Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Mixed Martial Arts and the Mom of SIX

MMA!  I have fallen in love!  It is a great work out.  The people at U.S. Ju Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Center are great!  There are no attitudes.

The instructors go around making sure that everyone is doing things correctly.  Sensei Blackford stopped what he doing to show me how to properly do the moves.

The students work with and help each other.  They are not trying to beat each other up or prove anything.

I have been to many Dojos over the years, and this is one of the best.  I like that they accept individuals rather than taking anyone.  I like that they keep their student/instructor ratio small. 

Check them out on FaceBook.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Dear Patrick


Happy Valentine's Day!  I love you!!





Photo Credit:  I found this on Pinterest, but I think it comes from this blog!

Monday, February 13, 2012

The Journey of Finding My Soul Mate

Finding my soul mate was most definitely a journey. A soul mate is not always someone with whom you are romantically involved. It could just be a friend.

For me, though, my soul mate was both. We were friends, and we fell into a something more long before we should have.  After a while, he decided that it would be best to see other people, so we ended up calling the something off for a while.  It was truly the most pain that I had ever felt in my entire life.   My heart was broken into a million pieces.  I had lost, not only the person I loved, but my greatest friend as well.

I wanted him to just go away. My heart was aching. I prayed for him not to call, email, or IM me anymore. I knew that if he called or wrote, that I would respond. He was first and foremost my friend. Not just any friend, he was my best friend. He was the one who knew my hopes and my dreams. He knew my secrets. He truly KNEW me. He really saw ME.  Did I get what I prayed for??  NOPE!  He called, emailed, texted, IMed constantly.  He would not GO AWAY! 

This is not the end of our story, or even the beginning.  This is just a small part of it.  We have come a long way since then. 

We have been married for a few years now, and are very happy.  We have expanded our family to include a total of 6 children.  It took us a while to get it, but we finally did, and we made it!



Photo Credit: April Hollingsworth who is an AMAZING photographer!

Monday, February 6, 2012

I Don't Usually Eat Bacon


 But, HailNo made these Jalapeno Poppers!  They were SOOOO good!  

Yes, that is HailNo with her delicious concoction!
We are not Exact-Recipe-Followers here in my house, but I do know that HailNo adapted her recipe from my Pioneer Woman cookbook.   Website found here!   I do know that she glazed them with marmalade from Chile.  I think it is peach, but not 100% sure.  I do know that it is NOT Orange marmalade.  

Despite my anti-bacon stance on MOST occasions, I did try these.  It was my MOTHERLY DUTY!  I have to admit, these were AMAZING!!!

Way to go HailNo! 

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Dream and the Dreamer

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."
Harriet Tubman



I have no desire to change the world.  I do have dreams.  I have big dreams!  Those Dreams include that some day a cure for Autism will be found.  My dreams include, a day without fighting with Colby because he does not like to hear "NO".   

But, Today's dream is: We all get over this nasty cold!


This is LIFE AS I KNOW IT!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Never a Dull Moment



"AUTISM-NEVER A DULL MOMENT" 

Too true is this saying.  Life as I know it is anything BUT dull.  Every morning is a fight to get ready, and we all have to listen to Cole saying to himself in a normal voice, "I want to quit school" and in a higher pitched voice (I think it is supposed to be me), "I know, but you can't quit school."  He repeats this to himself about 50 times while getting ready, riding to school and getting out of the car. 

This is LIFE AS I KNOW IT!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Where I Fell in Love

Photo Credit: I don't know.


I fell, head over heels, in love with hubby on a park bench very similar to the one in this picture.  At the time, we were just friends.

He lived near this little park, and under a tree, was this bench.  We would walk to this park, and sit on this bench, talking about EVERYTHING.  We talked about life, other friends, family...important and not-so-important things. 

So, here we are many years later.  With Valentine's Day in the air, I thought I would share a little about how I fell in love with my love!
This is LIFE AS I KNOW IT!