Hug your loved ones!!

So I keep realizing more and more how precious life really is and how it can just pass you by in the blink of an eye. Some pretty sad things have happened over these past few months and it just makes me realize you can't take anything or anyone for granted.

I am sure almost everyone that reads this knows about Alecia and her baby boy Parker and what they have been suffering through for this past week and a half. This is honestly one of the saddest things I have ever had happen to someone I know. I just admire Alecia's strength in all of this. I have known Alecia for a long time and I have to say I have earned so much respect for her in how she has handled this situation. It is a parent's worst nightmare to have something happen to their child and for poor Parker to be so young. I know God has a plan for everyone and often he works in mysterious ways that none of us understand but I just ask that he gives them the strength that they need to make it through this trying time.

Also, for my dear friend Fix.. his mom lost a long hard fought battle with cancer on Tuesday. We went to her funeral services today. She was a wonderful women. She had two sons but she took all of us in as her own. She always made you feel so welcome in her home and always wanted to take care of everybody. She will be greatly missed.

On a happier note.. I was able to go to Chicago last weekend with my oldest and dearest friends. Six of us went.. we met in downtown Chicago and had a great time. We are all friends from high school(except Kaycee but she fit right in) and we don't get to see each other very often but we make up for lost time when we are together. We can't hang like we used to as far as the night scene goes and bouncing back the next day but we gave it our all..Jill especially.. I was very impressed with us old fokes!!

This weekend is Halloween. The weather was crappy tonight so we did not have 1 trick or treater and tomorrow night we won't be home so I guess I will have to eat all the candy I bought.

I hope there are a few of you out there that still read my blog. I know it has almost been two months.. so let me know if you are still interested or not.

Where have I been??

So I decided I pretty much suck at this blogging thing... I have only posted twice in the past couple of months. I don't know where all my time goes but I am going to try and be better.

August was a busy month.. going into it we did not think we would be that busy, but we had something going on almost every free day, but it was a lot of fun.

I wrote that we went to Looogootee the 1st weekend.. then the next we went to a wedding and a Beach Party at the Country Club in Terre Haute with some friends. The next weekend we worked all weekend.. which of course was no fun. Then we went to a Colts preseason game on the 20th and took Brynn to the Children's Museum on the 21st. She loved it. We met my friend Jenny there and her little girl is 5 weeks older than Brynn, they had a ball. Brady and Jana met us too.. he was a little trooper while we did all the baby stuff.. but after lunch he got to go do some of the big boy stuff, just him and mommy. We rode the carousel 1st which she absolutely loved but then of course that is all she wanted to do.. we had to go to the next level so she would quit hearing the music playing.

This past weekend was a pretty inspirational weekend for Josh and I. Josh's twin brother, Jason, rode in the Pelotonia in Columbus, OH in honor of his friend Tyler who passed away in December due to cancer. Tyler had only been diagnosed 6 months prior, and unfortunately was only 24 years old when he passed away. We got to meet Tyler's mom and his long time girlfriend of 6 years, Lisa. Tyler's mom rode 25 miles and Lisa committed to riding 180 miles in Ty's honor. Lance Armstrong was affiliated with the ride and he spoke Friday night at the opening ceremony and then led the ride on Saturday.. it was pretty cool to be 10 yds away from him. Anyone that knows me knows I love celebrities so Josh was surprised I didn't tackle him or something since he was so close. Just meeting Ty's loved ones and seeing the committment they all made to train and ride in his honor really really touched me. It made me realize how blessed Josh, Brynn, and I really are. Cancer effects Josh's family big time, on his mom and dad's side of the family. His grandma died when we 1st started dating.. she had breast cancer when she was younger but later it came back and had spread to her bones. Josh's uncle passed away of lung cancer when he was in his 40's. Most recently it was Josh's sister, Jana, who had breast cancer 3 years ago, luckily now she is cancer free.. but it is something she will have to deal with and fear for the rest of her life. Things like this just really put every day life into perspective.. why do I sweat the small stuff. We are healthy, happy, have a great family and friends that surround us and support us, life is good.. enjoy it, because you never know what tomorrow will bring! If you can make any donation, big or small.. go to Pelotonia.org and click on riders and search for Canup, Jason.. he has to raise 1000 dollars by October.. he is getting so close to his goal!!

On a happier note.. Brynn is all over the place and talking up a storm. She now tells us when she is ready for bed by telling us "night, night" and laying her head down on our laps. It is the sweetest thing. She is a mama's girl..that is for sure. When I am not home she will walk from room to room saying my name looking for me. I love it of course, but Josh hates it. He just plays and plays with her but she still wants her mama.

Football season is here. We are heading to Purdue for our 1st tailgate of the season tomorrow.. it will be a long fall but fun. We are trying to sell the bus.. so if you know anyone that wants to buy a full size school bus with Purdue Boilermakers painted on the side let us know.

Next weekend is my 1/2 marathon. Josh, Kristine and I are all doing it. I am in much better shape and mental state this time around so hopefully it will go much smoother.

We have a Walker!!

Brynn finally decided to walk on Friday.. I guess she knew I had been bad mouthing her on here. It is the cutest thing ever.. which I am sure every parent feels that way when their child starts to walk. She looks like a little drunk person walking. She gets so excited that she still falls forward some but for the most part she gets around the house on her own. Now I am sure the real fun begins!

We had a nice weekend. We went to Loogootee. Josh hadn't seen Phillip and Amber's house yet so we went down and spent the weekend hanging out with them and Pete and Ashley. We ran 9 miles on Saturday morning.. my mom rode her bike again and gave us water. Thanks mom!!

I have a friend from work coming over today. She is on maternity leave right now so I haven't seen much of her lately. She has two adorable little girls so they are coming over today. I am excited to sit and visit, especially since the weather is bad outside.

I have been in cleaning mode lately. I have been cleaning out all our closets.. they were pretty bad. I feel alot more organized now. I still have a ways to go to be where I want to be but at least I am making progress.

Our Baby is 1!

Brynn turned one on July 14th.. I can't believe it. Where has the year gone. We celebrated by having a 1st birthday party on July 11th. We had a cookout at our house and she was surrounded by so much love from family and friends. She is one blessed little girl. We call her our little peanut, so my sister-in-law Jana made her birthday cake in the shape of a peanut and decorated it so so cute. I know, I need to post pictures.. I never upload them any more to the computer.. hopefully soon!! Brynn loved eating the cake and loved playing with all her new toys.

We flew to NY on July 15th and spent 5 days with Kristine, Lincoln and Lincoln.. it was so much fun. We went to the new Yankee stadium while we were there.. it was an adult only day which was so nice to get a break other than going to work. It was so cool to go into the city to the game and see the old stadium as well. Most of the other time we just boated and relaxed. It was so nice and we did not want to return to work.

Brynn is being stubborn as ever. She will walk all over the place if you let her hang onto your hand.. she just has to be holding your pinkie finger but the minute you let go of her hand she freaks out. Who knows when she will start to walk on her own!

This past weekend my cousin Jason and his long time girlfriend Casey got married. They had been dating for 12 years so of course everyone was so excited that they finally took the plunge. They are honeymooning in the Bahamas this week.. wish I was there too.

Other than that I have been training hard core for my 1/2 marathon on September 12th.. I have to run 9 miles on Saturday. I did 8 last Saturday.. my mom was so sweet and rode her bike and brought me water along my route.. I couldn't have made it without water.. not in this humidity. I will be glad when the race is over. I am hoping to improve my time from the one in Indy and then be done with the races for awhile.. maybe just do some 5k races along the way.

Football season is right around the corner. I always have mixed emotions about that. It is something that Josh absolutely loves and that I enjoy.. I just hate being gone every weekend in the fall and never getting to experience anything else. The best part is getting to see family and friends every weekend that come.. now that I enjoy!

Hope everyone is well.. I can't believe it has been a month since I posted last.. I hope you all didn't give up on me!!

Refocusing!

It has been along time since I have written. Alot has happened since I wrote last and I just feel like I could write forever but I will try and minimize what I say.

On a very sad note my best friend's dad passed away a few weeks ago. It was so sad and my heart goes out to her and her family. They have been dealing with a lot this part 4 years and I hope now they are able to find peace with the situation and start healing... it has been a long road for all of them!

