You Can't Take That Away

While serving a mission in Ireland for the LDS (mormon church) we spent a lot of time, as missionaries, going from door to door or speaking to people in the streets.  Our message was always the same - it taught of Jesus Christ, His Atonement and our Heavenly Father's plan for us to return to live with Him again someday.  Sometimes we would have people who would want to argue with us or "Bible bash" in hopes to prove us wrong or confuse us of the message we were sharing.  We were taught by our leaders to never argue with them.  Sometimes it was hard because we wanted to "prove" to them that what we were saying was true.  We wanted them to feel the joy and peace that the gospel would bring into their lives.  But we were taught not to so we didn't.  We were taught to instead, bear testimony.  As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are encouraged to pray about the things we hear and learn so that we can know for ourselves that it is true.  They don't want us to blindly follow.  They want us to truly believe and be full of knowledge.  As we pray, the Holy Spirit will testify to us of the truth and our testimonies will grow.  When a person bears their testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel, the spirit is always present.  A testimony is something that can never be taken from you.  That's why it was so important, standing on those doorsteps, to bear heartfelt testimony instead of arguing.  The spirit would be with us to testify too.  No one can argue with a testimony.  They may not believe you, but they can't argue with things you know to be true through prayer.  As I walked the streets of Ireland for 16 months teaching, my testimony became stronger.  No matter how many times I was spit on, had rocks, snowballs and footballs thrown at me, had obscenities yelled at me, and doors slammed in my face, they could not take my testimony from me.  Today I am faced with different challenges.  Ones maybe not so apparent as a door being slammed in my face.  Still, no matter what is thrown at me, no matter what is taken away from me, my testimony can not be taken away.  It is who I am.  It is a part of me, woven deep in my heart and soul.  It gets me through the challenges just as it did in Ireland so many years ago.  Jesus lives!  He loves us.  He has set the example for us and prepared the way for our return to our Father in Heaven.  Through His Atonement we have hope, joy and the ability to repent of our mistakes and try again.  Through the gospel of Jesus Christ I can find the strength to endure to the end, the guidance to raise my children and bring them safely home, and the knowledge that I am a child of God.

Another First

Yesterday was Zeke's first day of preschool.  He was very excited!  He seemed to have a good time.  He said he didn't learn anything.  He also said he didn't get breakfast.  Upon inquiring this morning I found out he did get breakfast!  He also said they were going to get to play outside for two minutes but it started sprinkling so they only got to play outside for one minute.  Today they got to play out longer he told me.  He got to brush his teeth with a yellow tooth brush.  He got to water color and that's about all he could come up with for the day.  Today he said his shoes accidentally fell off.  He said some boy, his name was Michael, stepped on his shoe lace and it came untied.  Then some boy, whose name was Michael, stepped on his other shoe lace and it came untied.  Then he was walking and he looked down and no shoes!  Crazy huh?  The minds of four year olds!  Anyways, he's having fun so far.  Olivia and I spend our morning at the gym and at home together.  Hopefully we will find fun things for just the two of us to do together.

First Full Week

Well, I officially finished my first full week of workouts.  It was interesting to say the least.  Most of my soreness had worn off by Monday so I started the week pretty fresh.  Monday was upper body.  I made a few adjustments, no problem.  I was certainly tired by the end of the workout and it felt good.  Tuesday I was sore in the upper body but that didn't affect my lower body workout.  I added lunges to my workout this time.  My legs were pretty shakey by the end, but I was still able to walk.  During the night, I remembered waking up and trying to roll over and wondering where that intense pain and lack of strength was coming from in my legs.  Then I remembered the lunges.  It was easier to roll over 9 months pregnant than it was at that point in time.  Wednesday brought on the upper body again.  Now along with the upper body I also do cardio.  Each day I start out doing 20 minutes on the treadmill to warm up.  On upper body days, I end my workout with a 30 minutes stint on the treadmill doing a mix of walking and running.  Well, my legs hurt so bad I had a hard time stepping on and off the treadmill, let alone, walking while I was on it!  I did manage to get through my workout.  My arms were sore, my run shorter and my walk a little slower, but I made it and felt proud.  Then we headed to the park for a picnic followed by a trip to the zoo.  I think my chlidren could tell I was in pain.  They kept dropping things on the ground.  I had to mentally psyche myself up to bend over and pick things up for them.  My body was just not wanting to move!  Everything hurt.  I thought I was going to die.  Then they want me to push them on the swings!  Are you kidding?  No, they weren't.  I pushed them, but had a hard time doing the whole underdog thing.  It was a long, slow moving day for me.  Thursday brought about lower body again.  I was concerned.  I still couldn't move, but I had to try.  I made it through my workout and was able to do the entire thing.  Then I walked very slowly around the track for 20 minutes and then went swimming, to the park and ran errands.  I was prepared for the worst.  Surprisingly though, the pain started to subside.  I could still walk by the end of the day!  When I rolled over in bed it was more like 4 months pregnant.  I felt great!  This morning I headed out feeling much better.  I could even climb into my car without wincing and having to fall into my seat.  I did my warmup, my upper body strength training and then the treadmill.  I ran the farthest today than I had all week.  Now I am home and feeling great because I survived!  I did all my workouts, went to the park three times, the zoo once, swimming 3 times and did errands when needed.  I even cleaned the house and did laundry (which is donwstairs in the basement, a verty hard task when legs don't work!).  I have also stuck to my eating plans.  My new favorite is something that I never thought I would ever eat, much less like - peanunt butter and banana on bread!  I like peanut butter and bananas, but I had always refused to try them on bread.  Yuck!  Well, I discovered a new bread.  It's sandwich thins.  They are 100 calories and have 4 grams of fiber.  They are whole grain, and really yummy!  I use them for all my sandwiches now.  I have found, as I focus more on protiens and carbs and trying to get the righ balance, that I do feel better.  I eat less, I crave less and I am not as tired.  Hopefully this will continue to be the case.  I want to be able to enjoy life and all that it has to offer.  I haven't been able to do that lately because of how run down I was feeling.  Anyways, I have survived and it has given me motivation to carry on and energy to enjoy the things around me!

Enjoying the Outdoors

This week we have had beautiful weather so Zeke, Olivia and I have been trying to take advantage of it.  Yesterday after we had finsihed swimming, we went to the park and had a picnic and played for a while.  Today we skipped the swimming and met friends at the park by the zoo.  We had another picnic, played and then went to the zoo.  It was a fun afternoon and a beautiful day outside, sunny and in the upper 70's with a slight breeze.  I could do this year round!  Tomorrow will be another fun day.  We will go swimming again and then go back to the park for a picnic and playtime.  We gotta enjoy it while we can, soon we will be in the middle of another South Dakota winter!

Mustin' Bustin"

Saturday McCrossans hosted their annual rodeo.  It was HOT outside, but we still managed to have fun.  We had quite a few exciting moments.  Zeke caused the first bit of excitement when he fell off the bleachers.  The kids were playing on them and somehow Zeke fell through (he was at the top) and hit his stomach on one of the crossbars underneath and then landed on his face on the ground.  He cried pretty hard.  Then he layed down and fell asleep.  He slept for quite awhile.  He was pouring sweat and his face was all flushed.  I was quite worried at first but then he finally woke up and started playing again.  The second cause for excitement was the mutton bustin' or "mustin' bustin'" as Zeke calls it.  Zane, Dillon and Zeke all participated.  Zane was first.  He did good and got off smiling this time instead of crying.  Zeke was next.  About the time he went out of the shoot he let go of the sheep.  Michael was srtill holding on to him so he kind of pulled Zeke off so he wouldn't hit the ground so hard.  Now Zeke tells everyone that he didn't get to ride the sheep very far because Daddy pulled him off backwards.  Dillon was last and rode the longest of the three.  He had a great time too.  His buddy, Cody, whose one of the boys here, was out there to give him high fives.  Unfortunately I didn't get great pictures, but we had great fun!  Our last bit of excitement came right ofter the mutton bustin'.  I had left the girls in charge of Olivia while I went to the other side of the arena with the boys.  When I came back, Olivia was no where to be found.  I ran up to the top of the hill so I could see more and then I saw this little red thing (she had on a red dress) crawling under the fence back where the bull riders were.  I took off running and the girls quickly followed.  Luckily she was still in safe territory.  There was a little walk way that she had crawled into that separated her from the bulls.  The rest of the night passed by with no heart pumping action (at least not by me).  The boys are already talking about next year's rodeo and the opportunity to mutton bust.  Olivia also has plans of riding the sheep.  We'll see what next year brings.

