Almost a year?

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted. Sorry for the long, unintentional, hiatus. SO much has happened in a year. I guess I'll just bullet point some of them.

*I reached and exceeded my weight loss goals. I lost a total of 50 pounds and for the first time in my life I was in the 170's, a size 12, and at a healthy BMI.
*I completed my first half-marathon in October and my second half-marathon on April 23, 2011. Both were fabulous experiences!
*Jacob had his tonsils and adenoids out in December. Thank goodness my mom was here over the holiday's to help me.
*Jacob finished his first year of preschool (a co-op I did with some friends in my ward). He loved it. He is so excited to be going to a "real" school this fall for pre-k.
*Daniel completed one year of early intervention speech therapy and has improved so much he is no longer eligible for services! YAY! He is such a fun 2-almost-3 year old.
*We have owned our home for one year now!
*We have lived in Oregon for 4 years and Brent is still enjoying his job.
*I was released as Compassionate Service leader last August and am now the Primary chorister. Brent teaches Elders Quorum. Jacob is a CTR4 and Daniel still attends his beloved nursery.

and the biggest news of all...

*We are expecting baby #3 - due in December!

For all the ladies...

because the guys wouldn't get it.

Yesterday I put on a size 14 and it was comfortable - not too tight! I haven't worn a size 14 since I was 15 years old.. that was half my life ago!!!! So I'm very proud to say that I've put all the size 16 items in the closet.

One more pound to lose before I hit another big milestone - 40 pounds lost.

I am beyond excited about it and had to share.

Major Milestone

So most of you know how hard I have been trying to lose weight. Well, last night I stepped on the scale and was delighted to see that I have finally reached my wedding weight! I was so excited about it that I was unable to go to sleep until after midnight. I have lost 36 pounds since I started on this journey in January 2009.

I didn't expect to reach this goal before summer so now I am thrilled that I can reevaluate and make a new goal to reach by end of summer. I want to reach the weight I was at my lightest which is when I lived with my grandparents when I was 15 and a sophomore in HS - that is 8 pounds away. It doesn't sound like much, but with how hard I have to work to lose even a single pound, it is a lofty goal.

To help with that goal my neighbor and I are training for a 10k. This morning I jogged 4 miles, the farthest I have ran in a single run since college. I am seriously flying high right now and it feels GREAT!

To top it all off my father in law will arrive tonight to help us with some larger projects we need to do to get our new home ready to move in. I am very excited to see him and so are the boys. Good times people. Good times.

Life is good...

I know some of you have seen this on facebook already, but I wanted to put it here anyway. I am down exactly 32 pounds from January '09!! (When I started on my journey to reclaim my body and lose weight). I'm closer to my goal and getting there faster than I thought I would. YAY! I have worked so hard for this and I'm so thrilled. I am finally down to the weight I was before ever getting pregnant and I have about 4 pounds to go to reach my wedding weight. Then I might even try my wedding dress on again! After that I'll have to re-access and pick a new goal.

I am in a great place in my life right now. I love love LOVE singing again - I'm an alto II in the Portland Mormon Choir and Orchestra and we are close to our Easter concert. I love rehearsals and I love the music and the spirit I feel every time I sing it. It is such a boost to my spirit every time I go. I'm almost done reading the Book of Mormon and I'm in my favorite part (3 Nephi). I usually get a full night's sleep, my body is my own... life is good!

We just bought a house (see my last post for pictures).

We have our fair share of challenges too (like the crappy hair cut I got last night), but nonetheless I still feel good about where I am. And with that I will close my little epistle.

Kind of freakin' out...

We put in an offer on a house on Monday, got mutual acceptance yesterday, and signed papers today. Our home inspection is next week (so we still have time to back out if we want to or if major issues are found). I'm more nervous than excited, which worries me. Brent is really excited about it, and it is not easy to get him excited about anything so it makes me feel better to see him. This has been quite a learning experience!! We will get the $8k tax rebate, which is going to help us out so much! The house needs a lot of TLC and work and I can view that as being a fun adventure or just extra time and money. I'm trying to think positive and keep the vision of what the house will look like when done.

I am a bucket of mixed emotions. Excited one minute, apprehensive the next. :-/

I've attached the pictures we took on our second walk through (I don't know how Brent had our camera settings, but the pictures turned out grainy and blueish). As you can see the place needs TLC, but let me know what you think anyway. :o)


- front of the house -

- tile in entry way - (try to imagine how nice it will look after the grout has been scrubbed)


- living room -

- kitchen, it is large but needs some major work (it is so brown and ugly - 80's hideousness!!)-

- can't tell here, but that is a huge beautiful garden window -


- a wall unit someone built poorly and just place in the kitchen. Looks like it belongs in the garage as a workbench -

- uck! -

- maybe paint would help it?? -


- looking into the kitchen from the dining room -




- fireplace in family room, we call this the beast - (Brent loves it. I hate it.)


- closet in family room -


- looking into the dining room and family room from the living room - (I love the archways)


- main bathroom -


- master bedroom (window area, the room is actually very large)-


- a section of the ugly orange garage. First thing I'm going to do is paint over this -


- our covered deck in the back, we both really like it -

My sweet father...

Sorry it has been so long since I updated. January has been a good one so far. Then one week ago we were told my dad had quickly declined in health and would soon pass away. He passed away last night. His funeral is planned for next Thursday (in Provo). My dad has had a long struggle/battle with poor health and we are comforted knowing he is free from pain now. I'm comforted further in that he passed peacefully while in his sleep. We were all very worried he would have a stroke, heart attack or otherwise painful death - the Lord has been merciful to him.