Brynn turned 11 months since I wrote last.. she still isn't off and running yet but getting closer everyday. Her 1st birthday is July 14th so we have been busy planning her 1st birthday party. I am so excited to see her eat the cake and icing.. I am sure it will be a mess but well worth it. We are going Friday to get her 1 year pictures taken. We are meeting the photographer at the zoo so I am so excited to see what kind of shots we can get. We are finally getting a family picture taken. I haven't had hardly any pictures taken with her since she has been born. I know I will regret that one day but I wanted to lose more of the baby weight before I got a bunch of pictures taken but I figured it is her 1st birthday that we should get a family picture taken.

Jason and Kelli came to visit a few weekends ago. It was so nice to visit with them. We hadn't seen them since March.. three months is a long time for us to go without seeing them. We went to Bob and Linda's for a Father's day feast on Saturday and then Linda kept Brynn so we could hang out with Jason and Kelli. You can tell we have all aged.. we were kid less and still at home in bed by midnight. It was so nice to hang out and catch up though.

Last weekend Josh and I had date night. It ended up being with two other couples but it was great nonetheless. We went to dinner at this nice little place in Paris, IL in the middle of a cornfield but it was amazing. It was the best filet I have ever eaten. Sunday we tried to take Brynn swimming at Suzanne's mother-in-laws but she wasn't having any part of that.. so we packed everything up to be there for 1/2 hour to turn right back around and come home.

This weekend is the 4th of July. We are both working all weekend.. what fun, right? My parents are keeping Brynn. My dad is super excited because he Hans't seen her in over a month.. so at least they will enjoy her.

I need to get refocused.. I set some resolutions at the beginning of the year and I need to regain my focus and get back on track. We were doing soo good about going to church and have missed quite a bit lately.

I also need to start reading more and watching less TV. Any good suggestions??

Everyone have a happy and safe 4th of July!!

Spoiled!!

Josh and I have talked alot lately about what a good baby Brynn has been.. in the beginning it was pretty rough because she was colicky, but after the 1st 8-12 weeks she has been so good. We will go full days without her crying at all about anything. I guess we didn't realize how lucky we really were until more recently other people have been telling us how good she is. I am not trying to be one of those parents who thinks their child can do no wrong, because I know that isn't the truth. I am just spoiled in the fact that we got such a good baby the 1st time around. Plus, she is a great sleeper, it is 9 am and she is still sleeping. I was able to get up and run on the treadmill and get my kitchen cleaned before she even wakes up today. I think this is a trap though, our next child will probably be a living tear!

Am I crazy?

So I have decided to run another mini marathon in Terre Haute in September. I figured it is the only way to hold me accountable and make me workout. I haven't done hardly anything since the Indianapolis one so I think the only way I will continue running is if I sign up for another. I convinced my sister to do it too.. she will be home that weekend for a Colts game on Sunday so we will run it together Saturday morning. I think Sarah is doing it with me again and possibly Suzanne(Brynn's babysitter) so if anyone else is interested let me know.

I picked Kristine and LL up Wednesday night after work in Carmel. They flew in earlier that day and I picked them up at one of her friends house. We headed to Loogootee for a busy weekend. Thursday my dad watched Brynn and LL while us ladies went to Vincennes to get mani/pedicures with my cousin before her wedding. It was alot of fun.. there were about 30 people there. Then Friday my friend Jill and her little girl Mara came over to my parents house. My parents had gotten a new swing set delivered and we had a baby pool and Elmo sprinkler set up. The kids had a blast. Brynn was like a little fish in the pool.. she loved it. I had to keep reapplying sunscreen because she didn't want to get out. Saturday was the wedding. It was a Catholic wedding so it was a long ceremony.. I was worried sick about how Brynn would do but she was very well behaved.. I just kept feeding her snacks the whole time to keep her occupied. Bob and Linda took her for the night after the wedding. If she had been walking we would have taken her to the reception but she isn't quite there yet so they took her for the night. Sunday we had LL's 2nd birthday party at my parents. I can't believe he is two. It was nice to get to celebrate with him.. since last year I was big and pregnant and didn't get to.

This week has just been trying to get things back in order.. it is always hard after being gone for a long weekend. Brynn has been sleeping a ton the past two days. I think the weekend caught up with her and I think finally she might be getting another tooth.

This weekend Josh is doing a 40 mile bike race Saturday morning and then later that day we are going to Jocelyn's 1st birthday party, which mean Brynn's is right around the corner. I can't believe it and can't hardly talk about it without tearing up.



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