The boys watching the bulls

Back at the bucking shoots waiting for the mutton bustin' to start

Zane after his ride

Zeke out with Michael and the clown

Dillon giving high fives

First Day of School

Thursday was the kids first day of school.  They were so excited!  I'm not sure what time Zane got up, but when I my alarm went off at 6:15 and I went out into the hallway he came running out of his room all dressed and ready to go.  I asked him how long he had been up and he said a long time.  Crazy boy!  The Backpack Fairy did come which was exciting to everyone, except Michael.  She left nothing for him.  They all had a great day at school.  Hopefully that will last for a while, it's so mcuh easier to wake them up in the morning when they are excited about it!  While they were at school, Zeke, Olivia and I went to the gym. They played in the kids zone and went to an exercise/tumbling class for "little tikes" while I exercised.  Then we went swimming.  They were so tired from getting up early that they both fell alseep on the way home from the gym and didn't wake up for several hours.  I enjoyed the quiet time :)  Here are some pictures of the kids first day.  Dillon looks like he may be in pain.  He really was excited to go, he just isn't sure how to smile in pictures.  You kind of have to catch him off guard to get a really good smile.  He's cute no matter what his expression though!

Little Princess with her Backpack Fairy treats

Zeke checking out his bag

Dillon ready for first grade.  Smile!

Zane, my 2nd grade toothless wonder :)

Makenna - 3rd grade dance queen

4th grader Maddi, my forever tomboy

Black Friday on Saturday Morning

The gym we belong to offers swim lessons for free with your gym memebership.  They do them four times a year.  The registration is on a Saturday morning at 7:30.  The slots fill up pretty fast so you have to get there early in order to get your kids in.  I'm at a disadvantage - I have 6 I have to try to get in.  So this morning I got up at 6:10 so I could get to the gym by 6:30.  It was extremely foggy outside and I missed my turn on the way there but I made it.  There were, however, many people who made it there before me.  It looked like the front of a store on Black Friday or a movie theater with one of those sell out movies.  People were in camp chairs lined up, they had books they were reading and coffee mugs to keep them awake and warm.  And pople kept coming.  They lined up down the sidewalk and out into the parking lot.  At 7am the gym opened so they let us in.  We filed down the hallway where we had to sign up and waited for another 30 minutes for them to get everything set up.  Then they started letting us in 10 at a time.  Once those ten had signed up for what they wanted and left the room, they let the next ten in.  It was very orderly and moved very quickly.  That's what set Swim Saturday apart from Black Friday, there was no pushing and shoving, no fighting and I don't think anyone got trampled.  No one had maps of the gym to see the fastest way to get to the sign up room.  There were no walkie talkies and casing out the joint.  There were schedules and lists for which classes you wanted, but no one parked their cars in a certain direction for a fast get away to the next thing.  It was kind of crazy though to see so many people out so early, waiting for so long, just to sign their kids up for swim lessons.  I waited for about 1 1/2 hours.  There were others who waited a lot longer.  I have expereinced Black Friday at Walmart voing never to do it again.  No deal is worth that!  I will however do this again, it was a much more pleasant experience and I got all the kids in at the times I wanted!  Yay me!

I Was Able to Walk Out

In continuation from my entry yesterday - my fear of needing a wheelchair and a driver, I am happy to say that I was able to walk out of the building today!  I worked out my lower body today and I was still able to walk.  It felt great (the walking out part, not the lifting)!  I certainly felt the "burn" during the process and that feels good in a torturous kind of way.  I even tried some new things and left with more ideas for next time.  After the weights I managed to get 30 minutes on the eliptical and take the kids shopping after the while thing was over.  It's a good thing my legs are still working because my arms are still boycotting.  I still have to type with my toes.  The shaking has stopped from yesterday, but now the soreness has set in.  I forgot how many muscles I have, or didn't have, in my arms.  I almost had to have Olivia and Zeke push the cart in the store today.  Those things are heavy!  I did make them carry the 3 gallons of milk to the car, after all I had to try to carry my purse and the keys, two other heavy things.  Just kidding, I carried the keys, my purse and the 3 gallons of milk (I'm sure it was because of my bulging muscles I had built from yesterday's workout).  Olivia carried the receipt.  Seriously though, it does feel good.  I am doing something I have not done in years and I am facing some of my insecurities along the way, like working out next to the bikini model in her sports bra and shorty-shorts or the big muscley serious men who can't seem to stop looking in the mirror at themselves in between sets.  It was a relief to exercise part of the time with the senior citizen exercise class.  I can WAY out do them!  They were actually kind of fun to watch.  It lightened my spirit as I did another set of leg extensions.  I even am proud of my stench as I finish my workout.  I don't know if any of you have watched Mulan or not, but you know when she is getting ready to go bathe and Mushoo (sp?) says something about liking the frito smell?  That is exactly the smell I am proud of!  I know it sounds maybe a little off and slightly gross, but it's true.  I also like the soreness.  It makes me feel like I have done something, and I can use it as an excuse when I don't want to do something.  "Michael, can you wipe Olivia's bum?  I'm too sore!"  It's good all the way around.  Now I get two days for my muscles to recover and then we'll see what a full week of this stuff does to me!  I'll keep you posted.  Until next time...

Typing with my Toes

Today I am having to type with my toes.  Why you ask?  Well, I have decided to take on a new challenge.  Weight lifting.  Today was my first day.  I did upper body.  I finsihed lifting over 3 hours ago, but my arms are still weak and shakey (although very huge and muscley at the same time) so I can not control my fingers enough to type.  Therefore I am having to use my toes, another new challenge I guess.  Please forgive me for any misspellings.  My toes don't reach the keys as well as my fingers do!  Now, some might say I am crazy for doing this (myself being first to say it) but I have my reasons.  After much searching, pondering, reading and blood work, I have decided that this might be the answer I need.  When my last bloodwork came back clear, I was quite frustrated and slightly confused as to what to do next.  So I started searching foods (not eating, searching) and tried to find other ways that I could heal my broken down body.  I also started searching exercises and different things that could help me there.  Along with that I did some soul searching and decided that there was more I could do and that I needed to start doing it.  Weight lifting was one of the key things to help me.  It builds muscle (you should see my bulging arms after just one workout :) haha).  It also helps to increase energy (I think that comes after the feeling returns to all the body parts).  And believe it or not, wearing one of those skimpy bikinis actually helps you lift more weights!  Just kidding!  So after reading, planning, and talking to one of my weightlifting brothers, I started.  I was kind of nervous, I always stuck to machines in the past, they were safe and that's where the other "softer" people exercised.  Today though, I ventured over to the free weights and lifted right alongside one of those bikini wearing women!  It felt good, despite the pain and shakey movements.  I was quite proud of myself.  Tomorrow I get to go back and do the lower body.  I hope the gym has wheelchairs to take me to my car when I am done.  In the meantime, I have to figure out how to make supper with my arms still shaking.  I can't make anything with presice measurements, that could be disasterous!  I'm not even sure a bowl of cereal would work because I have to be able to pour milk into a little bity bowl.  Maybe I could learn to cook with my toes too! Another challenge on my list...

School Busses

Okay, the kids talked me into it today.  We made our annual school busses out of Twinkies, Lifesavers and M&M's.  Always fun for the kids and you gotta love the sugar running through their already pumped up veins!  Here are a few pictures: