Friday, January 8, 2016

Happy 2016!!

And here we are....1 week into the new year! 
It was 8 years ago this month that I started my blog. It was started with intentions of leaving a digital journal of the day to day happenings, the silly things my kiddos say, and our fun adventures. It was also 8 years ago this month that we found out about our middle daughter's heart condition. Wow! 8 years ago. A lot of changed in 8 years. 

We didn't take many family photos way back. This was from Christmas 2008

Current family photo. Nov 2015


Let's see.....
Dakota is turning double digits this month. Yikes!! I'll have a 10 year old in the next few weeks. He's starting his 2nd Spring season of Soccer soon. And he still loves video games...currently Disney Infinity.
Lilyann is now 8 years old and heart healthy. She is quite the little artist and reader. She's a strong girl...at times, stubborn. But I'll chalk that up to her being such a fighter from an early age ♥ 
Leia is our Vivacious 4 year old. If she doesn't do something in entertainment when she's older, I'll be shocked. She's a performer. Dream Big, sweet Leia! 
Jed (husband) is working for Safety Kleen as a sales representative. He's currently training for marathons. His resilience and determination inspire me to be a better wife, mom, and person in general. He truly is amazing!! Oh, he was a go-getter 8 years ago....but even more so, now. 
Me (wife, mom, author of this blog)... I'm amazed at where I am 8 years later. Never would I have ever imagined I'd be an active mom of 3 wonderful children. 8 years ago I was balancing life with 2 kids under 2. Wow! life is truly incredible. This year, I'm wife, mom, part time photographer, and brand spanking new Beachbody Coach. TeamSmiths 
I'm truly excited to see the results in others from being a beachbody coach. I love rooting people on to bigger and better things. My husband and I started our on our Healthy journey almost 2 years ago. We purchased a year gym membership and cut out soda. Yikes! that was insane for a couple of weeks...okay, months. As we continued with our fitness journey, we started tracking our food intake with myfitnesspal . I look back on that time that I was a "newbie" at the gym. Just going because I needed 30 minutes of Me time from my kiddos. Now, I actually look forward to going...and not just for the Me time. I feel Positive. Empowered. Ready to take on the world....after a session at the gym. My all time favorite is Zumba class. It took forever to take the plunge and do "just one class". But thanks to my friend who said "if you do it, I'll do it." We did that for a few classes... Piyo, Body Pump, Body Combo, Zumba Step. I'm so glad WE did join that one class. I've made so many friends (Shout out to my back row friends!!!) 
Now, I'm greeted with smiles and hellos. It's actually uplifting to step into the gym. I don't dread it.
I hope I can be that smile, that hello...to encourage the "newbie" on their journey to a happy healthier life. 

Wow....8 years....and life is truly amazing. We've had ups.... vacations, weight loss, raises, birthdays, celebrations, happy and healthy. And downs....heart surgery, bills, bad health,  tonsillectomy, knee surgeries, more bills. But wow!! what an incredible time. If anything the struggles have forced us to rely on God, to get healthy, and to be thankful for what we have.
-enJoy