A look at YoungLives

Things are really looking up around here. I have three main outlets and this has been the key. I can't say enough how much I enjoy working out. It makes me feel so great. We won our softball game last night and I am making friends there too. The other outlet is my involvement with YoungLives Ministry. Today I went with another mentor to Conway HS to see some of the girls during lunch. It is amazing to me the contrast in the way they (these pregnant teens) see things. I was shocked as we walked around looking for specific people in the YoungLives program and then we saw another pregnant teen, and another, just popping out in the crowd. This doesn't even count the ones that already have little ones and don't look pregnant. The other mentor said that there are 83 girls in the Conway school system that either have a child or are pregnant. Imagine the number in a larger city! Many of the girls come from homes with absentee mothers or mothers that verbally or physically abuse them. It is heartbreaking. It is easy to see how this issue is so cyclical with no easy answer. It is hard for someone in my shoes to understand why the girls let this happen. We hear about teen pregnancy all the time but when you come face to face with the reality of it, it is mind-blowing. We have a meeting tomorrow night. This past Sunday we served pancakes at a fundraiser and it was fun.
There is life in our garden!!! I see sprouts from the seeds planted for carrots, okra, onion, and cucumber. I bought seedlings of tomatoes, strawberries, cilantro, and basil from the store since our seeds for those did not really work out. It is so exciting to watch the progress. JJ and I go out and water each morning. Anyone who wants to visit this summer will receive good eats from the garden! That is all that is going on. It's a different picture than a couple of months ago. It's nice to feel like we are making a home here.

JJ and then some!

Things are really looking up here. I'm starting to feel like I have some roots here in Conway. We played our third game yesterday for softball and lost. That puts us at 2-1. It was still fun and the girls are really warming up to me. We play again tomorrow. JJ and Robert are supposed to come out and cheer me on.
I did an unofficial weigh of JJ on my bathroom scale and to my calculations he weighs 18.5 pounds!! That means he's gained almost a full 3 pounds in one month! I did it twice to double check. I'll have to do it again because I almost don't believe it myself. I've signed JJ up for swim classes at the gym. It should be lots of fun. In the bath JJ sticks his face in the water so he will be a natural in class. I signed up for May but may change it to June because we (JJ and I) are traveling to the west coast mid-May for 10 days. We are visiting Robert's aunt Freda who lives in Etna, CA and my friend Caroline in Portland, OR. Ironically, Jay and Tiffany will be on vacation in Portland during the same week. I am looking forward to the visit but a little nervous about flying with JJ. They are long flights and he is less content to stay in one spot like he was at 5 months. I just have to go for it and trust that there will be help along the way. In the past I've found that women are quick to lend a hand when they see me traveling by myself with JJ and needing assistance. I'm also nervous that the time change will mess with JJ's sleeping habits plus coming home we don't arrive until 11:20 pm. I trust that he will conk out on my chest sleeping most of that flight.
This Sunday there is a fundraiser for YoungLives. It is an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at the local favorite diner joint here in Conway. I'll be working it from 8-11am. It should be fun and more opportunity to meet people. The flip side to that is that we won't be going to that church until the next week.
Next weekend Conway hosts its annual 'Toad Suck Daze'. It is a three day festival with food, entertainment, games, etc. I'm really looking forward to it. I can sense the increase of activity in the community with the warmer weather. Like I said, thing are looking up.

2-0

We won our game Friday night. It was a nail-biter too! Robert, JJ, and I had a great weekend working in the garage and on the garden. It was beautiful weekend weather-wise. We went to a new church Sunday and really enjoyed it. It was smaller than we are used to but we were made to feel so welcome. We plan on going back. JJ is so fun. Both grandparents were able to join us for bathtime via the web cam we gave them for Christmas. They really enjoyed seeing the little man in action in the tub. He loves to say, "Uh-oh" after tossing his food off his high chair or dropping his sippy cup. He gets a kick out of himself when he repeats after us, "BOO!". His version is more like, "Buh" - so cute. He layed his head on Frodo's belly today. It was cute too....until JJ grabbed his tail real hard. He is able to stand longer each day on his own before falling. I know walking is so close.

