(cue music...) Where in the World is LizzyG?

Life has just been too busy lately. Something had to give. So I put blogging on the back burner for the last couple of weeks. This morning I went back and read my very first post. It was so simple, and reminded me of the reason I started this blog. So look for short and sweet posts in the future, filled with lots of pictures of our 3 crazy kids. And I will aspire to be more like my friend Angela, and keep my camera with me at all times. These last few weeks have been busy, but filled with some fun moments together as a family. Unfortunately, I took very few pictures, but here are some random pictures to make up for lost time:

Sarah had a big birthday bash with her friends from school! What could be better then,

SWIMMING

PIZZA

AND A SLEEPOVER!

MONDAY, JANUARY 28th: 1/2 INCH OF SNOW AND NO SCHOOL!

IT'S A GOOD THING SHE'S WEARING THOSE SNOW PANTS!

AFTER BRAVING THE BITTER COLD, WHAT BETTER WAY TO WARM UP THEN A NICE BIG BUBBLE BATH?

POOR DANIEL LAY SICK ON THE COUCH WHILE THE REST OF US ENJOYED THE WINTER WONDERLAND...ALL TWO HOURS OF IT.

AAHHH, POOR GUY...

He gets home from work at 8:30 am. The deal is he takes the kids to school at 9:00am. But somehow, in that short amount of time, he ends up on the couch like this. And we all quietly tip-toe out the door trying not to wake the sleeping beauty.In closing, I will share some valuable wisdom learned over the last couple weeks:

When you're feeding your kids chicken broth with croutons added in, it's time to go to the grocery store.

When one family member gets sick, watch out, you're all going to get it!

When you go 18 days without exercising, and eat lots of junk food, you wills start to notice some extra padding around your hips.

When you have 10 girls over for a sleepover, you probably won't go to bed until 3:00 am. And when one wakes up at 7:00 am, they're all going to wake up

One of the brightest moments in my life was scheduling a pedicure with my mother-n-law and sister-n-law the day after the party

When you put on High School Musical (1&2) for ten nine-year old girls, they will all sing along to every single song with great emotion and gaze starry eyed at Troy and Gabriella, which will then invoke feelings of panic in you as a mother.....They're too young! Shouldn't they still be playing with dolls?

Funny Moment: Jon was frustrated with Daniel for a VERY good reason, and said, "what is wrong with you? What were you thinking?" Daniel replied, "Maybe it was your sperm Dad, maybe it was a bad one" Jon and I cracked up laughing. Gotta love that open communication!

If you go through a lazy phase and don't do any housework for 3 days, you WILL be sorry! It's not worth it, get off the couch!

If the president of your organization assigns a project to you, feelings of stress and anxiety will follow (I just want to wash dishes and do laundry all day again!!!)

When you and your husband take your kids to a rock concert at the Ikebox, a lengthy discussion about not judging people by their appearances will follow.

Very few things make me happier, then watching the expression on my kids' face when they wake up to snow.

Rediscovering one of my favorite things: Tuesday, 1:00 am, couldn't sleep (thanks to that nice little project), and Jon was working. I opened up the curtains in our bedroom, crawled back in bed and watched snow fall to the ground. It was the most beautiful, peaceful sight.

Until next time...

CALL US CRAZY!!!

WE TRAINED

WE SHOPPED

WE CONQUERED!

My friend Ona and I ran a 1/2 marathon today! I'm so proud of Ona, she ran the whole thing, even with extreme pain in both knees. The woman was determined! We both had such a great time. It was a perfect day for a long run...no rain! We ran through beautiful countryside out in Turner, running past fields of cows, sheep, and pigs! It was a little foggy with a nice cool mist in the air. It really was a pleasant run. It was especially fun, because both of our husbands were there cheering us on! They were such goofballs though. At mile two they parked and cheered for us, yelling out, "good job, you're almost there!" And then a few miles later I heard something like, "we're cold now, we're getting back in the car, you keep running though!" But it made me laugh, and it was fun to see Jon's face every few miles. Right around mile 11 I hit my wall. My body felt so fatigued, and my legs felt like heavy weights, it took all I had to keep running at my target pace. And all I could think about was crossing that finish line and having a nice warm cup of coffee...I finished....

And I had my cup of coffee!

What a wonderful sense of accomplishment. This time last year, I was 20 pounds heavier and could barely run 1 mile. It feels so good to work towards a goal, and see it come to fruition.

Thank you Ona for keeping me accountable! There were many days when I didn't feel like going for a run, but I knew you were going to ask me if I ran. So I would go, just for you :)

So keep asking me!!!

And what blog post would be complete without a picture of Olivia? She is my adorable stretching buddy. She loves to stretch out with me, before I take off for a run. It's so cute, and she actually does all the stretches pretty accurately. Who knows, maybe one day the two of us will be out there running together!

