Happiness Journal- My son

Did you know that happiness is infectious? According to this recent study, you can spread happiness to those around you by expressing what makes you happy. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/3548303/Happiness-is-infectious-and-spreads-through-friends-and-family.html


So I know I can’t be in Georgia and Washington at the same time. I still want my family down there to know me and see how I am growing and developing as a person. Well lately I keep having the idea of making a happiness journal. What better way to keep track of what I am grateful for than posting it here on my blog? I challenge all of you out there to think of at least one thing you are grateful for today. And if you have the time, try making a happiness journal. Write about one person and talk about how that person makes you happy or grateful.

Today I am grateful for many many things and it’s hard to pick what to write about. I am most grateful for my loving family. More specifically my little baby. He brings so much joy to my life. He is so full of energy and so happy to see me in the mornings when I pick him up. His expressions of emotions are so pure. I am grateful that he makes me want to be a better person. I look at him and I hope that I can be all that I can be as a parent to steer him in the right direction so that he can be a happy person. I want my home to be a place of warmth and laughter, and family home evening game nights. And when I am an old woman, I want to look around a room full of my grand children and great grand children and feel at peace. I want my home to be a happy home, for him, because he deserves no less. He makes me a better person.

So today I have taken the extra effort to make him smile. We've been playing all morning. He loves to be tickled! It just brightens my day so much to see that big beautiful smile.

Next time I will pick another person I am grateful for. Who are YOU grateful for? Spread the joy and let them know!

Happy Day!

So Aaron called me from work today. Amazon offered him a permanent position. This is great news! He was hired on as a seasonal worker for the Christmas holiday and we were sure they were going to lay him off in January. They kept him on for a little longer and never told us exactly what they were planning to do. Now we get benefits and insurance. XD

This isn't THE job by the way. He is only a technical support representative but we'll be looking while he continues to work.

In other news, I am trying to lose weight. I have got to tell you, I am so impressed by this 6 week body makeover plan by Michael Thurmond. He really does know what he is talking about. I have lost 16 pounds since I started the program January 27th. I still have 10 pounds until my goal but I think instead of going by weight I am going to go by body shape. I am eating 6 times a day (lots of protein, complex carbs, fruits, and green veggies) and I am working out twice a week for 20 minutes and walking an hour 4 times a week. It's soooo easy and yet the weight is melting off. My metabolism is revved up and I have lots of energy. Austin and I go down to the nearby park along the river for a stroll and it hardly seems like exercise. I am building a lot of lean muscle too. *Flexes forearm*. I mean, I'm no Amberlie, but I am much better than what I was.

The big draw back is the food. It is incredibly bland. No salt, sugar, juice, milk, and no condiments (butter, ketchup, salad dressing, etc.) Needless to say I am eating much healthier now. I have lots of onion, green peppers, mushrooms, salad, bananas, apples, blueberries, ground turkey, and fish in my fridge right now. Yeah, that all sounds good until you find out that you can't put salt or sugar on any of it. Salt makes a BIG difference folks. And I have tried some artificial sweeteners to replace the sugar. If you poor enough in your oatmeal it almost tastes good. The only good condiment I have been able to eat is barbeque sauce (homemade). It's actually really quite tasty. So I have lots of BBQ chicken. =p yum

To put it in perspective- I am 50 pounds lighter than I was at my highest weight pregnant with Austin. XD And I ALMOST fit in the healthy weight category. My BMI is 24.5 and healthy is 18 to 24. I'll keep on trucking along.

Look at Austin! He was smiling at me completely sideways in his crib this morning when I went in to pick him up. He was having WAY to much fun kicking the sides and getting himself turned around. He's so strong!

Christmas Memories

December 25th 2008 was little Austin's very first Christmas. We got some video of him with a bow on his head. This year we had a lot of snow in the tri-city area which is unusual. I'd say we had about 10 inches of snow for the Christmas season.

Christmas eve we and some family and friends piled into a 15 passenger van and went Christmas light viewing. The snow was fresh and falling peacefully and the evergreens looked like Christmas trees. It made everything simply picture perfect. Then we came back for some hot chocolate.

We stayed in Richland for Christmas this year since Austin was so young. He was two months old. Now he's over 4 months!

Here are some pictures (click for full view):



And here's a video of us: