The Story behind the new Wedding Ring.....

As many of you are aware, this past December I flushed my wedding ring down the toilet. It was not because I was upset with Kirk it happened because I decided to mop my kitchen floor and then dump the water down the toilet. Lesson learned next time I will remove my wedding ring and since I had lost weight my ring was fitting loose so I'll make sure I immediately go in the jewelry store and have the ring adjusted.

Needless to say, that December day was a bad day. I was so sad that I lost my wedding ring because I loved it so much! Kirk and I got married in our last year of school and as a result like many young married couples we did not have a lot of money and my ring was one of our more expensive investments. The ring also symbolized almost 12 years of marriage, and I knew Kirk had to work very hard to get me that ring. Since this happened, I have been looking at rings and concluded that for my second ring I only wanted a simple, but elegant ring. I also chose white gold this time around. So this past Saturday, Kirk surprised me and took me to the jewelry store and bought me a second wedding ring. This ring is simple, but it has a very clear half caret diamond. The best part is later on I can also build onto the ring, but for now I am happy with this ring and it is very beautiful to me.

Meet Roofus

Zachary would like to introduce Roofus. Roofus is a special dog. He works for Dr. Fay, Zachary's Neuropsychologist. He is a mixed golden lab, and he is really good with the kids, who come to Dr. Fay's office. Roofus sits with Zachary during the time Zachary is being tested. Like the kids, Roofus is on a very structured schedule, and he has days off. We have never heard him bark and he is very calm. Roofus also gets invited and attends the kids Birthday parties so guess, who will be attending Zachary's party this year? Kirk and I figure that since Zachary has seen Dr. Fay we have probably purchased a lot of dog food for him. However, Roofus is a great assest to have in a office. As you can see from the photo, Zachary really likes him!

My Pretty Dress

Thanks Jessica for the pretty dress I did not want to take it off today. I love it! I can not wait to go to the tulips with you this Thursday!

Love,

Isabella

Isabella's Birthday

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Isabella had a wonderful celebration. Last Friday we took her down to the zoo and she got to see the baby tigers, which she loves. On Saturday, we went and had her 3 year professional photos taken and we will post them on the blog in about a week. On Sunday, April 10th which was her Birthday we attended church, came home and had dinner, ate some cake, and took a drive up to Alki Beach in Seattle. We were able to get photos of Zachary, but not any photos of Isabella because she fell asleep. However, even though it was cloudy, and we had some rain the city's skyline was beatiful, and we had a great time walking down on the beach. During this past week, I took Isabella in to see Dr. German for her routine check-up and she is in the 60th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for weight. She is a growing girl!

Isabella is a joy to have in our family. She has a feisty personality, and is very bright. Thanks to her older brother Zachary she is able to count to 20 and knows all of her letters. She also enjoys playing with her Princess dolls, coloring, and playing with her doll houses. This fall she will be attending preschool because she loves to learn. Mrs. Cichy, Zachary's teacher, also allows Isabella to come in her classroom while I'm teaching Art to Zachary's class. Isabella enjoys sitting in Kindergarten and is very well behaved. She also enjoys reading books and will sit and listen to a story for a full 30 minutes. In May, Isabella and I will be taking a Mom and Me ballet class, and I think that will be fun for both of us. Thank you all for the wonderful Birthday wishes and gifts!

Family, Friends, and Fun!

What a fun day! Today we attended an Easter Egg hunt, followed by another small Birthday celebration for Isabella, and now Zachary and Isabella are tucked away into their beds and are sound asleep. This is true BLISS!!!! I'm loving the peace and quiet of tonight!

As I mentioned above, we attended an egg hunt and Zachary and Isabella collected several eggs and received a lot of candy and small prizes. Later on in the day, we met my friend Jessica and her two boys at The Super Mall and took the kids to the Bouncy Place. All of the kids bounced around for about 90 minutes, and then informed us that they were starving so we decided to go out and eat at Los Cabos. Since it was Isabella's birthday last Sunday, we had the waiters come over and sing to her, and of course she loved it. They also had an employee at the restaurant who was very talented and made each of the kids a character balloon, and one of the character's who joined us for dinner was "The Road Runner"! Enjoy the photos.

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A moment of Celebration!

Mrs. Cichy and Zachary

The Blue Ribbon that was given to Zachary

"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about."

Today Zachary received an award at school for being the most "GIVING" student at Covington Elementary. Each month Zachary's school works on a virtue of the month and then at the end of the month the Principal and classroom teachers chose one student, who has best demonstrated and practiced that virtue, and then they present the student with an award in front of the entire school. When they presented the award to Zachary, he said, "I can not believe they chose me." He was so excited and proud. Zachary's Principal then walked over to me and said, "You and Kirk are raising a blue ribbon kid." After the Principal made that comment to me, I started to think about how many people have touched our son's life and have helped him become, who he is today. I thought about Var Jean Balls, who is Zachary's Sunday school teacher and how she faithfully comes to church each week and teaches my son that he is "A Child of God" and his life as well as others has a divine purpose. I then thought about how our small family was asked to serve each month at an assisted living center and how I have watched Zachary give hugs and visit with the older people, who live at that facility this has been a great opportunity for our family to give back to our community. I also thought about Mrs. Cichy and how she consistently encourages Zachary to be the best student that he can possibly be, and then there are Zachary's doctors who formulate a plan and teach Kirk and I how to best parent him. There have been so many people, who have helped and continue to help us raise a "blue ribbon kid." We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives.

On another side note, Zachary has not wanted to ride the bus the entire school year because he has been afraid of bullies. Well this morning, Zachary decided that he wanted to ride the bus to school and this was a huge accomplishment for Zachary! Once Zachary was on the bus, Isabella and I drove to the school and waited in Mrs. Cichy's classroom for Zachary to arrive. Once he arrived in the classroom, he walked over to me and said, "Mom the bus was so much fun and all of the kids were really nice." At that moment I heard so much pride and confidence in Zachary's voice, and for once I heard no fear. Mrs.Cichy then walked over to me and said, "Heidi look at how far Zachary has come you should be very pleased." Kirk and I are very pleased and happy. As Zachary's mother, it has been challenging for me to watch Zachary struggle with anxiety issues and his ADHD. However, having Zachary in my life has taught me so many things. I have learned that I need to be on my knees seeking and asking for Divine guidance and I have received it. I have learned to have empathy for others, who have children who struggle with disabilities, I have learned to be an advocate for my son, and most important Zachary helps me to strive to be the best mother that I can be. Zachary is a gift to our family and we love him dearly even when he can be a "little turkey" at times. Congratulations Zachary! we are so proud of your accomplishments! Love, Dad, Mom, and Isabella

Video of Baby Isabella in honor of her 3rd Birthday!

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Here is video of Isabella after she was born. My friend Jessica created this for me, which was one of my favorite gifts and something that I will always treasure. Isabella and I also love the song "Amazing" that is accompanying the video. Those were perfect lyrics for this event, and in fact I had to go out to itunes to purchase the song so Isabella could listen to it in the car. She tells all of us, "This is my song." Enjoy the video.

Finding the Angel Within

As many of you are aware, I started my weight loss journey about a year and half ago, and it has been one of the most challenging, but rewarding activities that I have ever accomplished. About a month ago, I received an e-mail from a friend inviting me to join her Relay for Life team that will happen the first weekend of June. As I read the information about the race, I thought to myself that I'm going to have to keep myself motivated and focused. However, I'm very excited to participate in the relay!

Ironically, about a week ago I received a phone call from a friend who informed me that she just got back from her doctor and she was informed that she had to lose a lot of weight. She said that she felt scared and was not sure how she was going to go about accomplishing this goal. She asked me if I would be willing to share my story and tips about how I have been accomplishing my goal. I seriously thought about it and agreed; however, I wanted her to know that I believe that weight loss is a personal journey, and that there is no specific way or diet to lose weight. It is all about eating healthy and giving our bodies excercise.

As I reflected about my journey, there is a book that I have read three times during the past year that has kept me motivated. The book is titled "Running with Angels" by Pamela H. Hansen. Like myself the author of this book has experienced loss, grief, and depression in her life. However, after she had miscarried a baby she decided that she needed to embrace life and become physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy so her journey began leading her to accomplishing three marathons. In her book, she uses several quotes and here are a few of my favorites. I sometimes write these quotes down and tape them to my bathroom mirror or take them to the gym with me so I can look at them and read them and recall why I'm choosing to excercise and eat healthy. Here are some of her quotes.

1. "Drawing on our life's experiences helps us have more compassion for others."
2. "Finding time for ourselves does not automatically mean that we are neglecting or taking time away from others."
3. "Smaller, incremental steps will lead you steadily toward your ultimate goal."
4. "Change takes place one step at a time."
5. "Embracing love and support from others will help us in whichever life race we run."
6. "Prepare for Success"

Each day is a challenge for me to eat healthy and go to the gym, but then I think about this statement "There is a high price for heaviness." And that is so true! Sometimes life throws us large curve balls, and as a result for some of us food becomes comforting. I love this quote that Pamela shares in her book which states, "When something is so painful, we are willing to do anything to feel better, even when we know better. Often it takes angelic nurturing from someone in our earthly lives to help us to see the light at the end of the tunnel." I personally have had and currently have several angels in my life. Often times these people do not even realize that they have helped me. For example, the other day I was in the gym having difficulty picking up my pace on the treadmill because I felt tired when one of my gym buddies came over and said, "Wow, Heidi you look healthy and strong." I then thought I am strong and I really want to do that relay in June so it is time to pick up the pace. During that moment, I do not think that person recognized how much I needed to hear that statement, but it truly encouraged me to keep going. Bottom line I believe we all need those earthly angels in our lives and I'm grateful for mine.

I'm also thankful for a wonderful and suppotive husband. He is always encouraging me to be my best, and even when he has a large paper to write and the kids are yelling and carrying on he tells me "Leave go workout. I have it under control." And the best part is he truly means it because he loves to see me happy! He is a good man! If anyone in the Seattle area would like to join our relay team send me an e-mail through facebook or @ 4walkerfamily@gmail.com.

The Day from you know where????

That is correct yesterday was a hellish day for me! We went out to lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory up at Southcenter. We even got to sit in the back of the Trolley. Zachary ordered his lunch and then Isabella wanted Mac and Cheese. They brought out Isabella's Mac and Cheese and she wolfed all down. After she finished eating, I got her out of the high chair and sat her right next to me. Suddenly, the next thing I knew she puked all over herself, me, the table, and the floor. Not to sound gross, but I did not realize how much a small child could puke! Needless to say, puke was all over my shirt, the bottom of my pants, and of course all over Isabella. Thankfully we were right next to Kohls so my family went over and got Isabella and I new clothes while Isabella and I waited up in the ladies room. $30.00 later we had new outfits. We then quickly changed clothes and drove home where we jumped in the shower. Nothing is more disgusting then the sight and smell of puke that was still lingering on our bodies even after we changed our clothes. However, thankfully it only happened once and Isabella did not puke any more. The above photo shows that we were having good times before puke. The true joys of motherhood!!!!

Bouncing off the Walls

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Yesterday Jessica and I took Isabella and her two boys Tommy and Toby to a Bouncy place located in the Super Mall. First off let me tell you that I learned yesterday that I have a fearless daughter. Isabella decided to climb up this adult-size ladder and then proceeded to go down this large slide smiling whole time! Jessica and I observed other older kids having difficulty climbing up this large ladder and going down this large slide, but Isabella, who is almost 3, quickly climbed up the ladder and slid right down and wanted to go back and do it over again. I told Jessica that I think Isabella must have some type of monkey in her. Even the other customers and workers were really surprised that she could do this. Needless to say, Isabella slept 13 hours last night! I think over the weekend we are going to take Zachary.

Zachary's Tooth

Zachary has had a busy week. As many of you know, a couple of weeks ago we were in an accident and as a result of the accident the insurance company had us go out and purchase new car seats. When we were at Toys-R-Us buying new car seats, Zachary lost a tooth there. He was so excited for the tooth fairy to come that night, and thankfully we were at the toy store so we could purchase a small item from the tooth fairy.

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