The Lord has also blessed us that John was able to come home. He deployed for Iraq on Jan. 2nd and had just reached port when my mother contacted him to tell him my dad was going to pass soon. His captain called my mother to verify information and sent him home the next day. The last time my dad was conscious was when he spoke with John about midnight on Wednesday when he arrived. He was with my mother this morning and helped medical personnel take care of my dad. I can't express how much this means to him to have been there and to me that he is there with my mother. We will be leaving asap to go be with my family.

My dad was a good man, and I'm sure his reunion in heaven is sweet one. He was always my biggest fan and fearlessly devoted to us and always supported and encouraged us.

Dad, you have taken a piece of my heart with you. I love you. 'Till we meet again...


My brother John, my dad and Daniel (September 2009)

update - this is LONG but has really cute pictures

It has been two months since I updated.. sorry. Life has been eventful and I’ll pick up where I left off in September…

The boys found Brent’s ear muff things and had so much fun putting them on and they looked so darn cute I had to bust out the camera

Mid-month I finally gave in to Brent’s constant badgering and we took Daniel to get his first haircut. He did so well and, as expected, he looks like a little “old” man.


- Before, I loved his little mullet -

- During, look at that smile! -

- After, don't tell me he doesn't look like a little old man -

Near the end of the month Daniel and I few to Utah to attend the baby blessing of my brother John’s new daughter Serena. The Navy transferred him to Norfolk, VA (from Oak Harbor, WA) and they were making the drive across the country and stopped in Provo along the way where most of my family is so we could all be together for that event. I had a wonderful time and wish I could have stayed longer. Here are some pictures from that trip;

- Me and Mary (1 week from delivery) I'd never seen her pregnant in person before.. I got such a kick out of seeing my little sister all big and preggers.. she had such a cute waddle.

- My studly brother John, My dad and Daniel -

- My beautiful Mother and me -

- My equally beautiful Grandma Eddington and me (can you see where I get my eyes?) -

- 3 of my nieces, you can't get a more precious picture than this -

- John holding his new little angel, Serena who sleeps like a rock -

October was an extremely busy month but it had many highlights. On the 10^th I celebrated my birthday and my neighbor/friend organized a surprise birthday party/ice cream social for three of us ladies that had birthdays that week. I was really touched since nothing like that has ever been done for me. I did meet my goal for my weight by my birthday. I had a good experience doing my Biggest Loser diet and so I started it over again after the 30 days were up. I ended up losing 4 pounds in those 30 days and another 1 pound in the second 30 days. Granted I didn’t follow it as strictly the second time as the first. I’m almost to the point where I am going to repeat it one more time. The food was good and I really liked being told what to eat for every meal and snack every day. It left no room for cheating.

Then came Halloween. Jacob is at such a fun age where he is starting to realize what is going on and then gets really excited about it. The week before Halloween we attending our ward’s trunk-or-treat and Jacob went as a Lion, Daniel was a giraffe, and I went as an injured jogger (I love doing make up). Brent went as himself. For the actual day we went to a “Not so scary” Halloween party that we were invited to that had a few other young families. We carried on the Turner tradition and made mummy dogs. I was a really happy woman since they served homemade root beer, which I love.


- My little lion and his brother the giraffe -

- ouch -

- At the trunk-or-treat -

Here are some pictures we took when we went to a pumpkin patch with the kids;






- Daniel LOVES his Dad and snuggles with him all the time -

The came a much anticipated event. Jacob’s third birthday. He talked about his birthday for a good two weeks before hand and is still talking about it now. He really likes robots and loves to imitate and talk like a robot so I thought it would be fun to make him a robot cake. His other obsession is fireworks and so when I went to my local cake shop and found sparklers in all the numbers I had to buy the number 3 to set atop his cake. The end result was one really fun cake and one really happy little boy. We invited a few of his friends over to play and celebrate with him and in all had a fun evening. I love that little boy. Sometimes I don’t always show it or I whine about the bad moments, but he really is precious to me. He is so smart and loving and I feel so privileged to be his mom. All of the big transitions I dreaded almost always ended up being easy. He transitioned from a crib to a bed without a hitch, he potty trained quickly and easily, he loves his routines and lets me know if I’ve missed or skipped something. He dances to music and sings along with to his favorite shows and his evening lullabies. He is always eager to help and always wants to be near me. I try to recognize that that won’t last forever and to have patience with him and enjoy these days. And I think that I do. I wouldn’t trade him in for anything or anyone.

- His Robot cake -
- The kids at his little party enjoying their sugar high -

- Daniel, with his mysterious fetish of putting this particular ball in his mouth (he'll keep it in there for an hour and only take it out to swallow and then put it right back in) -

That night (Jacob’s birthday) was the last night I nursed Daniel. I think we were both ready to be done and it was time. I nursed him for just over 15 months! I’ve loved my time with him and yet I also feel relieved to be done. I look forward to a nice break where my body is completely my own before having another baby.

Last week Daniel started walking!! We were told that he probably wouldn't walk until around 18 months so we are really thrilled about this. He is so proud of himself and loves exploring his new heights. I'm amazed at how much he has improved and how much faster he got in just one week.

And that brings y'all up to date! I will try not to let it go another two months before updating again. Life is busy but good and I wouldn't trade with anyone (at the moment anyway)