we can have him tested to see if he needs to recieve services from Canyon ISD. We really hope he doesn't and we still have plenty of time.

Josh also is trying to be just as independent as his sister and gets upset when he can't do what she is doing. I don't think he understands that just because he is almost as tall as she is, that he still isn't old enough. Now if we could just get him potty trained I will be a happy mom.

week 7

Well this week is almost over and I'm doing okay. I lost another 2lbs and now I'm down a total of 18lbs. This morning I put on a pair of size 16 jeans to wear to work and they fit. I haven't worn these in two years. I'm so excited.

On the road to a new me.

Next to getting married to a wonderful guy, my kids are the best things that have ever happened to me. This summer I took a very long look in the mirror and was not very happy with what I saw. I'm sure I will never be the 120lb girl I was in 16 years ago but I can try to get as close as I can. I want to be someone that my kids are not embassered to say hey this is my mom. I also know that in many cases weight can (not suppose to but can) interfer with getting a job. I want to get on in Canyon and a job in the area of my Master's Degree. Most importantly I want to look in the mirror and be proud of the way I look. With all of this said I'm going to try to blog about how I'm doing on my weight loss. Maybe it will also help me stay on track. I stated this journey 6 weeks ago and have so far lost 16 lbs. YES I said 16 lbs and even though I still can't see any difference I know it is working. The good news is I'm not alone on this journey my wonderful husband is doing it with me and I'm proud to say he is down about 29 lbs. I've also started about a month ago going to the gym at the college to workout, if you call walking on the treadmill working out. LOL!!! I have noticed that since going on this weight loss journey I am starting to find my lost self- confident and a skip in my walk. So hold on tight I think this will be a great ride.

Summer

Well summer is at an end but it was a great summer for the Huddleston family. We went to the lake a few weeks after school was out for a family reunion. It was great watching the kids interact with my cousins kids.
We then came home only to get ready for Rebekah's birthday. We still can't believe she is five now. Where did the time go, it just seems like yesterday we were in the hospital having her.
Well we left for the river the day after her party and spent a week with my brother and his family. We all had so much fun and Josh got to float the river for the first time and fell asleep. Both kids love the water and Josh was still curious about his baby cousin and wasn't to sure of his momma holding the baby.
We left to head home on Rebekah's real birthday and got back in time to take her out to eat with some wonderful friends. The next day we got to celebrate the 4th of July (on the 3rd) in the rain but the kids enjoyed the parade with or without the rain.
A few weeks later we went to Abilene and had a nice visit with some family and I got to see my cousin from AZ that I haven't seen in about 9 years. It was a great visit.
At the end of July Tim and I celebrated 7 years of marriage and enjoyed a nice dinner at a wonder steakhouse and a movie, we saw Grownups.
This month we have spent the time getting ready for me to go back to work and for Rebekah to go to Kinder. She enjoyed the school clothes shopping, I think a little to much. We got her registured for school and now we are just waiting to see who is her teacher. As far as we know she will still be recieving speech services at school and will know more when we have her ARD next month. I am going to try to attend this one since we will find out more about if she will recieve services throughout the school year. In the past Tim just went but I have so many question.
I think Josh is looking forward being at the sitter without sister there most of the day. Our sitter will still take Rebekah to and from school. We have been so blessed by her.
I hope everyone had a great summer. We have one more quick trip to Abilene and then we are done with our vacations for a few months.

Sweet Memories

Over this Christmas break my mom gave Rebekah a baby doll blanket that my Ma-maw made me when I was little. Rebekah never got to know her since she passed away a short time after I got married. However I enjoyed telling her about her late great grandmother and how she would always make me stuff. Today I was using the afgan that my Ma-maw made me for a wedding present and Rebekah asked me where I got it and I explained that her granddad's mother made it for me and daddy. Rebekah just smiled and said just like she made one for your dolls. I just smiled and said yes and told her she made mommy an afgan for her dolls and three more for her for different special events: graduation, wedding and one for when I was born. I love sharing the memories of my family with my kids.

I believe

The other day I heard a song that I hadn't heard in a long time that really brought back memories for me, especially now. The song was "I Believe" by Diamond Rio. I have always love the song because I do believe that there are angels out there looking out for us. I never had given much thought to this when I was growing up until I was graduating from college in 2002. This was a special occasion to me because education is very important in my family. However there were two people I wanted to share that day with that was not there. I had lost my aunt the year before and my uncle only one month before. You may wonder where am I going with this well here it is. Since then I have gotten married and had two beautiful babies. Occasions that was miss by some loved ones who were no longer with us or well were unable to come because of health issues. I was sad that they were not able to be there but I believe they were looking down on me during these special times.

Over the last week and half I have seen my husband worry over his grandmother's health and I know he is scared of losing her. I have seen him mourn the death of his grandfather around the 2nd of June every year for the past five years. I also see his eyes light up when our son makes a face that reminds Tim of his grandfather. I believe that Bill is looking down on all of us.

My heart aches for Tim because I can feel his pain, I have lost so many loved ones that I have known, my aunt, uncle, a cousin, and many other family members including the great uncle I have lost today. Once who, not only did I share a birthday with but my middle name.

I believe that for all of us, our loved ones are watching over us and are still here with us in spirit.

Love Dare

I wouldn't ever say that Tim and I have been in a rut with our marriage. I will say that over the last nine years together we may have taken advantage of each other. Last Sunday our Sundy School class started the Love Dare study. We have found that even through we love each other unconditionally, we just forgot about the little things that made us fall in love with each other. This study make us look deep into our selves and not into each other. the dares at the end of everyday make us so our spouse how important they are to us.
When I was so sick with both kids Tim was by my bedside everyday with the expection of when he had to be at work. When I was home on bedrest and/or light work he was there to make sure I was doing what the Dr. order. The whole time he made sure I would try to eat and drink even through we knew what would happen in the end (a visit to the bathroom/trash can). I know that he loves me. When we were dating and even while we were engaged he would surprise me with little romantic things. It seems like once we were married it stopped but I also stopped what romantic things that I would do for him. Now that we have two kids we are now having to relearn how to tell each other/show each how important we are to each other.

Spring Break

Well spring break is almost over. We have enjoyed this week. The kids and Toni got to spend some over due time together and she was able to get in some studying. Tim worked Sun. thru Tues. and had the rest of the week off. We got the house in better order then what it was, we got the clothes that were too small for the kids packed up and stored. However we still need to go through their toys and pack up those items that they are too small for. Tim was able to in a few golf games in as well. Toni went out with her sister-in-law and caught a movie. This was a very good week that they just needed to get refreshed. Toni is taken her comps in two weeks and she is just a nervous wreck. The big news in the family is that a friend of Toni's is coming down to visit this summer, so Toni is ready to start planning for this friend's visit. They haven't seen each other in about 19 years. However they have always kept in touch. So far the family is doing well. Rebekah is doing well and loves being a big sister. Josh is trying to walk and is still discovering new things daily.

Memories

Over the last few weeks former classmates have been posting pictures of all of us from high school. How we have all changed. Some of us are not as small as before but for many of us it is from us being busy with work and raising a family of our own. Over the past 14 years new friendships have been formed or strenthened that was not there when we were in school. As we grow and become mature we don't always see things the same way as we once did.
It has been great reconnecting with old friends. We have found out that for many of us to fit in during our high school years we were afraid to come out of our shells.

How time fly by

Time sure is flying by in the Huddleston families. Josh is turing one next month and in a few months Bekah will be four. We can't get over how fast they are growing.

Rebekah had her first date last week. Her daddy took her to the Daddy/Daughter dinner/dance at church. She had a blast but spent most of the night dancing with her friends and not with her Daddy. He said he had to brib her to dance with her. All I can say was oh no it is starting already not wanting to be with her parents. I have posted pics of her on myspace and facebook. she was soo cute.

Tim is able to work extra hours at work due to some staff being out which is good for us. I had a very good visit with my Principal today after work. He wanted to know what my plans were for after graduration, and I of course was honest and said that I don't know that I will not move my family away from Canyon and just was looking in Canyon and Amarillo. I told him that I would stay at Tulia for as long as they want me there or until I can get closer to home. Too my surprise he was asking me about my health. I did tell him that the blood pressure was back to normal and I was on top of it. He seemed more concerned about how I was looking, saying I looked tired. Which is true but is due to lack of sleep and explained that my Dr. was helping me with that as well.