Once was lost, but now is found

.....MY CAMERA!!!!

I love my husband dearly, but I have learned over the years, when something goes missing, it is a waste of time to ask him. He never knows. Even if he really does know, he doesn't realize it and says, "I don't know".

Example: When my husband does the laundry (which I am extremely thankful for), and I go to put on my favorite sweater...it's not there. Where is it? I just washed it.
"Jon, when you were hanging up clothes, did you see my short sleeve black sweater?"
"Uhh, no. I don't know. I don't think so."
Lo and behold, two weeks later, I find it in Sarah's closet mixed up with her clothes. So I've learned to just not even bother asking Jon when I can't find something.

I have been frantically looking for our camera over the last two weeks. I have looked under every seat in both cars. Checked the glove boxes. I've checked all my purses :). I've looked under couch cushions and furniture. I've looked in every single cupbpoard, drawer and closet in our home....no camera.

Last night, without even expecting an answer, I asked Jon,
" have you seen the camera?"
"Oh yeah, I put it in the video camera bag in the hall closet"
"What!!! Did you not realize I have been looking for it for the last two weeks?"
"Uh, no."

Lesson learned: 99% of the time my husband never knows where anything is. But that 1% is worth asking about.

So here are some lovely pictures from Christmas Eve day, spent with some of our favorite people in the whole world.

The Rock Star and The Mommy

a.k.a Ella and OliviaThe boys

Daniel, Jon, Darrin with his little Dylan, and Duane.

Jon is threatening to give Dylan a knuckle sandwich if he doesn't smile. (kidding)

Two Hot Mamas

aka Liz and Angela, two great friends

Why Is Christmas Over?

How do you tell a 3 year old Christmas is over?(Will her bangs ever grow out after catching on fire? I'm beginning to think not)

And yes, Olivia is 3 now. She turned 3 on December 28. And yes, I should be banned from blogging forever due to my appalling lack of documenting Garland family events. The last two weeks have been a blurry haze. So much has happened, and yet I wasn't able to find 5 minutes to get to the computer and even turn it on. On top of that, I can't find my camera. The last time I saw it was Christmas Eve day when we were able to have a wonderful visit with our dear friends and relatives. So Shauna or Angela, if by chance you haven't used your diaper bags since Christmas Eve, check and see if my camera ended up in there! :)

So yes, no pictures of Christmas 2007. No pictures of the week long visit with my brother, his wife and little girl. No pictures of all our adventures these last two weeks held for us...so sad.

But back to the title of this post. Olivia can't seem to understand why we are taking all the Christmas decorations down, and is having quite a hard time with it all. Jon hasn't been able to take the outside lights down yet. Last night she went to the front window, looked out longingly and said,

"please mommy, please can we turn on the kwissmus likes?"

"No sweetie, Christmas is over"

"Why not?" (which means why)

"Because it's a new year now"

"But I want to see the pwetty kwissmus likes"

"No Joy-Joy (her nickname), Christmas is over"

"mooommmmyyy!!!" (as she sprawls herself out on the ground and fake cries, hoping I'll give in. But I won't, my pride is too great. I will not risk our neighborly reputation and turn on Christmas lights after January 1st....that would be soooo wrong!)

But how do you tell a 3 year old Christmas is over? She doesn't want it to end. She loved every single twinkling light, every ornament on the tree, each and every figure in the nativity set, which is now missing Joseph's hand, an angel's wing, and a donkey's ear. Her new found love for Christmas is so sweet, and reminds me of how I used to be as a child. Christmas has always been my absolute favorite time of year. But the last few years I have been enjoying it less and less. Why is that? The meaning of Christmas alone should be enough to fill our home with joy, as we reflect on what Jesus did for us: Coming to earth in the form of a helpless baby, so he could live a life blameless, without sin, take our place and die a sinner's death, so that we might have forgiveness and eternal life. Isn't that enough?!!! Why do I allow myself to get so stressed out and wrapped up in the materialism of the holiday? So I've been thinking, I hereby make a promise, a New Year's Resolution if you will, to enjoy Christmas more next year. To be better prepared. To get the decorations down from the attic, shopping completed, and Christmas cards written by November. Christmas only comes once a year, and for such a short time. Yet it comes with so many opportunities to make memories and to bless others. You just need one thing: TIME. Next year I want to do whatever it takes, so that come December, I have nothing but time. Time to relax and enjoy my family and friends. And most importantly, time to share the life-changing message of Christmas, by blessing those who are in need. As I look back on our past Christmas' as a family, my favorite memories are the ones when we focused on giving and blessing others. That will by my focus next year! So I guess you can say, I've learned a valuable lesson. And I am looking forward to this new year, and all that God has in store for our family. May God bless you as head into this wonderful new year!

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." ~Hebrews 12:1-2

I will leave you with my precious few pictures I have of December: