Little Memory Makers

Crafty Christmas Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:29:00 +0000

We decided to get crafty this Christmas and do a family craft with hand prints. This is what we came up with. Our Family Christmas Tree. Brian started us off at the bottom and Sissy ended us up at the top. We painted a wooden star with glitter paint and added red buttons of various sizes for the ornaments. I thought it turned it out super cute...but I'm partial. :) Merry Crafty Christmas!

Jossy's Baby Shower

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:46:00 +0000

Danielle is having a baby! A baby girl that they are naming Josslyn aka Jossy. Cute huh? Danielle's sister and friends hosted a baby shower yesterday. We'll welcome Jossy in mid February.

Are you ready for some football???

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:31:00 +0000

Peyton started playing flag football for the YMCA at the end of October. Yesterday was his first game. His team won 18-6! Yea Peyton!

Fall Decorating

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:24:00 +0000

Fall gets overlooked so many times by the upcoming events of Christmas. But I love the fall and Thanksgiving and especially the richness of the Fall colors. Oranges, reds, yellows, purples... beautiful. Here are some of my favorite spots around the house.

We decided this year to do a "Thankful" tree. So every day, the children get to pick a leaf and write down one thing they are thankful for. I'll post a picture at the end of the month to show how full it got. We are using an existing ficus tree to pin the leaves to.

Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:51:00 +0000

Great Wolf Lodge

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Over Labor Day weekend we spend an extra fun night/day at the Great Wolf Lodge. MUST do this again! The kids had a blast, Brian and I had a blast and we enjoyed the company of friends when we went as well. Definitely a must do again...did I already say that?

Peyton's First Day of Third Grade!

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 01:36:00 +0000

Matt and Tandi Visit from Mississippi

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 01:31:00 +0000

Matt and Tandi were making a vacation trip to Bowling Rock in NC and stopped in to spend a night with us. What fun and such a treat! We enjoyed having them and look forward to our next time together.

Magic Kingdom Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Cinderella or "simmerella" as Kenna likes to say!

Meeting Mickey and Minnie...they need no introduction right?

Hollywood Studios

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:39:00 +0000

Tuesday - Day 3 in Orlando, meant it was time for some Disney action! We spent our first day at Disney at Hollywood Studios, a first for my family. Makenna was especially excited to see the Little Einsteins! Here are some highlights....

Makenna got to meet her favorite Disney characters!

The above right is the Aerosmith Roller Coaster...it was awesome!

Orlando-Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:03:00 +0000

We observed Sunday as a day of rest and didn't really plan anything park or beach wise. We spent almost the entire afternoon playing at our pool and some of us even got a nap and reading in (yea me!). After a long day of sun and playing, Papa Chuck made his famous burritoes. Yummy!

Tomorrow, we're headin' for the beach....

Surprises from Papa Chuck and Nana B

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:21:00 +0000

Saturday night Papa Chuck and Aunt Kristen pulled out surprises for all of the kids. They had everything from bathing suits, beach towels and character cups to blankets, stuffed animals and pool noodles. They even got clothes, books, and water toys. It was a lot of fun for the kids...almost like Christmas morning.

Thank you Papa Chuck and Nana B!

Trip to Orlando-Travel Day

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:39:00 +0000

We set out to leave town at 7am but when we went to load the car, we walk out to a flat! It set us back 2 hours! Brian tried to fix it and was unsuccessful due to the size of the nail so I went to Walmart and they couldn't fix it either due to the location. Driving down the road I pulled into a tire station only to find out that are closed on Saturday. There was a very nice man by the name of Ricky there working on his own tires getting ready to head down to the beach with his family. He took my tire in a fixed it and wouldn't take any of the money I offered. He was an absolute angel!

We finally got on the road at 9:30. On the way Peyton's DS died because he forgot his car charger and then Makenna's DVD player stopped working. This was working out to be a great trip so far! ha ha... It all worked out though. Without the DVD player, Kenna went to sleep and it wasn't long before Peyton followed her.

We got into Orlando around 6 and it was great seeing the Beesleys and touring the rental house. It's going to be a great week in spite of the crazy start! Stay tuned....

Kate Turns 2!

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:02:00 +0000

Karen and James invited us over to their beautiful home for Kate's 2nd birthday. It was a butterfly theme and the children got to play outside on a massive swing set that James constructed for Kate and James for Christmas. They also grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs. Thanks for the invite Karen and thanks Kate for sharing your day with us!

Karen got crafty!

The beautiful birthday girl!

Weight Watchers 5K

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Mon, 23 May 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Last night, Peyton and I joined about 500 other people and walked in the Weight Watchers 5K. This was a national walk that WW was putting on and Greenville was one of five locations in the United States. It was quite a priveledge to be a host city.

Peyton and I did a combonation of running and walking in order to complete the 3.1 miles. It was very hot and we not only ran on pavement but through the woods on a dirt trail, over a bridge, and on a rock path. The terrain kept it interesting and we welcomed the shade of the woods!

I have two wonderful WW leaders and both were there cheering me on each time I pasted them. They are great encouragors in the meetings and out and both are beautiful and inspriring.

Peyton said that he wanted to do this every night! I don't know about that but I do think I'll start taking him to the YMCA so we can run on their trail and work on our time.

Thanks Peyton for being my partner in our first 5K. I love you buddy!

The crowd...there was over 500 registered walkers!

One of my beautiful leaders, Deb.

After the walk...Peyton enjoying a WW sweet and salty snack. 3 points plus. They also provided lots of water, orange slices, and bananas along with a variety of WW snacks.

My other beautiful leader Sheri. She's lost over 200+ pounds! What an inspiration!

Bocce Ball

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:26:00 +0000

Saturday, my company played Bocce Ball benefiting Special Olympics. We had a blast! We had two teams of four and my team won the first round! We made it to the second round but then lost. It was so much fun! Bocce is an italian game similiar to lawn bowling. It was a beautiful day for it and I can't wait to do it again next time!

UGH

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:34:00 +0000

I dont' normally bear my soul on this blog. I keep it for lighthearted, fun memory making moments.

Not tonight. I have never been so frustrated! I had an absolute meltdown tonight.

So here I am. Laying it all out.

I have lost 44.4 pounds since I started my weight loss journey in October. *Yea!* BUT I have only dropped 2 pant sizes . It's been pretty upsetting since most people say that a 10 pound loss equates to a size. NOT FOR ME! I guess my body type (the unfortunate "apple" type) is more on the 20 pound to a size ratio.

The more I got to thinking about this, the more I got to thinking...I haven't measured myself in about two months so I'll do that and see what my results are. BAD IDEA! I've lost everywhere EXCEPT my waist! I measured the exact same as 2 months ago! Talk about devastating! And heartbreaking!

I was crying as feeling of rage, resentment, jealousy, and frustration totally took over my emotions. I wanted to throw my hands up and scream! Rage and frustration over the fact that I have followed the weight watcher plan and have been working out at least 4, 5, sometimes 6 times a week! Working until I sweat...no less than that! Jealous of all the "pear" shaped women in my life that I'm surrounded by daily..who can lose as little as 5 pounds and the world sees them "skinny" in spite of the big butt, belly, and thighs they carry around hidden under clothes since manufactures cater to the pear shape. UGH!

Poor Brian, had no idea what to say. Not that it would matter. This is MY issue. MY battle.

I WILL continue to fight! I will NOT give up! Brian came to my side and hugged me...that was all I needed. Just knowing that he knows how I feel and supports me no matter what. It doesn't make it easier, but it does make it a bit more bearable.

Tomorrow I will weigh in and forge ahead. This is just another reminder, this journey is not only about diet and exercise but it's also about dealing with deep rooted emotions that seem to come to surface every once in awhile.

Tomorrow is a new day...

Cub Scout Graduation

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:32:00 +0000

Peyton had his final ceremony of the this year's cub scouts tonight. We gathered a bit early for a hot dog dinner before starting the meeting. He graduated to the next level...wolf. He received his new book and neck tie. We are very proud of him...no matter what he does we're proud of him. He sure does look sharp in his little uniform! Grandpa has been very faithful to take Peyton to all of his meetings and work on various projects. They make an awesome team!

Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:15:00 +0000

My parents did some strawberry picking Sunday afternoon, so when we got back from bowling, they came over to make some homemade strawberry ice cream! Yummy! You can not beat strawberry ice cream...homemade! It was delicious and we had a great time together making and eatting it!

Bowling Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:06:00 +0000

Sunday we met up with our friends, The Clarke's and went bowling. They are getting ready to move to Columbia so we wanted to get together before the big moving day. We'll miss ya'll!

Hello Sunshine!

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Fri, 13 May 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Makenna loves the color yellow. Ever since I can remember, she's been drawn to yellow and give her the choice between serveral colors, that's the one she's going to pick. I was flipping through the AVON catalog and ran across this polish called "Sunshine". I just knew she would love it. She did. She was so giddy tonight when I painted her sweet feet.

Death, Burial, and Resurection of Jesus...Makenna style.

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:48:00 +0000

Makenna is a planner and is very detailed oriented. Every day she asks where we'll be going the next day. "Where we going tomorrow?" She also likes to know who buys her things or who gives her things.

On this particular day she was asking who gave her the shoes she had on. What about the dress? Who bought this car? Who bought my seat? Finally after 20 or so questions and out of exaserpation I said with a calm gentle voice, "Makenna, your daddy and I love you sooooo much and we buy a lot of different things, some for fun, some for the need." Her reply? "Yes and Jesus loves me too!" I said, "that's right he loves you so much that he died for you to save you (I know, it's a little deep for a 3 year old but I knew she could handle it). She said, "that's right. The mean guys killed him". Whoa! THAT got my attention! And so the rest of the conversation went as such:

"That's right Makenna, then what happened?"

"They put him in a treck" (I'm pretty sure she meant tomb)

"Uh uh...then what?"

"They locked him up!"

"That's right baby. They rolled a big stone in front of the grave to keep someone from stealing him. Do you know what happened after that?"

"He got out!"

"You're right! He rose from the dead and that's why we can be saved and as Christians we celebrate his resurection."

I was amazed and so impressed that my little girl knew the most precious story and representation of sacrificial and unconditional love. I called my daddy when we got home...I knew he would proud. Apparently he and Peyton had been talking about Jesus' death and daddy was answering Peyton's questions. Quietly playing nearby was a little girl absorbing all this information.

What a witness she will be one day!

Duck Derby

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 08 May 2011 14:57:00 +0000

After a morning of picking strawberries, we headed downtown to the beautiful Falls Park for the Duck Derby. This is a local benefit race that brings out a lot of people for fun, food, music, and of course the duck race. It was a lot of fun to watch and I personally enjoyed watching Makenna who has an absolute love for rubber duckies! Here's some pics of the ducks...

Strawberry Pickin'

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sun, 08 May 2011 14:40:00 +0000

We got up early on Saturday morning and went to Beachwood Farms to pick strawberries. Strawberries in South Carolina are at their peek in May and I thought the kids would enjoy it and for me, it was a great Mother's Day weekend activity. I had plans of canning some jam and I wanted to make a strawberry cobbler as well. It was so beautiful out there and the strawberries were delicious! Beachwood Farms served up Strawberry Shortcake in honor of Mother's Day. Yummy!

Skinny Alcohol Free Margaritas

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany) — Sat, 07 May 2011 02:23:00 +0000

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we had chips and salsa along with skinny alcohol free margaritas at work. They were delish! I actually had a coworker the next day say that the ones I made for work were better than the real deal one she had at dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Here's the skinny....

2 liter bottle of Sprite Zero
1 package of Crystal Light Lemonade
1/2 bottle of Key West Lime Juice

Blend together with ice or not..your choice. I also added a rim of salt AND sugar to the glasses. It was wonderful!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!