1-0

Sometimes I get busy and forget to blog. We had our first softball game Tuesday and won. It has taken some time for my teammates to warm up to me since I do not know anyone on the team. With the games starting I can tell it is bringing everyone together. Our next game is tomorrow/Friday.
I have really been enjoying the gym (fitness center). I have been taking the spinning classes and they are great. I can tell that my body is getting in shape. It feels good. JJ is lots of fun. The women at the gym in the childcare love him and say he is so good and such a flirt. I can tell he is getting bigger or at least older. He has been a pretty good eater so I'm sure he is gaining some weight. He loves to play 'chase' in the living room. He giggles so much when he sees you come after him. He is real close to walking. He will walk when we hold his hands and uses his toy walker and walks on his own with that. Not long now and he will be on his own. He can stand on his own for several seconds.
I almost forgot to report on the garage sale last Saturday. It was great. We made about $250 but the best part was clearing a bunch of stuff out. I can now park in the garage. That is not to say the other side is organized but that is Robert's side to handle. That is about all that is going on here.

Feeling Fit!

Robert and I finished up work on the garden Sunday. We loaded in all the dirt. It was a lot of work but we are excited for the next steps. Monday I had a good workout at the gym and softball practice. I've been sore the last two days because of it. It's a good feeling though to know you are getting in shape. I was so winded rounding the bases at practice I stepped up my workouts to run sprints. When I want to run fast it's like a delayed response getting the rest of my body on board - rrreeeaaalll slow out of the gate. Sure makes you miss the days when you could run fast and jump high. I feel like a load of bricks when I try to jump shooting hoops. I hope to work on that too. Anyway, JJ's appt is at the end of May. I guess they don't feel it is urgent. It will be here before we know it. We went to the city today (Little Rock) and had lunch and bought some shoes. JJ loves playing on the floor. I crawl around with him and he laughs a lot. I'm getting prepared for our big sale day on Saturday. It should be fun.

the Mer-Man lives!!

So far the fitness center has been great! I've been three times. I played basketball and racquetball (both with myself) and Friday JJ and I went to the indoor pool. He LOVES water so we call him the Mer-man. The water was pretty warm and JJ hung out in his tube. There are so many classes at this place I can't wait to try them all: spinning, water aerobics, yoga, etc. It feels great to be active. JJ has a fine time in the nursery. Other moms are the caretakers. He usually hangs out in a highchair and eats crackers. He's very observant so I can see him just watching everything going on around him. JJ's doctor has referred us to the growth and development doctor. I was told that they would contact us to make an appt but I called Friday and got their number so I could call since I still have not heard from them. At his 12 month wellness he was only 15 lb 13 oz and measured 3%, 3%, and 10%. He is developmentally great, just small. He continues to be such a joy to me each day. Today he was standing near one of his toys. He triggers the music and shakes his booty. It is so funny. I videotaped it and hope to post it if I can figure out how.
The three of us worked outside most of the day in the beautiful weather. JJ has new sand in the sandbox. It is great sand like CanCun beach sand!! Robert gets it free at work. Tomorrow we will get a tiller and be one step closer to having our garden ready. I am also working on the landscape in front of our house. Next Saturday is a neighborhood-wide garage sale. I am so excited because it is an opportunity to rid our garage of so many things. My neighbor told be that a lot of people drive through so I hope the right ones will stop by our house. I still can't park the car in the garage and it is a dream of mine to do so. It will be my first garage sale. Hopefully it will be a good one.

April Fool's Day

Well, we are not starting this month off very well. I was in a bad car accident earlier this morning which practically totaled my car. JJ was shaken up a bit but we were fine. The good news is that it is April Fool's Day and there was no accident. I warned you in the title to look out for tricks today. On to other business....It has been raining the past several days. Despite the weather we did get our garden borders in the backyard. We are using railroad ties and they are so heavy. We are waiting for the weather to pass and we will then till the ground and add soil on top. Check out our seedlings in the pic.

We took our cat Frodo to the vet Saturday. He has had symptoms (I'll spare you the details) that tell us he is not well. The vet was really nice and gave us two types of medicines and new cat food. Frodo is not enjoying the intake of medicine (it is a reminder to us that he is still very stong in his old age with very sharp claws) but I can already tell that I think he is doing better. We will go in for a follow-up visit in a week or so. Other than that there is no news to report. There has been no softball practice due to rain. No word from the doctor yet about the next move for JJ. No results from Robert's MRI either.

I guess there is one other bit of exciting news (for me anyway) that we are joining a fitness center here in Conway. It has everything including raquetball, swimming, and most importantly daycare. So, I can go workout now and JJ will be cared for. This will be awesome. I'm excited about the pool so JJ can swim. It is an indoor pool and they offer swim lessons for babies so that will be fun. I have not played raquetball since college and can't wait to play. I also plan to shoot some hoops. I was just telling Robert that I thought we should get a basketball goal. I can see signs of spring showing outside. I look forward to the changes that will come with the change of this season.