Stellan will live!

My heart has been "strangely warmed" over the story of Stellan and MckMama.

I don't know her or her family, but have been reading her blog since I saw her "sticker" on Melissa's blog.

McKMama has quite a following- with over 1 million hits to her blog and over 1000 official followers (with many more "lurking" I am sure!)

If you get a moment, click on the link on this post for Stellan and MckMama and read the last 2 posts...what a testimony to the power of prayer, the love of God, and the hope we have in our Savior.

To all of you that read my blog and have a blog yourself, I truly do appreciate you sharing your life with me via blogging...it is so great to keep up to date and to rejoice with you and know what is going on in your life! I wish I could talk to all of you personally on a regular basis, but I know that is not practical...just know that I see aspects of our Lord in all of your lives...and am so thankful that you "share" your lives with me via blogging!

-Happy Halloween...pics of our little "pumpkin" later!

Not Me Monday!

Okay. This is my first official "Not Me!" Monday posts...I read MckMama's often, and it is hilarious, so I thought I would give it a try. Notice the picture is entitled "being brutally honest and living to tell about it"...

Here you go!

I most certainly did not have a freak out moment this week when Rody was refusing to breastfeed...and I most certainly did not cry hysterically, give the baby to Randy, and go pump in my bedroom by myself...

And, I did not breath a huge sigh of relief when Rody cut his first tooth on Sunday afternoon, assured this was the reason for my initial freak out!

I honestly did not just turn off the baby monitor at 3am when Rody woke up thinking to myself that if I can't hear it, then it will just go away. Nope, not me!

I also did not wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, see Randy in the living room and yell at him, only to wake up in the morning and not remember it..

I also did not cheer on UGA with my friends on Saturday night like a crazy person! Nope, not me, because I am civilized :)

I also did not contemplate getting pregnant (or trying) very soon because my baby boy is growing up too fast...I'm mean, that's ridiculous!

And finally, I most certainly DID not write this post during one of my planning periods while at work...nope, not me!

--Have a great week!

7 months old today and lots of "new" things!

Rody is 7 months old today! He had a rough day at church...but you wouldn't know it from these photos!

He has had 3 "firsts" today!

1) Gumming a baby "cookie"...he got it all gooey and gross...thanks Grandma Kia! She brought him some really cool new toys which included a walker...I think we will get a lot of use out of it!

Trying to pick up those little crumbs is hard!

2) He cut his first tooth today! I woke him up from his nap and felt his little lower gums..and his lower right tooth cut through!

Such a big boy! He has mastered pulling up on EVERYTHING in about 1 week and is officially crawling! He started crawling consistently on October 23rd...

Big boy outfit...so cute!

3) Church nursery...I brought him in about 1/2 way through service...they had about 15 babies and 2 workers in there, but I put him in a little walker and he was fine. We knew he was tired...I took my little card that says "Rody" on it and took note of the #49 in case it is flashed up on the screen during service.

I did well letting him be in the care of strangers for the first time, but it was so hard! Pastor was preaching and then all of the sudden, #49 flashed on the screen!

I immediately got up and went to the nursery to find Rody sans pants crying in the arms of the lady watching him...unconsolable. When he saw me, he cried harder! I put his pants on and they made the comment about his high pitched cry...which I can only imagine was distressing to people who are not used to it!

Oh well...we left church stressed and discouraged (and early) wondering if we are ever going to be able to go to church again...and hate that it falls right during his nap time...

Making my own baby food

Y'all, it is so easy! And I love when I can give Rody whole, natural food! I made sweet potatoes last night with no additives and it was delicious.
All I did was peel them, cube them, put in some water and boil for about 30 minutes. Then, into the blender to puree...I added some of the juice that it was cooked in. Then, I froze them in 2 oz. servings using an ice cube tray.

I highly recommend this! I've made my own pears, bananas, and avacodo like this as well..

any more ideas of what I could make at home?

thanks!

7 month checkup

We missed the 6 month!

7 months
Weight: 19 lbs. 6 oz.
Height: 27 3/4 inches

75% for both

He pulls up on everything and LOVES to stand...will crawl 5 or 6 crawls at a time right now....

I've been tagged!

Well, I've been officially "tagged"...first time for everything. Thanks, Melissa!

I'm supposed to tell you 7 random facts about myself...let me see...

1) I'm such a follower...I mean really...I am a leader in some regards, but a big time follower in other regards. My husband laughs because he says I am always up for anything and when somebody suggests something I will be all for it, especially if it is fun! This has gotten me in trouble at times and made me do some stupid things (like in high school)...particulary, I remember hanging around people like Russ Masterson and doing crazy things at his leadership!

2) I love to sleep! When I am tired, I don't really fight it. I need my sleep...and that is why I am so thankful that Rody is a superstar sleeper!

3) I used to sing myself to sleep when I was little. I think my favorite song was the "Star spangled banner". My mom says she remembers listening outside my room and chuckling when she heard that. I used to have dreams of singing it one day in front of thousands of people, but you know, that hasn't happened yet!

4) I'm adventerous! My mind loves to think about crazy, wild, fun things to do and go do them. I don't get to much more these days, but I have some great memories. For example, Peyton and I (when we were in college) started in Colorado and drove to the Tetons, Yellowstone (went camping by the way with a walmart tent and ate tunafish and fruit all day), across the entire state of Montana, visited Katie in North Dakota, and then drove all the way back to Georgia. I don't know, something about that kind of freedom and wilderness tugs at my heartstrings like nothing else...

5) I love baked beans. I could eat them everyday. So yummy!

6) I am really good at reading comprehension. I can read a story or a book and recall it for you in such detail, you'd be amazed! :)

7) I'm a blog stalker. I read people's blogs that I don't even know and then in conversation with people, I say things like "yeah, one of my friends did such and such or her child such and such" and I don't even know that person...I call them my blog friends! I also love my facebook "friends" because I can go into their pages, look at pictures, get caught up on their lives, and feel like I am connected to them without even having to talk! I do keep up with a few of my close friends, but I have many aquaintences out there in the internet world!

So, there you have it! thanks, Melissa, for tagging me. Now, I tag:
Katie
Jason
Veryll



Katie

The P90X lifestyle

Here is my workout update for those of you interested...

I got my P90X in the mail and decided to start last Thursday. I'm following the "classic" cycle. There are 6 workouts a week alternating between cardio based and weight training based. However, don't let the weight training base fool you- I was sweating and huffing/puffing just as much during those!

So, Thursday night I did just the AB Ripper to feel it out...and feel I did...I felt like I couldn't walk- was I sure it was ab ripper and not leg ripper?

I did chest and back on Friday..which is a circuit of tons of pushups and pullups ( I use bands for the pullups since I can't even do one yet!). It was a great workout and finished it off with AB Ripper X- a 15 minute ab workout I am to do 3 X a week.

Saturday: Plyometrics...a bunch of jumping and squatting and crying. Seriously. My thighs were burning in the warmup. I have to wonder if that is normal, but I am too afraid to ask! It took me back to college days when I was training...and made me appreciate the fact that I used to do things like this when I was aobut 30 pounds lighter- and I had to chuckle at some fun memories of all the throwers and Coach Babbitt working out in the UGA Gymnastics room...so fun!

Sunday: Shoulders and Arms and then Ab ripper

Monday: today, after Rody goes to sleep, I plan on doing Yoga X...which is a 90 minute workout!

It is definitely easier having Tony the Trainer yelling at me through the TV and allowing me to workout at home than trying to find time to drive 10 minutes to the YMCA...I can go out and walk/run from my house still, which is great, but I need a little guidance as far as the weight training is concerned...and interestly enough, I was the thinnest I have ever been when I was lifting the most (which seems to be backwards, but it was true for me).

I'm trying to follow the nutrition plan as best I can, and I've done a good job avoiding unnecessary sugar in my life...

I'll update more on this matter next week!

one more pumpkin pic

Veryll took this picture of Rody and I just had to share it with you!

He is OUR precious little pumpkin doodle!

Picking Pumpkins

Today was the most beautiful fall day this year. The temp was a perfect 65 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and it was Saturday! We went to a pumpkin farm about 20 miles away with our friends, Jermaine, Veryll, and their son Javan

We ate a little picnic first!

Rody just hung out in the backpack for a while

I mean, he is just adorable...don't you think?

happy boy
family picture
loving the hay
Rody loved petting the farm animals. This goat was sucking on his finger.
All bundled up and on the hayride to the pumpkin patch
nice sun glasses, huh?
ready to find out pumpkins
daddy on the look out
rody got his first "little" pumpkin!

Javan has the flashlight ready to lead us through the corn maze

It was a little chilly!
good sleeping weather
Randy trying to scare us
It seemed like we walked around the corn maze forever! We really didn't find out way out, so the men succombed to the ladies complaining and we just crossed the barriers...and all got some hot chocolate!

What a fun day and glad we could experience it with our good friends--it was their first time doing anything like this!

Another new post below...

What a week!

Rody was sick at the beginning of the week and slept A LOT! So cute right here- like father, like son

Rody is all cozy in his Camp Fitch jammies!
Precious
Sweet little face
He is starting to pull up on everything and loves to grab out hands and pull himself up (as you'll see in the video below). At this rate, he will walk before he crawls!
This video shows him pulling up using our hands...he loves to crawl all over us!

I'm desperate~

Okay. I'm desperate here. I have a 6 month old baby and still 20-25 pounds to LOSE! I guess I am one of those people who's weight does NOT just melt off when breastfeeding...I mean, come on.

So, I've decided to face reality wholeheartedly and I ordered P90X. I can say I am a little intimidated...and most physical workouts don't intimidate me. I mean, I trained for a 1/2 marathon when I could only run about 2 miles at the time...

Anyways, I have to complete a "fit test" to see if I am even able to start doing P90X. So, I looked at the fit test components...some of them are
1) a vertical jump of at least 3 inches...CHECK
2) be able to do at least 3 full pushups...CHECK
3) do jumping jacks for 2 minutes and then check your heart rate and make sure you are not about to die...CHECK
4) do at least one pullup...um, bump that, NOCHECK! How many females can do one full pullup? I would consider myself a fairly strong female, but I can't do a full pullup without assistance...

I still have some groundwork to lay before I officially begin, but I will let you know my progress because I know you are all interested in that!

I did the ab ripper X workout last night before I went to bed...interestingly, my hip flexors are more sore than my abs! UHH...

Just wanted to vent..

--K

Fall Break

I'm enjoying my fall break. We went to SC for a couple days to visit Randy's family.

Randy meeting Cheyenne...Angel's new baby girl
Rody enjoying the picnic!
Happy Family

"Reaching" Milestones

Rody is getting so big! He sat in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time. And we fed him while eating our own meal!

And, he pulled himself up to a standing position!

He actually did it the first time on a dog's cage, but we caught him doing it the second time today!

reaching higher..

pulling up!

so happy!

watch out world. Rody Barnett is about to become mobile!

Fireproof

Okay...we saw Fireproof last night and we LOVED it! I have to admit that I had a slight (um, big) crush on Kirk Cameron when I was younger. I had this awesome poster of him in my room that was blue and pink...anyways, he did a tremendous job in this movie. What is even more amazing is his integrity while doing it. They flew in his real wife for a scene in which he had to kiss his screen wife. He is actually kissing his real life wife in that scene.

I laughed, I cried, but most of all I was encouraged in my own marriage. If you have not seen this movie, please do and support a good movie.

Jefferson, GA

3 NEW posts below...check 'em out!

We spent a couple days in Jefferson with the McCoy's. Randy played in a golf tournament and Katie, Rody hung with G&G

Rody going to water the plants with Papa

spending time in the backyard with Grandma

Really trying to figure out those shadows!
Eating some good food!

We had a fun time! thanks mom and dad...

The Classic City

We enjoyed a day in the Classic City. I got to visit some of my old favorite places!

Can you say Inoko express and their sexy sauce? Y'all know what I'm talking about..

couldn't go to Athens without going to my 5 points Jittery spot. I spent a many nights studying in this coffee house and also meeting with incredible mentors to help grow me in my relationship with the Lord!
Introducing Rody to downtown Athens...this is probably the most sat on bulldog- I couldn't think about all the potential germs on this dog...
And the arches of course..
And we got to see the Shepherds! They are on staff with AIA at UGA. Randy did his internship wit AIA and Scott was one of the officiants at our wedding...
I moved to Athens when I was 18! And then I moved from Athens when I was 26. I spent 8, yes 8 years of my life there! I attended school and was an athlete there, and then started my professional career there as well.

I met my husband there and we got married there...what a place! I miss it so much and would love to live there- both Randy and I would love to live there- so many opportunities for ministry as well.

Things I miss the most:

1) the environment...so much fun

2) the people/memories

3) Jittery Joes

4) baxter street Chick-fil-A

5) the incredible IM fields and all the other fun places to run or walk

6) Sunday nights at the Rogers' house...

What do YOU miss about Athens?