January and bikini -- two words that just don't go together!!

Good News!!!! My wonderful, hard-working hubby has won his company's yearly incentive trip!!! This year we're headed to Jamaica, YEA!!! Bad News...it's at the end of January and my body is in no shape to be in a bikini!! Seriously, January is for resolutions that are supposed to get us into the swimsuits in June. I'm missing a few months between resolution making time and bikini time.

But what's a girl to do?!?! This girl is kicking up her workouts, trying not to snack and thinking positive thoughts as we count down to the fun! Now when I say fun, I believe I failed to mention that this little trip is KID FREE! Yep, that's right, we will be getting 6 days and 5 nights to ourselves! (Somebody pinch me!)


(If anyone needs me while I'm away...You'll find me in that third lounge chair holding a fruity drink with umbrellas in it!)

I must preface all of this blissful jabbering by saying that we owe our families big time for stepping in and keeping our precious, easy-going, trouble-free, perfect little ones during our little get-away! (Did anyone pick up on those descriptions?!?) But who could turn down an opportunity to spend a few days with these cuties:



So, let's run through some of the statements I will not hear on this stay in nirvana:

Mom, he/she is looking at me!
Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, MOMMMMMMM!
Mom, can you wipe me?
Mom, can you put this dress on Polly Pocket?
Mom, what's for dinner?
Mom, I don't want that for dinner.
Mom, can you wipe me again?
Why can't I, Mom?
But why?
Mom, he/she is touching me!
I don't want to go to bed now!
Mom, what's for breakfast?
I don't want that for breakfast?
Mom, can you tie my shoes?
That's too tight, can you tie them again?
That's too loose, can you tie them again?
Can you wipe me?


You get the picture, right?!?!? But what will I miss hearing most of all? "I love you, Mommy!" spoken from the sweet little mouths of my cuties!

Instead, I guess the beautiful sounds that I'll hear during this escape will sound something like this:

Bob Marley - One love
Uploaded by masterfunk

Feelin' alright~
Laurie

Who needs resolutions?!?!

Well, that's what Lily Clare says anyway. It looks like she's good to go in the exercise department:

as well as in the men department:

Maybe we could focus on the fashion department a bit:

As for Sam, he's good with the girls:

an active little guy:

And he's quite the Momma's boy (which is always a good thing!):

And, as for me, after two weeks of not working out, I feel like a:
(You knew I had to throw in one of my pictures using my new camera! Check out the glistening goo on the slug!)

So, here's to a 2009 full of exercise, healthy eating and love for my family and friends!

No more slugging around~
Laurie

P.S. As we walked around the Greenway the other day, we happened upon a park bench with this dedication plaque. I don't know who Dan Young is, but I think I would have liked him!

Prayers Needed!

I recently got back in contact with one of my friends from high school, Tammy. How fun it is to talk about old times and hear about all of the changes that have happened in the past 20 (wow, really 20?!?) years! But this conversation was different, the majority of our catching up was hearing about the recent diagnosis of her 6 year old son, Christian, with a rare form of cancer. Her precious "tow-headed" son was diagnosed with Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma - a rare cancer of the salivary gland - in November. He has already undergone surgery to have the tumor removed and is heading to FL on Sunday to undergo two months of treatment.

You hear these stories, but to know someone your age with children the same ages as your own - it really hits home.

So, I'm asking you...my friends, family and anyone else that happens upon this....please pray for Christian and his family. FYI - He has asked to be baptized at his church on Sunday before they leave that afternoon. So sweet!



Please pray for their safe travel to and from Florida, for Christian to handle the treatments with ease, for the treatment to be successful and for his family to have strength through this separation and trying time.

Hugging Sam and Lily a little tighter~
Laurie

Ode to a sweet gum ball!

(If you click the picture, the details are a bit more impressive!) ;-)

Still playing with my camera~
Laurie

P.S. I'll be cursing this thing when I'm walking barefoot in the yard this Spring!

It's a new year and we feel good!

There's something to be said about "new"! There's just something invigorating about it. You know, the smell of a new car, the skip in your step when you get a new hairstyle, the joy of making a new friend -- it all makes you feel good!

Well, it is a new year and we feel good! Welcome 2009, we're ready for all of the opportunities you hold!

Can you tell they feel good?!?!?

“Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!"

~William Arthur Ward

Lovin' a clean slate~
Laurie