Once I get past my comps, I believe life will be better for us. On another note, I got to revisit so old memories thanks to an old friend who posted pics of us from high school. It was great looking at them but at the same time it made me miss those times, boy did I have fun back then. Of course I am have fun now with my life. Our kids just bring smiles to our face every moment of the day.

Getting through another week.

Well last week was a busy week for us. Rebekah had the flu and I just wish I felt as good as she did when she was sick. We also brought us another family car, the one Tim's been driving as about to die so we traded that one in for a Yukon. We are doing well, Tim is staying busy with work and well this is the time of year for me to do ARDs, IEPs and give the ugly TAKS test. I
I am praying to get a job with Canyon ISD so that I can be closer to home and well the pay will be great. I have gotten half way through my hours for my intership and still have several papers to write and my comps to take in April. I would love to go on a plan the graduration party but I am scared of the comps.

I got to thinking on my way to work today about the past eight years. The reason I think was because graduration is coming up (if I pass the comps) and I was just think about some people who I was would be at my graduration that will not be there physically but they will be in spirit. By the way Denise if you are reading this post I would love for you to come, no matter who else shows up. I miss seeing my cousin. I guess a reason why I was thinking about the past is because of something that my mom told me, which was I had already done more then anyone ever imaging me doing. At first I took it the wrong way and after talking to Tim I realize that maybe she meant that they just never thought I would go after another degree and here I want not just one Master's degree but two. I know the money will just not be there but I will be happy. We will never be rich but I never have been. Hey I was a daughter of two teachers.

What a weekend!!!

Okay first off I'm trying to take it easy but "it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks", not to say I'm old or anything. On Friday we took the kiddos to the circus. What an experience. Rebekah was soooo excited and wanted to see and do it all. Josh just loved looking at the lights and fell asleep during the last 1/2 of the show. Rebekah got to ride a pony and an elephant all by herself. Need we say how big she felt. Rebekah kept on asking about the lions but of course they didn't have any. Some of the outfits that the performers wore made you think you were at a Las Vegas show.
Saturday we just sit at home and did some cleaning and playing with the kids. Of course this was Tim's last day off before going back to work on Sunday. I don't want this weekend to end.

What a week!

I think the Lord for my family and sometimes when they are honest it is brutel. I am in my last semester of Grad. school which means I have to do 75 hours of Diagnostician work on top of my teaching responsibilities. I also teach my daughter's Wednesday night class at church, keep up with a active infant and try to keep house. Needless to say I am also being treated by my OB/GYN for depression, which is not anything new since it runs in my family.

I am known for being independent and trying to do everything on my own. Needless to say I still am trying to do it all. This week I wrote down the wrong date for a important inserve so of course I went on the wrong day. I have manage to lock my son in the car at church and had to call the police or well a friend at church who is up high on the ladder of University PD call UPD for me.

Today I had my blood pressure checked at wrk just to humor a co-worker that was worried about how I was feeling. I normally run in the high 90s to about 105 on top. Don't ask me about my bottom number. Well when I had it checked it was 140/100. Which I guess is high because I was then sent home to see a doctor and when I got to the Dr. office my BP was 130/90, I know I'm under a lot of stress right now. I just think if I ask for help it will show that I'm either lazy or weak.

I feel like I am needing to prove to ALL of my family (immediate and extended) that I am a hard worker, caring person and a great wife, mother, daughter, aunt, cousin, neice, granddaughter, sister.

Christmas

We spent Christmas this year with Toni's brother Corey and his wife Shauna in Utopia, which is down south by Hondo and the San Antonio area. We all had a great visit and got to see part of Texas that we have never seen before.

Tim was able to go deer hunting and got a white tail while we were down there. Toni just enjoyed the sites and visits with her brother.

The children traveled very well on the trip down and back. We broke the trip up by staying a night both going and coming with her grandmother in Abilene.

This was the first Christmas that Rebekah was really excited about Santa coming to visit her.

We are now glad to be home so that we could get things ready for the New Year.

Our family

Merry Christmas. This will be Josh's first Christmas and we are sure he will enjoy it. Josh is crawling very well and is pulling himself up, as well as trying to cruise around the coffee table. We are going to spend Christmas with Toni's brother. We hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Christmas