Joyful in January

I simply cannot believe it's already January 28th!

Wasn't Christmas just yesterday?!

Lots has been going on...

Greg and I are LOVING our Sunday School class series that started last Sunday...we're doing a 7 week session based on the movie FIREPROOF. Our beloved assoc. pastor Dub Ambrose and his wife Cathy are leading it. THEY ROCK!

(I HIGHLY recommend that all couples...and I mean all...dating on up to golden years...go see the movie! It's at the Movies 8 dollar right now as well as came out on DVD on 1/27.)

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Healthwise, I am thankful to almost have a level thyroid...been on a roller coaster since last March! Was hypo, got on Synthroid, went hyper, weaned off, back on lower dose, now hypo again...hysterically enough I now take .75 of the lowest dose...that would be a half + a half of a half. No complaining though...the medicine is a GOD SEND to my life! There's nothing quite as bad as an underfunctioning thyroid while trying to take care of a family of 6. Tired, unfocused, melancholy, no energy, the list goes on and on...this medicine brings me back to life! This once refuse-to-take-medicine girl...is now a believer!

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On a down note, I am very sad that my eBay business (what I do on the side to make $ to buy my little ninos new duds) is not doing so well. The recession has even hit the electronic world...and all my little pretties aren't bringing in the pretty penny I was hoping for. :(

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Back on a high note, I am so thankful for everything else in my life...that my husband has a job, that we have a working heater and warm water at the turn of a faucet. Seriously, I thank God for heat daily...it means the world to me! I am thankful for food...as much as I dread going to the grocery store, I am always filled with such gratitude when I get there...I feel so overwhelmed with thankfulness that I can provide my family nutritious meals...our dinner time together as a family is such a precious time. A time to pray over other families (Christmas Card tradition), a time to share stories from our day, a time to giggle, a time to question (do I HAVE to finish my green beans?). A time to remember...I am such a believer in the Family Dinner. My Mom had all 7 of us at the table religiously every night...THANK YOU MOM for your example.

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Here's what else has been going on at the Ruley abode:

XOXO Kisses XOXO

GOOD TIMES with one of our favorite neighbors! :)
Miss Macy's sweet Daddy brought the girls back coordinating outfits from his trip to China
"AHHHH SOOOO" (that's my version of Chinese!)




Do you other Momma's deal with this? DAILY?? I swear I feel like I am constantly asking my girls to PLEASE SHUT YOUR DRAWERS! It's amazing how much nicer a room looks with a made bed and a dresser with shut drawers!!

Will & Owen bonding over their TIES...
Thankful that brothers 7 1/2 years apart can still be close.
(They love to wear ties b/c Daddy sports one to work everyday)

One of Abby's besties...Loveable Lauragale!
Girlin' it up at LG's 8th B'day Party - A MANI/PEDI Party!!

My girls REALLY do love each other...so thankful for that!

Oooh, MOMMA LIKE...a clean playroom.

Too bad that was before I had to return ALL THE TOYS back to the room.

Alas, this is my life...at least for the next 16 years!

Owen TA DA-ing...or, was he about to dive down the stairs??

I LOVE that my girls still like to play dress up...when the day comes that they don't,

I will be so sad. :(

My youngest ninos REALLY do love each other too...but, they can turn on a dime at any second and start duking it out! Didn't know a 2 yr old could turn into an attack dog!

My sweet sweet niece Lauren doing some shoppin' w/ Abby Lou

(Yes, she's taller than me! She's 14 and is already like 5.8 in height! Of course, her Dad, my brother, is 6.4 so we shouldn't be surprised!)

The new pink polka dot PBK Pram made its Mall debut...

Oh, I love having GIRLS!!

Here's to Life...a wonderful, wonderful Life.

(sans the mega key swiping my hubby's car took while we were in the Mall...waddup w/ that anyway? I just don't get that kind of cruelness.)

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I Thes 5: 16-18

Be joyful always;
pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

He's Taller than Everyone...

Wed. night, 1/14/09
(taken from Ella's Journal - I have an electronic journal for each of my kiddo's...so much easier to record when you can type!)

Ella: “I’m never going to church again” (she doesn’t want to see Miss Kim R get pie thrown in her face next week during Wed. Night Live's Mission Moment.)

Mommy: “That would make God sad.”

Ella: “Well, I can learn everything about God in the Bible. I already know everything anyway.”

Mommy: “You do? Okay, tell me 5 things you know about God”

Ella: “He died on the cross; He was born; He’s the holy ghost…" pause

Mommy: “Two more”

Ella: "He loves everyone, He knows everything about everyone…and, He’s taller than everyone!”

Not bad for a 4 year old. :)




Thurs., 1/15/09
Went to wake Ella up for school. She was cuddled up in her pink leopard robe (she had slept in it).

Ella groggily whispers: “I just had the GOODEST dream.”

When asked what it was about, she said, “I was at DisneyWorld.”

Ahhhh, the Joy of being a Child...

If You're a Hungry Girl Like Me...

If you're a Hungry Girl like me...the below webpage information from hungrygirl.com will be quite informative. I don't know about you, but I feel like every day of my life is a battle when it comes to eating. Between having my 4th baby and hitting my mid 30's, I just can't partake of the edibles the way I used to. I have had to make changes...BIG changes.

I'll be honest...I think about food ALL day long. From the moment I arise, to the minute I go to bed. It's a bittersweet love in my love.

But, another passion in my life is NUTRITION & WELLNESS. I am always on the look out for tools that can help me reach the highest potential of the healthy woman that I know God has called for me to be. Did you know that he refers to our body as a "Temple" in the Bible? A Temple! That's kind of a big deal. We are to tend to our Temple with the utmost care.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. I Corinthians 6:19

Ever wonder how many calories are in what you eat? How many calories you burn in a day? If you're close to your ideal weight? These Qs and more are easily answered thanks to Hungry Girl's latest web finds. Check 'em out...

Click for calorie-count.com Ever ponder just how many calories it takes to be you? Your curiosity is about to end. Type in your sex, age, weight and height -- then tell this handy-dandy tool how active you are and voila! It spits out exactly how many calories you burn on an average day. There's also a feature that lets you know how many calories you need to take in to reach your goal weight. Good stuff!

KING OF ALL CALORIES
Click for calorieking.comIf you obsess over counting calories, you need to bookmark this page ASAP. Calorie King has a database of over 30,000 foods. You'll find everything from grocery store brands to fast food and national chain restaurants -- even hard-to-find info on Omaha steaks can be found here. If you're in need of nutritional data on a specific food or product, there's an excellent chance The King has got it! It's great if you're counting points or just wanna know how many calories, carbs or fat grams you're taking in.

WARNING: Have you ever checked your fat and calorie count from Sonic or Taco Bueno? YIKERS!! You will NOT believe how grotesque it is (a regular size Sonic Java Chiller alone - 538 calories!!) Seriously...go check it out. A couple of Bueno taco's and a bean burrito, and you've had your days worth of fat and calories! (Too bad I didn't know about this a few years ago when I was eating bean burrito's as my prego " healthy snack"! I thought all beans were nutritious. Little did I know that TB's are made with Lard! ICK!!)

(and this is WITHOUT cheese!)
Side note: you simply MUST check out the sodium content in Bueno's food...unbelievable!

Finding out the nutrition content in some of my favorite foods has been a painstaking experience. However, I feel compelled to continue to do so. Eating in ignorance is not bliss...at least not in the long run.

And don't forget about LIQUID FOOD...I have this theory that for some reason women (me included) tend to warp their minds into thinking "liquid food" (i.e. lattes, shakes, smoothies, etc.) is a calorie-free treat. Be sure and check the calorie content before you indulge! Otherwise, we will sip our way into an extra layer on our muffin tops!

LOVER of LATTES: I love me some latte! This past Saturday, I tried a new drinkie at the 'Bucks...it's called the "MISTO" - it's half brewed coffee, half steamed milk. It is remarkably similar in taste to a latte with about half the calories + half the cost! I was ecstatic!! Funny how they don't advertise this drink...healthier AND cheaper...and yet no one seems to know about it. Hmmmm.

$ Katie's Maximize Your Dollar Tip of the Day $: When I get my once a week Starbucks treat, I always buy a Venti (largest size). I then drink half (which turns it into a tall size), and save the other half for the next morning. I simply re-heat it in the microwave. Presto! Two for the price of one. :)

WORK OFF THAT BROWNIE...Click for healthstatus.com
Once you know exactly how many calories you're about to consume, head on over to this page to figure out how long it'll take to burn 'em off! Just type in your weight (no need to lie, the more you weigh the more you burn) then find out how many calories you'll burn doing various activities.

TIPPING THE SCALES Click to check your BMI
Wondering if you're at a healthy weight? If your weight is close to the ideal "peoples choice" weight? How your weight stacks up against others that are your age and height? This site can answer all of these "weighty" questions and more.

I think most of our eating lives come down to PORTION SIZE, PORTION SIZE, PORTION SIZE! One of the best tricks I have implemented to control my hungry girl appetite is to use smaller plates and bowls...and to immediately have my dinner out split and packed in a doggy bag. It makes for a great stay at home Mom's lunch the next day!

(Please note: some of the information you read above comes from the hungrygirl.com website. It is an AWESOME tool for us hungry women! You can sign up for their weekly e-mails and get all sorts of cool tips and tricks...including reviews of new foods. If any of the above links don't work, will you pretty please e-mail and let me know?)

Okay Girls...let's pray for one another & spur each other on to continue to find ways to Glorify God with our lives...I know He has given us everything we need to do so. As Joyce Meyers (my favorite t.v. pastor) said, "It would be cruel for God to ask us to be filled with the Fruit of the Spirit if He wasn't going to empower us to do so." I agree. So, let's get our LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, GOODNESS, KINDNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF CONTROL on!

(Do you think it's a coincidence that God refers to these as "FRUIT"? Kind of ironic huh?!)

Oh I hope dogs really do have good hygiene!

See Owen


See Owen getting friendly with my little brother Kendall's dog, Jasmine.

See Owen getting an idea

See Owen try to mimic Jasmine's tongue moves

See Owen getting more and more excited

Abby chimes in with some lovin'

Oh my...he goes for it! A DOGGIE FRENCH KISS!!

PLEASE tell me that dogs really do have good hygiene!

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Okay, I had over 900 Christmas Pics...tried to narrow down to just a few comical or somewhat entertaining ones for this post.

Below is Greg's Dad's Christmas Celebration with 10 of their 16 grandchildren doing the ol' "Make a Funny Face" shot.

Our annual stocking shot on Christmas morning

Willster rocking out on his new "Guitar Praise" (yes, it's true...they came out with a Christian version of Guitar Hero this year...SO COOL!)

The O MAN sporting big brother's new OU Hat and Shades

Ella's new shades

Christmas Eve at Mimi's (Greg's Moms)

One cheesy (or shall I say Salami-ish) Abby Lou!

Meet Frank the mini Alligator

Owen trying to make friends with Frank

Owen thinking "Are you kidding?! You want me to sit still for 10 minutes while this dude draws our caricature? Yeah right!"

Had to throw this one in b/c my nephew Zach (on the right) looks almost identical to want my hubby looked like as a little guy! SO darn CUTE!!!

Our visit with Santa at Ashleigh's Awesome annual Children's Christmas Party

Gettin' all curled up for our PJ Party!

This is the picture most Moms delete and never show anyone...what life is REALLY LIKE trying to get a good shot of four kids! :)

My kids favorite stocking stuffer...a REAL COKE in an old fashioned bottle (that crazy old St. Nick! Doesn't he know I don't allow my kids to drink caffeine?!!)

Abby doing the "Happy Dance" after opening her Pink Nintendo DS!

DOG PILE at Oma's house (my Moms)

Dog Pile turns into WWF Wrestling

Is was contagious...no one could stay away

Poor Uncle Dan...

Okay, this is where I get kind of sappy...

One of my VERY FAVORITE parts of Christmas this year was watching the older cousins (at every single family gathering) absolutely dote on their younger cousins. It was beyond precious. When do you see an 11 and 13 yr old hang w/ a 2 yr old?! Keegan & Carter - you guys are the best!! (As are all my other nieces and nephews...you ALL ROCK!)

Aunt Kerri with all her girls...she HAND crocheted them all PINK SCARFS! Paris Hilton would be so jealous!

This is how exciting I can be at a party once it hits 11:45 p.m.! Is this what happens when in your mid-30's?! Embarassing!!

My MOST ADORABLE & FABULOUS Grandma with just a few of her great grandchildren. I think she is up to 28 total!! Oh how we LOVE our Grandma...she is a ONE OF A KIND GEM!

The King Family Christmas Card - check out the 20 Handmade Stockings in back!

There's no place like Home...

What a wonderful CHRISTmas we had! Our theme was all about EMMANUEL this year...teaching the kids that it is all summed up with "GOD WITH US."

SOOO much more to blog about...yet SOOO little time.

I have a nutrition blog I've been itching to post...hopefully soon!